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Lawyer Practising at Supreme Court of India. Court Experience: Criminal, Civil & PIL (related to Property, Tax, Custom & Duties, MVAC, insurance, I.P.R., Copyrights & Trademarks, Partnerships, Labour Disputes, etc.) Socio-Legal: Child Rights, Mid Day Meal Programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, Women Rights, Against Female Foeticide, P.R.Is, Bonded Labour, Child labour, Child marriage, Domestic violence, Legal Literacy, HIV/AIDS, etc. Worked for Legal Aid/Advise/Awareness/Training/Empowerment/Interventions/Training & Sensitisation.

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Sunday, November 22, 2009

LEGAL NEWS 22.11.2009

CEC has no jurisdiction to decide on mining dispute: OMC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/CEC-has-no-jurisdiction-to-decide-on-mining-dispute-OMC/articleshow/5256127.cms
TNN 22 November 2009, 06:32am IST
HYDERABAD: Obulapuram Mining Company stated on Saturday that the boundary disputes between two mining companies was not the concern of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) appointed by the Supreme Court and that the observations and recommendations made by it in its report submitted to the apex court on Friday was contrary to the judgments of the AP High Court and also the Supreme Court. In a statement here on Saturday, B V Srinivas Reddy, MD of Obulapuram Mining Company, said the SC committee has not dealt with any issues relating to environment. "There is no green issue involved. The boundary dispute between two private companies is not the concern of the Central Empowered Committee. The boundary dispute is already adjudicated by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in W.A.No.1540/2008. This judgment has become final, since no party has preferred any appeal against the same." OMC held that the CEC's report of Friday is without jurisdiction since the Supreme Court never directed the committee to submit such a report. "Unless and until the Supreme Court receives the report and approve the recommendations with or without modifications, it is not a report in the eye of law. The observations and recommendations unless and until are approved by the Supreme Court, which may or may not approve the same, continue to be the views of CEC and cannot be called as an order of the Supreme Court," the mining company said.







CBI denies information on Quattrocchi sought under RTI
http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/74211.htm
November 22nd, 2009 SindhToday
New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been investigating the Bofors gun payoff scandal, has refused to reveal any information sought under the Right to Information (RTI) about Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, stating that it “would impede the process of apprehension and prosecution of the accused”.
The information was sought by a Supreme Court lawyer, Ajay K. Agrawal, after the CBI had moved an application before a court here last month to quash all charges against Quattrocchi in the two-decade-old case, saying it cannot be kept pending forever as attempts to extradite him have failed in the past.
In his RTI application filed last month, Agrawal had asked for all documents, manuscripts, notings and files pertaining to the de-freezing of the accounts of Quattrocchi and his wife at a bank in London. Agrawal had also filed a petition in the court against the withdrawal of the case by the CBI.
CBI, however, refused to divulge any information.
“… As the criminal case against Ottavio Quattrocchi is pending trial in the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi, and various other petitions relating in the case are pending before (Delhi) High Court and Supreme Court, the documents and information asked for can neither be provided nor allowed to be inspected… as the same would impede the process of apprehension and prosecution of the accused,” the investigation agency said in its reply to Agrawal.
He had also sought information/records including all advices, opinions and notings of officials and law officers that led to withdrawal of the Red Corner Notice against Quattrocchi.
“Right from the prime minister to other ministers, all are making statements that there is no case against Quattrocchi. If that is the case, then why is the CBI shying from making public all the papers regarding his case,” Agrawal told IANS.
“The reasons are obvious, as his proximity to the Gandhi family has led to the CBI withdrawing the case despite the fact that there is ample documentary evidence received from different countries against him,” Agrawal said.
On Nov 6, a city court deferred till March 31 next year a decision on the CBI’s plea to withdraw Quattrocchi’s name from the Bofors case.
“It is a peculiar case of its kind and a glaring example of government sponsored corruption. The CBI and the entire government has shown utter disregard for the Indian courts including the apex court. Malaysian and Argentinian court orders were made the basis for the application for withdrawal of prosecution against Quattrocchi, while the orders of the Indian Supreme Court and Delhi High Court passed against Quattrocchi were disregarded,” he added.
Agrawal further said: “One of the reasons being given in the withdrawal application is that it is a 19 year old case and so it should be shut. If this reasoning is accepted, then the country’s criminal justice system will collapse and general amnesty should be given to all undertrials languishing in jails awaiting their trial.”
Quattrocchi was accused in the case relating to the alleged payment of Rs.640 million as commission in the 1987 howitzer deal. He was known to be close to the late Rajiv Gandhi, who was prime minister in 1987 when the bribery scandal broke, and his wife Sonia. Quattrocchi was named in a CBI chargesheet in 1999 as the conduit for the Bofors bribe and accused of receiving millions of dollars in commission for helping fix the $1.4 billion gun deal. [LM1]





HC imposes cost of Rs 20,000 on AIIMS
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/37298/hc-imposes-cost-rs-20000.html
New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI)
The Delhi High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 20,000 on the AIIMS for denying counselling opportunity to a meritorious reserved category candidate, who first opted for a general seat in a second round of counselling against OBC quota.
Justice Anil Kumar said the premier medical institute cannot deny a candidate of reserved category from taking the benefit of counselling under both categories concurrently."The merit cannot be permitted to become demerit as otherwise this will frustrate the very purpose and object of reservation policy," the court said.The court passed the order on a petition filed by an OBC candidate Manish Patnecha who was denied an opportunity to sit for counselling against OBC quota after he had opted for a seat against the general category.During the second counselling, he sought to appear against OBC quota so that he could get admission in a subject of his choice but the AIIMS debarred him, saying that it would block two seats.Aggrieved by the denial, he approached the High Court saying a higher ranked candidate belonging to reserved category should not suffer a deprivation in the choices of either a seat or an institution of his choice vis-a-vis a lesser merited candidate of the same social class by operation of reservation principle.The court, after perusing the Bulletin of Information, said that the practice of the AIIMS was in contrary to the procedure of allocating seats prescribed in the prospectus."The method and procedure for allocation of seats as detailed in the prospectus does not stipulate that a candidate who opts for a general seat in the first counselling provisionally is not to be allowed to opt for a reserved category seat in the second counselling," the court said.The AIIMS contended that the practice of not permitting reserved category meritorious candidates, who participated in the counselling for the general category and allotted seat therein, was continuous ever since the counselling was started.However, the court rejecting contention of the AIIMS said, "A practice is in vogue ever since the process of counselling was started, will not be a ground to act contrary to procedure for allocation of seat as detailed in the prospectus.""As a reserved candidate on the basis of his merit in the general category, the petitioner was entitled for a seat, however, his option for a seat in general category could not be worked out to his disadvantage so as to be placed on a more disadvantageous position than the other less meritorious reserved category candidates," it said.The court, however, declined to direct the institute for re-counselling saying, "In the circumstances, the AIIMS cannot be directed to have second counselling again and allot the seat of petitioner's choice and cancel the allocation of the seat to another candidate."






HC upholds Goa varsity teachers retirement at 58
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/HC-upholds-Goa-varsity-teachers-retirement-at-58/articleshow/5256605.cms
TNN 22 November 2009, 06:13am IST
PANAJI: The high court of Bombay at Goa has dismissed petitions challenging the decision of the government to retire Goa University (GU) teachers at the age of 58, following the passing of Goa University (Amendment) Act, 2002. Professor A K Joshi and reader Joe D'Souza had approached the court and submitted that they were entitled to continue in service till the age of 60 as GU had undertaken to protect their service conditions after they were absorbed in service from Bombay University. The petitioners explained that they were absorbed in GU from Centre of Post Graduation Instruction (CPIR) at Panaji, under Bombay University, by virtue of an agreement dated June 9, 1987. Subsequently, in its statute, GU prescribed the superannuation age to be 60, akin to the retirement age of teachers in Bombay University, the petitioners stated. They argued that as the retirement age of teachers of Bombay University still continues to be 60 years, the state government had committed breach of the agreement by reducing the age of superannuation to 58 years. The petitioners also brought to the notice of the court that after the government realized that reduction in retirement age will lead to waste of talent and experience, the Goa University (Amendment) Act, 2006 was passed and the retirement age of teachers was again fixed at 60 years.During the hearing of the case, advocate general Subodh Kantak argued that under the agreement the total emoluments to be received by the petitioners after their absorption by GU was protected and not the age of retirement. Rejecting the petition, a division bench comprising Justice V K Tahilramani and Justice N A Britto observed that the agreement provided the service conditions would be the same as those of Bombay University, until they were revised by GU with a further rider that they could be revised in line with service conditions of Goa government employees. Determination of the age of retirement is a matter of policy of the employer and courts cannot venture in their path, the court said. "That the legislature has again extended it to 60 years in 2006 is entirely a different matter and the petitioners who retired after the first amendment, cannot derive any benefit of the same," the court observed.








HC criticises lower courts for delaying adoption cases
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/HC-criticises-lower-courts-for-delaying-adoption-cases/articleshow/5256433.cms
A Subramani, TNN 22 November 2009, 03:32am IST
CHENNAI: Slamming subordinate courts for inordinate delay in disposing of adoption and guardianship cases, the Madras high court has said that they must clear such cases with the utmost sensitivity and diligence. As on date more than 970 cases, filed under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act and the Guardians and Wards Act, are pending before various courts in Tamil Nadu. Many of them are pending since 2006. Delivering the order in a guardianship case on Friday, Justice K Chandru said that the Supreme Court had laid down a timeframe of two months to conclude such cases. Scores of cases were pending for more than three years in some courts in the state. “It is a disquieting factor to see that the current pendency of cases in some districts show an alarming picture and slackness in dealing with such matters, despite the binding law laid down by the Supreme Court,” he said. Such defiance shown by district courts should not be tolerated by the HC, which should take a serious view of the matter, Justice Chandru said. The case relates to a petition filed by N John in 1999, seeking to be appointed guardian of his cousin’s two minor children. The parents of the children had died and John, a retired government employee, and his wife had been taking care of them, the petition said.





HC must have special Benches for cyber cases’
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/27211402.htm
KOCHI: There is a need to set up special Benches in the High Court for hearing cases relating to human rights violations, cyber crimes and economic offences, the Kerala Home Minister, Mr Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, said on Saturday.
“Cyber cases are increasing in the state. Lot of problems on this issue has come up before police. A cyber cell has been formed, which was working well. But when cases are registered, problems arise,’’ he said.
The laws which have gone obsolete needs to be amended and there should be an intervention from the judiciary in this regard, he said in his inaugural address at a seminar on ‘Development of Law and Justice Perspective’, organised as part of the Kerala Hi gh Court day celebrations.
The Government was actively considering the Krishna Iyer commission report on law reforms. But due to many reasons, this process was getting delayed. The legislature was not spending sufficient time for law making process, he lamented. — PTI



CJI for joint international probe into terrorist acts
http://trak.in/news/cji-for-joint-international-probe-into-terrorist-acts/26168/
by Indo Asian News Service on November 21, 2009
New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) Chief Justice of India (CJI) K.G. Balakrishnan Saturday endorsed a suggestion for joint international probes into acts of terrorism and trial of terrorists by a supranational tribunal such as the International Criminal Court.
Balakrishnan supported the idea in his inaugural address to a two-day-long International Conference of Jurists on the issue of terrorism at Vigyan Bhavan here. It was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil.
The conference was attended by Singapore Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong and Justice Awn S. Al-Khasawneh of the International Court of Justice and Union Minister for Law and Justice M. Veerappa Moily.
Balakrishnan supported the idea of international probes into acts of terrorism, while dwelling upon the reluctance of some countries to act against terrorists operating from their soil due to the local support enjoyed by such terror outfits.
‘To tackle such circumstances, there has been a constructive suggestion that terrorist attacks should be treated as a unique form of armed conflict,’ said Balakrishnan.
‘And in such situations of armed conflict, obligations can be placed on all nations to collaborate in the investigation and prosecution of people responsible for terrorist attacks, irrespective of the location of the attacks or the nationality of the perpetrators,’ the CJI told the conference.
‘This calls for a blurring of the distinction between the international and domestic nature of armed conflict when it comes to terrorist strikes,’ the CJI added.
Endorsing the trial of terrorists at international tribunals, the CJI said, ‘Another suggestion is that of treating terrorist attacks as offences recognised under International Criminal Law, such as ‘crimes against humanity’ which can then be tried before a supranational tribunal such as the International Criminal Court.’
‘The obvious practical problem with this suggestion, however, is that prosecutions before this court need to be initiated by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the latter may be reluctant to do so in instances of one-off terrorist attacks as opposed to continuing conflicts,’ the CJI added.
The CJI also called for restraint by the media, specially visual, in round-the-clock telecast of the scenes of terror attacks, saying this leads to considerable amplification of ‘the symbolic impact of terrorist attacks on the minds of ordinary citizens’.
‘The proliferation of 24-hour TV news channels and the digital medium has ensured that quite often some disturbing images and statements reach a wide audience within a short span of time. One of the ill effects of unrestrained coverage is that it can provoke a disproportionate level of anger among the masses,’ he added.
Terming terrorism as ‘a global problem, calling for a global response’, President Patil too endorsed global counter-terrorism efforts while squarely laying the responsibility to contain acts of terrorism on the country where the terrorists operate.
‘Terrorism easily transcends borders and thus becomes a transnational crime. Being a crime against humanity, it ought to be recognised as a common enemy of all nations. Terror threat against one is a threat against all,’ she said.
‘The global counter-terrorism efforts may be an arduous and lengthy campaign but must persistently target the entire global network. Countries must individually own up the responsibilities as must the international community in collectively defeating terrorism and not deflect responsibility on to non-state actors,’ said Patil.
‘The responsibility to deal with them lies with the state from which they operate as it is the sanctuary, support and finances that they receive which sustains their heinous and perverse acts,’ she added.





CJI flays ‘pervasive’ media coverage of terror attacks
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cji-flays-pervasive-media-coverage-of-terror-attacks/544662/0
Express news service
Posted: Sunday , Nov 22, 2009 at 0320 hrs New Delhi:
Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan Saturday criticised the media for its “pervasive” coverage of terror attacks, saying it could provoke “disproportionate level of anger and irrational desire for retribution”.
“While it is fair for the media to criticise inadequacies in the security and law enforcement apparatus, there is also a possibility that resentment fuelled by media coverage can turn into an irrational desire for retribution,” the CJI said while speaking at a two-day International Conference of Jurists on Terrorism, which began here on Saturday. Balakrishnan said the symbolic impact of terrorist attacks on the minds of ordinary citizens had been considerably amplified by pervasive media coverage. “The proliferation of 24-hour news channels and the digital medium has ensured that quite often some disturbing images and statements reach a wide audience within a short span of time,” he said.
For instance, the CJI said, if terrorist strikes were attributed to individuals belonging to a certain ethnic or religious community then it may result in “unreasonable discrimination and retaliation” against ordinary members of that community. He said such a trend was clearly visible in US in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and has been the cause of communal violence in many instances in India.
Justice Balakrishnan said legal response to terrorism must be founded on a rational understanding of the underlying causes for such extremist behaviour. Knee-jerk responses such as clamping down on civil liberties or a spate of arbitrary arrests and increased surveillance over citizens can prove to be counter-productive, he added.
In such an atmosphere, the CJI said, it is only through calm deliberation and mutual tolerance that the legal systems of different nations can work together to tackle this problem.
President Pratibha Patil, Law Minister Veerappa Moily and eminent jurists from various countries, including Justice Awn S Al-Khasawneh of the International Court of Justice and Justice Chan Sek Keong, Chief Justice of Singapore, were also present at the conference.
Saudi envoy walks out after Ram Jethmalani’s remark
Saudi Arabian Ambassador to India, Faisal-al-Trad, Saturday walked out of an international conference of jurists here after former Union Minister Ram Jethmalani accused the Wahabi sect, to which the Saudi royal dynasty belongs to, of being responsible for terrorism.
Trad left the conference hall after Jethmalani said at the inaugural function of the conference that “unfortunately in the 17th century, they produced an evil man in Saudi Arabia by the name of Wahab, who was concerned about the decline of the Muslim world but he hit upon a wrong remedy”. The Ambassador, however, returned to the conference after Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily made it clear that Jethmalani’s remarks were personal and not that of the government.
While Jethmalani alleged that “Wahabi terrorism” indoctrinated “rubbish” in the minds of young people to carry out terrorist attacks and lamented that India had friendly relations with a country that supported Wahabi terrorism, Moily said terrorism could not be attributed to any particular religion.
Jethmalani said there had been Hindu terrorists and Buddhist terrorists and it was unfortunate that “the terrorist that the world is talking about is mainly Muslim”. “But let me make it clear that I am a student of all religions including Islam. I have the highest respect for the prophet of Islam, he was a man of peace,” he added.




