'The Washington Post' report accuses Amit Shah of authorising attacks on Sikh separatists
New Delhi: Canadian and US reports have alleged that India's Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, authorised intelligence-gathering operations and attacks on Sikh separatists in Canada. These allegations emerged following Canadian police's purported collaboration with the US in gathering evidence. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited "clear and compelling evidence" of Indian involvement in covert actions targeting Sikh separatists.
According to The Wire, which referenced a report from the Washington Post, Canadian officials provided this evidence to the Indian government, implicating Shah and a senior official from the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). The information was shared during a confidential meeting between Canadian officials and India’s National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, in Singapore on 12 October.
The report claims that the evidence is based on texts and conversations involving expelled Indian diplomats, though the accuracy of these details remains uncertain. Canada had previously requested the lifting of diplomatic immunity for further questioning, a request that India denied, resulting in the expulsion of six diplomats, including India’s High Commissioner to Canada.
This escalation follows Trudeau's earlier accusation that Indian agents were involved in the June 2023 killing of Khalistan advocate Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Initially, Trudeau cited "credible intelligence" but has since expressed stronger confidence in the claims.
The latest accusations involving Shah suggest a higher level of involvement within the Indian government. Indian officials have yet to respond, and former diplomats have voiced surprise at the idea of a senior minister being directly involved in such operations. Some retired intelligence officers have also questioned whether these activities fall within Shah’s jurisdiction.
The allegations draw parallels to previous accusations against Shah, notably from his tenure as Gujarat’s home minister, where he faced charges over extrajudicial killings. He was later acquitted after Narendra Modi became prime minister.
Canadian authorities are believed to have gathered more evidence, potentially with US assistance, linking the Indian government to an assassination plot targeting a Khalistan advocate in New York. The alleged plot has led to charges against an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, for attempted murder.
Canada has also accused India of outsourcing attacks on Sikh separatists to criminal gangs, including the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
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Woman can't be forced to undergo virginity test; violation of Article 21: Chhattisgarh High Court
Bilaspur (PTI): A woman cannot be forced to undergo a virginity test as it violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees her fundamental right to protection of life and liberty, including the right to dignity, the Chhattisgarh High Court has said.
Emphasising that Article 21 is the "heart of fundamental rights", the HC said granting permission for a virginity test would be against the "fundamental rights, cardinal principles of natural justice and secret modesty of a female".
Justice Arvind Kumar Verma made the observation in response to a criminal petition filed by a man who demanded his wife's virginity test, alleging she was in an illicit relationship with another man, challenging a family court's order dated October 15, 2024 which rejected the interim application.
The wife had alleged her husband was impotent and refused to cohabit.
The HC said if the petitioner wants to prove the allegations of impotency are baseless, he can undergo the medical test concerned or produce any other evidence.
"He cannot possibly be permitted to subject the wife to undergo her virginity test and fill up the lacuna in his evidence," said the HC order passed on January 9 which was made available recently.
The high court noted the petitioner's contention demanding a virginity test of his wife is unconstitutional as it violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which includes the right to dignity of women.
"Article 21 of the Constitution of India not only guarantees the right to life and personal liberty but also the right to live with dignity, which is crucial for women," it said.
"No woman can be forced to conduct her virginity test. It is a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21. It has to be borne in mind that Article 21 is the 'heart of fundamental rights'," the high court stated.
Justice Verma further said the virginity test is a violation of the basic right of women to be treated with decency and proper dignity.
"The right to personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 is non-derogable and cannot be tinkered with in any manner. The petitioner cannot possibly be permitted to subject the wife to undergo her virginity test and fill up the lacuna in his evidence in this regard," the HC said.
"Be that as it may, but in any case, granting the permission for virginity test of the respondent would be against her fundamental rights, the cardinal principles of natural justice and secret modesty of a female," the high court noted.
Non-derogable human rights refer to rights that are absolute and may not be subject to any derogation, even in times of war or emergency.
The HC bench further observed that the allegations made by both parties against each other are the subject matter of evidence and a conclusion can be drawn only after the evidence.
"The High Court is of the considered opinion that the order impugned is neither illegal nor perverse and there is no judicial error committed by the trial court," it said.
The couple got married on April 30, 2023, as per Hindu rites. They lived together at the man's family residence in Korba district.
The woman allegedly told her family members that her husband was impotent and she refused to establish a marital relationship or cohabit with him, the petitioner's counsel said.
She filed an interim application on July 2 last year under section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) before the family court in Raigarh district, seeking maintenance of Rs 20,000 from her husband.
In response to the maintenance claim application, the petitioner sought a virginity test of his wife, alleging she was in an illicit relationship with her brother-in-law. The man also claimed the marriage was never consummated.
On October 15, 2024, the family court in Raigarh rejected the husband's request following which he filed a criminal petition in the high court.
The case is currently at evidence stage in the family court.
