Govt urged to revoke Traffic Victims Act
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/12/15/national/national_30090935.php
By PONGPHON SARNSAMAKThe NationPublished on December 15, 2008
Health advocates yesterday called for the government to revoke the Traffic Victims Protection Act, saying it fails to cover all the hospital bills of patients and most of them end up going broke.
Health advocates yesterday called for the government to revoke the Traffic Victims Protection Act, saying it fails to cover all the hospital bills of patients and most of them end up going broke.
"Most traffic victims did not receive as much compensation as they need to pay for medical treatment while staying in the hospital and finally they become bankrupt because they don't have enough money to pay the hospital. The blame is on the ineffectiveness of this act," said Dr Paiboon Suriyawongepaisal of Ramathibodi Hospital.
Paiboon, who conducted an evaluation of the Traffic Victims Protection Act since it was enforced in 1992, was speaking at the threeday National Health Assembly in Bangkok last week.
This law is a mandatory scheme in which private insurance companies are the carriers instead of the public sector. The scheme compensates for healthcare costs based on fee for services and maximum liability. The scheme also awards a lump sum payout for death and disability. But during the past 15 years, most victims could not access compensation under this scheme.
Citing an injury surveillance report from the Public Health Ministry spanning 19992005, Paiboon said only 18 per cent of road accident victims received compensation under this act, while 63 per cent had to pay for medical treatment by themselves or use the universal healthcare scheme. And 15 per cent of them relied on other healthcare plans.
The study also found that farmers and labourers were the groups that had to shoulder their own treatment costs the most and eventually become a burden on the hospital.
If accident victims receive emergency care at a state hospital they have to pay the medical bill first and later seek reimbursement from the government, but they need to present many official documents such as a police report.
But in fact, most victims are poor and cannot pay the hospital out of their own pocket. They also are ineligible to apply for financial aid for medical treatment from the hospital.
The law's failure to protect road accident victims has created a windfall for private insurance companies. Their premiums ballooned from Bt6.5 billion in 1999 to Bt10 billion in 2003.
The private insurance companies pay out only 46 per cent of net premiums to settle claims and spend 41 per cent on administrative costs. This is inadequate to cover all traffic victims.
Dr Vitoon Ungpraphan, a legal expert in medicine, said the government should scrap the Traffic Victims Protection Act and draft a new one that transfers the scheme to the National Health Security Office. Then NHSO will pay hospitals directly for medical treatment to victims while the Land Transportation Department will collect the insurance premiums from personal car users instead of private insurers.
"This method will help road accident victims receive fair compensation as the scheme is run by a state agency such as the NHSO and they do not have to waste their time to gather so many documents to claim for health insurance," he added.
HC upheld revenue department's jurisdiction
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/hc-upheld-revenue-departments-jurisdiction/00/56/343247/
VODAFONE CASE: Questions still remain unanswered
Mukesh Butani / New Delhi December 15, 2008, 0:44 IST
Whole world is eyeing final outcome.
As the dust begins to settle on the decision of the Mumbai High Court in the Vodafone case, the eyes of the global tax fraternity are now on the outcome of the petition which Vodafone is most likely to file in the Supreme Court. The questions remaining unanswered by the high court would have several multinationals on tenterhooks, as the consequences, both for tax payers with similar transactions and perhaps for Indian M&A fortunes may be far reaching.
BackgroundVodafone International BV (“Vodafone”), a Dutch resident company, acquired interest of Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd (“Hutch”) (a company registered in the Cayman Islands) in CGP Investments (Holdings) Ltd (“CGP Investments”) also registered in Cayman Islands. CGP investments, through a host of intermediate companies, held 67 percent equity interest in Hutchison Essar Limited (“HEL”), an Indian company.
Indian Revenue issued routine show cause notice to Vodafone arguing that it had failed to discharge withholding tax obligation with respect to tax on gains made by Hutch on sale of shares to Vodafone. Vodafone filed a writ petition in the Mumbai High Court challenging the notice. Vodafone also argued that the retrospective amendment in Finance Bill 2008 was motivated to impose onerous withholding tax obligation; an afterthought intended to bring offshore transactions within the Indian tax net.