Plea against transmission tower
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Plea+against+transmission+tower+on+Moula+Ali+Roc&artid=qfdTQq71Djk=&SectionID=xAV59odivTs=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=BUzPVSKuYv7MFxnS0yZ7ng==&SEO=

By Our Legal Correspondent
First Published : 21 Nov 2009 09:19:21 AM IST
Last Updated : 21 Nov 2009 11:19:36 AM IST

HYDERABAD: A Division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice AR Dave and Justice CV Nagarjuna Reddy on Friday issued notice to the government and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority to respond to a writ petition questioning the permission for construction of a tower on the Moula Ali Rock.
The petitioner, Apna Watan and Society to Save Rocks, said the transmission receiving tower on a rock was an insensitive approach to saving the rocks which was near the Moula Ali Dargah.The government has been given four weeks’ time to respond.
Land fee exemption to Kakinada SEZ challenged
The bench ordered issuance of notice on a writ petition questioning the exemption granted by the State Government to the Kakinada SEZ for payment of conversion fee for land use.
Watch Voice of People, an NGO, moved the court questioning the government order of Nov 10 which exempted the Kakinada SEZ from paying the fee for an extent of 8,321 acres. The petitioner contended that the total exemption was larger than the land notified for the SEZ initially.
The petitioner also pointed out that 60 per cent of SEZ land was for processing and 40 per cent for other purpose. Such an exemption under the AP Agricultural Land Conversion Act was only for the 60 per cent.
Even the manner in which the notification was issued was in violation of law, the petition said.
Recruit or shut down, Kakatiya varsity told
A division bench comprising Justice G Raghuram and Justice Ramesh Ranganathan faulted the Kakatiya University for not recruiting necessary staff on a permanent basis for its Informatics department. ``Recruit or shut down,’’ the bench said.
A writ petition was filed by a research scholar in economics Sridhar Kumar Lodha who said the department did not have professors and assistant professors.
Saying that a full-time faculty was not a ritual, the bench observed that not having it was subversion of academic standards.
It granted four weeks’ time to the university to complete its ongoing recruitment process and fill up faculty posts on a permanent basis.
Order for halt to work on Shamshabad burial ground
Justice CV Ramulu directed the Shamshabad municipality not to proceed with the construction of a burial ground. The petitioner, Sujata Bai, complained that the authorities cannot build a crematorium wherever they wanted and particularly in a residential area. The action was also challenged on the ground that construction of crematorium without a proper notification was illegal.
Nizamabad agency’s plea for EPIC work payment
The judge granted two weeks’ time to the authorities to respond to a complaint of its failure to make payments for production of electronic photo ID cards (EPIC) for voters in Nizamabad.
Sai Tirumala Agency, which had made the electronic photo ID cards in Nizamabad, said that even after the elections and the use of the IDs, the government was not clearing the bill of Rs 78 lakh. Tirumaleshwari, representing the agency, said even a legal notice failed to move the authorities which, instead of making payment, raised flippant quarries.






We were not given a hearing: Reddy’s mining firm
http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/74038.htm
November 21st, 2009 SindhToday
Bangalore, Nov 21 (IANS) Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), owned by rebel Karnataka Tourism Minister G. Janaradhan Reddy, Saturday said it was not given an opportunity to present its version by the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which recommended the controversial firm be asked stop illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh.
“The committee had no jurisdiction to submit such a report as there was no direction from the Supreme Court to that effect. The CEC is not even a party to the writ petition,” company managing director B.V. Srinivas Reddy said in a statement from Hyderabad.
In its report, submitted to the apex court, the committee said OMC had encroached upon mineral-rich areas outside their mining leases and was carrying out large-scale illegal mining in non-allotted reserved forest areas adjoining Obalapuram and H.Siddapuram villages in the border district of Ananthapur in Andhra Pradesh.
Terming the report hasty and biased, the company said the committee’s observations and recommendations were made without giving it an opportunity to present its version of facts.
“It is an ex-parte report since OMC was not heard before making such a report,” the company said in the statement.
The company also accused the committee of preparing the report unilaterally despite the Andhra Pradesh government requesting it Oct 5 to issue notices to it and other affected parties.
“For instance, it is clear that the prayers extracted in the first page of the CEC report and its recommendations have no relationship,” the company pointed out.
As the matter is sub-judice before the Supreme Court, the company said it was restraining from making any adverse comments on the CEC report.
Noting that the report was contrary to the Andhra Pradesh High Court judgements in 2008-09 and the Supreme Court order of Aug 24, the company said issues relating to environment were not dealt with.
“There is no green issue involved. The boundary dispute between two private firms (OMC and Bellary Iron Ores Ltd) is not the concern of CMC as the dispute is adjudicated by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Its judgement became final as no appeal was made against it,” Reddy said.
The report was prepared following a writ petition in the Supreme Court by Tapal Ganesh of Bellary in north Karnataka against illegal mining activities carried out by OMC and three other mining firms in violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act.
“Mining activities should be permitted to be resumed only after fresh demarcation of the boundaries of the mining leases was completed,” the report recommended.
Janaradhan Reddy and his elder brother and state revenue minister G. Karunakara Reddy belong to Bellary though they originally hail from Ananthapur district.
The committee also pulled up the Andhra Pradesh government for ‘over-looking’ the illegal mining activities of OMC and other firms in the reserved forest of its border district. [LM1]





High Court grants injunction to halt three-storey construction
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/11/21/high-court-grants-injunction-to-halt-three-storey-construction/
November 21, 2009 By knews
The Eccles/Ramsburg Neighbourhood Democratic Council has secured an injunction against Mookram, who is constructing a three-storey house at Eccles, and the Central Housing and Planning Authority.The injunction has halted the construction of the building on Tract ‘A’ and Tract ‘B’, Plantation Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara. The injunction was granted on Wednesday in the High Court before Justice Franklin Holder.It will remain in force until December 8 when the defendants are expected to mount a challenge.The Eccles/Ramsburg NDC through its lawyers, Anil Nandlall, Euclin Gomes, and Manoj Narayan, are contending that the three-storey building being constructed is illegal, unlawful and in breach of and contrary to the provisions of the Local Government Act, Chapter 28:02. They further contend that the Planning Permission for Building Works granted by the CHPA to Mookram to construct a commercial kitchen is unlawful, illegal, null, void and of no effect.Reasons cited in the writ for the injunction are that the defendant has encroached upon the NDC’s land; that the building application form was not properly signed by the CHPA and that the land is a main drainage reserve.Additionally, on November 17, 2009, the Public Health Inspector issued a cease order under the Public Health Ordinance directed to Mookram to cease construction with immediate effect.The said plot of land was formerly owned by the Guyana Sugar Corporation and the same included a central drainage trench which was used to drain the Peter’s Hall locality.“Upon acquisition of the said plot of land in the year 2000, the First Named Respondent/Defendant commenced land-filling of the said drainage trench and a dispute immediately arose between the Applicant/Plaintiff and the First Named Respondent/Defendant in relation thereto.“As a result, the First Named Respondent/Defendant proposed to construct certain reinforced concrete drains which would act as a substitute for the drainage trench which was being filled,” the writ stated.“The First Named Respondent/Defendant (Mookram) is now in the process of constructing what appears to be a three (3) storied edifice without making any provisions or adequate provisions for suitable drainage facility in respect of the said plot of land.”Up until the injunction Mookram refused to comply with the said Cease Order.







PIL brings to fore poor health indicators in Gujarat
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_pil-brings-to-fore-poor-health-indicators-in-gujarat_1314050
Roshan Kumar / DNA
Friday, November 20, 2009 9:56 IST
Ahmedabad: Gujarat high court has admitted a public interest litigation (PIL) with regard to the poor health indicators and gaps in health infrastructure in Gujarat. The PIL was filed by Dinesh Bagda, chairperson of village social justice committee and a resident of Amreli.
The PIL draws attention to the poor health indicators and health infrastructure in general, and is concerned with various statistical aspects highlighted by the Health Review- Gujarat 2007-08 and other surveys and heath bulletin in particular.
The Health Review-Gujarat 2007-2008 conducted by the Commissionerate, Health, Medical Services and Medical Education, Gujarat, has puts forward startling facts described as under: (I) Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) -- it is 172/lakh live birth, it means approx 24,000 (as per 2001 census) pregnant women lost their life due to maternity related reasons, which is very high. It suggests that the reach of public health services to such women, even in time of emergency, is either not accessible or not preferred by most families.
Similarly, the National Family Health Survey- III (2005-06), gives a disturbing picture of Maternal and Child health care in Gujarat. The health infrastructure in Gujarat as per the RHS Bulletin, March 2007, ministry of health & family welfare, government of India, discloses shortage of health personnel.
The PIL states that there is a vacancy of ANMs in 89 sub-centres of Amreli district alone. There exists a linear chain of poor public health infrastructure, which discourages people to avail public health facilities/services, and which in turn leads to poor public health condition.
The petitioner (Dinesh Bagda) has prepared certain data regarding the health condition of people in the state. The child mortality rate in the state is also very high. Around 1-20 children die within a year, while 1-16 children die before reaching five years of age. This apart, the infant mortality rate (IMR) in rural areas of Gujarat is 61 per cent higher than in urban areas of the state and girls face a higher mortality risk than boys. Similarly, the Ante-Natal Care (ANC) in the state is very poor; one in 8 women (13) delivers without ante-natal care. Of these 37 per cent belong to lower income group. Even when women receive ante natal care, they do not receive several other services needed to monitor their pregnancy.
Gujarat is also one of the few stateswhere full vaccination coverage has declined in the past seven years. BCG and measles vaccines have increased marginally, but the coverage of three doses of DPT and Polio has dropped. In spite of the Pulse Polio Campaign, one third of the country's children still haven't received the recommended three doses of polio vaccine.






Panchayat member files PIL against ‘poor’ health facilities
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/panchayat-member-files-pil-against-poor-health-facilities/543968/0
Express News Service
Posted: Friday , Nov 20, 2009 at 0137 hrs Ahmedabad:
An elected member of a gram panchayat in Amreli district filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Gujarat High Court on Thursday against the “poor” public health infrastructure in the state.
According to the petitioner, Dinesh Bagda, this has resulted into poor public health condition. In the petition, Bagda has cited various figures related to the general public health scenario in Gujarat from the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS), Health Review- Gujarat 2007-08 and Rural Health Statistics (RHS) Bulletin, to indicate that the infrastructure of public health service needs to be strengthened significantly.
He has highlighted the figures on health related issues like child mortality rate, perinatal mortality rate, ante-natal care (ANC), quality of ANC visits, delivery care, post natal care, vaccination, childhood illnesses, and the source of medical care in the state. He has stated that one in every 20 children dies within the first year of life, whereas, the figures of perinatal mortality reveal that there are 40 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies. At the same time, one out of eight women in the state delivers a baby without any antenatal care. Only 14 per cent of the well-to-do households use the Public Health Centres as their source of medical care.
To improve the scenario, the petitioner has demanded a direction to the state government to fill up the vacancies and shortfall of health personnel such as auxiliary nurse maids (ANMs), female health workers, male health workers, physicians, surgeons, obstetricians, gynecologists, anesthetist, pharmacists, radiologists, pediatricians and other medical health personals in line with the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS).
The court has kept the petition for hearing on November 23, according to the petitioner’s lawyer S P Majmudar.





Delhi govt favouring influential convicts: Delhi High Court
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-govt-favouring-influential-convicts-Delhi-High-Court/articleshow/5250971.cms
PTI 20 November 2009, 02:52pm IST
NEW DELHI: Taking exception to the way parole was granted to Jessica Lall murder case convict Manu Sharma, the Delhi High Court on Friday pulled up the city government for giving preferential treatment to convicts having high connections.
Justice Kailash Gambhir said that in normal cases the government takes three to six months to decide a parole application of a convict but in case of Manu Sharma it disposed off his plea within 20 days. "The list (regarding number of parole applications) depicts a dismal picture showing the government is giving least priority to parole applications of convicts. No doubt the home department has given selective treatment to some convicts because of their high connections," Justice Gambhir said. The court made the observations on a petition filed by Sumeer Singh, a convict in the Connaught Place shooting case, seeking parole for three months to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against his conviction on the ground that his family members were illiterate. The court, showing displeasure over the lax approach of the government, had on November 10 issued notice to the city government's Home Secretary to personally appear before it to explain the delay in dealing with applications of parole despite its clear directives in this regard. The court had on the last hearing on November 10 taken strong exception to the government not following its directions with regard to parole matters. "Already this court has given direction that the parole applications moved by the convicts be given due priority and the same be decided within a period of 10 days and it appears that the directions given by this court are being implemented more in violations than in compliance," the court had said. The high court had also directed the government to file a list of parole applications received by it so far this year. Sharma, who was released on parole from Tihar jail on September 22 on the ground of his mother's illness, was reportedly spotted in a nightclub in a hotel in the city, triggering a controversy. He then returned to the Tihar Jail on his own on Novemeber 10.





Gujarat HC cancels exam for civil judges
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_gujarat-hc-cancels-exam-for-civil-judges_1314051
DNA
Friday, November 20, 2009 9:57 IST
Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court has declared that the preliminary/elimination test conducted on November 1 for recruitment to the cadre of civil judges stands cancelled. The test for all eligible candidates who were issued call letters will be conducted again on January 17, 2010.
Earlier, the high court had invited online applications for competitive examinations to fill up about 121 vacancies. The candidates appearing for the competitive examination for the cadre of civil judges will now have to clear three tests. This includes the preliminary test, a main test and interview. Sources said that the examination was cancelled as out of four answers for a particular question the correct answer was indicated having smaller front size. Moreover, the high court has also decided that negative marking in the forthcoming examinations would be 0.35 mark instead of 0.50 mark for each wrong answer.
The civil judge examination this year has created confusion among candidates as the criteria for applying to the admission requires sanad (licenses). However, later it was clarified that candidates have to submit the sanad certificate only during the interview.
There are more than 3,000 fresh law graduates who have not yet received their sanad certificate. Fresh law graduates who have not received sanad certificate can appear in the test provided they have received the sanad number. Of the 121 vacancies, eight are reserved for scheduled castes (SC), 18 for scheduled tribes (ST), 33 for socially and educationally backward classes, and one post is for physically disabled candidates.





