Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Mr Katju is a very busy man
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indus-calling/entry/mr-katju-is-a-very-busy-man
19 February 2013,
01:10 PM IS
Having termed 90% of Indians as
'idiots', Mr Markandey Katju, the headline-grabber chairman of the Press
Council of India has been supported by the Congress for his recent utterances.
Nothing surprising.
Mr Katju is a very busy man. Except the Press Council,
everything gets his attention.
His job was to serve the cause of a
free and fearless media and turn the Press Council into an effective instrument
to safeguard the rights and privileges of journalists and address the
grievances of the people in this regard.
He has failed in that assigned duty.
It will be interesting to know how many days he actually attended the office
and addressed issues that affect the credibility of his institution and the
media at large.
Instead, he loved to become a political spokesperson enjoying
perks and privileges at public expense.
Some of his gems are like this:
"I say ninety percent of
Indians are idiots. You people don't have brains in your heads. It is so easy
to take you for a ride."
"First of all, let me tell you one thing --
Pakistan is no country. It is a fake country."
And the media reported
from Kolkata: "Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju has
described west Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as 'intolerant and
whimsical' and warned her that she would lose power if she did not
change."
And
the reply that came soon was this: "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit back at her critics with the remark
'raja chale bazaar, kutta bhouke hazaar' (the king walks unperturbed as dogs bark)." The
comment is believed to have been aimed at a letter by Press Council of India
chief Markandey Katju.'
In a country which has the world's
largest newspaper industry having more than 82,237 registered newspapers out of
which 4,853 new newspapers were registered during 2010-11 and according to the
annual report of World Association of Newspapers (WAN) 2011 an estimated 330
million newspapers are circulated daily in the country, the premier official
body concerning media affairs received only 90 complaints in the last four
years, and even 'out of the 90 complaints, more than 40 were filed four years
ago'.
On an independent media watch site,
The Hoot, Indira Akoijam writes, "delay in adjudications on the part of
the Press Council made the complainants to either stop pursuing the case or
such complaints to be disposed of depending on the Inquiry Committee. Three
pending cases from the year 2007 were taken up for adjudication in 2011 and
2012. The Press Council does not cite anywhere in its published index of
adjudications as to why the cases remained pending from 2007 until taken up in
2011- 2012."
An example of a serious complaint
which was taken up for hearing after 12 months, illustrates the 'active' nature of the PCI: "In one case, a suo motu
inquiry was directed on the reported attack on the offices of Kannada Prabha
and Jaya Kirna, which appeared in The Hindustan Times, The Hindu and The
Times of India. The complaint was filed on 22nd March 2010 …The complaint was
finally heard on 27th February 2012 where the complainants informed that they
had no grievances and hence, the Inquiry Committee dropped the suo motu inquiry."
Another example of how the issues of press and morality was dealt with is an
eye opener. "Two complaints were filed under this category ( Press and
Morality), one dealing with an inappropriate portrayal of women in an
advertisement by a local newspaper in Assam, and use of an indecent picture of
a woman in one of the articles in India Today, New Delhi. One complaint was
dismissed as no one appeared for the hearing and in the other case (Assam news
daily, Asomiya Pratidin) PCI advised the newspaper not to accept advertisements
that may corrupt young minds."
(http://thehoot.org/web/HoweffectiveisthePressCouncil/6292-1-1-9-true.html)
.
The Press Council under Mr Katju has
become so ineffective that newspapers and magazines against which the
complaints are filed often ignore its call to appear for hearing or remain
dismissive of its 'cautionary advises'. Mr Katju remains soft on
anti-national writings. In one case, filed by the Army against the highly
objectionable and seditious article published in a Srinagar daily, the Press
Council simply cautioned the editor to be more careful in the future and in
another case , the editor or the owner ignored its show cause notice. What did
Mr Katju do? Press Council 'expressed displeasure when the respondent did not
appear for the hearing on the show cause notice. The case was subsequently
dropped".
