Heena Sharma Blog

Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, who was rearrested in Los Angeles on an extradition request by India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack , is not a flight risk, his attorney has told a US court and proposed a $1.5 million bond for his release. Rana (59), was recently released from jail on compassionate ground after testing positive for Covid-19. However, he was rearrested in Los Angeles on June 10 following an extradition request by India. US District Judge Jacqueline Chooljian of the Central District of California has scheduled his bond hearing for June 30. Rana should be released on a robust bond: secured by approximately $1.5 million in property pledged by family and friends and under the supervision of his daughter, Lemaan Rana, a matriculating medical student and PhD candidate, Amy Karlin, the Interim Federal Public Defender said in the court submission on behalf of Rana. Read More

A colonial-era law that criminalizes homosexual sex is viewed by many as a blot on the idea of India as a liberal democracy Current Affairs News : Five judges on India’s Supreme Court are hearing a challenge to a law that criminalizes homosexual sex — Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, introduced by British colonial authorities in 1861 and kept on the books in independent India. The Indian government told the court, which began hearings last Tuesday, that it would leave it to the wisdom of the judges to decide whether Section 377 violates fundamental rights to life, liberty and personal security as long as it does not get into broader issues like marriage, inheritance and adoption. But these are inevitable. Menaka Guruswamy, a lawyer for the plaintiffs against Section 377, argued that it was love that needed to be “constitutionally recognized” and not just sex. Social media and newspapers are filled with conversations and reports about Section 377, but L.G.B.T. life i...