LEGAL NEWS 08.02.2009

Court disallows NPA transfers!
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/management/court-disallows-npa-transfers/384353
Published on Sat, Feb 07, 2009 at 15:55 , Updated at Sat, Feb 07, 2009 at 16:04 Source : CNBC-TV18

A recent judgment by the Gujarat High Court says that banks cannot trade transfer or purchase a pool of non-performing assets or bad debts. This case is this – ICICI Bank transferred a basket of NPAs to Kotak Mahindra Bank along with underlying security interest. One borrower that is APS Star Industries objected to that transfer and the matter ended up in court. The division bench of the Gujarat High Court held that the Banking Regulation Act did not allow for trading in debt. That’s how the court interpreted it and that debt cannot be transferred without the borrower being party to the transaction.

Now this judgement could have a severe adverse impact on the nascent business of NPA transfer and could even have far reaching implications on the buying and selling of good loans or a process that is generally speaking called securitisation. To better understand the judgement and its implications, I have with me – MR Umarji, Chief Advisor – Legal, IBA and Ashvin Parekh, National Leader – Financial Services, E&Y.

Here is a verbatim transcript of the show The Firm on CNBC-TV18. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: What did you make your make of this judgement? What impact does that have on the very nascent business of securitisation of NPAs or transfer of NPA baskets?

Parekh: To begin with, in the normal course of a banking activity, one thought one had from the Banking Regulation Act point of view or even from the business point of view, the impression that trading in assets and in transferring assets, would be a part of a banking company’s normal activity. That is getting challenged over here to begin with. The mention is towards debt, which is both, debt whether it is good or doubtful form basically, so that is the first major implication on the banking business as such.

Q: The court has held that the transfer of debt itself between two banks is not allowed under either the Banking Regulation Act or the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interests (SARFAESI) is that correct?

Parekh: That’s right. The court has gone in and examined let us say the provisions of the Banking Act and also the additional activities that an organisation can carry out – a banking company can carry out under Section 6. They also ruled out that trading in debts is not an activity which is within the view of a banking company or purview of a banking company. So that looks to me to be having a farfetched implication or an impact basically.

Q: Do you think that it has legal grounds, the way they have interpreted bad loans as debt and then they have said trading in debt between two banks is not allowed under the Banking Regulation Act?

Parekh: I would say when you read the order, the first impression that you get is that the term debt seems to have got both from the legal point of view and from the accounting point of view wrongly utilized in the sense the loan item or the borrower is an asset of a bank and not a debt and what is being traded over, what is being perpetrated to trade let us is the loan asset and not the debt to begin with. So I suppose when the order has gone and examined whether debt can be traded, that in itself, is a first major point which needs to be examined I would say.

Q: What is your opinion on how severely this will hit and I agree it is nascent but this will hit the whole business of transferring NPAs between banks and then bring out the distinguish of what it means for transferring NPA to an asset reconstruction company that has been set up under this SARFAESI Act?
Umarji: As far as the transfer of NPA between the banks is concerned, this judgement affects it, almost until that judgement is set aside by the Supreme Court and law is laid down, it may be difficult for the banks to sell the assets to other banks.

But as far as the sale of assets to the asset reconstruction company is concerned the judgment doesn’t affect that much.

Q: The problem here is that this is a sale of non-performing assets between two banks and that is the technicality that the court has objected against, saying that is not allowed, it allows you to transfer Non-Performing Assets (NPA) to an asset reconstruction company but not between two banks?

Umarji: That’s right.

Q: What is your interpretation of the RBI allows for it, then why should the court have any objection?

Umarji: I think it is necessary to consider that the court has gone on one technical issue of the Banking Regulation Act not specifically providing that one bank can sell its loans to another bank. That is the ground; there is no specific provision in the banking regulation act in so many words.

Q: So, do you think it is just a technicality that because the Banking Regulation Act misses out on that specific language and that it can be easily corrected when this goes to the Supreme Court. Do you think this is likely to become a big stumbling block for the NPA transfer business?

Parekh: Till the final decision, till the final order from the Supreme Court comes out it will be a stumbling block. But I suppose, when the Supreme Court will consider, and I hope they will consider, this aspect of the practices prevalent everywhere else, and on the premise on which the Basel-II regulations have been or the Basel-II recommendations have been worked out by the banking companies worldwide- I am very confident they will examine this aspect as well.

Q: Till then since the court- the High Court of Gujarat has taken the interpretation of loans to be debt will this affect the transfer of good loans as well- I mean the securitization of loans is now a prevalent practice in India, will this judgment impact that as well?

Parekh: The first reading of the order does suggest that it does impact those transfers as well.

Q: That is not good news at all because that far more prevalent than even the NPA securitization?

Parekh: That is true.

Q: How is the banking industry reacting to that because this is now a spade for both the transfer of NPAs and as Mr.Parekh pointed out a potential spade for the transfer of good loans, securitization of good loans which is a prevalent practice across the world?

Umarji: That is right because it says that there is no power to transfer loans as it applies to both good and bad and therefore securitization will be affected. Further the court is not very clear as to what happens to the transactions which have already taken place.

Q: You mean this could have retrospect effect as well?

Umarji: The transaction is declared to be illegal, so everything that is done will become illegal.

Q: So, it gives all kind of debtors an opportunity to go back and bring these cases back to court?

Umarji: Back to the court and say that you have no right to recover because you are not entitled to transfer in your favour is not valid and therefore I am not liable to pay you back- pay the loan. All sorts of pleas can be taken by the borrowers and it can create a complication.

Q: You worry that the implications of this goes beyond the good loan, bad loan concept and it can even impacts some of the previous things that have taken place in this space?

Parekh: Absolutely, if I go and look at some of the mergers, which took place either through the regulators intervention or in a normal course, then in that case the transfer of property or title that took place on account of such a merger itself gets challenged. If the borrowers of Global Trust Bank (GTB) are now making a plea against the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) to suggest that for instance the rights, which was earlier enjoyed by the GTB and are not necessarily passed on to OBC, so it has grave implications.

Q: So, what is the IBA doing with this regard because this as I mentioned earlier as a spade, in this manner it works for both good loans and bad loans?

Umarji: The concerned banks have already filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court and it is going to come up for hearing on 9, IBA will also be intervening in that petition.





HC tells FMC to hear NCDEX plea in 2 weeks
http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14852930
Saturday, 07 February , 2009, 11:05
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has directed the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) to settle its issue over reducing transaction fee with the commodity market regulator Forward Markets Commission.
‘neither just nor fair’
Dismissing a writ petition filed by NCDEX against FMC, the Chief Justice, Dr D.Y. Chandrachud, said in his judgement that these were important and larger issues (reduction in transaction fee and its implication) “relatable to the economy and commercial principles which should be examined properly by an expert body and judicial interference preventing such a process would neither be just nor fair”.
“We do not find any merit in this writ petition and dispose of the same at the admission stage itself, however, with a direction to respondent No. 2 (FMC) to deal with the matter expeditiously and in any case not later than two weeks from the date of pronouncement of this judgment. No order as to costs,” the Chief Justice said.
NCDEX moved the Bombay High Court against FMC decision to scuttle its move to reduce transaction fee.
“Matters of policy and matters which squarely fall within the domain of expert bodies are normally beyond judicial review unless they are arbitrary or discriminatory or the power has been exercised contrary to the law or in a colourable manner,” the judge said.
SC judgements
Referring to the Supreme Court judgement in the cases of Chairman, J&K State Board of Education versus Feyaz Ahmed Malik; Federation of Railway Officers Association versus Union of India and Greater Kailash Part II Welfare Association versus DLF Universal, he said decisions of an expert body would not be interfered by the Court unless such decisions are in error in compliance with the rules, regulations and manifest injustice is perpetrated on the parties.
“In the present case, we have already dealt with the contention that FMC is vested with the power of grant of recognition and withdrawal thereof. It has power to impose conditions and one of the mandatory conditions is that the petitioner (NCDEX) should obey and carry out the directives issued by FMC from time to time. Thus, the query raised by the said respondents cannot be termed in law as no nest without jurisdiction,” it said.
It was also argued on behalf of NCDEX that they were examining the effect of resolution passed by the petitioner (NCDEX) as it may lead to unhealthy or unfair competition as other registered associations may get affected and this may also have effect on the entire business transacted through different associations.
‘Not commercial move’
The decision of the petitioner (NCDEX) is not a mere commercial decision in regard to internal management but is likely to have large ramifications on the economy and the circular will lead to excessive speculation of agricultural commodities.
These are matters, which are not to be examined by this Court in exercise of its jurisdiction vested under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the judgement said. These are matters to be examined by experts and specialised bodies. It is always better to leave such matters to be determined by the expert bodies at least at the first instance and the facts and circumstances of the present case do not justify interference by this Court and in any case at this stage of the proceedings.
Satisfying respondents
Nothing prevents the petitioners (NCDEX) from satisfying the respondents (FMC) that the circular issued by it is valid and that the apprehensions expressed by are ill founded. We also have no doubt that the authorities (FMC) concerned shall consider all such objections objectively, in the larger public interest and with due regard to commercial principles put forth by the petitioners (NCDEX) in the explanation dated January 28.



No tax on imported services before Apr ’06
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Policy/No_tax_on_imported_services_before_Apr_06/articleshow/4090672.cms
7 Feb 2009, 0211 hrs IST, Ram Narsinghdev Sahgal, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: In what could well be a first definitive judgement by a high court on the issue of service tax on imported services, the Bombay High Court has held that service recipients residing in India were not liable to pay service tax on services rendered by a non-resident service provider prior to April 18, 2006. The ruling was recently delivered in a dispute between the Indian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA) and Union of India. INSA’s claim hinged on the fact that up to April 2006, the government had not extended the service tax legislation beyond the jurisdiction of India despite frequent amendments to the Finance Act, 1994, which provides for the levy of service tax. INSA was represented by tax law firm Economic Laws Practice (ELP). The INSA members, who are owners of Indian vessels, were asked to pay service tax from March 2002, when the reverse charge mechanism for collecting service tax from residents was introduced. INSA contended that services to member vessels were rendered outside India and thus fell beyond the jurisdiction of the Finance Act. In April 2006, the government amended the Finance Act to extend the service tax to anyone receiving services from outside the country. As per the new provision, Section 66-A, services provided by anyone from outside to an individual in India would be deemed as services provided by the recipient in India in case the service qualifies as being imported into India. And the service recipients were liable to pay service tax on such services. Further, the Taxation of Services (provided from outside India and received in India) Rules, 2006 (Import Rules), were introduced with effect from April 19, 2006, to determine whether a service qualified as being imported into India based on the prescribed criteria for taxable service categories. The HC observed that before the enactment of Section 66-A, there was no authority vested by law in the respondents — including the Union of India and Central Board of Excise & Customs — to levy service tax on a person residing in India, but receiving services outside. “In other words, it is only after the enactment of Section 66-A that taxable services received from abroad by a person belonging to India are taxed in the hands of the Indian residents. In such cases, the Indian recipient of the taxable services is deemed to be a service provider,” the HC noted in its judgement. The court restrained the respondents from levying service tax on INSA members from March 1, 2002, to April 17, 2006, “in relation to services received by vessels and ships belonging to the members of the petitioners association (INSA) outside India, from persons who are non-resident.” The services received by shipowners outside India include custom house agents services, steamer agents services, cargo-handling services, maintenance and repair services, banking and other financial services, and telegraph services. “The INSA judgement puts to rest the old controversy in relation to applicability of tax on services rendered outside India by a foreign resident to an Indian resident prior to April 2006. After April 2006, the Indian service recipients would have to pay service tax on the services provided by foreign residents on services received in India,” said Uday Pimprikar of Ernst & Young. “The detailed HC judgement will lead to a positive resolution of pending disputes involving substantial tax amounts in relation to imported services,” said Rohit Jain of ELP.








State govt set to regularise 100,000 hutments
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/state-govt-set-to-regularise-100000-hutments/00/03/348271/

BS Reporter / Mumbai February 07, 2009, 0:56 IST
The Congress-NCP government in the state is set to fulfil a major promise it had made before the 2004 Assembly polls — regularising more than 100,000 illegal hutments that came up between 1995 and 2000.
The decision was taken yesterday at a Congress-NCP meeting that was attended by MLAs, MPs, corporators in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, said Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) chief Kripa Shankar Singh.
The alliance had made this promise before the 2004 elections. However, the state government restrained itself from taking any decision as it had wide ramifications. Besides, a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court on this issue.
But as the Lok Sabha polls approached, the Shiv Sena and the BJP started targeting the government on the issue. Singh today said Chavan and Bhujbal assured that an ordinance to regularise the slums would be passed within seven days.
Replying to a question, Singh said although a PIL had been filed, the court had not prohibited the state government from bringing an ordinance or amending the law giving protection to slums up to 1995.
Though Labour Minister and MLA from Mumbai, Nawab Malik, confirmed that Chavan and Bhujbal gave such an assurance, the chief minister’s office and officials of the housing and urban development ministry refused to confirm or deny this.