Indira Akoijam in her brilliant
analysis opines about the Press Council's conduct, "even in cases dealing
with morality, plagiarism, paid news and harassment, the strictest decisions
only amount to being censured ... More than the fate of the cases filed before
the Council, which often come to a tame end, the point to note is that several
recent controversies involving members of the print media do not even come up before
it. These include cases of election-time paid news, the controversies regarding
the Radia tapes where print journalists were involved, the publishing of mms
pictures by a leading Hindi daily, cases of regional newspapers reporting hate
speech, and so on."
But ostensibly a busy Mr Katju has
no time to devote on such issues for which he was appointed. Instead, he has
given an impression of being an applicant in a hurry to the media cell of
a political party. It's quite natural that like a mother comes to defend her
errand son, a national leader of the Congress has dutifully come to
rescue him.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Afzal Guru's hanging: My Rediff.Com column and Supreme Court's observation on the involvement of Afzal Guru- bare facts
February 09, 2013 17:40 IST
http://www.rediff.com/news/column/afzal-guru-hanging-move-on-make-india-terror-free/20130209.htm
Unless we learn to forget our differences and stand
together as Indians first, earnestly believing that the cause of the Motherland
is bigger than the interests of our groups and parties, the terrorist network
cannot be rooted out, says Tarun Vijay.
Afzal Guru was a dreaded
terrorist who was part of a meticulously planned attack on India's
parliamentarians by the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba [ Images ].
The five jihadis attacked the greatest symbol of India's
democratic life. It was termed as a 'war on the Indian State' by the Government
of India.
The braveheart security personnel foiled the attack by the
cowards and it is time we pay tribute to them with a solemn pledge to defend
the nation with characteristic Indian solidarity and might.
It is unfortunate that while the entire nation, rising
above religious and party lines, has welcomed the long-awaited execution,
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar [ Images ]
expressed 'sadness'.
The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat -- an umbrella
body of several Muslim organisations -- condemned Afzal Guru's hanging. The
organisation's President Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan told Rediff.com that Guru's execution was
'unjustified and he did not get a fair trial'.
Anything surprising here?
The attack on December 13, 2001, shook the nation. It was
a black day. The Supreme Court
judgment (of August 4, 2005) gives a graphic description of the
ferocity and destructive intentions of the terrorists: There is practically
no dispute in regard to the details of actual incident, the identification of
the deceased terrorists and the recoveries and other investigations made at the
spot. Five heavily-armed persons entered the Parliament House complex in
a white Ambassador car. The said five persons were heavily armed with automatic
assault rifles, pistols, hand and rifle grenades, electronic detonators, spare
ammunition, explosives in the form of improvised explosive devices, tiffin
bombs and a sophisticated bomb in a container in the boot of the car made with
an enormous quantity of ammonium nitrate. The high court observed: 'The fire
power was awesome enough to engage a battalion and had the attack succeeded,
the entire building with all inside would have perished.' It was a
fortuitous circumstance that the Vice-President's carcade, which was awaiting
departure from Gate 11 was blocking the circular road outside the Parliament
building, with the result the deceased terrorists were unable to get free and
easy access to the Parliament House building. The attack was foiled due to the
immediate reaction of the security personnel present at the spot and complex.
There was a fierce gun-battle lasting for nearly 30 minutes.
Security agencies investigated and found Afzal Guru,
Shaukat Hussain and S A R Geelani and Navjot Sandhu aka Afsan as the main
plotters and accused them in the chargesheets filed in the designated special
court presided by Justice S N Dhingra. The trial concluded in about six months
and Afzal Guru, Shaukat Hussain and Geelani were convicted for offences under
Sections 121, 121A, 122, Section 120B read with Sections 302 & 307 read
with Section 120B IPC, sub-Sections (2), (3) & (5) of Section 3 and Section
4(b) of Prevention of Terrorism [ Images ]
Act and Sections 3 & 4 of the Explosive Substances Act.
Navjot Sandhu aka Afsan was acquitted of all the charges
except the one under Section 123 of the Indian Penal Code for which she was
convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and to
pay a fine. Death sentences were imposed on the other three accused for
offences under Section 302 read with Section 120B IPC and Section 3(2) of POTA.
A trial court sentenced Shaukat Hussain, a cousin of Afzal
Guru, along with Afzal and Geelani, a Kashmiri lecturer working in Delhi
[ Images ],
to death on December 16, 2002.
