Former Supreme Court judge Khalid dies at 95

News Network
November 16, 2017

Kannur, Nov 16: Retired Supreme Court judge V. Khalid died here on Wednesday. He was 95. Justice Khalid had also served as judge in the Kerala High Court and as Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. He is survived by wife and daughter. A native of Kannur, Khalid began his career as a lawyer at the Kannur munsiff court in 1948 and moved to the Thalassery bar in 1949. He served at the District Court at Thalassery till 1964 when he moved to the High Court.

Rajan case

His stint as High Court judge had continued till 1983 when he was appointed Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir. He is remembered for, among other things, the judgment of the two-member Bench, of which he was a member, that heard the habeas corpus petition by the father of engineering college student Rajan who had been murdered in police custody during Emergency. The Bench’s judgement had led to the the resignation of then Chief Minister K. Karunakaran.

His stint as Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir ended when he was appointed judge of the Supreme Court in 1984. After retirement, he had served in many government bodies.

Former Director General of Prosecutions T. Asaf Alisaid Khalid was the last legend in the V.R. Krishna Iyer era.

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News Network
March 8,2024

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President Droupadi Murmu has nominated Sudha Murty to the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in a social media post on March 8.

“I am delighted that the President of India has nominated Sudha Murty Ji to the Rajya Sabha. Sudha Ji’s contributions to diverse fields including social work, philanthropy and education have been immense and inspiring,” PM Modi wrote on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) while sharing the news.

Describing the author, philanthropist, and former chairperson of the Infosys Foundation as “a powerful testament to Nari Shakti”, PM Modi wrote, “Her presence in the Rajya Sabha is a powerful testament to our ‘Nari Shakti’, exemplifying the strength and potential of women in shaping our nation’s destiny. Wishing her a fruitful Parliamentary tenure.”

Murty, who is travelling at the moment, thanked PM Modi for the nomination and said, “It’s a big Women’s Day gift to me. It’s a new responsibility to work for the country.”

Replying to PM Modi’s social media post, Sudha Murty wrote, “Thank you, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji. It is my privilege and honour to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha by our Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji. I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve our nation.”

Born on August 19, 1950, in Karnataka’s Shiggaon, Sudha Murty began her career as a computer scientist and engineer, going on to become the first female engineer hired at Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (Telco).

Murty, wife of Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy, is also the chairperson of the Murty Trust and has authored several books. Her son-in-law is the Prime Minister of the UK and her daughter Akshata Murty is a businesswoman, fashion designer, and venture capitalist.

The 73-year-old’s nomination coincides with International Women’s Day. She received the Padma Shri award in 2006 and the Padma Bhushan in 2023.

Responding to the development BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said, “Today, Sudha Murthy ji has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by honourable President Smt Droupadi Murmu. What other Sandesh (message) could have been more beautiful than this on International Women’s Day?”

The President of India nominates 12 members to the Upper House of the Parliament for their contributions towards arts, literature, sciences, and social services. Earlier this year, President Murmu had nominated founder-Chancellor of Chandigarh University and educationist Satnam Singh Sandhu to the Rajya Sabha.

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News Network
March 7,2024

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Thiruvananthapuram: Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of late Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran, is joining the BJP.

Amidst rumours in this regard, Padmaja told a news channel that neglect from Congress leadership and attraction towards Narendra Modi's leadership led her to take the decision to join the BJP.

She is scheduled to formally join the party today itself.

Congress is already facing much embarrassment over many leaders and workers joining the BJP. Senior leader A K Antony's son Anil Antony, who joined the BJP last year, is now contesting as the BJP candidate at Pathanamthitta in Kerala.

Padmaja's elder brother K Muraleedharan, who is Congress MP from Vadakara in Kozhikode, told reporters that his sister ditched the Congress despite the hardships faced by their father in building up the party in Kerala.

Karunakaran, who died in 2010, is still popularly known as 'leader' in Kerala. He served as Chief Minister for four terms and also as a union minister.

Padmaja, who is a member of Congress Political Affairs Committee in Kerala, contested twice in assembly polls and once in Lok Sabha polls, but got defeated in all.

Padmaja alleged that a section in the Congress itself worked for her defeat in 2021 assembly polls in Thrissur. Even as she complained to party leadership in this regard there was no action taken, she said.

Sources said that Padmaja was expecting a Rajya Sabha seat, which was not considered by the Congress. She was also unhappy that the work on the Karunakaran Foundation building in Thiruvananthapuram was getting delayed

CPM has been campaigning that Congress and BJP are two sides of the same coin as many Congress leaders are joining the BJP.

CPM state secretary M V Govindan said that many Congress leaders in Kerala would be joining the BJP in due course and that could be the reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently expressed hopes that BJP will win double digit number of seats in Kerala this time.

Padmaja is based in Thrissur and hence her decision to join the BJP could be a boost to BJP's hopes of winning the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat where actor-turned politician Suresh Gopi is in the fray.

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News Network
March 18,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 18: The Election Commission on Monday afternoon issued orders for the removal of six Home Secretaries - including the top bureaucrats from Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

The poll panel also directed the transfer of West Bengal's Director-General of Police, the top cop of a state that has seen several instances of poll-related violence in recent years. The poll panel further said a shortlist of three potential replacements had to be prepared and submitted by 5 pm.

The re-shuffle, not an uncommon move by the Election Commission before major polls, also includes the transfer of the Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand Home Secretaries, as well as senior officials attached to the offices of the Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh Chief Ministers.

In addition, Iqbal Singh Chahal, who is Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and other officials in municipalities across Maharashtra, have been removed too.

All of this comes less than a month before the 2024 Lok Sabha poll; the ECI on Saturday said voting will begin on April 19 and run over seven phases till June 1.

This is, in fact, the first bureaucratic re-jig by the ECI since it announced polling dates.

The ECI's move comes after a meeting of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and his two associates, the newly-appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. This step comes as part of the poll panel's commitment to ensure a level playing field for all political parties in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, as well as by-polls for 26 seats in 13 states.

Sources said the personnel removed were found to be holding dual charge in the offices of the respective chief ministers of each state, and this could compromise, or be seen to be compromising, required neutrality, particularly in relation to law-and-order before, during and after polling.

Bengal's ruling Trinamool has not yet reacted to the removal of DGP Rajiv Malik, who is seen by some to be close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party. In the past, the state government has questioned the last-minute re-shuffle of senior civil service and police officials so close to an election, arguing it actually hampers prep work since the new faces need time to adjust to the post.

Bengal has frequently witnessed violence during polling season; in June last year over a dozen people were killed across the state as voting for a panchayat election was underway.

The Trinamool accused the opposition of instigating violence and criticised central forces for their failure to protect voters, while the Congress claimed the state had let thugs loose on the people.

While announcing the dates on Saturday, the Chief Election Commissioner said the poll panel would take a very dim view of any violence during the election. Mr Kumar said the ECI is prepared to come down hard on any such incident. "We're putting political parties on notice," he declared.

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