Court refuses bail to co-accused in Comedian Munawar Faruqui case
Indore, Feb 9: The Indore district court on Tuesday rejected for the sccond time the bail plea of a 23- year-old man arrested along with stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui following a comedy show.
Sadaqat Khan (23), accused of being involved in the show's organization, moved the sessions court seeking bail on the basis of "parity" (similar circumstances) as Faruqui was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court four days ago.
Additional Sessions Judge Yatindra Kumar Guru, however, rejected his plea. His first bail application had been rejected by the court on January 11.
Khan, a Mumbai-based civil engineer, is in a local jail since January 3 following his arrest. Of six persons arrested in the case, only Faruqui and another accused -- who was found to be a minor -- are out on bail.
The Additional Sessions Judge, in the order passed on Tuesday, cited some past Supreme Court rulings and said the grant of bail would not be justified under the law.
Khan's lawyer Surendra Kumar Verma presented the February 5 order of the Supreme Court granting bail to Faruqui, and said his client should get bail "on the basis of judicial parity".
But Additional Public Prosecutor Sanjay Sharma objected, saying the order passed by the apex court in Faruqui's case was interim, and Khan can not invoke the principle of parity on its basis.
Comedian Faruqui (32) and five others involved in organizing a show here on January 1 were arrested following a complaint by Eklavya Singh Gaud, son of local BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh Gaud.
The MLA's son alleged that objectionable comments were made about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the show.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
