29 killed as bus falls into drain on Yamun Expressway

29 killed as bus falls into drain on Yamun Expressway 

Arvind Chauhan & Ajay Tomar | TNN | Updated: Jul 8, 2019, 13:19 IST 

The bus, after hitting the divider, fell into the 40-feet-deep gap between two flyovers on the Expressway near Milestone 161 (Jharna nullah) under Etmadpur police jurisdic Agra district at around 4.15am According to Major (retired) Manish Singh, in-charge coordinator of Yamuna expressway 'It seems the bus driver of the UPSRTC Jan Rath fell asleep on the wheel, breaking the divider and taking the bus into 40-feet shallow gap between two flyovers of Yamuna expressway' 

BUDGET-2019

New Delhi, February 1

BUDGET-2019

Reaching out to a large electorate ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Modi government on Friday announced a cash dole for small farmers, a mega pension scheme for the unorganised sector and doubled the threshold tax exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh.

Presenting the interim 2019-20 Union Budget in Parliament, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said Rs 6,000 per year cash support would be given to small and marginal farmers that would cost the exchequer Rs 75,000 crore annually, in a bid to provide relief to the distressed farm sector. 

Under the scheme called ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’, Rs 6,000 will be transferred into bank accounts of farmers holding up to two hectares of land in three equal instalments.

Goyal said it would benefit 12 crore farmers and would be implemented from this fiscal itself.

He said Rs 20,000 crore had been provided for current fiscal and also announced allocation of Rs 75,000 crore for the next fiscal.

Unveiling the mega pension yojana for the unorganised sector workers that will benefit 10 crore people, Goyal said they would get assured monthly pension of Rs 3,000 after reaching the age of 60.

“We are launching Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan today. The scheme will provide assured monthly pension of Rs 3,000, with contribution of 100 rupees per month, for workers in unorganised sector after 60 years of age,” Goyal said.

Goyal, who is standing in for Arun Jaitley undergoing treatment in the US, informed the House that the government would also provide a matching contribution of Rs 100 for every unorganised worker covered under the scheme.

“The scheme will benefit 10 crore workers in unorganised sector, and may become the world’s biggest pension scheme for unorganised sector in five years.”

In a major relief for the middle class, Goyal proposed to double the threshold tax exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh and increased the standard deduction from the existing Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.

The announcement was greeted with thumping of desks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of the treasury benches.

The proposal would benefit 3 crore middle-class taxpayers, Goyal said.

Doubling the threshold exemption limit is expected to cost the exchequer Rs 18,500 crore.

Goyal said an individual having an income of Rs 6.5 lakh per annum would not be required to pay any tax provided he invested in the specified tax saving schemes of the government.

The TDS threshold on interest from bank, post office deposits was also raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000.

“This is not just an Interim Budget, this is a vehicle for the developmental transformation of the nation,” Goyal said.

He also announced a hike in the defence budget to over Rs 3 lakh crore. PTI

HIGHLIGHTS

*Healthy India is ninth dimension of our vision for India: FM Goyal

*Persons with gross income of Rs 6.5 lakh annually will not have to pay any tax after considering investments of Rs 1.5 lakh in tax saving schemes: FM

*Rs 76,800 crore allocated for welfare of SCs/STs for 2019-20, up from Rs 62,474 crore in 2018-19: FM

*Individuals with income up to Rs 5 lakh will not have to pay any income tax

*India is on the way of becoming global manufacturing hub, including automobiles, electronics and defence

*Building physical and social infrastructure for USD10 trillion economy, says FM outlining 10 year vision in the Interim Budget speech

*We are poised to become a USD 5 trillion economy in next five years and aspire to become USD10 trillion economy in next 8 yrs

*NDA govt has laid foundation for India’s growth and development for times to come 

*More than 1.06 crore people filed I-T returns for first time in 2017-18, the year after demonetisation

*Anti-black money measures, including demonetisation, led to discovery of undisclosed income of Rs 1.3 lakh cr, seizure of Rs 50,000 cr

