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Punjab-based Youtuber arrested for “racist and anti-India” video

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Image Courtesy:sentinelassam.com

Youtuber Paras Singh has been booked by Arunachal police under Sections 124A (Sedition), 153A, and 505(2) of the IPC which deal with promoting enmity between groups reported the Telegraph. On Tuesday Punjab police had arrested Singh from Ludhiana after an FIR was filed by Arunachal Pradesh MLA Ninong Ering. Singh had reportedly uploaded a “racist and anti-India” video on Sunday commenting that Ering did “not” look like an Indian and that Arunachal Pradesh was “part” of China.

Singh’s arrest was announced by Union Minister of State for Sports and Arunachal Pradesh MP Kiren Rijiju, who has also asked Ludhiana police commissioner to ensure Singh’s “urgent” transit remand so that he can be taken to Arunachal Pradesh.

After a massive outrage, Singh, who has over six lakh subscribers on Youtube reportedly removed the offensive comments and put up an apology on his channel. After he was picked up by Punjab police, a woman who identified herself as his mother, also put up a video on his channel and apologised on her son’s behalf, asking that he be forgiven for his mistake.

Apart from scores of hate comments on social media, FIRs have also been filed against Singh by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union, Adi Bane Kebang Youth Wing and All Arunachal Pradesh Youth Organization. The Telegraph reported that Arunachal Pradesh DGP R.P. Upadhyaya had sent a three-member police team, led by inspector Techi Vijay to Chandigarh on Tuesday with a non-bailable warrant against Singh. Upadhyaya said Singh “has been booked for sedition and spreading racial hatred. In the video, Singh is heard saying ‘from his (Ering) face he does not look like an Indian, looks like a Chinese’, and pointing to a map of Arunachal says  it is ‘part’ of China.” 

According to news reports Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu said the video was aimed at “inciting ill will and hatred towards the people of Arunachal Pradesh”. And Deputy chief minister Chowna Mein, said he was appalled at the video, adding Arunachal is “proud to be a State in the Union of India where even in the interior most we greet each other with a ‘Jai Hind’ and primary school children even in the border villages sing ‘Saare Jahaan se Achha, Hindustan Hamara’ with pride.”

EastMojo reported that the Naga Students’ Union Phagwara (NSUP) has also condemned the “derogatory remarks of racial slur and demarcation” made by the Punjab-based YouTuber. According to NSUP people from the region are often asked about their nationality if they are “Nepali” or “Chinese adding that this “escalated during the Covid-19 pandemic when we faced discrimination. We are thrown racial slurs calling us Chinky, Momo, Corona, etc,” stated the news report. The Naga students’ body said that in one’s own nation, they feel alienated when treated like foreigners. “It is disheartening when they don’t know that the Northeastern states are an integral part of India,” it said.

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Islamabad: Journalist Asad Ali Toor attacked in his own home

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Image Courtesy:dawn.com

“They had tied me up, gagged me began hitting me on my elbows with the butt of their pistols, until one of them received a phone call and I got chance to resist and scream,” Pakistani journalist/ blogger Asad Ali Toor recalled the attack on him in his apartment by a group of unknown attackers. “They threatened to shoot me when they were leaving… but i realised there was no point keeping quiet now… I limped out and screamed for help,” he added. The video clip, yet another distressing reminder of how vulnerable journalists reporting in South Asia are. Especially if they are perceived to be somehow ‘anti government’ or questioning government policy or politics. 

Asad Ali Toor, an Islamabad-based journalist was reportedly attacked in his rented apartment late on Tuesday. The news began buzzing on social media with a number of Pakistani journalists sharing information. Eventually a formal complaint was lodged by Islamabad police after Toor underwent a medico-legal examination. According to the Pakistan journalists the CCTV footage from his apartment building shows the three intruders.

According to the information shared by Pakistan media, quoting a senior journalist, Toor was assaulted by unidentified assailants who broke into his house. It is not known if the assailants have been identified yet, even though it has been reported that they are visible in the CCTV footage. According to a report in the Dawn, police confirmed that “some people came outside Toor’s residence” and a “scuffle took place between him and these people”. The attackers then fled from the scene after thrashing Toor. The injured journalist was then taken to a private hospital for treatment. 

