LEGAL NEWS 12.12.2008

SC reserves judgment on HC power for CBI probe
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=235349
Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, Dec. 11: The Supreme Court today reserved its judgment with regard to the powers of the High Court ordering a CBI inquiry without the consent of the state government concerned. A five-judge Constitution Bench, comprising Chief Justice Mr KG Balakrishnan and Justices R V Raveendran, Mr DK Jain, Mr P Sathasivam and Mr JM Panchal, reserved their judgment on a batch of petitions after hearing the counsel for the parties. The petitioners, including state of West Bengal, Mr G Janardhan Reddy and others have contended that the High Court cannot order a CBI inquiry unless and until the state government agrees, which the state should decide on the basis of its assessment of the situation. Solicitor General Mr GE Vahanvati, appearing for the Union government, however, argued that while under Article 226 of the Constitution, the High Court has the powers to direct any independent investigating agency, including the CBI, to ensure free and fair investigation in a case even without the consent of the state government, the SC can entertain petitions for CBI investigation under Article 32 of the Constitution only in case of violation of Fundamental rights of a citizen.



HC adjourn's hearing on appeal against Raj's bail order
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/HC_adjourns_hearing_on_appeal_against_Rajs_bail_order/articleshow/3825026.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0343 hrs IST, TNN
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court adjourned the hearing on the state government's appeal against Raj Thackeray's anticipatory bail order to next Thursday.
Raj's legal team comprising Sayaji Nangre sought time as their main counsel was unwell. However, the case in which traders have demanded action against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) men who threatened shopkeepers over Marathi signboards, could not come up for hearing on Thursday.
As directed by the court, several senior police officers including DCPs were present. State's special counsel A V Gangal came prepared with affidavits citing the steps the government has taken against the arrested MNS men.




Warrant against Abu Salem
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Warrant_against_Abu_Salem/articleshow/3829633.cms
12 Dec 2008, 1949 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Friday issued a production warrant against underworld don Abu Salem after the Mumbai police failed to produce him in an extortion case. The warrant was issued by the court directing the Arthur Road Jail authorities in Mumbai to produce Salem before it on January 16. Salem, who last appeared here on November 26, has been lodged in the Mumbai jail after being extradited from Portugal in 2005. During his last production here, the court had provided a copy of chargesheet to him and directed the Mumbai police to produce him in connection with the case on Friday. Besides Salem, three other accused C P Rai, Sadiq Ali and Istiyaq Ahmed have been booked for making threat calls to Rajat Nagrath owner of Allied Communication at East of Kailash here demanding Rs one crore in 2002. Another court, which is hearing Ashok Gupta extortion case registered under stringent law MCOCA against Salem, also adjourned the hearing for December 16. The don is facing trial in eight cases including the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and two murder cases.




SC notice to Centre to equip police
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/SC_notice_to_Centre_to_equip_police/articleshow/3829581.cms
12 Dec 2008, 1936 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre on a PIL seeking direction for equipping police and security forces with modern weapons and devices to combat and counter terror attacks like the one in Mumbai. A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan sought response from the Ministry of Home Affairs on the petition filed by former Attorney General (AG) Soli J Sorabjee alleging that the terrorist attacks in Mumbai have exposed that weapons used by police are no match to the arms and ammunition carried by the terrorists. Earlier, the Bench, which also includes Justice P Sathasivam, was of the view that arming police personnel with sophisticated weapons like AK 47 at public places would only scare people. "Police should be equipped with modern weapons but at the sensitive places. In public places like the railway stations arming police with AK 47 would only scare people," the Bench observed during the brief hearing when the PIL was mentioned. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for Sorabjee, finally convinced the Bench to issue the notice. After Rohatgi narrated incidents of the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks, particularly with reference to shooting at Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus, where the ill-equipped police failed to counter the offensive of the terrorists, the Bench agreed to issue notice asking the Centre to respond within a week so that the matter could




Mumbai police get Fahim Ansari's custody
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Mumbai_police_get_Fahim_Ansaris_custody_/articleshow/3829516.cms
12 Dec 2008, 1920 hrs IST, IANS
LUCKNOW: The Mumbai police on Friday got custody of suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba activist Fahim Ansari, who was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police for an attack on a paramilitary camp in Rampur town. He is to be taken to Mumbai for questioning about the Mumbai terror attacks, an official said. Ansari was remanded to the custody of the Mumbai police by Rampur Additional Sessions Judge Jai Sheel Pathak. Fahim is already charged with orchestrating a terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Rampur with grenades and other weapons in the early hours of Jan 1, 2008. Seven paramilitary troopers and one civilian were killed in the attack. Fahim was still being kept in the district jail as the two-member Mumbai police team was ill-equipped to keep the terrorist under their custody. Rampur is about 300 km from here. "The two-member team comprising an inspector and a constable were also detailed to seek remand of Ansari's accomplice Sabauddin, who was lodged in the Lucknow district jail. But it was practically not feasible for them to take the risk of either carting Ansari to Lucknow or escorting Sabauddin to Bareilly," Brij Lal, Uttar Pradesh additional director general of police, said. On whether the Uttar Pradesh police were required to provide them armed escort, Brij Lal said: "Sure enough we will extend whatever assistance they want. All that we can do is to escort them up to the embarkation airport, but it would certainly not be a wise proposition to allow their movement between Lucknow and Bareilly." Lal said: "The Mumbai police must send two larger teams so that one could carry Ansari from Rampur to Delhi from where they could fly off to Mumbai, while the other could escort Sabauddin from Lucknow." He said: "The Mumbai team has conveyed these details to its bosses whose response is awaited." The police suspect Fahim's involvement in the Nov 26 Mumbai terror attack in which at least 164 people were killed. Earlier, the Mumbai metropolitan magistrate had ordered the Mumbai Anti Terrorism Squad to bring Fahim Ansari to Mumbai. Road maps of Mumbai, with important buildings marked, were seized from Ansari, when he was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police earlier this year. The hand-drawn rough maps were part of the documents in Fahim Ansari's case file in the Rampur court.




Purohit remanded to judicial custody till Dec 23
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Purohit_remanded_to_judicial_custody_till_Dec_23/articleshow/3828885.cms
12 Dec 2008, 1713 hrs IST, PTI
NASHIK: Lt Col Prasad Purohit, an accused in Malegaon blast case, was on Friday remanded to judicial custody till December 23 for allegedly helping a friend in getting an arms license using fake documents. Purohit, who was in judicial custody here till December 12 in the case, was on Friday produced in a local court and remanded to judicial custody till December 23. Purohit was produced before judge Mrs V V Joshi, Purohit's counsel, Avinash Bhide said. The case was registered by a Pune resident Shirish Datey against Purohit in Nashik on November 16, claiming that Purohit had procured an arm licence for him (Datey) on the fake documents. Datey claimed that in the fake documents Purohit showed him as a resident of the military camp in Devlali. According to Bhide, Purohit had been granted bail in this case by Nashik judge on November 29 on a personal bond of Rs 15,000, but since, Purohit is already in MCOCA custody we have not submitted bail order to the jailer. Eleven persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the September 29 Malegaon blast in which six persons were killed and over 100 injured.