While India was said to be
almost on the verge of war with Pakistan over this issue, there were movements
by the so-called secular elite to pressurise the government to free Afzal Guru
and Geelani. The death sentences to these accused were opposed by the
'seculars' on various grounds.
The media was reporting on the involvement of the key
conspirators in this manner: 'The attack on Parliament on December 13 was a
joint operation of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT)
terrorist groups in which a Delhi University lecturer, Syed A R Geelani, was
one of the key facilitators in Delhi, Police Commissioner Ajai Raj Sharma said
on Sunday.' (The Times of India [ Images ],
December 17, 2001) and 'Varsity don guided fidayeen': 'During interrogation
Geelani disclosed that he was in the know of the conspiracy since the day the
'fidayeen' attack was planned.'
According to The Hindu , a group called
the Delhi University Teachers in Defence of S A R Geelani issued a statement
bearing the signatures of 84 teachers from DU, JNU, Jamia Milia etc.
The statement said: 'Institute a high-level judicial
inquiry into the illegal practices of the Special Branch of the Delhi police,
including allegations of corruption, violations of fair trial standards and
allegations of false encounters. Institute a judicial [inquiry] into the
allegations made by Mohammad Afzal and his wife about the torture and extortion
by the STF officers. Punish the guilty policemen who framed Mr Geelani and
Afsan Guru.'
Author Arundhati Roy [ Images ]
wrote a long essay in a popular news magazine defending Afzal Guru and said:
'In Kashmir [Images ],
public opinion is equally overwhelming. Huge angry protests make it
increasingly obvious that if Afzal is hanged, the consequences will be
political. Some protest what they see as a miscarriage of justice, but even as
they protest, they do not expect justice from Indian courts. They have lived
through too much brutality to believe in courts, affidavits and justice any
more.' 'Others would like to see Mohammed Afzal march to the gallows like
Maqbool Butt, a proud martyr to the cause of Kashmir's freedom struggle,' Roy wrote.
'On the whole, most Kashmiris see Mohammed Afzal as a sort of prisoner-of-war
being tried in the courts of an occupying power (which it undoubtedly is).'
Meanwhile Afzal Guru's family submitted a mercy petition
to President A P J Abdul Kalam [ Images ]
and in reaction, the family of Kamlesh Kumari, a Central Reserve Police Force
jawan who attained martyrdom in the attack, warned that they would return the
Ashok Chakra if the President accepted the petition.
On December 13, 2006, the families of the deceased
returned the medals to the government to protest the delay in hanging Afzal
Guru and the accusations of the secular elitist circles about the security
forces for 'falsely implicating' the accused.
Later, the Delhi high court upheld the death sentence of
Shaukat and Afzal, and acquitted Geelani in October 2003, stating that the
proof based on phone-tapping was insufficient for his conviction.
In 2005, the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence
of Shaukat and dismissed 12 of the charges slapped on him, reducing his jail
term to 10 years. The apex court also upheld the death sentence on Afzal Guru
and Geelani's acquittal.
On December 30, 2010, Shaukat Hussain Guru, sentenced to
10 years of rigorous imprisonment, was released nine months prior to his
official date of release due to his 'good conduct.'
The Supreme Court judgment, confirming the death sentence
on Afzal Guru and acquitting Geelani, is really important and I am quoting some
parts of it for the benefit of readers. Delivered on August 4, 2005, by a bench
consisting of Justice P Venkatarama Reddi and Justice P P Naolekar, the
document is too significant.
The phone calls
Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of special cell/027PW66
undertook the investigations pertaining to the mobile phones. Phone call
details were obtained and analysed from the respective cellular mobile service
providers.
Analysis of the call records indicated that the number
9811489429 which was found on the ID cards, (subsequently discovered to be that
of the accused Afzal) appeared to be integrally connected with the deceased
terrorists and this number had been in frequent contact with the cell phone No
9810693456 (recovered from the deceased terrorist Mohammad at Gate No 1)
continuously from 28.11.2001 till the date of the attack.
It was further revealed that this number of Afzal, namely,
9811489429, was in contact with the above cell phone of Mohammad, just before
the incident, at 10.40 am, 11.04 am and 11.22 am. It was also ascertained that
the said number of Afzal was activated only on 6.11.2001 close to the attack.
