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Saudi Aramco in Advanced Talks on up to $25 Billion Reliance Deal: Report

Reliance announced a sale of a 20% stake in its oil-to-chemicals business to Aramco for $15 billion in 2019, but the deal stalled after oil prices and demand crashed last year due to the pandemic.

Bengaluru: Saudi Aramco is in advanced talks to acquire a roughly 20% stake in Reliance Industries Ltd’s oil refining and chemicals business for about $20 billion to $25 billion in Aramco‘s shares, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

An agreement could be reached as soon as the coming weeks, according to the report https, which cited people with knowledge of the matter.

Reliance announced a sale of a 20% stake in its oil-to-chemicals business to Aramco for $15 billion in 2019, but the deal stalled after oil prices and demand crashed last year due to the pandemic.

In late June, Reliance‘s billionaire chairman Mukesh Ambani said it hopes to formalise its partnership with Aramco this year and its Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan will join the Indian conglomerate’s board as an independent director.

Aramco did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Reliance declined to comment.

Reliance shares were up 2.3% at Rs 2,194.15.

(Reuters)

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal Faces Heat for Criticism of Businesses Including Tata

Tata was among most vociferous in telling the government in a July meeting that proposed e-commerce rules will have a major impact on its business.

New Delhi: India’s commerce minister faced heat on social media on Saturday for his remarks that many big domestic businesses had overlooked national interests and that $106 billion Tata Group’s objections to proposed policy changes for e-commerce had upset him.

At an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Thursday, minister Piyush Goyal criticised Tata and more broadly said local businesses should not just focus on profits or think of bypassing local laws, according to media reports and a source who attended the event.

The comments caught public attention and stoked a debate on social media after The Hindu newspaper reported on Saturday the government had asked the CII to block videos with Goyal’s comments.

Two links to those videos on Goyal’s speech shared with journalists were now marked private and blocked. The CII and Goyal’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

“The kind of language used against industry captains & calling their work against nation’s interest is shameful … CII should demand an apology instead of helping him by pulling down the video,” said Priyanka Chaturvedi, a lawmaker and opposition leader.

A spokeswoman of India’s main opposition Congress Party, Supriya Shrinate, said on Twitter Goyal’s remarks were “undignified”.

Also read: Protecting Consumers, Sellers and Platforms: A Case for India’s Upcoming E-Commerce Industry

Goyal’s comments on Tata came after Reuters last month reported the conglomerate was among most vociferous in telling the government in a July meeting that proposed e-commerce rules will have a major impact on its business and bar its joint venture partners like Starbucks from selling goods on Tata’s shopping websites.

At the CII event, Goyal said Tata’s objection to the rules had hurt him, saying he had conveyed that position to Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran, the source who attended the event said.

Tata declined to comment on Saturday.

Goyal has also repeatedly criticised Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart for allegedly bypassing foreign investment rules for e-commerce. This week, he also invoked the “Quit India” movementin parliament as he welcomed a court order that allowed an antitrust probe of the two companies to continue.

The Confederation of All India Traders, however, welcomed Goyal’s stand on Saturday, saying it was “highly unfortunate” that Tata was opposing government’s e-commerce rules.

The 153-year-old Tata Group has big e-commerce plans and is planning launch of an app that will integrate several of its top brands, but the proposed policy changes have spooked it.

(Reuters)

Kerela HC Dismisses PIL Seeking Direction to Disallow Screening of Movie ‘Eesho’

The petition was filed bythe Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action (CASA).

Kochi: The Kerala high court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation filed by a Christian association seeking a direction to disallow the screening of Nadirshah-directed movie Eesho.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S. Manikumar dismissed a writ seeking direction to the central government not to issue a censor certificate to the Malayalam film, saying the court cannot interfere.

The petition was filed by the Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action (CASA).

Eesho is the Malayalam word for Jesus.

The court said it cannot interfere in the matter simply because the title of the movie is the name of a God.

Earlier, the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) had said that there was a tendency seen in the art and cultural field to “demean” the Christian community.

“It does not go well with a civilised society to demean the symbols and beliefs of any particular religion. Concerned persons should take necessary steps in this regard,” the statement had said.

A few youth organisations of the Christian community had raised objections with a name given to an upcoming film saying it was affecting their religious sentiments.

(PTI)

In Rare British Mass Shooting, Gunman Kills Five, Including 3-Year-Old Girl

Mass shootings are rare in the United Kingdom, where gun ownership is relatively low, and Thursday’s six-minute rampage was the worst such incident in more than decade.