*Govt committed to eliminating ills of black money

*Fiscal deficit for 2018-19 to be 3.4 per cent as against 3.3 per cent targeted; breach primarily because of farm income support

*GST has continuously reduced, relief of Rs 80,000 cr to consumers; most items of daily use for poor and middle class are now in 0-5% tax bracket: FM

*India will be modern, technology driven, equitable and transparent society by 2030 

*As many as 34 cr Jan Dhan accounts opened in 5 years, Aadhaar ensured benefits reach poor, says FM

*Impactful steps taken to reduce tax, bring benefits for middle class citizens

*Single window clearance for film-making to be made available to Indian film-makers, anti-camcording provision to be introduced to Cinematography Act to combat privacy

*Cost of data, voice calls in India is now possibly lowest in world; mobile and mobile part manufacturing companies have increased from 2 to 268

*Budget allocation to North East region increased by 21 per cent to Rs 58,166 crore for 2019-20

*1 lakh digital villages to be created in next five years

*In last 5 years under all categories of workers, minimum wages increased by 42 per cent which is the highest ever

*India leading world in mobile data consumption; mobile consumption data has risen by 50 times

*Construction of rural roads tripled; 15.8 lakh out of total 17.84 lakh habitations connected with pucca roads under PMGSY. PMGSY allocated Rs 19,000 crore in 2019-20

*Average monthly GST tax collection Rs 97,100 cr as compared to Rs 89,700 cr last year

*Govt to launch mega pension yojana for 42 cr unorganised sector workers; assured monthly pension of Rs 3,000 after reaching the age of 60

*Vande Bharat Express will provide speed, service and safety to citizens and will give boost to Make In India: FM

*Urgent steps needed to boost domestic oil and gas production to cut imports: FM

*99.54 per cent of all returns were accepted without scrutiny, transforming I-T department, return to be processed in 24 hours, processed simultaneously

*Capital expenditure programme of Railways at all-time high of Rs 1.58 lakh cr in next FY: FM

*We have eliminated all unmanned railway crossings in the country: FM

*In next two years even tax returns selected for scrutiny will be done without any personal interface, electronically, says FM

*Simplification of direct tax system to benefit taxpayers; direct tax reduced and tax interface made simpler and faceless to make life easier

*Substantial hike in military service pay has been announced

*Tax collection increased to Rs 12 lakh crore this year, returns filed to 6.85 crore

*Rs 35,000 cr given under OROP in last three years

*Defence budget increased to over Rs 3 lakh cr in 2019-20

*27 km of highways built each day, projects stuck for decades completed; SagarMala will help faster handling of import and export cars

*Nine priority areas identified; National Artificial Intelligence Portal to be developed soon

*Indian Railways has witnessed its safest year in history; all unmanned crossings on broad gauge network have been eliminated

*India is fastest highways developer in the world, says FM

*Rs 1 crore loan can now be obtained under 59 minutes: FM

*Country now has 100 operational airports; passenger traffic has doubled in last five years 

*Over 1 crore youth trained under skill initiatives of government, says FM

*India has become second largest hub of startups

*Under the Mudra scheme, govt has sanctioned 15.56 lakh loans amounting Rs 7.23 lakh crore

*75 pc of women beneficiaries under Mudra Yojana, 26 weeks’ maternity leave and Pradhan Mantri Matritva Yojana are all empowering women

*Out of 8 cr free LPG connections under Ujjwala, 6 cr connections to poor women have already been provided

*Ujjwala Yojana providing free cooking gas connection is a remarkable success story

*More than 70 per cent of MUDRA yojana beneficiaries are women

*Gratuity limit increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh

*High growth, formalisation of economy has resulted in increased EPFO membership by 2 cr in last two years

*Farmers affected by severe natural calamity will get 2 pc interest subvention on all rescheduled crop loans and additional 3 per cent on timely repayment

*High growth and formalisation of economy has led to rise in EPFO membership by 2 cr in last two years

*Farmers hit by natural calamities to get 2 per cent interest subvention; 3 per cent more on timely repayment of loans

