New Delhi Apr 26 PTI The Delhi High Court on Tuesday formed a committee under the supervision of retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi to monitor the welfare and protection of rights of women living in an ashram founded by self-styled spiritual preacher Virender Dev DixitA bench of headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi which was hearing pleas concerning the state of affairs at the Adhyatmik Vidhyalaya in Rohini said the institution will be free to pursue its religious and spiritual practices and the committee will ensure no woman inmate or child if any in the ashram is subjected to treatment that is in breach of their fundamental or legal rightsThe district judge concerned will be the committees chairperson and the local district magistrate the deputy commissioner of police crime against women cell the district legal service authoritys secretary a nominee of the Delhi Commission for Women DCW and the woman and child development departments district officer will be its members it orderedThe functioning of the committee shall be supervised by Kiran Bedi The committee shall function to see and ensure that no woman inmate or child if any in respondent institution is subjected to any such treatment which may tantamount to breach of their fundamental or other legal right the bench also comprising Justice Navin Chawla saidAt the same time we make it clear that the institution shall be free to pursue its religious and spiritual practices provided none of them infringe any fundamental and other rights of any inmate or any other person it saidThe court had earlier expressed its shock over the management of the ashram which was housing several women who were stated to be living in animal-like conditionIt had opined that it should be taken over by the Delhi government and also sought a monthly report from the committee and said the government shall provide the necessary assistance to facilitate its functioningDelhi government counsel Santosh Tripathi told the court that there was no mechanism available with the government to run a private institution and urged the court to form a committee to look after the affairs of the ashram in questionDCW chief Swati Maliwal said the present case is the tip of the iceberg and there were many instances of malpractices being committed by spiritual leadersShe asked the court to set up a similar committee for the entire city and placed before it certain suggestions to ensure that the fundamental and legal rights of women and children living in such institutions are not violatedWe are of the view that a committee should be constituted so as to keep a close watch of the welfare of inmates of respondent no 6 institution who are all stated to be women above 18 years the court statedThe court directed the Delhi government to ensure compliance of the Womens and Childrens Institution Licencing Act and asked it as well as the Centre to examine the suggestions made by the DCWIt also said that the committee will have access to the institute be given the record with respect to the inmates and may take assistance of medical professionals and other experts to make an assessment on the well-being of the inmatesEarlier this month the court had asked the ashram to show cause as to why it should not be taken over by the Delhi government and said that it was difficult to accept that the inmates were living there of their free willIt had also said that while it cannot force the women living in the ashram under shocking conditions to live with their parents no institution has the licence to conduct its affairs in a manner that violates fundamental rights of the inmatesIn December 2017 on a petition by NGO Foundation for Social Empowerment the high court had asked the CBI to trace the founder of the ashram Virender Dev Dixit after raising doubts over the ashrams claims that women inmates there were not illegally confinedEarlier the court had directed the CBI to probe the alleged illegal confinement of girls and women in the ashram where it was claimed they were kept in animal-like conditions behind metal doors in a fortress surrounded by barbed wireThe petitioner NGO had claimed that several minors and women were allegedly being illegally confined at the spiritual university and were not allowed to meet their parentsTaking note the high court had immediately set up a committee comprising lawyers and the DCW chief to inspect the premises of the instituteThe committee comprising lawyers Ajay Verma and Nandita Rao then gave a report detailing the horrible living conditions of the over 100 girls and women who were housed in animal-like conditions with no privacy even for bathing The matter would be heard next on May 27 PTI ADS ANB ANB

New Delhi Apr 25 PTIThe Delhi High Court on Monday said that police booths are a public requirement and a necessity and refused to examine a plea alleging encroachment upon pavement by such establishments which obstruct pedestrians This is a public requirement They need a booth it is a requirement and a necessity You cant say as a principle that there cant be a police booth Where will they hang it On a tree or what said a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi while hearing the petition by the Jan Seva Welfare Society The bench also comprising Justice Navin Chawla asked the petitioner to raise a grievance before the authorities in case there is a specific instance of a police booth obstructing any passage If your grievance is that any particular booth is causing difficulty you may raise it stated the court It added that the authorities shall consider any grievance raised by the petitioner within four weeks and if the same is found to be justified they would take appropriate remedies Delhi police counsel informed the court that the issue of regulating the establishment of the police boothskiosks has already been considered by