The amplification of this attack, by Pakistan’s journalist, created such an impact in Pakistan that the Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took notice of the incident and has ordered the Islamabad police chief to probe the matter. According to The Dawn, this is not the first time that Toor has been targeted. According to the report, he was “accused of defaming” the Pakistan military last year and had to face a court case in this regard. The FIR, as quoted by the news report stated that Toor was accused of  indulging in “propaganda against Pakistan and its institutions on social media for long”. However, “The Lahore High Court absolved him of the charges after the FIA police told the court that no evidence was found to support the charges,” reported the Dawn.

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Whatsapp moves Delhi HC challenging GoI’s traceability clause

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Image Courtesy:indianexpress.com

The deadline for social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Whatsapp, to comply with provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 ended on Tuesday night. But now, Whatsapp has moved Delhi High Court against one of the key requirements listed by the government in the February 25, 2021 notification.

The contentious provision requires “identification of first originator of information” and Whatsapp, a popular messaging platform owned by Facebook says that this will require them to collect and store more information about information shared by billions of users daily and this traceability clause would hamper privacy of users, placing them under virtual surveillance.

Traceability and end-to-end encryption

Whatsapp promises end-to-end encryption and the traceability clause would be contradictory to it.

“WhatsApp deployed end-to-end encryption throughout our app in 2016, so that calls, messages, photos, videos, and voice notes to friends and family are only shared with the intended recipient and no one else (not even us). “Traceability” is intended to do the opposite by requiring private messaging services like WhatsApp to keep track of who-said-what and who-shared-what for billions of messages sent every day,” said Whatsapp in a statement.

Referring to requirements laid down by the Government of India without specifically naming it, Whatsapp said, “Some governments are seeking to force technology companies to find out who sent a particular message on private messaging services. This concept is called “traceability.” Technology and privacy experts have determined that traceability breaks end-to-end encryption and would severely undermine the privacy of billions of people who communicate digitally.” It added, “Reasonable and proportionate regulations for an increasingly digital world are important, but eroding privacy for everyone, violating human rights, and putting innocent people at risk is not the solution. WhatsApp is committed to doing all we can to protect the privacy of people’s personal messages, which is why we join others in opposing traceability.”

Whatsapp further explained, “Traceability requires messaging services to store information that can be used to ascertain the content of people’s messages, thereby breaking the very guarantees that end-to-end encryption provides. In order to trace even one message, services would have to trace every message. That’s because there is no way to predict which message a government would want to investigate in the future.” Then it went on to use the dreaded S-word: Surveillance. It said, “In doing so, a government that chooses to mandate traceability is effectively mandating a new form of mass surveillance. To comply, messaging services would have to keep giant databases of every message you send, or add a permanent identity stamp — like a fingerprint — to private messages with friends, family, colleagues, doctors, and businesses.”

The Indian Express quoted a Whatsapp spokesperson as saying, “Requiring messaging apps to ‘trace’ chats is the equivalent of asking us to keep a fingerprint of every single message sent on WhatsApp, which would break end-to-end encryption and fundamentally undermines people’s right to privacy.” Further, the messaging platform said, “We have consistently joined civil society and experts around the world in opposing requirements that would violate the privacy of our users. In the meantime, we will also continue to engage with the Government of India on practical solutions aimed at keeping people safe, including responding to valid legal requests for the information available to us.”

The February 25 Ethics Code

SabrangIndia had previously reported on how the provisions mentioned in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 notified on February 25, 2021, had raised suspicions of surveillance and censorship, especially given how MEITy had worded its February 25 press release about the notification about the Ethics Code. “Social media platforms welcome to do business in India but they need to follow the Constitution and laws of India,” it had said, adding, “These Rules are a fine blend of liberal touch with gentle self-regulatory framework. It works on the existing laws and statues of the country which are applicable to content whether online or offline.”

Referring to the traceability clause, the notification had said, “Significant social media intermediaries providing services primarily in the nature of messaging shall enable identification of the first originator of the information that is required only for the purposes of prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of an offence related to sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, or public order or of incitement to an offence relating to the above or in relation with rape, sexually explicit material or child sexual abuse material punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than five years.”

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) at that time justified the code saying it had come up with these guidelines “amidst growing concerns around lack of transparency, accountability and rights of users related to digital media and after elaborate consultation with the public and stakeholders.” 

