Jammu, January 13

A 150-metre tunnel constructed along the International Border (IB) to facilitate infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan was detected by Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district on Wednesday, officials said.

This is the third tunnel unearthed by alert border guards along the IB in the twin districts of Samba and Kathua in Jammu region over the past six months and ninth in the past decade.

“A nearly 150-metre-long tunnel was detected by a BSF patrol party during an anti-tunnelling operation in Bobiyaan village of Hirnagar sector this morning,” Inspector General of BSF, Jammu frontier, N S Jamwal told reporters at the scene.

He along with other senior officers rushed to Bobiyaan soon after the detection of the tunnel.

“The opposite of this side is Pakistan’s Shakergarh which is notorious for having launch pads and bases of terrorists. We have inputs available with us as a result of that we are sensitive to whatever is happening here,” the BSF officer said, assuring that all necessary measures are in place to counter Pakistani designs.

He said sand bags with Pakistani markings are evidence of the hand of Pakistani establishment in the construction of this tunnel, which is identical to the previously detected tunnels having a depth of 25 to 30 metre with two to three feet diameter.

Asked whether this tunnel was recently dug or it’s an old one, the BSF officer said it is a matter of investigation.

However, he said some of the sand bags recovered from the tunnel have 2016-17 year of manufacture which suggest that it is an old tunnel.

“We were searching for this tunnel for a long time and its detection was the effort of the anti-tunnelling operation which is underway all along the IB. Whether any infiltration had taken place through this tunnel in the past can be said after completion of our investigation,” he said.

Jamwal, however, said the BSF is sure that no infiltration had taken place through this tunnel in the recent past.

“We are undertaking some development works here and have strengthened the security in view of the anti-tunnelling drive,” he said.                 Referring to the killing of two Pakistani infiltrators in Surankote area of Poonch district and an encounter in Srinagar last month, the IG said Pakistan is always looking for an opportunity to push terrorists into Jammu Kashmir, whether it is through Line of Control (LoC) or IB.

“They are continuing with the attempts but we are fully alert to the situation. Our alertness resulted in detection of underground tunnels and shooting down of a Hexa-copter loaded with a huge cache of arms and ammunition,” he said, adding the border protection grid comprising army, BSF and police are working jointly to scuttle Pakistan’s attempts to push terrorists and weapons into this side.

Last year, the BSF detected two such tunnels in Samba district on August 28 and November 22 following successful infiltration by two groups of terrorists who were subsequently neutralised in separate encounters along Jammu-Srinagar national highway while they were enroute to Kashmir in trucks.

While three Pakistani terrorists affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) were eliminated in a gunfight in Nagrota area near Jammu after they were intercepted aboard a Kashmir-bound truck in January last year, another group of Pakistani terrorists armed with weapons and a large quantity of grenades were killed at the same spot on November 19.

Investigations suggested both the groups infiltrated into this side through underground tunnels.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Rangers violated ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked firing on forward posts and villages in the Border Outpost area of Gurnam in Hiranagar sector, the officials said.

The firing from across the border started around 10 pm Tuesday, prompting strong and effective retaliation by the BSF, they said, adding the cross-border firing between the two sides continued till 2.25 am Wednesday but there was no report of any damage on Indian side. PTI

New Delhi, January 13

The Supreme Court Wednesday issued a notice on a plea of the Centre which urged that the 2018 judgement of a five-judge constitution bench decriminalizing adultery under the Indian Penal Code be not made applicable to the armed forces.

A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman, Navin Sinha and K M Joseph, after issuing the notice to the PIL petitioner and others on the Centre’s plea, referred the matter to Chief Justice S A Bobde for setting up of a five-judge Constitution Bench which can clarify the position.

In a path-breaking verdict, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by the then CJI Dipak Misra unanimously struck down Section 497 (adultery) of the Indian Penal Code and declared that adultery is not a crime and the penal provision was unconstitutional as it dented the individuality of women and treated them as “chattel of husbands”.