HC serves notice to MP govt on eviction drive in Singrauli

http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/496369/National/1/20/1
Published: February 7,2009

Jabalpur , Feb 6 Madhya Pradesh High Court today served notice to the state government asking it to clarify on the alleged eviction of farmers from their land in Singrauli district to give way to an upcoming thermal plant.
Hearing a PIL on the matter, a division Bench of Chief Justice A K Patnaik and Justice Ajeet Singh directed the state government and others concerned to file their replies in four weeks&apostime regarding the land acquisition for the upcoming Essar group thermal power station.
Petitioners Vansmani Prasad Verma, former MP Minister and Congress leader, and Upendra Pandey had filed the PIL alleging that the state government had forcibly acquired the land of the farmers last month without proper compensation and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.
The PIL also demanded withdrawal of forces from the villages, including Bandhoura and withdrawal of criminal cases against 204 ousted farmers, and bring an end to the alleged torture and harassment of the farmers.
State government counsel Vijay Shukla told the court that the state had acquired 79 hectares of land belonging to it and was demolishing illegal structures on it. He denied charges that the farmers had been forcibly driven out of their land.
Source: PTI




Dying for a living
http://infochangeindia.org/Livelihoods/Sidelines/Dying-for-a-living.html


By Mari Marcel Thekaekara
In most developed countries, manhole workers are provided bunny suits and respiratory apparatus. In Hong Kong, a sewer worker needs to have 15 licences in order to enter a manhole. In India, conservancy workers – mostly from the balmiki subcaste of dalits -- go in almost naked. The mortality rate amongst them is appallingly high
Every morning in newspapers all across the country, a small news item routinely appears: ‘Sweeper dies in manhole’, or ‘Sewerage worker drowns in septic tank’. The story is given a different headline every day, as the journalists play with words. Most readers do not bother to read the item, which is often just an official report stating the bald facts. I too was guilty of skimming over the items for many years of my life.
Then, in 1998, whilst writing the book Endless Filth, on manual scavenging, the news items came to life when I visited the home of one such casualty, a young Gujarati boy called Hasmukhbhai, in Wadhwan, Gujarat. Barely 19 years of age, Hasmukh died in a manhole. He had recently celebrated the fact that he’d bagged his first contract -- to clean a septic tank for the princely sum of Rs 300. He bought breakfast for friends who were helping him, for Rs 50. He would have to pay them Rs 50 each for the work he’d done. That left Rs 100 for him. He hoped to wheedle an extra Rs 100 from the owner, if the job went smoothly.
The day started well. At 19, Hasmukh was the oldest and in charge. His 16-year-old helpers stood aside as he opened up the manhole cover and waited for the gas to escape. Then the bucket slipped out of his hand and disappeared into the hole. Cursing, Hasmukh bent down, groping about for the bucket. The gas rushed up and he fell inside, unconscious. He never even knew what hit him. It was half-an-hour before he was hauled out with a rope. It was too late. Hasmukh was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. His family will never know if he died choking on the gas, or drowned in liquid shit.
Hasmukh’s story made me think about the issue seriously, for the first time. Drowning in liquid shit is what happens to at least 22,327 sanitation workers every year. All belong to the balmiki community.
Human beings shrink from any contact with faecal matter. We are paranoid about stepping on shit even accidentally, with our shoes on. If it does happen, we rush to wash the offending substance off the soles of our shoes. Can we even begin to comprehend the experience that thousands of balmiki men go through every day of their lives?
According to a 2002 report prepared by the International Dalit Solidarity Network -- which includes Human Rights Watch (United States), Navsarjan Trust (Ahmedabad, Gujarat), and the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, the government estimates that there are 1 million dalit manual scavengers in India.
I was sensitised to a degree, and began seeing sanitation workers more clearly, observing them closely and talking to them. Yet, even after interviewing Hasmukh’s family, the full impact of the daily grind of the sanitation worker -- the full horror of his existence -- did not strike me. It took a gut-wrenching interview by S Anand in the magazine Tehelka to graphically bring home the reality. Anand explains: “Entering the narrow, dark drain, the worker pushes his only weapon, the khapchi -- a spliced bamboo stick -- to dislodge the block. This exercise could take hours. ‘Holding our breath, closing our eyes, we plunge headlong. We feel our way, poking with the khapchi,’ says Sateesh. It is then that a sudden blast of putrid sludge -- besides methane, hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide -- assaults the person. ‘Even if we manage not to swallow the toxic muck, it manages to enter our bodies.’ Odourless and colourless, the carbon gases can cause suffocation. The scene is documented in the Drishti film Lesser Humans. The film makes the viewer recoil in horror and was considered too horrible for American audiences to watch.”
If the worker survives the initial ordeal, he crouches inside and loads the sludge into a leaky metal bucket or wicker basket for his team to haul out. Depending on the clog, the entire operation could take up to 48 hours. “We often work after midnight. When people sleep, the flow in the sewers is less, and our work does not disturb road-users,” says Sateesh.
Among sewer workers, there’s a category called ‘divers’, whose brief is to ‘swim’ through the large pipelines, find the blocks, and clear them.
Ashish Mittal, an occupational health physician who co-authored ‘Hole to Hell’, a 2005 study of sewer workers by the Centre for Education and Communication (CEC), New Delhi, says: “A manhole is a confined, oxygen-deficient space where the presence of noxious gases can cause syncope -- a sudden and transient loss of consciousness owing to brief cessation of cerebral blood flow. The brain cannot tolerate even a brief deprivation of oxygen. The long-term neurological effects of syncope can be debilitating.”
In most developed countries, manhole workers are protected by bunny suits to avoid contact with the contaminated water. They also sport respiratory apparatus. The sewers are well lit, mechanically aerated with huge fans and therefore not so oxygen-deficient. In Hong Kong, a sewer worker, after adequate training, needs to have at least 15 licences and permits in order to enter a manhole. In India, our sanitation workers go in almost naked, wearing just a lungot (loincloth) or briefs. In Delhi, in accordance with the directives of the National Human Rights Commission in October 2002, most permanent workers of the DJB wear a ‘safety belt’. This belt that connects workers in the manhole, via thick ropes, to men standing outside offers no protection against the gases and sharp objects that assault them. It’s a cruel joke; at best it helps haul them out should they lose consciousness or die inside the hole. The CEC study of 200 DJB manhole workers found that 92.5% of workers wore the safety belt. But this did not prevent 91.5% of them suffering injuries, and 80% suffering eye infections.
Manual scavengers are exposed to the most virulent forms of viral and bacterial infections that affect the skin, eyes, limbs, respiratory and gastro-intestinal systems. Reports show that tuberculosis is rife among the community.
The CEC survey found that diseases like leptospirosis, viral hepatitis and typhoid are common. “During the course of our six-month study, three of the 200 workers died,” recalls Mittal.
Alcoholism takes its toll on more than just the health of the sanitation worker. Apart from bringing on an early death, it wreaks havoc on his family. Every balmiki basti witnesses the inevitable spiral of alcohol-related violence and poverty as a sizeable part of the men’s income disappears into the liquor shops.
Sanitation workers are at the very bottom of the social pyramid; even other dalits consider them untouchable. The only people on whom they can vent their frustration and generations of pent-up anger are women and children.
Most men in the community die young; indeed, the average lifespan of a sanitation worker is 45 years. The civic body does not offer any monetary compensation to these workers for illness or death due to occupational risks, unless the worker actually dies inside a manhole, In Delhi, permanent workers get a monthly ‘risk allowance’ of Rs 50. In some states, the figure rises to Rs 200.
In a tragic farce, sanitation workers often unionise to fight for the right to keep their jobs. With privatisation, they could lose the little security that government employment offers. So they fight for the right to die in their manholes, for this privilege to be theirs alone. They demand reservation for their sub-caste to keep these jobs. It would be interesting to find out if the men who drive the little floor-cleaning vehicles at the Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore airports are from the balmiki community. I doubt it: once jobs are upgraded they are passed on to people from the dominant castes.
In every balmiki basti, there is a recurring story. The story of the man who dies on duty, drowned in liquid shit or asphyxiated as he opens up a manhole cover. The family is desolate. The municipal corporation or civic body responsible for employing the dead sanitation worker offers, by way of solace and in a gesture of enormous magnanimity, the ultimate consolation prize -- the dead man’s job. A few days after the funeral, the son proceeds to take his father’s place. He knows that the smallest slip could land him in the same hellhole that swallowed up his father. But it’s all part of the life of the sanitation worker.

Death rate for conservancy workers
Ahmedabad NGO Kamdar Swasthya Suraksha Mandal believes that at a conservative estimate, there could be over 1,000 manhole worker deaths per year across India. Santosh Choudhary, chairperson of the National Commission of Safai Karamcharis (NCSK), told Tehelka that at least “two to three workers must be dying every day inside manholes across India.” Another Ahmedabad NGO, Manav Garima, led by balmiki activist Parshottam Vaghela, has documented the deaths of 145 manhole workers in seven years in the municipalities of Vadodara, Surat and Ahmedabad.
According to data obtained in Mumbai under the RTI Act, 2,039 safai karamcharis (SKs) died between 1996 and 2006 in 14 of the city’s 24 civic wards. Projected to all 24 wards in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the figure stands at 3,495 deaths over 10 years in the city with a population of 13 million. At 350 deaths per year from among 22,000 permanent sanitation workers in the BMC, the mortality rate (MR) is 16 for every 1,000 SKs. Says demographer Leela Visaria, former director of the Gujarat Institute of Development Research, “The death rate for urban Indians aged 15-59 years is 3 per 1,000 population. This gives you an indication about the deplorable health status of the Safai Karamcharis.”
In neighbouring Pune, there were 227 deaths between October 2005 and September 2007 for a population of 4.4 million. In the four metros, there are 1,07,400 SKs serving a population of 36 million. At an MR of 16, at least 1,718 of these workers are dying every year. For the urban population of 286 million, assuming there are 2,000 SKs per million, conservatively there must be 5,72,000 SKs servicing urban India. At an MR of 16, a minimum of 9,152 of them must be dying in our cities every year. Officially, India has 6.76 lakh manual scavengers — those who dispose human excreta with their bare hands — working in 96 lakh dry latrines. The Planning Commission sub-group on SKs says, “Independent estimates indicate that there could be about 12 lakh manual scavengers.” For these 12 lakh manual scavengers, if we assume a reduced, conservative MR of 8 per 1,000 workers, we arrive at 9,600 deaths per year.
With 5,500 permanent and 1,500 temporary beldars engaged in sewer work for Delhi’s 14 million population, there are 500 sewer workers per million general population. India’s 286 million urban population must be served by at least 1,43,000 sewer workers. Assuming a higher MR of 25 among this group, since their job is most hazardous, 3,575 sewer workers must be dying every year.
All this adds up to 22,327 deaths every year among a cross-section of sanitation workers. Visaria, who is on the advisory council of the Population Foundation of India, says Tehelka’s projections are “very conservative”.
--S Anand, with inputs from Shalini Singh in Mumbai
Reprinted from Tehelka Magazine, Vol 4, Issue 47, Dated Dec 08 , 2007