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Covid-19: Less than 2 lakh new cases reported for the first time in 40 days

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Image Courtesy:timesofindia.indiatimes.com

For the first time in 40 days, India recorded less than 2 Lakh new Covid-19 cases, according to official data shared by the Centre yesterday. In a 24 period, 1.96 lakh new cases were reported, with the current Daily Positivity Rate at 9.54% and 3,26,850 recoveries registered in the last 24 hours. The news offers a drop of hope when compared to the massive reportage of 1,84,372  daily new cases on April 14, 2021. According to news reports the total infections in the country are over 2.69 crore now, with over 25 lakh are active cases. Around 3,511 deaths have also been reported in a 24 hour period. 

However, states are still on alert. For example, Maharashtra, which is officially reporting a lesser number of deaths, has announced that Covid patients living in 18 districts which have high positivity rates, will no longer be allowed to remain in home isolation. On Tuesday, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope announced, “We have decided to stop home isolation for Covid patients in 18 districts where the positivity rate is high. The patients from these districts will have to go to a quarantine centre and won’t be allowed to stay in home isolation.” These district are: Satara, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Osmanabad, Beed, Raigad, Pune, Hingoli, Akola, Amravati, Kolhapur, Thane, Sangli, Gadchiroli, Wardha, Nashik, Ahmednagar and Latur, which are all reporting a higher than 10 per cent positivity rate. According to the state government order, all new patients testing positive for virus in these areas shall be admitted to Covid care centres. However, in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will continue to allow home isolation.

The state government has also focussed on the rise in cases of mucormycosis and has “issued a global tender to make available amphotericin B injections required for the treatment of this disease” shared the minister.

According to a report in The Mint, Rajesh Tope said the Maharashtra state government has classified Mucormycosis or black fungus as a notified disease. Tope told mediapersons, “There are 2,245 cases of black fungus in the state” adding that under Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, patients afflicted with mucormycosis “will receive free treatment at state-run hospitals.” The Maharashtra government has also announced that it will get 60,000 vials of Amphotericin-B, the key drug for the treatment of mucormycosis patients, from June 1. Mucormycosis, has already been declared an epidemic under the Epidemic Diseases Act (1897), in many states across the country.

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SC stays Rajasthan HC order restraining arrests in offences with up to 3 years punishment

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Image Courtesy:lawtrend.in

The Supreme Court has stayed an order by a single-bench of the Rajasthan High Court that restrains police from making arrests in offences where punishment is up to 3 years. The vacation bench of Justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai stayed the order while hearing a petition filed by the Rajasthan High Court challenging the May 17 order.

The single bench of Justice Pankaj Bhandari had ordered in view of larger public interest that the police, who are involved in other more important task of enforcing the lock-down, may be restrained for the time being from making arrest of the accused persons, who are charged with offence where maximum sentence is upto three years, till July 17, 2021. The court had sought affirmation with regards to this from the Additional Advocate General representing the state who had accepted the same.

The apex court has also stayed operation of another directive of the court whereby the registry was directed to not list bail applications under Section 438 Cr.P.C in offences where maximum sentence extends up to three years, and the offence is triable by First Class Magistrate till reopening of Courts after Summer Vacation.

Senior Advocate Vijay Hansari submitted before the court that the single bench order was problematic and pointed out that the same bench had passed an order to not list bail applications during lockdown, and that order was also stayed by the apex court. The counsel for the state government aligned with the high court’s submissions.

The apex court, thus, issued notice in the petition and in the interim granted stay of the directions issued in para nos. 9, 10 and 11 of the impugned order.

Background

On May 17, the bench of Justice Bhandari was dealing with an anticipatory bail application where the accused was charged under sections 457 (Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking) and 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian penal Code (IPC).

At the outset, the court noted that the court has a huge pendency of bail applications and as many as 5 benches of the court were hearing them. The court also observed that arrest of persons in cases where imprisonment extends upto 3 years and are triable by First Class Magistrate under present circumstances will prove to be counter-productive. “If a person, who is arrested and produced before the Magistrate and thereafter, sent to Jail is an asymptomatic carrier of Covid-19, the inmates may be put at risk,” observed the court.

“Taking note of the above and also in view of larger public interest, this Court is of the view that the police may be restrained for the time being from making arrest of the accused persons, who are charged with offence where maximum sentence is upto three years, till 17th July, 2021. Thus, listing of bail applications under Section 438 Cr.P.C both before Sessions Court as well as High Court will be avoided,” it said.