Court’s decisionThe Court in no uncertain terms upheld the action of Revenue. In arriving at the conclusion, the court felt that Indian Revenue had made a strong case to demonstrate that there was ‘transfer of a capital asset in India’ in the shape of business/ controlling interest/ share in telecom licence. It held that the authority to investigate into facts could not be negated by invoking the writ jurisdiction. Typically, a writ jurisdiction right is resorted in situations where either fundamental rights are violated or any administrative action is exercised without jurisdiction. The Court has drawn adverse inference regarding Vodafone’s action to withhold material facts and documentation, including the actual share sale agreement. In summary, the Court upheld Revenue’s jurisdiction and felt that Vodafone’s petition was premature, as it had not exhausted ordinary remedies under Indian tax laws.
Does the Vodafone decision spell doomWhile Revenue may like to adopt a view that its right to tax such (offshore) transactions has been upheld, it is important to observe that the court has rendered its decision merely on maintainability of Vodafone’s writ petition. The inference drawn by the court that transfer of shares in an offshore holding company results in transfer of underlying business/ economic interest in downstream operating companies is debatable. The findings of the court regarding location of ‘capital asset in India’ should not be viewed as conclusive. The taxability of such transactions will necessarily have to be decided by Revenue based on the facts of each case.
Revenue was focused on basicsAn interesting aspect is that Revenue did not raise questions regarding the sale transaction being an ingenious method to avoid tax. Such an approach would have saddled Revenue with a greater responsibility of demonstrating the true intent. Instead, Revenue chose to stick to basics and focus on the effect of the transaction; thereby driving the point that the intent was acquiring controlling interest in HEL. Revenue relied on interpretation of deeming provisions under the domestic law to conclude that there was an extinguishment of right (as a result of sale). Extinguishment of rights is viewed as transfer for the purpose of levying tax on capital gains. While this may be a deviation from the normal approach a taxman follows, it does not necessarily mean that the argument of tax avoidance will be shelved by Revenue.
Similarly, Revenue did not focus upon other legal issues such as substance over form, piercing the corporate veil, retrospective amendment and constitutional validity thereof (Vodafone’s arguments).
Substance test and international precedentsThe substance over form has been a debatable issue in many jurisdictions. In the case of Azadi Bachao Andolan, the Supreme Court while giving interpretation under the India -Mauritius treaty has effectively held that the “form” of a transaction is to be given precedence over its “substance”, unless the transaction can be proven to be sham. Take, for instance, Canada is very much a form over substance jurisdiction.
It is unusual for Canadian courts to apply judicial anti-avoidance doctrines to prevent abusive tax practice. This is despite the fact that Canadian tax law has general anti-avoidance Rule or GAAR as it is commonly referred to. Interestingly, Revenue authorities in other jurisdictions such as South Korea and the UK have been giving precedence to the substance of a transaction. Korean Revenue authorities have imposed taxes and penalties on companies such as Lone Star and Westbrook on the ground that they invested in Korea through shell companies located in tax favourable jurisdictions.
However, it is noteworthy to observe that domestic tax laws of Korea (unlike in India’s case) allow Revenue to ‘pierce the veil’. In the UK, courts have been increasingly inclined to look into the substance of transactions. Numerous high profile cases such as the Ramsay case, Furniss v Dawson and McGuickan case are examples of such approach.
The 160-page Vodafone judgment, dealing extensively with jurisprudence, is delightful reading for any student and tax law practitioner, not to forget the elated taxman. The ruling is by no means likely to be the bedrock for judicial interpretation as the issues under debate can hardly be said to have been concluded. It is anybody’s guess whether the Supreme Court would go into the merits of the case or simply decline to interfere, as the fact-finding authorities have not gone into it.
Whereas, it is well within the domain of the Supreme Court to lay down the law in case of ambiguity; ordinarily, the benefit of doubt in ambiguous situation should go to the taxpayer. Possibly, the court could be directed by the construction of the agreement should it decide to get into the facts of Vodafone’s case. Whilst Vodafone shall anxiously await the outcome, my plea to tax administrators in the interim is to exercise restrain from taking any administrative action. This will otherwise spell greater uncertainty in our tax laws and create nervousness.
The global tax fraternity would be closely following the Vodafone development. I am reminded of two leading tax personalities from the UK and Germany on a Panel discussion last week commenting upon tax dispute resolution in India. The UK expert maintained that though the UK Transfer Pricing regulations date back to 1915, they did not have as many cases going to trial as in the context of India. The German expert maintained that reading Indian jurisprudence, the German judiciary could derive persuasive value from Indian court cases! Kudos to the Indian Judiciary and not to forget the creativity of Indian tax advisors. Thank fully, only one skill is portable!