The beginnings of change
Occasionally, something happens to lift the gloom. Ananth Narayanan, an ordinary citizen (well, extraordinary really because he is not a professional social worker but a businessman with a physics background and a management degree from LIBA, Chennai) has moved a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Madras High Court against the Chennai Corporation that employs people to clean sewage drains manually without protective equipment. The PIL demands that the practice of human beings diving into sewers to manually clean them should be banned, and that machines should instead be employed to do the work.
When I asked Narayanan what motivated him, he replied: “I’ve reached the age of 44. I’m ashamed that I didn’t do something like this earlier. It is a disgrace to my state and my country that human beings have to suffer in this day and age when so much technology is available.”
Narayanan’s actions have had some effect in Chennai. He writes: “Based on the court order, I sent a letter and a reminder to the Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS), requesting strict enforcement and also seeking an appointment. I did not receive a reply. Obviously, the bureaucrats as well as the political powers have not taken kindly to my court case.
“I also organised a public demonstration in front of the authorities recently against the court violation. As such, on the ground, I can assure you there is visible compliance of the court order to a large extent, except for a few violations. But, attitudes are not going to change easily.
“But I want to tell you about a few initiatives I am taking. I wish likeminded friends would join these initiatives so that we bring about total, real and fundamental change. Unless we network and push for change, the powers-that-be will be content with only superficial work.
“I am, incidentally, filing a ‘contempt of court petition’ today in the Madras High Court for violation of the court order, making the secretary, MAWS and MD, Metrowater, respondents. The case may come up for hearing next week. This is just to keep up the pressure and keep the issue alive.
“IIT-Chennai had developed a machine for mechanised cleaning of sewer lines. I came to know that the government had not responded positively to this, so the project has been rusting for a long time. Probably they can make more money if they import these machines… Let us see if (the machine) can be made on a commercial scale suitable for the peculiar, poorly designed and hopeless sewerage lines in Indian cities and towns.”
“We can try to push some of the political parties to include total eradication of scavenging and also environmental methods of sewerage disposal as one of their common minimum programmes for the coming Lok Sabha elections. At the Tamil Nadu level, I am working to ensure that at least a few of the parties include this issue in their election manifesto.”
It’s heartening to see that persistence pays. The change may be slow and incremental, but when it comes it will make a huge difference to the lives of these people.
InfoChange News & Features, February 2009




Bihar :Striking employees could get the boot now.
http://paycommissionupdate.blogspot.com/2009/02/bihar-striking-employees-could-get-boot.html
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Bihar government, toughening its stand against the striking state government employees, announced to terminate services of about 3.5 lakh employees.
“We have decided in principle to initiate the process of terminating the services of striking employee,” Amir Subhani, Secretary, Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department, said.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, refusing strikers’ demands had said, “Do we first work towards attending to the people’s suffering or pay attention to enhancing the facilities of government employees?”
Nearly, 3.5 lakh government employees are on an indefinite strike since January seven demanding the implementation of the sixth pay commission’s recommendations including allowances.
Court intervention
Earlier, in the day, the state government submited before the Patna High Court that it will not hold negotiations with the associations of the striking employees until the stir is withdrawn.
“There will not be any negotiation with representatives of the employees until the strike is called off,” Advocate General P K Shahi told a division bench of the court comprising acting chief Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad and Justice Shyam Kishore Sharma which is hearing a PIL seeking termination of services of the agitating employees.
The court had on January 30 issued notices to the Bihar government and the three associations of employees, who are on an indefinite strike since January seven to demand in toto implementation of the 6th Pay Commission recommendations on the PIL filed by NGO ‘Jan Chowkidar’ that had termed the strike not only “illegal, but criminal activity”.
Source : Local Sources from Bihar at 12:33 PM




Gujarat HC to be first to implement model e-court in country
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/28071920.htm
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat High Court is set to become the first court in the country to implement the model e-court project, synergising technology with the judicial process to reduce bottlenecks in the system.
The project, which will be implemented on a pilot basis from tomorrow, will provide tamperproof, authenticated audio-video recording of courtroom proceedings along with multipoint video conferencing facilities between the courtroom, central jail, police commissioner's office and the forensic science laboratory.
The project will be first to put into practice at the City Civil and Sessions Court here. The Chief Justice of India Mr K G Balakrishnan will inaugurate the project tomorrow. “This is a unique project in the country and is being implemented for the fir st time by the Gujarat High Court,” Gujarat H C Registrar General Mr P P Bhatt said on Saturday.
“This is an initiative by the Central government to make the judicial process more transparent, remove the bottlenecks and making the justice delivery speedier,” Mr Bhatt said. - PTI




HC okays land acquisition for railway bridge
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/HC_okays_land_acquisition_for_railway_bridge/articleshow/4090337.cms
7 Feb 2009, 0127 hrs IST, TNN
CHENNAI: Giving a green signal to the acquisition of residential lands for the construction of an overbridge and subway at Korukkupet in North Chennai, the Madras high court has dismissed the writ appeals filed by three residents whose lands had been identified for takeover. The first bench comprising acting Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and Justice V Dhanapalan, while rejecting the appeals of K Rajesh, N Abdul Bakhid and K Jayaprakash on Thursday, said the railway bridge was for a public purpose and that the court could not sit on appeal over expert opinions. The administrative sanction for the project was granted by the government in December 2007 and the authorities had asked the residents whose lands were being acquired to appear in person in May 2008 with land and building details. The government had also invoked the emergency provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, and dispensed with the requirement of inviting objections. Assailing the move, the residents said there was no need to invoke the emergency clause. They wanted the project's alignment altered. Rejecting the pleas, the judges said the project had been taken up to ease congestion and pollution in the area. They said there was no infirmity on the part of the authorities and added that the lands were being acquired for a public purpose, that too after obtaining expert opinions. "The appellants (residents) have no right to to ask for a diverted route, when the acquisition is meant for a particular public purpose. This court cannot sit on appeal over the expert opinion and the appellants have no manner of right also to question as to what would be the appropriate line of project," said the bench.





Shiv Vada Pav: BMC law panel clears scheme
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Shiv_Vada_Pav_BMC_law_panel_clears_scheme/articleshow/4093526.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0337 hrs IST, TNN
MUMBAI: The BMC law committee on Saturday passed the Shiv Vada Pav scheme, putting to rest doubts that the proposal was in violation of Supreme Court orders. Civic chief Jairaj Phatak had said on Friday that the handcarts that would be provided to vendors to sell vada pav would not obstruct movement on footpaths and roads. The scheme, on the lines of Zunka Bhakar kendras, was conceptualised by the Shiv Sena. The Zunka Bhakar kendras ran into trouble as they were obstructing people's movement. This would be taken care of in the new scheme, Phatak said. The BMC has proposed to set up 215 Annadatta Aahar kendras and give out 125 handcarts under the scheme.




Saji Mohan sent to judicial custody
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Saji_Mohan_sent_to_judicial_custody/articleshow/4093538.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0332 hrs IST, TNN
MUMBAI: A magistrate's court on Saturday sent arrested IPS officer Saji Mohan to judicial custody until February 20. Mohan was picked up by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on January 24 allegedly in possession of 12 kg of heroin. The police say that Mohan had siphoned off the contraband from the narcotics that were seized during his tenure as the zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) at Chandigarh. Mohan has already spent two weeks in police custody and will now be kept at the city's Arthur Road jail which plays host to scores of drug dealers arrested by law enforcement agencies. He finds himself at the receiving end of the stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act under which it is difficult to get bail. The other two accused in the case-Vicky Oberoi and police constable Rajesh Kumar-are also in judicial custody. They were arrested on January 17 and it was based on their information that Mohan was caught.




Hijack scare: Court rejects bail application of accused
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/Hijack_scare_Court_rejects_bail_application_of_accused/articleshow/4093308.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0142 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: A city court rejected the bail plea of a chartered accountant arrested for allegedly creating a hijack scare onboard an Indigo aircraft on Saturday. Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Rajesh Kumar Goel dismissed the bail application of Jitendra Kumar Mohla on the ground that the offence committed by him was serious. Also, the investigation into the case was at an initial stage. "So no case for bail is made out.'' Senior advocate H S Phoolka on Friday had appeared for the CA and sought his release claiming that he was being made a scapegoat by the police. Mohla, 42, has been booked under Section 3(1)(d) of the Suppression of Unlawful Act Against Safety Of Civil Aviation Act, which concerns communicating information knowing to be false so as to endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight, carrying life term as the maximum sentence, besides being slapped with various provisions of the IPC. The prosecution had opposed the bail application saying Mohla had created a situation of havoc by his unruly behaviour by giving threatening information to the crew members. "At this stage, it can't be held that there are reasonable grounds that the accused has not committed which has been alleged by the offence,'' the ACMM then concluded in his order, rejecting his bail plea. The court then remanded the case to a sessions court for trial purpose. Earlier, Phoolka had argued it was the "immature behaviour'' of the cabin crew that turned a simple altercation into a fake hijack story, saying his client was not to be blamed. Seeking bail for Mohla, who was arrested by the police on February 2 from the IGI airport for causing panic in a flight by allegedly calling himself a hijacker, his lawyer claimed the accused had been falsely implicated in the case and it was the airline which cooked up the whole hijack story to cover up their lapses. The cops maintained that investigations of the case were at initial stage and the accused might influence the witnesses once he is out of jail.




Lawyers create ruckus at bank, thrash guard
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/Lawyers_create_ruckus_at_bank_thrash_guard/articleshow/4093332.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0139 hrs IST, TNN
GHAZIABAD: Around 6 locals, including lawyers, on Saturday afternoon, forced their way into a State Bank of India extension counter, situated in the district collectorate premises, and injured its guard before firing in the air with his gun, and smashing it. They also damaged the bank's furniture before leaving. According to a police official, "Some people, including lawyers, had come to the SBI extension counter at 1.15 pm after it had closed for the day. When the bank guard, Jagat, objected to their entry, they forced their way in. They snatched his gun, fired into the bank's ceiling, and then beat the guard with it. They also beat him with the legs of some chairs they had smashed. They left the guard unconscious and profusely bleeding.'' As the counter is located in the collectorate, the police arrived very soon. The guard was rushed to a hospital and was admitted in the intensive care unit. Even as the city police chief, Anant Dev, confirmed that some lawyers were involved in the violence, an official of the bar claimed that "lawyers could never be involved in such an incident.'' The matter is being investigated.




Apex court should clear jurisdiction of Vikas Yadav's plea
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/Apex_court_should_clear_jurisdiction_of_Vikas_Yadavs_plea/articleshow/4095163.cms
8 Feb 2009, 1707 hrs IST, IANS
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has asked the city police to get the Supreme Court to clear the confusion over who should be the prosecuting agency to oppose the bail plea of Vikas Yadav, convicted in the murder of Nitish Katara in 2002. A division bench comprising Justice BD Ahmed and Justice VB Gupta had earlier this week asked Delhi Police to get within four weeks the necessary directions from the apex court as to who will oppose the bail plea in the court. It slated the matter for hearing March 3 when the court will start hearing arguments over Vikas Yadav's bail plea. Vikas had last year moved the High Court challenging his conviction by a Delhi trial court after the Supreme Court rejected his petition seeking permission to file an appeal in any high court barring the Delhi High Court. Vikas's appeal in the trial court was opposed by Delhi Police as well as Uttar Pradesh police so the Delhi High Court this time wanted it to clear the confusion over jurisdiction. Vikas Yadav, son of former lawmaker DP Yadav, and his cousin Vishal Yadav were convicted by the Patiala House court for Nitish Katara's murder and were sentenced to life imprisonment. Vikas and Vishal resented Nitish's relationship with their sister Bharti. Katara was kidnapped and murdered after he attended a wedding in Ghaziabad Feb 16, 2002. His half burnt body was found in a village in Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh. On a plea by Katara's mother Neelam Katara, who apprehended that Vikas' father was interfering with the probe and trial in Ghaziabad, the Supreme Court had shifted the trial to the Patiala House court. Vikas had moved the Allahabad High Court challenging his conviction and sentence. But the court had refused to hear it, saying it was not entitled to hear the appeal against a judgement delivered by a trial court in Delhi. The Allahabad High Court said the right forum to challenge a Delhi trial court's ruling is the Delhi High Court itself.





HC quashes DDA to recover 89K
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/HC_quashes_DDA_to_recover_89K_/articleshow/4094562.cms
8 Feb 2009, 1125 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: Coming to the rescue of a disabled contractor, the Delhi High Court has quashed a notice served on him by DDA for recovery of Rs 89,000 claiming that it paid him excess money for the construction of a community hall here 18 years ago. Justice S Muralidhar allowed a petition filed by Suraj Verma, who suffered locomotor disability (paralysis neck down), and set aside an order passed by the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) asking Verma to repay the excess payment of Rs 89,000. Verma was assigned with the work of construction of a DDA's community hall and shopping centre in 1991. In a recent order, the court accepted the submissions and counter claim made by Verma's counsel Kailash Pandey that after completion of the construction in 1994, the DDA withheld his due money of more than Rs one lakh. According to Verma, he had accepted the tender at total cost of about Rs 10 lakh but till the time of completion of work the cost escalated to Rs 19 lakh due to increasing prices of construction materials.





