Brazil's Bolsonaro goes to hospital for the second time since his coup trial conviction
Rio De Janeiro (AP): Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro went to the hospital Tuesday for the second time since his conviction last week on coup attempt charges, his latest ailments including vomiting and low blood pressure, his son said.
The right-wing politician went to the same hospital in Brasilia on Sunday because of skin lesions, and doctors said at the time that tests revealed iron-deficiency anaemia and signs of a recent pneumonia.
On Tuesday, Bolsonaro felt unwell “with a severe bout of hiccups, vomiting, and low blood pressure,” his son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, wrote on X, adding that police had taken him to the hospital.
A panel of Supreme Court justices on Thursday found the ex-leader guilty of attempting a coup to illegally hang onto power despite his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. They sentenced him to 27 years and three months in prison.
The sentence doesn't immediately send Bolsonaro to prison. The court panel has up to 60 days to publish the ruling after the decision. Once it does, Bolsonaro's lawyers have five days to file motions for clarification.
Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing and said he is the victim of political persecution. US President Donald Trump has agreed and called the trial a “witch hunt," and in July he imposed tariffs of 50 per cent on Brazilian good citing the case against Bolsonaro, among other issues.
The 70-year-old former president since early August has been under house arrest imposed by the justice overseeing the case, Alexandre de Moraes, who said Bolsonaro had violated precautionary measures imposed on him for the trial. Bolsonaro already had been wearing an ankle monitor.
In late August, de Moraes increased security measures further and ordered that police conduct inspections of all vehicles leaving Bolsonaro's residence and monitor the exterior of the house.
Bolsonaro has been hospitalised multiple times since being stabbed at a campaign event before the 2018 presidential election. In April, he underwent surgery for a bowel obstruction.
Lawyers for Bolsonaro are expected to put his ill health forward as an argument in a plea for house arrest, rather than obliging him to serve the sentence in a detention centre.
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