The author is a Partner with BMR & Associates and views expressed are personal
Madras HC: Writ challenging choice of books for library dismissed
http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?255fd338-aac8-4459-8dea-38c3dd7e20c4
12/14/2008
Madras High Court has dismissed a writ petition, challenging the Tamil Nadu Government’s manner of selection of books for village libraries, established under the Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam (AGAMT).Mr Justice K Venkataraman dismissed the petitions filed by Rajeswari Puthaga Nilayam and ten other publishers, holding there was no mala fide in the list of books and the mode of their selection by the Commissioner of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.The government submitted AGAMT was a flagship scheme, launched by the State Government in 2006-07, which aimed at improving the physical and social infrastructure in all village panchayats over a period of five years.One of the components of the scheme was the setting up of libraries in each and every village panchayat at a cost of Rs 2 lakh.When the scheme was completed by 2010-2011, Tamil Nadu would have the distinction of being the only State in the country to have libraries in each and every village panchayat, it said.For selecting books for the libraries, the government, after issuing advertisement, constituted a state-level committee of eminent persons which short listed the books.It had selected 858 books from 548 authors offered by 235 publishers and dealers.The books comprised 148 books for children, 114 for youth, 93 for reference category, 86 about great leaders, 185 on fiction and 219 on non-fiction and 13 books of poetry, it said. UNI
Madras HC: Writ challenging choice of books for library dismissed
http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/news/2008/12/madras_hc_writ_challenging_choice_of_books_for_library_dismissed.asp
Posted on : 14 December 2008 by Y.Prakash
Madras High Court has dismissed a writ petition, challenging the Tamil Nadu Government’s manner of selection of books for village libraries, established under the Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam (AGAMT).Mr Justice K Venkataraman dismissed the petitions filed by Rajeswari Puthaga Nilayam and ten other publishers, holding there was no mala fide in the list of books and the mode of their selection by the Commissioner of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.The government submitted AGAMT was a flagship scheme, launched by the State Government in 2006-07, which aimed at improving the physical and social infrastructure in all village panchayats over a period of five years.One of the components of the scheme was the setting up of libraries in each and every village panchayat at a cost of Rs 2 lakh.When the scheme was completed by 2010-2011, Tamil Nadu would have the distinction of being the only State in the country to have libraries in each and every village panchayat, it said.For selecting books for the libraries, the government, after issuing advertisement, constituted a state-level committee of eminent persons which short listed the books.It had selected 858 books from 548 authors offered by 235 publishers and dealers.The books comprised 148 books for children, 114 for youth, 93 for reference category, 86 about great leaders, 185 on fiction and 219 on non-fiction and 13 books of poetry, it said.
Pros and cons of narco test
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1213940
Rakesh Bhatnagar
Monday, December 15, 2008 02:24 IST
It’s high time the supreme court delivered its much-awaited judgment on the constitutionality of the controversial Narco test. A bench headed by chief justice KG Balakrishnan reserved the verdict on January 25, almost eleven months ago.
Now more than before, a judgment is needed on the subject as the central government is in a hurry to enact an anti-terror law. CJI Balakrishnan said the proposed law should not defy the right to life. But, he had also observed during the hearing of a PIL against narco tests last year that at least this mode of interrogation removes the scope of third degree during custodial interrogation. Lawyers opposed to Narco test said it defies human rights.
A noted lawyer and former solicitor-general, who appeared on behalf of the CBI, said the drug-induced test employs “modern and scientific techniques, which are authorised by law and should be carried out where there are reasonable grounds for believing that such tests will provide evidence. Such tests cannot be construed as invasion of privacy of the accused”.
Though the Constitution is silent on what should be the optimum time for any court to deliver the verdict, the apex court stressed the need for a speedy justice delivery system. About a decade ago, it framed guidelines for compliance by high court judges on judgment delivery. When a magistrate in Bihar delayed pronouncement of a judgment by nine months in 1961, the Patna high court chastised him saying, “The magistrate who cannot find time to write judgment within reasonable time after hearing argument should not do any judicial work at all’’.
But the high court forgot the rebuff given to a magistrate, as it took two years for the court to pronounce a judgment after reserving it. An aggrieved litigant moved the supreme court and asked “whether the exhortation made by high court in 1961 is not intended to apply to itself’’. A bench on August 6, 2001, laid down a deadline of six months for delivering a judgment by any court.
b_rakesh@dnaindia.net
Incompetent Judicial officer may be retired: CJI
http://www.caalley.com/news/pti1212.html
New Delhi December 12, 2008
The Chief Justice of India has recommended that any Judicial Officer who is "unfit, ineffective, incompetent or has doubtful integrity" may be retired from service.
