Public interest litigation | SabrangIndia

The case against Adani Group’s power supply project in Bangladesh reaches Calcutta High Court

Sat, 04 Feb 2023 05:00:30 +0000

Image Courtesy: tbsnews.net

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Calcutta High Court against Adani Group’s power supply project in Bangladesh. It was filed by 30 farmers of Murshidabad district and The Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), a Bengal-based civil rights group. The case was filed on Tuesday, January 31 and the expected date of hearing is February 07.

The case was filed against Adani’s coal-based power project’s activities in Murshidabad district of middle Bengal, said General Secretary of APDR, Ranjit Sur. It has come at a time when the US-based financial fraud research firm Hindenburg Research has claimed that the Adani group had “perpetrated economic manipulation in the stock market for decades.” However, Sur said, the timing of the PIL – filed through a Calcutta advocate Jhuma Sen – is “merely coincidental.”

Following the report, the share prices of all companies of Adani Group in the stock market have fallen. The Group chief Gautam Adani’s personal wealth has also taken a beating. He has been moved from the third to the eleventh spot in the list of the richest people in the world.

The Adani Group has built a 1,600 MW power project in Jharkhand’s Godda district to deliver electricity from India to Bangladesh. This project is defined as an ‘ultra super critical coal-based power plant‘. Environmentalists in Jharkhand had previously raised questions about the plant.

According to the plan, the electricity cables from Godda will pass through several districts of North-West Bengal including Farakka in Murshidabad and Malda to finally enter Bangladesh. Adani’s Power Generation and Supply Company has planned to raise high-capacity electric lines over some of the villages in Farakka district.

Eventually a major clash took place in Farakka in July 2022, when residents of Farakka’s Beniagram and Imamnagar village protested and managed to stop the project, at the time. According to the protesters, there were no prior discussions with them to lay high tension electric cables. Youth Congress leader Asif Iqbal led the protest. Some local leaders of Trinamool Congress also participated and harassed several workers of Adani Group, indicated district police. Some of the agitators were booked as well.

One of the leaders of the protesting crowd Asif Iqbal, a youth Congress worker, earlier raised his concerns over the fact that high tension electrical wires passing over several houses made it almost impossible for the homeowners to build an extra storey of their respective houses. There has to be suitable compensation for this kind of a situation, he argued.

According to the villagers, the Adani group has proposed to compensate only when houses have fallen under the cable. No compensation was offered to the owners of various mango and litchi gardens even though the wires were set between towers atop their farmland, argued local residents.

Sur said that “from July 2022, preparations for the PIL began.”

“The case was filed earlier this week. It has nothing to do with the Hindenburg Report. It is merely coincidental,” Sur told CJP.

The agitation has stopped the installation of power lines in Farakka. However, even two weeks ago, agency workers came to cut down some of the trees in the project area. Sur said that the “villagers resisted the felling of the trees and workers engaged by Adani Group ran away.” However, following the July agitation, Adani’s company has completed the work substantially with police help.

Sur said that the Adani Group has neither signed an agreement with the Government of West Bengal, nor sought consent of the farmers, and planned unilaterally to raise high-tension electric lines purely by force. Towers were installed just by locally distributing some money.”

“The protesting farmers were framed by the police, fake allegations were made and cases were registered, they were severely beaten. We protested even in July and prepared for a legal battle,” he said. Adani Group has not made any statement so far.

The Adani group is also planning to build a deep sea port at Tajpur in West Bengal’s East Medinipur district at a cost of around 25 thousand crore rupees. A few years ago in 2017, the farmers and residents of South 24 Parganas district protested against the installation of ‘high tension’ electricity in Bhangar. A few died in the movement. The work was delayed.

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PIL for sufficient supply of Covid-19 vaccines: Delhi HC issues notice

Fri, 28 May 2021 10:19:42 +0000

Image Courtesy:barandbench.com

The Delhi High Court has sought responses from the Union and the Delhi government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to ensure sufficient supply of Covid-19 vaccines to the National Capital.

Bar & Bench reported that a Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued a notice after the counsel for the petitioner contended that for people in the age group of 18 to 44 years, registering for the ongoing vaccination drive is equivalent to “losing in battle of fastest finger first”.

The 43-year-old petitioner claimed that over the past few weeks, he has not been able to book a slot for the first dose of vaccine due to non-availability. The Court was informed that each time the petitioner tried to book a slot, the same was booked by someone else. A grievance was also raised that the registration portal does not allow a person to book slots 3 to 4 days in advance, which creates panic amongst Delhi residents.

