Daily Bulletin: SC takes note of Unnao survivor's letter, CJI to hear matter today; UAPA bill to be tabled in RS; day's top stories

CJI to take up Unnao rape survivor's letter in SC today

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi is on Thursday likely to take up the Unnao rape survivor’s letter to him in which she had expressed fears of a threat to her life.

On Wednesday, The apex court took cognisance of the letter and sought a report from its secretary-general as to why it had not been brought to Gogoi's notice earlier. In her letter to the CJI, the 19-year-old woman had expressed the apprehension of threat to her life.

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"Unfortunately, the letter is yet to see the light of the day and yet the newspapers flashed it as if I have read the letter," Gogoi said. The bench, also comprising justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, lamented that newspapers gave the impression that no action was taken by the CJI. "We will do something about this highly volatile situation," the bench said.

The observations came when senior advocate V Giri, who is assisting the court in the suo motu case on the alarming rise in child rapes, sought urgent hearing of the Unnao rape case. The apex also asked the Uttar Pradesh authorities to file a status report by Thursday on the accident of the Unnao rape case victim.

The 19-year-old woman, who was allegedly raped two years ago by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar at his residence in Unnao, was critically injured in a car crash on Sunday.

File image of Supreme Court of India. PTI

UAPA bill to be taken up by Rajya Sabha today

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill 2019, or UAPA bill is likely to come up in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday in the backdrop of allegations from the Opposition that the legislations are being "bull-dozed" through Parliament.

The bill, which amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, was passed in the Lok Sabha amid vehement objections by the Congress, TMC, and AIMIM on 25 July.

Replying to the Opposition's concerns that the provisions in the amended bill could be misused by the state, Home Minister Amit Shah defended the bill saying, "The law is just to finish terrorism in the country and not to misuse it. I assure the house that it will not be misused. The toughest laws are needed to weed out terror from its roots. I have merely brought in amendments."

On Wednesday, the Opposition hit out at the government both inside and outside Parliament and accused it of not keeping its word on sending some bills, including the triple talaq bill, to select committees as suggested by them.

Referring to the triple talaq bill, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said the allegation was not on the Chair, but none of the opposition parties got a chance to issue a whip, while all the members of the BJP and the NDA were present.

Ayodhya mediation panel to submit report in SC

The three-member mediation panel on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute is scheduled to submit its status report to the Supreme Court on Thursday, with the next hearing in the case on Friday. The panel will submit the report in a sealed cover on Thursday.

A Supreme Court bench, led by the Chief Justice of India, will hear the matter on 2 August. The apex court had on 18 July asked the mediation committee on the dispute in Ayodhya to continue the process and submit a report on the progress made.

A Constitution bench comprising Gogoi and Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer observed that it will take a call on 2 August on whether a hearing is required in the case.

The order came after former Supreme Court judge FMI Kalifulla, chairperson of the three-member mediation panel, submitted a status report. The court, after perusing the report, directed the committee to inform it about the progress made in the mediation till 31 July. On 8 March, the court had constituted the panel which also comprises Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior Madras High Court advocate Sriram Panchu.

Essel Group to sell 11% of its stake in Zee to US-based Invesco Oppenheimer for Rs 4,224 crore

The Subhash Chandra-led Essel Group Wednesday roped in existing US-based Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund to raise its stake in flagship Zee Entertainment Enterprises by another 11 percent for Rs 4,224 crore.

The price being paid by Invesco, which is a financial investor already holding 7.74 percent in Zee for long, is around Rs 400 a share, or more than 10 percent premium on its Wednesday's close price of Rs 361.45.

Under the deal, the Atlanta-based Invesco, which already has been an investor since 2002 with a 7.74 percent holding, will increase its shareholding by another 11 percent by paying Rs 4,224 crore. Chandra's son Punit Goenka, who is the managing director and chief executive of Zee, said that the deal will help promoters pare debt to around Rs 7,000 crore from Rs 11,000 crore now.

England begin quest to regain urn from Australia as Ashes 2019 commences at Edgbaston

England faces current urn-holders Australia in the first Test of Ashes 2019 at Edgbaston on Thursday. England had earlier announced their team, with all-rounder Jofra Archer missing out on his Test debut. Australia, who haven't won an Ashes on English soil since 2001, have indicated that Usman Khawaja and James Pattinson will be in the playing XI.

No permission given for organising Sunburn in Goa, says Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar

The Goa government has not given permission for organising the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival, Sunburn, in the state in the current fiscal, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar told the Assembly on Wednesday. In a written reply tabled in the House, Ajgaonkar said no permission has been granted by the government to host the EDM festival in Goa in 2019-20.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 launched

Ahead of the Galaxy Unpacked event on 7 August, Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Tab S6. The tablet has some high-end specifications like a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 855 chipset, 6/8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of on-board storage.

The tablet is fueled by a 7,040 mAH battery and a dual-rear camera setup (13 MP + 5 MP). In addition to that, the tablet comes with Galaxy S10-like optical fingerprint sensor. The tab also has a new Bluetooth SPen, inspired from the Note series.

The tablet will be available for purchase starting 23 August in the US and is priced starting $650.