HC reserves order on Shashank’s appointment as cabinet secretary
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/HC-reserves-order-on-Shashank-s-appointment-as-cabinet-secretary/544086/
Express News Service
Posted: Friday , Nov 20, 2009 at 0428 hrs Lucknow:
The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday reserved the order on a petition challenging the appointment of Shashank Shekhar Singh as cabinet secretary by the Mayawati government. Singh, a pilot-turned-bureaucrat, was also given the status of a Cabinet minister.
The PIL, filed by Shiv Prakash Shukla, also challenged the creation of the post of cabinet secretary by the UP government and appointment of a non-IAS officer for it.
Contending that the post of cabinet secretary may overshadow and undermine the post of chief secretary, who is governed by the All India Service Rules, the PIL argued that the accountability of cabinet secretary’s decisions, which will have financial implications, too, had not been fixed.
The petition also raised objection to giving Rs 30,000 salary to the cabinet secretary since it was higher than the maximum pay scale of an IAS officer in the state, which was then Rs 26,000, said petitioner’s counsel Altaf Mansor. Amid brewing resentment in the IAS cadre and legal implications, Singh later relinquished the status of cabinet minister and also chose to shed the powers of chief secretary that were conferred on him through an amendment. He, however, continues to be the cabinet secretary.






Rival BIOP moves HC to stop Gali’s OMC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Rival-BIOP-moves-HC-to-stop-Galis-OMC/articleshow/5249450.cms
TNN 20 November 2009, 06:30am IST
HYDERABAD: Bellary Iron Ores Pvt Ltd (BIOP), which has been involved in a running battle with Gali Janardhan Reddy-owned Obulapuram Mining Company on the issue of the territorial border between them, on Thursday filed a petition in the AP High Court seeking a direction to the state and central governments to stop the alleged illegal mining by OMC in the areas allotted to it. It also wanted a joint survey by various agencies to be conducted in the mining areas of the two companies and demarcate their areas after a scientific survey. The petition filed by BIOP’s CEO Sanjay Kumar Agarwal charged the OMC with taking away five million tons of high grade iron ore worth Rs 1,000 crore from the BIOP’s leasehold area of 27 hectares in Siddapuram village of Anantapur district in the last 22 months. The earlier orders of the AP High Court to conduct a scientific survey and to demarcate the areas allotted to OMC and BIOP were not implemented so far, the CEO said. Citing a recent showcause notice given to OMC by the division forest officer of Anantapur who categorically mentioned that the OMC had trespassed into BIOP area and conducted illegal mining, the petitioner prayed the court to stop all the mining activities by the OMC till the forest officers adjudicate the matter before them.





HC pulls up top cop over rape probe
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/HC-pulls-up-top-cop-over-rape-probe/articleshow/5248715.cms
TNN 20 November 2009, 05:20am IST
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered the Delhi Police commissioner to initiate an inquiry against police officials, including an SHO, for not arresting a political worker accused in a rape case, even a year after the incident. "The entire approach of the police in the present case amplifies that the police officials concerned did not take prompt action to arrest the accused either under some political pressure or for some other extraneous reasons,'' Justice Kailash Ghambhir said while giving the direction. Arif, who claims to be a Congress Party worker, had allegedly raped a 40-year-old woman in a moving car in northeast Delhi and a case was registered by her against him on April, 2008. The police did not take any action against him after he claimed as alibi that he was having a meeting with Delhi education minister at 8.30pm and it was not possible for him to reach the crime spot at 9pm when she was allegedly raped. The court pulled up the police for giving credence to his version as his meeting with the minister did not take place according to the scheduled time. "Higher officers are trying to shield the subordinate police officials who did not take proper action to arrest the accused. Let inquiry against all the erring police officers, including the then SHO, be directed by the police commissioner and action taken after proper inquiry,'' HC directed, asking the commissioner to file a status report by next hearing. The police arrested Arif after the court had on November 9 taken strong exception to their inaction in arresting Arif and sought an explanation from them. "It is quite shocking that the FIR in the present case was registered in April 2008, clearly naming the accused who as per the prosecutrix, had committed the said dastardly offence of rape and till date the police have not arrested him after more than one and half year has elapsed,'' the court had noted.





150 cases transferred from HC to Armed Forces Tribunal
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/150-cases-transferred-from-hc-to-armed-forces-tribunal/543998/
Express News Service
Posted: Friday , Nov 20, 2009 at 0224 hrs Chandigarh:
Nearly 150 cases related to the Armed Forces have been transferred from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) bench in Chandigarh within three days of its becoming operational, taking the number of cases transferred to be around 180.
Most of the cases are from 2007 to 2009.
The first date of hearing for these transferred cases has been fixed on January 20 next year.
The bench began functioning from November 16 and only one of the total three benches is functional at present comprising one judicial and administrative member each.
The present members are Justice Ghanshyam Prasad, former judge of Patna High Court, Lieutenant General
A S Bahia, former Director General Military Operations and Quarter Master General.
Two more retired HC judges will be appointed in due course.
The jurisdiction of the bench extends to Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and UT Chandigarh.
The tribunal has original jurisdiction over complaints and disputes regarding all service matters as also appellate jurisdiction over appeals arising out of verdicts of court martials.






HC fiat to CBI over Monica Bedi's bank accounts
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/HC-fiat-to-CBI-over-Monica-Bedis-bank-accounts/articleshow/5248864.cms
TNN 20 November 2009, 03:34am IST
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to explain why it had not defreezed the bank accounts of Monica Bedi, Bollywood actor and former girlfriend of gangster Abu Salem. "What right have you got to hold on to her money after she has been acquitted?'' said a division bench of Justice J N Patel and Justice Amjad Sayed. Monica in her application said that the CBI had frozen five of her accounts in the Versova branch of a bank following her arrest with Salem in Portugal and extradition to India in 2005. Her lawyer claimed she had been acquitted in all the cases and only one appeal was pending in the Supreme Court. The HC has asked the CBI to file an affidavit in the case in two weeks.






Corporator moves HC over stray dog menace
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Corporator-moves-HC-over-stray-dog-menace/articleshow/5248670.cms
TNN 20 November 2009, 02:58am IST
AHMEDABAD: "Save us from stray dogs in the city," a municipal corporator urged the Gujarat High Court on Thursday by way of filing a public interest litigation (PIL). The corporator from Jamalpur, Imran Khedavala sought directions from the high court to the AMC, its office-bearers and corporation's Control of Animal Harassment Department to quickly tackle the menace of canine bites that has become rampant in the city for the last few years. Khedavala has provided details of dog bite cases registered in government hospitals, the amount spent on sterilisation of dogs and the budget to deal with rabies. He has alleged that the officials and organisations in connivance misused the funds meant to provide medicine for rabies. Moreover, Khedavala also alleged that Rs 1.55 crore given to an NGO Animal Help Foundation for sterlisation programme for stray dogs has not become fruitful and there is no reduction in dog menace in the city. Despite spending a huge amount, the corporation has not been able to check dog population in the city. Khedavala sought proper guideline for AMC to tackle the menace of canine from the HC. The petitioner submitted before the court that over 50,000 cases of dog bites were reported in LG Hospital and nearly one lakh cases registered with VS Hospital during the last four years. He also mentioned the cases of rabies and deaths taken place due to dog bites in recent years. However, there was no mention of cases of canine bites registered in private and other government hospitals. The corporator said that the problem of stray dogs and dog bites can not be treated lightly, but the civic authorities are not paying any heed to the issue. Despite several representations, the AMC departments concerned do not just wake up to the problem. Hence, strict instructions from the court are necessary for the corporation. Khedavala also sought compensation to those killed due to rabies and those who were bitten by stray dogs. This compensation should be equivalent to that being given to 2002 riots victims. After hearing the petition, a division bench of acting Chief Justice MS Shah and Justice AS Dave instructed the municipal commissioner to come out with a plan to tackle the problem. If AMC does not follow these directions, Khedavala has been given liberty to move the court again, said his advocate.





HC seeks reporton illegal mining
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/HC-seeks-reporton-illegal-mining/articleshow/5248729.cms
20 November 2009, 03:02am IST
Nagpur: The Bombay High Court's Nagpur bench on Thursday asked the state government to depute an officer of the rank of additional collector for inspecting illegal mining in Mahurzari. The court's directives came after the collector admitted that the illegal mining took place in the area and they had also fined the lease holders for this. A division bench comprising AP Lavande and Prasanna Varale then asked the government pleader Nitin Sambre to file an affidavit on additional collector's visit to the area in ten days. Shrikant Khandalkar was counsel for the petitioner. The court's directions came on a petition filed by social worker Umesh Chaube who had attached TOI reports pointing out that illicit felling of trees and excavation work were going on in area marked as Zudpi Jungle in Mouza Mahurzari. It had led to the approach road getting damaged. Over 22,400 trees were planted in this area by social forestry department in 1991-92 but due to illegal mining not one has survived. As per the petitioner, Khasra Nos 100 and 152 at Mouza Mahurzari in Nagpur are earmarked as hilly rock and reserved for cattle grazing. Since last couple years, rampant illegal excavation by some private individuals on this government property was going on. The villagers even lodged a complaint with the concerned authorities on July 14 last year. After this, the petitioners made a complaint to the collector seeking immediate action. The petitioners prayed for a high level inquiry by the CBI and action against guilty including government officials allegedly in collusion with offenders. During last hearing, the court had criticised government on its inept handling of 'sensitive' issue. It directed the government to verify the factual position in respect of illegal felling of trees and action to be taken against the responsible persons. Kohchade, Mistry acquitted again The kingpin in the Nagpur university's infamous fake marksheet and revaluation scam Yadav Kohchade and his accomplice Prakash Mistry were acquitted for second time in a week. The special court of VN Chavhan trying the scam cases also acquitted beneficiary student Jitendra Srivastav who was pursuing engineering from KITS Ramtek when the scam took place. Secy asked to file affidavit on Khapa forests The court asked the state secretary of energy and industries to file an affidavit in 10 days on what action it was taking on the collector's letter demanding permission to cancel licences of the lease holders engaged in the illegal mining in Khapa forests. A division bench of the court was hearing a plea filed by Umesh Chaube and others who alleged that the private lease holders were blatantly violating rules and regulations by engaging in excavation which should not be carried out within 200 metres from the bank of any river and also chopping several trees at Khapa forests in the process. The petitioners claimed that illegal excavation by the private lease owners on government and forest land was causing massive losses to the exchequer. Moreover, illicit tree felling in reserved forest was resulting in ecological balance being disturbed and precious national property being stolen. The petitioner had attached TOI reports to the petition and demanded a CBI inquiry into the affairs and registering of offences against officials concerned.






HC orders man to pay high alimony to meet price rise
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hc-orders-man-to-pay-high-alimony-to-meet-price-rise/543951/
Express News Service
Posted: Friday , Nov 20, 2009 at 0127 hrs Ahmedabad:
Citing soaring prices of essential food items, the Gujarat High Court has upheld a lower court’s order asking a man to increase alimony to his wife from Rs 2,500 per month to Rs 3,000.
The petitioner has been identified as Chetan Solanki. He had moved the HC after a subordinate court ordered him to pay Rs 3,000 per month as maintenance to his wife from whom he has sought divorce. Solanki had claimed that his wife had asked for Rs 2,500 as monthly maintenance cost, but the court increased it to Rs 3,000.
Justice R R Tripathi dismissed the petition and observed, “…awarding of an amount of Rs 3,000 is not found to be excessive by any standard, more particularly, looking at the present day market price of essential food articles; potatoes are Rs 22 per kg, sugar Rs 35 per kg, tuver dal Rs 90 per kg, wheat flour Rs 15-18 per kg and lemon Rs 80 per kg.”
The court also pointed out that Solanki's claim that his wife had asked for Rs 2,500 was incorrect. It said his wife’s application in the revisional court states that she had asked a maintenance of Rs 10,000 .
Justice Tripathi observed: “The Court is of the opinion that the petition (of Solanki) is misconceived.”






Fali slams SC panel for ignoring judge who penned gay verdict
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Fali-slams-SC-panel-for-ignoring-judge-who-penned-gay-verdict/articleshow/5249164.cms
Manoj Mitta, TNN 20 November 2009, 03:25am IST
NEW DELHI: While sharing a dais with Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan, senior advocate Fali Nariman recently attacked the Supreme Court collegium for its failure to promote the author of the historic homosexuality verdict, chief justice of the Delhi high court A P Shah. In a forthright speech at a public meeting on Monday, Nariman voiced a widely shared "disappointment" in legal circles over Shah becoming a casualty of the "vagaries of the present system of judicial appointments" despite being a "role model for all judges". Paying a left-handed compliment to the CJI, Nariman said that he also knew that Justice Balakrishnan did not "disagree with this assessment" of Justice Shah, who was also present on the dais at the function held in the National Law University in Delhi. According to the transcript of the speech made available to TOI, Nariman said, "The reason why I got this choleric thought off my chest is because I hate to speak behind anyone's back. Hence I thought it best to proclaim what I and many members of the bar think — here in the presence of the CJI, and not in his absence." Justice Shah is due to demit office in three months as the retirement age for high court judges is 62, while the corresponding age for their Supreme Court counterparts is 65. It is an open secret that, despite his sterling record as a high court judge in Mumbai and as chief justice in Chennai and Delhi, Shah has been overlooked because one of the members of the Supreme Court collegium thwarted his candidature in the give-and-take negotiations that go on behind closed doors. Nariman's broadside on the collegium went as follows: "I have always been of the firm opinion that he is a role-model for all judges and I say this in the presence of the Chief Justice of India, because I know he does not disagree with this assessment. The fact that Justice A P Shah is not yet in the Supreme Court is a God-send to the judges and lawyers of the Delhi high court but it is a matter of disappointment for the rest of us who have known him personally and this is only because of the vagaries of our present system of judicial appointments. In a bid to drive home the whimsicality of the appointment system, Nariman cited the "glaring example" of Justice A K Patnaik, who, unlike Justice Shah, could make it to the Supreme Court because the particular collegium member who had opposed him retired recently. Nariman pointed out that Justice Patnaik "was in line for appointment many vacancies ago - at least two years ago - but could not or would not be recommended only because one member of the collegium steadfastly refused to accept him for appointment as Judge of the Supreme Court. So he was over-looked — not once not twice but three times." That Justice Patnaik was immediately recommended by the newly constituted collegium, on the retirement of the member opposing him, "speaks volumes for the current judicial appointment procedure — making more comment superfluous". At a time when the collegium is already under a cloud for recommending Justice P D Dinakaran despite the allegations of land grabbing, Nariman said that as judges were opposed to the creation of an independent commission for judicial appointments, he would rather have the pre-1993 situation restored as the CJI then had the discretion to consult anybody and not be bound by the opinion of the senior colleagues forming the collegium.