The lawyer who refused to represent Kasab
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/The_lawyer_who_refused_to_represent_Kasab/articleshow/3824931.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0214 hrs IST, Swati Deshpande , TNN
MUMBAI: Advocate Dinesh Mota took his regular 8.15am fast local to CST. But, unlike other days, he had boarded the train a little reluctantly. A thousand thoughts were crossing his mind; he had after all been assigned a cross-border client who no top lawyer was willing to touch and neither was he. As a member of the state's legal aid panel of lawyers, Mota a practitioner of criminal law for 24 years said he got a shock when he received a call on Wednesday evening. Speaking exclusively to TOI, the lawyer who refused to represent lone surviving Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab admitted: "I was scared. In fact, I was prepared to bunk going to court on Thursday. But my wife, Nina, pushed me and encouraged me to go and personally say `no' before the magistrate.'' The 48-year-old Mota, a regular lawyer leading a life of nearly fixed routine, said: "Yesterday evening (Wednesday) I was told to be ready for Thursday to appear for Kasab. I don't mind saying that I was shivering in my pants when I heard that. My heart began beating fast and my tension suddenly rose right from the core of my heart. The matter on deciding a lawyer was going on for the last few days.'' Mota, who was born in Bhandup, studied law in Karnataka and went back to a rental house in Bhandup. He lives there with his wife and mother and he took the matter home. "I was under great stress but my wife (who gives private tuitions) and my mother supported my decision not to appear for him. He (Kasab) killed my family members. I am a Mumbaikar and all the victims are like my family. Why would I ever represent him? But, since I am on the legal aid committee, a refusal could mean losing my sanad (licence to practice law). But my wife said it wouldn't matter if we had no money and my mother, too, stood by me asking me not to worry,'' he told TOI. So it was at 11am that Mota, with his family's support firmly behind him, walked into the first-floor courtroom of additional chief metropolitan magistrate N N Shrimangale at Esplanade and said: "I will not appear as legal aid for Kasab even at the risk of my `sanad' (licence to work as a legal aid lawyer) being cancelled.'' He later said: "I felt so relieved that I don't recall the magistrate's exact words but he was kind enough not to urge me to change my mind. I was ready for whatever action against me.'' "This was the first time I faced this kind of situation in my 10 years as a legal aid advocate. I refused to appear for some 1993 blast accused but I appeared for Tariq Parveen. I have been asked to appear as legal aid lawyer for several cases of arms recovery, even murder cases and recently in a case of false alarm raised in a jail fight between inmates. But, in one murder case, I failed to rescue the accused as there was direct evidence against him,'' he said.




'Step up corporate involvement in abolishing child labour'
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Step_up_corporate_involvement_in_abolishing_child_labour/articleshow/3824886.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0227 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: Urging industry to clean up its supply chain and ensure no use of child labour, women and child development minister Renuka Choudhury on Thursday said that corporate involvement in the eradication of child labour has to be stepped up. "Industries employ children shockingly. We will ask industries to ensure that no child labour is used at any stage of manufacturing and also issue a logo to them in this regard,'' Choudhary said. Addressing the National Convention on Right to Education and Abolition of Child Labour the minister said, that the industry "must have a larger sense of responsibility.'' "We are scheduled to hold an international round table meeting with leading manufacturing companies in this regard very soon,'' she said. Choudhary also felt the need to enact a separate law to prohibit exploitation of children and plug loopholes in existing legislations. She sought stringent punishment for the adult offenders who deliberately use children as drug runners, couriers, for trafficking and pimping so that they get away with a lighter punishment. The minister favoured a change in the "legal framework" that prohibits child labour in the country, saying it must have a "clarity on the definition of child labour''. Choudhary felt that the definition of a child should include "all children up to 18 years of age" in consonance with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, underlining that the children of this age group are far more vulnerable. There should not be any difference between "hazardous and non-hazardous work" for the purpose of the implementation of the Prevention of Child Labour Act, she stressed and sought "prohibition on all sorts of child labour".




HC questions state over Roy's appointment
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/HC_questions_state_over_Roys_appointment/articleshow/3825032.cms
11 Dec 2008, 2243 hrs IST, TNN
MUMBAI: As arguments opposing A N Roy's appointment as the state director general of police continued on Thursday on largely legal points, the high court posed two questions to the Maharashtra government. "We want to know following which notification has the state created four posts of director generals instead of just one DGP? What are the rules other than the Maharashtra Service ones applicable for the appointment of the DGP?,'' a bench of chief justice Swatanter Kumar and justice Sharad Bobde asked advocate general Ravi Kadam. The hearing on Roy's appointment as DGP which created a controversy and that was challenged by DGP S Chakravarty, resulting in the central administrative tribunal quashing the February 2008 appointment will now continue on Monday. The bone of contention is over the interpretation of a Supreme Court judgment which laid down guidelines on such appointments.
The HC now has the key task of interpreting the SC judgment to lay down norms for future appointments in the state.




'Mistakes' behind CBI letting Mulayam off
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Mistakes_behind_CBI_letting_Mulayam_off/articleshow/3824853.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0239 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN
NEW DELHI: If you believe the Supreme Court judgment of March 1 last year directing a CBI probe into the alleged disproportionate assets of Mulayam Singh Yadav and his kin, then the SP leader's son, Akhilesh Yadav, was "completely involved in full-time political activities" in 1977 when he was barely four years old. This mistake along with other glaring legal lacunae in the judgment formed the basis of the legal advice to the Centre to drop proceedings on the preliminary investigation report submitted by the CBI. The opinion stated: "There seems to be an error in the approach with regard to the assets of Akhilesh Yadav. In the first place, it is to be noted that in the judgment, it is stated that Akhilesh Yadav was involved in full-time political activities since the year 1977. In the status report (of CBI), it is stated that Akhilesh Yadav was born on July 1, 1973, and, therefore, it is difficult to understand how Akhilesh Yadav could be involved in full scale political activities since the age of four." The opinion also felt that the judgment authored by Justice A R Lakshmanan, who has since retired as Supreme Court judge and taken over as chairperson of the Law Commission, was contrary to a 1992 ruling of a three-judge SC Bench. It was unable to comprehend the circumstances under which the CBI probe was ordered, especially when "there is no allegation in the PIL that the assets of the other family members are benami. At least nothing is reflected in the judgment that the properties held by the members of the family were benami properties of Mulayam Singh Yadav." Immediately after the March 1, 2007, judgment directing a preliminary probe into the assets of Mulayam and other family members, Akhilesh had moved a petition seeking review of the judgment, which is still pending. Yadav Junior had submitted a compact disc containing recorded concersations between petitioner Vishwanath Chaturvedi and a reporter and requested the apex court to examine it since it purportedly cast aspersions on the author of the judgment. When this review petition came for hearing before a Bench headed by Justice Lakhsmanan on March 16, a fortnight after the judgment was delivered, he recused from hearing the plea with tears in his eyes, claiming that he had received an anonymous letter at his residence casting aspersions on his integrity, which he termed as "shocking". Two months after his retirement as a Supreme Court judge on March 22, Justice Lakshmanan was appointed chairperson of the Law Commission on May 22, 2007. dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com




Kasab's police custody extended to Dec 24
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Kasabs_police_custody_extended_to_Dec_24/articleshow/3824743.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0250 hrs IST, Kartikeya, TNN
MUMBAI: The police custody of arrested terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab was extended to December 24 by a magistrate on Thursday. Kasab wasn't produced in court because of security reasons and it was the magistrate who went to the police lock-up to hear the remand plea. Kasab is the lone Pakistani terrorist to have been caught alive during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Kasab's custody in a case pertaining to the CST firing ended on Thursday, but the Crime Branch booked him in a dozen cases. It, therefore, pleaded with the magistrate to give it his custody in another case pertaining to the killing of Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare and other police officials near Cama and Albless Hospital. "When asked by the magistrate if he had any complaint against the police, Kasab said he had none,'' public prosecutor Eknath Dhumal, who was present during the proceedings, said. Kasab himself has no legal representative and there was no defence lawyer at the scene. After the brief submission, the magistrate granted cops 14 days to question Kasab in connection with the murder of Karkare, additional commissioner of police Ashok Kamte, inspector Vijay Salaskar and three other policemen.



Case against Kerala health minister
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Case_against_Kerala_health_minister/articleshow/3824635.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0258 hrs IST, TNN
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala police on Thursday registered a case against state health minister P K Sreemathi and five others including two members of the Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan's personal staff in connection with the infamous Kiliroor sex scandal involving the death of a girl. Besides Sreemathi, those named in the FIR registered by the cantonment police here are the CM's political secretary K N Balagopal, CM's personal secretary S Rajendran, two sons of two ministers in the state cabinet and the alleged kingpin Latha Nair. The case pertains to the alleged suppression of a file relating to the investigation of the case in the CM's office. The FIR was registered after an order of a judicial first class magistrate. The court was acting on a petition filed by city resident N Nagaraj who alleged that they connived to suppress the file. The case which involved sexual abuse of a minor by some influential persons who promised her roles in TV serials. The girl died in the Kottayam Medical College hospital in November 2004. Achuthanandan, who was then the opposition leader, claimed the hospital superintendent told him that the girl's condition worsened after the visit of a VIP. Bringing the guilty to book was one of Achuthanandan's electoral promises. Human rights groups say this did not happen as some powerful men were involved in the scandal. Only a few days ago, IAS officer Suresh Kumar who led the Munanr demolition operations had accused the CM's personal staff of delaying and suppressing a critical file related to the Kiliroor scandal.