The order may be read here:

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113 faulty ventilators provided under PM CARES fund: Bom HC questions Centre

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Image Courtesy:timesnownews.com

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the Centre to respond with remedial steps as at least 113 out of 150 ventilators supplied through the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PMCARES) Fund were found to be non-functional. The court has considered this to be a serious issue, as the ventilators distributed to various hospitals, including private and government hospitals, came up with similar issues. Six sets of flaws were detected in these ventilators. The court has sought a response from the Centre by May 28.

The bench of Justices Ravindra V Ghuge and BU Debadwar was hearing its suo moto public interest litigation. During the hearing, the court was informed that the Government Medical College and Hospital, Aurangabad had received 150 ventilators through the PMCARES Fund out of which at least 113 were found to be defective. A company by the name of Jyoti CNC has manufactured the said 150 ventilators with the model name ‘Dhaman III’.

Some of the faults found in these ventilators include ‘no in-let O2 pressure’ display and ‘patient becoming hypoxic’ when on ventilator. The court was also informed that the private hospitals which were given 41 ventilators indicated that all of them were non-functional and declined to use them as it could be life threatening for patients. The Dean of government hospital, Ambajogai, also informed the court that none of the ventilators given to them were worthy of being put to use.

On the other hand, the court was informed that 64 ventilators supplied by several Industrial Establishments like Good Year Tyres, Cosmo Films, Bajaj Auto limited, Garware Polyester limited, Hindalco limited are perfectly operational.

Upon these submissions, the bench directed the Assistant Solicitor General, Ajay G. Talhar, appearing for the Centre to inform the court what remedial steps will the central government take in this matter on May 28.

“We find the above situation as regards the dysfunctional ventilators supplied through the PM Cares Fund, to be quite serious. We, therefore, call upon the learned ASGI to state, as to what action would the Union of India initiate in these circumstances,” the court ordered.

LiveLaw reported that the bench orally remarked, “If the PMCARES Fund is to be used for providing ventilators, it should be ventilators worthy of medical use and they are not worthy of medical use, it’s just a box”.

Further, the amicus curiae Adv. Satyajit S. Bora informed the court that some elected representatives have started visiting government hospitals to find out whether these ventilators are in working condition and some of them have declared that they are working and some have stated that as the ventilators were lying idle, they have become dysfunctional. The court expressed its displeasure over such demeanour while mentioning that such visits could cause bother to the medical faculty and staff in the hospitals. The court deemed the statements made by such politicians to be distasteful as they are visiting hospitals posing as they have the expertise to inspect ventilators.

“We express our displeasure as regards such indulgence by the people’s representatives. This is likely to cause more botheration to the medical faculty than render any assistance. Contrary statements are being issued by the politicians which we find distasteful as some politicians have visited the hospital, posing as if they have the knowledge and the expertise to inspect the ventilators and recommend correctional steps. We would appreciate if political colour is not attached to this issue of dysfunctional ventilators,” the court observed.

The matter will be next heard on May 28.

PM CARES and ventilators

This is certainly not the first time that such an issue has cropped up with ventilators supplied by the Centre by using the PMCARES fund. The fund that was under constant public scrutiny for gathering large amounts in money but not having been utilised for Covid relief, was finally put to use but it turns out, the end product is replete with flaws. States like Rajasthan and Punjab have also come forward underscoring the faulty ventilators supplied to them.

Punjab’s Covid-19 response and procurement committee head Dr Raj Bahadur told India Today last week, “The Patiala medical college got 98 ventilators from the PMCARES Fund. Of these, 48 were functional after repair, but they are still not in use because the anaesthetists are not confident as they fear the machines may break down and jeopardise the lives of patients.”

The Punjab government claimed that anaesthetists in its hospitals were not confident of using them even after repairs. Heads of three Punjab government medical colleges claimed that at least 237 of the 320 ventilators received through the PM Cares Fund were defective and non-functional, reported India Today.

In Rajasthan, 592 ventilators could not be utilised as of May 13 and as many as 571 complaints were raised with the manufacturer Bharat Electricals Limited out of which only 180 were resolved. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot demanded an enquiry into this matter. Jharkhand’s biggest government hospital received 104 ventilators out of which 45 were non-functional.

The Union Health Ministry has denied these issues and claimed that the states mismanaged their utilisation that included keeping the machines unutilised or uninstalled in their stores for almost six months.