The apex court, in a September 2018 judgment, however had said that adultery would continue to be a ground for seeking divorce in matrimonial disputes.

The Centre, in its interim plea filed in a disposed of PIL of Joseph Shine, has sought clarification and a direction that the judgement be not made applicable on special statutes and rules governing the armed forces which take actions on its personnel for indulging in adulterous relationships to ensure discipline in forces.

It has been said when jawans and officers are posted in forward inhospitable areas, their families are taken care of at base camp by other officers and the laws and rules, providing actions for indulging in adulterous or promiscuous activity, help in maintaining discipline.

An armed forces personnel can be cashiered from service on grounds of unbecoming conduct for committing adultery with a colleague’s wife, it said.

Section 497 of the IPC says: “Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery.”

Adultery was punishable by a maximum of five years in jail or fine or both.

Striking down the law, the apex court had said that the section 497 of the IPC was manifestly arbitrary, archaic law which is violative of the rights to equality and equal opportunity to women. — PTI

YOGENDRA YADAV

President, Swaraj India

IN rejecting the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee to mediate between farmers and the Narendra Modi government, the farmers’ organisations have not only wisely sidestepped a possible trap, but have also reaffirmed a basic principle of democratic accountability and responsible governance.

Let there be no confusion about it. The expert committee appointed by the SC is not meant to advise the court on technical matters of agricultural marketing or on the implications of the disputed agricultural laws. The order of the Supreme Court makes it clear that the committee is to facilitate negotiations between the government and farmers’ organisations: “The negotiations between the farmers’ bodies and the government have not yielded any result so far. Therefore, we are of the view that the constitution of a committee of experts in the field of agriculture to negotiate between the farmers’ bodies and the government of India may create a congenial atmosphere and improve the trust and confidence of the farmers.”

The court goes on to specify that the committee has been “constituted for the purpose of listening to the grievances of the farmers relating to the farm laws and the views of the government and to make recommendations.” Presumably, the committee will try to find a middle ground and advise the government on how the laws should be tweaked in a way so as to satisfy both the government and the protesting farmers.

That is precisely why the farmers’ organisations had resisted, right from the beginning, the idea of any such committee. They have objected to being forced into binding mediation, questioned the instrument of a committee and suspected the composition of such a committee. On all three counts, their assessment has been proven right.

First of all, the farmers have been suspicious of being pushed into mediation that they never asked for or consented to. They have never said no to negotiations with the government. Sure, the talks with the government have been frustrating. The Modi government has been intransigent. Yet, that is the only site for negotiations in a democracy. In the last instance, elected representatives are there to speak to the people. They are accountable to the people and to the farmers. The courts are there to adjudicate between right and wrong, legal and illegal. The courts are not there to engage in give and take, which is part of any negotiation. That is why the courts are responsible to the Constitution and not accountable to the people. That is the logic of democratic governance. Any attempt to shift the site of negotiation from the government to the judiciary amounts to overturning this basic democratic logic.

The government’s keenness to shift this ‘headache’ and the Supreme Court’s alacrity to take over have strengthened the resistance of the farmers. It needs to be underlined that the protesting farmers did not approach the court. Nor did the government, at least not on paper. The initial petitioners were third parties who wanted the court to evict the farmers from their protest site. The other set of petitioners questioned the constitutionality of the three laws and wanted these scrapped. None of the petitioners prayed for mediation from the court. Yet, from day one, that is what the court was interested in. The court dismissed, and rightly so, the pleas asking for eviction of the protesting farmers. It recognised, again rightly so, the democratic rights of the farmers to engage in a peaceful protest. As for the pleas, regarding the constitutional validity of the three laws, the court put this on the back burner, saying that it will consider these at an appropriate time.

The Supreme Court could have expedited this process by setting a time frame within which it will decide upon the constitutional validity of these three laws. That would have been most appropriate. But it chose not to do so. Instead, the court chose to focus on a third issue beyond what was asked for by any party and beyond its legal remit. Farmers’ organisations were smart enough to resist this move from the beginning.