Spell out plan to shift tabelas in a week, HC tells govt
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Spell_out_plan_to_shift_tabelas_in_a_week_HC_tells_govt/articleshow/3825027.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0343 hrs IST, Shibu Thomas, TNN
MUMBAI: It's time for buffaloes to bid adieu to the city. Decks have been cleared to shift the 2,000-odd tabelas spread across the suburbs to Dahanu. The Bombay high court on Thursday asked the Maharashtra government to come up with a plan in a week on how it would go about relocating the tabelas. The shifting of the tabelas__when it eventually happens__may unlock land in the city for development, including the Aarey Milk Colony which is spread over 3,000 acres. There are 300 tabelas in Aarey Colony, in addition to the 1,700 spread around the city, housing 51,000-odd buffaloes. Hearing a petition filed by NGO Janhit Manch, a division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice Sharad Bobde, indicated that the tabela owners may have no option but to move out. This followed a report submitted by the court appointed commissioners' advocates Amit Sale and Shekhar Jagtap after a site visit to Dapchari in Dahanu where 2,677 hectares of land have been earmarked for a dairy project. The report said that infrastructure facilities in the form of a power station, internal roads, green cover, waste disposal facilities, a school and a health centre have been put in place. Further, there was ample water resources, including the Kurje dam and a water tank with five lakh litre capacity. The team also visited Kaman and Devdhal villages in Vasai, which the tabela owners prefer for rehabilitation. The tabela owners do not want to move to Dahanu, claiming that the site is 143 km away from the city. The court commissiones, in their report, revealed that the Vasai sites were unsuitable as the exisiting tabelas there were disposing their waste in natural water resources and polluting the area. According to the petitioners, the tabelas were occupying premium land in the city meant for housing and civic amenities. A damning report by the Maharashtra Control Board in December 2005 revealed that waste generated from the tabelas was causing massive pollution in the surrounding areas. It added that overall the situation was very bad due to dung and washing activity as guidelines of the MPCB were not being followed by the tabela owners.



Road accidents hitting Indian economy
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Road_accidents_hitting_Indian_economy/articleshow/3824545.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0300 hrs IST, Kounteya Sinha, TNN
NEW DELHI: Road accidents are severally eating into India's economy. According to the Planning Commission, the social cost of road accidents in India stands at Rs 55,000 crore annually. This constitutes 3% of the country's GDP. In 2006, Indian roads saw 1.05 lakh accident deaths -- 290 deaths everyday. Of this, the provisional number of persons killed due to drunk driving stood at 8,313 and those killed due to defects in road conditions was estimated at 2,024. According to K H Muniyappa, MoS in the ministry of shipping, road transport and highways, the cost of road injuries is usually estimated at 1% of the gross national product in low income countries, 1.5% in middle income countries and 2% in high income countries. According to WHO's estimates, the direct economic cost of global road crashes has been estimated at $518 billion with the cost in low income countries put at $65 billion. Muniyappa said: "Deaths attributed to road accidents depend on a host of factors, including the number of motor vehicles, road length, road geometry, location, time of occurrence, human and behavioural factors and enforcement of traffic regulations." According to figures available with the government on the total number of registered vehicles, Chennai during 2006-07 had 25.1 lakh vehicles plying on its roads while Delhi had 48.5 lakh vehicles. The corresponding figure in 2000-2001 stood at 12.5 lakh for Chennai and 36 lakh for Delhi. Muniyappa said the annual average growth in the number of motor vehicles in Chennai and Delhi was 16.7% and 5.59%, respectively. A recent WHO report called "Youth and Road Safety" said that road accidents were killing more 15-19-year-olds than any disease in the world, including AIDS and cancer. Over 1,000 young people, most of them between 10 and 24 years, were dying every day due to bike and car crashes. Annually 1.2 million people died in road accidents, 40% of whom are under 25, while millions more were seriously injured or disabled for life. With Africa and South-East Asia recording more than half of the fatalities, the report had made recommendations to countries worst affected, including India. These included: promoting road safety among children from a very young age; encouraging the wearing of helmets and strapping of seat belts, especially in developing countries, which account for 85% of road accidents; separating motorized traffic from other users, such as animal-drawn carts and kid bikes; increasing roundabouts to reduce traffic speed; and improving police effort to enforce road safety laws. In 2002, the report said, 1.2 million people in different age groups died on the road and between 20 million and 50 million were injured. People under the age of 25 years accounted for 383,046 of these fatalities. Among teenagers aged 15-19, it was the biggest single source of death and it ranked second among children aged five to nine and adults aged 20-24. The report said traumatic brain injury was the leading cause of traffic related deaths.




HC raps state for not recording film data
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/HC_raps_state_for_not_recording_film_data/articleshow/3825100.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0354 hrs IST, Shibu Thomas, TNN
MUMBAI: The state government claimed that "intelligence inputs'' had led it to ban the movie, Deshdrohi, but it came under flak from the Bombay high court on Thursday for failing to produce any record collected by its officers. Assistant government pleader Niranjan Pandit told the court that there was no written record as all directions in the case were communicated orally. "We are surprised,'' a division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice Sharad Bobde said. "It is expected (that the government maintains records), particularly in a case that affects the personal civil rights of a party and puts restraints on the fundamental right to engage in an occupation of one's choice.'' The court added, "How can the agencies work in such a casual manner? Show us any law that says police can do anything without maintaining records.'' The court was hearing a petition by Kamal Khan, whose Deshdrohi__on migrants in Mumbai was banned by the state government. The court has asked the assistant commissioner of police monitoring the case to file an affidavit on what exactly happened and why no records were maintained. shibu.thomas1@timesgroup.com




MP high court sends notice to Speaker
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/MP_high_court_sends_notice_to_Speaker/articleshow/3824401.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0307 hrs IST, TNN
JABALPUR: Madhya Pradesh high court has served notices on the Speaker of the outgoing assembly Iswardas Rohani, director-general of police and others on a petition demanding a probe by an independent agency into the brutal assault of a Congress leader and his supporters, allegedly at the behest of Rohani on polling day on November 27. The court on Wednesday also directed the SP to provide adequate security to the petitioners Congress leader Alok Mishra and his associate Alok Chansoria following their apprehension of further attacks on them. One of the petitioners, Alok Mishra, who contested and lost the assembly elections against Rohani on a Congress ticket from Jabalpur Cantonment, alleged that he and his supporters were brutally assaulted on polling day when they raised objections about the certain corrupt practices at polling booths No 106 and 107 in the Sadar area. The police personnel deputed there did not take cognizance of their objection, as they were allegedly in league with Rohani, who won the election on a BJP ticket. The petitioners alleged that the police lodged the First Information Report (FIR) against the accused, including Rohani, his son and others under bailable sections instead of non-bailable sections. The petitioners alleged that when they moved an application seeking protection, the police rejected it apparently under the influence of Rohani. They prayed that security cover be provided to them and a probe by an independent agency be initiated. Finding merit in the submissions, the Bench of Chief Justice AK Patnaik and Justice Ajit Singh served notices on the respondents directing them to file their affidavits before the matter could be taken up for next hearing. Advocate Shashank Shekhar appeared in the court on behalf of the petitioners.




