Supreme Court dismisses plea against bail granted to accused in Gauri Lankesh murder case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has dismissed a special leave petition filed by Kavitha Lankesh, sister of the murdered journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, seeking the cancellation of bail granted to one of the accused, Mohan Nayak N. Nayak, arrested on July 18, 2018, is among 18 individuals charged in connection with the September 5, 2017, murder of Gauri Lankesh outside her residence in Bengaluru.
The Karnataka High Court had granted bail to Nayak on December 7, 2023, considering that he had been in custody for five years. The court also noted that only 90 out of the 527 witnesses mentioned in the chargesheet had been examined.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing the State of Karnataka, informed the bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma that 137 witnesses had been examined so far, with another 150 likely to be dropped. The bench observed that Nayak had cooperated with the trial process and had not sought any adjournments, leading them to uphold the High Court's decision.
The Supreme Court, however, said that if Nayak fails to cooperate in the future or violates any conditions of his bail, the State of Karnataka or the complainant may file for its cancellation, and such an application would be decided on its merits. The Court also directed the trial court to expedite the proceedings and urged all parties to cooperate.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