RNRL Consents to Government Role in Gas Battle with Caveats
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125862556068755347.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
By RAKESH SHARMA
NEW DELHI -- Reliance Natural Resources Ltd. Thursday conditionally agreed to the federal government being made a party in an ongoing legal dispute with Reliance Industries Ltd.
"We consent the government being a party, subject to inspection, discovery of documents and cross-examination," Mukul Rohatgi, a legal counsel for RNRL, told reporters after a hearing in the Supreme Court of India.
RNRL had earlier objected to the government being a party to the case, saying the government has no role in a dispute between two private companies.
The government wants to be a party in the RIL-RNRL legal dispute as this will entitle it to openly argue in the case and assert its sovereign rights over gas output from the D6 block in the Krishna Godavari basin, off India's east coast.
RIL -- which operates the D6 block -- is headed by Mukesh Ambani while RNRL is run by Anil Ambani.
RNRL says it has a right to buy 28 million metric standard cubic meters of gas per day at $2.34 per million metric British thermal units for his group's proposed power plant in north India's Dadri town, as per an agreement signed four years ago when the two brothers divided their late father's telecom-to-energy business empire.
But RIL says the company can't sell gas at $2.34 per mmBtu as its pricing and allocation is in the government's domain.
The Supreme Court Thursday began hearing RNRL's submission in the case after earlier having heard RIL and the government's plea.
"It is a saga of corruption and the government's total indifference to public interest," RNRL lawyer Ram Jethmalani said before the three-judge bench hearing the case.
RIL is locked in a separate legal battle with state-run power producer NTPC Ltd. in Bombay High Court. NTPC says it has a right to buy 12 mmscm/d gas at $2.34 per mmBtu under the terms of a tender floated in 2002-03 and won by RIL.
The federal government's lawyer, Gopal Subramanium, said Thursday the government will protect NTPC's interest in the case. The government will submit an affidavit in the top court clarifying its position, he added.
Write to Rakesh Sharma at rakesh.sharma@dowjones.com






HC notice to govt on illegal use of kolhus
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/HC-notice-to-govt-on-illegal-use-of-kolhus/articleshow/5248439.cms
TNN 19 November 2009, 09:49pm IST
ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government, UP Sugar Cooperative Cane Union Federation and others to file their reply in a writ petition challenging the operation and use of kolhus/crushers in the state. The court fixed December 10 next to hear this case. The West UP Sugar Mills Association, Meerut, and others had filed a writ petition seeking a ban on the use and operation of kolhus in the state on the ground that due to illegal operation of kolhus/crusher in UP, their sugar mills were not getting he required sugarcane. This order was passed by a division bench, consisting of Justice Prakash Krishna and Justice SC Nigam, on a writ petition of West UP Sugar Mills Association and others. The petitioners had said that kolhus were being operated illegally in UP, due to which the sugar canes were not adequately supplied to the sugarmills from their reserved sugarcane areas. The plea was that if operation of kolhus were not banned by the state government, then the sugar mills will be closed. The state government had opposed the writ petition saying that there was no need for licence for operating kolhus in any area of the state. It was said that as no licence was being issued to kolhus, their operation cannot be stopped. It might be recalled that a division bench of the Allahabad high court, consisting of Justice Amitava Lala and Justice Ashok Srivastava had given a judgement and had refused to hold that operation of Kolhus in the state was illegal. The court, however, had held that because of the operation of Kolhus, sugar mills may not be permitted to suffer.






Notice to CSIO director
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Notice-to-CSIO-director/articleshow/5245024.cms
TNN 19 November 2009, 01:46am IST
CHANDIGARH: The failure of the central scientific instruments organization (CSIO) director to act against a scientist who was held guilty by a local court and sentenced to two years’ jail for sexual harassment of a woman colleague at the work place, had its echo in the Punjab and Haryana High Court here on Wednesday when a writ petition seeking directions for removal of the convicted person was taken up for preliminary hearing. The scientist, Piyush Kumar Awasthi, was convicted under section 354, 294 read with 341 IPC and sentenced to two years imprisonment and fine on July 15, 2009, by Manisha Jain, judicial magistrate (1st class), Chandigarh, for sexually harassing Aruna Attri, a technical officer with CSIO, at the workplace. The victim had lodged a complaint against the scientist on April 3, 2003, to at police station, industrial area, phase I, Chandigarh, after the accused followed her many times from the work place and vice versa and passed vulgar remarks, made obscene gestures, used abusive language against her besides making repeated telephone calls. An FIR was registered on October 27, 2003. Subsequently, the district and sessions judge, Chandigarh, granted bail to Avasthi, suspended the sentence but declined his prayer to suspend the conviction on September 25, 2009. Moving a writ petition, Attri alleged that the accused had become after no action was taken against him, and he was being shielded and protected by CSIO authorities. Her counsel submitted that by referring the case now to the committee constituted for checking harassment of women at their workplace, the authorities appear to be attempting to re-write the JMIC order of conviction, hence the plea for judicial intervention to direct the CSIO authorities. The counsel submitted that the respondent Avasthi deserved to be penalized by dismissal from service. After the preliminary hearing, justice Mahesh Grover issued notice for January 15, 2010, to the director CSIO, the director-general the council for scientific and industrial research (CSIR), New Delhi, and Piyush Kumar Avasthi.






PIL against state govt for inaction on H1N1
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/PIL-against-state-govt-for-inaction-on-H1N1/articleshow/5256181.cms
Abhinav Sharma, TNN 22 November 2009, 06:36am IST
JAIPUR: A public interest litigation has been filed in the Rajasthan High Court challenging the state's "inaction" to curb thef swine flu menace and to provide free or cheap diagnosis of the flu (which costs nearly Rs 4,500 at each district headquarters) beside the SMS Hospital. The petition has been filed by a city-based advocate. He alleged that the state machinery has totally failed to prevent the deaths due to flue in the past one month, and that no action is being taken by the health ministry. The PIL is based on TOI reports. It has been mentioned in the PIL that the pathological lab at SMS Hospital only has the facility to diagnose the disease , and that there is a vital requirement of having flu detection machines in each government hospital at least in every district headquarters. "There are many persons and patients who show symptoms of H1N1 virus, and doctors advise them for tests, but it is not possible for all of them to have this test carried out as it is a costly affair," states the petition. It is also written that each district headquarters should have the provision of free and cheap masks at all government hospitals. The state government should take appropriate measures to have control over this epidemic. The petition also mentions that the state government should grant adequate compensation to the families who lost their dear ones to H1N1.







Sikh groups write to Obama, seek justice for 1984 victims
http://trak.in/news/sikh-groups-write-to-obama-seek-justice-for-1984-victims/26341/
by Indo Asian News Service on November 22, 2009
Chandigarh, Nov 22 (IANS) Two Sikh organisations have written to US President Barack Obama, seeking his intervention in getting justice for thousands of victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots by taking up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when they meet this week.
In an open letter to Obama, US-based human rights advocacy group Sikhs for Justice and Punjab-based All-India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) have urged the US president to take up the matter during Manmohan Singh’s US visit.
‘In November 1984, thousands of innocent human beings were killed, butchered, slaughtered, maimed and burnt in Delhi and more than 100 cities in 18 Indian states. The victims were only Sikhs and they were targeted and killed solely because of their religion. The killings were instigated and led by leaders who had taken oath under the Indian constitution to protect the lives of citizens,’ the letter says.
It names top Congress leaders like Kamal Nath, Arjun Singh, Arun Nehru, Vasant Sathe, Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, H.K.L Bhagat and Dharamdas Shastri as ones found by inquiry commissions to be involved in organising and spearheading the killing of Sikhs.
The letter states that successive governments in India had shielded those behind the genocide and had even given them important public positions as a reward.
‘We are also getting a few Congressmen to sign the representation sent to President Obama,’ Sikhs for Justice’ legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun told IANS from New York.
Manmohan Singh left for the US Saturday as the first state guest of Obama at the White House. The two will hold talks Tuesday on bilateral, regional and global issues.
AISSF president Karnail Singh Peermohammed said here that Sikh organisations would continue to fight for the rights of the riot victims and to bring perpetrators of the 1984 riots to justice.
Thousands of Sikhs were killed in Delhi and other places across India in the four days of anti-Sikh riots that broke out following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards Oct 31, 1984.





Driver gives statement to cops on 'killed' Maoist
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Driver-gives-statement-to-cops-on-killed-Maoist/articleshow/5252372.cms
Alok Chamaria, TNN 21 November 2009, 03:26am IST
SASARAM: The charge of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and other rights activists that Maoist Kamlesh Chaudhary had been killed in a fake encounter gained credence when the driver of the vehicle in which he was travelling appeared before the station house officer of Chenari police station in Rohtas district on Friday. Kamlesh, a CPI(Maoist) leader and carrying a cash reward of Rs 1.5 lakh on his head, was killed on November 9. The driver, Munir Siddiqui, of nearby Sabar village, claimed that UP Police had picked up five persons, including Kamlesh, as soon as the vehicle entered Uttar Pradesh on November 9. Confirming the driver's presence, Rohtas superintendent of police Vikas Vaibhaw said the former's statement had been recorded. He also assured PUCL of an impartial inquiry and extending full cooperation in the matter. Sources said after Kamlesh was killed at a forest in Obara of UP's Sonbhadra district by police in an alleged encounter, PUCL swung into action, describing the encounter as "cold-blooded murder". The PUCL, in a memorandum to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), alleged that UP Police had picked up five persons, including Kamlesh from a village under Chenari PS and killed him in a fake encounter. PUCL also requested NHRC to intervene and ensure the safe release of four others, who had also been picked up with Kamlesh. The PUCL feared that they might also have been killed in a fake encounter. In the meantime, the SHO of Chenari PS on the instructions of the SP also mentioned in the station diary the disappearance of some persons of the area on November 10. The hue and cry, raised by PUCL and other rights activists, forced police to release the others four days ago warning them of dire consequences if they dared to open their mouths. In his statement, Siddiqui claimed that police personnel in mufti spotted the vehicle at Naubatpur in UP's Chandauli district on November 9 and herded them on to another vehicle that was stopped by a policeman. The driver had to be freed near Obra when the tyre of his vehicle burst. Then, Rohtas police heaved a sigh of relief because PUCL had charged the SP with handing over Kamlesh to UP Police. PUCL requested the SP to conduct an impartial probe into Kamlesh's killing by UP Police because the vehicle and four others travelling with the Maoist belonged to Rohtas district and they went to Varanasi away from the SP's jurisdiction. The SP said police were also persuading Bharat Kharwar, who was also alleged to have been picked up by UP Police along with Kamlesh, to record his statement.





Securities Appellate Tribunal set aside charges of insider trading against former MD of Tata Finance
http://www.taxguru.in/sebi/securities-appellate-tribunal-set-aside-charges-of-insider-trading-against-former-md-of-tata-finance.html
Nov 21, 2009
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has set aside charges of insider trading against Dilip Pendse, former managing director of Tata Finance, and his wife Anuradha Pendse and Nalini Properties. “The charges of insider trading against Dilip Pendse, his wife Anuradha Pendse and Nalini Properties, a company controlled by Anuradha’s family, have been set aside by SAT,” Dilip Pendse’s advocate V M Singh said.
The restriction which prevented Dilip Pendse from trading in the market has been set aside, Singh said.
Anuradha Pendse and Nalini Properties were alleged to have sold shares of Tata Finance in March 2001 on the basis of unpublished price-sensitive information related to the financial position of the company.
Dilip Pendse, the then managing director of Tata Finance and Anuradha were alleged to have leaked price sensitive information that Tata Finance had suffered a loss of Rs 79.37 crore consequent to its investment in Nishkalp Investment and Trading Company.
“On the basis of this information provided by Dilip Pendse, Anuradha Pendse and Nalini Properties (of which Anuradha Pendse is a Director) sold around 40,000 shares of Tata Finance at Rs 90 per share and made unjust profits on account of the said sale,” a Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) order had said.
Sebi had restrained Dilip from accessing the securities market and prohibited him from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in the securities market for a period of five years from March 31, 2009, Singh said.






Excess insurance and transportation charges collected and includability of same in assessable value
http://www.taxguru.in/excise-duty/excess-insurance-and-transportation-charges-collected.html
Nov 20, 2009
Many a times the manufacturer of goods (Central Excise assessee) provides other services to the buyer and charges an amount for those services provided. The services may be like transportation of goods to the buyer premises, transit insurance of the goods, interest charges for the credit given to the buyer, Installation of the goods in the buyer’s premises etc. It may happen that cost incurred by the manufacturer assessee in providing these services is much less than what is charged by the manufacturer assessee for these services. The question is whether excess charges collected by the manufacturer assessee should be included in assessable value of the goods under Section 4 of the Act?
Under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, the Central Excise duty has to be paid on the transaction value of the goods. Transaction value means the price actually paid or payable for the goods, at the time and place of removal. Thus when any amount is paid for transportation or insurance or interest for credit or for any other services, these are payments not for the goods but for the services provided by the manufacturer and hence these charges are not to be included in the assessable value under section 4 of the Act. Even when the amount paid is in excess to the cost incurred by the manufacturer supplier, the excess amount is profit earned by the manufacturer in course of providing these services. These profits are not in connection with the sale of goods but in connection with the services provided and hence this profit earned in not includible in the assessable value of the goods.
In Indian Oxygen Ltd. V/s Collector of Central Excise [1988 (36) ELT 723 (SC)] the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that duty of Excise is a tax on manufacturer, and not a tax on the profits made by a dealer on transportation and hence these profits earned are not includible in the assessable value. In Baroda Electric Meters Ltd. V/s Collector of Central Excise [1997 (94) ELT 13 (SC)], the Supreme Court affirmed this judgment and held that excess freight amount collected by the manufacturer is not includible in the assessable value of the goods.
In Empire Ind. Ltd. V/s collector of Central Excise [1997 (95) ELT 653], the Tribunal held that profit earned in a post-clearance activity, which has nothing to do with activity of manufacture is not includible in the assessable value of the goods. In this particular case the tribunal concluded that excess transportation charges collected over actual cost incurred is not includible in the assessable value. The tribunal, in this case, also held that interest charges collected for delayed payment by the buyer is not includible in the assessable value. In Sri Kaliswari Fire Work V/s Collector of Central Excise [1998 (98) ELT 93], the question of excess insurance charges come before the Tribunal, where in it held that excess insurance charges collected over actual incurred by the manufacturer is not includible in the assessable value.
In S.R. Jhunjhunwala V/s Collector of Central Excise [1999 (114) ELT 890], the Tribunal clarified the position of law and held that,
“ It is also found that the collector has held that only deduction of actual amounts of transportation costs and insurance charges are deductible under section 4 of the Act. However, this view is no more good law and stands settled against the department by the Supreme Court judgment reported in 1997 (94) ELT 13, Baroda Electric Meters V/s Collector cited and relied upon by the learned consultants. Though the judgment dealt with excess realisation of transport cost over actual, the same principle is applicable to the insurance charges also, as they have already been held to be non includible in the Supreme Court judgment Union of India V/s Bombay Tyre International 1983 (14) ELT 1896. The Supreme Court held that duty of Excise is on manufacture and not a tax on profit made on transportation. Therefore we hold that the amount received by the appellant in excess of actual transportation charges incurred by them in not includible in the assessable value.”
The Tribunal is following this position of law consistently and reaffirmed this view in many cases like Gomati Engineering Works V/s CCE [1998 (27) RLT 849], in Farm Fresh Foods Pvt. Ltd. V/s CCE [1998 (113) ELT 441] and in numerous other cases. In recent times also the Tribunal declared the same position of law in Transpect Industries Ltd. V/s Collector of Central Excise [2003 (162) ELT 1095], wherein the tribunal held that excess freight and insurance charges are not includible in the assessable value. In Appollo Tyre Ltd. Ltd. V/s CCE [2003 (160) ELT 836], the tribunal reiterated that duties of excise being leviable on manufacture only and such amounts being profits made on transportation is not includable in the assessable value. In Majestic Auto V/s Commissioner of Central Excise [2004 (166) ELT 172], the tribunal held that freight collected in excess of the actually freight charges incurred is not includible in the assessable value. Thus the law is well settled on this point and it is being consistently followed by the Hon’ble Tribunal.
On the basis of the ratio of these judgments, it can be argued that expenses incurred by the manufacturer and charged from the buyer, including any profit earned on there activities are not includible in the assessable value. It may be noted that the activity must be a post manufacturing and post clearance activity. Further the charges must be genuine and it mustn’t depress the assessable value.
It may be mentioned that the assessee must show these charges separately from the price of the goods. When these charges are shown separately or billed separately, the onus is on the department to establish that these transactions are not genuine or artificially depressing the prices. On the point of onus of proof the Tribunal held in CCE V/s Majestic Auto Ltd. [2002 (146) ELT 327] wherein it held,
“ In the present case, we are concerned with the determination of value under Section 4 of the Act as it was pointed out by both the sides. It is settled position of law that duty of excise is a tax on the manufacturer and not a tax on the profit made by a dealer on transportation. The department has not shown any evidence to show that the excess freight was nothing but part of the value of the goods and accordingly the differential amount was not includible in the assessable value.”
Thus it is clear that the onus is on the department to establish that excess charges are nothing but part of assessable value. However, when these charges are not shown separately, the onus in on the assessee to establish that these are permissible deduction under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act. In view of these, it is suggested that a separate bill should be raised for any other services provided by the manufacture assessee to the buyer of the goods.
Written by:- Advocate Rajesh Kumar. The author can be contacted on custom.excise@gmail.com , Web: www.rajeshkumar.co.in

Saturday, November 21, 2009

LEGAL NEWS 21.11.2009

Now, Maharashtra CM wants more jobs for locals
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Now-Maharashtra-CM-wants-more-jobs-for-locals/articleshow/5255626.cms
TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES 21 November 2009, 08:12pm IST
MUMBAI: In a surprise move, Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan on Saturday called for "more importance to be given to locals" in job opportunities, thus joining in the likes of MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. "Locals must be given importance. Whoever is a domicile of Maharashtra must first get an employment opportunity," Chavan said at a function today. Chavan, however, said his government does not support agitations based on language and region. "It is not our policy." He said, "Irrespective of the language people of Maharashtra speak or the belief they follow, we are concerned about their employment and request Mamata Banerjee to pay heed to this matter." Following the request by chief minister Ashok Chavan on Saturday and against the backdrop of MNS attacking candidates from North India appearing in railway exams in Maharashtra, railway minister Mamata Banerjee today said the tests will be conducted in regional languages simultaneously. "The railway exams will be conducted in regional languages simultaneously apart from English and Hindi. In Maharashtra, the exams will be held in Marathi and in other states, these will be held in local languages," she told reporters here. Concerned over growing congestion in the existing trains, chief minister Ashok Chavan made a request that there was a need for more train services in the state. "The population is increasing day-by-day and so there seems to be a need for more train services for Mumbai and Maharashtra," Chavan said. "As we need to make Mumbai like Shanghai we need to take several steps towards its development which would in turn create employment opportunities for our people," he said.






