The Bombay High Court on Wednesday gave interim relief against arrest to businessperson and husband of actress Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra, in a November 2020 case registered by the Nodal Cyber police station in Mumbai for alleged distribution of obscene and explicit content.

Kundra, who is behind bars in a similar case related to adult films filed by the Mumbai police crime branch, approached the HC after the sessions court rejected his pre-arrest bail plea earlier this month. Kundra has sought pre-arrest bail in the October 2020 FIR registered by the Cyber Crime department of Mumbai Police in connection with broadcasting of nude erotic content on OTT platform.

The offences in the FIR were Sections 292, 293 (sale of obscene material) under the Indian Penal Code, Sections 66E, 67, 67A (transmission of sexually explicit material) under the Information Technology Act and provisions of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

A single-judge bench of Justice Sandeep K. Shinde was hearing the anticipatory bail plea by Kundra in the 2020 case. He directed an interim order protecting Kundra from arrest till the next hearing date which is August 25, 2021. Kundra submitted that he was falsely implicated in the case.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has urged the people of the state to participate in the vaccination drive against Covid-19 so that the spread of this pandemic could be checked against a third possible wave. He said that the state government has launched the vaccination campaign on a large scale and Himachal Pradesh was among the leading states in this campaign. The Chief Minister said that the state government was fully geared up to handle the situation and all arrangements have been made to tackle a third possible wave of this pandemic effectively.

The Himachal Pradesh government can impose more restrictions keeping in view the rising Covid-19 cases in the state. The government is further planning to increase strictness on wedding ceremonies, religious festivals and political gathering in the state also. The government is worried about the rapidly increasing cases in Himachal. Health Secretary Amitabh Awasthi said that Himachal has a strong health infrastructure to deal with the possible third wave, but the increase in cases is worrying.

Himachal ranks first in vaccination; so far 90 percent of the population in the state has received the first dose of corona vaccine. With the increasing cases of corona infection in the state for the last several days; the government is now preparing to impose more restrictions. Several restrictions can also be put in place to control the overcrowding. Himachal Pradesh is also is among select states of the country where the numbers of Covid cases and reproduction and positivity rate are on the higher side. And this is the reason why the government has implemented the mandatory vaccination along with RT-PCR report for all the people coming to the state.

Health Secretary Amitabh Awasthi said that even after imposing some restrictions in the state, Covid-19 cases are showing an increasing trend ,so restrictions can be imposed in the coming days to control the crowd in marriage ceremonies, festivals, political programmes. The Health Department is preparing a proposal regarding this, and the final decision will be taken in the cabinet.

Meanwhile, in view of the increasing cases of Covid-19, the state government has made it mandatory to register again for people entering Himachal. According to the orders issued by the State Disaster Management Cell on Wednesday, all types of inter-state movement in the state will be monitored through registration on the government’s Covid e-pass portal.

After Sambhal MP Shafiqur Rehman of the Samajwadi Party, Muslim Personal Law Board spokesman Sajjad Nomani has also come out in support of the Taliban. On Wednesday, he issued a statement justifying the Taliban›s occupation of Afghanistan. He said that the Taliban has defeated the strongest forces of the whole world. These youths have kissed the land of Kabul. He thanked Allah for the victory of the Taliban. 

Sajjad Nomani said, “August 15 has been recorded in history. In Afghanistan, the Taliban defeated the world›s greatest power without weapons and without any science. The way they entered the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Kabul, they did not show any kind of pride.” This comes a day after a Samajwadi Party MP defended the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, equating it with India›s own freedom struggle.

Speaking to media on Tuesday, Rahman said that the Taliban have only recaptured the land that originally belonged to them. He said that just like India›s freedom fighters who fought against British rule, the Taliban fought against countries like the US to free their land and run the country as they wanted.  

“When India was under British rule, our country fought for freedom. Now the Taliban wants to free their country and run it. Taliban is a force that did not allow even strong countries like Russia and America to settle in their country,» he added.

Speaking to media, Superintendent of Police Sambhal Chakresh Mishra said on Wednesday that he was charged under Indian Penal Code section 124A (sedition) after BJP leader Rajesh Singhal on Tuesday filed a complaint.  The MP has been also booked under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), Mishra said.

The Rouse Avenue court on Wednesday discharged Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor of all charges in connection with the Sunanda Pushkar death case. Special Judge Geetanjali Goel passed the order in a virtual hearing. Tharoor was also present at the virtual conferencing while the order was being pronounced. After the order, Tharoor thanked the judge, and said it was “an absolute torture for the last seven-and-a-half-years” and that it was a “great relief”.

During the day, Tharoor issued a press statment and said: “I would like to express my humble thanks to Judge Geetanjali Goel for her orders today, discharging me from the charges levied by the Delhi police, that I have consistently described as preposterous.”

