vijayawada l friday l january 29, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION CJI ticks off centre for not curbing hatred on tv The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the Centre for not checking TV programmes which instigate or impact a community Reports can’t be used to incite violence Control over certain news is essential for the maintenance of law and order, said a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde. It noted problem arises when reportage is used to incite violence. “Yesterday, you (govt) shut down internet and mobile because of farmers’ visit to Delhi. I don’t know what happened in the TV yesterday,” the court added SC Can’t control live tv shows, says govt ■ Such preventive measures are as important as providing ‘lathis’ to policemen, the bench observed ■ The SC made the comments while hearing a plea on media’s alleged biased reporting in the Tablighi Jamaat case ■ Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said govt can’t control live shows SAID GOVT CAN USE Cable TV Networks Act 1994 To control TV BROADCAST CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Lookout notices against accused leaders, passports to be seized; U.P. govt orders farmers to vacate the Ghazipur protest site Govt shows iron fist to deal with agitators G ayat h r i M a n i / S i d d h a nta M i s h r a / H a r p r eet B a j w a @ New Delhi Proceeding swiftly in the Republic Day violence case, the Delhi Police on Thursday issued 44 look-out circulars (LOC) against three dozen farm union leaders. They have been asked to join the probe by January 31 and directed to bring their passports along. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government started to clear the Ghazipur agitation site. LoCs are used by immigration officials to prevent accused persons from leaving the country. The process of seizure of passports has been initiated by the home ministry and is a major decision, officials said, explaining that all people who have been named by Delhi Police in the FIRs will not be carrying Indian passports till the matter is pending. Officials said the decision was taken on Thursday morning by Union Home Minister Amit Shah who has been holding a series of meeting with top officials of the Home Ministry and Delhi police since Tuesday when the large scale violence took place in the national capital during the farmers tractor rally. Shah has been continu- ously monitoring the situation in Delhi, a home ministry official said, adding that the minister is expected to chair a second meeting on Thursday night to review the law and order situation in the capital. Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Thursday said that two brass finials on top of the minar were found missing after chaos ensued in the Red Fort complex but were later found in a damaged state. The case was transferred to Delhi police’s special cell to investigate “international angle” in the ensuing violence at Red Fort. Police has meanwhile invoked a criminal case under provisions of Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act (UAPA) and Sedition charges in the violence took place at Red Fort. Besides the LOCs, Delhi Police has issued notice to 20 oth- Won’t leave: Tikait BKU leader Rajesh Tikait gave a fiery speech on Thursday threatening to commit suicide if the farm laws were not repealed. “We are here to talk to the government on repeal of farm laws and not going back till that’s done,” he said er farmer unions leaders including Yo g endra Yadav, Rakesh Tikait, Balbir Singh Rajewal Surjeet Singh Phool, Gurnam Singh Chaduni and others in connection with the violence that took place on Republic Day in Delhi. According to a senior police officer, notice has been issued to all farmer union leaders who attended the meeting with the Delhi Police, agreed to all 36 conditions and signed the undertaking to conduct the rally on Republic Day. Around 25 FIRs have been registered by the Delhi police in the matter and 19 accused arrested and 50 persons have been detained so far. Around 394 Police personnel have been injured in Tuesday’s violence. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government since early Thursday morning removed water and electricity supply from the protest site at Ghazipur in a bid to clear the site. According to official sources, directions were issued from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to the Ghaziabad administration to remove the protestors from the site and clear the road. The UP police and local administration has served ultimatum to farmers to vacate Ghazipur border by late night.  CONTINUED ON P7 ACB unearths assets worth `1.11 cr from AE HC sets aside Ashok’s removal as trustee Vijayawada: The AP High Court on Thursday set aside the GO issued by the government removing former Union minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju as founder trustee of Ramatheertham temple. Hearing the petition filed by Ashok challenging the GO, Justice DVSS Somayajulu said the due procedure was not followed by the Endowments Department in removing him as the trustee.  