Religious freedom as important as freedom of rights: Haley
New Delhi, June 27: US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said on Wednesday that religious freedom is as important as the freedom of rights and of people.
The highest ranking American of Indian origin in US President Donald Trump's administration, Haley said there were multiple opportunities between the US and India including in counter-terrorism or military cooperation.
Haley, who is on a visit from June 26-28, said her visit was aimed "at once again solidifying" love for India and there were more and more reasons for the two countries to come together.
The US envoy said she looks forward to the inter-faith tour on Thursday. "I look forward to the inter-faith tour we are going to take tomorrow because we think freedom of religion is just as important as freedom of rights and freedom of people."
She said both India and the US share common values and have a lot in common.
"We look to the fact that we are two of the oldest democracies that share the value of people, the values of freedom, the values of opportunity. We see there are opportunities between the US and India in multiple levels.
"Whether it is countering terrorism, whether it is the fact that we want to continue our democratic opportunities, or start to work together more strongly on the military aspect, there are lots of things that India and the US have in common," she said as she visited Humayun's Tomb earlier in the day.
Haley said the US was keen to further strengthen its relationship with India.
"I am here to once again solidify our love for India, our belief in the friendship that India and the US have and our willingness to make that relation even stronger. In this day and time we see more and more reasons for India and the US to come together."
She added: "It is great to be back." The US envoy was on her first visit to India after becoming US ambassador to the UN.
The daughter of Sikh immigrants from Punjab, Haley last visited India in 2014.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
