Ishrat case: Court reserves order on discharge plea for August 4
Ahmedabad, July 18: A Special CBI Court here on Wednesday reserved its verdict for August 4 on the discharge pleas of two retired police officers D.G. Vanzara and N.K. Amin in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan shootout case even as her mother strongly opposed the plea.
Continuing their arguments, counsel for the two former police officials maintained that they were framed in the case by the Central Bureau of Investigation despite the fact they were not even present at the spot on Ahmedabad outskirts.
They cited the discharge of former Acting Director General of Police P.P. Pandey in the case to buttress their claim.
The mother of Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in the alleged shootout along with three others in a joint operation by Gujarat Police and Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers, opposed the discharge applications.
The counsel for Shamima Kauser asserted that her daughter was abducted, kept in illegal confinement and murdered in cold blood by the Gujarat Police officers and this was "falsely projected as an encounter killing"
Kauser's advocate Parvez Pathan argued that the "accused cannot be discharged even before the supplementary charge sheet is placed before the court".
A supplementary charge sheet is pending with the Special CBI Court that names Intelligence Bureau officials, including its former Special Director Rajinder Kumar.
The arguments on the discharge applications of Vanzara and Amin concluded on Wednesday, following which Special CBI judge J.K. Pandya reserved the order for August 4.
Kauser had pointed out that there are eyewitnesses whose statements have been recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code that establish the roles of senior police officials.
She also objected to the submissions of the accused applicants for "making baseless, defamatory, malicious and motivated aspersions against Ishrat Jahan in a desperate bid to cover up their crime".
She said in the written submission that she would challenge the discharge order of Pandey in the Gujarat High Court.
Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year-old Mumbai college girl, was killed along with her friend Javed Shaikh and two alleged Pakistani nationals, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar, on June 15, 2004.
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Stray dogs case: We will play video, ask you what is humanity, SC tells petitioner
New Delhi (PTI): Responding to a petitioner in the stray dogs case who objected to some rules framed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) saying "inhuman" treatment was being meted out to them, the Supreme Court on Thursday said a video will be played in the next hearing, "asking you what is humanity".
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is appearing in the stray dogs case, told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that a three-judge special bench which was scheduled to assemble on Thursday to hear the matter was cancelled.
"It will come on January 7," Justice Nath said.
Sibal said, "The problem is that the MCD, in the meantime, has framed some rules which are completely contrary.color:red;"
He urged the bench to hear the matter on Friday, saying authorities don't even have dog shelters. "It is very very inhuman what is being done," Sibal said.
Justice Mehta, in an apparent reference to the stray dog menace, said "On the next date, we will play a video for your benefit and we will ask you what is humanity," .
Sibal responded that they will also play a video to show what was happening.
"The problem is your lordships has passed an order and we respect that. But the point is, there are statutory rules," he said.
When the bench said it would consider the matter on January 7, Sibal said the authorities will implement the rules in December itself.
"They will be implementing it and they will be removing the dogs. They don't have shelters," he said.
Justice Nath said, "It is alright Mr Sibal. Let them do it, we will consider."
The bench said it would hear the matter on January 7.
On November 7, taking note of the "alarming rise" in dog bite incidents within institutional areas like educational institutions, hospitals and railway stations, the apex court directed the forthwith relocation of stray canines to designated shelters after due sterilisation and vaccination.
A three-judge special bench had also said the stray dogs so picked up shall not be released back in the place they were picked up from.
The bench had directed the authorities to ensure the removal of all cattle and other stray animals from state highways, national highways and expressways.
It had said recurrence of dog bite incidents within institutional areas, including sports complexes, reflected not only administrative apathy but also a "systemic failure" to secure these premises from preventable hazards.
The top court had passed a slew of directions in the suo motu case over the stray dog menace.
It is hearing a suo motu case, initiated on July 28 over a media report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital.