*2 pc interest subvention to farmers involved in animal husbandry and fishery

*Govt to provide Rs 750 crore in FY to support animal husbandry and fishing

*There is need for structured income support for poor, landless farmers to meet input cost

*Govt to implement special strategy for uplift of nomadic tribes

*Govt has fixed MSP for 22 notified crops at 50 per cent higher than cost of production

*Pension scheme for unorganised sector workers to be implemented from this fiscal

*Cheaper drugs being provided through Jan Aushadi stores: FM

*AIIMs established or operating in country, of which 14 sanctioned since 2014. Another to be set up in Haryana

*10 lakh patients have been treated so far under Ayushman Bharat scheme, world’s largest health care programme

*Use of LED bulbs saved power bill of about Rs 50,000 crore, says FM

*As many as 1.53 crore houses constructed during 2014-18 under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana

*143 crore LED bulbs were made available for lower and middle class families

*Farmers to be provided Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments, to be fully funded by the central government 

*We plan to provide urban facilities in rural areas while preserving ‘soul of village’, says FM

*Construction of rural roads tripled under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana: FM

*2.5 cr families were without electricity in 2014; we have provided power to almost all families: FM

*Govt spent Rs 1.7 lakh crore to supply food grains at cheaper price to poor in 2018-19 as against Rs 92,000 crore in 2013-14

*Allocation to MNREGA hiked to Rs 60,000 crore for 2019-20

*Govt announces the Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi for small and marginal farmers; farmers to get Rs 6,000 per year

*Govt has provided 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker section; job quota to provide 2 lakh seats in educational institutes  

*We have worked to bridge the urban-rural divide

*About 5.4 lakh villages made open defecation-free 

*Poor have the first right over nation’s resources

*I hope other banks too would soon come out of PCA framework

*Realty Law RERA has helped in bringing transparency in real estate sector

*India has achieved over 98 per cent rural sanitation coverage: FM

*We have run a corruption-free government

*Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code helping in recovery of  non-performing loans. Even big businessmen are now worried about loans: FM

*BoI, OBC and Bank of Maharashtra have been removed from the PCA framework of RBI

*3 lakh crore recovered from big corporate loan defaulters: FM

*Our govt had the guts to ask RBI to look at bad loans and present correct picture to nation: FM

*We have stopped culture of phone banking, says FM referring to allegations of rampant loans over phone during UPA regime.

*We have liberalised FDI allowing more investment through automatic route

*We have undertaken path-breaking structural reforms by introducing GST and other reforms

*Fiscal deficit will be 3.4 per cent of GDP; Current Account Deficit to be 2.5 per cent of GDP

*Current Account Deficit likely to be 2.5 pc of GDP this year 

*India attracted USD 239 bn in FDI in last five years

*If we had not controlled inflation our families would have been spending 35-40 per cent more on daily use items

*NDA govt contained double digit inflation; Govt has broken the back of high inflation 

*India is fastest growing major economy in world; GDP growth in last 5 yrs higher than under any previous govt

*India has been recognised as brightest spot in the world in the past 5 years

*We have got decisive mandate to continue structured reforms. We have reversed policy paralysis

*We are moving towards realising New India by 2022: FM

*Goyal begins interim budget speech, wishes Union minister Arun Jaitley speedy recovery and good health

*Finance Minister Piyush Goyal rises to present Interim Budget for 2019-20

*Cabinet approves Interim Budget for 2019-20. PTI

Amartya Sen in Zee News

Amartya Sen says Modi government ousted him from Nalanda University

Last Updated: Tuesday, July 7, 2015 - 11:43
Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Months after he withdrew his candidature as chancellor of Nalanda University, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has now said that the Narendra Modi-led government wants to seize direct control over academic institutions.
Sen has candidly written about his exit from Nalanda University in a 4,000-word essay, which will be published in August issue of the New York Review of Books.

Ahead of the publication of the essay, Sen talked to a newspaper and hit out at the government for "extraordinarily large" interference in academia.

In an interview to Times of India, the Nobel laureate also expressed his worries about cut in budgets for health and education.

"I have never been anti-industry but no country can become an industrial giant with an uneducated and unhealthy labour force," Sen said.

