Left, Right & Centre

Asaram has been a powerful man, a very, very powerful man, who through his empire of ashrams and his political patronage over the years built a formidable army of supporters and loyal followers, who to this day, blindly believe anything he says. Which is why what happened today in Jodhpur court is so momentous. 77-year-old Asaram, the self-styled godman, was found guilty of the rape of a 16-year-old girl in 2013 and sentenced to life in prison until death. Two of his accomplices have got 20 years each. Asaram had been booked under the tough child protection law called POCSO. Three witnesses in this case were killed mysteriously over the years, while two others were physically attacked. The girl's father told NDTV today that all tactics, everything you can think of, was used to try and get them to withdraw the case. Everything from threats to bribes. Today, this once mighty man has been shown his place.

The controversy over the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice is still alive and now there's more. Two senior judges of the Supreme Court have written to Chief Justice Dipak Misra, asking him to convene a meeting of the full court to discuss "institutional issues" and the court's "future". So far, there has been no response. The letter has been written by Justices Gogoi and Lokur. Justice Gogoi is expected to take over as the Chief Justice after Dipak Misra later this year. A full court meeting of the Supreme Court, which means a meeting of all judges, is convened when a matter of public importance relating to the judiciary comes up. In recent weeks, two other senior judges also wrote to the Chief Justice, asking for action to protect the judiciary from undue interference by the government.

Noted lawyer and eminent constitutional expert Fali Nariman has said that the charges made by the opposition against the Chief Justice of India have no gravity. Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Fali Nariman said that the matter should be put to rest as the Vice-President has rejected the motion. He further said that the four judges who came out in the public against the Chief Justice should clear all doubts in the minds of public.

When the Nirbhaya gang-rape happened in 2012, one of the big demands by angry people was to make the anti-rape law more effective and to push for the death penalty. In Nirbhaya's case, that is what happened. All the accused, except the juvenile, got the death penalty and their appeal is with the Supreme Court. Nearly six years later, there has been another uprising against sexual crimes after the rape-and-murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua. So last week, the union cabinet passed an ordinance that gives the death panelty to anyone who rapes a child below the age of 12. Today, the Jammu and Kashmir government has followed suit and also passed its ordinance, but is this going to solve the problem? That is exactly what the Delhi High Court has asked the government. It wants to know if any scientific assessment or study was done before passing this ordinance. It wants to know whether the offenders will leave the victim alive now that

rape and death have the same punishment. The debate over the death penalty has been a long standing one and there are no easy answers as to what is right or what is wrong. The outrage and anger that families feel on the rape of their children is genuine and even more so in India where justice is pathetically slow. But will the death penalty really act as deterrant? That's the big debate.

Senior lawyer and Congress leader Kapil Sibal spoke to NDTV on Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu's decision to reject the opposition's move to impeach Chief Justice Dipak Misra, accusing the Vice President of "haste" and "bias". "We want to enhance the judiciary's respect and standing and we want judicial process to be transparent," he said.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, as the Rajya Sabha Chairman, has rejected the impeachment motion filed by opposition parliamentarians against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. Mr Naidu said the charges against the ChJef justice were unsubstantiated. Congress leader Kapil Sibal hit back, calling the Vice President's move illegal and unprecedented. Mr Sibal insisted that the merits of the charges can only be decided by the special committee that has to be set up when a motion is accepted. The opposition, however, appeared to have known that it had an unsurmountable task ahead.

Amid nationwide outrage over the rape and murder of an 8-year-old in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua, desperate efforts by fake news outlets either in the mainstream media or online are trying to suggest that the child was not raped at all. The police will have none of it and have reiterated their position on this. Just what is this fake news narrative all about? Is it part of another effort to polarise communities?

The centre on Saturday introduced a new ordinance in response to nationwide anger over the Kathua and Unnao rape cases involving minors. The order will now allow the death penalty for the rape of minors. It also has several provisions for speedy trials in rape cases. But is this going to help resolve this epidemic of sorts that we are seeing of child rape cases. Will this act as a deterrent?

The Gujarat High Court today acquitted former BJP minister Maya Kodnani in the 2002 Naroda Paitya riots case in which 97 people, all Muslims, were killed by a mob. This was the worst incident of communal violence after the Godhra train burning. The court, however, upheld the conviction of former Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi in the case. In 2012, Maya Kodnani was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court for inciting a mob.

For the first time ever, there is an impeachment motion against a sitting Chief Justice of India. Today, seven opposition parties - led by the Congress - moved for the impeachment of Chief Justice Dipak Misra. Armed with the signature of 71 MPs, they met Vice President Venkaiah Naidu this morning and listed a series of charges including the assigning of sensitive cases to handpicked judges. The opposition's move comes a day after the Supreme Court verdict on the death of special CBI judge BH Loya in which the court said there was no need for a probe into his death. But the Congress says this move has nothing to do with Loya verdict, an appointment had been sought with the Rajya Sabha chairman a week ago. However, Arun Jaitley has called the impeachment move a "revenge petition", aimed at intimidating one judge and sending a message to other judges, accusing the opposition of using impeachment as "a political tool".