High-intensity squall and thundershowers hit parts of Rajasthan.
Rajasthan,April 3: At least 27 people have been killed and nearly a 100 injured after a high-intensity squall and thundershowers hit parts of Rajasthan. Several houses and electricity polls collapsed and trees were uprooted in the Matysya region in the early hours of Thursday, reported news agency PTI. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje expressed her condolences to the families affected and directed authorities to extend aid to the victims.
The government has announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the family members of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh to those with 60 per cent injuries and Rs 60,000 to people with 40 to 50 per cent injuries.
“So far, 27 people have died due to the disaster, including 12 in Bharatpur, 10 in Dholpur and 5 in Alwar. The squall was reported mainly in three districts,” Secretary, Disaster Management and Relief, Hemant Kumar Gera was quoted as saying by PTI. He added that contingency funds have been released to the respective district administration.
Have directed Ministers and concerned officials to affected areas to begin relief work immediately and restore utilities. An unfortunate incident, we have been working closely with local authorities to mitigate the situation.
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) May 3, 2018
Shri Gulabchand Kataria ji shall be monitoring situation at Alwar, Shri Arun Chaturvedi ji in Dholpur; Shri Kalicharan Saraf in Bharatpur & Shri Surendrapal Singh ji in Jhunjhunu. The Govt. stands firmly with its people in this time.
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) May 3, 2018
Raje tweeted this morning, “Have directed Ministers and concerned officials to affected areas to begin relief work immediately and restore utilities. An unfortunate incident, we have been working closely with local authorities to mitigate the situation. The Govt. stands firmly with its people in this time.”
In the wake of the disaster, Congress national general secretary Ashok Gehlot has cancelled his birthday celebrations at his official residence in Jaipur. “We are extremely grieved at the loss of lives in the state and stand with the victims in this hour of tragedy… I cancel all celebrations at my residence today. Blood donation camps and Janhit programs can be continued by organisers,” he said. According to Gehlot, over a 100 people have been injured in the dust storm.
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Bombay High Court strikes down Centre's plan to set up Fact-Check Unit
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has struck down the central government's plan to establish a fact-checking unit (FCU) under the Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023. The decision comes in response to a petition filed by standup comedian Kunal Kamra, challenging the constitutional validity of the Centre's move.
Justice A.S. Chandurkar, delivering the final verdict, declared that the proposed IT Amendment Rules violated key provisions of the Indian Constitution, namely Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression), and 19(1)(g) (right to profession).
“I have considered the matter extensively. The impugned rules are violative of Articles 14, 19, and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India,” Justice Chandurkar said in his judgment. He further remarked that terms like "fake, false, and misleading" in the IT Rules were "vague" and lacked a clear definition, making them unconstitutional.
This judgment followed a split verdict issued by a division bench of the Bombay High Court in January. The bench, consisting of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale, was divided in their opinions. While Justice Patel ruled that the IT Rules amounted to censorship and struck them down, Justice Gokhale upheld the rules, arguing that they did not pose a "chilling effect" on free speech, as the petitioners had claimed.
The matter was then referred to a third judge, leading to today's decision. The Supreme Court had previously stayed the Centre's notification that would have made the fact-checking unit operational, stating that the government could not proceed until the Bombay High Court ruled on the case.
Kunal Kamra and other petitioners had argued that the amendments posed unreasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression. They contended that the provisions would lead to government-led censorship, effectively granting the government unchecked powers to determine what constitutes 'truth' online. The petitioners further claimed that such powers would turn the government into "prosecutor, judge, and executioner" in matters of online content.
With the Bombay High Court’s ruling, the Centre's move to create fact-checking units has been effectively halted, reaffirming the importance of protecting freedom of speech and expression in the digital space.