Further analysis of the cell phone call records showed
that another cell phone number 9811573506 (subsequently discovered to be that
of Shaukat and recovered from the 4th accused Afsan Guru) appeared to be in
close contact with Afzal's number namely 9811489429 and these numbers were in
contact with each other a few minutes before the attack on Parliament
commenced. It was also found that the said number of Shaukat was activated only
on 7.12.2001 just a week prior to the attack.
An analysis of the call records relating to Shaukat's
mobile phone further revealed that soon after the attack, at 12.12 hours, there
was a call from Shaukat's number to the cell phone number 9810081228
(subsequently discovered to be that of S A R Gilani) and there was a call from
Gilani's number to Shaukat's number 10 minutes later. Moreover, it was
ascertained that Gilani's number was in constant touch with the other two
accused, namely Shaukat and Afzal. It transpired that Afzal's cell phone
bearing number 9811489429 was reactivated on 7.12.2001 and the first call was
from Gilani's number.
With the recoveries of the cell phones and SIM cards and
on an analysis of the details of phone numbers noted on the slips of papers in
the light of the call records, the investigation narrowed down to three
numbers, namely, 9811489429, 9811573506 and 9810081228 which belonged to Afzal,
Shaukat and Gilani respectively. It was also found that the first two numbers
were cash cards and hence the details regarding their ownership were not
available.
However, as regards 9810081228, the information was
received from the service provider (Airtel) that S A R Gilani with the
residential address 535, Dr Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi was the regular subscriber.'
On Geelani
At any rate, there is room for doubt. No doubt, as per the
deposition of DW 6, the brother of Gilani and the version of Gilani in his
statement under Section 313, the relevant query and answer was in the context
of quarrel between him and his wife with regard to the Kashmir trip during Eid
appears to be false in view of the tenor of the conversation. At the same time,
in view of the discrepant versions, on an overall consideration, we are not
inclined to disturb the finding of the high court.
However, we would like to advert to one disturbing
feature. Gilani rejoiced and laughed heartily when the Delhi event was raised
in the conversation. It raises a serious suspicion that he was approving of the
happenings in Delhi. Moreover, he came forward with a false version that the
remark was made in the context of domestic quarrel. We can only say that his
conduct, which is not only evident from this fact, but also the untruthful
pleas raised by him about his contacts with Shaukat and Afzal, give rise to
serious suspicion at least about his knowledge of the incident and his tacit
approval of it. At the same time, suspicion -- however strong -- cannot take
the place of legal proof. Though his conduct was not above board, the Court
cannot condemn him in the absence of sufficient evidence pointing unmistakably
to his guilt. In view of the foregoing discussion we affirm the verdict
of the high court and we uphold the acquittal of S A R Gilani of all charges.
On Afsan Guru
The trial court convicted her of the offence under Section
123 IPC imputing her the knowledge of conspiracy and concealing the evidence of
design to wage war by reason of her illegal omission to inform the police. The
high court acquitted her of the charge. We are of the view that the high court
is fully justified in doing so. The prosecution case against this accused, who
is the wife of Shaukat Hussain, is weak.
Every step taken towards
eradication of terrorism and punishing the masterminds should be welcomed, but
at the same time a solidarity among all Indians, irrespective of caste, religion
and parochial affinities, should be forged to eliminate this menace which is
eating away the vitals of the nation and seriously affecting the social fabric.
Unless we learn to forget our differences and stand
together as Indians first, earnestly believing that the cause of the Motherland
is bigger than the interests of our groups and parties, the terrorist network
cannot be rooted out.
This is exactly the time when we must move in this
direction and there is a role for all non-partisan leaders to come forward and
be gamechangers for the nation.