Talking to the daily, Sen said: "I was certainly ousted from Nalanda”.

"Some members of the Board, especially the foreign members were keen on carrying on the battle for me but I stepped aside as I did not want to be an ineffective leader. The government may have held up finances or statues had I continued."

"Nalanda not a one off incident. Nothing in this scale of interference has happened before. Every institution where the government has a formal role is being converted into where the government has a substantive role."

Sen further noted that the government refused to ratify the director's appointment at the TIFR. Also, A Sethumadhavan was asked to resign as the Chairman of National Book Trust and an RSS ideologue was appointed instead, added Sen.

Dr Lokesh Chandra, who was appointed as the new president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations last year, believes that PM Modi was a greater personality that Mahatma Gandhi, said Sen.

Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, the current Chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), has not done any historical research and instead is someone who has written an article saying the caste system was wrongly blamed for being exploitative when it did a lot of good for India, claimed Sen.

"The Delhi IIT Director, Raghunath Shevgaonkar resigned, the IIT Bombay Board chairman, Anil Kakodkar, expressed that he could not help the government in anything in the future, for the IIMs they have introduced a bill where instead of having indirect power of withholding the signature which they did in my case or they did in Trivedi's case, now they would directly like to appoint the director. That's the new bill. Instead of having effective power, this becomes direct control."

Taking on the government for failing to understand that a market economy needs successful public services, Sen said: "India spends 1.2 percent of GDP on public healthcare, China spends 3 percent. Now even that 1.2 has been cut to 1 percent. There is confusion in India is wanting high growth rates like China but overlooking that China has improved public services dramatically. It has pretty much guaranteed healthcare for all, they have everyone in school, they have complete coverage. That has been the Asian pattern of development. You do it together: market economy and the state's role. The market economy needs a complentarity with the public services."

He further described NDA's Land Acquisition Bill as "comprehensively wrong".

What has gone wrong with this government is the fundamental understanding that human beings are at the centre of development, Sen said.

Notably, Sen on February 20 withdrew his candidature as chancellor of Nalanda University, alleging that the government does not want him to continue to head the prestigious multi-country initiative.

Sen, whose term as chancellor ends in July, was unanimously picked by the Nalanda University governing board at its last meeting January 13-14 this year.

He will be replaced by George Yeo, former foreign minister of Singapore.

First Published: Tuesday, July 7, 2015 - 11:43

upsc of 2014 top in 2015

                  UPSC Civil Services Exam 2014 Results Declared, Women Grab Top Four Spots 

           

   Of the top five candidates, four are women - Ira Sehgal (1), Renu Raj (2), Nidhi Gupta (3) and Vandana Rao (4).
Updated: July 04, 2015 16:27 IST

darjeeling

kersiong darjeeling gatharing of clouds

Obama & Ramadhan 2015

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
June 22, 2015

Remarks by the President at the 2015 Iftar Dinner

East Room

9:00 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Welcome to the White House. Now, I know that these are the longest days of the year, which is why I’m so glad that they put the first course down right away. (Laughter.) I know you’re hungry, and I promise to be brief.

I want to thank the members of our diplomatic corps who are here today, as well as our members of Congress, and all those serving across government who are joining us. And I especially want to recognize all the inspiring young people who are here today, many of whom I’ve put at my table. To all of you, and to Muslim Americans across the country -- Ramadan Kareem.

Our annual White House Iftar recognizes the sacredness of Ramadan to more than 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. It’s a time when Muslims recommit themselves to their faith, following days of discipline with nights of gratitude for the gifts that God bestows. It’s a time of spiritual renewal and a reminder of one’s duty to our fellow man -- to serve one another and lift up the less fortunate. The Quran teaches that God’s children should tread gently upon the earth and, when confronted by ignorance, reply “peace.” In honoring these familiar values together -- of peace and charity and forgiveness -- we affirm that, whatever our faith, we’re all one family.