Parallel justice: Amicus curiae to help HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyderabad/Parallel_justice_Amicus_curiae_to_help_HC/articleshow/3825739.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0301 hrs IST, PTI
HYDERABAD: The A P High Court on Thursday appointed senior counsel C Padmanabha Reddy as amicus curae to assist it in solving the legal impasse arising from the two contradictory judgments given by two Benches of the high court in the Hymad Pasha case. In one of the judgments Pasha had been acquitted of the charge of murdering his wife while the other upheld his conviction. Padmanahba Reddy, a criminal lawyer, was appointed after the state government through its public prosecutor filed a criminal miscellaneous petition in the high court on Thursday praying it to either recall the judgment delivered by the second Division Bench that acquitted the accused or declare its judgment as `non-est' (invalid) as a Division Bench had already decided this case and confirmed the life conviction on Hymad Pasha. Interestingly, the public prosecutor's petition reveals the fact that both the Division Benches had admitted this case separately by June 2006 itself and the hearing has been going on simultaneously from then. While one Bench delivered its order on March 7, 2008, convicting Hymad, the other Bench delivered its judgment on September 29, 2008, acquitting the same man. Both the Benches were unaware that the case was being heard simultaneously by them. The public prosecutor in his petition cited three reasons for annulling the second judgment. First, that there is no provision in the Criminal Procedure Code (for the high court) to review or recall its own judgment once it has been delivered on merits after hearing both the parties. Second, that "Once the matter is decided as in this case in an earlier appeal, the court becomes `functus-officio' and therefore, cannot decide again. Thirdly, the PP said that since the first judgment was delivered, the hearing of the second appeal was void, and any judgment delivered by the second Bench was `non-est.' On these three grounds, the PP submitted that the high court has got inherent power to recall the second judgment or declare it invalid. By the evening, the high court appointed Padmanabha Reddy as amicus curae.




Tighter norms to check illegal quarrying: Khanduri
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Tighter_norms_to_check_illegal_quarrying_Khanduri/articleshow/3824387.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0308 hrs IST, TNN
NAINITAL: Uttarakhand government will formulate strict norms to check illegal quarrying and stone-crushing along different riversides of Uttarakhand's tarai areas, chief minister BC Khanduri said on Thursday. Khanduri was addressing a public meeting after laying the foundation-stone of Uttarakhand's first stadium, proposed to be state-of-the-art, at Golapar area in Haldwani town. He admitted that illegal quarrying and stone-crushing along riversides and trade was flourishing, with the alleged connivance of senior authorities concerned and politicians. Those responsible for encouraging illegal quarrying and stone-crushing in ecologically sensitive riversides, including in low-lying areas of Haldwani and Ramnagar, he said, were playing with the ecology and environment of the region. In this context, he referred to the bridge across river Gola which had collapsed a couple of months ago apparently due to massive illegal mining along river sides. Keeping in view the seriousness of the incident, he said he had ordered a high-level probe into circumstances leading to the incident. Once those responsible were identified, he said, those responsible would be punished. "We want to rebuild the bridge soon but this will start only after the probe report,'' said Khanduri. On the demand to declare Kumaon University a Central university, CM said he had recently met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and HRD minister Arjun Singh and urged them to do the needful. State government had also decided to table a proposal to this effect before the state assembly during the coming assembly session. The Golapar stadium would cost Rs 50 crore. While Rs 25 crore would be sanctioned by Sports Authority of India, the remaining sum has already been sanctioned by the state government. Uttarakhand Infrastructure Development Corporation, which has been entrusted with the task to build this stadium, has already received clearance from forest department for building this project. Construction would begin soon. he said. The stadium would be built in an area of about 40 acre. He also announced construction of a bridge across river Dabka and widening of different roads in the entire Haldwani block. Later, talking to newspersons, Khanduri ruled out possibility of recommending the Preeti Sharma gangrape and murder case to the CBI, saying he was not fully aware of the details. The CM's speech was marred by anti-government slogans raised by the agitators who were demanding a CBI probe into the Sharma case.




HC acquits murder convicts
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/HC_acquits_murder_convicts/articleshow/3824835.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0141 hrs IST, TNN
PATNA: The Patna High Court on Thursday acquitted a convict facing capital punishment of the charges of kidnapping and murdering a man in Samastipur. The HC also acquitted another convict who had been awarded life term in the case. A division bench comprising Justice Shiva Kirti Singh and Justice Abhijeet Sinha ordered the release of Raghubar Rai and Biral Rai after it allowed their criminal appeals challenging the trial court judgment awarding capital punishment to Raghubar and life term to Biral. The duo were accused of kidnapping and murdering Nand Kumar Thakur in an FIR lodged with the Kalyanpur police station in Samastipur district on November 15, 2004. According to the prosecution, Raghubar and Biral took Thakur to Kalyanpur from where he did not return. Later, his beheaded body was found. Defence counsel Khursheed Alam submitted before the HC that his clients were falsely implicated in the case as they did not know where did Thakur go from Kalyanpur.




SC dismisses Maharashtra Judges Association plea for seniority
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/SC_dismisses_Maharashtra_Judges_Association_plea_for_seniority/articleshow/3824369.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0232 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Maharashtra State Judges Association's plea seeking a unfirom single cadre of district judges by merging the posts of DJs, ADJs, city civil judges, chief judges and additional chief judges of trial courts with effect either from November 13, 1991, or from March 31, 1994. A Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices R V Raveendran and J M Panchal also did not find any merit in MSJA's plea for withdrawal of the Maharashtra Judicial Service (Seniority) Rules, 2007. The Bench refused to accept the petitioner's contention that the failure to have a uniform cadre of district judges with effect from March 31, 1994, amounts to disobedience of the apex court's earlier orders. It said the integration/unification of the multiple categories into three cadres was done from July 1, 1996, the date of applicability of the Justice Shetty Commission recommendations on pay reforms for judicial officers. It also rejected the petitioner's plea on inter-se seniority among the judges saying: "Those in the category of additional district judges and additional chief judges of small cause court have not made any legal right to be placed above those recruited to the higher post of district judge or city civil judge between July 1996 and March 2003.




Age no bar for a person to be a competent witness: SC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Age_no_bar_for_a_person_to_be_a_competent_witness_SC/articleshow/3824366.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0156 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: What is the age when a person becomes entitled to be treated as a competent witness? None as such, says the Supreme Court. The judgment came from the apex court in a murder case, in which the trial court and the Allahabad High Court had discarded an eye-witness in a 12-year-old girl saying she was not reliable as she did not understand the meaning of the expression `oath', among other things. Disapproving the hyper-technical approach, a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and Mukundakam Sharma said the trial court would have done well to go through the Indian Evidence Act, which did not prescribe any particular age as a determinative factor to treat a witness to be a competent one. "On the contrary, Section 118 of the Evidence Act envisages that all persons shall be competent to testify, unless the court considers that they are prevented from understanding the questions put to them or from giving rational answers to these questions because of tender years, extreme old age, disease whether of mind or any other cause of same kind," said Justice Sharma, writing the judgment for the Bench. He said even a child of tender age could be allowed to testify if he or she had the intellectual capability to understand the questions and give rational answers thereto. "The evidence of a child witness is not required to be rejected per se, but the court as a rule of prudence considers such evidence with close scrutiny and only on being convinced about the quality thereof and reliability can record conviction, based thereon," the Bench said.