Supreme Court Judgment
CASE NO.:
Appeal (crl.) 373-375 of 2004
PETITIONER:
STATE (N.C.T. OF DELHI)
RESPONDENT:
NAVJOT SANDHU@ AFSAN GURU
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 04/08/2005
BENCH:
P. VENKATARAMA REDDI & P.P. NAOLEKAR
JUDGMENT:
JUDGMENT
WITH
CRIMINAL APPEAL Nos. 376-378 OF 2004
STATE (N.C.T. OF DELHI) \005 APPELLANT
VERSUS
SYED ABDUL REHMAN GILANI \005 RESPONDENT
CRIMINAL APPEAL Nos. 379-380 OF 2004
SHAUKAT HUSSAIN GURU \005 APPELLANT
VERSUS
STATE (N.C.T. OF DELHI) \005 RESPONDENT
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 381 OF 2004
MOHD. AFZAL \005 APPELLANT
VERSUS
STATE (N.C.T. OF DELHI)
P. VENKATARAMA REDDI, J.
Circumstances
against Afzal
We shall now
consider the circumstantial evidence against Afzal
independent of and
irrespective of the confession.
The first
circumstance is that Afzal knew who the deceased terrorists
were. He identified
the dead bodies of the deceased terrorists. PW76
(Inspector HS Gill)
deposed that Afzal was taken to the mortuary of Lady
Harding Medical
College and he identified the five terrorists and gave their
names. Accordingly,
PW76 prepared an identification memo\027Ext.PW76/1 which was signed by
Afzal. In the postmortem reports pertaining to each of the deceased
terrorists, Afzal signed against the column ’identified by’. On this aspect, the
evidence of PW76 remained un-shattered. In the course of his examination under
Section 313, Afzal merely stated that he was forced to identify by the
police. There was not even a suggestion put to PW76 touching on the genuineness
of the documents relating to identification memo. It may be recalled that
all the accused, through their counsel, agreed for admission of the postmortem
reports without formal proof. Identification by a person in custody of another
does not amount to making a statement falling within the embargo of Section
162 of Cr.P.C. It would be admissible under Section 8 of Evidence Act as a
piece of evidence relating to conduct of the accused person in identifying the
dead bodies of the terrorists. As pointed out by Chinnappa Reddy, J. in
Prakash Chand Vs. State (Delhi Admn.) [AIR 1979 SC 400]; "There is a
clear distinction between the conduct of a person against whom an
offence is alleged, which is admissible under Section 8 of the
Evidence Act, if such conduct is influenced by any fact in issue or
relevant fact and the statement made to a Police Officer in the
course of an investigation which is hit by Section 162 Criminal Procedure
Code. What is excluded by Section 162 Criminal(http://JUDIS.NIC.IN
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 65 of 107) Procedure Code is
the statement made to a Police Officer in the
course of
investigation and not the evidence relating to the conduct
of an accused
person (not amounting to a statement) when
confronted or
questioned by a Police Officer during the course of an
investigation. For
example, the evidence of the circumstance,
simpliciter, that
an accused person led a police officer and pointed
out the place where
stolen articles or weapons which might have
been used in the
commission of the offence were found hidden,
would be admissible
as conduct, under Section 8 of the Evidence
Act, irrespective
of whether any statement by the accused
contemporaneously
with or antecedent to such conduct falls within
the purview of
Section 27 of the EvidenceAct (vide Himachal
Pradesh
Administration Vs. Om Prakash [AIR 1972 SC
975]). The second
circumstance is the frequent telephonic contacts which Afjal had established
with Mohammed. Even minutes before the attack, as many as three calls were
made by Mohammed to Afzal from his phone No. 9810693456 which was operated
with the instrument having IMEI No. 35066834011740(2) that was recovered
from Mohammed’s body, as seen from Ext. PW 35/2. The SIM Card relating
thereto was also found in Mohammed’s purse. Not only that, there is clear
evidence to the effect that the mobile instruments were being freely exchanged
between Afzal and Mohammed and other terrorists. This is the third
circumstance.
Before going into
the details on these aspects, it may be noted that the
handset found in
the truck in which Afzal was travelling and which he pointed out to the police
was having IMEI No. 350102209452430. It was a mobile phone instrument of
Nokia make and it was being used for the operation of phone No.
9811489429. It is Ext.P-84. The evidence as to recovery was furnished by PW61
and PW62. Its IMEI number and the cell phone number with which it was
being operated is established by the evidence of investigating officer coupled
with the call records filed by the witnesses. It is also clear from the call record
that it was the last instrument on which the said number \00589429 had been
operated as late as 13.12.2001.