p4 CM Uddhav’s U.T. idea stokes Maha-K’taka row Mumbai: The conflict between Maharashtra and Karnataka over territorial dispute is escalating after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray demanded on Thursday that a disputed region in Karnataka be declared a UT until the Supreme Court passes its final verdict. The Maharashtra government claimed in the SC that 865 villages and six cities are parts of United Maharashtra. tion and for promoting enmity between different groups, intentional insult with intent to The ongoing police crackdown provoke breach of the peace, against following violence in incite violence, and criminal Delhi on Republic Day took a conspiracy . new turn on Thursday night Complainant Arpit Mishra, a with the Noida Police slapping 35-year-old resident of Noida, sedition charges against a accused them of broadcasting bunch of senior journalists, in- offensive, misleading and procluding India Today’s vocative news that the senior anchor and ‘Part of a plot police had killed a to disrupt consulting editor Rajprotestor who was harmony’ deep Sardesai, in its driving a tractor. The first information reaccused also retweet“As part of a port (FIR). ed, the FIR added. conspiracy, the The others named accused planned The FIR alle ged in the FIR are Conthat the accused acted riots in the gress member of Parin a prejudiced mannational capital liament Shashi Tha- with intention to ner, which jeopardroor, Mrinal Pande, kill public servants ised national security senior editorial conand public safety . and incite sultant of National Rajdeep was in the violence,” the Herald, Zafar Agha, complainant said eye of a storm as his chief editor of Quami tweet alleging that a in the FIR Awaz, and Caravan farmer was shot dead magazine’s chief ediby the police went vitor and publisher Paresh Nath, ral. Shortly thereafter, he corits editor Anant Nath, and ex- rected himself after the police ecutive editor Vinod K Jose. shared a video of the farmer’s They were booked for alleg- speeding tractor ramming into edly misreporting, provoking a security railing and toppling and spreading communal dis- over. Earlier in the day, the Inharmony during the clashes. dia Today is reported to taken The FIR was registered un- him off the air for two weeks der various sections of Indian and docked a month’s salary for Penal Code dealing with sedi- misreporting. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Security personnel conducting a flag march at Ghazipur on the Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border during the ongoing farmers’ protest against agri reforms on Thursday | PTI Oppn to boycott Prez’s address E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi A day before the start of the budget session of Parliament, over a dozen Opposition parties decided to boycott the customary President’s address to a joint sitting of both the Houses on Friday as a mark of solidarity with the farmers protesting against the new farm laws. While 16 Opposition parties issued a joint statement announcing the boycott and demanding a probe into the Centre’s role in the violence on Republic Day in Delhi, the AAP and the SAD, a former NDA ally too, decided to skip the Presi, dential address. As for the treasury benches, the BJP has issued whip to members, asking them to stay put in the Capital. “We are issuing a statement from 16 political parties that we are boycotting President’s address,” said Ghulam Nabi Azad, Continued on P7 Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.  Govt sends names of 3 officers for secy post, SEC wants another express read Visakhapatnam: ACB sleuths conducted searches on an Assistant Engineer of APEPDCL and unearthed ‘disproportionate’ assets worth several crores of rupees. During the searches, ACB sleuths found that AE Nageswara Rao and his family members were in possession of two houses, three flats, two vehicles and fixed deposits worth about `1.11 crore and other assets, a release said. Sedition charges filed against Rajdeep, others E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada A view of Bairipuram village in Kaviti mandal of Srikakulam district | Express this village opts for unanimous poll every time G R a m e s h B a b u @ Srikakulam At a time when unanimous election to panchayats has become a hot topic, Bairipuram in Kaviti mandal stands as an example for the unity of people in electing their sarpanch and ward members unanimously every time. The panchayat has never gone to poll since the introduction of the Panchayat Raj system as election is always unanimous. Bairipuram with more than 1,300 electorate has set an example to other villages in utilising the cash incentive for development with its unanimous choice. All the people sit together and select their sarpanch and ward members to avoid any political or group rivalry in the village. Even if people of the vil- lage support different political parties at the time general elections, they stand united when it comes to panchayat poll. Bairipuram has all the basic amenities. “We give equal importance to every individual in the village and take decisions on development works collectively . One person from every family in Bairipuram is invited to the village meetings to take collective decisions on development works and other important matters,” village head Seepana Venkata Ramana told TNIE. “After choosing the sarpanch and ward members unanimously, we inform the matter to the panchayat officials to make an official declaration pertaining to their election,” he added. The State government and the State Election Commission (SEC) appear to be heading