In a communique with Chief Justices of all High Courts, the CJI said, "with a view to provide that a Judicial officer who is unfit, ineffective, incompetent or has doubtful integrity may be retired from service even before his continued utility is assessed in terms of directions of the Supreme Court in All India Judges Association case".
Minister of Law and Justice H R Bharadwaj in a written reply informed the Lok Sabha today that in a letter dated October 14 this year, Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan had said that if implemented in right earnest, "such a provision will keep deviant behaviour in check, besides getting rid of those who are found to be indolent, ineffective or with doubtful integrity".
"A review on the lines of the provisions contained in Rule 56(j) of Fundamental rules, be carried out firstly when judicial officers attain the age of 55 years. This would be in addition to the assessment being carried out at the age of 58 years in terms of the direction of the Supreme Court in All India Judges Association case," the Minister said.
He also informed the Lok Sabha that the CJI in his letter dated April 7 had also requested the government to set up 69 additional Special Courts for trial of corruption cases investigated by CBI, a request which Bharadwaj said was under consideration.
[Source: PTI ]
HC exempts AP Governor from personal appearance
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200812151331.htm
New Delhi (PTI): In a big relief to Andhra Pradesh Governor N D Tiwari, the Delhi High Court on Monday exempted him from personal appearance before it in a suit filed by a man claiming to be his natural son.
A Bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Manmohan Singh granted interim relief to former Union Minister on his petition challenging a single-Judge order which had on November 25 directed him to appear tomorrow before the court.
The Bench, however, refused to set aside the order of the single Judge, saying, the matter pertaining to his personal appearance must be argued before the single Judge Bench.
The Division Bench said, since the matter is coming up tomorrow and Tiwari would not have sufficient time to file fresh application, so "he is exempted from personal appearance for tomorrow".
The Governor has been in a thick of controversy due to the suit filed by 29-year-old Rohit Shekhar seeking declaration from the court that he is the natural son of the former Congress leader.
Tiwari, however, had refuted all the allegations and contended before the court that the petition is scandalous in nature and filed only to defame him.
Bill for protecting IPR in public funded research in Rajya Sabha
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200812151770.htm
New Delhi (PTI): A Bill to develop a framework for protection and utilisation of intellectual property created out of public funded research and development was introduced in the Rajya Sabhaon Monday.
The Protection and Utilisation of Public Funded Intellectual Property Bill 2008, introduced by Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, seeks to provide for a funding agreement between the government and the recipient before release of grant for research and development.
Besides seeking to bar public disclosure, publication and exhibition of the public funded intellectual property, the Bill lists duties of the recipient who retains the titles.
Observing that in order to compete in a global environment, it was necessary for India to innovate and promote creativity, the statement of objects and reasons said that the country also needed to protect and utilise the intellectual property created out of public funded research and development.
"The ultimate objective, however, is to ensure access to such innovation by all stakeholders for public good," it said.
The proposed legislation would enhance awareness about intellectual property issues, especially in universities, academic and research institutions, the Bill said.
Such innovations could be utilised for raising financial resources of these establishments, through royalties or income, it added.
Karnataka violated SC order by continuing work on Mhadei: MBA
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200812151540.htm
Panaji (PTI): Anti-water damming NGO Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan (MBA) has accused the Karnataka government of violating Supreme Court directives by continuing work on Mhadei water project despite its assurance to the apex court to maintain status quo.
"The work by Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited to divert waters of Kalsa tributary of Mhadei river to Malaprabha basin continues on a war footing despite its assurance to SC to maintain status quo," Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan (MBA) chief Nirmala Sawant said.
The Mhadei water diversion has become a crucial issue for Goa and Karnataka. The Karnataka, from where the river originates, has planned dams across its tributaries to divert the water to Malaprabha basin, which according to them, is required to quench drinking water requirement.
The Goa government and MBA, a non-government organization (NGO), has been opposing tooth and nail the project, which they feel, will severely hamper the ecology of the state. The case which was tossed with various authorities and legal bodies is now pending in SC with Karnataka assuring status quo in the matter.
The MBA has said that the project work has also violated Forest Conservation Act 1980 and Wildlife Protection Act 1972 as the massive silt is dumped into the reserved forest adjacent to the proposed project.
"The case is fixed for hearing on January 15 and hence we expect that Karnataka should immediately stop the work What they are doing is blatant insult to the apex court," MBA Convenor Rajendra Kerkar reacted.