He has asserted through his plea that while the Central government and the Delhi government have been making contradictory statements and blaming each other, his concern is to protect his health and well-being during the pandemic.

According to a Bar & Bench report, his plea reads, “The Chief Minister of Delhi, the Health Minister of Delhi, MLA Ms. Atishi are claiming that they are not left with vaccination beyond 3 to 4 days. If it is so, then the lives of the residents of Delhi are in extreme danger. But on the other hand, the respondent No. 1 (Centre) is speaking otherwise. It is utmost important to fix the accountability for such contradictory statements. That the petitioner being resident of Delhi, is entitled to be vaccinated for Covid-19 and has no concern with disputes between respondent no.1 and 2 (Delhi government). Neither the petitioner nor any resident of Delhi should suffer in the blame game between the respondent no.1 and 2.”

The petitioner has therefore prayed for initiation of an inquiry by a committee headed by a retired judicial officer or senior advocate or any respectable person, in order to find out which of the two governments is making “false statements” to the public.

The matter will be taken up on June 4.

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SC dismisses Syed Waseem Rizvi’s PIL that sought deletion of certain verses from the Holy Quran

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 10:27:06 +0000

Image Courtesy:indianexpress.com

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed the controversial public interest litigation (PIL) which sought deletion of certain verses from the Holy Quran which the petitioner Syaed Wseem, former chairperson of the Shia Waqf Board, alleged “violate the law of the land and promote extremism”. According to a report in the Bar and Bench, the case: Syed Waseem Rizvi v. Union of India, was heard by a Bench of Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman, BR Gavai and Hrishikesh Roy which not only dismissed the PIL but also imposed costs of Rs. 50,000 on the petitioner Rizvi.

A former chairperson of Shia Central Board of Waqf, Uttar Pradesh, Rizvi, had alleged that certain verses in the Quran promote violence and are “a threat” to the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of the country. He sought “a declaration from the court to hold those verses unconstitutional, non-effective and non-functional” stated the report. His plea also sought directions from the SC to appoint a committee of religious experts to get an opinion on the subject matter of the petition.

On March 11, Waseem Rizvi, the former Chairman of the Shia Waqf Board, filed this petition in the Supreme Court seeking that “26 verses of the Quran be removed”. Rizvi in his petition, has stated that the Quran, the holy book of Muslims, has “some verses that are used to promote terrorism, violence, jihad”. In an interview with Aaj Tak, Rizvi claimed that these verses were added to the Quran later. Rizvi, who is known to be close to the right wing politicians, told the news channel that these “verses were added to the Quran, by the first three Caliphs, to aid the expansion of Islam by war.”

Rizvi, had reportedly alleged that few of the messages written in Holy Quran, are negative and promote violence and hatred. According to the plea, “Verse 9 Surah 5, is negative and promotes violence and hatred.” The B&B reported that verse read: “But once the Sacred Months have passed, kill the polytheists ˹who violated their treaties˺ wherever you find them, capture them, besiege them, and lie in wait for them on every way. But if they repent, perform prayers, and pay alms-tax, then set them free. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” And Rizvi submitted that the message written in (a) to (e) of number 42(1) makes it clear that Allah is giving a message to every human being not to fight among themselves, not to quarrel with each other, not to kill anyone and not to disagree with followers of other religions, as preached in the 109.1 Holy Quran which mentions “LakumDeenakumWaliyaDeen” or “To you , your religion, to me mine” as the basic tenet of Islam based on the concept of tolerance and brotherhood among people coming from different religions.

According to news reports the plea stated that the matter involves the “entire Muslim community at large, which is subject to ridicule worldwide on account of the interpretation of the said verses, which have no basis or nexus with the objects which the holy book aims to achieve.”

Waseem Rizvi does not enjoy support within the Muslim community. He was in fact disowned and boycotted by both the Shia Clergy and laity in the past. In 2018, Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, a top Shia cleric had said that Rizvi, who was then the Chairman of UP Shia Waqf Board had been “excommunicated” for not heeding to a fatwa issued by Iraq’s top Shia cleric Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani. News18 had quoted Maulana Jawwad as saying “Shias all around the world are facing embarrassment because of the statements made by Waseem Rizvi. People like Rizvi are working against Islam either under pressure or just to please their masters.” Rizvi had been put in the dock making ‘Ramjanmbhoomi’, a deeply provocative and communally polarising film in 2018.

