Rajnath speaks to UP CM, seeks 'effective action' in techie killing
New Delhi/Lucknow, Sep 29 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the murder of a young Apple executive by police in Lucknow and sought "effective and appropriate action".
"Spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the Lucknow's incident of Vivek Tiwari. I have asked the Chief Minister to take effective and appropriate action," Rajnath Singh said in a tweet in Hindi.
His remarks came after a UP Police constable was arrested and booked for murder after he shot and killed a young Apple executive from close range. The state government has also ordered a probe into the incident.
According to the UP Police officials, the constable and his colleague have been dismissed from service and sent to jail. The Chief Minister has said if needed an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would be ordered.
According to a colleague of Apple sales manager, the accused constable, Prashant Chowdhary, had shot at Vivek Tiwari after chasing the SUV he was driving. He had apparently failed to stop Tiwari during a late-night checking.
The incident happened at around 1.30 a.m, when Tiwari was heading home after the launch of iPhone XS and XS Max, along with Sana Khan, his colleague.
Khan said that after they were fired at, Tiwari got scared and drove the SUV into an underpass pillar, sustaining more injuries.
Director-General of Police O.P. Singh has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Inspector General (Lucknow) to probe the case. Superintendent of Police (Crime and Rural) will be part of the team which has been asked to submit its report at the earliest.
Lucknow SSP Kalanidhi Naithani has met District Magistrate Kaushalraj Sharma requesting a simultaneous magisterial inquiry into the incident.
The autopsy revealed on Saturday that the bullet had hit Tiwari in the chin and got stuck between the neck and the head, leading to his death due to "profuse bleeding".
The SSP said the constable had been booked for murder after Khan filed an FIR.
According to the police, when the constable at Gomtinagar Extension signalled Tiwari to stop for checking, "he tried to flee". Police officials said: "As Tiwari sped away, his car hit a bike on which two constables were riding, who then chased and shot him."
A second policeman has also been arrested and both were sent for medical examination to ascertain if they were drunk when the incident took place, an official said.
Tiwari's widow, Kalpana, has demanded that the Chief Minister should explain to her and her girls why the 38-year-old Apple executive was shot dead.
"We were so happy when the Bharatiya Janata Party government was voted to power...when Yogiji became Chief Minister... Was it for all this?" she said.
Adityanath told the media that a probe had been ordered and that it was "definitely not a police encounter". "If needed, we will not hesitate in ordering a CBI probe...," he said.
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SC refuses to adjourn hearing on pleas against EC law, says this matter is more important
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to accede to the Centre's request to adjourn the hearing on pleas challenging the constitutional validity of a 2023 law that removed the CJI from a committee responsible for appointing the chief election commissioner and the deputies, saying the matter is "more important" than the Sabarimala case.
A nine-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant is currently hearing petitions regarding discrimination against women at religious sites, including the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, as well as the scope of religious freedom across various faiths.
A bench comprising justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma turned down the request by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, to adjourn the hearing on the ground that he was currently occupied before a nine-judge bench in the Sabarimala reference case.
Referring to the gravity of the current challenge to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, Justice Datta said, "This matter is more important than any other matter."
"Let your (solicitor general's) associates take notes today. Let the petitioners start. All matters are important. We read in the newspapers that there is an observation that the PIL in Sabarimala should not have been entertained by the court. So, with due respect to the judges, nine judges are occupied in a matter where there is an observation that it should not have been entertained in the first place," Justice Datta said.
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The bench then directed the petitioners to conclude their arguments by Thursday, allowing the Centre to present its submissions on a subsequent date. The bench then proceeded with the hearing which is underway.
Earlier on March 20, CJI Surya Kant recused himself from hearing the petitions. "I will be accused of conflict of interest. There is a conflict of interest," the CJI had said. The law, enacted by Parliament in December 2023, came months after a landmark verdict by which the apex court directed that election commissioners be appointed by a committee comprising the prime minister, the leader of the Opposition, and the chief justice of India.
The bench had said that the system will remain in force till a law is enacted.
Under the 2023 Act, the selection committee consists of the prime minister, a Union minister nominated by the prime minister and the leader of Opposition (or leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha).
The PILs said the exclusion of the CJI from the panel undermines the independence of the appointment process.
The law has been challenged by multiple petitioners, including Congress leader Jaya Thakur and the Association for Democratic Reforms.
Earlier, the Centre defended in the Supreme Court the appointment of two new election commissioners under the 2023 law that excludes the chief justice of India from the selection committee, saying the independence of the Election Commission does not arise from the presence of a judicial member on the committee.
In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Union law ministry rejected the petitioner's claim that the two election commissioners were hastily appointed on March 14, 2024, to "pre-empt" the orders of the top court the next day, when the matters challenging the 2023 law were listed for hearing on interim relief.
The apex court also refused to stay the appointment of new election commissioners under the 2023 law.
A five-judge constitution bench had in March 2023 ruled that the chief election commissioner and election commissioners shall be appointed on the advice of a committee comprising the prime minister, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the chief justice of India.