Plymouth: A man shot dead five people, including a 3-year-old girl, in violence that police in the southern English city of Plymouth believe began with a domestic dispute and the killing of his mother.

Mass shootings are rare in the United Kingdom, where gun ownership is relatively low, and Thursday’s six-minute rampage was the worst such incident in more than decade.

Police on Friday named the shooter as Jake Davison, a 22-year-old crane operator. He turned his gun on himself after killing the five victims on Thursday evening, the police said.

Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said police had found no motive but they were not considering terrorism or any far-right associations, although they were trawling through Davison’s computer.

“We believe we have an incident that is domestically related, that has spilled into the street and seen several people within Plymouth losing their lives in an extraordinarily tragic circumstance,” Sawyer told reporters.

The shooting started at about 6 p.m. on Thursday, with the offender first killing his 51-year-old mother Maxine Davison.

Also Read: Jamia Shooter Gets Bail in Hate Speech Case

He then ran outside and immediately shot dead the young girl, named by police as Sophie Martyn, in the street along with her father Lee Martyn, 43.

Davison shot at two other passers-by who were badly injured, then entered a park and shot dead another man, Stephen Washington, 59. He also shot Kate Shepherd, 66, who died later in hospital.

Davison then turned the gun on himself before firearms officers could tackle him. The deadly shooting spree was over in just a few minutes.

Sawyer said witnesses described the weapon as a pump-action shotgun. He could not say whether or not Davison had mental health issues.

Britain’s police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, said it will investigate the police decision to return a shotgun and license for it to Davison last month after taking them from him eight months ago because of an assault allegation.

In videos posted on the internet, Davison had complained of not losing his virginity as a teenager and described himself as an “incel” – or involuntary celibate. He complained in the videos of being beaten down by life, the Times reported.

Britain has suffered a number of deadly militant attacks in the past several years, but this was the worst mass killing of its kind since a taxi-driver killed 12 people then shot himself in a rampage in Cumbria, northern England, in June 2010.

The deadliest mass shooting in Britain’s modern history is the 1996 massacre in Dunblane, Scotland, when a gunman killed 16 pupils and a teacher at the local school before killing himself.

(Reuters)

Twelve Nations Including India Say They Won’t Recognise Any Afghan Govt Imposed by Force

India on Thursday said the situation in Afghanistan is of concern and that it continues to hope for a comprehensive ceasefire to end violence in that country.

Washington: Twelve nations, including the US, India and China, along with representatives of the UN and EU have decided that they would not recognise any government in Afghanistan that seeks to take control through the barrel of a gun, the State Department has said, amid the continued Taliban offensive across the war-torn country.

Representatives from the United States and Qatar, the UN, China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, the UK, the EU, Germany, India, Norway, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan joined a regional conclave on Thursday to discuss ways to contain the escalating security situation in Afghanistan.

The conclave was hosted by Qatar.

The participants “agreed, first and foremost, that the peace process needs to be accelerated. And they also agreed, importantly, that they will not recognise any government that is imposed through military force,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Thursday.

His remarks came as the Taliban advanced across Afghanistan and took control over key provincial capitals.

Reports say that the militant group has captured Herat and Kandahar, the country’s second and third largest cities after Kabul, and a strategic provincial capital on Thursday.

It comes just weeks before the end of the American military mission in Afghanistan. The US Embassy in Afghanistan issued a security alert Thursday, urging Americans to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options.

“So this is not just the United States making this point. This is not just the United States speaking with our voice. This is the international community, as you see represented in the consensus that has emerged today,” Prince said.

He said the consensus is on “this very simple point: any force that seeks to take control of Afghanistan with the barrel of a gun, through the barrel of a gun, will not be recognised, will not have legitimacy, will not accrue the international assistance that any such government would likely need to achieve any semblance of durability.”

Price said the international community came together to speak with one voice on this point over the course of weeks and months.

Also Read: India Could’ve Been a Step Ahead With Afghanistan , But Is Left Clutching at Straws

“I’ve spoken just recently about the UN Security Council statement that emanated last week, where the members of the Security Council recalled Resolution 2513, reaffirmed that there is no military solution to the conflict, and declared they do not support the restoration of an Islamic emirate,” Price said.

J P Singh, the Joint Secretary in the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), represented India at the meeting in Doha, officials said in New Delhi.

India on Thursday said the situation in Afghanistan is of concern and that it continues to hope for a comprehensive ceasefire to end violence in that country.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also said India is in touch with all the stakeholders in Afghanistan and closely monitoring the ground situation in the strife-torn country.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US envoy, travelled to Doha, Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office to persuade the insurgents to return to peace talks with the Afghan government as American and NATO forces finish their pullout from the country.