Lawyers come to lovers' aid
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/Lawyers_come_to_lovers_aid/articleshow/4093432.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0257 hrs IST, TNN
Chitradurga : While Pramod Mutalik and his SRS brigade are working overtime to stifle expressions of love, a group of young lawyers plans to launch a forum to provide institutional support to lovers abandoned by their families. It'll be inaugurated, quite appropriately, on Valentine's Day. The love marriage bureau, perhaps the first in the country, will launch its website. Young men and women who want to marry can register there, and lawyers will help them get married. Many young lovers don't get family support, especially if they choose partners from a different caste. "We want to intervene in such cases," said bureau coordinator Gounalli Govindaiah. His friends, mostly lawyers and writers, will help them get married and set up home. They don't plan to collect service fee. A discussion on love and marriage will be organized on Valentines' Day in Chitradurga. Writer Banjagere Jayaprakash will inaugurate the bureau and speak on moral policing.






Chennai gets first lesbian helpline
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Chennai_gets_first_lesbian_helpline/articleshow/4093576.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
CHENNAI: Chennai, and the rest of India, got its first dedicated lesbian helpline (044-65515742) on Saturday.
The service was born out of a growing need to address issues related to lesbians who face tremendous social stigma, the Indian Community Welfare Organisation (ICWO), which launched the service said. ActionAid, a service organisation, will provide technical expertise by training the counsellors in counselling. The case of Radha (28), who was present at the launch, and her lesbian partner, demonstrates the need for such a helpline. They wanted to end their lives because they couldn't live together. "We suffered a lot as we didn't get support or counselling 10 years ago. Today's lesbians will benefit from the helpline," says Radha, who ran away from her home in Kerala 13 years ago because her parents wanted to get her married. ICWO is a service organisation working in the field of STD/HIV/AIDS prevention among high-risk groups. "We have been working with homosexual men for 10 years. During this period, we have often got queries from lesbians. The helpline has been started to register their queries and provide guidance and support. And when we received news about a lesbian couple committing suicide last year, we thought it was time to act," said ICWO founder secretary A J Hariharan. The helpline is aimed at stopping violence, ill-treatment and stigma of and discrimination against lesbians, identify and refer need-based referral services, provide counselling services, deal with suicide tendency among members of the community and refer livelihood opportunities to them. Two counsellors are available at the helpline now. ICWO expects to get lesbians as volunteers to handle the helpline and also form support groups. ICWO is also planning advocacy and capacity building for the lesbian community by identifying collaborating agencies. The service can be accessed by dialling 044-65515742 between 9 am and 6 pm on all working days. Posters and stickers providing information about the helpline were released on the occasion. ActionAid India regional manager Amar Jyoti Nayak said, "The lesbian movement is big in many countries, but here the community is still stigmatised. We want to highlight the issue of sexual minorities because they often suffer from violation of rights in society."





Jurists rue incidents of lawyers assaulting litigants, cops
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Jurists_rue_incidents_of_lawyers_assaulting_litigants_cops/articleshow/4093575.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0000 hrs IST, A Subramani, TNN
CHENNAI: The sharp rise in campus excesses by lawyers, who take law in their own hands and assault litigants and police personnel, has worried judges and jurists alike. Friday's assault on 25-year-old Gayathri, who had come to the Madras high court premises in connection with a family court proceeding but embroiled in a quarrel with her husband's lawyer and hit him with her slippers, is the latest in a series of such incidents. "Whatever be the provocation, if Gayathri was wrong in slapping the lawyer with her slippers, the group of advocates who bashed her up in public and dragged her to the nearby police station by her hair too are equally guilty," said a woman advocate who was witness to the episode. Advocate and rights activist Sudha Ramalingam said: "Advocates are becoming restless. First we should realise that there are no winners or losers in a family court case. It is a loss for a family once a couple, which had lived together, approach the court for separation. Unlike adversarial litigation in other courts, passion and emotions run high here. Therefore, advocates need to handle litigants with care and caution." Sudha Ramalingam also blamed the ineffective legal aid system for such behaviour on the part of advocates. "Advocates want to be seen, and they think participating in such incidents or being part of a forum would ensure their visibility. The attitude will change for the better if our legal aid system entrusts cases to lawyers for decent emoluments," she said. Geetha Ramaseshan, advocate and former special public prosecutor for CBI cases, said a minuscule group of lawyers alone indulge in such "disgusting and most unfortunate" activities. "The campus has witnessed similar incidents in the past. Incidents like this, however, do not reflect the conduct of a majority of advocates," she said. "I do not want to justify Gayathri's action. But, given the position we occupy, advocates could use the system in a much better way than merely retaliating physically," Geetha Ramaseshan added. R C Paul Kanagaraj, president of the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA), said litigants are not aware of the consequences of their belligerent behaviour in courts. "Litigants treat advocates appearing for their opponents as rivals, without realising the fact that we are merely doing our duty. Better police vigil and a dose of counselling can avoid such incidents," he said. It, certainly, is not a one-off incident. A few weeks ago, a head constable who attempted to nab a white collar offender was thrashed by lawyers, who thought an advocate was being arrested. Not long ago, a youth who had come to attend a family court case was thrashed black and blue by a group of advocates. The well-built youth all along tried to run towards the police station, but collapsed a few metres away, even as his mother kept wailing for help. Ironically, the youth and his mother were later booked for "assaulting" a lawyer, arrested and remanded in judicial custody. Last year, an inspector of police, who was involved in a fracas with advocates in Mettur, was attacked right inside the public prosecutor's office in the high court premises. Even last week, policemen on duty at a court entrance were manhandled by advocates who were boycotting courts. Police personnel walked off security duty, only to return after the acting chief justice and other senior judges met the commissioner and additional commissioner of Chennai. A string of similar excesses, including an attack on a magistrate, climaxed with the murder of a practising advocate at Egmore magistrate court complex. The George Town magistrate complex too saw an attack on a woman magistrate recently.





Edu loans not to based on parents' capacity to repay: HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Edu_loans_not_to_based_on_parents_capacity_to_repay_HC/articleshow/4093587.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0002 hrs IST, TNN
CHENNAI: If banks insist on the repayment capacity of parents and deny educational loans to students, it would defeat the very object of the government's welfare scheme, the Madras high court has said. Directing the Tirupattur branch of the State Bank of India to extend an educational loan to M Rajeswari, who scored 1,075 marks in the Plus Two examination and got admission in an engineering college in Chennai, Justice K Suguna said that the government had taken a policy decision to extend loans up to Rs 4 lakh without any security. "This is the policy of the government...it will mean that the government is willing to advance loans to poor students with an intention that they should not be denied their higher education on the ground of lack of finance..." Rajeswari filed the writ petition, stating that she required Rs 3.3 lakh towards tuition fees and hostel fees for the entire course period. When she approached the bank, it rejected her plea in November 2008 stating that her grandfather had defaulted on a tractor loan taken from the bank for which her father stood surety. Hence, it said, Rajeswarai was not eligible for the loan. Justice Suguna, not convinced with the bank's stand, said the object of the educational loan scheme was to ensure that poor students pursued higher education without any financial hindrance. Wondering as to how Rajeswari could be penalised for the default of her grandfather, the judge said the unpaid balance of her grandfather's loan was only Rs 80,000, which amounted to about Rs 2 lakh now. The bank was in possession of a two-ground land furnished as surety for the earlier loan, she said. However, as a measure of protection for the educational loan, she asked Rajeswari to furnish an affidavit stating that she would clear the loan within three years from the date of securing a job. Till then, the bank could retain the land document. The loan should be sanctioned within two weeks of Rajeswari giving the undertaking, the judge ruled.





HC issues notice to UP govt
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/HC_issues_notice_to_UP_govt/articleshow/4093508.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0301 hrs IST, TNN
Ahmedabad : Gujarat High Court has issued notice to Uttar Pradesh state government, asking it to explain the issue of non-payment of Rs 17 crore to the Kandla Port Trust. The KPT trustees board moved HC after the Pradeshiya Industrial and Investment Corporation of UP Ltd (PIICUP), an agency for financing industries in UP, failed to repay the value of bonds worth Rs 7 crore as well as interest amount of Rs 9 crore. Justice KA Puj has asked the corporation and the government to file their reply by February 27, when further hearing in the case is scheduled. In 2001, PIICUP, which is also assisting the UP state in divestment process, raised Rs 75 crore for the purpose of financing the corporations on the ongoing lending operations and retiring high cost debts. The coupon rate was offered at 13.75 per cent per annum. Bonds in the nature of promissory notes were offered for tenure of seven years, and all the bonds were issued at a face value of Rs 1 lakh. PIICUP approached KPT, and the latter applied for 700 bonds for a total value of Rs 7 crore. They invested this amount from the provident fund account. KPT in its petition has claimed that the bonds were issued by PIICUP with call and put option at the end of four years and 11 months. After end of this time limit, KPT sought the amount back with interest of 13.75 per cent as guaranteed by UP agency in 2004. However, the PIICUP didn't pay the money back till 2008, and ultimately expressed inability to furnish the amount of Rs 16 crore as claimed by KPT on pretext of heavy losses to the tune of SR 407 crore. This led KPT to move the High Court through advocate DD Vyas seeking direction to the UP government and the finance agency to repay the money with due interest.





E-courts will chain prisoners more tightly
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/E-courts_will_chain_prisoners_more_tightly/articleshow/4093502.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0300 hrs IST, TNN
Ahmedabad : Setting up of the model e-court by Gujarat judiciary for the first time in India will prevent undertrials from stepping out of jail to be produced before the court. After curbing prisoners' trips to Civil Hospital, the beginning of e-court in the city through advanced video conferencing (VC) facility in different city courts connected with Sabarmati Central Jail will take off the police's burden to bring the prisoners in court for regular production and trial. Till date, the VC facility used to connect the Bhadra court with the Central jail only and there was just one unit functioning. But now, three studios are being created in jail, and three courts are to be equipped with VC facility. Out of them, one is ready and the Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan will inaugurate it on Sunday. This court has multi-point VC facility, connecting it to the jail, the police commissioner office, the district collectorate as well as the Forensic Science Laboratory. Moreover, this court will soon be connected with other centres as well as other states, curtailing the elaborate and time consuming exercise of serving summons and bringing witnesses to courtroom. Talking to media persons on Saturday, joint commissioner of police HP Singh said that with the execution of VC facility, 300 policemen will be spared everyday. "We have to engage a huge force in ferrying prisoners between jail and court everyday. With this e-court facility, we will be saving 2,400 man-hours daily. This would result in an increased strength for us," the cop said. The IG prison Keshav Kumar termed it an important advancement from the view of security. "Everyday, nearly 200 to 250 prisoners are taken to court daily from the Sabarmati jail only. If this practice is stopped by the VC facility, it would enhance the security of the jail premise too," he said.





SIT to move HC against Maya, Jaideep bail
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/SIT_to_move_HC_against_Maya_Jaideep_bail_/articleshow/4093516.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0302 hrs IST, TNN
Ahmedabad : Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the post-Godhra riots will move Gujarat High Court against the sessions court's decision of granting bail to minister of state for women, child welfare and higher education, Mayaben Kodnani and Jaideep Patel in Naroda riots case. Senior officials some of the paperwork was overlooked while granting the bail. According to sources, the SIT had appeared before the sessions court on Friday where, on the basis of their track record, the sessions judge granted bail to state minister and former VHP leader in the case. "However, we believe that the case is strong against them. We wanted to question the duo on certain aspects of the case. Moreover, their statements have been recorded earlier. We want to bring these facts to the court in the case. We are preparing groundwork for it," said a source in SIT. Witnesses in Naroda gaam as well as Naroda Patia massacre cases have named the minister and the senior VHP functionary in their statements last year. However, SIT did not name these two as accused in the supplementary chargesheet filed in December last year and investigation against them began a day after filing of the report.




