Supreme Court restrains government from acting on NCPCR's orders regarding madrasas
New Delhi: On Monday, October 21, the Supreme Court restrained both the Union Government and State Governments from acting upon the communications issued by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) concerning the withdrawal of recognition of madrasas that do not comply with the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The Court also halted the inspections of madrasas based on NCPCR’s directives.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra issued this interim order while hearing a writ petition filed by Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, an Islamic clerics' body, challenging the NCPCR's actions.
The controversy began on June 7, 2024, when the NCPCR directed the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh to withdraw recognition from madrasas that did not comply with the RTE Act. This was followed by another communication on June 25, 2024, asking the Ministry of Education to instruct all States and Union Territories to inspect madrasas with UDISE Codes and revoke recognition from those non-compliant with the RTE Act.
Subsequent actions included a June 26, 2024, directive from the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary instructing District Collectors to investigate all government-aided and recognised madrasas in the state that admit non-Muslim children. A similar directive was issued by the Tripura Government on August 28, 2024. The Union Government also wrote to all States/UTs on July 10, 2024, urging compliance with the NCPCR's instructions.
Challenging these orders as a violation of the religious rights of minorities under Article 30 of the Constitution, the petitioners approached the Supreme Court. The Court, while issuing notice, directed that the NCPCR’s communications dated June 7 and June 25, 2024, and the corresponding actions by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary and the Governments of India and Tripura, shall not be acted upon until further orders.
Additionally, the bench granted the petitioner liberty to implead all States and Union Territories in the petition following a request by Senior Advocate Indira Jaising.
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FIR filed after e-commerce platform linked tech firm alleges SMS spoofing fraud
Bengaluru (PTI): An FIR has been registered against unknown people for allegedly sending fraudulent messages in the name of an e-commerce platform with promises of cash rewards, further disrupting its operations, police said on Wednesday.
The offence is said to have taken place between April 23 and April 27, they said.
A representative of city-based technology company Hiveloop Technology Pvt Ltd (HTPL), part of the Udaan group (eB2B platform), has lodged a complaint alleging a large-scale SMS spoofing fraud following which a detailed investigation has been initiated into the matter, a senior police officer said.
According to the FIR, HTPL is a registered entity on the TRAI-mandated DLT platform, which permits only pre-approved SMS templates and whitelisted URLs to be sent through authorised sender IDs.
The issue came to light on April 23, when HTPL received alerts from buyers about fraudulent SMS messages appearing to originate from the company's sender ID "UDAANN". The messages reportedly contained Bitly links and falsely claimed a credit of Rs 10,001, urging recipients to withdraw money, it said.
On April 27, at around 12:49 pm, the DLT platform blacklisted HTPL's SMS templates, citing their alleged use in sending fraudulent messages. Within minutes, the company's sender ID was also blacklisted. Airtel's DLT system subsequently confirmed the action and shared details of the fraudulent messages that were circulated in HTPL's name without its knowledge or consent, the FIR stated.
Following this, the company's messaging operations were affected, and even legitimate communications such as one-time passwords to buyers began failing. Later, the DLT operator suspended HTPL's entire account following complaints raised on TRAI's Chakshu platform, bringing all SMS services of the company to a halt, it further stated.
HTPL has stated that neither it nor its authorised vendors sent the fraudulent messages. The links embedded in the messages reportedly redirected users to an online betting website, the FIR stated.
The company has claimed that the incident has resulted in a complete breakdown of SMS-based services, including buyer authentication, order updates and promotional communication, leading to significant financial losses.
At least 13 victims have been identified so far, with the possibility of more affected users. Victims were allegedly directed to an online betting platform, raising concerns of potential financial fraud, the FIR added.