Our Iftar is also a reminder of the freedoms that bind us together as Americans, including the freedom of religion -- that inviolable right to practice our faiths freely. That’s what Samantha Elauf represents. She was determined to defend the right to wear a hijab and to have the same opportunities as everybody else. She went all the way to the Supreme Court -- which I didn’t do at her age. (Laughter.) And she won. (Applause.) So, Samantha, we’re very proud of you.

When our values are threatened, we come together as one nation. When three young Muslim Americans were brutally murdered in Chapel Hill earlier this year, Americans of all faiths rallied around that community. And obviously, tonight, our prayers remain with Charleston and Mother Emanuel church. As Americans, we insist that nobody should be targeted because of who they are, or what they look like, who they love, how they worship. We stand united against these hateful acts.

These are the freedoms and the ideals, and the values that we uphold. And it’s more important than ever, because around the world and here at home, there are those who seek to divide us by religion or race or sect. Here in America, many people personally don’t know someone who is Muslim. They mostly hear about Muslims in the news -- and that can obviously lead to a very distorted impression.

We saw this play out recently at a mosque in Arizona. A group of protestors gathered outside with offensive signs against Islam and Muslims. And then the mosque’s leaders invited them inside to share in the evening prayer. One demonstrator, who accepted the invitation later, described how the experience changed him; how he finally saw the Muslim American community for what it is -- peaceful and welcoming. That’s what can happen when we stop yelling and start listening. That’s why it’s so important always to lift up the stories and voices of proud Americans who are contributing to our country every day. And we have a lot of inspiring Americans here today.

They’re Muslim Americans like Ziad Ahmed. As a Bangladeshi-American growing up in New Jersey, he saw early on that there was not enough understanding in the world. So two years ago, he founded Redefy, a website to push back against harmful stereotypes by encouraging teens like him -- he’s only 16; I think our youngest guest tonight -- to share their stories. (Applause.) Because, in Ziad’s words, “ignorance can be defeated through education.” He wants to do his part to make sure that “Muslims can be equal members of society and still hold onto their faith and identity.” So we’re very proud of you, Ziad.

They’re Muslim Americans like Munira Khalif. And Munira is the daughter of Somali immigrants; she started an organization to support girls’ education in East Africa. She just graduated from high school in Minnesota, and she’s already lobbied Congress to pass the Girls Count Act so that girls in the developing world are documented at birth -- a bill I was proud to sign into law last week. She’s even spoken at the United Nations. I was also not doing this at her age. (Laughter and applause.) This fall, Munira is heading to Harvard to continue her education in public service -- which was a tough choice, because of course she was accepted to all the Ivy League schools she applied to. But we are very, very proud of you, and I know your community is as well.

They’re Muslim Americans like Batoul Abuharb, who was born in a refugee camp in Gaza, and when she was an infant her family moved to Houston. After graduating from Rice University, she spent a summer in Gaza working with the U.N. health clinic. After seeing people line up whenever new stocks of vaccines arrived, she started Dunia Health to improve the distribution of vaccines and tell families when to come in -- all over text message. They’ve started with Palestinian refugees in Jordan, but the program has been so successful that the U.N. is looking to expand Dunia’s work to more countries across the Middle East. Batoul, we’re very proud of you. Congratulations. (Applause.)

So, Ziad, Munira, Batoul -- they all talk about how much they value the opportunities they’ve had to succeed here in the United States. And they also remind us that our obligations to care for one another extend beyond our immediate communities, beyond our borders. So tonight, we keep in our prayers those who are suffering around the world, including those marking Ramadan in areas of conflict and deprivation and hunger. The people of Iraq and Syria as they push back on the barbarity of ISIL. The people of Yemen and Libya, who are seeking an end to ongoing violence and instability. Those fleeing war and hardship in boats across the Mediterranean. The people of Gaza, still recovering from last year’s conflict. The Rohingya in Myanmar, including migrants at sea, whose human rights must be upheld.

We’re proud, by the way, to have Wai Wai Nu with us tonight -- a former political prisoner who’s working on human rights issues for the Rohingya and equal rights for women. So we’re glad to have you here with us tonight. (Applause.)