Setalvad to move SC next week
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pune/Setalvad_to_move_SC_next_week/articleshow/4093561.cms
7 Feb 2009, 2353 hrs IST, TNN
PUNE: Noted human rights activist Teesta Setalvad, on Saturday, announced her decision to approach the Supreme Court (SC) to fight on behalf of the victims' of violence against Christians in Orissa last year. "We will move the Apex Court for the victims of the Orissa violence sometime next week," said Setalvad, speaking to reporters on sidelines of the 20th foundation day of Milun Saryajani', a magazine devoted to women's issues. "I have come here to stand in solidarity with regional magazines like Milun Saryajani' as they represent the alternative media in India, which gives space to serious, issue-based journalism," she said. The magazine, Setalvad felt was very much a part of alternative media in the country. She spoke about the coverage of the Mumbai terror attacks last November and several other problems the society has been fighting for decades in search of answers and solutions. Besides fighting for the rights of the oppressed and the wrongly-convicted, Setalvad has also been running her own magazine for the last 15 years. She has attempetd to to give a platform to serious socio-political issues through this initiative. "Our magazine fights fascist groups, and our approach towards covering these issues has matured over the years," said Setalvad. Vidya Bal, editor Milun Saryajani', said, " Milun Saryajani' started as a magazine for women to voice their concerns and problems. But over the years, we have expanded the scope of the magazine and today, it raises environmental issues, talks about nuclear weapons and various community-based problems." Therefore, magazines like these have emerged to give a voice to serious issues that couldn't find their rightful place in the mainstream media, feels Setalvad. "Magazines like these are emerging in all corners of the country, and they should. People should feel confident enough to write their own stories and convey them to the masses," Setalvad said.




Citizens plead for pedestrians' rights
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pune/Citizens_plead_for_pedestrians_rights/articleshow/4093585.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0002 hrs IST, TNN
PUNE: Roads are first for pedestrians and then for vehicles. If the very idea sounds alien, then it's time to rethink the attitude towards pedestrians in the city. For nowhere else in the world is the traffic system so disdainful of those trying to cross the road. To that end, various citizen groups took out a protest march from the Pune Central mall on Ganeshkhind Road to University Chowk on Saturday. Participating groups included the Mohalla committees of ICS colony-Bhosalenagar and Model Colony, Pune Traffic and Transportation Forum, Janwani, Lokayat and Pedestrians First, among others. Explaining the backdrop of the protest march, Jayawantrao Mohite, president of the Model Colony Parisar Samiti underlined the chaos caused by the reconstruction of the much-touted Raj Bhavan Road under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Development Scheme, as a prime instance. "The traffic on this road has become an absolute nightmare. There are residential colonies on both sides of the Raj Bhavan and Ganeshkhind roads, but there is no overbridge or subway, or even a zebra crossing for people to cross from one side to another. What becomes of these people? Why was no thought given to this problem?" he questioned. "We have written to the ACP (traffic), and various ward officers several times, but they have not responded even once. There are two major malls and a theatre in the vicinity, this has worsened matters. We had suggested that the traffic opening at the corner of the Pune Central mall, on the Hare Krishna Mandir road, should be closed. This will smoothen the flow of traffic. Apart from this we need encroachment-free footpaths," he said, adding, "Not to forget a system of road crossing either an overhead bridge or a subway or a zebra crossing." Prashant Inamdar, another activist, added, "Our mission is to plead the case of pedestrians all over the city." According to Satish Khot, president of the National Society for Clean Cities, "Across the world pedestrians are a priority, but that's not the case here. Our argument is that citizens need to be involved in the planning process the BRTS scheme for instance, is a classic example of a good idea not working precisely because citizens weren't involved." Watching the proceedings keenly was Sharda Padwal, a resident of the Chapekharnagar basti in the vicinity. Pointing to the chaos in front of the Pune Central mall she said, "Matters have gone from bad to worse since the road work started. Accidents have increased, vehicles don't allow us to cross, no matter what time of the day it is. Why, just a month ago, a woman from my basti lost the use of her legs trying to cross the road at 6 am. Is anybody listening to us?" Nilesh Kale, another activist, said that he had written to the PMC commissioner suggesting that it be made incumbent upon major malls and other commercial constructions to partly fund the infrastructural development in the area. "That's how it's done in the West," he said.





Court show cause notice to DM, SSP
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kanpur/Court_show_cause_notice_to_DM_SSP/articleshow/4093245.cms
7 Feb 2009, 2200 hrs IST, TNN
KANPUR: Granting bail to an alleged accused of Gangster Act, the designated Gangster court of Kanpur nagar on Saturday issued notices to the district magistrate Etawah, SSP Etawah and in-charge Kotwali police Etawah and asked why a case of preparing a forged documents be not registered against them. The presiding judge DK Tewari in his notice said Etawah police had produced a gang chart of one Ram Gresh but produced one Pappu alias Ram Naresh, who after proper scrutiny of paper found fabricated. Pappu in his application urged that in the gang chart a criminal case was depicted in his name which was wrongly mentioned. The true facts was that he was a complainant in that case and he had lodged a complaint against Ram Gresh. The police after making an investigation filed a charge sheet in the name of Ram Naresh while name of accused was clearly mentioned in charge sheet as Ram Gresh. The presiding judge DK Tewari in his order observed that making a wrong entry in the gang chart. The entry was showing complainant as an accused. It appears that station officer Kotwali Etawah, SS and D M Etawah were ready to book the accused under Gangster Act. They even did not bother to check the cases mentioned in gangster chart whether they were true or false. The way accused was being depicted as criminal was wrong the truth was that he was not accused of that crime. The fabricated gang chart was before the court. Therefore a show cause notice to station officer Kotwali , SSP and DM Etawah was being issued that why action be not taken against them for preparing a forged documents.




Fudging marksheet? You are not a '420': HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Fudging_marksheet_You_are_not_a_420_HC/articleshow/4093924.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0356 hrs IST, Shibu Thomas, TNN
MUMBAI: Persons caught fudging marksheets need not fear being branded a "420" any more. The Bombay HC ruled that the harsh provisions of Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code wouldn't stick on anyone booked for altering the numbers on a marksheet. Section 420 deals with cheating and deceiving a person of property and is punishable with a maximum imprisonment of seven years. "420" has become synonymous with conmen in popular lexicon and has found its way to Bollywood movies and lyrics. The verdict came when Justice R C Chavan, at the Nagpur bench of the High Court, delved into the legality of booking a person caught for fudging the marksheet under Section 420. Additional public prosecutor P D Kothari cited Supreme Court judgments that said "property" in cheating cases meant both movable and immovable property and, in the case under discussion, the marksheet should be treated as "property" under law. The court didn't agree and pointed out that the judgment concerned only shares, which was immovable property. "It (the definition of property under the Act) will have to be either movable or immovable property or property which is transferable, consumable or capable of being spent and not a marksheet which is non-transferable or non-expendable," ruled Justice Chavan.





Unruly flyers may be handcuffed
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Unruly_flyers_may_be_handcuffed/articleshow/4093932.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0407 hrs IST, Saurabh Sinha, TNN
NEW DELHI: Unruly passengers on Indian flights might soon be handcuffed to their seats or tied up, if the government decides to adopt worldwide practices. After the February 1 hijack scare exposed the lack of stipulated measures to tackle such a situation, the government is laying down a stiff protocol to handle difficult flyers. "We all learn from experience. India will adopt the best practices in vogue in airline industry to ensure flight safety, including steps for controlling unruly passengers," civil aviation minister Praful Patel said. Crew in foreign carriers are known to use plastic handcuffs and other devices to confine inebriated or violent passengers to their seats but it is not clear if India is ready for similar measures. "The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is framing guidelines for handling disruptive passengers. We will look at this framework along with other best practices abroad," Nasim Zaidi, chief of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, said. The need for guidelines figured prominently at a review meeting called by cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar on Saturday to discuss last Sunday's IndiGo hijack drama. The suspicious behaviour and alleged verbal threats of a passenger had led to fears that the IndiGo flight, 6E 334, was facing a hijack situation. "Air India routinely has passengers getting dead drunk on sectors such as Bangkok. Usually, the senior cabin crew tackle such passengers — in some cases, a couple of slaps help to get them under control. But now, the airhostesses and otherwise cabin crew need to be trained to handle such situations," said a senior aviation ministry official. While the hijack scare was an extreme case, even in the recent past, planes have been forced to make emergency landings in order to offload disruptive passengers. Foreign airlines tie up such passengers so that they don't endanger flight safety. "On an American Air flight some time back, a Sikh gentleman gave his turban to tie such a passenger as the airline was not carrying any handcuffs and the crew was looking for something," said an airline official. Sources said the meeting, attended by secretaries in the ministries of home, defence, civil aviation and external affairs, saw emphasis on two factors — faster decision-making, a lapse highlighted during the hijack scare, as the plane’s doors opened over two hours after it made a safe landing; and training for crew to tackle difficult passengers. At present, three committees — one each at the affected airport, ministry headquarters and Cabinet Secretariat — are in place to take decisions in such situations. As evident last week, this leads to delays as the first step after any hijack alert is to gather officials to their respective committees.





SC raps Railways for hooliganism
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/SC_raps_Railways_for_hooliganism/articleshow/4094535.cms
8 Feb 2009, 1106 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: Rail passengers cannot be left at the mercy of burglars and hooligan; the Supreme Court has said rapping the Railways for its failure to protect the luggage of passengers, including those travelling in reserved air conditioned compartments which have attendants, from getting stolen. "We cannot leave the passengers at the mercy of hooligans who enter reserved compartments. We know how unauthorised passengers enter even reserved compartments in your trains," a bench of Justices B N Aggrawal and G S Singhvi snapped at the Railways counsel Annapurnia. The counsel had taken the stand that theft of luggage as alleged by the woman passenger Pinki Gupta cannot be countenanced on the ground that unauthorised persons cannot enter a reserved compartment. She had contended that the passenger was apparently lying. However, the bench was not impressed with the argument and after making the stinging observation, dismissed the special leave petition filed by the South Western Railway officials challenging the compensation awarded by the district consumer forum, Bangalore, to the woman. Pinki, a resident of Bangalore had boarded the Bangalore Rajdhani Express on October 24, 2005 at Nizamuddin along with her two children aged six and three-and-half years respectively.




Telcom companies settling scores with rivals through PILs, says HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_Business/Telcom_companies_settling_scores_with_rivals_through_PILs_says_HC/articleshow/4095693.cms
8 Feb 2009, 2020 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has accused telecom companies of using the court as a platform for settling scores against rivals by prompting others to file PILs, challenging the government's spectrum allocation and auctioning policy before it. "These are frivolous litigations. Private parties are behind theses litigations... Nothing (is going) to come out from such PILs. It's a waste of time," a bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah said, dismissing a PIL filed by an NGO, Society for Awareness and Development, challenging the auctioning policy. The Delhi High Court, which has been hearing various matters over allotment of 2G and auction of 3G spectrum by the Department of Telecom (DoT), said that such petitions are filed by business rivals in the telecom sector. Readily agreeing, Sanjay Hegde, counsel appearing for the government, submitted, "We do not even know who is behind these PILs. Pendency of these matters gives different kind of impression on the sector." The court also said that similar litigations with almost same issues are also going to the telecom tribunal TDSAT. The court's observation came during hearing over a petition filed by the NGO, which has challenged 3G allocation policy of DoT and its pricing. It said the DoT's decision not to auction the whole spectrum in one go was arbitrary and it was done to benefit some companies.




LUXURY TO RAJU IN JAIL: JUDICIARY MUST NOT MAKE INDIA A SANCTUARY OF CRIMINALS
http://orissamatters.com/2009/02/08/1063/
Posted on February 8, 2009 by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Equal treatment for all in the eyes of judiciary is the cardinal rule that guides jurisprudence.
Reports from Hyderabad show that a lower court there has made a farce of this rule in dealing with prisoners under trial, B Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama Raju, facing criminal prosecution for fraud in Satyam accounts.
The court has reportedly issued orders on February 6 asking Hyderabad’s Chanchalguda prison authorities to treat them as special class prisoners on the basis of the local Collector’s report that they were used to a high lifestyle. They should be accorded with the same during their stay in the jail, the court has ordered.
All the hooligans and economic offenders in this country are used to high lifestyle and if courts use to issue such orders then only those should repent who have not yet been able to commit such high profile offences.
The Judiciary of this country must make every Indian know as to who has equipped it to allow selected number of under trial prisoners accused of fraud and breach of trust to enjoy their lives in jail matching their private lifestyle.
If any such law is present, anywhere in the country, the Apex Court should react on that and ensure that India does not become a sanctuary of criminals with the help of law that puts poor criminals in the hell of a jail while granting luxury to moneyed criminals in the same jail in stark contravention of the laws against discrimination.