The fact that the
instrument bearing number \005\005\00552430 was being
carried by Afzal in
the truck would give rise to a reasonable inference that the cell-phone number
with which the instrument was being operated was that of Afzal and the said
phone number was under his use. The appellant, Afzal, apart from denying
the recovery at Srinagar\027which denial cannot be said to be true, did not
account for the custody of the phone. The said phone number cannot be related
to Shaukat who was also travelling with Afzal because Shaukat was having
his own phones which were seized from his residence on 15th December. In
the circumstances, even a presumption under Section 114 can be drawn that
the number 9811489429 was at all material times being used by the
accused, Afzal.
The facts that the
SIM card was not found in the mobile phone and that
the IMEI number of
the instrument was not noted by PW 61 cannot be the
grounds to
disconnect Afzal from the custody of the said phone. The IMEI
number found on the
phone was sent to trace the number of the cell phone.
One more point has
to be clarified. In the seizure memo (Ext. 61/4), the
IMEI number of
Nokia phone found in the truck was noted as \005\00552432. That means the last
digit ’2’ varies from the call records wherein it was noted as \005\00552430.
Thus, there is a seeming discrepancy as far as the last digit is
concerned. This
discrepancy stands explained by the evidence of PW 78 \026 a computer Engineer
working as Manager, Siemens. He stated, while giving various details of
the 15 digits, that the last one digit is a spare digit and the last digit,
according to GSM specification should be transmitted by the mobile phone as ’0’. The
witness was not cross-examined.
This mobile number
..89429 was also used in the instrument No. IMEI
449269219639010
recovered from the deceased terrorist Raja and was then
used in the handset
having number 350102209452430(2) i.e. the instrument
recovered from the
truck at Srinagar, as pointed out by the High Court at
paragraph 325 of
the judgment. The instrument recovered from Raja was the
one used by Afzal
i.e. on phone No.\00589429 between 6.11.2001 and
23.11.2001. The
mobile instrument recovered from Rana (IMEI
(http://JUDIS.NIC.IN
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 66 of 107)
449269405808650)
(Cell phone No.9810302438) was used by Mohammed who in turn was using
the phone of Afzal also. This was the phone that was
purchased by Afzal
from PW49\027Kamal Kishore.
Now, we shall
proceed to give further details of the phone calls and the
instruments used,
more or less in a chronological order insofar as they throw
light on the close
association of Afzal with the deceased terrorists. The SIM
Cards related to
the mobile phones bearing Nos. 9810693456 and 9810565284 were recovered from
the purse of the deceased terrorist Mohammed. The first call from the first
number was from Mohammed to a Delhi landline number on 21.11.2001. The
first call to the second number was from Bombay on 24.11.2001. It
shows that these two phones were activated by Mohammed in the third week of
November, 2001 when he was in Delhi. It is established from the call records
that the second call from the Bombay number to Mohammed was received when
the said mobile number (9810565284) was being used in the handset having
IMEI No. 449269219639010(2). This is the same handset which was used by
Afzal with his phone number 9811489429 (vide Ext.P36/3).
Thus, it is clear
that on 24.11.2001, Mohammed was in control of the handset which was being
used by Afzal which reveals the nexus between both.
Evidence of the
computer experts PWs 72 & 73 together with their
reports (Ext.PW73/1
& 73/2) would reveal that a file named Radhika.bmp was created on the
laptop (Ext.P83) on 21.11.2001 wherein an identity card in the name of Sanjay
Sharma is found and it contains the address No.10, Christian Colony, where
Mohammed was staying and the phone No. 9811489429 (belonging to
Afzal). The other I.Cards recovered from the body of the deceased terrorist
which were fake ones, were also prepared from the same laptop as
established by the testimony of PW72 and PW59. Thus, together with the activation of
phones, simultaneous activity on the laptop to create bogus I.Cards was going
on at the same time i.e. 21.11.2001 onwards.
On 28.11.2001,
Afzal, having phone No. 9811489429 called Mohammed
to his No.
