Consider farmers while implementing anti-cattle slaughter ordinance: Karnataka HC

Court

The High Court observed that coercive action should not be taken for a violation of section 5 of the ordinance which states no one can transport cattle for slaughter.

Prajwal Bhat

PTI : Image for representation

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday said that the Karnataka government has to consider what happens to common farmers when implementing the new ant-cattle slaughter ordinance in the state. The High Court observed that coercive action should not be taken for a violation of section 5 of the ordinance. This section states that no person shall transport or offer for transport or cause to be transported by whatever means any cattle from any place within the state to any other place within the state for slaughter. The state government on January 5 promulgated the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Ordinance that provides for punishment on killing of nearly all cattle (except buffalos over the age of 13) and offers protection to those "acting in good faith" to save them. This came into effect on January 18.  The court observed that the government must ensure that no coercive action is taken against farmers who transport animals for animal husbandry, agriculture, and other bona fide purposes until rules are framed under the provisions of the Ordinance. It also asked the state government to consider what happens to the common farmer.  The Karnataka government claimed that the High Court's observations were a seal of approval to implement the ordinance. "The development in the High Court today clears hurdles for the government to effectively implement the cow slaughter ordinance," the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement. A High Court Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum was hearing a batch of petitions filed by Mohammed Arif Jameel and others, who said that a ban on sale of cows will lead to an economic burden on farmers and the protection offered to those acting in 'good faith' will also strengthen cow vigilantes. Under the ordinance, slaughter of cattle will lead to imprisonment of up to three to seven years and a fine ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh, and subsequent offences will attract imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi appeared for the state before the High Court. "The state contended by filing preliminary statement of objections that the cattle population over the past eight years has substantially reduced from 95.16 lakh in 2012 census (19th livestock census) to 84.69 lakh in 2019 (20th livestock census), and that as per the 2019 census 2.38 lakh cattle are being slaughtered every year and on an average it works out to 652 per day," the Karnataka government’s counsel informed the court. The state also submitted that there are 4,212 veterinary institutions headed by veterinary officers and inspectors who are available on call and that there are 176 mobile clinics. With PTI inputs

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Ramalinga Reddy among two working presidents appointed by Congress in Karnataka

Politics

He was appointed alongside Dhruv Narayan, as per a statement issued by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

TNM Staff

The Congress on Wednesday appointed two more working presidents in its Karnataka unit. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has appointed Ramalinga Reddy and Dhruv Narayan as working presidents in the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) with immediate effect, a statement released by party general secretary organisation, KC Venugopal, said. Eshwar Khandre and Saleem Ahmed are also working presidents of the state unit. Senior leader D K Shivakumar is the chief of the KPCC.   Ramalinga Reddy, the MLA from BTM Layout constituency in Bengaluru, was detained during a protest organised in Bengaluru on Wednesday over the Centre's proposed farm laws. The protesters were marching towards Raj Bhavan in central Bengaluru.  He was earlier the Home Minister and Transport Minister in the cabinet formed by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. However, the Congress leader threatened to resign from his position as MLA in 2019 when dissidence broke out within the JD(S)-Congress coalition government. He eventually decided not to resign from his position and assured the JD(S)-Congress coalition of his support in a potential trust vote. His daughter Sowmya Reddy is the MLA of Jayanagara constituency in Bengaluru.  Dhruv Narayan is a former MP from Chamarajanagar. He had earlier held the post of party whip in the Lok Sabha.   The Congress is making moves to resurrect its party in Karnataka after back-to-back defeats in major elections in 2018 and 2019. After losing power in the state in the Assembly elections in 2018, the party was humbled in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections managing to win a solitary seat in Karnataka.  The party then decided to appoint DK Shivakumar as its president and he took charge following the relaxation of pandemic rules in July 2020.  The party has opposed the BJP's proposed farm laws and its leaders earlier addressed a rally at Freedom Park, to mark Raitha Adhikara Diwas" (farmers' rights day).