The order may be read here:

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Delhi violence: HC grants bail as CCTV video to identify accused differs from video shown in trial court

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Delhi riotsRepresentation Image
 

The Delhi High Court has granted bail to an accused in the Delhi violence, since the CCTV footage relied upon by the police to identify the accused, was different from the footage shown in trial court to identify the same accused. The bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait granted bail while observing that “the identification of petitioner by the prosecution before the trial court and this court is at variance”.

The petitioner, Mohd. Mansoor was charged under several sections of the IPC as well as Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and the Arms Act for being part of the mob on February 24, which allegedly attacked cops, an incident in which Head Constable Ratan Lal lost his life, and DCP Shahdara and ACP Gokulpuri sustained grievous injuries.

At the hearing, Tanveer Ahmed, counsel for the petitioner submitted that his name was neither there in the FIR in question, nor in the main charge sheet. It also wasn’t there in the 3 supplementary ones filed thereafter. However, his name found mention in the fourth supplementary chargesheet where the petitioner is allegedly seen in the CCTV footage pelting stones. He was granted bail in November 2020 in FIR No. 136/2020 where it was alleged that the petitioner was carrying a ‘danda’ as seen in CCTV footage but when the video was played before the court, he was seen empty handed.

It was also contended that co-accused has been granted bail. Further, the prosecution has relied upon testimony of Head Constable Mukesh, whose statement has already been rejected by the trial court in November 2020.

The prosecution argued that petitioner is a resident of Chand Bagh and as per his call detail records, he was present at Main Wazirabad Road, Chand Bagh where the incident took place. Further, he actively took part in the riots has been identified by Constable Mukesh. The prosecutor played the CCTV footage as also a video shot by one Vishal Choudhary to prove that petitioner was a part of the mob and involved in pelting stones. The prosecution also alleged that the petitioner burnt his clothes in order to destroy evidence.

The court, after viewing the video clips, observed that there is no iota of doubt that petitioner was a part of mob, and in one clip he is empty handed while in another clip he can be seen pelting stones at the police. The petitioner’s counsel contended that identification of petitioner is different in the CCTV footage played before this Court and the one before the trial court, which had granted bail to him in November 2020, as mentioned above.

The court, thus, took notice of the fact that the identification of petitioner by the prosecution before the trial court and this court is at variance. This means that the clip used before the trial court in November 2020 to identify the petitioner is different from the clip being played before the high court at present to oppose the petitioner’s bail.

“In one of the videos played before this Court, a person (allegedly the petitioner) ‘showing his back’ and walking with the mob is shown, whereas in another clipping, the distance between the camera and person is such that the face and features cannot be seen clearly to identify correctly as to who the person is,” the court noted

The court observed that the fourth chargesheet has been filed and that trial will take substantial time, and hence in view of facts and circumstances of the case, the petitioner cannot be made to languish behind bars for an indefinite period of time.

The court, without commenting on the merits of the case, directed that the petitioner be released on bail forthwith upon his furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs.20,000/- with one surety in the like amount and on the condition that the petitioner shall not directly or indirectly influence any witness and shall appear before the trial court as and when directed.

The judgement may be read here:

 

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K’taka HC raps Commissioner for not registering FIR against people in Amit Shah’s rally

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Amit Shah

The Karnataka High Court has pulled up Belagavi police for not registering an FIR for not following social distancing norms during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally held on January 17. The bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj expressed their disappointment over the Police Commissioner’s affidavit, when the court had, in March, prima facie held that rules were violated during the rally.

The Police Commissioner was directed to take necessary action then, however, after perusal of the affidavit file before the court, the court held that it showed complete ignorance of regulations laid down under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act, reported LiveLaw.

“Perhaps the commissioner was unaware about the provisions of said regulation made under the of Act of 2020. The affidavit of commissioner shows that not a single FIR was registered against violators,” the bench reportedly remarked.

The bench observed that the affidavit shows that the Commissioner approached the matter rather casually, and, as per LiveLaw, the bench commented, “large gathering in Belagavi where rules regarding wearing of masks and social distancing were thrown to the wind. But the commissioner seems to be satisfied with the recovery of the fine amount”.

The court has asked the Commissioner to explain why even a single FIR was not registered in this matter, and directed that an affidavit be filed to that effect by June 3.

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White Fungus more common, but not as dangerous as Black Fungus

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