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) had sought an unconditional apology from the former Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi for his derogatory comments against the Quran. The Commission has issued a notice to Rizvi telling him to withdraw his comments and tender an “unconditional apology” within 21 days. The NCM stated, “The comments given in the media by you about deletion of certain verses from the Quran are highly provocative, objectionable and malicious, prejudicial to maintenance of peace and harmony, with intent to outrage the religious feelings of a particular community and to insult the particular religion.” The NCM observed that Rizvi’s remarks appear to be a well-thought conspiracy to disturb the communal harmony of the country.

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Madras HC refuses to hear PIL seeking regulation of social media content

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 08:12:27 +0000

Image Courtesy:lawsisto.com

The Madras High Court declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought directions to the Central government to censor content broadcast on social media platforms.

A Bench compising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice R Hemalatha remarked, “It is open to the petitioner to live in the stone age or to protect his family or his children from the advances of technology…. Courts are not there to impose sanctions or guidelines on how the media or even social media operates and it is for the other agencies to do so, based on the policy decision taken by the legislature of the day or the executive arm.”

However, the Bench recognised the petitioner’s right to propagate any kind of philosophy, and his constitutional right of choice, and held that he had the right to approach the appropriate legislature or executive to effectuate such ideas.

Interestingly, in January, the High Court Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice M. M. Sundresh had disposed of a plea against the telecast of Sanskrit news in a Doordarshan Tamil television channel. LiveLaw quoted the court saying,

“When the writ petition does not find the Sanskrit seems to be tasteful or useful, there is no compulsion for the petitioner to tune in and it is open to the petitioner to switch off the television and get some other form of entertainment during the period the Sanskrit news is read.”

The High Court had also asked the petitioner to keep up his “public spirit” and bring matters involving only public interest to Court.

The order may be read here:

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Amendments to RTI Act will spell doom for good governance: RTI Commissioner

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 08:52:55 +0000

RTI Commissioner Dr M Sridhar Acharyulu, the information commissioner of India, opposed the proposed amendments to the RTI Act.

RTI Commissioner Shridhar Acharyulu (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

Pune: RTI Commissioner Dr M Sridhar Aharyulu accused the government of interfering with the independence of CIC by proposing amendments to the RTI ACT.

The Central Information Commission (CIC) is an authorised body under the RTI Act which was established in 2005 under the government of India. It acted upon complaints from people who didn’t get their complaints addressed through due process.

Acharyulu, the information commissioner of India, opposed the proposed amendments to the RTI Act. He was speaking at an event organised by the NGO Moneylife Foundation and Pune Union of Working Journalists at the Patrakar Bhavan in Pune on Saturday.

Acharyulu said an RTI application was like a “Rs 10 Public Interest Litigation (PIL)” as it allowed citizens to fight for their rights. “Article 226 of the Indian Constitution allows any citizen to approach the courts to file a PIL if their fundamental rights are violated. However, this option is out of reach for many, which is why RTI comes into play,” he said in a report by The Indian Express.

“The two amendments proposed to the RTI Act would be detrimental to it. The amendments propose to control the term as well as salaries of information commissioners, which amounted to challenging the independence of the commissionerates,” the CIC said in the report.

In a report by Hindustan Times, it was reported that he hit out at the Union Government. He said, “The amendments proposed by the central government in the RTI Act, verily mitigate the power of the commission. By amending the existing act, the government is trying to reduce the status and the power of the central information commission.”

“In the bureaucratic hierarchy, if the CIC commissioner is below the secretary, he cannot pass the order to provide information sought through an RTI. These changes will in a sense enervate the power of the commission. Central government has no authority to make any changes in this regard and what they have proposed is absolutely wrong,” he said in the report.

“Acharyulu also expressed his astonishment over the Supreme Court asking the Centre to submit details of the decision-making process of the Rafale deal. He said, ‘I am surprised that now the Supreme Court has asked the government for the information regarding the decision-making process of the Rafale deal. Technical details of the deal are not important. Besides, why should the SC even ask for this information in the first place.’ Giving information is a symbol of good governance, however, when the government does not want to give information, it uses all the possible clauses to avoid the situation and refuses to give the information eventually, he added, referring to the Rafale deal,” the report said.

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