Sorabjee moves SC, seeks better training for cops
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Sorabjee_moves_SC_seeks_better_training_for_cops/articleshow/3824349.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0153 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN
NEW DELHI: Overwhelmed by the audacious terror strike in the heart of Mumbai, former attorney general Soli J Sorabjee gave vent to the public angst by moving the Supreme Court with a PIL for a direction to the Centre to equip and train the police making them capable of tackling terrorists and creating an atmosphere where citizens' right to life is protected. It is rare that a former law officer moves the court with a PIL. It is still rarer for a former AG to take recourse to a public interest litigation and that too when the government and opposition have struck a rare unanimity in tackling terror with an iron hand. But, Mumbaikar Sorabjee has a point to make. How could the terrorists have infiltrated into Mumbai so easily? "This discloses several deficiencies and lapses in existing systems and counter-terrorism measures and also in the manner in which they were implemented," he said. His PIL is not for pointing a finger or accusing any individual, political party or even the system. He clarified: "The purpose of the PIL is not to blame or censure any person, party or organisation but to compel the Centre and the states to adopt and undertake measures which may prevent recurrence of Mumbai-like terrorist incidents or in any event enable the police and security forces to better counter and combat terrorist activities and thereby save loss of, or injury to, human lives and destruction of properties." Terming `right to life' as the heart and soul of all fundamental rights enjoyed by a person, the former AG said: "It is apparent that the current level of training as well as the weaponry possessed by the police is antiquated and unable to cope with the arms and technology employed by the terrorists and other anti-national elements." There was a crying need for filling in all these lacunae, he pleaded. Giving details of major terror strikes in India since the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai culminating in 26/11, Sorabjee said the series of terrorist acts amounted to virtual waging of war on the sovereignty and integrity of the country needing urgent centralisation of intelligence and its proper and timely sharing. Suggesting the setting up of anti-terror units in every police district or in every major urban conglomerate, the former AG said the duty hours of policemen needed to be streamlined so as not to overstretch them to exhaustion levels, which tells upon their efficiency level. Finally, he suggested appointment of an expert committee for supervising the implementation of the anti-terror machinery and mechanism put in place by the governments. dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com




HC poser to govt on extra charge for smart card
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/HC_poser_to_govt_on_extra_charge_for_smart_card/articleshow/3824733.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0639 hrs IST, Abhinav Garg, TNN
new delhi : Is the Capital's transport department fleecing customers in the name of its Smart Card optical licenses? Delhi High Court on Wednesday grilled the State government at length on this issue and asked it to explain by way of an affidavit, why citizens should pay more for this card. In a prolonged hearing on the PIL filed by `Bhrashtachar Unmulan Sangathan', a division bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar, threw sharp questions at lawyers representing the State government and transport department, asking them why an extra sum of Rs 170 was charged from a vehicle owner if she wanted a Smart Card optical license. The two judges recorded their concern with the questions raised by the PIL and made it clear that in case Delhiites were being charged extra, it will take a strong stand on this. "You can't recover costs from a citizen. It is a matter of concern if a citizen is asked to pay,'' the judges remarked when counsel for State government claimed that modernisation of license issuing process and related RTO's had left them poorer by a few crores. It justified the extra charge in court, saying every Smart Card now consists of an optical strip which stores all relevant data of the vehicle driver, like past accidents, traffic offences etc. "Tracing, criminalisation and accident records, all three are maintained on this optical chip which we plan to directly connect to all RTO offices as part of our upgradation plan,'' government lawyers informed HC. However, the court found merit in arguments by Sunil Fernandes, lawyer for the petitioners that a common vehicle owner pays extra for a smart card in the belief that it is computerised, capable of recording all such information required by the department. "As it is we are being charged a sum of Rs 200 to avail of a smart card. Why this Rs 170 more?,'' Fernandes contended before HC, smelling a scam to benefit private players who issue Optical Cards. Both the judges allowed Fernandes to delve deep into the technicalities of the card system to attempt to understand if the citizen was indeed being given a short thrift, as alleged in the PIL. The lawyer maintained that a smart card as it contains a microchip which can store all driver and vehicle related information, making an optical strip redundant.




HC slams welfare dept for not providing basic facilities to foreign detainees
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/HC_slams_welfare_dept_for_not_providing_basic_facilities_to_foreign_detainees/articleshow/3824737.cms
12 Dec 2008, 0639 hrs IST, TNN
new delhi : The Delhi High Court has slammed the social welfare department of the city government for its failure to provide basic facilities to foreign nationals housed in deportation camps in the capital. A division bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar, recently directed a senior officer, who appeared before the court pursuant to its earlier order, to appoint a superintendent for the camp within a week and ensure proper supply of drinking water, medicine and telephone facilities to the inmates of the camp. Taking exception to the government's failure to appoint even a superintendent for the centre till now, the court recalled how six superintendents were arrested earlier on the charges of corruption. "This should have been an eye opener for you to put a person whose track record is good,'' the bench quipped, while coming down heavily on the department after its officer made a submission that the department was not authorised to provide mineral or reverse osmosis water as demanded by the foreign nationals. But HC made it clear that supply of RO water should be the minimum standard of basic facilities. "This is remarkable. You only have the explanation that since other homes (indicating beggars home) do not provide RO water to inmates, you will not provide here either. Supply of RO water to the inmates of all homes including this camp should be the minimum basic standard,'' the court observed. HC was dealing with a complaint letter sent by a foreign national pointing towards the poor facilities at the camp. In his complaint, the foreigner said that not even minimum basic amenities had been provided leaving many detainees facing serious health conditions.




SC reserves verdict on courts' power to order CBI probe
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/SC_reserves_verdict_on_courts_power_to_order_CBI_probe/articleshow/3824188.cms
11 Dec 2008, 1839 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the validity of the powers of High Courts and apex court to order CBI probes in sensitive cases. A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan would decide whether the probe by the central agency could be ordered on getting the nod of the concerned state government or the higher courts on their own can direct such probe when the case is brought before them. The Centre has supported the view that there was no restriction on High Courts and apex court to order a CBI probe into sensitive cases having national and international ramification under Articles 226 and 32 of the Constitution. Solicitor General G E Vahanvati stressed that such power has been with the courts to protect the fundamental rights of citizens. He had submitted that though the apex court judgements in the past had said that courts should exercise the power to order CBI probe "sparingly", "there is no restriction, particularly in cases of sensitive nature and those having national and international ramification". "To show that there is a restriction on powers of courts it has to be shown that there is such an expression. That is not there under Article 226 and 32," he said before the Bench, also comprising Justices R V Raveendran, D K Jain, P Sathasivam and J M Panchal. West Bengal government had contended that vesting of such power with the apex court or High Courts would affect the federal structure of the Constitution, which has been opposed by the Centre.



Acquittal by trial court carries a lot of weight: SC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Acquittal_by_trial_court_carries_a_lot_of_weight_SC/articleshow/3819809.cms
11 Dec 2008, 0001 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN
NEW DELHI: In the long and tortuous three-tier litigation system in India, what is the value of a trial court order acquitting an accused when the state has the option of appealing against it before the high court and then in the Supreme Court? Quite a lot, answered the Supreme Court through a recent judgment. The clean chit given by the trial court provides a "double presumption" of innocence in favour of the accused, said a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat. "First, the presumption of innocence is available to him (the accused) under the fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence that every person shall be presumed to be innocent unless he is proved guilty by a competent court of law. Secondly, the accused having secured his acquittal, the presumption of his innocence is further reinforced, reaffirmed and strengthened by the trial court," said Justice Pasayat, writing the judgment for the Bench. But, this was not to bar the appellate courts -- the HC or the SC -- from reappreciating the evidence and, if necessary, quashing the acquittal if evidence was found sufficient for the purpose, the Bench said. "An appellate court has full power to review, reappreciate and reconsider the evidence upon which the order of acquittal is founded," it said. After such reappreciation, if there were two possible views -- one favouring the acquittal as had already been recorded by the trial court and the other pointing towards his guilt -- then the appellate court should go with the trial court's finding. "If two reasonable conclusions are possible on the basis of the evidence on record, the appellate court should not disturb the finding of the acquittal recorded by the trial court," the Bench said.




Terrorism violation of human rights, says Speaker
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=235339
Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, Dec. 11: Terrorism, a natural enemy of global peace, results in grave violation of human rights and thus, needs to be dealt with firmly and effectively if democracies across the globe have to flourish, according to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr Somnath Chatterjee. Launching an online facility for registration of complaints with the National Human Rights Commission at a function organised by the NHRC to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights here yesterday, Mr Chatterjee lauded the efforts of the Indian agency of human rights in spreading awareness among various sections of society and in supporting the country’s apex court which has been remitting to the NHRC certain complex issues having serious human rights implications. Mr Chatterjee also released along with the minister of communications, Mr A Raja, a postal stamp to commemorate Human Rights Day.