Madhu Koda says he will report to ED only after Jharkhand polls
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Madhu-Koda-says-he-will-report-to-ED-only-after-Jharkhand-polls/articleshow/5254952.cms
PTI 21 November 2009, 02:38pm IST
JAMSHEDPUR: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who has failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the money laundering case against him, today said he would be available for questioning only after the Assembly polls. "The summons by the ED were delivered at my Ranchi residence only on November 18, a day before the appearance when I was busy campaigning (for assembly polls) in Chaibasa," Koda said here when asked by reporters why he failed to appear before the agency on November 19. Koda said he would be available only after the conclusion of Jharkhand state Assembly polls on December 18. The former Jharkhand Chief Minister has put up six candidates, including his wife Gita on behalf on Jharkhand Navanirman Morcha for the polls. "Moreover, the ED wanted certain documents like passport, which I don't have as they must be with either the income tax authorities or vigilance department (both the agencies had raided Koda's residence). Unless I get them how can I show them," he said. He refused to comment on his 'aides' Sanjay Choudhary and Binod Sinha, who are facing arrest warrants following the raid by Income Tax authorities on about 70 premises, including Koda's residences, and unearthed documents that allegedly pointed to hawala transactions and illegal investment to the tune of over Rs 2000 crore.






State, Sourav Ganguly asked to file affidavits
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/State-Sourav-Ganguly-asked-to-file-affidavits/articleshow/5253051.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 06:43am IST
KOLKATA: Calcutta high court on Friday directed the government and cricketer Sourav Ganguly to file affidavits-in-opposition within three weeks on a PIL moved by some residents of Salt Lake, challenging the state's decision to allot land to the former Team India skipper to set up a school on a 62-cottah plot in CA block. Meanwhile, any construction on the land has to abide by the outcome of the writ petition, the division bench of acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice Prasenjit Mondal ruled. One of the petitioners, CA Block Citizens' Association, alleged that flouting the legal procedure for distribution of state-owned property, the government "illegally favoured" Sourav by allotting plot no CA-222. Five similar petitions were filed against the land allotment to Sourav. Those petitioners are by Humanity, Arunanshu Chakraborty, Susmita Chakraborty, Salt Lake Citizens' Welfare Society and Bidhannagar House Owners' Association. The petitions stated that Sourav was earlier allotted about 50 cottahs in Sector-I to set up an integrated school. A long-term lease deed dated October 29, 2006, was also executed between him and the state. Petitions pointed out that after completion of the allotment proceedings, Sourav made a "secret" request to the urban development department "taking advantage of his easy access to the corridors of power" for allotment of plot CA-222, measuring about 62 cottahs, in Sector-I. The urban development department then made a subsequent allotment in Sourav's favour without publishing any advertisement, which was illegal and arbitrary, the PILs alleged. The petitions questioned how Sourav could be allotted a plot when one had already been given on the basis of an advertisement in TOI (dated November 5, 2006). How could the plot be given on the basis of the same advertisement, they asked. Pleading that the allotment process be quashed, the PILs said the allotment was in violation of the law governing ceiling on granting urban land in favour of an individual.







Ram Jethmalani's comments anger Saudi ambassador
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ram-Jethmalanis-comments-anger-Saudi-ambassador/articleshow/5255126.cms
PTI 21 November 2009, 03:46pm IST
NEW DELHI: Senior lawyer and former Union minister Ram Jethmalani's charge that Wahabi sect was responsible for terrorism provoked a walkout by Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to India Faisal-al-Trad from an international conference of jurists on global terror here. Jethmalani alleged that "Wahabi terrorism" indoctrinated "rubbish" in the minds of young people to carry out terrorist attacks. The senior lawyer lamented that India had friendly relations with a country that supported Wahabi terrorism. Following Jethmalani's speech, Saudi Arabia's ambassador Faisal-al-Trad was seen walking out of the conference, apparently taking offence at the remarks. Organiser of the event Adesh Aggarwala said the Ambassador had walked out but returned after law minister M Veerappa Moily's statement that the views expressed by Jethmalani were not that of the government. Moily, in his address, said that terrorism cannot be attributed to any particular religion. It was unfortunate that the entire Islam as a religion was being blamed for terrorism, Jethmalani said, adding that "there are also Hindu terrorists and Buddhist terrorists." Terming Non-Aligned Movement and Panchsheel as evil, the former Union Minister said India should align with forces of good to combat the forces of evil. "India and its foreign ministers must learn to reassess the doctrines of past." He said India's foreign policy establishment should be courageous to shun country's relationships with its "enemies". Referring to Jethmalani's comments, Justice Awn S Al-Khasawneh, a judge of the International Court of Justice, asked him not "to make sweeping statements."






PM 'assures' Mahesh Bhatt of justice in son Rahul's case
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PM-assures-Mahesh-Bhatt-of-justice-in-son-Rahuls-case/articleshow/5255431.cms
Anil Singh, TNN 21 November 2009, 06:01pm IST
MUMBAI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has replied to filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's letter appealing to him for justice and assured him that the points he had raised would be considered. Bhatt had written to the PM on November 15, saying that the agencies investigating the David Headley case had been grossly unfair to his family and him. On Friday, he received a letter dated November 16 from Jaideep Sarkar, private secretary to Manmohan Singh, saying, ``The PM has told me to acknowledge your letter and inform you that the Home Minister has been told to look into the matter.'' ``The PM's prompt response is heartwarming and it gives me hope, now that a conscientious man is aware of my plight,'' said a relieved Bhatt. TOI was the first to carry an interview with Bhatt and his daughter Pooja on November 15 where they spoke about feeling let down by the security establishment in the manner in which Bhatt's son Rahul and his friend Vilas Varak were being portrayed as suspects rather than as a dutiful citizens who had volunteered to provide information on a terrorist. ``God help us if our sense of fair play is not the strongest of our feelings. An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I with great anguish, urgently bring to your notice that the security agencies of our nation, who were completely on the wrong track as far as the Headley investigation was concerned, and were clueless to the identity of `Rahul' in the case, have been grossly unfair to my family and myself,'' Bhatt wrote to the PM. Bhatt had let out steam in the missive to the PM asking him, “Is this how India rewards its civil society when it risks everything to stand up for the country's honour and security?'' Reminding the PM that the war against terror cannot be won without the whole-hearted participation of civil society, Bhatt said the unprofessional actions of investigative agencies would deter citizens from functioning as the first line of defence against terrorism. ``Any investigation which is not built on justice and on the recognition of the rights and contribution of the people would be doomed from the start,'' he wrote. Although relieved as far as his personal case was concerned, Bhatt said the entire episode, which started with his son being tainted and his own film, `Tum Mile', being targeted, was a symptom of a deep malice. ``Fairplay has evaporated in society. The edifice that we have built brick by brick over the years is being eroded while the government is looking the other way.'' Taking a dig at the electronic media, he said, ``Today, one man's suffering is your entertainment.'' Asked about his cancelled trip to the Vatican, where he had been invited by the Pope as one of the 500 artistes to speak on global peace, Bhatt said, ``I cannot mouth platitudes when the ground under my own feet is burning.'' Bhatt said Vilas was so traumatized by the subtle intimidation of the investigative agencies that he could not sleep for several days and had to be counselled and put on sedatives. "As we head towards the first anniversary of 26/11, we must remind ourselves that the freedom we have won will be in peril if we trample on civil liberties in the name of fighting terror,'' the filmmaker said.






A ration card in the name of Mahatma Gandhi
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/A-ration-card-in-the-name-of-Mahatma-Gandhi/articleshow/5255110.cms
IANS 21 November 2009, 03:35pm IST
HYDERABAD: Believe it or not - the authorities in Andhra Pradesh have issued a ration card in the name of Mahatma Gandhi along with his picture! What is more shocking is that the card named Nathuram Godse, the killer of Mahatma Gandhi, as his father. Godse, however, has been misspelt as Godsay. Chittoor district collector V. Seshadari has ordered a probe after the ration card, carrying a fictitious address, which was detected during a verification drive in the district to wee out bogus cards. The card was issued in Chuttagunta village of Ramachandrapuram mandal in Chittoor district. It carried the picture of Gandhi with the name of M K Gandhi Thatha (Thatha in Telugu means grandfather), age 65, father's name Godsay, address 15-46541, Gandhi Street, Gandhi Road. The address was that of a fair price shop owner. Seshadari has constituted a three-member committee to probe the matter and take action against the officers responsible. Action is likely to be taken against those who were entrusted with the task of taking photographs of the person on whose name the card is issued and affix it on the card. The revenue officials also failed to check the name and address. This is not the first incident of its kind. In the past, bogus cards in the name of politicians, film stars, sportspersons and even Hindu Gods were detected. However, this time the officials have taken a serious note of the incident as it involved the name and picture of the father of nation. In June, a ration card issued to one Laxmi of Vizianagaram district with a photograph of tennis star Sania Mirza was detected. The latest incident once again exposed the collusion between the officials and fair price shop dealers. The authorities have intensified verification as several dealers have managed to get dozens of ration cards in fictitious names. The white ration card issued to below poverty line families make them eligible to get rice at Rs 2 per kg and social security benefits like health insurance and housing. The authorities had launched door-to-door verification campaign early this year when it was found that the number of ration cards issued in some districts exceeded the population. The number of bogus cards in the state is estimated to be 3.5 million.







Indian husbands want protection from nagging wives
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life/relationships/man-woman/Indian-husbands-want-protection-from-nagging-wives/articleshow/5251241.cms
REUTERS20 November 2009, 03:58pm IST
Shrews, beware: a group of Indian husbands tired of being harassed by their wives are demanding the local government create a male protection society to address their grievances. The men, who said they had enough of their "nagging" wives, dressed up in clothes traditionally worn by grooms and paraded through the northern city of Lucknow this week to ask for a National Commission for Men. "We are asking for equal rights. We want somebody to listen to the grievances of men," said Subhash Dube, a medical doctor who described himself as a victimised husband. The president of the All India Welfare Committee for Husbands, Indu Pandey, said statistics showed abuse of a section of the penal code meant to protect women against their husbands. "Demands to amend this law have been put forward a lot of times. Therefore, we oppose this law," Pandey said. Most of the misuse of the law has been related to dowry issues, with women and their family members registering false claims that they have been harassed by their husbands or their families about not paying enough, Pandey said. In India, dowries of money, jewellery or other assets are given by the parents or the family of the bride to the groom. This tradition was banned by law in 1961 but, even today, dowries are common, and if the groom or his family is unhappy with them, they often physically and emotionally abuse the wife. Indian police receive hundreds of complaints of harassment related to dowry every day from women, and are required to investigate deaths of women within a few years of marriage as possible dowry deaths.






20 years later, police lose murder case documents
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/20-years-later-police-lose-murder-case-documents/articleshow/5253659.cms
MUMBAI: At 20 years and 146 hearing dates, it must be one of the longest running criminal trials in the country. The Bombay high court on Friday stepped up the heat on the ‘eternally’ pending case after it came to light that the police investigating a murder could not find the related papers. Even the complainant has gone missing and there has been little progress in the trial with just three witnesses examined so far and around 146 adjournments sought. Hearing a petition filed by three Haryana-based accused seeking an end to the trial, a division bench of Justice J N Patel and Justice Amjad Sayed have ordered the superintendent of police, Thane (rural), to trace the missing documents and file a report in court in two weeks’ time. The 147th hearing is slated for December 5. "It is a mockery," said senior advocate S R Chitnis, counsel for the petitioner, Sunil Kaushik, who, along with two others, was arrested in March, 1989. The case goes back to twenty years ago, when the three had a fight with one Mohan at Shahpur. Subsequently, Mohan died of his injuries, following which Kaushik and the others were arrested for murder. The accused were released on bail the same year but the case continued - the hearings were held first at the Thane sessions court and in 1996, it was committed to the Kalyan sessions court, where it has been running for the past 13 years. According to the petitioners, they have attended every hearing, often shuttling between their hometown Haryana and Kalyan. The court, during the last hearing, summoned the police officer concerned, who had claimed that the papers could not be found at the police station, said additional public prosecutor Ajay Gadkari. "The entire procedure is contrary to the concept of a speedy trial," said the petition, claiming that their fundamental right to a fair trial guaranteed under the Constitution had been violated. "No efforts have been made by the prosecution to bring the witnesses to court or complete the trial," said the petition, blaming the delay on the "lethargy of the police". Alleging that the trial now spells torture and harassment for them, the petitioners have urged the court to quash the proceedings. shibu.thomas1@timesgroup.com








Bullets did not pierce Karkare's bullet-proof vest: Post mortem report
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Bullets-did-not-pierce-Karkares-bullet-proof-vest-Post-mortem-report/articleshow/5255216.cms
PTI 21 November 2009, 04:32pm IST
MUMBAI: Setting at rest the controversy that slain Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare died because of defective bullet-proof jacket, post mortem report have revealed that he received five bullets in and around his neck. All the five bullets pierced his body in the region which was not covered by the bullet-proof vest, the post mortem report said. He received "total five firearms wounds of entry on shoulder blade, top region between neck and right shoulder, four entry wounds in one line," the report said. A Public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court had alleged that Karkare died because bullets had pierced his bullet-proof jacket. However, the post mortem reports negate this claim made by the PIL. The PIL also pointed out that in accordance with specifications laid down for bullet-proof vests, the portion of the body from the neck till waist should be covered. In the present case, the bullet-proof jacket worn by Karkare had only his chest covered while the neck portion was open.