“This brings significant conclusion to the long nightmare which had enveloped me after the tragic passing of my late wife Sunanda. I have weathered dozens of unfounded accusations and media vilification patiently, sustained by my faith in the Indian judiciary, which today stands vindicated,” he added.

“In our justice system, the process is all too often the punishment. Nonetheless, the fact that justice has been done, at last, will allow all of us in the family to mourn Sunanda in peace,” Tharoor said. Sunanda Pushkar, 51, was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel in the city on the night of January 17, 2014, while Shashi Tharoor was attending a Congress meet in Delhi along with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Gandhis and the entire Congress leadership. The Tharoors had moved into the hotel because the MP’s home was being renovated. Pushkar’s husband Tharoor is the main accused in the matter, according to the Delhi Police. Tharoor was charged under Sections 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 306 of the Indian Penal Code by the Delhi Police, but was not arrested in the case.

The court today refused to accept a Delhi Police chargesheet that said Tharoor, 65, should be investigated, and cleared the former Union Minister of all charges. The Congress leader, seeking his discharge, had told the court that evidence showed the death of Sunanda Pushkar was neither a suicide nor homicide. The death should be considered an accident, he had said, as Pushkar had been struggling with various medical ailments at the time of her death.

“Not even a single witness” had made any allegations of dowry, harassment or cruelty against Tharoor, his lawyer Vikas Pahwa had argued. The lawyer also said a Special Investigation Team had exonerated the politician. After years of investigation by the police, the prosecution had failed to conclusively establish the cause of Pushkar’s death, the court was told. Tharoor and Pushkar married in 2010. Her death four years later triggered shock and speculation in political circles, especially as some of her last tweets hinted at a rift between the two and appeared to accuse the MP of an affair with a Pakistani journalist.

A post mortem revealed no apparent reason for her death. A week after her death, the police claimed she seemed to have died of hidden poisoning. A year later, they registered a murder case without naming any suspect. Three years later, they charged Tharoor. Tharoor, frequently targeted by political rivals over the case, had called the charges “preposterous and baseless” and the product of a “malicious and vindictive campaign”. The Tharoors were often in the media glare over allegations of IPL corruption, which led to his resignation as a Union Minister and “50 crore girlfriend” jibes from the BJP.

“The truth has finally prevailed. The persistent abuse, slander and vilification of our colleague Tharoor by BJP and TV anchors…today the court has finally held that Tharoor has nothing to do with the alleged murder. Will the PM come forward and apologise for his remarks to Tharoor and the Congress party? The falsehood and lies of the BJP have fallen flat,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

(WITH AGENCY INPUTS)

Slamming the Indian Army for the decisions that are based on “gender discrimination”, the Supreme Court on Wednesday in an interim order has allowed women to take the National Defence Academy (NDA) exam scheduled for 5 September.

A Bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Hrishikesh Roy ordered that female candidates can sit for the NDA exam on 5 September but the admissions will be subject to the outcome of the petition. The Bench posted the matter for hearing on 8 September and asked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to advertise the court’s order widely.

The top court slammed the government and Army for not allowing women to take part in NDA exams. As Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the ­government and ­Indian Army told the Bench that it’s a policy decision not to allow women to take the NDA exam, the Bench said that this policy decision is based on “gender discrimination”.

“It’s a policy decision which is based on gender discrimination. We direct the Centre and Army to take a constructive view of the matter…,” the Bench said expressing displeasure on “regressive mindset”.

The ASG said that there are three modes of entry in the Army—NDA, Indian Military Academy (IMA) and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA)—and women are permitted entry through OTA and IMA. To this, the Bench asked why women’s entry is allowed only through two sources.

“And even if it is a matter of policy, you are allowing women’s entry through two sources. Why should you say the one more additional source of entry is closed for women? It is not just a gender principle but discriminatory otherwise also,” it added.

Don’t compel judicial intervention all the time, said the apex court while slamming the Indian Army for not giving opportunities to women. “How can you continue to plead the same thing… This has been my impression right from the High Court that till a judgment is passed, the Army doesn’t believe in doing anything voluntarily. It’s like Army will act only when judicial orders will be passed,” observed Justice Kaul.

The Bench added, “It’s a question of mindset which is not changing. That’s why despite so many opportunities in the Supreme Court and High Court, we couldn’t persuade the government. Every time the order has come from the court, it has expanded the scope.”

We are permitting the girls who have approached the court to sit for the NDA examination because we will be considering the larger issue, it said further while giving interim order.

The leading “Halal Certification” body in the world has been funding Islamic radical groups since 2012, an investigation by Middle East Forum has revealed. In a report by JM Phelps and Sam Westrop of the Islamist Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum, Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) has handed out huge amounts of money to prominent Islamist organizations that are linked to terror groups such as Jamaat-e-Islamia, Hamas and Al-Qaeda.