U.N. slaps sanctions on Jamat-ud-Dawah
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121260691100.htm
United Nations: Acceding to India’s demand, the United Nations Security Council on Thursday imposed sanctions on the Pakistan-based Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD) after declaring it a terrorist outfit.
The Council branded four of the organisation’s top leaders — the founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the suspected Mumbai attacks mastermind Zakir-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Haji Muhammad Ashraf and Zaki-ur-Bahaziq — terrorists.
Lakhvi is the LeT’s operational chief, while Ashraf and Bahaziq, an India-born Saudi, collect funds for the JuD. Saeed formed the outfit in 2002 after the Lashkar was banned.
India had made a strong plea in the Council for sanctions on the JuD, contending along with the U.S. that the outfit is a front for the LeT, which was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the U.S. in 2001 and proscribed by the U.N. in 2005 for its affiliation with the al-Qaeda. The LeT, banned in Pakistan since 2002, is also outlawed by the European Union.
“Freeze assets”
The Council also asked member-states to freeze the assets of the 4 LeT men and imposed a travel ban and arms embargo on them.
The U.S. said it was pleased that the Security Council Committee decided to move forward on these high-priority designations. “These actions will limit the ability of known terrorists to travel, acquire weapons, plan, carry out, or raise funds for new attacks.”
India had sought a ban on the JuD after the LeT was suspected to be behind the terror attacks in Mumbai on November 26.
The decision was taken by a Council’s committee which put the JuD and the four individuals on the Consolidated List of persons and entities connected with the al-Qaeda and Taliban.
The ban came a day after Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed made a powerful case during a debate on terrorism in the Council for imposing sanctions on the JuD and Saeed. — PTI



16,632 farmer suicides in 2007
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121257740100.htm
P. Sainath
Broad trends remain dismal; Maharashtra crosses 4,000-mark
MUMBAI: Suicides by farmers of Maharashtra crossed the 4,000-mark in 2007, for the third time in four years, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
As many as 4,238 farmers of the State took their lives that year, the latest for which data are available, accounting for a fourth of 16,632 farmer suicides in the country.
The national total represents a slight fall, from 17,060 in 2006, but the broad trends of the past decade seem unshaken.
Farmer suicides in the country since 1997 is now 1,82,936.
Worst-affected States
Yet again, the five worst-affected States — Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh — account for two-thirds of all such suicides in the country. Together, they saw 11,026 in 2007.
Of these, Maharashtra alone accounted for over 38 per cent. Of the “Big five,” Andhra Pradesh saw a decline of 810 suicides against its 2006 total.
Karnataka saw a rise of 415 over the same period. Madhya Pradesh (1,375) posted a decline of 112. But Chhattisgarh’s 1593 means an increase of 110 over 2006.
Maharashtra registered a fall of 215. But Karnataka (2,135) and Andhra Pradesh (1,797) — the next two worst-hit States — together account for less than Maharashtra’s 4000-plus.
Causes untouched
A one-year dip of 221 occurred in 2005 in the western State only to be followed by an all-time high of 4,453 suicides in 2006. This trend shows no turn-around and remains dismal.
Maharashtra’s 2007 figure of 4,238 follows one-and-half years of farm ‘relief packages’ worth around Rs. 5,000 crore and a prime ministerial visit in mid-2006 to the distressed Vidharbha region. Between 2005 and 2007, the State also saw a plethora of official reports, studies, and commissions of inquiry aimed at tackling the problem.
Worst-ever
However, the 12,617 farmer suicides of these years are the worst-ever for any three-year period since the State began recording such data in 1995. Indeed, farmer suicides in Maharashtra since that year crossed the 40,000-mark. The structural causes of that crisis seem untouched.
Nationally, farmer suicides during 2002-2007 were worse than for the years 1997-2001. NCRB data are available for the whole country for 1997-2007.
Distressingly higher
In the five years till 2001, there were 15,747 farmer suicides a year on average. For the six years from 2002, that annual average has risen to 17,366.
The increase is distressingly higher in the main crisis States.




Held under Goondas Act
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121252500300.htm
Staff Reporter
KRISHNAGIRI: A habitual offender was held under the Goondas Act in Krishnagiri district on Thursday. The Collector V.K. Shanmugam signed an order of detention under the Goondas Act, said the police.
According to the police, Mallesh Ravi of Alasunatham in Hosur Block was arrested in November and lodged in the Salem central jail for attacking and robbing Basuvaraj of Palavanahalli. There were two pending cases of murder against him. There were also seven pending cases of robbery in Tamilnadu and 12 cases of robbery in Bennergatta and Anaikal areas in Bangalore against him.
In view of these, the District Superintendent of Police Anisha Hussein recommended to the Collector that Ravi be detained under the Goondas Act. He has been detained under the Preventive Detention of Tamilnadu Act 14 of 1982 and lodged in the Salem Central Jail. He will be served the Goondas Act detention order at the jail, Mr. K. Radhakrishnan, added.



Commission for child rights protection soon: Minister
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121254440600.htm
Staff Reporter
Bangalore: Minister for Women and Child Welfare P.M. Narendra Swamy on Wednesday said the State Government would soon set up a commission for protection of child rights. He was inaugurating a function to mark the World Human Rights Day organised by the Nidumamidi Mahasamsthana. The Minister said the proposal was planned long ago and it would be implemented soon.



SC categorisation Bill to be introduced in LS’
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121260230800.htm
Special Correspondent
Modalities discussed with SC panel chief, says YSR
Usha Mehra panel proposals to be sent to Centre
YSR asks Krishna Madiga to call off protest
KURNOOL: Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy said on Thursday that the Bill on categorisation of Scheduled Castes in Andhra Pradesh would be introduced in the current session of Parliament.
Talking to reporters here on Thursday after participating in several local programmes including Tungabhadra Pushkaram here, Dr. Reddy said he had discussed the modalities of the Bill with Chairman of SC Commission Buta Singh.
According to Dr. Reddy, Mr. Singh promised to accept the recommendations of Usha Mehra panel and forward them to the Centre with certain remarks.
He asked MRPS leader Manda Krishna Madiga to call off his stir considering the swift developments on the categorisation issue. The fruits of the long struggle by Mr. Krishna Madiga for categorisation were not too far, he said.
Inaugurates varsity
Earlier, after inaugurating Rayalaseema University, he promised Rs. 50 crore for the development of the university. He promised a building for girls hostel. He also inaugurated an indoor stadium on the campus constructed with Rs. 10 lakh donated by former MLA and industrialist T.G. Venkatesh.
Many eyebrows were raised over the absence of Mr. Venkatesh at the inauguration of the stadium.
He was reportedly hurt with the police not allowing a rally of sportspersons to the stadium. Soon after landing at APSP campus, Dr. Reddy drove to the Tungabhadra Ghat at Sankalbagh and offered prayers.
He visited the TTD replica temple and offered prayers.
Later, he unveiled the statues of former Chief Minister Damodaram Sanjivaiah at Congress Office Circle, Babu Jagjivan Ram at Five Road junction.
Dr. Reddy inaugurated the multi-storeyed housing complex on the outskirts of the city and laid foundation for Rs. 36 crore drinking water scheme and Rs. 240 crore flood wall construction scheme.
Dr. Reddy spent nearly 30 minutes at the residence of MP Kotla Suryaprakasa Reddy and had lunch with Ministers and MLAs.
Curbs irk public
Bandh like conditions prevailed on the city streets in connection with the visit of Chief Minister to the Pushkaram Ghat. The police closed all main roads to the public and forced shop keepers to down shutters. Even roadside eateries were closed. Pilgrims were seen murmuring that they had lost one day out of 12 days of Pushkaram because of the VIP visit.



