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By:

Ruddhi Phadke

22 September 2024 at 10:17:54 am

‘Sounds heard, missiles visible’

Mumbaikars recall their encounter with the missile attacks in Middle East Govandi Muslim Youth Front stage protest condemning killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatulla Khameni, at Govandi, in Mumbai, on Sunday. | Pic: Bhushan Koyande Mumbai: Dombivli resident Meghana Modak who flew to Dubai 15 days ago, as a tourist told ‘The Perfect Voice’ that she heard loud sounds and huge clouds of smoke in the air when she felt something was unusual. She was out for a casual walk on Saturday, but had to...

‘Sounds heard, missiles visible’

Mumbaikars recall their encounter with the missile attacks in Middle East Govandi Muslim Youth Front stage protest condemning killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatulla Khameni, at Govandi, in Mumbai, on Sunday. | Pic: Bhushan Koyande Mumbai: Dombivli resident Meghana Modak who flew to Dubai 15 days ago, as a tourist told ‘The Perfect Voice’ that she heard loud sounds and huge clouds of smoke in the air when she felt something was unusual. She was out for a casual walk on Saturday, but had to immediately rush home. She tuned in to news to find out about the US-Israel strikes on Iranian targets and Tehran's retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Gulf. “Dubai was not their target. However, the intercepting action and the missiles that passed through could be seen and heard. We are at home. Normal routine is on. However, schools and colleges stay shut. We have been advised to go out only for the inevitable basic needs of groceries.” said Modak. Modak is in Dubai to spend some quality time with her son and his family. She is scheduled to fly back to Mumbai on Tuesday. However, the plan stands indefinitely cancelled till further notice. “The Dubai airport has been hit indefinitely. We do that know when we will be back”, said Modak. Less Scary Modak cited the situation was reasonably less scary in Dubai compared to other places in the Middle East considering Dubai was not the prime target. There are no panic-struck evacuations and or sudden rush towards bomb shelters reported. However, the falling of the missile debris is certainly creating difficult situations. “A building caught fire claiming a life because of this debris falling. People are not panicking because everyone has faith in the Dubai government that they will ensure the safety of the innocent civilians.” Modak is currently staying at Jebel Ali is a large commercial port and business hub on the southern outskirts of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. There are about 4.3 – 4.36 million Indians living in the United Arab Emirates — making them the largest expatriate community in the country and roughly 35 – 38 per cent of the UAE’s total population. Dubai has the largest share of Indians within the UAE. From residents, to students to tourists, Indians account for a huge share in Dubai. While for some, situation is safe but a long uncertain wait till further course of action is clear, while some are under constant fear for life. Wait and Watch A Mumbai-based tourist anonymously told ‘The Perfect Voice’ , “My husband, my seven-year-old son and I left for a Dubai trip to have a break from our routine lives. We were in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Soon after the conflict began, we were shifted to bomb shelters. On Sunday, we have reached Dubai. It’s wait and watch till we get further update. The recreation trip has taken a stressful turn.” Tour operators are finding it tough to plan the evacuations of tourists who are currently stranded in Dubai due to airspace closure. Mumbai-based Shashank Abhyankar, the tour manager of Rajguru Travels, said, “I am just back from a tour last week. Our group of 25 Mumbaikars is in Dubai right now. Another tour manager is with them. They were supposed to visit gold market, Bhurj Khalifa, Baps Temple on Saturday and Sunday. However, everything is shut. They are scheduled to checkout from hotel on Monday 12 pm and fly back on an Indigo flight to Mumbai. The airline has intimated that the flight stands cancelled.” While airports are flooded with stranded passengers, it is an uphill task for tour operators to bring tourists back. “Safety is not a concern in Dubai. The biggest concern is, how to get people back. Stretching the stay would mean additional cost and even if we bear the cost availability of accommodation is also a concern. We are reaching out to people who are living there since many years for some solution. We have full faith in Indian government that they will do all they can to get Indians back. However, what will they do till the airspace is closed?” cited Abhyankar.

Cash row: CJI Khanna assures bar leaders to consider demand against Justice Varma's transfer

  • PTI
  • Mar 27, 2025
  • 2 min read

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Thursday assured bar leaders to consider their demand for withdrawal of the collegium's recommendation to transfer Delhi High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma, Allahabad High Court Bar Association president Anil Tiwari said.


The representatives of six bar associations of different high courts met the CJI and other collegium members -- Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath -- in the afternoon.


They deliberated upon the memorandum of the bar bodies and assured consideration of their demand, said Tiwari after coming out of the meeting held in the apex court.


He said the Allahabad High Court bar body would reconsider whether or not to continue with the indefinite strike.


The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has been on an indefinite strike from March 25 to protest the proposed repatriation of Justice Varma to his parent high court.


Earlier in the day, representatives of the bar associations of high courts of Allahabad, Gujarat, Kerala, Jabalpur, Karnataka and Lucknow submitted a memorandum to the CJI's office and sought an appointment to meet Justice Khanna.


While pointing out an alleged tampering of the evidence at Justice Varma's official residence where burnt wads of cash were purportedly discovered on March 14 during a fire incident, the members questioned non-registration of an FIR in the incident.


In a memorandum, the bar bodies appreciated the steps taken by the CJI to embrace transparency and to make public the report of the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and other materials on the apex court website.


"The bar associations request the Chief Justice and the collegium to withdraw transfer of Justice Yashwant Varma and to withdraw all administrative work in addition to the judicial work which is already withdrawn," the memorandum said.


Urging the CJI to set the criminal law in motion in the matter, the memorandum claimed as per the report of the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, somebody had removed the articles from Justice Varma's residence a day after the fire incident.


"In these kinds of crimes, there would be involvement of others and non-registration (of an FIR) would adversely affect their prosecution," it said.


The alleged cash discovery happened following a fire at Justice Varma's Lutyens Delhi residence at around 11.35 pm on March 14, prompting the fire officers to rush to the spot.


In the wake of the controversy, the apex court collegium recommended the repatriation of Justice Varma, from whom work was withdrawn by the Delhi High Court following a directive from the CJI, to his parent Allahabad High Court.


On March 22, the CJI constituted the three-member committee to conduct an in-house inquiry into allegations and decided to upload the inquiry report of Chief Justice D K Upadhyay of the Delhi High Court in the incident.


Justice Varma has denounced the allegations and said no cash was ever placed in the storeroom either by him or any of his family members.

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