26/11: Taj, Oberoi paid Rs 167 cr as terror claims by GIC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/26/11-Taj-Oberoi-paid-Rs-167-cr-as-terror-claims-by-GIC/articleshow/5255535.cms
PTI 21 November 2009, 07:28pm IST
MUMBAI: General Insurance Corporation (GIC), the designated administrator of the terror insurance pool, has released Rs 167 crore to Taj and Oberoi hotels in connection with the 26/11 terror attacks, a top GIC Re official said. "We have released Rs 167 crore to both hotels (Taj and Oberoi) till now. The renovation work is on...and we are waiting for the final report (to settle the final claim)," GIC Re's Chairman and Managing Director, Yogesh Lohiya, told reporters here on Saturday. General Insurance or non life insurance companies had formed a terror insurance pool in 2001 to pay the claims arising out of terrorist activities. Of the Rs 167 crore given to the two hotels, GIC Re had released the first insurance instalment of Rs 25 crore to each of the two hotels in December last year. The insurer will release the final claim amount to both the hotels only after the renovation works at the Taj and the Oberoi gets over, Lohiya said. "The final claim figure will be arrived at only after the hotels finish their renovation work," Lohiya said.






CM: Titling body will reduce property feuds
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/CM-Titling-body-will-reduce-property-feuds/articleshow/5252928.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 05:24am IST
NEW DELHI: The second day of the consultative meeting between various stakeholders for the draft bill on Delhi Survey Registration and Recordal of Title of Immovable Properties in Urban Areas ended with a discussion between RWAs, real estate promoters as well as government officials, including chief minister Sheila Dikshit. Talking about the need for such a bill, Dikshit said, "The purpose of the new legislation is to create a single, secure, electronic and efficient system for mandatory registration and record of title for which a Delhi Urban Property Registration and Titling Authority will be formed.'' The CM said that the government will be able to create a digital register of titles and reflect actual state of titles. "It will put an end to risk of fraudulent transactions, reduce illegal and unlawful transfer of properties apart from providing a facility to determine state of title of properties. Hence, it will remove complexities related to transfer of immovable properties and put an end to ever-increasing number of litigation cases,'' added Dikshit. According to officials, the system will help financing companies to use the property titles to create healthy mortgages which would speed up economic development in cities through banking finance by strengthening the legal framework. The new system would prove beneficial to the owners of properties in multi-storeyed buildings, including cooperative group housing society flats and DDA flats. It will also provide an electronic database to ascertain actual ownership of immovable properties. Added Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta, "Property titling system for an urban area is very essential for better efficiency of the urban management system. This is one of the key mandatory reforms under the JNNURM and all states are committed to implement reforms in property titling system.'' A final draft bill will be submitted to Union ministry of urban development for concurrence after which the Bill will be presented in the Legislative Assembly. Incidentally, the draft bill has been prepared by Amarchand and Mangaldas and Shroff Solicitors. A presentation on the draft bill was given by Jatin Aneja, a partner in Amarchand and Mangaldas. According to government sources, the new system will be implemented in phases. It will be implemented first in NDMC and DDA properties. The new system will also pave the way for creation of data in electronic form as per the provisions of Information Technology Act.







HC lets Lotika clean up house
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/HC-lets-Lotika-clean-up-house/articleshow/5252937.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 05:10am IST
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday allowed former Delhi University law faculty professor Lotika Sarkar to clean up her house, which has in an ownership dispute with an IPS officer for almost a year and is sealed till the matter was resolved. The court also allowed her to carry the articles from the house which belonged to her. The court directed the police to maintain the status quo after the exercise is completed. The directions came on an application filed by Sarkar. Prashant Mendiratta, counsel for Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Nirmal Dhoundial, said that he had given a no objection in case Sarkar wanted to clean the premises and take her belongings from the house. He said that Sarkar had moved an application that the property be desealed by the police and she should be allowed to live there. Meanwhile, the court has also asked Dhoundial to file a reply to Sarkar's appeal by Monday. The court will take up the application on November 26 for arguments after filing of the reply. Last month, Justice S N Dhingra, hearing an urgent application by Preeti Dhoundial, wife of Nirmal Dhoundial, against the tribunal's decision, had ordered for the desealing of the house till the final disposal of the appeal. A tribunal, set up under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, had earlier ordered 87-year-old Sarkar to stay in her house and directed the deputy commissioner of police (south district) to immediately evict the Dhoundials, who claimed she had gifted them the property. Dhoundial's counsel questioned the tribunal's order, contending the house was given to the Dhoundials under the Gifts Deed Act in 2007 and the tribunal's order was a violation.







Delhi speeds up parole for select few: HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-speeds-up-parole-for-select-few-HC/articleshow/5253646.cms
Smriti Singh, TNN 21 November 2009, 05:28am IST
NEW DELHI: Demolishing Delhi government’s claim that it went by the rule book in granting parole to Manu Sharma, Delhi high court on Friday said there was ‘‘no doubt’’ that the administration had been ‘‘selectively...giving priority’’ to the requests made by some convicts ‘‘maybe because of their high connections and influence’’. In fact, Justice Kailash Gambhir cited Sharma’s example to establish the preferential treatment given to ‘‘resourceful’’ convicts as the latter had been granted parole in barely 20 days while applications from others had been pending for over six months. The judge contrasted the speedy disposal of Sharma’s plea with the inaction displayed in seven specific cases. Agreeing that the government was required to adopt a cautious approach while dealing with convicts of heinous crimes and that stringent conditions would have to be imposed at the time of their release on parole, Justice Gambhir said, ‘‘certainly the government cannot sit over the applications of the convicts for undue and an unusually long time. It can also not be seen favouring some or disfavouring others as every convict should be treated alike and decisions should be as per the jail manual and the decisions of the apex court and high court.’’ Referring to the government’s lists of parole applications filed this year and those still under consideration, the court said they ‘‘depict a dismal picture of apathy of the government in not giving due priority to the parole applications moved by convicts.’’ The lists were appended to an affidavit filed by the government, saying that out of 372 parole applications filed this year, 72 have been allowed, 202 have been rejected and 98 are under consideration. Significantly, the government added that despite its cautious approach, 14 convicts had jumped parole this year and were still absconding.






Haryana govt pushes ahead with Aravali mining plan
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Haryana-govt-pushes-ahead-with-Aravali-mining-plan/articleshow/5252927.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 05:18am IST
NEW DELHI: It seems Haryana government does not want to lose more time wating for green signal from the Supreme Court to resume mining of building material. That is visible the way the state is finalizing its plans, putting in place the guidelines and procedures for auctions and setting up Aravali rehabilitation fund. Sources said financial commissioner and principal secretary of industries Y S Mallik, who was in the Delhi on Thursday, had a meeting with the SC-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and discussed the matter. "We have already appointed one consultant for carrying out the mitigation study and come out with solutions for reclamation and rehabilitation of already mined areas. We will finalize another consultant soon for this massive task,'' Mallik said. He added the guidelines for auctioning have already been finalized. "We can't share them with anyone except the CEC. We are in the process of setting up the rehabilitation fund as per the SC guideline. We will complete all this within the given time-frame since without completing them we can't even touch the 600 hectares, which CEC has agreed to open for mining,'' Mallik said. Sources said in the absence of supply of building material from the Aravali, the demand of stones from Rajasthan has increased. "Even the state PWD is procuring huge quantity of stones from those areas for carrying our development works,'' said a senior official. In its October order, the SC had granted conditional permission for resumption of mining of minor minerals in the Aravali region of Faridabad and Palwal after the state government gave an undertaking for termination of all existing mining leases. The court had said in its order that it would consider allowing mining in 1,500 hectares in Gurgaon and Mewat, depending on how situation unfolds in Faridabad and Palwal. Haryana had submitted that it would take three months for notifying the auction guidelines, setting up an Aravali rehabilitation fund and a monitoring committee and six months for preparing and initiating a reclamation and rehabilitation plan.







Lawyers stage demonstration
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Lawyers-stage-demonstration/articleshow/5252929.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 05:13am IST
NEW DELHI: A day after sugarcane farmers from western UP lay central Delhi to siege, it was the turn of lawyers from the same region who blocked Parliament Street on Friday demanding a separate high court bench in western UP. Hundreds of lawyers held demonstration at Jantar Mantar demanding the Central and state governments to stop passing the buck and take concrete steps to give respite to lakhs of people. Protesters said people have to travel 800km to reach Allahabad and the poor, in particular, cannot afford to pursue cases for a longer period. Minister of state for labour and employment Oscar Fernandes met the agitators and said the Centre would consider their demand. But, he added, it will happen only when the state government puts the demand on table.







Notice to Ashoka, MLA over transfers
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Notice-to-Ashoka-MLA-over-transfers/articleshow/5252888.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 03:49am IST
BANGALORE: The high court has strongly disapproved of the tendency of transferring officials at the behest of ministers and MLAs. The court on Friday ordered issuance of notices to transport minister R Ashoka and Chikmagalur MLA C T Ravi, as well as the KSRTC management in this regard. "It is very strange that ministers and MLAs interfere in cases where there is unblemished record of service. It is nothing but a serious lapse. If transfers are to be made at the behest of ministers and MLAs, the morale of the organization goes down. Let them come and explain," Justice Ram Mohan Reddy observed. Flossy Philomena D'souza, an accounts supervisor with KSRTC, filed the petition challenging her transfer from Chikmagalur to Kolar on August 19. She claimed that though it was mentioned `in public interest' in the transfer order, it later turned out that the local MLA had sent a letter to the minister seeking her transfer, as evident from copies made available under RTI. Relief to Mylarappa The high court has stayed for eight weeks the summons issued by a trial court against B C Mylarappa, former director of distance education in Bangalore University, over a private complaint. Muniswamy, who alleged that Mylarappa had threatened him over property matters, registered the case based on a complaint. But Mylarappa said he'd paid Rs 5 lakh towards sale consideration for the property, and there was delay in filing the complaint.







State doesn't figure in child surveys: Experts
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/State-doesnt-figure-in-child-surveys-Experts/articleshow/5252898.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 03:39am IST
BANGALORE: The Karnataka Child Rights Observatory (KCRO), at a two-day convention on the state's initiatives for child rights and develoment, has expressed concern that the it does not figure in many central surveys on the subject. On Friday, KCRO commemorated the twenty years of Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) adopted by the UN. Members of KCRO, CRC, Child Rights Trust (CRT), and various NGOs and doctors attended and discussed issues regarding child protection, health and nutrition, child development, participation and action plans for NGOs. Dr Rupa N Devadasan, Institute of Public Health, said: "A child's health is a dialogue and cannot be summed up in the minutes of discussion... Doctors should stick to one area and continue researching it to bring forth comparatively better health solutions." While Dr Vasavi, NIAS, discussed the unattended issues in child development, Renny D'Souza, Padi, elaborated on child participation and how important it is to his or her personal development. "The state has promised many state-of-art plans for child development and child rights, but is yet to reach the target. It doesn't figure in many surveys conducted by the Centre like studies on sexual assault and corporal punishment among children,'' she said. According to her, the percentage of juveniles apprehended under IPC during 2007 in the state shows depressing results, and the state also ranks last in the percentage of children who can do subtraction or more. The gathering's unanimous view was that parents should be the first ones to promote child development at the primary level. Issues like child custodianship and guardianship should necessarily involve child participation, added Renny. On Saturday, Unicef will release the world children report. NGOs' action plan Wide publicity about the conventions and the programmes. Educating possible stakeholders like parents, teachers, governments and police about the Unicef and CRC conventions, and how to implement them. Press for implementation of all policies for children at every level of society. Equal opportunities for the disabled, under-privileged and semi-privileged children. Special opportunities for the girl child. NGOs to be watch dogs of these programmes at the panchayat and state levels.







A history of complaints
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/A-history-of-complaints/articleshow/5252905.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 03:34am IST
BANGALORE: The charges of encroachment and altering the state's boundary against tourism minister and MD of Obulapuram Mining Company G Janardhan Reddy are nothing new. Janardhan Reddy, who entered into the mining business in 2002, owns two mining leases on the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border -- 68.50 hectares at Malapanagudi and 39.15 hectares at Obulapuram. Mine owner Tapaal Narayana Reddy had lodged a complaint against Janardhan Reddy and three others at the Torangal police station in Bellary on August 31, 2006. He accused them of unauthorisedly entering his mining area at Thumati, destroying the survey poles erected by the Karnataka government and annexing it to their mining area, which falls under Andhra Pradesh jurisdiction. T N Reddy also lodged a complaint with the state authorities against Janardhan Reddy over the Obulapuram mines. On May 22, 2007, Karnataka State Forest Guards and Watchers Association, Bellary, petitioned the Bellary deputy commissioner against the Obulapuram company staff and accused them of threatening and abusing them. Janardhan Reddy has been accused of destroying a temple, Sunkalamma, which acted as a boundary between Karnataka and AP. The cases registered against him over this are: * On September 3, 2006, a case (CR Number 338/06) was registered at the Bellary rural police station under Sec 295, 436 of IPC and 3 and 4 of the Explosives Act 1908 by Mangyu Nayak, a Lambani priest and resident of Honnali thanda, Bellary, for the demolition of Sunkalamma temple * On September 4, 2006, an officer of the Bellary range forest registered a case (FOC No 11/2006-07) under Column 24 (GG) and 73(D) K F Act 1963 * On September 5, 2006, an officer of the Bellary range forests registered a complaint (FOC 12/06-07) under Column 24 (GG) and 73(D) KF Act 1963 for demolishing Sunkalamma temple toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com







Have clear policy, guv tells govt
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Have-clear-policy-guv-tells-govt/articleshow/5253235.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 04:07am IST
BANGALORE: Governor H R Bhardwaj has written to the government expressing concern over the recent controversy related to appointment of two registrars in Bangalore University. Sources in the secretariat on Friday said Bhardwaj has sought a clear-cut policy on such issues. Bhardwaj, who is chancellor of universities in Karnataka, wants the government to ensure that “appointment of registrars doesn’t become a bone of contention or reason for obstruction to the university’s normal work,” sources said. The reason for the altercation: BU V-C N Prabhu Dev’s refusal to allow newly appointed registrars M G Krishnan and M S Talwar to take charge on November 16 and the duo saying they were armed with government order (GO) from the higher education department. Sources said the letter also wanted the government to take V-Cs into confidence while making such appointments. “You will agree with me that vice-chancellors have an important role in shaping universities. Hence, it goes without saying that they should have a smooth administrative system in order to enable them to work with efficiency, integrity and promptness,” said sources, quoting the letter.







Single girlchild can get reservation in PG: HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Single-girlchild-can-get-reservation-in-PG-HC/articleshow/5252886.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 03:51am IST
BANGALORE: If you are single girlchild in your family and opting for post-graduate studies, don't look back. The high court on Friday directed the government to consider and make special provision for ensuring reservation to single girlchild families in higher education, taking into account the essence of a central scheme in 2005. Justice A S Bopanna gave this direction while disposing of a petition filed by M S Supreetha seeking reservation in PG course in medicine. The petitioner completed her MBBS and internship in Devaraja Urs Medical College, Kolar, and claimed that Andhra Pradesh and Punjab governments have already implemented the said scheme. Even though several representations were made to the authorities, they were yet to take action, the petitioner said. She wants to appear for the February 7, 2010, PG entrance examination. WHAT'S THE SCHEME ABOUT? UGC introduced the post-graduate Indira Gandhi Scholarship for single girlchild, with an aim to compensate direct cost of girls' education to all levels, specially for those who happen to be the only girlchild in their families. Any girl, who's the only child of her parents, is eligible. The scheme is applicable to such a girl who has taken admission in first-year master's degree programmes in any recognized university or post-graduate college; duration of the scholarship is 2 years (for 10 months in a year).