the court pursuant to which an order was also issued by the authorities The court was also informed that an earlier petition by the petitioner seeking similar relief was unconditionally withdrawn by him and the same issues cannot be raised again In that petition the petitioner had prayed for a direction for the removal of illegally constructed police booths PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Apr 23 PTI The Delhi High Court has sought the stand of the Centre Reserve Bank of India and IIT-Delhi on a plea for constituting a committee for framing of guidelines to ensure that financial services are accessible to the visually challengedA bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla issued notice on an application by George Abraham and said that it expected the respondents to provide the names of competent persons who could be part of the committeeThe application is part of the petitioners plea seeking directions to ensure that all financial services as well as bank websites internet banking facilities and mobile phone applications for financial services are made accessible to people with visual challengesIn his application the petitioner stated that his concern was not with respect to an absence of law to address access to financial services for the visually challenged but a lack of their implementation including the RBIs master circularAbraham submitted that these laws are being haphazardly implemented in spite of the RBI having wide powers to ensure compliance of its directions such as imposition of financial penaltiesFor example while some internet banking applications and ATMs have good accessibility many are still not accessible Some financial services used by the public such as digital payment wallets or vendor card payment machines appear to offer no access whatsoever for visually impaired persons the plea statedThe petitioner thus suggested that a committee be appointed to formulate steps and guidelines to address the issues concerning access to financial services for the visually impairedAbraham further suggested that the committee may comprise government and RBI representatives as well as persons with technological expertise from any institutions of repute such as IIT persons who are visually challenged and an amicus curie to assist the committee and the courtThe said approach can guide this honble court in its endeavour to uphold the rights guaranteed to the 12 million blind people and 50 million visually impaired persons in India under Articles 14 19 and 21 of the Constitution and Sections 31 131 and 2 and 42 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 the plea statedThe matter would be heard next on May 26 PTI ADS ZMN

New Delhi Apr 21 PTI The Delhi High Court Thursday said that while it cannot force the women living in a Rohini ashram under shocking conditions to live with their parents no institution has the licence to conduct its affairs in a manner that violates the fundamental rights of the inmates A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi which was hearing pleas concerning the state of affairs at Adhyatmik Vidhyalaya founded by self-styled spiritual guru Virender Dev Dixit said that it was inclined to direct the Delhi government to take over the institutions management and asked the government counsel to seek instructions The bench also comprising Justice Navin Chawla observed that the ashram was run by a baba who has been charge-sheeted by the CBI for the offence of rape and is now absconding The bench recollected an earlier report on the matter which revealed a shocking state of affairs at the institution and claimed that the women inmates were living in jail-like conditions without any doors on toilet cubicles The court also asked the counsel for CBI to file a status report on the state of the investigation in the matter There is very thorough indoctrination How can we accept that any sane person would live in these conditions Can we shut our eyes to it Who is funding it Who is managing This is shocking that this is going on in the capital We dont want that in the garb of spirituality the inhumane situation continues observed that court The court stated that it is not proposing that the ashram should be shut down but that it has to run in a manner which is consistent with the inmates rights to privacy and bodily integrity and it falls on the State to ensure that infraction of individuals fundamental rights is prevented and remedied We cant force anybody to live with their parents but they cant insist that the institute be run in a covert way We are not saying shut the institution but there has to be a supervising eye the court said We are not for a moment suggesting that the respondent institution and its inmates should not profess their spiritual and religious beliefs so long as they do not contravene any law or constitutional provision it stated The counsel for the institution vehemently opposed the takeover by the Delhi government and submitted that their rights were protected under the Constitution No minority institution gets a licence by being such an institution to conduct its affairs so as to violate the fundamental rights of the individuals particularly right to life and personal liberty Even if GNCTD were to take over and appoint an administrator the freedom of the inmates to exercise their religious and spiritual rights would not be infracted stated the court The lawyer also stated that there has never been a single complaint from the inmates concerning the commission of any sexual misconduct Earlier this week the court had asked the ashram to show cause as to why it should not be taken over by the Delhi government and said that it was difficult to accept that the inmates were living there of their free will In December 2017 on a petition by NGO Foundation for Social Empowerment the high court had asked the CBI to trace the founder