So these challenges around the world and here at home demand the very qualities you summon every day during Ramadan: sacrifice, discipline, patience. A resilience that says we don’t simply endure, but we overcome. Together, we can overcome ignorance and prejudice. Together, we will overcome conflict and injustice -- not just with words, but with deeds. With what a hero of mine, the civil rights icon John Lewis, calls using our feet -- getting out in the real world to organize and to create the change that we seek. That’s what so many of you do every single day. And that’s what we have to continue to do together, here in America and around the world. As the Quran teaches, let us answer with “Peace.”

May God bless you all. Have a wonderful Ramadan. And get back to dinner. (Laughter.) Thank you very much. (Applause.)

66A & 21 PETITIONS

Section 66A: 21 individuals whose petitions changed the system

By: Express News Service | Updated: March 25, 2015 12:00 pm

How they fought, what they wrote — the men and women whose petitions and posts on social media led to the supreme court order striking down section 66A of IT Act.

Palghar posts

Shaheen Dhada & Rinu Srinivasan of Palghar were at the centre of the first petition — by Shreya Singhal. When Mumbai saw a shutdown following Bal Thackeray’s death in 2012, Shaheen posted on Facebook, “Every day thousands of people die. But still the world moves on… Just due to one politician dead. A natural death. Every one goes crazy… Respect is earned not given out, definitely not forced. Today Mumbai shuts down due to fear not due to respect.” Rinu, who “liked” the post, commented: “Everyone know it’s done because of fear!!! We agree that he has done a lot of good things. also we respect him, it doesn’t make sense to shut down everything! Respect can be shown in many other ways!” Detained for 10 days, they were first charged under IPC for spreading hatred and then under Section 66A of the IT Act. While happy with Tuesday’s verdict, Rinu said, “While using digital space, one needs to ensure their actions don’t hurt others.” Shaheen’s uncle A G Dahada said, “The girls went through immense trauma but justice has been done.”
Shreya Singhal, 24, a Delhi-based law student, was the first to challenge the law in court after the arrest of Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Srinivasan of Palghar in 2012. Shreya contended Section 66A goes against the right to free speech as enshrined in India’s Constitution. Her PIL cited the twin arrests as evidence that the law, though meant to protect citizens from defamation, can be used to restrict freedom of expression. She described the two-and-a-half years she spent in the courtroom as a first-hand lesson. Singhal, who is not on Twitter, will be a fifth-generation lawyer from her family and has said she filed the PIL when her mother encouraged her to do so to channel her anger over the arrest of Dhada and Srinivasan.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, independent Rajya Sabha MP, filed a PIL in 2013 arguing that Section 66A is unconstitutional because in the name of securing the Internet and in the name of preventing abuse of the Internet, government and government bureaucrats were overreaching and trespassing on the constitutional right of free speech. On Tuesday, he said, “By repealing Section 66 A, India is now ready for a technological leap, which the government’s laudable Digital India program shall foster.” He tweeted: “#sec66a victory: It takes a #PIL to undo the damage that #UPA caused by passing #ITACTAmendments in 7 minutes flat! #freespeechwins” and “#section66a struck downn!! VICTORY!!!! my petition in supreme court upheld!! #transformindia.”