The latest US military intelligence assessment suggests Kabul could come under insurgent pressure within 30 days and that, if current trends hold, the Taliban could gain full control of the country within a few months.

(PTI)

Uttarakhand: Migratory Villagers Complain of Shortage of Ration as Supply Stops

The district administration said it will send ration to villagers on time and has already filed a case of negligence against the supply contractor.

Pithoragarh: Over 3,000 villagers in this Uttarakhand district who migrate to the upper Himalayan regions during summers have complained of short supply of rations under the Public Distribution System (PDS) and demanded delivery of their quotas to them by helicopters.

“We are supposed to get rations till October this year, but the supplier contractor stopped supplies after the road was breached at Mapang, and Ghora Lautana on Malla Johar route due to heavy landslides last month,” said Shri Ram Singh Dharmshaktu, president of Malla Johar Vikas Samiti, an organisation of migratory villagers residing in upper Himalayan regions located at a height of above 9,000 feet.

The godown at Burfu on which 15 villages depend for their monthly ration has run out of stock as it did not receive any supplies last month, he said.

“We do not have any other alternative. If foodgrains are not supplied immediately we will face a dire shortage of them soon. As the roads by which they are brought are breached, we want the rations to be supplied by helicopters,” Kundan Singh, a resident of Burfu village, said.

The villages likely to face ration shortages are Laspa, Burfu, Bilju, Mapa, Ganghar, Khilanch, Milam Tola, Martoli and Ralam, Dharmshaktu said.

While Laspa has 20 families living in summer migration, other villages have 15 to 20 families each, he said.

The district administration said it will send ration to villagers on time and has already filed a case of negligence against the supply contractor.

“I have instructed the SDM of Munsiyari and District Supply Officer of Pithoragarh to ensure supply of rations to the villagers. It is our prime duty,” Pithoragarh District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan said.

(PTI)

Officials of India and 3 Other Quad Members Hold Talks on Indo-Pacific

The consultations were held to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific region and to build on the historic discussions between US President Joe Biden and prime ministers of India, Japan and Australia.

New Delhi: Senior officials of India and three other member nations of the Quad on Thursday held extensive talks on further advancing practical cooperation in areas of infrastructure, maritime security, counter-terrorism and cybersecurity to achieve the goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

A statement by the US State Department clearly indicated that the officials discussed the possibility of holding a second summit of the leaders of the Quad countries later this year.

The US is keen to hold the in-person summit involving Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

The first summit among the leaders had taken place virtually in March.

“They (the officials) welcomed the opportunity to continue regular consultations at the ministerial, senior official, and working levels and to hold a second leaders’ summit this fall,” the US State Department said.

The Japanese foreign ministry said the meeting also reviewed progress in discussions for cooperation in the areas of vaccines, critical and emerging technologies and climate change besides deliberating on the situation in East and South China seas.

The US State Department said the officials examined ways to advance ongoing cooperation on numerous topics of mutual interest, including strategic challenges confronting the region, countering disinformation, promoting democracy and human rights, strengthening international institutions and supporting countries vulnerable to coercive actions in the Indo-Pacific.

“The four democracies acknowledged that global security and prosperity depends on the region remaining inclusive, resilient, and healthy. They discussed the importance of sustained international cooperation to end the COVID-19 pandemic in the Indo-Pacific and to promote economic recovery,” it said.

Also read: India Could’ve Been a Step Ahead With Afghanistan , But is Left Clutching at Straws

It said the consultations were held to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific region and to build on the historic discussions between President Joe Biden and prime ministers of India, Japan and Australia in a virtual summit on March 12.

The US State Department said the officials discussed the importance of peace and security in the Taiwan Strait, the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, and reaffirmed the Quad’s strong support for ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

“The officials concurred on further advancing practical cooperation among the four countries on quality infrastructure, maritime security, counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief toward the achievement of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’,” the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said the meeting welcomed the fact that a “free and open Indo-Pacific” is a vision for the peace and prosperity of the region and its importance in the post-COVID world is increasing and that this vision has spread in the international community, including ASEAN and Europe.

“They reaffirmed the importance of broadening cooperation with more countries for its further achievement. In this regard, the officials reaffirmed their strong support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality as well as the ASEAN-led regional architecture, and their full support for the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific,” the Japanese foreign ministry said.

(PTI)

Govt Accommodation Meant for Serving Officials, Not Retirees as Benevolence: SC

Right to shelter does not mean right to government accommodation, according to the apex court.