of the ashram Virender Dev Dixit after raising doubts over the ashrams claims that women inmates there were not illegally confined Earlier the court had directed the CBI to probe the alleged illegal confinement of girls and women in the ashram where it was claimed they were kept in animal-like conditions behind metal doors in a fortress surrounded by barbed wire The petitioner NGO had claimed that several minors and women were allegedly being illegally confined at the spiritual university and were not allowed to meet their parents Taking note the high court had immediately set up a committee comprising lawyers and Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal to inspect the premises of the institute The committee comprising lawyers Ajay Verma and Nandita Rao then gave a report detailing the horrible living conditions of the over 100 girls and women who were housed in animal-like conditions with no privacy even for bathing The matter would be heard next on April 25PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Apr 20 PTI The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with the Centres decision on the allotment of a graveyard allegedly owned by the Delhi Waqf Board to the Indo Tibetan Border Police ITBP saying that it is not uncommon for graves to be shifted when they cause any obstruction in development activity A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi said it was not inclined to interfere with the single judges order declining to grant the interim relief of stay to the Delhi Waqf Board in relation to the construction activity on the plot and noted that the rights of the Board have been protected On March 9 the single judge while dealing with the Boards petition against the Centres move to re-consider the de-listing of 123 Waqf properties had opined that there was no ground to grant a stay and observed that the property was allotted to the ITBP sometime in 2017 and in case the Board succeeds in the present proceedings the allotment can be cancelled We are not inclined to interfere as the same is an interim order and the appellants rights have been protected said the bench also comprising Justice Navin Chawla while hearing the Boards appeal against the order It is not uncommon for the graves to be shifted when they cause any obstruction in development activity observed the court The court further asked the appellant represented by senior advocate Sanjoy Ghose and lawyer Wajeeh Shafiq to argue and seek the relief in relation to their case before the single judge himself The Delhi Waqf Board had moved the high court earlier this year following the constitution of a two-member committee by the Centre to consider the de-listing of 123 Waqf properties even after a report was submitted by a one-member committee on the same issue in 2017 Before the single judge the Delhi Waqf Board had contended that once its properties have been de-listed in 2014 under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 there is no provision under the law for recalling the order of withdrawal from acquisition The petition had further said the two-member committee is the second such committee appointed by the Centre to re-examine the status of the 123 properties after the one-member committee was formed and emphasised that in the meantime the Centre transferred one of them in favour of the Indo Tibetan Border Police The whole malafide purpose of appointment of Committee after Committee is to maintain confusion in respect of the title of the petitioner with regard to these waqf properties Taking advantage of this the Union of India has transferred a portion of Waqf land comprised in Khasra no 484 QadeemiQabistan Village South Inderpat Mathura Road-the waqf property mentioned at serial no 8 of the first list of de-notified waqf properties-to Indo Tibetan Border Police the petition had contended PTI ADS AQS AQS

New Delhi Apr 19 PTIThe Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the stand of local authorities on a plea seeking contempt action against them for allegedly allowing the construction of permanent structures like kiosks on the pavements in KarolBagh hereA bench of Justices Mukta Gupta and Neena Bansal Gupta issued notice on the plea by advocate and social activist Amit Sahni and restrained any further construction in the areaIn the plea the advocate has said the construction would cause hindrance in pedestrian movement which is in utter violation of the high courts March 2018 order which had directed the municipal corporations to ensure that no permanent or semi-permanent structure causing hindrance to pedestrian movement exist on any pavementThe plea has thus urged the court to punish the contemnors for allegedly acting in utter violation of the March 13 2018 order by allowing the construction of the kiosks on the pavementsIt has said that a legal notice was sent to the authorities on January 20 calling them to withdraw the November 2021 order directing the kiosk allottees to construct their kiosks near Ajmal Khan ParkThe plea has said after the receipt of the legal notice the authorities had put on hold the construction of kiosks for some time however they have now permitted construction on the pavements adjoining the park at Ajmal Khan Park here in violation of the earlier orderThe high court in its March 2018 order had said at the moment most of the pavements appear to be completely encroached An appropriate enforcement action to ensure that minimum pedestrian use is available at any given point of time and at all times shall also be ensured Likewise monitoring is directed on a day-to-day basis It had said that appropriate and proper publicity in respect to the measures to be taken shall be given by the Delhi Police as well as the concerned MCDs and this decision applies to all corporations -- South Delhi Municipal Corporation North Delhi Municipal Corporation East Delhi Municipal