Faisal fariooqui, one of the petitioners, is founder-CEO of MouthShut.com, a user-generated content and consumer review website. He had challenged section 66A. “This verdict will lead to a transformation of the Indian economy into that of a digital economy. Now people have the freedom to post online,” he said. He explains why he filed the petition: “This rule hit us. We started getting legal notices — more than 800. In April 2013, we filed the writ petition and challenged the content removal aspect.” About the possibility of hate posts with Section 66A struck down, he said: “Most good websites have terms and services… Nobody would like to host libellous content.”
Ambikesh Mahapatra, a Jadavpur University professor, was among the petitioners. Mahapatra and his neighbour Subrata Sengupta were arrested for circulating a cartoon that mocked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2012. The cartoon, based on a scene from Satyajit Ray’s Sonar Kella, showed Mamata pointing at the logo of Indian Railways and telling Mukul Roy: ‘See Mukul, Sonar Kella.” Roy points to Dinesh Trivedi and exclaims: “That’s an evil man!!!” Mamata says: “Evil man, vanish!”
Aseem Trivedi, the other cartoonist arrested under 66A in 2012, too was among the petitioners. Mumbai police arrested him for cartoons, shared on social media, that mocked Parliament and corruption in high places. One cartoon depicted Parliament as a giant commode and showed in the national emblem wolves rather than lions, with the words “Bhrashtameva jayate” instead of “Satyameva jayate”. Also charged with sedition, Trivedi refused to accept bail until that charge was dropped. On March 18 this year, the court said that even strongly worded comments used to show disapproval of the government’s actions will not amount to sedition if they do not instigate public to resort to violence.
A Class XI student of Bareilly was arrested by Rampur police in March, after he allegedly posted a Facebook comment that was attributed to UP minister Azam Khan. The post quotes Azam as having made a communal comment. The boy’s was another case that Shreya Singhal took up. He was booked under the IT Act’s Section 66A as well as IPC sections relating to promoting enmity and inciting communal tension. Later, he got bail.

12 people & a crossword

Eleven students of Sree Krishna College, Thrissur, as well as their principal were accused under IT Act Section 66A and nine of them were arrested in June 2014. Their case was the subject of a petition by Anoop M K, one among the bunch that the Supreme Court had taken up. Their online magazine Name was found to have used “objectionable and unsavoury” language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi — in the form of a clue to a crossword puzzle. It used Modi’s nickname NaMo as the crossword clue, for which the purported solution was an invective. They were also accused of defaming Oommen Chandy, Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor as well as spiritual leader Mata Amrithanandamayi. The students, who belonged to the SFI, were later released on bail. The complaints, their friends alleged, were lodged by ABVP and KSU activists.

Taslima Nasreen too filed a petition against 66A. In November 2013, one Hasan Raza Khan Noori Miyan lodged an FIR in Bareilly accusing the Bangladeshi author of hurting religious sentiments of the Muslim community via social media. “In India, criminals who issue fatwas (edict) against women don’t get punished,” read one tweet. “Since independence, Indian politicians have been seeking help of clerics who don’t respect human rights,free speech and the Constitution,” read another tweet. A third went, “Indians shd speak up against fanatics who vitiate society & push it backward & politicians who encourage them. Else, it’s bad news for democracy.” The police this year filed a closure report; the court went on to acqui Taslima.

Tamil Nadu: Twitter Ravi vs Karti
In October 2012, Ravi Srinivasan, owner of a small plastic manufacturing unit in Pondicherry put a post on Twitter saying that P Chidambaram’s son Karti had amassed more wealth than Robert Vadra. This would make him “Twitter Ravi”. “I put up that post after reading media reports about the wealth of Chidambaram. By that evening, Karti had sent a complaint from the US by fax message to Pondicherry police,” Ravi says. “I had no personal or political agenda. The next day, around 5 am, police arrested me under Section 66A from my home near Pondicherry town. I only had 16 followers on Twitter then,” adds Srinivasan, who now has more than 2,000 followers. “Although I got out on bail the same evening, I am still fighting the case. I have already spent more than Rs 40,000 on this legal battle,” says Srinivasan, father of two daughters in their twenties, as he welcomes the court order.

Maharashtra: Palghar, cartoonist and more
Besides Palghar girls Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Srinivasan and Kanpur cartoonist Aseem Trivedi (arrested by Mumbai police), another prominent case in Mumbai involved two Air Indian employees, Mayank Mohan Sharma and K V J Rao, who were arrested in November 2012 for uploading content against the PM and allegedly insulting the national flag. They were kept in custody for 12 days before being granted bail. In Pune, the cyber cell in 2012 arrested Amit Chandrakant Jadhav, 27, of Mumbai for allegedly uploading a doctored image of Ajit Pawar on Facebook. The same year, following attacks on people from the Northeast, the cyber cell arrested Mumbai-based teacher Sharif Ahmed Bashir Siddiqui for allegedly uploading a provocative video on YouTube.

