QBullet: Bombay HC Allows Women in Haji Ali, Olympics Task Force

The HC bench ruled on a public interest litigation which urged lifting restriction on women inside the inner sanctum which houses the mazaar or tomb of the saint. The ban was imposed somewhere between March and June 2012 by the Haji Ali Dargah Trust. The bench held that it is in contravention of Articles 14 (Right to Life), 15 (Prohibition of discrimination)and 25 (Right to practice religion) of the Constitution of India. It directed the status quo ante to be restored, and women be allowed entry on par with men. The state and the trust running the dargah should take steps for safety of women.

A Task Force would be set up to prepare a comprehensive action plan for “effective participation” of Indian sportspersons in the next three Olympic Games – 2020, 2024 and 2028.The announcement was made at a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers at which the Prime Minister also reviewed the performance of various ministries vis a vis promises made in last three budgets (two full budgets). Modi also examined the status of the implementation of the Departmental Action Plan for various ministries.

Top government sources said the two-pronged action plan against Naik, a popular Islamic missionary who has been accused of being the “inspiration” behind the Dhaka restaurant attack in July, has been worked out on the basis of scrutiny of his speeches. They said the home ministry, armed with legal opinion, has decided to book Naik under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for speeches it has, along with the Maharashtra government, found to be laced with jihad-inspiring content.

Estimates show that assisted reproductive technology (ART), of which IVF and surrogacy services are most common, is a Rs 3,000-crore industry in India. “We are aware of the way these clinics are increasing and that there is a need to regulate them. We are working in that direction,” said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, secretary of the department of health research which had an important role in drafting the surrogacy bill.  

The proposal being discussed among the top brass of the Indian government – between external and home ministries, as well as intelligence and security agencies – is that the diaspora from these areas should be called for the biennial event. The next Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru in January next year. The plan, according to top South Block sources, is to make the point that these people are part of the Indian diaspora. This ties in with the government’s latest diplomatic gambit that Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are part of Jammu and Kashmir.

The proposed law defines a Special Security Zone (SSZ) as an area continuously exposed to insurgency or activities of organised crime. This would be notified as an SSZ and will have an “appropriate police structure and a suitable command, control and response system.” Details of the set-up, the extent of its powers, and its relationship with existing security structures haven’t been defined. This could lead to confusion and multiplicity in command, experts say.

The mother, Rosy, had left home two months ago with her five-year-old son. Their father, Bablu, left on 15 August. Officials said 35-year-old Bablu was unemployed and an alcoholic. The ground floor home – where the family had been staying on rent for two years – is near Shiv Mandir in Nepali Colony.

The decision to send the team came a day after Union home minister Rajnath Singh ended a two-day visit to Kashmir, announcing the government’s willingness to speak to “anybody” and promising an alternative to pellet guns which have left hundreds of people with eye injuries.