Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal yesterday lauded the Narendra Modi-led central government for announcing relief for victims of the anti-Sikh riots. “This is a concrete and meaningful step towards relief for the victims of the 1984 massacre of innocents by goons, killers and arsonists and looters of the Congress and the then Congress-sponsored government in the country,” he said here. The central government yesterday announced that 3,325 victims of the riots will be given compensation amount of Rs500,000 each. The victims, who were targeted as two Sikh bodyguards of then prime minister Indira Gandhi had assassinated her in New Delhi, had been seeking relief and rehabilitation for the past 30 years. Badal hoped that “punishment to the criminals, killers, looter and arsonists and their sponsors, protectors and patrons in the Congress would be the logical next step in securing full justice for thousands of innocents who suffered at their hands”. He said that the Akali Dal and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had been fighting for such relief to the hapless victims of the gruesome massacre. “By showing extreme sensitivity to the demands repeatedly raised by us, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown how deeply he felt the pain of the Sikh community,” Badal said.
Kerala HC allows 62 heritage,
four-star hotels to serve liquor
Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram: Hours after a single-judge bench of the Kerala High Court yesterday allowed 62 heritage, four-and five-star hotel bars to operate from Thursday, it dismissed a fresh petition from the two-and three-star hotels seeking permission to operate for two more weeks. Justice K Surendra Mohan Thursday gave the verdict on a plea by the Kerala Bar Hotel Owners Association, which had sought permission to operate their bars. The association was seeking time to enable them to go in appeal against the single-judge bench verdict. As a result, all two-and-three-star hotels will have to down shutters with immediate effect. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy welcomed the verdict and said their policy has been accepted and it cannot be said it’s only a partial victory, if one looks at the huge number of bars that have been ordered to close down. But leader of opposition V S Achuthanandan said it was a setback because the government had earlier only allowed five-star hotel bars, but with this verdict, now four-star hotel bars can also be kept open.
SC suspends defamation proceedings against Swamy
New Delhi: The Supreme Court yesterday suspended defamation proceedings in five cases initiated by the Tamil Nadu government against BJP leader Subramanian Swamy for making critical observations against former chief minister J Jayalalithaa. A bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice U U Lalit, while suspending the proceedings before a Chennai court, also issued notice to the central government, the Tamil Nadu government and Jayalalithaa. The notices are returnable in six weeks. Swamy, who appeared in person, told the court that sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code imposed unreasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under article 19 (1) (a) of the constitution, and sought a declaration that the two sections and section 199(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were unconstitutional.
Agencies