Corporation and New Delhi Municipal CouncilAll agencies including North Delhi Municipal Corporation shall ensure that no permanent or semi-permanent structures which cause hindrance to the free flow of pedestrian movement exist on any pavement Necessary action in this regard shall be taken and the progress in this regard shall be reported to the court by way of separate affidavits it had saidThe matter would be heard next on July 18 PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Mar 31 PTI The Delhi High Court Thursday directed the Delhi government to file a status report relating to accessibility of foot over bridges and other public utilities to persons with disabilities and senior citizensA bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla issued notice to the Centre Delhi government Public Works Department PWD and Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities and asked them respond to the petition while listing it for further hearing on September 6The court was hearing a petition by a lawyer seeking directions to the authorities to ensure convenience of and full accessibility to lifts foot over bridges and other public amenities and structures to specially-abled and senior citizens of the country and ensure compliance with the provisions under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 protecting the fundamental right to equality right of freedom to move freely and right to life with dignity under the ConstitutionThe bench directed the Delhi government and PWD to file status report indicating the position on access to foot over bridges and other public utilities as to whether they are accessible to persons with disabilities and senior citizens and also on specific instances pointed out by the petitionerIt also directed the Centre to file a report on compliance of earlier directions issued by the high court in another petition relating to amenities for specially-abled personsPetitioner Pankaj Mehta submitted that the state of public amenities such as elevators and escalators for disabled people and senior citizens of the country is in ruins and are non-functional in the capital of the country which is a metropolitan and developed cityThe petition filed through advocate R K Mehta said due to the undue hardships caused to disabled people and senior citizens the petitioner filed several RTIs which were transferred from one department to another without any substantial responseWithin the NCT of Delhi various foot over bridges have been installed by the respondents which come with an elevator for ease of access for those who are with disabilities and the elderly However the maintenance and upkeep for almost all these foot over bridges have been forgotten by the respondentsAs a result of such ignorance the elevators in the foot over fridges are not operational across the year and absolutely no steps are being taken by the respondents to rectify the same That it is pertinent to mention that most of these foot over bridges have been constructed on extremely busy roads and the non-functional state of the elevators and escalators have effectively rendered the persons with disability and the elderly in a state of helplessness as they are unable to access even the roads which is prima facie violative of the fundamental rights of such citizens the plea said PTI SKV SA

New Delhi Mar 31 PTI The Delhi High Court Thursday took note of the dilapidated state of a road in front of two government and a municipal corporation school in Madanpur Khadar area in the national capital and said the condition is such that it can hardly be described as a roadA bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla also asked the authorities to ensure that the road is free from garbage and an action taken report be filed in this regardThe court issued notice to the Delhi government South Delhi Municipal Corporation Delhi Development Authority and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board and listed the matter for further hearing on April 18During the hearing the counsel for SDMC submitted that the corporation has cleared the garbage in last few days from the roadHowever as there was a dispute whether it is the responsibility of Delhi government or SDMC or DUSIB to maintain the road in question the bench directed the authorities to file a response in this regard within 10 daysIn case any of the authorities accept its responsibility to clear the garbage on the road in question we direct it to file an action taken report on removal of garbage the bench said adding you have to maintain garbage free areaAfter perusing the photographs placed on record by petitioner NGO Social Jurist the high court said the condition of the road is such that it can hardly be described as a roadThe NGO in its plea through advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumr Utkarsh alleged inaction on the part of authorities to repair or construct the 1 km long road which is in a dilapidated condition in front of Delhi Government School of Excellence Delhi Government Co-ed School and SDMC Primary School in Madanpur Khadar area due to which thousands of students are facing a lot of problems in commuting or reaching to schoolsThe connectivity to these schools is worst since many years as neither public transport nor own conveyance can reach here It is also submitted that entire 1 km road to schools is very rough and is even not suitable for walking The road is totally uneven muddy and due to dust the uniform of students and teachers also become dirty even before reaching school the petition saidIt said the students complain that the condition of the road is so bad that they often fall down while walking to their school and during rains it become almost impossible to walk to the school on the roadIt further said that Delhi Government School of Excellence was surrounded by open drain and garbage is lying around schools gate no 2 and even a big size transformer has been installed in the middle of the way to gate no 1 of the school which may prove dangerous for students PTI SKV SA