Judiciary must come under RTI
http://rainmaker-shashank.blogspot.com/2009/02/judiciary-must-come-under-rti.html
Sunday, February 8, 2009
In a country where crime rate is increasing by leaps and bounds with each passing day, judiciary is the only last hope for downtrodden classes. In India judiciary is compared with God as it seperates deeds from misdeeds, gives impartial justice to all hence playing an important role in saving human rights. But how would you feel if i say that the seeds of corruption have percolated even in our judicial system. The prestige of our judicial system, once honoured for its unbiased decisions, is at stake now. Recent corruptions exposed in our judiciary has not only tarnished its image but also shook the faith that we had in our judicial system.Why should Judiciary come under RTI ?Recently Supreme court of India challenged the High court order stating judges to make their assets public. The Supreme court said that such things are not in public domain and cant be given to applicants under RTI act. Previously the judges used to declare their assets to Chief justice of India. However it is to be noted that such declaration of assets by the judges was purely based on trust. The CJI never used to cross verify and never made these declarations public. Aslo it should be noted that such declarations are not mandatory under law so the judges are not bound by law to to so.Lets have a look on recent happenings in judiciary.* The Chief Justice of India, KG Balakrishnan has recommended the removal of Calcutta HighCourt Judge, Justice Soumitra Sen under Art 217(1) of the Constitution of India for committing impropriety bringing disrepute to the high judicial office. Sen, as an Advocate committed misappropriation of Rs 33 1akhs received as receiver on behalf of Steel Authority of India and kept it in his personal saving bank account without court authority.* The second case now known as cash-at-Judge door relate to another High Court Judge ofPunjab and Haryana High Court. In this case a packet containing Rs 15 lakh meant for Justice Nirmal Yadav was mistakenly delivered at Justice Nirmaljeet Kaur’s residence.* The third case related to a Public Interest Litigation now being heard in the Supreme Court alleging misappropriation of Rs 23 crore of provident fund money of Grade IV employeesof Ghaziabad District court over a period of time involving 34 judges out of which one isnow a Supreme Court Judge, ten High Court Judges and 23 lower court Judges. The amount was siphoned off to purchase costly electrical gadgets, air-conditioners, refrigerators and even costly liquor.* In Rajasthan, some time back, there were reports of a judge who offered judicial favour inexchange for sexual favours from a litigant.So what does these incidents say? Nothing but a sorry state of our courts and judges. Keeping all these incidents in mind how can the chief justice of India say that judiciary should be an exception to RTI. If there has to be any exception then the issues related with national security should not come under RTI. Judiciary cant be an exception. With the recent corruption in judiciary it is the moral duty of judges(if they have any) to declare their assets in public and cross verification should happen. And all such things will turn reality only if they come under RTI. Apart from this we also need to have independent constitutional bodies for appointment and investigation of judges. And of course such bodies must be free from the influence of any political class.
Posted by shashank shekhar at 2:17 AM






Air India asked to pay Rs 1.4 lakh to woman for denying her seat
http://courtverdict.blogspot.com/2009/02/air-india-asked-to-pay-rs14-lakh-to.html
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Express News ServiceNew Delhi: Air India has been directed by the State Consumer Commission to pay Rs 1.4 lakh to a passenger for refusing to let her board a flight despite a confirmed ticket. Penalising the airlines for a "deficiency in service", the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has asked Air India to not only refund Rs 40,000 towards the cost of the ticket, but also to pay Rs one lakh as compensation to the complainant Geetika Sachdeva, for not letting her board the plane and for delayed baggage delivery.In September 2002, Sachdeva had bought an open ticket through a travel agency on Air India's Delhi-London-Toronto-London-Delhi flight. Two months later, when she informed Air India of her intention to travel from London to Delhi, she was told that her ticket was confirmed for London to Delhi.She then boarded an Air Canada flight from Toronto and reached London. But at the airport she was told that the validity of her ticket had expired and she could not board the plane. Sachdeva was travelling alone and did not have money to buy another ticket. After waiting for several hours at the airport, she met another Indian passenger, who had come from Chicago and had also been denied boarding on the same grounds. With his help, she purchased a ticket of Virgin Atlantic Airways and came to Delhi. Her baggage, however, was transported a week later by Air India, for which she was charged an additional sum of Rs 650.Air India, in its defence contended that the passenger had booked an open ticket for the Toronto-Delhi sector, which required prior confirmation before the commencement of journey and since she failed to do, so she could not be accommodated.The court observed that the consumer had intimated Air India's counterpart at Toronto in advance about her plan to travel from London to Delhi and therefore the argument that there was no confirmation, did not hold."The passenger was a young lady and travelled alone and therefore must have faced immense hardship when she was denied a seat," Justice J D Kapoor, Commission President, said, adding that it was the "duty of the airline to make all possible arrangements" to accommodate Sachdeva on its flight leaving for London.Justice Kapoor further ruled that "no airline has the right to refuse boarding to a person with a confirmed status ticket even if he has not re-confirmed the same 72 hours before, particularly when seats are available."Courtesy_http://www.expressindia.com
Posted by Selvam at 7:55 PM




Legal intervention to avail right to education and right to health - A report on Mr.Ashok Aggarwal's lecture
http://lawandotherthings.blogspot.com/2009/02/legal-intervention-to-avail-right-to.html
By Guest Blogger: Sandeep Vishnu Sunday, February 08, 2009
[Student, III Year, Campus Law Centre, Delhi University]As part of its ongoing series of guest lectures, the Seminar and Discussion Committee of Campus Law Centre, Delhi University invited advocate Mr. Ashok Aggarwal from Social Jurist on February 5. The subject of his talk was “Legal intervention to avail right to health and right to education.”Mr. Aggarwal has been practising at the bar since 1982 and has been instrumental in filing numerous PILs on rights of citizens against hospitals and schools, both government and private-run. The first part of the talk was devoted to the present status of the right to health available to the poor in India. Mr. Aggarwal talked of the effort it takes to make your voice heard when it comes to assertion of your basic rights. Giving examples of actual situations faced by poor patients who could not afford to spend any money on their medical treatment, he expressed dissatisfaction at the state of affairs in government hospitals. He stated that nothing is mandated by our law as such when it comes to free treatment of the poor and needy in government and private hospitals. He had filed a writ petition in 2002 in the Delhi High Court in this regard.Mr. Aggarwal pointed out that the law in India does not mandate anything like basic health care to every citizen, but was of the opinion that health and education must be made free at all levels as is the case in some countries such as Cuba. It would be a good futuristic investment to do that, especially when the current situation reeks of arbitrariness in policy making and failure in deliverance of promised constitutional goal of social justice. When the writ petition was filed in 2002, the data depicted a large number of hospitals run by numerous societies which were operating on subsidized government allotted land. But as a matter of social responsibility towards the poor, neither the hospital authorities nor those in the health department of the government were contributing anything. The writ petition started to yield some positive results when the Court ordered private hospitals, built on land allotted by government authorities at subsidized rates, to provide free beds and free OPD treatment for a fixed percentage of patients.Now it is possible to see the effect in private hospitals, some of whom have already fixed the number of free beds for economically weaker sections (EWS) and also give free OPD treatment as per guidelines, while more are following suit. He stated that some prominent hospitals like Gangaram, Fortis etc. have contributed a lot of money towards treating the needy. Word of mouth has been the best possible propaganda here. But the condition of government hospitals still leaves a lot to be desired.Mr. Aggarwal also briefed the audience regarding the sorry state of affairs in some of these hospitals where stray animals breed on beds or medicines are rarely available and stated that to overcome such situations, judicial orders and the media have sometimes temporarily buzzed the sleeping government machinery. Overall picture seems to show that while private health care players have realized that it is necessary to take care of the poor and the needy as a social goal, the government is yet to come to terms with the idea of being the policy maker in this regard and taking a big leap by legislating in this direction so as to motivate more private investment and more contribution in the vindication of this primary social goal.The second issue regarding the Right to education was essentially taken up on constitutional grounds of directive principles of state policy like Articles 38 , 39 & 45 which aspire for a welfare state and have been given the same weightage as fundamental rights , although the former remain non justiciable. Fundamental Rights in Article 14, 21 & Article 21-A were highlighted in due course along with Fundamental duties in Article 51-A.Mr. Aggarwal pointed out that in 1993 when the Unnikrishnan judgement was delivered by the Apex Court, it was clear that Article 45 mandates early childhood care and education for all children below 6 years of age. By 86th Amendment in 2002, Article 21-A was inserted into the Constitution mandating the state to provide free & compulsory education to all children between 6 to 14 years of age. But none of the above articles have seen the light of enforcement yet. In such a grim situation Mr. Aggarwal has himself filed over 125 cases including PILs and writs in the High Court as well as Supreme Court in this regard.According to Mr. Aggarwal, the insertion of article 21-A requires that no child should be out of school and that there is also a ban on all forms of child labour in the age group 6-14 years. He was of the view that our central legislations in this regard are not yet in tandem with the constitutional right to education. In this regard in one of the cases filed in the Supreme Court has been to declare child labour as unconstitutional and to ensure that all future legislations are in tune with our social welfare goals and aspirations. Another highlight of the talk was the prevalent discrimination in allotment of funds by the government to Kendriya Vidyalayas and other government or Municipal schools. Mr.Aggarwal was of the opinion that all government schools should be treated at par with each other, parallel schooling systems should be done away with and the current pending draft of Right to education Bill should be fast tracked to regulate schooling in the country. The Apex Court has been requested that pending the legislation, guidelines in relation to minimum and basic facilities be framed.In 1997, when the 5th Pay Commission recommendations were introduced, almost all private schools hiked their fees manifold. When a PIL was filed in the High Court of Delhi, it was felt by the Court that although free education mandate cannot strictly apply to the private schools they must not be allowed to commercialize on such a big scale and must be held accountable by charging just and reasonable fees from children. While the High Court ordered a set of guidelines to the private schools, the appeal of the latter was dismissed by Supreme Court. Another PIL discussed by him was with regard to lack of proper buildings and other basic facilities in government and MCD schools, which as a campaign, was also supported by the print media. As per the directions issued on the basis of evidence produced in the court, every school is now required to have fixed boundary walls, toilet and drinking water facilities in working condition. Mr. Aggarwal remarked that today we have come a long way, yet the only thing that is lacking in such schools is quality education.Mr. Aggarwal also highlighted the plight of the children of the jhuggiwalas, the ragpickers etc. in Delhi who want to have basic education but are denied this right and are most often discriminated against for no fault or reason. He has taken up various such matters in the High Court and it has been seen that after initial troubles, justice certainly triumphs. As was the case in health care, the government allots land at subsidised rates to various societies for setting up schools and approximately 265 such schools were listed before the High Court who were doing nothing for the sake of imparting education to the EWS, in spite of the Court's directions in this regard in 2004.Another issue was the interviewing process of the 3-year olds by the schools in the name of assessing their values and talent as per the school's reputation. The High Court has dealt sternly with the situation and ordered that no such school on government allotted land shall deny admission to the EWS children and that no such interviews shall be permitted any more. Even the Government schools found violating such admission orders have been warned against this practice.The message conveyed to the audience was that it is not personal grudge but honesty of purpose that is required for a sincere effort towards making of a better society where every person is healthy and educated. It is advisable to form social pressure groups for such purposes and keep litigation as the last alternative. Mr. Aggarwal felt that his efforts showed visible impact, as is evident by the 25 per cent quota for EWS in Delhi private schools or as is visible in the list of over 35 private hospitals with free beds and free OPD facilities.
Posted by V.Venkatesan at 11:11 AM





Court order ends an era in Chidambaram temple
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200902081352.htm
Chidambaram (PTI): It was an end of an era in the 1500-year-old Chidambaram temple with the Madras High Court rejecting the plea that it was a private temple, paving way for direct state administrative control.
The centuries-long hold of Podhu Dikshitars on the temple, a small well-knit Brahmin community which believes that its forefathers have directly descended from Lord Shiva's abode Mount Kailas to administer the Chidambaram temple, has finally ended last week following an order of the Madras High Court after a prolonged legal battle.
Justice R Bhanumathi's order rejecting the plea of the 3000-strong Dikshitars community that the 5th century AD temple was a private one and they had 'untrammelled rights', paved the way for direct administrative control of the state government. She upheld the appointment of an executive officer to administer the temple.
The temple with its four imposing towers rising 175 feet above the ground has a unique place in Hindu mythology as it holds the key to 'Chidambara rahasym' (secret of Chidambram). A small corner next to the idol of Lord Nataraja has a curtain with a golden garland in the shape of 'bilva' leaves, which according to scholars, is an example of permeating omnipresence of God.
Dikshitars who were not willing to give up their traditional hold on the temple have gone in for an appeal to the larger bench of the High Court.
C Navathandava Dikshitar, President of Thiruchitrambalam Annathanam Arakkatali Trust, said Dikshitars have been performing poojas and selling prasadams for many centuries and blamed the politicians behind the government's resolve to take over the temple.
The legal tussle began years ago when the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department appointed an Executive Officer (EO) to administer the temple which was challenged by the Dikshitars.
HR and CE officials said and EO had already been posted and he functioned from outside the temple and moved in, to takeover after the court's order.
The Janata party and Hindu organisations have opposed government taking over of the temple.
The ruling comes as a shot in the arm for the state government whose EO has been functioning from outside the temple for the past 20 years, after the Dikshitars declined him entry and challenged his appointment made in 1987, claiming full rights by virtue of maintaining the temple.




