British F-35 fighter jet stuck in Kerala for 6 days: Engine fault delays departure
Thiruvananthapuram: The British Navy's F-35 fighter jet has been stranded at the Thiruvananthapuram airport for six consecutive days due to an engine failure. The F-35, which took off from the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales amidst the military exercise in the Arabian Sea, landed at the Thiruvananthapuram airport last Saturday night due to low fuel.
The plane was scheduled to return from Thiruvananthapuram after refuelling on Sunday, , but could not carry out the operation due to mechanical error. A military helicopter and technical team from a British ship arrived to fix the problem and take the plane back. Repairs are still ongoing. It is reported that the fault is in the fighter jet's hydraulic system.
The aircraft, which had flown at an altitude of 36,000 feet, was unable to return to the ship due to adverse weather conditions and circled several times, to lower the fuel. Technical experts point out that the engine failure occurred because it had to make an emergency landing after running out of fuel. HMS Prince of Wales was in the Arabian Sea for a joint military exercise organized by the Indian Navy and the British Navy.
The plane and those in charge are under heavy security
The British fighter jet, which landed in Thiruvananthapuram with special permission from the Central Government and the Air Force, is parked in Bay No. 4 of the airport. The CISF has put in place heavy security arrangements for the plane. The pilot, Freddy, who arrived to take the plane back, and three technicians are staying at the airport's emergency medical centre. They can also monitor the plane from here every time.
The British team wants to have a situation where they can observe the plane. The pilot Mike, who brought the plane, is resting in a place at the airport where he could also directly observe the fighter jet. The airport authorities are providing the British with foreign food and other supplies. As per their request, a ground handling agency has also been provided for the plane.
May be shifted to a hangar unit
If the fault cannot be fixed, the fighter jet parked in the bay will be shifted to a hanger unit adjacent to the airport. The hangar unit is Air India's aircraft maintenance centre.
The technology of the American-made fighter jet has not yet been transferred to any other country. Therefore, even if it is moved to the hangar, the repairs will be carried out under special security.
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Cash discovery row: SC grills Justice Yashwant Varma over his petition
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday questioned Justice Yashwant Varma over his plea to invalidate an in-house inquiry panel report indicting him over the discovery of huge cache of burnt cash from his official residence during his tenure as a Delhi High Court judge.
"Why did you appear before the inquiry committee? Did you come to the court that the video be removed? Why did you wait for the inquiry to be completed and the report be released? Did you take a chance of a favourable order there first," a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing Justice Varma.
The top court further quizzed Justice Varma over the parties he had made in his plea and said he should have filed the in-house inquiry report with his plea.
Sibal submitted there was a process under Article 124 (the Establishment and constitution of the Supreme Court), and a judge couldn't be a subject matter of public debate.
"The release of video on SC website, public furore, media accusations against judges are prohibited as per constitutional scheme," Sibal added.
The top court asked Sibal to come with one page bullet points and correct the memo of parties.
The matter was posted for July 30.
Justice Varma has sought quashing of the May 8 recommendation by then chief justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, urging Parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.
His plea said the inquiry "reversed the burden of proof", requiring him to investigate and disprove the charges levelled against him.
Alleging that the panel's findings were based on a preconceived narrative, Justice Varma said the inquiry timelines were driven solely by the urge to conclude proceedings swiftly, even at the expense of "procedural fairness".
The petition contended that the inquiry panel drew adverse findings without affording him a full and fair hearing.
A report of the inquiry panel probing the incident had said Justice Varma and his family members had covert or active control over the store room where a huge cache of half-burnt cash was found following a fire incident, proving his misconduct which is serious enough to seek his removal.
The three-judge panel headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court conducted the inquiry for 10 days, examined 55 witnesses and visited the scene of the accidental fire that started at around 11.35 pm on March 14 at the official residence of Justice Varma, then a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court and now in the Allahabad High Court.
Acting on the report, then CJI Khanna wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommending the judge's impeachment.