Showroom asked to replace faulty washing machine Consumer notes
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121259570400.htm
Staff Reporter
HYDERABAD: An electronic goods showroom has been ordered by a consumer court to replace a defective washing machine or pay back its value along with fine and court fee , after the showroom ignored the customer’s request for its replacement.
The showroom, Digital Shoppe at Habsiguda, had sold a washing machine costing Rs.12,600 to YSS Prasad of Warasiguda in March last. When the machine was not functioning properly, the service engineers felt it was irreparable and recommended for its replacement.
However, the showroom did not replaced it.
Aggrieved over the delay, Mr. Prasad moved the Rangareddy District Consumers Forum.
The showroom representatives did not attend the forum meetings and ultimately an ex-parte order for refund of the cost with a compensation of Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 1,500 towards court costs was given.
Order challenged
This order was challenged in the State Commission by the showroom and the company with the claim they did not know that the service engineers had recommended for a replacement.
They claimed that they had attended the Hyderabad District Forum instead of the R.R. District Forum during the hearing by mistake. But, they could not produce any proof to substantiate their claims.
The State Commission observed that sending service technicians indicated there was some problem with the machine.
No job card
The showroom did not maintain any job card to show that the machine was perfect. Hence, the customer’s demand for replacement was justified. It upheld District Forum’s judgment and gave four weeks time to comply with the order.



Awards for RTI stakeholders
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121259960500.htm
Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD: Social Audit Council on Information Right (SACIR) and Centre for Media Studies (CMS) announced awards for the outstanding contributions made by different stakeholders in implementation of Right to Information Act (RTI).
At a press conference here on Thursday to give details of a programme to review implementation of RTI Act on December 13 at Sundaraiah Vignana Kendram, SACIR convenors V. Gopala Rao, N. Bhaskar Rao, V.Venkateswara Rao, V.B.J. Chelikani and others said Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhiji will be the chief guest at the meeting. Chief Information Commissioner C.D. Arha and other State Information Commissioners will participate.
Shivaprasad, Ranga Reddy district (urban area); Siddi Ramulu and Yadagiri, GHMC, Kukatpally circle (pro-active discloser); Chief Electoral Officer, Andhra Pradesh (pro-active discloser by public authority); Srinivas Madhav (best book publication and research on RTI) and K. Yashoda, Eenadu, Tirupati (reporting in news media on RTI) are among the winners.




High Court modifies order on Shiradi Ghat road
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121254520600.htm
Staff Reporter
BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday modified its order of October 20, 2008 directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the bad road condition of the Shiradi Ghat section of the Bangalore-Mangalore road.
A Division Bench comprising the Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran and Justice V.G. Sabhahit passed the order modifying the earlier order after the State filed an application in this regard.
Appearing for the State, Advocate-General Uday Holla urged the court to modify the order, saying that there was an immediate need to repair the road before the rain started.
He said the State also wanted more time to ensure that repairs were carried out on the road. He said the court had earlier given 30 days to the State to call for fresh tenders and three months to carry out rectification and repair work on the ghat section. It said it needed three more months.
The State also wanted the court to permit it to carry out repairs on several portions of the ghat section. The petitioner, B. Krishna Bhat, said if the State was allowed to repair the road, it could obliterate any evidence of bad construction. This is turn could hamper the CBI from investigating the road scam thoroughly.
The Bench, in its order, asked the CBI to first record the condition of the road to be repaired. The authorities then could be allowed to go ahead with the repair of the road.




‘Constitution permits religious conversions’
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121258410300.htm
Staff Correspondent
Davangere: Maruthi Mahanpade, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, has alleged that Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had been taking ‘unconstitutional steps’ and that Mr. Yeddyurappa had repeatedly been saying that he would not allow religious conversions in the State.
Speaking to presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Maruthi stated that when the Constitution allows religious conversions how can Mr. Yeddyurappa repeatedly say that he would not permit conversions.
Mr. Maruthi also demanded that all those responsible for the attacks should be arrested immediately.
Taking strong exception to “indirect imposition of restriction” on using beef, he stated that over 30 municipalities in the State had banned the use of beef and many civic bodies had closed down slaughter houses in their jurisdictions at the behest of the Government under the pretext of maintaining cleanliness. Ban on the use of beef amounted to infringement of people’s right to eat food of their liking, he said.



Rights panel serves notice over building workers’ death
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121255000900.htm
Special Correspondent
Part of the building collapsed on October 23
Firm urged to provide adequate safety to workers
Bangalore: The Karnataka State Human Rights Commission has taken note of the second accident at the site of Prestige-Shantiniketan Township at Whitefield here on Monday, in which two workers were killed, and served notices on the government authorities.
S.R. Nayak, chairperson of the commission, said that notices were served to Principal Secretary, Urban Development, and the BBMP Commissioner asking whether the earlier direction of the commission on stopping work at the site after the first accident “was complied with or not”. He said it should be investigated as to how a second accident within a span of two months could take place, claiming more lives, had the work indeed been stopped at the site as per their clear directions after the first accident.
It may be recalled that on October 23, the 16-storeyed structure had collapsed in which four workers were injured. The decomposed body of one of the workers, Munna Kattuva from Orrissa, was found after 15 days under the debris. The second accident on Monday occurred when mud caved in on them. They were constructing the approach to the underground parking lot.
In the meanwhile, Construction Workers’ Welfare Action Committee has demanded that the State Government should pass orders requiring all developers and constructors to submit a detailed safety plan before they can take up any construction work, has said.
A team from the committee, which visited the construction and one was injured on Monday when mud caved in, said that safety norms should be put in place under the Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996, the International Labour Organisation’s Safety and Health in Construction Convention No 167 and the provisions for safety in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike Building Byelaws 2003 (Section 26).
Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Janawadi Mahila Sanghatane (JMS) staged a demonstration at the construction site. The demonstrators urged Labour Minister B.N. Bachche Gowda, who inspected the construction site on Tuesday, to direct the company to provide adequate safety to construction workers.




Legislators’ Forum for Child Rights to be formed
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121254010500.htm
Special Correspondent
BANGALORE: A group of legislators in Karnataka, who are perceived to be “child-friendly”, will soon come together and form a pressure group to prevail upon the State Government to ensure meaningful enforcement of child rights in the State.
The group of legislators, who will be functioning under the aegis of “Legislators’ Forum for Child Rights”, are expected to carry out tours and conduct studies on the prevailing condition of children in different parts of the State and various strata of society before making recommendations to the State Government.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of legislators convened by Child Rights Trust, a voluntary organisation engaged in child rights here on Thursday.
Chairman of the Legislative Council Veeranna Mathikatti said a formal meeting of the Legislators’ Forum for Child Rights will be convened and the future course of action will be charted out.
Earlier, UNICEF representative for Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Michelle Saint Lot set the tone for the deliberations by appealing to the legislators to ensure that child rights issues not only figure in the election manifestoes of their respective parties, but also set targets and goals to be achieved within a prescribed deadline.
Mr. Michelle offered financial assistance from UNICEF for the legislators to carry out tours and studies to ascertain the factual position on rights of children across the State.
Former Minister Motamma said laws on child welfare enacted by the State legislature were far better than the ones in other States. Ms. Motamma said parents have to be held responsible for the plight of children.



Court seeks report on BSP worker’s death
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121254990900.htm
Staff Reporter
BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court has asked the State Government to place before it a status report on the investigation by the Corps of Detectives (CoD) into the murder of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) worker.
Justice Jawed Rahim passed the order after the State Public Prosecutor (SPP) informed the court that the CoD had taken over the case.
The court was hearing a petition by Roopli Bai seeking a CBI investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of her husband, Nagaraja Nayak. Roopli Bai, a native of Kodihalli village in Kanakapura taluk of Bangalore district, had alleged that the police had not filed a case against the people who had murdered her husband.
She said after her husband’s murder, she had gone to the Kodihalli police to register a complaint. She alleged that though she had named several persons in the murder, the police had not entered them in the FIR and instead entered names of their choice. She said she was “forced” by the police to sign the complaint in which the persons she had accused of murder did not figure.
The SPP said the matter had already been referred to CoD for re-investigation. He said if there are other culprits involved in the murder, cases would be booked against them and an additional charge sheet filed.



Commercial Tax Officer trapped by Lokayukta
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121259410300.htm
Staff Reporter
BANGALORE: The Lokayukta police trapped a Commercial Tax Officer of Bijapur on Thursday while he was allegedly accepting Rs. 5 lakh for release of a truck containing machineries.Subramanya, Project Incharge of KMMI Pvt Ltd., Koppal, had booked machineries from Rayapura, Chattisgarh. Commercial Tax Officer B.M. Padmanabha stopped the truck at the checkpost on Wednesday and demanded Rs. 5 lakh for releasing the truck.