One more arrested in Orissa nun rape case
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200902081140.htm
Bhubaneswar (IANS): One more person has been arrested in Orissa for his alleged involvement in the rape of a nun during the communal violence last year in the state's Kandhamal district, police said Sunday. "Jayaban Digal, a resident of Sainpada village, was arrested Saturday night. With the latest arrest, the number of people arrested in the case has gone up to 11," investigating officer D.K. Mohanty told IANS from Kandhamal.
"We are likely to arrest about four to five more people in the near future," he said.
The 29-year-old Catholic nun was attacked by a mob and raped Aug 24. She filed a complaint with the police two days later.
The nun was earlier reluctant to attend the identification parade of the accused in Kandhamal despite orders by a court. She submitted a petition in the Orissa High Court seeking change of the venue to Cuttack.
The high court Dec 18 asked the police to conduct the test identification parade in the Choudwar jail, some 30 km from here.
The parade was conducted Jan 5. The victim identified only two of the 10 people arrested. The crime branch police, probing the case filed a preliminary charge sheet in the local court Jan 26.
Mohanty said they will submit a final charge sheet in the case after completing the investigation.
Kandhamal, about 200 km from here, witnessed widespread communal violence after the murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his aides at his ashram Aug 23.
At least 38 people were killed in the state and thousands of Christians were forced to flee their homes after their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs. About 5,700 people are still living in government-run relief camps in the district.




Illegal buildings face civic heat across Lonavla
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Illegal_buildings_face_civic_heat_across_Lonavla/articleshow/4093528.cms
8 Feb 2009, 0351 hrs IST, Yogesh Naik, TNN
LONAVLA: After getting a rap on its knuckles from the high court in January, the Lonavla Municipal Council (LMC) has undertaken a massive demolition drive in the hill stations of Lonavla and Khandala. The drive to demolish 752 illegal structures began on Monday and will continue for a few days. Around 45 structures have been razed till now. The drive gathered momentum on Saturday. The court's criticism came in response to a PIL filed by the Lonavla-Khandala Citizens' Forum. LMC chief officer Sunil Lahane confirmed that it undertook the drive on the court's directive. On Saturday, the authorities carried out partial demolition of a boutique in the Lonavla market. Its owner, I Padghawala, said, "They will not raze the whole structure. I will reconstruct it immediately". Lahane, however, said he would file a case if the structure was reconstructed. Parts of two leading hotels were also demolished during the week. Lahane said that in case of some hotels, the owners had put up an extra floor. "Under the rules, most structures in Lonavla are supposed to be ground-plus-one. Some owners have put slopes to beat the heavy rains and also added walls, thereby adding extra floors. Also, owners of water parks have not taken permission,'' he said. A water park owner has constructed several shops and gaming zones in the basement meant for cars. The list of unauthorised structures also shows that several shops have violated the rules. The LMC is a B-grade municipality and earns around Rs 20 crore annually, besides an allotted grant of Rs 16 crore. Alleging that the civic amenities were not up to the mark, the forum filed a PIL in 2007 to ensure better services and action against illegal structures. However, despite a directive from the high court in 2007, the LMC did not act and was reluctant to clear roadside encroachments. "We now have better garbage disposal services. We have also been requesting the court for a monitoring committee,'' said Subodh Tiwari, secretary of the forum. Most illegal buildings came up after 1991. However, Lahane said, "I have been here for one-and-a-half years. I cannot comment on what happened in the past." The staff said they didn't have enough manpower, and police protection, to act against encroachments.





Angry Biman voices contempt against Mamata’s stand on Nayachar
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=6&theme=&usrsess=1&id=243288
KOLKATA, Feb. 7: Left Front chairman, Mr Biman Bose, today hit out at Trinamul Congress chief, Miss Mamata Banerjee, while speaking about the chemical hub project at Nayachar. “There are quite a few self-proclaimed environmentalists in this state and one of them understands everything”, he said. Mr Bose, however, did not name either Miss Banerjee or Mr Subhas Dutta who had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Calcutta High Court about rallyists cooking in open ovens within three kilometres of Victoria Memorial on 20 January violating a court order. He was inspecting the arrangements of tomorrow's CPI-M rally at Brigade Parade ground. "I will take photographs of the rally site before the meeting and after it. It will show how the ground looked like before the rally and after it," he added. Mr Bose said that a high level technical committee will see to it that there is no pollution at Nayachar. The Opposition's claim of thousands of fishermen being displaced by the proposed Nayachar project is not as there are not so many of them there, he claimed. According to him, the Opposition has only one goal and that is to prevent industries from coming up in the state. VIP security coverThe state government has decided that in future if any VIP with Z plus security cover visits “disturbed areas” they would be informed beforehand about the government's inability to provide security cover. This has been set as a “general rule” said the state home secretary, Mr Ardhendu Sen. The decision comes in the wake of the Trinamul chief, Miss Mamata Banerjee's visit to Lalgarh even after the superintendent of police informed her local party members about their inability to provide security




Labour court order on dismissal of transport employee set aside
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020859910800.htm
K.T. Sangameswaran
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has set aside a Labour Court order, which had held that the dismissal of a transport corporation employee, who abused and slapped his colleague, was disproportionate.
The Labour Court had said that deprivation of the employee’s backwages for a year would be sufficient punishment.
In his order allowing a writ petition filed by the transport corporation challenging the Labour Court order, Justice K.Chandru said that the worker not only had the audacity to abuse a co-worker, that too a woman employee, but also slapped her in the presence of other employees. His conduct could never be condoned.
K.Logambal, a Junior Assistant in the State Transport Corporation (Coimbatore Division-II) Ltd, Erode, preferred a complaint that C.Kulanthaivel had obstructed her passage when she went to get stationery. He had abused and slapped her.
The enquiry officer found Kulanthaivel guilty of the charges. By an order of August 1996, the management dismissed him.
Kulanthaivel raised an industrial dispute. In 1998, the Labour Court, Salem, held that the domestic enquiry was fair and proper. It also held that the charge of abuse and slapping had been proved, but dismissal for the act was disproportionate.
The Labour Court said that the management’s offer to the employee that he may be re-employed as a new entrant to the post of a Junior Clerk, if he was willing, would be a disproportionate punishment. It would deprive him of 10 years service and, therefore, was not acceptable to it.
Against this award, the management filed the writ petition.
Mr.Justice Chandru said that in the light of legal precedents and factual matrix involved in the case, the Labour Court’s award called for interference. In a light-hearted fashion it had granted the relief without even discussing the nature of the employee’s misconduct.





Legal Aid Cell building opened
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020851430300.htm
Special Correspondent
VILLUPURAM: Madras High Court Judge M. Jayapal on Saturday inaugurated the Legal Aid Cell building constructed at a cost of Rs. 6 lakh at Tindivanam near here.
Tindivanam MP K. Dhanraj had allotted funds from the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) Funds.
Mr. Justice Jayapal said that till December 31, 2008 a total of 39,019 Lok Adalats were held in the State. Through these sessions, 3,88,917 cases were adjudicated and compensation of over Rs. 1,631 crore given. As many as 34,019 legal awareness camps were held in villages and 8,02,930 applications received.
As of now, there were 26 Legal Aid Cells in Tamil Nadu. Mr. Justice Jayapal said that for want of judges, over three crore cases were pending disposal across the country.
He stressed the need for conducting more legal awareness camps.
Lok Adalats had enabled the economically weaker sections to get justice at their doorstep.
Villupuram Collector R. Palanisamy had allotted a three-acre land for setting up an integrated court complex in Tindivanam. Mr. Justice Jayapal felt that in the wake of the growing population and increasing number of litigations, there was need for more courts. Hence, an integrated court complex might need at least 10 acres, he said.
He wished that the Collector would identity the required land within a month.
Legal Aid Committee member Judge T. Madhavan said that the Legal Aid Cells were formed to enable the poor and the downtrodden get justice.
Mr. Dhanraj said that from the MPLAD funds, he had taken up 350 works. The most important works were construction of protective walls in vulnerable coastal areas and installation of lightning arrestors, because on an average, 25 persons were killed in lightning in the district.





Advocates held in Perambalur
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020854660600.htm
Staff Reporter
PERAMBALUR: The police arrested a group of advocates who are said to have assembled to express their resentment over non-recognition of their newly floated association, moments before the inauguration of the Combined Court building here on Saturday.
Police said the advocates had assembled to express their dissent against the chairman of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry reportedly for not heeding to the demand for the new association’s recognition.
Police said the advocates who had come in a procession to the function spot were arrested as a preventive measure to ensure smooth conduct of the inaugural function that was addressed by the Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court S.J. Mukhopadhaya, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology A. Raja, V. Dhanapalan, Judge, Madras High Court, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Chairman R.K. Chandramohen and the Collectors of Perambalur and Ariyalur districts.
The sources said all the 43 arrested advocates were later released in the evening.




Company barred from interfering with possession of flat
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020854200500.htm
K.T.Sangameswaran
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has granted an interim injunction, restraining a public limited company and another person from interfering with the possession and enjoyment of a flat in T.Nagar hereby a person who has filed a suit, and also from alienating the property to third parties.
In his applications in a civil suit, R.Palanisubramanian contended that he entered into a sale agreement in September 2005 with Trans Medica (India) Ltd (earlier, Trans Plastic (India) Ltd.,), represented by its Managing Director, which was the owner of the flat on Vasan Street.
Against the sale consideration of Rs.12 lakh, Rs.10 lakh was paid as advance to enable the company obtain original title deeds of the suit property from the bank by clearing the equitable mortgage. He was also given possession. The agreement permitted Mr.Palanisubramanian either to use the property for his own purpose or to lease it out to a third party. He leased out the property in 2007.
Attempt at dispossession
He said in May 2008 there was an attempt to dispossess the tenant. Enquiries revealed that the company had sold the property to R.Ramasubramanian in April 2008, completely suppressing the subsistence of the sale agreement with him.
In its counter, the company said no agreement of sale was entered into between the applicant and the company in 2005. The advance of Rs.10 lakh was not received.
Allowing the applications, Justice M.Jeyapaul said that there was a specific clause in the sale agreement of September 2005, which referred to the equitable mortgage already created by the company.
The applicant could not have been in possession of certified copies of the title deeds relating to the suit property and the company’s Memorandum of Articles of Association unless they were handed over by the company.
Those documents were produced for the court’s perusal. The company had not explained how those documents landed in the applicant’s custody. There was also a clause that the possession had been delivered to Mr.Palanisubramanian and could be used by him or be leased out to any third party.
Mr.Justice Jeyapaul said it had also been established prima facie that the applicant was in possession of the suit property through his tenant.
No document was filed to reject the voluminous evidence produced by the applicant to establish delivery of possession and also continuous possession of the property from the date of sale agreement entered into between him and the company.





Quack, ‘lawyer’ held near Theni
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020854950700.htm
Special Correspondent
MADURAI: In a case of cheating and impersonation, a 53-year-old woman homoeopathy practitioner and her accomplice, a school dropout, were arrested by the Crime Branch – Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) police at Allinagaram in Theni district on Friday.
Following a complaint from the State Human Rights Commission, the Director General of Police directed the CB-CID police to register a case. Investigation revealed that Sheela Rajendran (53) of Allinagaram, was running a private homoeopathy clinic in the town, claiming herself as the president of Theni District Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum and Theni District Consumer and Human Rights Protection Centre.
She allegedly possessed bogus letter pads and seals of many public offices such as SHRC, police said.
It was found that along with Sheela Rajendran, a ninth standard dropout, Murugan (35) of Palanichettypatti, claimed himself to be a practicing lawyer and received petitions from public as the secretary of the Theni District Consumer and Human Rights Protection Centre.
The duo received complaints and grievances from public at the dispensary at regular intervals.
In some cases, they had allegedly held ‘arbitration’ into the disputes with the counter petitioners and delivered their verdict and received money from both sides.
On July 8, 2008, Ramkumar from Bungalowmedu lodged a complaint with the duo alleging that the officials of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board levied excess amounts as tariff.
Both Sheela Rajendran and her accomplice Murugan had prepared a fake order directing the Divisional Engineer, TNEB, Theni, to pay a sum of Rs. 50,000 to the petitioner Ramkumar as compensation.
The order was issued in the name of Sankaranarayanan as the president, Theni District Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum.




