Vishweshwar Bhat pays Rs 1L fine, apologizes to ex-head of Raichur Kannada Sahitya Parishat
Fake news case
Raichur: Journalist and editor of the Kannada daily Vishwavani, Vishveshwar Bhat, has reportedly paid a fine of Rs 1 lakh and apologized to former chairperson of Kannada Sahitya Parishat District Unit Dr. Basava Prabhu Patil Bettadoor who had accused Bhat of publishing a defamatory and fake news about him.
M Veeranagouda Potnal, advocate for Bettadoor, said at a press meet here on Monday that Bhat, as ordered by court, paid the fine amount and issued a confessional statement, following which, the defamatory report case was concluded.
Speaking on the case, the advocate said that the 9th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana was organized in Potnal village of Manvi taluk in Raichur district on January 19-20, 2018. A report by Vishwavani correspondent from Manvi taluk, Anandaswamy Hiremath, asking if organizing the event was the unitlateral decision of Bettadoor, was published in the newspaper on January 17, 2018, reminisced Potnal, adding that the information was false.
He added that Vishwavani also published a report on March 3, 2018, alleging that the Parishat had not submitted account sheets but was extorting funds.
The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike District President Ashok Kumar Jain had supported the news published by Vishwavani, due to which, Bettadoor was severely upset and filed the defamation case against the editor of the journal, said the advocate.
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Illegal sand mining has created environmental crisis in National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal riverbed sand mining has created an "environmental crisis" and wreaked "havoc" in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, causing a grave risk to the gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation project.
Slamming the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for their utter failure in dealing with the issue, the apex court directed them to install high-resolution Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining in the area.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that live feed of such surveillance cameras shall be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the superintendent of police or the senior superintendent of police of the concerned district and the divisional forest officer.
It said these officers shall ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.
"It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote," Justice Mehta said while pronouncing the order.
The bench directed the authorities in these three states to initiate prompt and necessary action under law if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light.
It said the authorities shall ensure seizure of vehicles or machinery found involved in illegal sand mining and also initiate prosecution of persons involved in it.
The bench, which passed several other directions, posted the matter for hearing on May 11.
The top court passed the order in a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area.
Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance of news reports about rampant illegal sand mining on the banks of the Chambal river.