Writ petition to strike down Act admitted
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121253570400.htm
KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday admitted a writ petition seeking to strike down as unconstitutional the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act.
The petition filed by K.P. Santhosh of Ettumanoor was admitted by Justice V. Giri.
According to the petition, the Act had not received the consent of the President as required under Article 254(2) of the Constitution. Besides, the constitutional scheme of enacting a law for preventive detention clearly showed that a law of preventive detention for a period exceeding three months should be made by Parliament under Article 22(7) of the Constitution. The State legislature cannot enact such a law. The petitioner said that such a law could be made only during grave crisis, as normally the Criminal Procedure Code was applicable. The petitioner pointed out that the Act did not contain a provision for hearing the person arrested under the Act before he was declared as a known goonda.
Film screening
Acting on a petition, the court ordered that the two films, Mizhikal Sakshi and Raman, be screened in the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK-2008) beginning Friday in Thiruvananthapuram.
The court also ordered that promotion of the films could be undertaken. The court directed that the day of screening be decided after holding discussions between the organisers and the persons associated with the films.
The interim direction came on a writ petition filed by Ashok R. Nath, director, Mizhikal Sakshi and Rehmathulla, director of Raman. They alleged that no norms and regulation had been laid down for selection of films for the festival.
Plea dismissed
A Bench comprising Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice K.M. Joseph dismissed a writ petition filed by Pepsico Indian Holdings Pvt. Ltd. challenging the action of the government in refusing to give sales tax exemptions to products manufactured at its unit at Palakkad.
The company sought tax exemption to the tune of Rs.70 crore. The government refused tax exemption as per an order issued in 1993 on the ground that the company had not placed firm orders for each and every plant and machinery it proposed to set up. As per the government order, exemption was granted to new industrial units for seven years from the date of commencement of production.
One of the condition for tax exemption was that a substantial portion of machinery should be acquired before the cut-off date of January 1, 2000.



Babli issue: Naidu, Narayana arrested in Delhi
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121253890400.htm
Special Correspondent
Do not play with Telugus’ self-respect, Telugu Desam president warns Centre Opposition leaders of Andhra Pradesh march towards Prime Minister’s office Dharna at Jantar Mantar protesting construction of project by Maharashtra
NEW DELHI: TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, CPI State secretary K. Narayana, TRS MP B. Vinod Kumar, MPs, MLAs, senior leaders and hundreds of cadres from the three parties were arrested by the police here on Thursday when they defied prohibitory orders and marched towards Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s office seeking his intervention in the Babli row with Maharashtra.
Earlier, the leaders, along with cadres who came here in a special train from Hyderabad, staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar to urge the Centre to prevent Maharashtra from going ahead with the construction of the project and 11 other barrages across the Godavari. The project would badly affect irrigation on 18 lakh acres in six districts of Telangana region, they said.
All the arrested were released in the night. Notable among them were: MPs K. Yerran Naidu, E. Dayakara Rao (both TDP), S. Sudhakar Reddy (CPI), and MLAs Kadiyam Srihari, N. Janardhana Reddy, V. Narendra Reddy, D. Umamaheswara Rao, K. Atcham Naidu (all TDP) and Ch. Venkat Reddy (CPI).
Earlier, speaking at the dharna site, Mr. Naidu warned that the issue was a challenge to the “self-respect and prestige” of Telugus and if the Prime Minister, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy failed to take action, the Congress would get thrown into pieces in the State in the ensuing Assembly/Lok Sabha polls. He advised the Centre not to play with the “Telugu power” and recalled that it was TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao who first showed that power in Delhi earlier.
Mr. Naidu specifically blasted his bête-noire Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy asking him to prevent the construction if he really had courage and strength. “Otherwise, you are not fit to rule the State even for a minute.”
He also wondered why the Congress MPs and Central Ministers from the State were “sleeping” over the issue. Should they not quit from the Parliament and ministry and topple the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) when the fellow Telugus were in distress? he questioned.
Even in the Almatti dam issue with Karnataka, it was TDP which “saved AP’s interest” taking up the issue first; due to the party’s stir at least 100 tmc of Krishna water was prevented from getting utilised by Karnataka.
Mr. K. Narayana said Dr. Singh and the Chief Minister should feel ashamed for making the opposition parties stage dharna here instead of themselves solving the issue. Mr. Vinod Kumar criticised Dr. Reddy for describing the issue a minor one.



Police officials unhappy over non-disposal of proceedings
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121259020300.htm
Correspondent
150 SIs, 100 inspectors face charges of misconduct for violation of rules
CUTTACK: It’s not that mid-rung police officials in the State are only overburdened or fatigued due to workload, but many of them are demoralised for their promotional avenues have stopped as they are facing never-ending disciplinary proceedings initiated against them on flimsy grounds.
According to reliable sources, at least 150 officers in the rank of sub-inspector and over 100 inspectors in the Police Department are now facing charges of misconduct for violation of Orissa Government Servant Conduct Rules-1959.
What is appalling that in many such cases, the charge memos are either not filed or the enquiries are not leading to any logical conclusion thereby depriving promotional benefits to the unfortunate officials.
“Many such officers have retired in the meantime without availing due promotions while several disheartened lots are waiting for their superannuation knowing that they would retire in the same rank”, said an office-bearer of Orissa Police Association (OPA).
Promotion stalled
The officers facing such dilemmas are passing through severe mental agony and are not in a position to perform their duties properly , the police leader said.
A retired police official pointed out that while he was in-charge of a police station, he disposed of some unclaimed seized vehicles following an order of auction from the local SDJM court. “But I was charged of committing gross misconduct and dereliction of duty.
My promotional avenues were stalled and I retired after working in the same rank for over 10 years”, the retired officer said.
Surprisingly for the same charge, another official, who was in-charge of the malkhana of the police station during the same period, was also implicated and he too is still continuing to face the magic; serving in the same rank for the past 10 years.
“How can two officials face similar charge for the same offence”, the officer questioned saying that it was not his responsibility to observe the basic procedure of auction sale as he was simply obeying the orders of his superior.
Requesting to recall the charge-sheet framed against him and to drop the disciplinary proceeding thereof, the officer presently working in Crime Branch Department has made several petitions to the DGP, Home Secretary, Chief Minister and to the Governor but to no avail.



Release of Oriya writer demanded
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121259430300.htm
Special Correspondent
100 writers, journalists and human rights activists stage protest
He published a book on communal riot
in Kandhamal
Kumar and two others were arrested on Monday
BHUBANESWAR: About 100 writers, journalists and human rights activists of the State staged a dharna here on Thursday to protest against arrest of the publisher of a book on the recent communal violence in Kandhamal district .
The activists and writers demanded for the unconditional release of the publisher of the book, Lenin Kumar, and two employees of the printing press where the book was published.
The city police had arrested Mr. Kumar and two others on Sunday taking exception to some pages of the book titled “Dharma Naanre Kandhamalare Raktanadee” (Bloodshed in Kandhamal in the name of religion’.
The pages of the book to which the police had taken exception pertained to a secret letter of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, according to Biswapriya Kanungo, human rights activist and counsel for Mr. Kumar.
Mr. Kumar, who is the editor of Oriya quarterly ‘Nisan’, owns Nisan Publication that published the book on the communal riot in Kandhamal.
Those who took part in the protest sit-in outside the Raj Bhavan held placards and banners condemning Mr. Kumar’s arrest and blaming the police for muzzling the right to dissent.
They also submitted a memorandum at the Raj Bhavan seeking release of Mr. Kumar and two employees of the city-based Sovan Printing Press.
Mr. Kumar and the two others, who had been arrested under Sections 153A, 295A and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, were remanded to judicial custody by a local court on Monday.
The police had swung into action and booked Mr. Kumar in the wake of the appearance of Maoist posters in different localities of the Capital city.
The posters, which bore the name of Communist Party of India (Maoist), warned people against joining organisations such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
The police had seized some posters and registered a case, but no one has been arrested in this connection so far.