CM-led panel fixes BMIC timeline
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/CM-led-panel-fixes-BMIC-timeline/articleshow/5252904.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 03:36am IST
BANGALORE: Fearing strictures from the Supreme Court, a high-level committee headed by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa has fixed a timeline for implementation of the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project. On November 3, Justices Tarun Chatterjee, Lodha and Deepak Verma of the apex court set November 22 as deadline to set up the high-level committee, and report to it with the time schedule on implementation of BMIC. Accordingly, the committee was constituted on November 10 and held its first meeting on Thursday. Going by the timeline, which will be submitted to the SC, the required land transfer to Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), promoters of BMIC, and tax concessions will be done in the next one year. Of the 20,193 acres, which the state government agreed to give NICE in 1997, the developers received 7,000 acres so far. With the Yeddyurappa-led committee clearing all hurdles, rest of the 14,000 acres is expected to be transferred in a year's time.







Forest officer's show-cause notice
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Forest-officers-show-cause-notice/articleshow/5252907.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 03:33am IST
BANGALORE: A show-cause notice was served to Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) by Kallol Biswas, divisional forest officer, Anantapur on October 28.

THE NOTICE The OMC has uprooted/ destroyed the village boundary pillars designated as survey station number 4 and lease boundary pillar number 6 of 25.98 hectres of OMC so fixed during the survey conducted by me from May 9 2009 to May 13 2009. The survey was conducted to fix the village boundary between H Siddapuram and Obulapuram village relayed by state high level committee appointed by Andhra Pradesh government. You have not only destroyed the above two permanent survey stations constructed with cement concrete but you have also destroyed all the flagged iron rods pegged at regular intervals along the village boundary. During my inspection it was noticed that fresh mining operations was undertaken in high grade ore located in Bellary Iron Ore Private Ltd's (BIOPL) mining lease area upto 50 mts in width inside from the village boundary and 100 mts in length. The forest range officer, Kalyandurg in his report stated that you have carried out illegal encroachment in Bellary Iron Ore Ltd and carried out illegal mining operations day and night from September 25 2009 to October 8 2009. The concerned beat staff have also informed that they have witnessed blasting operation carried out at midnight in BIOPL mining area. This illegal act of undertaking blasting operation in the night by you followed by immediate excavation of iron ore is in violation of Mines Act. These are all violations of mining lease condition imposed by ministry of environment and forests, AP state government divisional forest officer, the provision of MMRD Act, Mines Act, provision of Indian Forest Act 1927 and Forest (Conservation) Rule 1980. toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com






Personal info can be sought under RTI, says HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Personal-info-can-be-sought-under-RTI-says-HC/articleshow/5252969.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 04:29am IST
CHENNAI: Can personal information such as an address of an employee or a pensioner be demanded under the provisions of the Right To Information (RTI) Act? Yes, says the Madras high court. Justice K Chandru, pointing out that the writ petitioner M Kaliaperumal of Chennai wanted the personal details only to execute a court decree, said: "A pensioner does not cease to become totally out of control from the government. On the contrary, his conduct and character are continuously monitored by the central government. In that context, the whereabouts of such pensioner is also very much relevant and it cannot be a private information. The authorities are bound to help in the execution of court orders." Kaliaperumal approached the postal department authorities at Gudur in Andhra Pradesh, seeking information about a man named K Ramachandra Rao, against whom a court order had been passed in a forgery case. Unable to find him at his residence, Kaliaperumal filed an RTI application demanding to know the postal address of Rao as the latter had been receiving his pension from the Gudur post office. However, the RTI plea was rejected on the ground that this was a personal information and had no public interest. His appeal too met with the similar fate. Pointing out that the address was sought only to execute a court order, Justice Chandru said Kaliaperumal was not able to take further civil and criminal action against Rao as the latter's address was not known. Directing the authorities to furnish the correct address of Rao within 30 days, the judge said the plea did have a public interest as the pensioner's exact whereabouts would clear doubts as to whether such a pensioner really existed on the date of receipt of his pension or whether a fraudulent claim had been made on his behalf. "Such information cannot be denied," he said.







Madras HC discloses assets of judges, third court to do so
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Madras-HC-discloses-assets-of-judges-third-court-to-do-so/articleshow/5253282.cms
A Subramani, TNN 21 November 2009, 04:50am IST
CHENNAI: In a step towards greater transparency and accountability, the Madras High Court on Friday disclosed the assets and liabilities of all its 54 judges on its website, becoming the second HC in the country to do so. The Kerala HC was the first to declare the assets of its judges on September 30, followed by the Supreme Court that placed details in the public domain on November 2. Though the High Courts of Delhi, Bombay and Punjab & Haryana have already announced that they too would make public their assets, they have not yet implemented the decision. Starting from Chief Justice HL Gokhale, all the judges of the Madras HC have made exhaustive declarations about their properties, agricultural land holdings, investments and bank holdings. Neither the format nor details of the declaration is uniform though. Shares, fixed deposits and gold jewellery seem to be the most preferred investment modes for the judges, most of whom do not have any agricultural lands or income. Justice Gokhale does not have a house or agricultural lands in his name, but he has revealed that he inherited shares in 15 companies from his father. His spouse has a flat in Mumbai, besides bank deposits and jewellery.






HC asks collector to monitor sand mining on Cheyyar river bed
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/HC-asks-collector-to-monitor-sand-mining-on-Cheyyar-river-bed/articleshow/5252967.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 04:30am IST
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Kancheepuram district collector to monitor sand quarries on the Cheyyar river, to ensure that no quarrying was done beyond the permissible limit of 0.9 metres. The first bench comprising the chief justice HL Gokhale and justice N Paul Vasanthakumar, passing orders on a public interest writ petition of J Jayakumar of Naiyadupakkam village in Uthiramerur taluk, however, declined to stay quarrying of sand on the river. The petitioner contended that men engaged by private parties were quarrying sand beyond the permitted limits on 21.67 hectares of river bed. Claiming that several mandatory requirements were being violated by the operators, he said heavy equipment were being employed to dig beyond 0.9 metres at the site. He said the village panchayat passed a resolution in connivance with local politicians, and then the district collector granted quarry permit. Though the government pleader denied that quarries were more than 0.9 metres deep, the judges pointed to the photographs submitted by the petitioner and said, "perhaps excavation could be more than what is permitted." They then said: "We are of the view that the collector ought to cause a direct monitoring of the removal of sand. The government pleader has stated that removal of sand is being done only by the public works department and not by any private parties. Even so, it is necessary from the point of view of the environment that this particular ocndition ought to be observed strictly. We expect the collector to take necessary steps in this regard." An official document available with TOI reveals that the mining of sand has reduced the storage of water in all the 17 river basins in Tamil Nadu from which lakhs of cubic metres of sand was being mined everyday. While the G.O. 735 of Industries department prohibited by 500 metres on either side of the drinking water headworks but illegal sand mining could not be avoided in the riverbed inspite of the order, the document states. Indiscriminate mining has also affected the infiltration wells functioning in the river bed and has affected a number of drinking water supply headworks in the major rivers. The top brass of municipal administration has also suggested two strategies, fully implement GO 735 and sever punishment for vilators, to curb illegal sand mining. The government is yet to act on the suggestions, officials said.







More awareness needed for RTI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/More-awareness-needed-for-RTI/articleshow/5252742.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 01:25am IST
AHMEDABAD: The awareness level among common people about the Right to Information Act is not satisfactory. This was stated by chief information commissioner RN Das at a seminar on Your Rights under Right to Information Act' at the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday. Das said several studies have revealed that the RTI awareness level in the entire state is not satisfactory, with a huge contrast seen in rural areas where some parts were actively using it and some were completely ignorant. According to Das, many people still do not know how to file an application for seeking information. Das further said that the provision of pro-active disclosure should vary from area to area. Citing example of Panchmahal, he said that the authorities have gone in for pro-active disclosure but the information sought by the applicants was slightly different. Hence a study at the grass root level needs to be carried out and authorities should disclose information looking at the need of that area, he said. Das further added that one has to ensure that the justice was done to the poor and downtrodden, who are living within limitation of the law. He cited two examples in which how he ensured justice to the victims living within the parameters of the law. He said a widow had sought information about the labour insurance after her husband death. The labour department informed that the application was sent to Oriental Insurance. Though the insurance company was not in the purview of the state, he wrote to the insurance company and during the hearing the widow got the cheque. Speaking at the event, former city civil and session judge BN Jani said that one cannot civilise the society with bunch of laws. He also objected to the use of the word request in the RTI.







Hearing on Hawara's appeal against sentence adjourned
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Hearing-on-Hawaras-appeal-against-sentence-adjourned/articleshow/5252913.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 02:44am IST
CHANDIGARH: As the proceedings against accused Paramjit Singh Bheura in the Beant Singh assassination case were yet to be concluded by the special CBI court, Chandigarh, which is held in Burail jail here, the division bench of justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Ram Chander Gupta on Friday adjourned till December 24 the hearing on the appeal filed by Jagtar Singh Hawara and others against their conviction and sentence. The trial court had awarded death sentence to two accused, Hawara and Balwant Singh, while others were awarded different prison terms, including life imprisonment. While Hawara and others have appealed against their conviction and sentence, Balwant Singh has moved the court to direct the jail authorities concerned to implement the death sentence awarded to him. These matters are to be heard simultaneously as also that of Bheura, hence the adjournment of hearing. The then Punjab chief minister, Beant Singh, and 16 others were done to death in a bomb blast outside the Civil Secretariat, here, on August 31, 1995. One of the key accused, Jagtar Singh Tara, who along with Hawara and Bheura had escaped from the jail by making a tunnel, continues to be at large, while the other two were apprehended.






TGTSOA to fight in SC for shacks by draw of lots
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/TGTSOA-to-fight-in-SC-for-shacks-by-draw-of-lots/articleshow/5253712.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 05:59am IST
PANAJI: The Goan Traditional Shack Owners Association (TGTSOA) passed a resolution on Friday that it would continue its fight and battle it out in the Supreme Court to ensure that shack allotments are done through draw of lots and not by preference to seniority. TGTSOA members convened a meet in Panaji on Friday morning where an unanimous resolution was passed to this effect. "We had filed a caveat in the Supreme Court that if the SOWS approached it to appeal the High Court's order, its petition should be rejected. However, now that the Supreme Court has issued a status quo on the matter, we have decided that we will fight it out at the Supreme Court too," TGTSOA president Manuel Cardoz said. It maybe pointed out here that Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS) and the tourism department, on November 9, lost a court case after Clause 16 in the Beach Shack Policy 2009-10 was challenged by rivals TGTSOA. Clause 16 specifies the all-important method applied to choose who gets to put up a shack on the beach, and stated that preference would be given to seniority. On November 18, SOWS challenged the High Court's decision in the Supreme Court.








Acting CJ walks out over imperfect national emblem
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Acting-CJ-walks-out-over-imperfect-national-emblem/articleshow/5253077.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 06:53am IST
KOLKATA: Acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya walked out of a courtroom when a petitioner's lawyers pointed out that the chair he was sitting on had an incorrect representation of the national emblem. The petition he had been hearing at that time, incidentally, was about faulty national emblems engraved in several offices of the state and the Centre. On Friday, acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice Prasenjit Mondal were hearing a PIL filed by Kamal Dey, editor and publisher of a Bengali periodical. Dey had submitted that the Ashok Chakra was being used without the writing Satyameva Jayate, which is integral to the emblem. In fact, a division Bench of the high court had earlier held that the national emblem should have the writing below under the Prevention of Insults of National Honours Act. Dey produced photographs before the court to show how the nation emblem was disregarded.
Lawyers pointed out that the authorities concerned were not paying heed despite the court order to rectify the error and submit a compliance report within three weeks. It was at this stage that the petitioner's lawyers, Tapas Bhanja and Sujay Bandyopadhyay, pointed out that even the chief justice's chair, on which Bhattacharya was sitting, did not have the Satyameva Jayate inscription. The acting chief justice stood up immediately and turned around to have a look at the emblem. He then summoned the registrar-general. As soon as he came, Bhattacharya asked him to rectify the mistake and left the room. The fault, however, could not be rectified in a short time. The registrar-general then asked to replace the CJ's chair with an ordinary one. Justice Bhattacharya sat on that chair and resumed court proceedings after the recess.







Black Friday for state judiciary
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Black-Friday-for-state-judiciary/articleshow/5253871.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 07:05am IST
JAIPUR: Friday turned into a black day for the state's judiciary when a token strike called by Rajasthan High Court Bar Association took an ugly turn with more than 500 agitating lawyers of the high court turning violent after Chief Justice Jagdish Bhalla and Justice M N Bhandari started hearing cases despite the strike call. The association had called a day's strike to protest the suicide by a Bhilwara-based advocate Amit Yadav who blamed police atrocities in his suicide note. A mob of violent advocates gathered outside the gate of the court of Chief Justice and prevented lawyers and clients form entering. However, the division bench headed by the Chief Justice started hearing the matters listed on board at 10.30 am and made it clear that no one from the association, including the president, had taken him into confidence before going on strike, nor had it been bought to his notice. Present in the court were Supreme Court lawyer Arunerswar Gupta, who had just started arguing the matter relating to reservation of seats for women in the lottery drawn for Jaipur Municipal Council, and Abhinav Sharma, who was waiting for the scheduled Justice N N Mathur Commission case to be taken up by the bench. With the protesting lawyers getting abusive and violent, the Chief Justice was forced to call the police and advocate Aruneshwar Gupta, who was arguing the matter at that time, was immediately escorted out through the back door by cops. The lawyers than abused Sharma for his presence in the courtroom and forcefully dragged him out. In the meanwhile, bar association president Madhav Mitra and secretary Manish Kumawat approached the Chief Justice in the chaotic atmosphere with advocates hurling abuses at the judges and the two advocates. Annoyed by the due and deliberate interference by the lawyers in justice delivery system, Chief Justice Bhalla specifically told the Bar president: "You were required to have informed us but that was not done nor any request was made at 10.30 am. If the lawyers have a head-on collision with the bench they will be at the receiving end. This in not the way to agitate, taking the judicial system to ransom." The furious lawyers forcefully entered the Chief Justice's court and started abusing the bench. The lawyers then went to the chamber of advocate Abhinav Sharma and ransacked his office and threw out the furniture. An emergency general house meeting of the Bar Association was also called wherein all the member advocates of the Bar Association decided to expel advocate Abhinav Sharma and Aruneshwar Gupta from the membership of the Rajasthan HC Bar Association. The proposal to boycott the court of Chief Justice was also mooted, but no unanimous decision was taken. CM Ashok Gehlot has also ordered a probe into the incident and asked the ADG (crime) to look into it.







Amend child rights Act: NGO
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Amend-child-rights-Act-NGO/articleshow/5253043.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 06:27am IST
KOLKATA: Parliament had passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill that emphasis free education for children aged between 6 and 14 years, but what will be the provisions for children below six years of age and those between 14 and 18? Social organisation Child Rights and You (CRY) now wants the law amended. It will forward a charter of demands to the Centre on December 11 the day when India ratified the UN's child rights convention. The charter demands that children not covered by the law be included in it. It also calls for ensuring that a school proper facilities be set up within one kilometre of any habitation. The CRY charter demands that 10% of India's GDP be allocated for education of children who constitute 40% of the country's population. "We have launched a nation-wide campaign for signing the charter. We are expecting at least half-a-billion people to sign the charter," said Cry's GM for Volunteer Action, Soha Moitra. Interested citizens have three options to sign the charter of demands. They can simply walk down to CRY office at Kalikapur, send an SMS on 58558 or log on to www.cry.org. "The Sabko Shiksha, Samaan Shiksha campaign was launched on November 14," said CRY's Director Dipankar Mazumder.








