Daily Briefing: Latest on remission of convicts in Bilkis Bano case; Centre’s bid for Uniform Civil Code; and more

The Gujarat government’s affidavit before the Supreme Court shows that 10 of the 11 men sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2002 gangrape of Bilkis Bano were out of jail for more than 1,000 days each — on parole, furlough, temporary bail before all were released by the state government on August 15.

🔴 The jail advisory committee, while granting consent to the release of the 11 convicts, had recorded that the decision was being taken on account of the prisoners having completed “14 years in prison” and “their behaviour was found to be good”. Here’s what the affidavit says.

🔴 Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has defended the release of the convicts, saying, “Whatever is done is as per the legal provision. After one spends the required time in jail, there is a provision to get free.”

🔴 Meanwhile, the Supreme Court adjourned to November 29 the hearing on petitions challenging remission of the convicts.

Only in the Express

“How can a company sell contaminated drugs?… This is murder!” says the kin of one of the 69 Gambian children whose deaths are being linked to contaminated cough syrups manufactured in India. The Indian Express speaks to the families of the victims and takes a look at how The Gambia and India have responded to the deaths.

In the latest explained.Live session, India’s former ambassador to Russia, D B Venkatesh Varma talks about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, whether it will be ending soon or not and what it means for India.

From the Front Page

In another attack on migrant workers in Jammu and Kashmir — the fifth fatal attack this year — two men from Uttar Pradesh were killed when suspected militants hurled a grenade inside the tin shed where they were sleeping late on Monday night. Hours after the attack, police said they had arrested two local “hybrid militants” involved in the incident. 

Urging the Interpol to speed up the process of issuing Red Notice against fugitive offenders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “there can be no safe havens for the corrupt, terrorists, drug cartels, poaching gangs or organised crime”. Read his full address at the inaugural session of Interpol’s 90th General Assembly in New Delhi here.

Underlining that the Constitution obligates the State to have a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for its citizens, and that people belonging to different religions and denominations following different property and matrimonial laws is an “affront to the nation’s unity”, the Centre has told the Supreme Court that the matter will now be placed before the 22nd Law Commission. 

Must Read

Even as the Centre lays focus on the rural economy to generate more employment and give easy access to produce from villages to towns, it has cleared a crucial bridge project on the Ganga in Begusarai, which would shorten the travel route from North Bihar to South Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, and Nepal by at least 70 km. 

A new study has found that even at the current levels of warming in the world, several climate ‘tipping points’ could be crossed, setting off irreversible and catastrophic changes. The research is an updated assessment of important tipping points, or the thresholds beyond which changes in the earth’s systems become uncontrollable and irreversible. We go in-depth on how this study’s findings could lead to a reassessment of global efforts to fight climate change.

In our opinion section today, Ashutosh Varshney writes on the Kheda floggings and what they represented: “What white supremacy — or “Jim Crow” — was for blacks in the American South, Hindu supremacy is for India’s Muslims in BJP-ruled states. The BJP-ruled states of India are now going through roughly similar majoritarian processes. Jim Crow was a very long tragedy for American democracy. It lasted nearly eight decades, overturned finally only in mid-1960s. One can only hope that India’s new anti-Muslim turn will not last that long.”

Skyrocketing air travel demand around Diwali is a time of frenzy for the airlines sector, but as the demand comes close to exceeding capacity on certain routes, full-service carriers are faced with an unusual phenomenon — fares of economy class tickets turning costlier than business class tickets. An executive at a Dubai-based airline told The Indian Express that this could be due to how airlines define their Reservation Booking Designators, or fare buckets.

And Finally…

A prominent member of Bengaluru’s Anglo-Indian community, Roger Binny has worn many hats — an allrounder with a lovely outswinger, a veteran Karnataka SCA office-bearer, a coach and a national selector. Appointed as the BCCI president, Binny is going to be part of a power panel dominated by politicians. As replacement to Sourav Ganguly, Binny may have to resort to more than diplomacy to put his point across.

Delhi Confidential: Laughing loudly inside the office building may prove costly for the staff working under the Ministry of External Affairs at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan. MEA has issued instructions regarding decorum and dress code to the staff. Officials have been advised against “unnecessary roaming around and sitting on sofas”. “Assembling in groups, sitting on staircases, talking and laughing loudly inside the building, etc., are to be avoided,” reads the order.

🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 things’ podcast, we discuss the Global Hunger Index which positioned India at 107 out of 121 countries, the “Cultural track” prepared by India for its G20 presidency, and the Delhi High Court denying bail to Umar Khalid.

Until tomorrow,

Sonal Gupta and Anandu Suresh