Protests against order for demolition of Guru Ravidas Temple: SC warns of contempt

A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra says SC verdicts can’t be politicised

As many parts of Punjab witnessed protests and bandh organised by Dalit groups against the Supreme Court’s recent order to demolish Guru Ravidas Temple in Delhi, the court on Tuesday warned that it would initiate contempt proceedings against those involved.

“What do you think?...This is a Supreme Court order…You can’t organise protests like this…You can’t politicise our orders,” a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said after being told that some people were organising protests against the demolition order.

The top court had on April 2 ordered that the premises built on forest land had to be vacated and peaceful possession handed over to the DDA.

However, it was not done and on August 2, a false statement was allegedly made on behalf of office bearers of Guru Ravidas Jayanti Samaroh Samiti that the premises had been vacated.

After being told about it, the top court on August 9 directed the DDA to remove the structure by August 10 and asked the Commissioner of Delhi Police to provide protection for the purpose. 

The Chief Secretary of Delhi was also directed to ensure compliance of its order. 

It had also sought personal presence of office bearers of the Samiti and contempt notices be issued to them, if the order was not complied with.

On Tuesday, the court was told that the structure had been removed but some people were agitating against it in Punjab.

This angered the Bench, which said it would not tolerate such behaviour. 

“Once the Supreme Court has passed the order, you can’t indulge in politics over it…You can’t politicise an order of the Supreme Court,” said Justice Mishra. 

The Bench requested Attorney General KK Venugopal to assist the court on this issue so as to settle the legal issue once for all.

The counsel for the Samiti tried to tell the Bench that the protests had been organised in Punjab and not in Delhi but the Bench wasn’t impressed.

Three days after a Guru Ravidas Temple in Delhi was demolished, Dalit groups in Punjab organised protests against the Supreme Court’s order resulting into the demolition.

There were reports from Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Phagwara that bandh call evoked a good response with shops and commercial establishments remaining closed. 

No slaughter of goats and sheep inside flats, houses on Bakrid: Bombay HC

The Bombay high court on Tuesday banned the slaughter of sheep and goats in flats and homes during the forthcoming Eid festivities. 

A division bench of Justice Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and Justice Gautam Patel restrained the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from giving such permissions for slaughter inside flats and houses.

The bench further allowed the corporation to give permission for slaughtering animals in housing societies, but has introduced a rider that approval should not be granted if the society is located within one kilometre walking distance from a community space for slaughtering, including a religious slaughtering space.

"In our view, the requirements of public safety, hygiene and sanitation makes it impossible to accept any policy that permits slaughtering inside individual flats. In a city that is as densely crowded and congested as Mumbai and where typical residential apartments are small, we do not believe it is possible to make effective arrangements for human, hygienic and safe methods of sacrificial slaughter within a residential flat. Many of these flats are homes for the very old or the very young (or both). We believe these concerns override all others," said the judges. "We restrain all slaughtering within residential flats or accommodations," added the judges.

The court has asked BMC to "strictly and stringently maintain all applicable safety, hygienic and public safety norms and requirements and to move expeditiously against all violations."

Saudi Arabia sacks doctors with Pakistani MS/MD degrees, other Arab countries follow suit

Saudi Arabia and a few other Arab countries have rejected Pakistan's MS/MD postgraduate programme, making Pakistani doctors no longer eligible to work in the country, a Dawn report said on Wednesday.

According to the report, the move has left hundreds of highly qualified Pakistani doctors jobless. A lot of them, who are in Saudi Arabia, have been sacked or told to be ready for deportation.

After Saudi Arabia's decision, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain followed suit.

The Saudi health ministry reportedly claimed Pakistan's MS (Master of Surgery) and MD (Doctor of Medicine) programmes lacked structured training programme which is a mandatory requirement to hire medics for higher positions.

Termination letters were issued to several doctors by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) saying their applications for professional qualification have been rejected as the Pakistani degree is not acceptable according to its regulations, the report said.

The development has worried many senior doctors in Pakistan, one of whom told Dawn that local health authorities will take up the matter with Arab countries.