The money-laundering case was filed by the ED after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR against the accused, whom the latter agency had booked for alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010 and under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
The adjudicating authority of the Enforcement Directorate ED has adjudicated a show cause notice issued to Amnesty India International Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) and its CEO Aakar Patel for contravention of the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act and imposed a penalty of Rs 51.72 crores and Rs 10 crores respectively on them, the probe agency announced on Friday.
The CBI had sought the sanction of the government to prosecute the international human rights organisation because of mandatory clause of Section 40 of the FCRA.
In the last 11 years, India and the world witnessed what he stood for, what he promised and did not deliver, and what he actually stood for and practised without fearing how history would judge him. Modi's tenure has been punctuated with headline-grabbing decisions, symbolic gestures, and stage-managed moments that continue to define his leadership and India's politics, points out Ramesh Menon.
'Criticism that Amnesty is interested in those in favour of independence for Kashmir is unfounded.'
'Laws have been used in a way to serve the needs of the current regime and its authoritarian ideology.'
Up against the 91st-ranked Bahrain, Stimac's side, which is currently placed at 104 in the FIFA rankings, found the going tough from the word go and, had it not been for a fine save by skipper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the Indians would have trailed by a bigger margin at half time.
The report reveals that the inaction of the West Bengal state government, including tacit acceptance of the violent operations of the armed supporters of the CPI-M, resulted in serious human rights abuses, including unlawful killings, abductions, sexual assault of women and forced eviction and displacement of thousands of people in 2007.
'Where you change the law and then say, we are following the law.' 'The fact is, the law is not meeting any international standards.' 'How can you call UAPA or PMLA a law when you are guilty until proven innocent?'
Former US attorney-general Ramsay Clark slammed the West Bengal government for 'perpetrating atrocities' on the people of Nandigram as part of a globalisation drive to set up industries there.
An application of former India one-day international player Rohan Gavaskar, who had joined the Indian Cricket League, seeking permission to play in domestic tournaments of the country has reached the Board of Control for Cricket in India, according to a top official of Kalighat club, where he had played before joining the rebel league.
Terming court's decision to summon Dow Chemicals in the Bhopal gas tragedy case as an "important step", Amnesty International today demanded that the company must acknowledge its responsibility towards the survivors of the 1984 industrial disaster.
However, it was not clear on what basis most of the people were being held.
'The group commands 85 per cent of the global GDP, and if you are able to convey your point of view effectively to this group then you have reached more or less all the important players that matter.'
The Wire news portal, in the third part of its revelations from the international collaborative journalistic investigation called the Pegasus Project, reported that those marked as potential targets for surveillance include Ambedkarite activist Ashok Bharti; academic and chronicler of life in Naxal-dominated regions Bela Bhatia; railway union leader Shiv Gopal Mishra and Delhi-based labour rights activist Anjani Kumar.
'Today, the State is permanently going after politicians, but also civil society, academics and all those it is threatened by or irritated with.'
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Prahlad Singh Patel, as also former election commissioner Ashok Lavasa and poll strategist Prashant Kishor were among those whose phone numbers were listed as potential targets for hacking through an Israeli spyware sold only to the government agencies, an international media consortium reported on Monday.
'As a nation we are tearing ourselves apart through decisions we have deliberately chosen to take,' argues Aakar Patel.
If the Congress recovers some of its earlier influence among the Dalits, the BJP will be in a quandary since the Dalits were among the party's latest acquisitions. To lose them will be a disaster for the saffron camp not only in UP, but all over India, observes Amulya Ganguli.
'India has a conviction rate of about 25% for serious crimes. This means that 75% of the time the police probably get the wrong suspect, and this makes murdering them in an encounter more morally problematic for the officers concerned.' says Aakar Patel.
The government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have dismissed the Pegasus Project reports as concocted and evidence-less.
'It is only because of the Congress that we became a secular republic.' 'As we enter a period where another political force has became dominant, it will be interesting to see if this legacy of Nehru and the Congress is sustained or we are taken in a new direction,' says Aakar Patel.
Pegasus, which is capable of attacking both Android and iOS, has been around for three years and is considered one of the most sophisticated spyware in the market.
The government, however, dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people, saying it 'has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever'.
Maldivian Vice President Ahmed Adeeb was on Thursday impeached by the Parliament overwhelmingly over an alleged attempt to assassinate President Abdulla Yameen and faces terrorism charges as lawmakers approved state of emergency in the island that has sparked concerns globally.
'In Bollywood, the power is disproportionately in the hands of a few men, whether they are actors or producers or directors.' 'The woman who makes an allegation against them can forget working in the industry again.'
'Two powerful men shaking hands with two powerful women as equals. This photograph made me very happy,' says Aakar Patel.
'There is no meritocracy or at least there is none that is visible and transparent.' 'The Congress has two opportunities to change this,' says Aakar Patel.
'Many already toe the line, those on the fence will be nudged to stand with the government even more, those who are critical will face trouble soon.'
'More members of the Indian Armed Forces have died in Kashmir, North East and Naxal areas than in the 1962 and 1971 wars against Pakistan combined. These deaths are the result of political failure and not war.'
'The idea of moral responsibility is not particularly strong in our parts. Showing that people are corrupt or immoral through stings doesn't have the required effect in such a culture,' says Aakar Patel.
Girls in the Kashmir valley hurling defiance at the security forces will detract from the legitimacy of India's response and its standing in the world, says Ajai Shukla.
'There are moments, and the hanging of Yakub Memon was one, where all of the gathered injustices are crystallised. Those gathered at the graveyard were not there to protest. They came to sympathise because they are also victims,' says Aakar Patel.
She said that Defence Minister Manohar Parikar was wrong in comparing Pakistan with 'hell'. She said, "It is nothing like that. People there are just like us and there is no difference. They treated us very well."
'The government should refrain from 'adventurism' and 'megalomania'.' 'But this should be true of reckless government action against every Indian, whether or not they are wealthy or have access to the finance minister even when he is in hospital,' says Aakar Patel.
Former internationals Rohan Gavaskar, Deep Dasgupta and Hemang Badani are among 101 cricketers who have severed links with the rebel Indian Cricket League and applied to the Board of Control for Cricket in India to return to the fold under the amnesty scheme that ended May 31. Seventy-nine current and 11 former Test cricketers -- including ex-captain Ajit Wadekar and off-spin legend Erapalli Prasanna -- have taken advantage of the amnesty scheme.
'Blocking Parliament brings attention to a party that has poor speakers like Rahul Gandhi. It is unlikely to shine in debates, assuming we were a nation that enjoyed listening to sparkling intellectual exchange, which we are not.'
'We have done majoritarianism through other means.' 'The Citizenship Amendment Act, read together with the National Register of Citizens, will prove what I mean,' notes Aakar Patel.
'We have not been able to use the potential of our location in the region and the world and our strength as a nation and an economy to establish an EU-like structure in South Asia,' points out Aakar Patel.
Activist Mazdak Dilshad Baloch expressed satisfaction with the Indian response to the "Baloch appeal", saying Modi's Independence Day speech had played "a major role in spreading awareness" about the "atrocities" of the Pakistani State on Balochistan.
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