New Delhi Mar 31 PTI The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the eviction of Lok Sabha MP Chirag Paswan from a bungalow allotted to his late father Ram Vilas Paswan hereDismissing the petition by Chirag Paswans mother Reena Paswan Justice Yashwant Varma observed that at this stage it will have to stall the process which has already started and that the premises was not his party headquartersThe petitioners counsel sought four months from the court to vacate the premises in Janpath in the heart of the city citing practical difficulties and told the court that hundreds of persons were staying there presently including family membersThe lawyer for the petitioner added that the present occupants have no other place to stay in the national capital and the bungalow houses a museum in the memory of late Ram Vilas Paswan and also has several artefacts This is not your party headquarters said Justice Varma The judge noted that the process was initiated in 2020 and the parties were given notice for the same Move out sir The process has commenced the court told the counsel for the petitioner There are other people waiting he added Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma informed that the process of eviction has already commenced and the occupants were put to notice several times since 2020 It is done Very few household items are left We have commenced It is almost done finalised Five trucks have left he said He stated that the term of the allotment of the bungalow expired with the death of the late politician in October 2020 On Wednesday the central government had sent a team to evict the Lok Sabha MP from the Janpath bungalow which was stated to be earmarked for Union ministers The house has been the official address of the Lok Janshakti Party LJP now split into two following differences between Chirag Paswan and his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras after the death of former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan It was used regularly for holding the partys organisational meetings and other related events PTI ADS SA

New Delhi Mar 30 PTI The Delhi High Court Wednesday listed for hearing on July 21 the appeals ofWhatsApp and Facebookchallenging its single-judge order dismissing their pleas against the probe ordered by theCCIinto the instant messaging platforms new privacy policy and said that the issue of data sharing has to be looked intoA bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Poonam A Bamba adjourned the hearing on the appeals in view of the submission by the senior lawyer for WhatsApp to defer the case for some time in view of the pendency of the data protection law before the Parliament and directed the parties to file their written submissions in the matterSharing of data scrapping of datasomeone needs to look into it Aside this case they say there are 5000 data points on every citizen They can predict what you are going to do in every situation Justice Shakdher observed Referring to Cambridge Analytica a Uk-based company which is facing probe for allegedly illegally harvesting data of Facebook users the judge questioned the aspect of data sharing in closed groups on Facebook Senior advocate Harish Salve representing WhatsApp submitted that WhatsApp does not look at messages and only has external information such as phone number and volume of trade On Facebook one puts ones life in public domain he added He told the court that as stated by WhatsApp earlier until the data protection law comes into existence it will not coerce its users to opt for the updated privacy policy and when the Parliament is seized of the issue there was no question of CCI continuing with its own investigation into the policy If we have the bill till the next date of hearing good Else decide it on the basis of the law as it is Salve said The court also extended the interim order granting time to Facebook andWhatsAppfor filing replies to two CCI notices asking them to furnish certain information for the purpose of inquiry conducted by it In July last yearWhatsApp had told the high court that till the data protection bill comes into force it would not compel users to opt for its new privacy policy as it has been put on hold Commitment is that I will do nothing till the Parliaments law comes in If Parliament allows it I will have it If it doesnt bad luck Ive taken it off till the Parliament makes a law Either we fit in or we dont Salve had said The present case relates to the appeals of Facebook andWhatsAppagainst a single judge order dismissing their pleas against the probeCCIordered into the instant messaging apps new privacy policy The division bench of the high court had on May 6 2021 issued notices on the appeals and asked the Centre to respond to it The single judge on April 22 last year had said though it would have been prudent for theCCI to await the outcome of petitions in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court againstWhatsApps new privacy policy not doing so would not make the regulators order perverse or wanting of jurisdiction The court had said it saw no merit in the petitions of Facebook andWhatsAppto interdict the investigation directed by theCCI TheCCIhad contended before the single judge that it was not examining the alleged violation of individuals privacy which was being looked into by the Supreme Court It had argued before the court that the new privacy policy ofWhatsAppwould lead to excessive data collection and stalking of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is therefore an alleged abuse of dominant position WhatsAppand Facebook had challenged theCCIs March 24 2021 order directing a probe into the new privacy policy PTI ADS SA