9810693456. Then there was a lull from 30.11.2001 till 6.12.2001.
This gap is
explained by the prosecution by referring to the confessional
statement of Afzal
wherein he said that towards the end of November, he
(Afzal) went to
Kashmir and came back to Delhi along with two other terrorists in the first week
of December. But as the confessional statement is not taken into account, we
cannot take note of that explanation. On 5th December, 2001, Mohammed called two
Dubai numbers from his mobile phone No. 9810565284 and the call
record\027Ext.PW35/4 would show that Mohammed made those calls to Dubai by using
the same handset which was being used by Afzal for his number 9811489429.
PW49, who identified Afzal in the Court, testified to the
fact that Afzal had
purchased Motorola mobile phone of model 180 from his
shop on 4.12.2001
which tallies with the description of the phone bearing the IMEI number
referred to above.
The next point to
be noted is that the said phone instrument bearing
IMEI No.
\005\00539010 was finally recovered from the deceased terrorist Raja as per the seizure
memo (Ext.PW2/2). A perusal of the call record discloses that the said instrument
was being used by the accused Afzal (with his number ...89429) till the
noon of 12.12.2001. It shows that such interchange of phones would not have been
possible, but for the meeting of the Afzal with the slain terrorists on 12th
December. There were calls to the mobile number 9810693456 the SIM
Card of which was recovered from the body of Mohammed vide
Ext.PW4/8 and which was being operated from the instrument IMEI No.
449269405808650 (Ext.PW35/5). On 7th & 8th December, Afzal called Mohammed seven
times from his phone No. 9811489429 to Mohammed’s No. 9810693456 and the
said mobile of Mohammed was being used in IMEI No. \005808650
(Ext.PW35/5). Thus Mohammed used the same Motorola phone (Ext.P28) which was
finally recovered from the deceased Raja vide seizure memo (Ext.PW2/2) on
the SIM card (described as ’Magic Card’) for the No.
9810693456 and the
said card was recovered from Mohammed vide
Ext.PW4/8. As per
the testimony of PW49, the said Ext.P28 was purchased by Afzal. It is
pertinent to note that the said instrument was never used by Afzal though it was
purchased by him but it was being used by Mohammed and it ultimately reached
Raja.
The deposition of
PW44 discloses that Afzal, who was identified by him in
the Court, came to
his shop on 7th or 8th December and purchased a mobile
phone of J70 model
of Sony make which he identified as Ext.P-37 seized under
(http://JUDIS.NIC.IN
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 67 of 107)
Ext.PW4/14 from the
body of Mohammed. Its IMEI number was
35066834011747/2
and its cell-phone number was found to be 9810511085.
This fact would
only lead to the inference that contemporaneous to the crucial incident of 13th
December, Afzal met Mohammed and supplied the handset of the mobile phone.
That apart, we find the exchange of calls between them.
From the call
records in Parts VI & IX, it is evident that Afzal was in touch with Mohammed over phone
on seven occasions on 7th and 8th December and they
were using the two
phones with the Cell numbers referred to supra, though,
two or three calls
of them were of very short duration. It may also be noticed
that a satellite
phone contacted Afzal for a short-while on his number
9811489429 and the
same satellite phone contacted Mohammed on his phone No. 9810693456 on
10th December for five minutes. On 12th December, Mohammed contacted
Raja for 83 seconds and thereafter a satellite phonecontacted Mohammed
for 11 minutes and the same satellite phone contacted Raja twice for
about 3= minutes. This is borne out by call records at volume VI. The phone
number of Raja was 9810510816 as discovered from the phone
instrument
recovered from his body.
Then we come to the
crucial day i.e. 13.12.2001. Mohammed called
Afzal thrice at
10.43, 11.08 and 11.25 a.m., i.e. just before the attack on the
Parliament. This is
borne out by the call records of 9810693456 and
9811489429 (phones
traceable to Mohammed and Afzal, respectively). At
about the same
time, there was exchange of calls between Afzal and Shaukat
on their phone
numbers .\005.89429 and \005\005.73506. The call records at Part IX, Page 20 pertaining
to 9811489429\027the user of which can be traced to Afzal and the instruments
recovered would reveal that the SIM Card pertaining to the said mobile
number (\00589429) was activated on 6th November and was used on the handset
bearing IMEI No. 449269219639010 recovered from the deceased terrorist
Raja as per Ex. PW2/2. The call record would further show
that its user was
discontinued on 29th November till 7th December, when,
again, it was put
to use on 12th December. The last call was at 12 noon.