Karnataka: Wrong arrest and obscenities
Last May, Bangalore police arrested MBA student Syed Vaqas, 23, following a complaint by social activist Jayanth Tinaikar, who accused Vaqas of circulating a WhatsApp message supposedly showing Narendra Modi’s “funeral” with the words “Ab ki bar antim sanskar”. He was released after police found he was innocent. Many of the cases in Karnataka relate to obscene remarks. Last July, Bangalore police arrested Vishnu R Bhat, 45, a newspaper columnist with right-wing leanings, for posting a obscene comment on the Facebook wall of a rationalist, Prabha N Belavangala, after she had questioned the need for pujas and religious ceremonies while inaugurating government projects. He later got bail. In November, Bangalore police arrested two persons for posting obscene comments on the Facebook page of a woman. Also, farmer Sanath Palapaddi and insurance agent Santosh were arrested for abusive and obscene posts questioning the virtues of a young woman on her Facebook page. They too got bail.

Orissa: Sexual references on Facebook posts
Last July, Dilip Kumar Panda, 25, of Puri was arrested by Rourkela police after a man lodged a complaint that his wife’s photographs were published on a Facebook page, ‘Find Odia Sex Partner’. The police claimed to have found that the creator was Panda, an IT expert, who is now on bail. In August, Orissa’s cyber crime cell arrested Rajaram Biswal, 28, a computer applications graduate, for posting obscene photos of a woman on Facebook after opening an account in her name. She had rejected his proposals; he remains in jail. In September, the cell arrested Panchu Pan, 36 and based in Bangalore, for allegedly posting morphed nude photos of a college student in in Cuttack. The girl had never met him. He is yet to be chargesheeted.

Gujarat: Lok Sabha candidate and a husband’s girlfriend
Roshan Shah, 40, an NRI who contested the Lok Sabha elections as an independent from Ahmedabad, was booked by the Ahmedabad crime branch under 66A after he posted a comment on Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel on Facebook. The case is still being probed. In January, Harpreet Kaur, 20, and from Rohtak, was arrested on a complaint that he had posted posted abusive language and obscene pictures on the Facebook account of a woman. “Harpreet was the girlfriend of the woman’s husband,” says V J Rathod, police inspector (cyber crime). Harpreet is on bail. Surat police arrested Raju Chunilal Shah, 38, and Manojkumar Shah, 25, (they later got bail) for allegedly posting a photoshopped picture of a Muslim place of worship, which apparently caused communal tension in Olpad town.

Mizoram: Father and son in Battle with CM
In 2013, residential-school owner K Chhawnthuama allegedly sent “malicious SMS” to Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla and was arrested, though not under Section 66A. This month, his son was arrested for a Facebook post in which he said he would “tie up the CM and drag him around on the street” after the CM took a swipe at his father saying he “uses his deceased wife to make money”, referring to a marble tomb the school owner built and which has become a tourist attraction. Other arrests include that of a 19-year-old for Facebook posts blaming a doctor for causing the death of patients, an Aizawl resident for sending a girl’s “dirty pictures and offensive messages” through WhatsApp, a 33-year-old woman for circulating the names and photos of four juveniles in conflict with the law, and a 22-year-old woman for spreading false news about a gangrape and murder.

Andhra: Hudhud fan
“I love you hudhud. You are teaching a lesson to all those who betrayed by battering them. Love nature’s fury,” posted C Rahul Reddy, a law student and YSR Congress Party, apparently a reaction to YSR Jaganmohan Reddy’s mother loss from Vizag. He was arrested. In 2013, civil rights activists Vindyala Jaya was arrested for an online post about a Congress MLA from Chirala, saying he was involved in child trafficking, and land and sand mafia.

Chandigarh: 75 cases under 66A, including against Satinder Singh and Jasbir Singh for a WhatsApp message mocking Dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

West Bengal: Around 100 cases in last one year.

Chhattisgarh: Youth Congress leader Rais Khan arrested for Facebook posts about Hindu gods, journalists Rajkumar Soni and Narayan Sharma booked for defamatory articles.

Jharkhand: 13 cases in 2013, 23 in 2014 and five in 2015.