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Karnataka HC raps govt for asking employees with disability to come to work

Court

The Karnataka government had issued an order directing 50% of government employees with disabilities to report to work on alternate days.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka High Court reprimanded the state government over a circular dated January 5 directing 50% of people with disabilities who are government employees to report for work on alternate days. The court made the observation while hearing a petition filed by the Karnataka Federation of the Blind challenging the government order dated May 18, 2020, wherein all the government employees of Group A, B, C and D were instructed to report for duty with 100% capacity. The High Court of Karnataka on November 27 had directed the Karnataka government to reconsider the May 18 order directing all state government employees to report to their offices. The court cited the difficulties faced, especially by the visually-impaired, in following COVID-19 safety norms. Following this, the Karnataka government on January 5 issued another order instructing 50% of government employees who have disabilities should report for work on alternate days. On Wednesday, the case once again came up for hearing before the division bench of Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum, who said that the government has passed the ‘order without applying mind’. The court again told the government to reconsider the decision of making government employees, especially people with visual impairments to report for duty. “Firstly, we don’t understand this rationale of saying that 50 percent of the blind persons should work. Either 100 percent should work or 100 percent should not work,” the court said in an oral remark, Bar and Bench reported. The court also made an observation that the state government did not take into account the memorandum of the government of India dated October 2020 which allowed pregnant women and people with disabilities to continue to work from home. Even during the court hearing last week, the state government said that it has ordered only 50% of the people with disabilities to appear for work on alternate days on January 5. The bench, however, questioned the logic, and pointed out that making people with disabilities report to work is jeopardizing their safety, given that Bengaluru still reports over 400 cases every day. The Court making the observations told the state government to reconsider the January 5 order and postponed the case for further hearing to February 1.

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Karnataka tops Niti Aayog's Innovation Index for second time in a row

Niti Aayog

The number of venture capital deals, registered GIs (Geographical Indications) and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) exports helped Karnataka secure the top spot.

PTI

For the second year in a row, Karnataka topped Niti Aayog's Innovation Index. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu ranked in the second and third position in the innovation in Niti Aayog''s second Innovation Index released on Wednesday. The index, released by Aayog''s vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar and CEO Amitabh Kant, has been developed in the lines of Global Innovation Index. Telangana and Kerala ranked fourth and fifth respectively. While Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar were ranked at the bottom of the Index. Karnataka topped the Index for the second year in a row. Among Union Territories, Delhi topped the chart, while in the North-Eastern and Hill States category Himachal Pradesh occupied the top spot. "Amongst major states, the average innovation score is 25.35. Karnataka tops at 42.5, which is attributable to its strong number of venture capital deals, registered GIs (Geographical Indications) and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) exports. Karnataka''s high FDI inflow has also enhanced the innovation capabilities of the state," the India Innovation Index 2020 said. Maharashtra was ranked second with an innovation score of 38, while Bihar finished last at 14.5. "The case for the southern states as the top performers has also become stronger as four of them occupy the top-five spots within the major states," it added. According to the index, the North-Eastern and Hill states achieved an average innovation score of 17.89, with Himachal Pradesh as the best performer with a score of 25, followed by Manipur (22.77) and Sikkim (22.28), respectively. "With 31.9 % of its total employment generated being knowledge-intensive, Himachal Pradesh benefits from a high number of knowledge workers," it said. The Index noted that the innovation score of Union Territories and city states averages at 26.01. Delhi was the best performer among all groups. Among UTs, after Delhi, "Chandigarh follows second with a score of 38.57, whereas Lakshadweep and Jammu and Kashmir occupy the last two positions in the group respectively," it said. Speaking at the event, Kumar said the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor and Niti Aayog are working closely to create a seamless interaction among institutions that are there in any city to improve India''s innovation ecosystem. He also said that with the partnership with the Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan, the Niti Aayog is working very hard to try and bring back and attract Indian talent from abroad. "There are some schemes (to bring back Indian talent) already, we want to sharpen them, we want to improve them," the Niti Aayog vice chairman said. "Maybe that will also become an indicator... Which state is able to attract a larger number of Indian talent back to the country, making our system more flexible, less red tape and by making our environment far more attractive," he added. The India Innovation Index 2020, ranks the states and union territories based on their relative performance of supporting innovation, and aims to empower them to improve their innovation policies by highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. The states and union territories have been divided into 17 ''major states'', 10 ''North-Eastern and hill states'', and 9 ''city states and Union Territories'', for effectively comparing their performance. Overall, the framework of India Innovation Index 2020, consists of 36 indicators, which include hard data (32 indicators) and four composite indicators.

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