Combined Court building inaugurated at Perambalur
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020854150500.htm
Staff Reporter
Project completed in 14 months, a month ahead of target
PERAMBALUR: A Combined Court building within the sprawling Master plan complex here was inaugurated by the Acting Chief Justice, Madras High Court, Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya on Saturday.
Constructed at a cost of Rs.8.75 crore on a total plinth area of 7,812 square metres, the building accommodates the District and Sessions Court, Mahila Court, Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, District Munsif, Judicial Magistrate and Additional Courts with chambers.
It also houses the Bar Association, library, separate rooms for records and property besides public waiting hall, police waiting, prisoners lock up room, banking service, advocate clerk’s room and a recreation hall.
The foundation stone for the combined court building was laid in July 2007 and the project has been completed within 14 months - one month in advance of the target period. Quarters have also been constructed to house Judges and Magistrates within the Master plan complex as part of the project. Speaking on the occasion, Acting Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya said that the disposal of cases in Perambalur was more than filing of cases. The credit for this goes to the Judicial Officers, he said adding that this could not have been possible without the cooperation of the lawyers. In his special address, the Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology A. Raja said after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam assumed power funds had been sanctioned for construction of government buildings with a view to improving infrastructure. In several districts, court buildings are coming up, he said adding that funds to the tune of Rs.300 crore had been sanctioned by the State Government for construction of various court buildings.
Over 200 Judicial Officers and 100 Assistant Public Prosecutors posts had been filled up after the DMK came to power, he said. The Union Minister donated Rs.One lakh from the Trust started in the name of his parents for purchase of books for the court library.
Justice V. Dhanapalan, Judge, Madras High Court said supremacy of the rule of law was absolutely essential for the working of democracy. The objective behind construction of any court complex or building was to ensure every person have the access to equal, prompt, effective, efficient and unimpeded process of justice.
Justice Dhanapalan said that the number of cases instituted in Perambalur during 2007 was 7,659 and the disposal for the said period was 7,942 cases. In 2008, as many as 18,881 cases were instituted and 18,983 cases were disposed.
E-governance had been introduced in the Judiciary.
The Perambalur Collector Anil Meshram, Ariyalur Collector R. Sudalai Kannan, Principal District and Sessions Judge, Perambalur R. Dakshinamurthy, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, chairman, R.K. Chandramohen, Chief Engineer (Buildings), PWD, Chennai S. Muniyasamy and Perambalur Bar Association president E. Valluvan Nambi spoke.




‘Attack on personal liberty is human rights violation: Nayak
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020854580500.htm
Staff Correspondent
KOLAR: Karnataka State Human Rights Commission chairman S.R. Nayak on Saturday expressed concern over some forces creating anarchy in the State by taking law into their hands.
Mr. Nayak was inaugurating a workshop-cum-seminar on human rights organised by Central Range Police at Devaraj Urs Medical College auditorium here on Saturday.
Apparently referring to the activities of the pro-Hindutva outfits such as Sri Rama Sene, Mr. Nayak took a dig at the Police Department and Home Minister V.S. Acharya for remaining a silent spectator in connection with all these developments.
Attacks on women at a pub in Mangalore, bid to abduct a girl in Mangalore on Friday, the custodial death in a Bangalore police station, threat to disrupt Valentine’s Day celebrations and likewise were a gross violation of human rights, Mr. Nayak said. The police in the State had failed to perform their duties in all these cases, he said.
“Although ours is a democratic country, some individuals and organisations are taking the law directly into their hands which doesn’t augur well for society,” he said. “It is the need of the hour to create awareness among police and public about the human rights,” the judge said.
Participating as chief guest, Director-General of Police (CoD) D.V. Guruprasad regretted that the frequent violation of human rights by the police had brought bad name for the country.
“It is time for introspection in this regard,” Mr. Guruprasad said.
Inspector-General of Police (Central Range) Kamalpant and Superintendent of Police K.P. Puttaswamy and were present.





‘RTI Act an effective tool to fight corruption’
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020853270300.htm
Special Correspondent
GULBARGA: Judge of the Karnataka High Court D.V. Shylendra Kumar on Saturday said that the Right to Information (RTI) Act was an effective tool to fight corruption in public life.
Speaking after inaugurating a workshop on the Right to Information Act, organised by the District Legal Services Authority, Gulbarga Bar Association and Siddartha Law College, here, Mr. Kumar dwelt in detail about the Act and how effectively it could be used to ensure that welfare measures introduced by the government reached the targeted sections.
The government was not in a position to ensure food security to all citizens, he said and added that other basic requirements such as shelter, education and healthcare were still a far cry for a majority of people in the country.
Mr. Kumar said that successive governments had launched several welfare programmes directed to help the poor and underprivileged people. However, all these programmes could not change the lives of the poor mainly due to uncontrolled population growth and unresponsive bureaucracy which failed to properly implement these schemes. He said that students of law and advocates had a greater responsibility in ensuring that awareness was created among people about their rights.
High Court judge K.N. Keshava Narayan, who presided over the inaugural function, said that the authority had been doing yeoman service to people by creating awareness about the Act. Principal District and Sessions Judge H.S. Ramanna welcomed and secretary of the Bar association Raju Kadaganchi proposed a vote of thanks.




NHRC notice to Bihar
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020857410400.htm
J. Balaji
NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary and Food and Consumer Protection Secretary of the Bihar government to submit a status report, within four weeks, on remedial measures taken to curb black marketing of food articles and kerosene meant for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
The Commission acted on a complaint by Kush Kumar Singh, president of Shiv Sena, Asthawa, Nalanda district, Bihar, alleging that in a sub-division of Nalanda district the Block Development Officer and the Circle Officer had been black-marketing the articles instead of supplying them to BPL families under the Antodaya and Poshahar Yojana schemes of the government. He even alleged that a number of persons had died of starvation in 2005.
Later, the Commission issued notice to the government and Bihar denied the charges and said the persons had died of illness. However the complainant reiterated his allegations. Again the NHRC directed the Chief Secretary and the Food Secretary to inquire into the complaint and the government, after a probe held by a joint secretary, accepted that there were indeed some irregularities in the supply of food articles at a few PDS shops. It also explained the action the government intended to take against the erring employees and remedial measures it proposed to implement to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
The Commission expressed satisfaction at the action taken to curb black-marketing of the food articles and now wanted to know the present status on the issue from the Bihar government.




Poor response to ban on smoking
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020851860300.htm
Serena Josephine M.
Several educational institutions are yet to put up boards
Many government offices, schools, colleges, hotels are not aware of it: official
Government offices, including the Secretariat, do not have such boards even at the entrance
PUDUCHERRY: Four months after the nationwide ban on smoking in public places came into effect, majority of educational institutions and government offices in Puducherry are yet to comply with the rules.
Except government hospitals and a few colleges, the ban has not taken off in full swing in the Union Territory.
The Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008 of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, came into force on October 2, 2008. However, officials of the Health Department said many were still not aware of the ban, including government officials, government and private educational institutions and hotels.
A large number of schools and colleges, both government and private, are yet to put up boards banning tobacco in the vicinity of the institution.
The Act notes that sale of tobacco products within a radius of 100 yards of educational institutions was an offence and boards notifying the same should be installed.
However, only a few institutions including Mother Theresa Post Graduate and Research Institute of Health Sciences (MTPG AND RIHS) of the government and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) have erected such boards.
At MTPG and RIHS, the board carried the message “No smoking area. Smoking here is an offence” in English and Tamil, while JIPMER has put a board, “JIPMER is a tobacco-free institution. Sale of tobacco products is banned within 100 yards of JIPMER”.
Puducherry gazette
A senior official said, “The law has been published in the Puducherry gazette. Yet, government offices, schools, colleges and even hotels are not aware of it. Many have still not complied with the rules. The Health Department had supplied four boards each to every hospital and government hospitals have put up the no smoking signboards.”
In fact, major government offices including the Secretariat do not have such boards even at the entrance.
The State National Service Scheme (NSS) cell had sent circulars to institutions with NSS units for implementation of the ban on smoking and installation of boards by January 1. However, the initiative received poor response, said State Liaison Officer NSS E.M. Rajan.
In fact, circulars were sent to a total of 185 educational institutions including 34 colleges, four technical colleges, 12 teacher training institutes, 74 higher secondary schools and 58 high schools in all four regions of the Union Territory which had NSS units.
“Of this, only 10 institutions responded to the circular and were declared tobacco-free institutions. Even girls schools and women colleges have not come forward to be declared tobacco-free. We took the initiative to ban tobacco in all schools and colleges on voluntary basis. We could not succeed due to lack of positive response from heads of institutions,” he said.
Members of various schools said that they were not aware of such a rule and did not receive any direction from the Directorate of School Education.
Officials of the directorate said they were planning to send circulars to all schools indicating the model of boards specifying the size and contents.



Justice for poor requires bigger role of state Govts: SC
http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/4B153801F4B39A3C65257555004B67D6?OpenDocument

New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) Providing justice to poor and weaker sections requires state governments to educate them and create new courts by using central funds, the Supreme Court today said while pointing towards the problems faced by them in courts."The Centre can only make allocation of funds. It is for the states to create infrastructure of courts," a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said.It said backwardness in education was the main reason for the underprivileged not being properly defended in the courts."Most important thing is the education. Unless education level is improved, i.E the primary, secondary and higher education the problem will continue," the Bench, also comprising Justice P Sathasivam, said.It said that National Judicial Academy has made a study and found that educated people are rushing to courts for asserting their rights.It said the economic criteria was not the only reason to suggest that people cannot afford to fight their case.The bench said despite having a panel of lawyers in state legal aid, legal services authority etc, people who can't afford advocates do not make full use of courts."They don't want to take service of these bodies as they want to have a lawyer of their choice," the Bench said. PTI




Wife of CISF personnel moves NHRC
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=243194
Statesman News ServiceANGUL, Feb. 6: Mrs B Maheswari, wife of a head constable in Central Industrial Security Force, has moved the National Human Rights Commission after her pleas with the local police against harassment by CISF jawans fell on deaf ears.She had pleaded for protection and against stern action against errant officials who had repeatedly entered her house in the absence of her husband and harassed her.The colliery police with whom the complaint has been filed by the distressed family a week ago is sitting silent pushing the hapless family to seek the help of NHRC. The inspector in charge Mr BS Udgata admitted to have received the complaint and said he had asked one assistant sub inspector of TTPs police station to enquire.Mrs Maheswari, the wife of the head constable serving at CISF unit at Talcher Thermal Power station in her letter to NHRC chairman on 31 January alleged that in the absence of her husband, armed CISF constables and at times officers intruded her residence, used filthy languages and made unnecessary enquiries. On 1 February a CISF officer came to her residences and passed highly objectionable remarks about her and her 10 year old son .Terrified Mrs Maheswari has said that she and her family are in a great stress and undergoing mental agony due to repeated incursions to her residential house by armed CISF staff without any reason to intimidate the helpless family. They felt unsafe and there was no remedy even by approaching the superiors, she mentioned in her letter.When contacted, the commandant of CISF Mr SK Sinha said that he had asked his officials at TTPS to check on the veracity of the allegations.




SC dismisses excise dept's plea against Nestle India
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200902081353.htm
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has dismissed a a petition challenging a tribunal's verdict that quashed the penalty of more than Rs one crore imposed by the excise department on Nestle India for "suppression of facts" on its chocolate brand 'Milky Bar Choo'.
A bench headed by Justice S.B. Sinha denied relief to the excise department, which alleged that the sectoral tribunal's decision to set aside the penalty was contrary to the Central Excise Act, 1944.
Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran alleged that Nestle was clearing its chocolate brand at a concessional duty rate of 8 per cent by declaring it as a sugar confectionery.
The authorities had issued showcause notice to the chocolate major in April 2007 asking the firm why it should be allowed to take benefit under notification 6/2002 of March 1, 2002. It had asked the company to pay the differential duty of more than Rs one crore in September 2007 and a penalty of an equal amount for "suppressing facts".
Aggrieved by the demand order, Nestle had moved the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, which held that the firm was not entitled to the benefit as Milky Bar Choo attracted duty at the rate of 16 per cent ad valorem.