Karnataka HC curbs use of ‘strip and search’ method during survey on transgenders
Bengaluru: A division bench of the Karnataka High Court has barred the state government and people from using the ‘strip and search’ method of survey to identify transgenders.
The two-judge bench, consisting of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonacha, directed the concerned authorities on Tuesday to keep the information collected during the survey, which began on Wednesday, strictly confidential.
The interim order was passed after hearing a petition by Anita Humanitarian Foundation that asked the court to quash the notification issued by the state government to conduct the ‘gender minority survey’. The petitioner’s advocate also argued that transgenders were being subjected to the strip and search methods in hospitals and also other transgenders who may not claim to be of the same gender.
The advocate argued that, since transgenders were already handed identity cards clarifying their gender, it was unnecessary to subject them to repeat the survey.
The bench, which heard the case, issued notice to the state government to file its statement of objection and adjourned the case to December 05.
“In the meanwhile, the Government of Karnataka and persons conducting the survey shall ensure that before calling upon transgenders to participate in the survey they are informed that the same is voluntary...We restrain the respondents from conducting any identification by strip and search method, till the next date of hearing. We further direct that any information collected during the survey be kept strictly confidential and not be disseminated."
The Court has also called upon the Department of Social Welfare to file an affidavit within three days, clearly setting out the method in which confidentiality of the information collected during the survey will be maintained.
The plea also seeks establishment of a compensation and rehabilitation fund for all transgender and gender diverse persons who were allegedly subjected to forced verification/ strip checking or other forms of the humiliation under the impugned survey "in recognition of the grave violation of their dignity and privacy".
It also seeks that the State issue a public apology to the transgender community for the "illegal, invasive and unconstitutional process" of enumeration undertaken and to assure that such actions will not be repeated.
The plea further seeks to fix accountability on erring officials who designed and implemented the impugned survey.
The plea prays for direction to frame and implement any future policy for the welfare of transgender persons only after due consultation with representatives of the transgender and LGBTQIA community,
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Rs 640 crore cyber fraud: SC refuses anticipatory bail to CA in ED case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant anticipatory bail to a chartered accountant in a money laundering investigation linked to a Rs 640 crore cyber fraud case.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Augustine George Masih upheld the order of the Delhi High Court which had denied pre-arrest bail to Bhaskar Yadav and directed him to surrender in 10 days.
The high court on February 2 dismissed anticipatory bail applications by Yadav and Ashok Kumar Sharma.
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In the 22-page judgement, the high court had said there was an "intricate mesh of laundering of money", and the need expressed by the Enforcement Directorate to interrogate the two accused in custody was not unreasonable.
"The accused/applicants, being skilled professionals, have allegedly crafted laundering of proceeds of crime across multiple layers, and to unearth the same, I find substance in the submission of learned counsel for DoE (Directorate of Enforcement) that custodial interrogation is much required," the HC said.
"It is not a case of mere dealing in cryptocurrency, which per se is not a crime in this country and the liability of the accused persons is confined to paying tax on the crypto transactions. The present cases exhibit a vast intricate mesh of movement of money, fraudulently extracted out of pocket of gullible investors, who appear to be primarily belonging to middle class," it had added.
The high court had stated that individual liberty was sacrosanct, but it could not brush aside the requirement to carry out a meaningful interrogation and investigation in the larger interest of the country's economy.
It had noted there were fresh complaints of the accused allegedly assaulting the investigating officers, bribing the local police to settle cyber fraud complaints and destroying electronic evidence.
The money laundering probe stems from two FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police that were registered to probe charges of cyber fraud to the tune of Rs 640 crore generated through betting, gambling, part-time jobs and phishing scams, the ED has earlier said in a statement.
As per the agency, the money of gullible people was siphoned off by layering funds cheated from them through more than 5,000 mule Indian bank accounts and subsequently uploaded on PYYPL, a UAE-based payment platform.
Part of the cyber fraud money was withdrawn in cash in Dubai through debit and credit cards issued by various Indian banks, it said.
According to the probe agency, the alleged scam was being run through a nexus of certain CAs, company secretaries and crypto traders who worked in tandem to launder the proceeds of crime.