The project taking shape on Goa-Karnataka border at Kankumbi village is aimed at augmenting the deficit in Malaprabha reservoir by diverting 3.56 TMC feet of water from Kalsa tributary of Mhadei river.
HC exempts AP Governor from personal appearance
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200812151331.htm
New Delhi (PTI): In a big relief to Andhra Pradesh Governor N D Tiwari, the Delhi High Court on Monday exempted him from personal appearance before it in a suit filed by a man claiming to be his natural son.
A Bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Manmohan Singh granted interim relief to former Union Minister on his petition challenging a single-Judge order which had on November 25 directed him to appear tomorrow before the court.
The Bench, however, refused to set aside the order of the single Judge, saying, the matter pertaining to his personal appearance must be argued before the single Judge Bench.
The Division Bench said, since the matter is coming up tomorrow and Tiwari would not have sufficient time to file fresh application, so "he is exempted from personal appearance for tomorrow".
The Governor has been in a thick of controversy due to the suit filed by 29-year-old Rohit Shekhar seeking declaration from the court that he is the natural son of the former Congress leader.
Tiwari, however, had refuted all the allegations and contended before the court that the petition is scandalous in nature and filed only to defame him.
Ruling on admission to medical colleges under all India quota
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121558780900.htm
Special Correspondent
Respondents directed to return petitioners’ certificates
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has said that PG medical degree/diploma holders who applied for the courses through all India entrance examination for selection to seats under all India quota and were admitted to government medical colleges in the State in 2005-06 are not bound by the terms and conditions issued by the Tamil Nadu Government authorities in their prospectus.
In his order on a batch of petitions, Justice N. Paul Vasanthakumar said even if any candidate had executed bond, it would have no effect since they had not applied for admission under the impugned prospectus.
The Judge said candidates admitted under the State quota under the non-service category were bound by the terms of the bond executed by them pursuant to the prospectus. On completion of their course, they were bound to serve in government colleges/hospitals according to the availability of posts for three years, failing which it was open to the State government authorities to recover Rs. 2 lakh/Rs. 3 lakh as the case may be as per the bond conditions.
The court directed the respondents to return all the petitioners’ certificates within two weeks.
Super-speciality course
Mr. Justice Paul Vasanthakumar said no PG/Diploma holder, who completed their course or joined in government service temporarily as per the bond, should be denied opportunity of applying for super-speciality course. If they were selected, they should be permitted to undergo the course subject to the condition that the remaining period of service should be served in government institutions by the persons concerned after completion of their respective super speciality course. If not, it was open to the respondents to recover the bond amount with proportionate amount.
The case of the petitioners who were admitted under the all India quota was that they did not apply for admission to PG degree/diploma course before the respondents (State government authorities) as per the prospectus issued by the respondents for admission for 2005-06.
They appeared for all India entrance test in respect of all India seats. Based on their marks in the entrance examination and as per their choice of the course/colleges, they were selected and admitted to medical colleges in Tamil Nadu.
The candidates contended that the prospectus, particularly a Tamil Nadu G.O. issued in June last year as well as the circular issued by the Director of Medical Education of April this year were not applicable to candidates admitted on the basis of selection made under the all India quota.
Pension Adalat
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121551890300.htm
COIMBATORE: The Divisional-Level Pension Adalat will be held at the Office of the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Coimbatore Division, on December 22 at 3 p.m.
Complaints and grievances concerning pension cases pertaining to Coimbatore Postal Division will be considered at the Pension Adalat. Complaints or suggestions to be considered at the Pension Adalat could be sent
to the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Coimbatore Division, Coimbatore 641001 on or before December 18.
‘Law will take its own course’
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121558590600.htm
Staff Reporter
Home Minister on ‘encounter’ killing of the accused in acid attack case
Legislation mooted to check crime against women
Sophisticated technology for security of Tirumala
TIRUMALA: Home Minister K. Jana Reddy has asserted that the law will take its own course in the incident involving the killing of the three accused in the acid attack case in Warangal in a police encounter.
Replying to repeated queries of reporters about the killing of youth who threw acid on engineering students Swapnika and Pranita, the Minister said nobody was above the law of the land. He said the government, on its part, was contemplating to enact a legislation to check crime against women and had invited suggestions from constitutional experts for making the provisions of the existing legislations more stringent.