Dushyant Dave and the other three lawyers representing just eight out of 400-plus farmers’ organisations involved in this protest were wise to keep away from the court’s deliberations on this issue.

Someone might ask: Forget the technicalities, but what’s wrong in the top court stepping in to resolve a deadlock? Well, that is possible, provided the Supreme Court were to enjoy moral authority over and above its legal and constitutional powers. Such moral authority is commanded, not demanded.

rveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, January 13

Driven by the spirit of benevolence, farmers from the district have been contributing to langar stalls that have come up on the NH-44 and those at the Delhi border. It is a manner of opposing the “black” laws, they say.

Farmers have been sending dry ration and other essential items to the four langar stalls in the district. One is located near Oasis Tourist Complex, while another one is near the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources. There are two langar stalls at the Bastara toll plaza.

Darar village resident Deepak Waraich, who is hosting langar near the tourist complex, said: “Initially, only four villages — Darar, Salaru, Kurali and Ramba — contributed to the langar. As the movement gained ground, more villages started contributing. People support the ‘langar sewa’ as per their capacity. Some contribute food items and milk, while some give money.”

Spirit of Benevolence

Initially, only four villages contributed to the langar. As the movement gained ground, more villages started contributing. Some contribute food items and milk, while some give money. —Deepak Waraich, Darar village resident

Salaru resident Gurinder Singh, who is volunteering at a langar stall, said: “Volunteers serve food round the clock to everyone passing by. Rice, dal, mix vegetable, chapati, and tea are served every day, while ‘jalebi’ and ‘kadhi’ are served on alternate days.”

It is not about food alone. Some persons have been distributing medicines for free. Rajat Khanna, the owner of a local pharmacy store, has set up a stall of medicines on the NH-44. “All kind of general medicines are given to farmers in need. Doctors have also volunteered,” he said.

The help also pours in from farmers on their way to the Delhi border. Farmers going to the Delhi border leave some food items at the langar stalls.

Our Correspondent

Ludhiana/Abohar, January 13

Protesting farmers owing allegiance to different farm organisations burnt copies of new agriculture laws and held demonstrations at many places in the state on Lohri as a mark of protest against the legislations.

In Ludhiana, activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) celebrated Lohri by burning copies of the central farm laws at Kohara. They asserted that they were all set to take out a tractor march in Delhi on Republic Day and make their intention known to Centre that the agitation would continue till the farm laws were scrapped.

BKU general secretary Harinder Singh Lakhowal said it was perhaps for the first time in history that farmers were observing ‘black Lohri’ in protest against the anti-farmer policies of the BJP-led central government.

“It is also for the first time that farmers have been sitting on a peaceful protest around the national capital for the past over 50 days in freezing conditions in a momentous show of unity against the highhandedness of the Centre. All along, the Narendra Modi government has been watching the situation like a mute spectator even after several farmers have lost their lives during the course of agitation,” said Lakhowal.

He said the indifferent attitude of the central government had been evident from its adamant stand in all the meetings held between the farmer unions and central ministers. He added that the government was just buying time to tire out the protesting farmers and it had no intention of accepting their demand for the rollback of agriculture laws.

Asserting that the decision of taking out a tractor march in Delhi on Republic Day was final and non-negotiable, Lakhowal claimed there was unprecedented response to the call given by the agitating farmers’ bodies to their fraternity to reach Delhi with tractors in large numbers.

Meanwhile, in Abohar, farmers burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, corporate houses and actor Kangana Ranaut and copies of the three central agriculture laws.

The protesters assembled at Shaheed Chowk outside Sadar Bazar, raised slogans against the central government, some big corporates and actor Kangana Raut and then burnt copies of the three farm laws, besides the effigies that carried pictures of Modi and others. Farmers said more batches would leave for the Delhi border soon to join the agitation.

They said it was condemnable that actors were casting aspersions on the peaceful movement even when they didn’t know about farming or the bad effect of farm laws.