New Delhi: Government accommodation is meant for serving officials and not retirees as a “benevolence” and distribution of largesse, the Supreme Court has said while setting aside an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowing a retired public servant to retain such premises.

Right to shelter does not mean right to government accommodation, the apex court said, observing that direction to allow a retired public servant to retain such premises for an indefinite period is distribution of state largesse without any policy.

While allowing the appeal filed by the Centre, a bench of justices Hemant Gupta and A S Bopanna set aside the high court order and directed the retired Intelligence Bureau officer, a Kashmiri migrant, to hand over vacant physical possession of the premises on or before October 31, 2021.

The bench also directed the Centre to submit a report of action taken against retired public servants, who are in government accommodation post their retirement by virtue of orders of the high courts, by November 15, 2021.

The officer, who was transferred to Faridabad where he was allotted a government accommodation, had attained the age of superannuation from service on October 31, 2006.

The right to shelter does not mean right to government accommodation. The government accommodation is meant for serving officers and officials and not to the retirees as a benevolence and distribution of largesse, the bench said in its judgement passed last week.

Also Read: ‘Dictatorial Regime’: Three Ladakh Residents Move SC Challenging Dilution of Article 370

The top court was hearing a plea against the July 2011 order of a division bench of the high court which had dismissed a petition against its single judge order.

The single judge had said it was not possible for the retired officer to return to his own state due to which the order of eviction shall be kept in abeyance. The high court had also said the authorities were at liberty to provide alternative accommodation to him on nominal licence fee in Faridabad.

The officer had earlier given representation to the concerned authority to allow him to retain the government accommodation and he was allowed to retain the house for another one year.

Later, he submitted another representation in June 2007 to allow him to retain the house allotted to him on a nominal licence fee till the circumstances prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir improve and the government makes it possible for him to return to his native place.

He was served with a notice under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupant) Act, 1971 and later, an order for eviction was passed but it was stayed by a district court in Delhi.

When an objection was raised about territorial jurisdiction of Delhi court, he withdrew his appeal and filed it in Faridabad court which dismissed it in August 2009. Later, the matter reached the high court.

In its verdict, the apex court referred to several judgements delivered earlier and said it was held that government accommodation is only meant for in-service officers and not for the retirees or those who have demitted office.

The compassion howsoever genuine does not give a right to a retired person from continuing to occupy a government accommodation, it said.

It noted that according to a policy framed by the government, a displaced person is to be lodged in a transit accommodation and if it is not available, then cash compensation is to be provided.

There is no policy of the central government or the state government to provide accommodation to displaced persons on account of terrorism in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, it said. The hardship faced by them does not lead to a corresponding duty of the state to provide them alternative government accommodation.

It noted that a section of society, more so retired public servants who have earned pension and drawn retirement benefits, cannot be said to be in such condition where the government should provide government accommodation for an unlimited period.

A section of the migrants cannot be treated as preferential citizens to give them the right to shelter at the cost of millions of other citizens who do not have a roof over their heads, it said.

The bench said right of shelter to a displaced person is satisfied when accommodation had been provided in the transit accommodation.

The bench said in terms of the policy, which was considered in an earlier verdict of the apex court, Kashmiri migrants are entitled to transit accommodation and if transit accommodation could not be provided then money for residence and expenses.

It said the retired officer in the matter and such persons are not from the poorest section of migrants and have worked in the higher echelons of the bureaucracy.

To say that they are enforcing their right to shelter only till such time the conditions are conducive for their safe return is wholly illusory. No one is sure that at what point of time the condition will be conducive to the satisfaction of the migrants. Such benevolence and preferential right to section of the citizens is unfair to the serving officers, it said.

It set aside the high court’s order and restored the writ petition challenging the order under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupant) Act, 1971.

(PTI)

Merit Must Predominate Other Factors in Appointments to Judiciary: Justice R.F. Nariman

Justice Nariman, who became the apex court judge on July 7, 2014, disposed of over 13,500 cases and delivered historic verdicts including the declaration of privacy as a fundamental right.

New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, who demitted office after serving over seven years on Thursday, said merit must predominate other factors in appointments to the judiciary.

“I believe nobody has a ‘legitimate expectation’ to come to this court. I believe there is a ‘legitimate expectation’ in the people of India and the litigating public to get a certain quality of justice from this final court,” Justice Nariman said at his farewell organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) .

“For that, it is very clear, merit must predominate, subject to other factors. But merit always comes first,” he added.

Justice Nariman, the illustrious son of noted jurist Fali Nariman, said “it is time more direct appointees are elevated to this bench”.

