'No full stop in politics': PM bids farewell to 59 RS members, hails Deve Gowda, Kharge, Pawar
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid tributes to 59 members retiring from the Rajya Sabha between April and July, calling Parliament "an open university" and urging outgoing legislators to continue contributing to national life.
Addressing the Upper House on the occasion of the biennial farewell, Modi said such moments naturally dissolve partisan divides.
"A shared sentiment emerges within us all -- the realisation that our colleagues are now moving forward to undertake other endeavours," he said.
To members who do not plan to return, the Prime Minister offered reassurance: "In politics, there is no such thing as a full stop. The future awaits you as well, and your experience will forever remain an enduring part of our national life."
Modi reserved special praise for three senior leaders -- former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, and NCP chief Sharad Pawar -- calling them stalwarts who have spent more than half their lives in parliamentary proceedings.
"The manner in which they continue to attend the House with such dedication is truly exemplary -- a spirit from which all new parliamentarians ought to learn," he said.
The Prime Minister also paid tribute to outgoing Deputy Chairman Harivansh, describing him as "gentle and soft-spoken" yet a "man of rigorous action".
He noted that Harivansh had continued to travel across the country during recess periods, engaging with the youth on issues of national importance.
In a lighter vein, Modi singled out Union Minister Ramdas Athawale. "Our Athawale-ji is truly evergreen," he said, drawing laughter in the House.
"He is departing, yet I am confident no one will feel a void -- he will continue to serve tirelessly."
Reflecting on the bicameral structure of Parliament, the Prime Minister likened the passage of legislation between the two Houses to seeking a "second opinion" -- a practice, he said, that strengthens democratic decision-making.
"A decision taken in one House goes to the other for a second opinion. This gives new direction to the entire debate and the decision-making process," he said.
Modi also noted that some outgoing members had the rare distinction of having served in both old and new Parliament buildings. He described a six-year Rajya Sabha term as "an invaluable opportunity to shape one's life", offering legislators deep insight into the nuances of national affairs.
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2018 Kathua rape-murder: HC dismisses mastermind's plea seeking suspension of life sentence
Chandigarh, Mar 18 (PTI): The mastermind behind the 2018 rape and murder of an eight-year-old in Kathua does not deserve the "concession of suspension of sentence at this stage", the Punjab and Haryana High Court has said while dismissing a plea from former temple caretaker Sanji Ram.
Ram, who was caretaker of the 'devasthanam' (temple) where the crime took place in January 2018, was sentenced to life by a sessions court in Pathankot the following year. His nephew Parvesh Kumar and special police officer Deepak Khajuria were also given life terms.
A division bench of Justices Gurvinder Singh Gill and Ramesh Kumari passed the order on Ram's plea on March 6. The three-page order was made available earlier this week.
Without commenting on the merits of the case, the court said it was of the opinion "that it is not a case where the applicant/appellant deserves the concession of suspension of sentence at this stage".
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"The application, as such, is dismissed," it said.
The court, however, directed the registry to list Ram's main appeal against conviction for final hearing in September this year given the fact that he has already spent a substantial amount of time in custody.
According to the 15-page chargesheet filed by the Jammu and Kashmir crime branch in April 2018, the nomadic girl was abducted on January 10 that year and raped in captivity in the small village temple in Jammu's Kathua region that was exclusively manned by Ram. She was kept sedated for four days and later bludgeoned to death, it said.
Arguing for suspension of Ram's life sentence, senior advocate Vinod Ghai said before the high court that the prosecution examined as many as 114 prosecution witnesses but no concrete evidence was brought on record to establish his involvement.
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He also said Ram had already undergone a substantial period of more than eight years and deserves the concession of suspension of sentence.
The state of Jammu and Kashmir was represented by senior advocate R S Cheema. Advocates Mandeep Singh Basra and Anupinder Brar represented the victim's family.
Cheema recalled the manner in which heinous crime was committed and said based on the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and the circumstances brought on record, the accused's complicity is "clearly evident".
"It has been submitted that since upon findings of guilt having been recorded by the trial court, the presumption of innocence of the applicant is no longer available to him, the applicant does not deserve to be released on bail," he said.
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The Pathankot sessions court had also sentenced three policemen to five years imprisonment for cover up and destruction of evidence while Ram's son Vishal was acquitted.
In June 2019, then sessions judge Tejwinder Singh said, “In the present case, facts are many but truth is one that under a criminal conspiracy, an innocent eight-year-old minor girl has been kidnapped, wrongfully confined, drugged, raped and ultimately murdered. The perpetrators of this crime have acted in such a manner as if there is a 'law of jungle' prevalent in the society."
The judge summed up the enormity of the crime with a couplet by Mirza Ghalib: "Pinha tha daam-e-sakht qareeb ashiyaan ke, udhne hi nahi paye the ki girftar hum hue" (hunters had placed the net near a nest and the young one was caught before it could take its first flight).
In his 432-page judgment, the judge described the crime as a "devilish and monstrous" one committed in the most "shameful, inhumane and barbaric manner" for which poetic justice needs to be done to its perpetrators.
After initial hiccups, the case, which triggered nationwide outrage, was handed over to the crime branch, which unravelled the conspiracy.
In 2018, the Supreme Court directed the case to be shifted out of Jammu and Kashmir and directed the sessions court in Pathankot to hear it on a daily basis.