Thereafter, the SIM
Card pertaining to this number (i.e. \005.89429) was used in the handset No.
350102209452430, which is the instrument (Ext.P84) recovered from the
truck at Srinagar, on being pointed out by Afzal. The picture that
emerges is this: The fact that an instrument used by Afzal (with the phone number
9811489429) till 12.12.2001 was recovered from one of the deceased terrorists
on the date of incident, reveals that Afzal would have necessarily met the
deceased terrorist between the afternoon of 12th December and the morning of
13th December.
One point urged by
Shri Sushil Kumar is that although the sanction order
authorized the
interception of Phone No. \005..06722, there is no evidence
regarding the
details of investigation of the calls made or received from that
number. No question
was put to the witnesses on this point. It is quite
probable that the
investigator would have entertained some suspicion in this
regard and would
have, by way of caution sought permission to intercept. That does not cast a
cloud on the prosecution case built up on the basis of the call records pertaining
to the phones used by the accused. We can draw no adverse inference from the
fact that the details of aforementioned number was not given.
(vi) Hideouts and
recoveries
The other
circumstances which prominently shed light on the
involvement of the
accused Afzal relate to the discovery of the abodes or
hideouts of the
deceased terrorists and the recovery of various incriminating
articles therefrom
as well as the identification of certain shops from where the appellant and one
or the other deceased terrorist purchased various items used for preparation of
explosives etc. These are spoken to by PW76\027Inspector Gill, the landlords of
the concerned premises and the shopkeepers. The informations
furnished to the Investigating Officers leading to the discovery of facts and the
conduct of the accused in pointing out the places where the terrorists stayed
are admissible either under Section 27 or Section 8 of the Evidence Act and
they supplement the evidence furnished by the I.Os., the landlords and the
shopkeepers.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Banning `Vishwaroopam` against idea of India: Tarun Vijay
|
http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/bollywood/banning-vishwaroopam-against-idea-of-india-tarun-vijay_127216.htm
Last Updated: Friday, February 01, 2013, 14:06
Tags: Vishwaroopam, Tarun Vijay, Kamal Haasan, Ashis Nandy
New Delhi: The ban on Kamal Haasan`s film ‘Vishwaroopam’ and
the controversy over social analyst Ashis Nandy`s comments on caste and
corruption in Jaipur reflected the intolerance of Indian policy makers and went
against the "very grain of India", BJP MP Tarun Vijay has said.
"A silly ban on `Vishwaroopam` and the misinformed
controversy on Ashish Nandy`s opinion show how intolerant Indian policy makers
have become while the common people are tolerant, large-hearted, plural and
democratic," Tarun Vijay said in a statement.
"One may disagree with Ashish Nandy on any number of
issues, but his intellectual brilliance and integrity can`t be questioned.
Similarly, to ban `Vishwaroopam` on flimsy, almost non-existent reasons shows
an un-Indian attitude," the Rajya Sabha MP of the Bharatiya Janata Party
said.
Nandy`s comment on corruption and caste at the Jaipur
Literature Festival led to several FIRs being filed against him. On Friday, the
Supreme Court stepped in to stop the Rajasthan Police from arresting him.
"Vishwaroopam" was banned by the Tamil Nadu
government for scenes that some Muslim groups found objectionable.
Posing a question, "Is this the India we are proud
of", Tarun Vijay compared the ban on Kamal Haasan`s mega budget spy
thriller with the shooting of Mahatma Gandhi. Such bans, he said, show a
"Talibanistic attitude".
Sixty-five years on, "the person" who assassinated
Gandhi "still exists in the psyche of those who are intolerant to a
different voice, just because it`s different. However healthy, academic or
artistic it might be in its content".
In Tarun Vijay`s view, "to disagree and yet to be able
to live with respect can happen only in the land of those who gave the world a
unique concept of not just tolerating the different viewpoint but having a
honourable place for the dissenters.
"If there is any thing derogatory, insulting and
uncivil in a movie, please have the censor board cut it. But an innocent
expression of ideas and opinion can`t be a reason for persecution," he
said.
IANS
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)