“I would also say, and exhort, those direct appointees who are asked, never to say ‘No’. It is their solemn duty, having reaped so much from the profession to give back,” Justice Nariman said.

Also Read: On basic Structure Doctrine, Ruling’s of the SC’s First Five Judges Inspire Hope

Commenting on his experience as a judge in the top court, Justice Nariman said these seven years have been the most gruelling years of his life.

“It is no cakewalk. When I was on this (lawyer) side I had no concept of what was on the other side. I have been on both sides. This side (judges) is much more difficult. You have to read much more. I enjoyed writing judgements and at the end, it worked out well,” he said.

Justice Nariman, who became an apex court judge on July 7, 2014, disposed of over 13,500 cases and delivered historic verdicts including the declaration of privacy as a fundamental right, setting aside of IT Act provision empowering arrests, decriminalising consensual gay sex and permitting women of all ages to enter Kerala’s Sabarimala temple.

Justice Nariman, born on August 13, 1956, became a senior lawyer in 1993 and Solicitor General of India on July 27, 2011, before being elevated as a judge of the apex court on July 7, 2014.

(PTI)

SC Stays Gujarat HC Order Granting 2-Week Furlough to Rape Convict Narayan Sai

The bench said the point which needs examination is that under the rules it is said that a prisoner can avail furlough once every year after he serves seven year in imprisonment.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday stayed a Gujarat High Court order granting two-week furlough to rape convict Narayan Sai, son of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu who is also undergoing life term for another rape case in Rajasthan.

The apex court said however that it needs to examine whether the rules allow the annual furlough as per the calendar year or from 12 months after the last one was granted to a prisoner.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah issued a notice to Sai on Gujarat government’s plea challenging the high court’s single-judge order and stayed it till further orders.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, said the single-judge order of June 24, 2021, granted furlough to Sai for two weeks but the division bench had stayed it till August 13 and therefore the state has moved the top court challenging the June 24 order.

The bench said that under the Bombay Furlough and Parole Rules, applicable in Gujarat as well, a prisoner can be granted furlough once every year after he completes seven years in jail.

The idea of furlough is that a prisoner gets away from the environment of jail and is able to meet his family members, the bench said, and asked Mehta what are grievances with the order.

Also read: Asaram Bapu Sentenced to Life Time Imprisonmentin 2013 Rape Case

Mehta replied that under the rules and even in a judgement of this court, it has been held that furlough is not an absolute right and it depends on various factors.

He said Sai and his father were arrested for offences under rape charges and they wield considerable influence with money and muscle power.

Mehta pointed out that they had even tried to bribe police officials, mobile phones were recovered from their cell in jail and even three prime witnesses crucial to their cases were killed.

The bench said that now that he is convicted, all these contentions will not hold good as he was also granted furlough in December last year, which the state government has never challenged.

Mehta said that last year Sai was granted furlough for two weeks as he wanted to visit his ailing mother and it was purely on humanitarian grounds that the state government did not find it appropriate to challenge that order.

The bench then asked Mehta, whether during his last furlough were there any incidents of law and order situation or was there any danger to peace and tranquillity to which he replied that it is not on record.

Mehta said, Problem now is that he is seeking furlough as a matter of right that he should be released every year on furlough .

The bench said the point which needs examination is that under the rules it is said that a prisoner can avail furlough once every year after he serves seven year in imprisonment.

“Whether once every year means once every calendar year or once every year means since the last time he got furlough. This is the point we need to examine. We are issuing notice to the respondent (Narayan Sai), the bench said.

It asked the counsel appearing for Sai to file his reply within a week and posted the matter for further hearing after two weeks.

On April 26, 2019, Sai was convicted under the Indian Penal Code sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 323 (assault), 506-2 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (conspiracy) by a Surat court and sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 2013, after Asaram was arrested for allegedly raping a girl in Rajasthan, two Surat-based sisters had accused Asaram and his son of sexual exploitation.

The elder sister had accused Asaram of sexual assaults between 1997 and 2006 when she lived at his Ahmedabad ashram.

The younger sister had accused the godman’s son of sexual assaults when she lived at Asaram’s ashram in the Jahangirpura area of Surat between 2002 and 2005.

The incidents of multiple sexual assaults and unnatural sex with the victim had taken place between 2002 and 2005, but the case against Sai had been filed only in 2013.

Sai was arrested from the Delhi-Haryana border in December 2013.

When Sai was in jail, Surat police had claimed to have unearthed elaborate plans to bribe police officers, doctors and even judicial officers to weaken the case against him.

(PTI)