Although IFANCA is a US-based Halal certifier, it also boasts recognition from “three key Islamic economies”—Indonesia, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates. It claims to have certificated over 11,000 food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and personal care products and also works to promote “awareness” of an Islamic lifestyle. Such services are apparently lucrative. In 2019, according to its most recent publicly available IRS Form 990, IFANCA reported over $25 million of income, and almost $70 million of assets—a curious level of wealth for a purported “non-profit” organization.

Tax returns filed by IFANCA from 2012 to 2019 show a steady payment of monies to radical organizations and charities across the country. The Furqaan Academy, for instance, is a division of the Al Furqaan Foundation, whose resident scholar, Sheikh Omar Baloch, overtly spews anti-Semitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories on YouTube. For example, Baloch claims Zionists were responsible for the 9/11 attacks, the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand, and the Sri Lanka Easter bombings. IFANCA provided $360,000 to the Furqaan Academy between 2015 and 2018, according to its Form 990s from those years.

GainPeace is the proselytization arm of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the self-admitted US arm of the violent South Asian movement Jamaat-e-Islami. ICNA is also a close partner of Pakistan’s Al Khidmat Foundation, the welfare arm of Jamaat-e-Islami, and, according to Jamaat-e-Islami’s own website, the foundation itself is a financier of terror groups such as Hamas. Between 2016 and 2019, IFANCA gave $112,000 to GainPeace and $31,250 to ICNA Relief, ICNA’s charitable arm, according to Form 990s from those years.

IFANCA gave $10,000 in 2019 to the Khalil Center, a project of the Zakat Foundation of America (ZFA), which DeSales University academic Ahmet S. Yayla reports is proxy of the Turkish regime in America. In addition, ZFA founder Halil Demir was a former official of the Benevolence International Foundation, which the US Treasury designated in 2002 as “financiers of terrorism” because of its close links to Al Qaeda.

ZFA has also funded Palestinian groups with links to terrorist groups, such as the Unlimited Friends Association for Social Development (UFA), a Gaza-based organization with close ties to senior Hamas leaders, as well as the Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron, which German intelligence services once described as the “most important Hamas association in the West Bank”.

Between 2016 and 2018, prominent Islamist organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which was designated in 2014 by the United Arab Emirates as a terrorist organization, received $40,000 from IFANCA. Also financially supported by IFANCA is the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC), an umbrella organization for a variety of radical members, including the Hamas-linked Americans Muslims for Palestine; Islamic Circle of North America and its terror-tied sister organization Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD; along with radical charities such as Islamic Relief, Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Zakat Foundation of America. Between 2015 and 2018, CIOGC received $41,200 from IFANCA.

From 2015 to 2019, however, IFANCA’s grants to all these radical groups and others totaled under $22 million, less than its annual revenue in just 2019. Middle East Forum investigations revealed that according to all of its publicly-available tax returns, IFANCA’s other most significant yearly expenditures include several million annually on salaries for approximately 40 employees, along with millions spent each year on unexplained “consultant and foreign office” expenses.

Certainly, this non-profit has provided lucrative employment for IFANCA’s senior officials. IFANCA president-director Muhammad Munir Chaudry’s base salary has averaged nearly $358,000 from 2015 to 2019. More interestingly, IFANCA has also funneled over $3 million to Chaudry’s personal charity, the MM Chaudry Family Foundation: $1.5 million in 2017 and 2018, and another $250,000 in 2019. Thus far, according to all the tax returns available at the time of writing, filed for tax years 2017 and 2018, the entirety of the MM Chaudry Foundation’s revenue comes from IFANCA, and not a single dime has yet been spent by the charity on charitable purpose; with the only expenditure recorded being just over $8000 of “investment” and “bank” fees.

Meanwhile, millions of seemingly untaxed income is otherwise added to IFANCA’s already substantial coffers. In 2019, IFANCA raised $14 million more than it spent. It is hardly surprising that IFANCA’s total assets in 2019 were over $70 million, of which—according to its 2019 990—an astonishing $60 million was invested in securities, along with almost $10 million of owned land and buildings. The precise origins of IFANCA’s actual revenue remain unclear. IFANCA’s 2019 tax returns show that only $2.7 million of its $25 million income actually derives from “certification,” with the rest otherwise generated from unexplained “consulting fees,” “supervision fees,” “plan approval fees,” “conferences,” and investments.

Certainly, IFANCA’s finances do not compare with other major Halal certification bodies around the world in countries with similarly-sized Muslim populations. Take, for example, the UK’s Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC), which reported a 2019 income of over £2.5 million ($3.5 million)— a tiny fraction of IFANCA’s annual revenue—and less than $800,000 in total assets. Moreover, HMC employs four times as many staff as IFANCA for approximately the same reported salary costs. The globally-known Halal Food Authority reports similar numbers. In other words, the financial power of other Halal organizations is dwarfed by IFANCA’s $70 million war chest and tens of millions of dollars of annual revenue. This leads to the question of where IFANCA is getting its money from.