for yet another confrontation. This time, over the appointment of a secretary to the SEC. After SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar surrendered IAS officer Vani Mohan, upon his request, the government sent a panel of three officers -- K Kanna Babu (Secretary, Disaster Management), Raja Babu Kanna Babu Vijay Kumar GSRKR Vijay Kumar (Secretary, MA&UD) and P Raja Babu (SERP CEO) -- so that he could select one. However, sources said the SEC sought the services of 1996 batch IAS officer Muddada Ravichandra. It is under- Don’t take cognisance of SEC censure: CS to DoPT E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Vijayawada Days after the State Election Commission (SEC) censured Panchayat Raj Principal Secretary Gopal Krishna Dwivedi and PR Commissioner M Girija Shankar for their ‘failure’ to publish 2021 electoral rolls, the State government wrote to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) not to take cognisance of the proceedings issued by SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar against the two IAS officers. In the censure proceedings, Ramesh Kumar recommended compulsory retirement of the two IAS officers. It also urged the DoPT to enlighten and advise SEC Ramesh Kumar not to exercise the power, which is not in his domain and adhere to the guidelines. “This step of the SEC does not fall under his competence,” Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das stated in the letter addressed to the Secretary p4 of DoPT.  stood that the SEC seeking services of an IAS officer other than those in the panel is not the usual practice. However, the government appointed Ravichandra as the Secretary (Covid-19 Management) keeping in view the public health and his vast experience in healthcare management. The appointment was made in the wake of 49 cases of Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) reported in the State since the commencement of Covid-19 vaccination drive. P4, Edit: p6 SEC’s action against service rules: CS CS Aditya Nath Das said SEC N Ramesh Kumar administered the censure against the two officers for not updating the rolls as on January 1, 2021, without following the due procedure prescribed under the All India Service (D&A) Rules, 1969. Govt rejects SEC’s censure of 2 officers Informing that the State government had rejected the censure by issuing two separate GOs, CS Aditya Nath Das said the SEC’s communication to the DoPT ‘suffers from infirmities in decision making process and infraction of law.’ Naidu releases TDP manifesto, YSRC terms it a code violation E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Opposition Leader and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu stirred a controversy on Thursday by releasing the party manifesto for the panchayat elections, which are held on non-political basis. Taking exception to the release of TDP manifesto, the ruling YSRC put the onus on SEC N Ramesh Kumar to act against the rule violation by the opposition party . At a press conference, Naidu released the TDP manifesto ‘Palle Pragathi - Pancha Sutralu’ to develop basic infrastructure in villages and thereby improving the living standards of people. He appealed to the electorate to elect the TDP supported candidates as panchayat sarpanches and ward members for better and cleaner villages. The two-page TDP manifesto contains five promises -- Supply of safe drinking water, creation of peaceful atmosphere, development of model villages and improvement of living standards of people, reduction of property tax by 50% and administration of Covid vaccine p5 to people.  new definition Another bizarre ruling on minor sex assault S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i & K a n u S a r d a @ Mumbai / New Delhi The Bombay High Court has held that holding a child’s hands and unzipping pants do not fall under the definition of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. A single judge bench of Justice Pushpa Ganediwala of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay HC delivered this judgment on January 15 while hearing a criminal appeal filed against the conviction and sentence gave to a 50-year-old man for molesting a five-year-old girl. Days later, another order from the same judge that interpreted sexual assault provi- sions under POCSO Act as only skin-to-skin contact with sexual intent, was stayed by the Supreme Court. Experts feel the move sets a dangerous precedent for defining sexual assault in court. Since the victim of the case The judge’s interpretation of POCSO Act Justice Ganediwala’s order notes the definition of ‘sexual assault’ under POCSO Act says there has to be ‘physical contact with sexual intent without penetration’ was below 12 years, the sessions court said the act was ‘aggravated sexual assault’ punishable under Section 10 of POCSO. The perpetrator was sentenced to five years in prison and the judge imposed a fine of `25,000. The complaint was filed by the child’s mother, who said she saw the accused, Libnus Kujur, with his pants unzipped and holding her daughter’s hands. new idols installed New idols of Srirama, Lakshmana and Sita were installed in Kodandarama temple at Ramatheertham village in Vizianagaram district on Thursday amid chanting of Vedic hymns, where the idol of the presiding deity was vandalised by some unidentified miscreants last month | Express