Delhi Confidential: Special Assignment

The political squabbles in BJP’s Jammu unit have kept Union Minister Jitendra Singh occupied in the Union Territory for over a week now. Singh, who holds multiple portfolios in the government, represents the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat and is learnt to have been sent to Jammu to sort issues out. His ministries, however, have started missing him in Delhi. Singh could not physically attend at least four events of his various ministries. One of the events—of the Department of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions—Singh missed completely, while the other three, he attended through video conferencing.

Language Lesson

Justice B V Nagarathna of the Supreme Court Wednesday took exception to the language of a counsel appearing in a matrimonial case. The mother had sought visitation rights to see her 7-year-old daughter who has remained with the father since the time the couple became estranged when the child was three-month old. The court decided to see if the couple wanted to be together and asked their counsel to talk to each other. The husband’s counsel then asked his client, “aap wife ko rakhna chahoge (would you like to keep your wife)?” Justice Nagarathna took exception to the choice of words, saying: “What kind of language are you using… ‘rakhna chahoge’, means?” She added that the counsel should instead ask “…rehna chahoge wife ke saath?” Eventually, the court went on to grant the couple divorce and denied the woman visitation rights wondering if the child will even be able to recognise her after all these years.