School occupation in Lalgarh: HC seeks details
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/School-occupation-in-Lalgarh-HC-seeks-details/articleshow/5253049.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 06:40am IST
KOLKATA/JHARGRAM: Calcutta high court on Friday called for details of the steps taken by the government on the removal of joint forces from schools in the Lalgarh area, which have been occupied by jawans since the anti-Maoist operations began earlier this year. The order came on a PIL praying that all schools in four blocks of West Midnapore be immediately vacated as they are not functioning due to such occupation. A division bench fixed the matter for hearing on Tuesday. Advocate-general Balai Ray submitted that some steps had been taken to vacate the schools. Already, two of the 16 schools had been vacated, Ray added. Meanwhile, PCPA supporters, students and guardians blocked a road near State Highway 9 for three hours to protest against the alleged harassment of six students by jawans near Banstala jungle in Jhargram (West Midnapore) on Friday. The jawans allegedly detained the six students, who were on their way to school for exams, and made them strip. The Madhyamik Test examinees then refused to sit for the exams. Debashis Chakraborty, IC of Jhargram PS, promised to look into the matter.








Manu Sharma got parole because of high connections, influence: High Court
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/manu-sharma-got-parole-because-of-high-connections-influence-high-court/544415/0
Express news service
Posted: Saturday , Nov 21, 2009 at 0313 hrs New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court on Friday accused the state government of “selectively” granting parole to the son of senior Haryana politician Venod Sharma, Siddharth Vashisht alias Manu Sharma, who is serving a life term for the murder of model Jessica Lal.
Earlier this month, Manu, 32, who was out of Tihar Jail on a two-month parole to attend to his “ageing mother” based in Chandigarh, was spotted pub-hopping in the National Capital, triggering questions as to whether he had violated parole norms.
“This court has no doubt that the department (Home) has been giving parole to some convicts because of the high connections and influence. No doubt one such case is that of Manu Sharma,” Justice Kailash Gambhir wrote in his order.
The court was hearing a complaint from convict Sumedh Singh about how his parole application has been pending for over three months.
At the start of the hearing today, Justice Gambhir specifically asked police counsel Meera Bhatia to point out the name of Manu Sharma from a list of 372 convicts who had applied for parole till date. When shown that Manu’s application was numbered 245, Justice Gambhir remarked that “this application has been disposed off a lot quicker than the rest”.
Later, in his written order too, he noted that Manu’s application was disposed off with “utmost promptitude” while others have to wait for at least three to four months.
In his affidavit, B M Jain, Deputy Secretary (Home), Delhi Government, said 72 convicts have been granted parole from January 1, 2009 to November 18. He said his department rejected 202 parole applications, while 98 others are under consideration and 14 prisoners have “jumped parole” and are still absconding.
“The list portrays a dismal picture of apathy, least priority is given to parole applications,” the court observed.
Jain explained in his affidavit that extreme caution is taken to check if the convict would pose a threat or commit crimes if he is let out on parole, and so the delay in submitting police verification reports. A draft of revised guidelines on parole conditions in Delhi has been approved by the government and will be placed before the High Court on November 25, he said.
The Bench gave the police 10 days to dispose off parole applications in which police verification reports are ready.
For convicts who are from other states or whose verification reports are yet to arrive, the court ordered the Home department to immediately inform the Commissioner of Police, who will get in touch with his counterparts in the respective states. All this has to be done within 10 days.
“It is directed that all pending parole applications are to be finally decided by the government within 15 days to one month from this order today,” the Bench ordered.







Parole isn't only for rich and powerful: HC to Govt
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/parole-isnt-only-for-rich-and-powerful-hc-to-govt/105652-3.html?from=tn
Parikshit Luthra / CNN-IBN
Published on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 22:39, Updated on Sat, Nov 21, 2009 at 11:58
New Delhi: The High Court has slammed the Delhi Government for giving parole to Jessica Lal’s killer Manu Sharma on a platter while other convicts had to go through a long wait for parole.
Parole isn't only for the rich and the powerful -- that is what the Delhi High Court has told the Delhi Government.
“No doubt the Government has been giving priority to some convicts because of their influence and no doubt one of such cases is that of Manu Sharma, “ the court said.
The high court was hearing a petitioner whose parole application was pending with the Government for long.
Meanwhile, the Government in its reply said:
· 372 parole applications were received in 2009.
· Out of which only 72 were granted.
· 202 rejected outright.
The court said the figures clearly showed apathy towards the applicants.
The state Government will now submit a draft of revised guidelines before the Chief Justice of India on November 25 which says: All parole applications will be disposed of within a month or at the most 2 months and that attempts will be made to complete police verification of applications within a week.
The courts said that no doubt the Government should exercise caution while granting parole. It cannot favour some and disfavour others.
While the new guidelines for granting parole are yet to be formalised, the court provided some much needed reprieve for some prisoners by asking the Delhi government to dispose of all pending applications within a stipulated time period.






Explain shortage of fertilisers: HC to state
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Explain-shortage-of-fertilisers-HC-to-state/articleshow/5253117.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 06:13am IST
LUCKNOW: The high court on Friday sought reply of the state government on a PIL seeking timely availability of fertilisers to farmers in the state.


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The court fixed November 26 for next hearing of the case. The order came on the PIL filed by five farmers from Lucknow, Pilibhit, Sitapur and Lakhimpur. Their counsel, Jayant Singh Tomar submitted that there was acute shortage of DAP, urea and other manures in the state. The Central government has provided adequate DAP to the state but due to faulty distribution by the state agencies, the rabi crop is suffering, argued the counsel. The bench of Justice Pradeep Kant and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi directed additional chief standing counsel, Mukund Tiwari to obtain instructions from the state government regarding the shortage of fertilisers in the state. The court also asked the state government as to why the petitioners were not being provided fertilisers as required. When the PIL was being argued, senior advocate, Raghvendra Singh assisted the court saying that since most of the primary cooperative societies were unstable and facing dispute within, the distribution of fertilisers to the farmers was not proper and thus they faced scarcity in peak season of rabi crop. Another senior advocate, Anil Tiwari added that there was shortage of availability to the government as well as the distribution system was also not up to mark. Therefore, the entire state is in grip of fertiliser shortage. The petitioners submitted that from adjoining border districts, the fertilisers were smuggled to Nepal and China. The state government was not taking strict action against black marketeers. The bench refuted state government's objection that the PIL was politically motivated and remarked that it contained public cause relating to lakhs of farmers.






Madras HC directs overhauling legal education
http://www.indiaedunews.net/Law/Madras_HC_directs_overhauling_legal_education_9575/
November 20, 2009
Chennai: Justice N. Kirubakaran at the Madras High Court recently took an initiative to dive in to the existing scenario of the legal profession in the country and suggested to restore its past glory by introducing reforms in imparting the law education at the admission stage itself. “In order to attract talented students to law courses, the curriculum should be in pace with the globalization to suit the present day situation,” he said.The judge further observed that reviewing the curriculum would prevent the decline in standard of legal education as well as check the recurrence of November 2008 violent incidents in the Madras Law College while he dismissed a writ petition from an aspirant to three-year BL degree course, who crossed the age limit.“It is not good for the largest democracy of the world to suffer on the parameters of legal education. If no remedial measures are undertaken to improve the situation then the country would suffer irreparably,” said the judge while giving directives to the government and the Bar Council of India (BCI).Running exactly on the lines of the National Law School, classes in the law colleges are ought to be taken seriously by the students like that of a regular college where short attendance is an issue.In order to make the students more responsible in the matter of their education, the college hours have to be increased to 5 or six hours per day and classes should be held in the morning and afternoon sessions.The cut off percentage for admission into law colleges should be not less than 60. The antecedents of students might be verified before admission.“Appointment of proficient full time professors/lecturers was to be made. Three-year law courses had to be scrapped in a phased manner and a five-year integrated course was to be introduced. The students had to be involved in field study,” the judge said.






HC directs SSP to monitor eviction drive
TNN 21 November 2009, 03:30am IST
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/HC-asks-CS-to-ensure-payment-of-salary-to-employee/articleshow/5253055.cms
PATNA: Patna High Court on Friday directed the Patna senior superintendent of police to produce a report on the removal of encroachments and cowsheds in the city through a specially deployed nodal officer every month. A division Bench, comprising acting Chief Justice Shiva Kirti Singh and Justice Shyam Kishore Sharma, issued the directive while hearing a PIL of one Barun Kumar Sharma, who sought the removal of encroachments and khatals from Bashishth Narain Path in the Kadamkuan locality. On Friday, the Bench directed the Patna district magistrate and the Patna Municipal Corporation commissioner to coordinate with police to make Patna town free of all encroachments. The HC will monitor the progress of work regarding the removal of encroachments every three months so that there is no break and no new encroachments come up.





Explain shortage of fertilisers: HC to state
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Explain-shortage-of-fertilisers-HC-to-state/articleshow/5253117.cms
TNN 21 November 2009, 06:13am IST
LUCKNOW: The high court on Friday sought reply of the state government on a PIL seeking timely availability of fertilisers to farmers in the state. The court fixed November 26 for next hearing of the case. The order came on the PIL filed by five farmers from Lucknow, Pilibhit, Sitapur and Lakhimpur. Their counsel, Jayant Singh Tomar submitted that there was acute shortage of DAP, urea and other manures in the state. The Central government has provided adequate DAP to the state but due to faulty distribution by the state agencies, the rabi crop is suffering, argued the counsel. The bench of Justice Pradeep Kant and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi directed additional chief standing counsel, Mukund Tiwari to obtain instructions from the state government regarding the shortage of fertilisers in the state. The court also asked the state government as to why the petitioners were not being provided fertilisers as required. When the PIL was being argued, senior advocate, Raghvendra Singh assisted the court saying that since most of the primary cooperative societies were unstable and facing dispute within, the distribution of fertilisers to the farmers was not proper and thus they faced scarcity in peak season of rabi crop. Another senior advocate, Anil Tiwari added that there was shortage of availability to the government as well as the distribution system was also not up to mark. Therefore, the entire state is in grip of fertiliser shortage. The petitioners submitted that from adjoining border districts, the fertilisers were smuggled to Nepal and China. The state government was not taking strict action against black marketeers. The bench refuted state government's objection that the PIL was politically motivated and remarked that it contained public cause relating to lakhs of farmers.







Allahabad HC needs 27 yrs to clear pending cases in UP
Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui, TNN 21 November 2009, 06:15am IST
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Allahabad-HC-needs-27-yrs-to-clear-pending-cases-in-UP/articleshow/5253787.cms
LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court will have to spare a little over 27 years, comprising 365 working days of eight hours each, to clear the 9,49,437 cases pending before it. This, when no fresh cases are taken up during this period. The calculation is based on the last annual report of the Delhi High Court, which heard 3,32,141 cases in 2007-2008, with around five minutes - four minutes 55 seconds to be precise - being devoted to each case. Of the total of over 40 lakh cases pending before high courts across India, the Allahabad High Court shares 23.62 per cent of the burden. At the district and subordinate court level, UP has 19.53 per cent of the total backlog of over 2.7 crore cases nationwide. With fresh cases being filed at a steady pace and vacancies being carried forward almost every year, the backlog appears set to stay here for quite some time. Most of the judicial officers (JOs) and the lawyers in Uttar Pradesh believe that the issue must be addressed urgently in the interest of justice. "Justice delayed, is justice denied - this is an age-old belief. With such heavy backlog, one can easily gauge the extent of justice being done with petitioners across the country in general and Uttar Pradesh in particular," said senior high court lawyer I B Singh. "Though the law ministry announces schemes and mechanisms to deal with the crisis from time to time, nothing much has been done,” he said citing the 'Justice at your doorstep' concept that was announced in the past.






Lawyer gets Rs 1 lakh in defamation case
Diwakar Phatak21 November 2009, 04:34am IST
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Lawyer-gets-Rs-1-lakh-in-defamation-case/articleshow/5253257.cms
GONDIA: Lawyer and notary Jayantilal Parmar was not only acquitted but he also got a compensation of Rs 1 lakh in a misappropriation and defamation case against the gurjar kshatriya samaj. Parmar was the chief of Gurjar Kshtriya Samaj in the early 80s. The then treasurer of the society Prof Chunnilal Chouhan had alleged that Parmar had misappropriated Rs 13,086 between 1983 and 1986. Through a civil suit filed in 2003, Chouhan demanded that the money and the interest amounting to Rs 22,219 be recovered from him. Parmar refuted the allegations and lodged a counter case claiming Rs 1 lakh for defamation. On November 17, civil judge (senior division) B S Mahajan acquitted Parmar and ruled that the president of the samaj, Dr Liladhar Parmar and secretary Prafulla Chawada should pay Parmar Rs 5,000 each. In the defamation case, the court on November 18 upheld Parmar's Rs 1 lakh claim. The court further ruled that the amendment (25-12-1994) made by the then executive committee and the election of Parmar (July 1, 2001) and other office bearers of the society was null and void. The officials have also been directed to submit accounts of income and expenditure till date.




SC refuses to stop idol immersion
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091121/jsp/nation/story_11768109.jsp
OUR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, Nov. 20: The Supreme Court today refused to stop immersion of idols in natural water bodies saying it would not interfere with religious customs of any denomination.
“You are speaking of Article 21, right to life and liberty of individuals, what about Article 25 (which guarantees right to every citizen to practise the religion of his choice)? We can’t waste a minute on such petitions,” Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan said, dismissing a public interest plea seeking such curbs.
Delhi trader Salek Chand Jain had filed the plea saying immersed idols were choking natural water bodies. “We cannot give any directions on this,” the CJI said.
The Supreme Court was asked to intervene just as it had done to curb the use of loudspeakers and amplifiers to check noise pollution.
The idols, made of harmful chemicals and non-biodegradable items and immersed after Durga Puja, Ganesh Puja or Saraswati Puja, choked rivers and ponds, the petition said.
Idols should instead be sunk in specially created ponds and pits constructed near natural water bodies, the petition suggested.
The petition had drawn the court’s attention to the recent post-Puja immersions in Delhi that, it said, affected potable water supply in several parts of the capital.
Although everyone has the right to practise, profess and propagate any religion, it does not give anybody untrammelled rights to pollute rivers, the petition said.








Govt officials to file counter-affidavit on agri-society poll
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Govt-officials-to-file-counter-affidavit-on-agri-society-poll/articleshow/5248871.cms
TNN 20 November 2009, 02:05am IST
PATNA: Patna High Court on Thursday asked senior state government officials to file a counter-affidavit to a writ petitioned by a member of the Alauli primary agriculture cooperative society, challenging the rejection of his nomination papers for the election to the post of PACS chairman. The officials in question are the state election authority, which conducted the election to the PACS, East Champaran additional district magistrate and BDO-cum-returning officer for the PACS polls, Raxaul. A single Bench of Justice Navniti Prasad Singh issued the directive while hearing the writ filed by Ram Babu Prasad, who had filed a nomination to contest for the post of Alauli PACS chairman. Petitioner's counsel Yogesh Chandra Verma submitted that the BDO-cum-returning officer had made a serious mistake in rejecting the nomination on the grounds that he had become member of the Alauli PACS by depositing only Re 1 instead of Rs 11. Verma added that if there was any mistake in the PACS register in not entering the correct amount for his membership, the returning officer ought to have looked into it. But he should not have rejected his nomination.