The Minister announced the government’s decision to equip the hill temple of Lord Venkateswara with sophisticated security technology in the wake of the increased terrorist activities in the country. Following warnings issued by intelligence agencies, it was resolved to adopt an uncompromising attitude with regard to the temple security.
Aerial attacks
The State government had, in fact, represented to the Centre to provide necessary assistance enabling it face any eventuality including aerial attacks. As a first step in this direction, the Centre had, in principle, agreed to spare CRPF personnel to the district. In addition, proposal for setting up Tirupati urban police commissionerate was under active consideration of the department. Earlier, the Home Minister was accorded a warm reception at the temple on his arrival by the temple authorities.
Conviction of accused key to criminal justice
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121558440500.htm
The police and prosecutors are failing many a time with regard to this crucial aspect, writes Marri Ramu
HYDERABAD: Securing conviction of the accused is crucial in administration of criminal justice because it not only instils confidence of people in the system but also acts as a deterrent for wrongdoers. Statistics and outcome in sensational cases - barring a few ones like the mysterious death of film actress Pratyusha - suggest that police and prosecutors are failing in this regard frequently.
There are scores of such glaring examples. Firing in the house of film actor Balakrishna, death of a realtor due to firing involving a noted politician’s son, acquittal of slain gangster Azeez Reddy in a firearms case, failure to prove charges against two persons in a criminal conspiracy case connected to the Mecca Masjid blast incident and the recent clearing of charges against three persons in the assassination of IPS officer K.S. Vyas. The list is long.
Tall claims
In all these cases, the police claimed to have achieved a breakthrough after finding prima facie evidence against the accused persons and arrested them. Surely, they would not have framed the chargesheet against the arrested persons unless concrete evidence was found during subsequent investigation. Then, where are the things going wrong? Why is that a huge and organised system of police officers, scientific experts and learned prosecutors is failing to secure conviction of persons found responsible for committing crimes?
There are various reasons for the law-enforcing agencies being unable to prove charges against the accused. For example, almost all the ‘panch’ witnesses turned hostile in the Balakrishna case though questions are being asked why the police failed to get proper witnesses.
Little evidence
In the case of gangster Azeez Reddy, who was arrested for ‘planning extortions and kidnaps for ransom using firearms’, police officers could not ensure that adequate evidence was produced in court, though they had seized a good number of modern firearms from him.
Of all, the recent acquittal of three accused persons in the assassination of IPS officer K.S. Vyas leaves a lot to be desired about claims of police busting a case and their inability to prove charges against the arrested persons.
The defence counsel in this case maintained that even the investigating officer did not turn up at the court to depose though the case got dragged for years.
Loopholes
All this indicates that there is some gap between detection of a crime, arrest of the accused persons, gathering evidence against them and producing the same in the court.
From selection of ‘panch’ witnesses to ensuring the investigating officer’s deposition of evidence on time to coordination between the police and the prosecutors, there are a lot of loopholes requiring immediate attention of the government.
Fresh evidence on Babli ‘illegality’
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121556510400.htm
M. Malleswara Rao
State obtains satellite images showing Maharashtra’s ‘encroachment’
HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh has obtained satellite images as yet another fresh evidence indicating “illegality” of the construction of Babli project by Maharashtra.
The images revealed that the Sriramsagar project reservoir extended up to 126 km in the Godavari above the Sriramsagar dam and out of this, a 45 km length lay upstream of Babli.
The State had long ago paid compensation to Maharashtra, under an inter-State agreement, against the land lost under the reservoir.
A senior Irrigation Department official said the images showed Babli lying across the foreshores of the reservoir, as mentioned in the complaint lodged by the State before the Supreme Court. This implied that Maharashtra had encroached into several km of river course area of the reservoir to construct Babli. The pictures would be placed before the apex court, the official added.
High hopes
With this, the government pinned high hopes on getting a favourable judgment from the court, as it was able to establish that Babli was being constructed on encroached land. It avoided to project the case as relating to water, though the entire dispute is, because the Supreme Court can’t deal with any river water dispute between two States directly and can only recommend setting up of a Central tribunal to deal with the matter.
It was for this reason that the State merely made a passing reference to the 11 barrages which are also under construction by Maharashtra, in its complaint.
An assessment made by Irrigation officials, which tallied with that of K. Srihari of Telugu Desam, former Irrigation Minister, indicated that Babli and the barrages will impound water in the 422-km stretch of the river between Jaikwadi and Babli and ensure an extra 60 tmcft to Maharashtra, in addition to its allocated quota in the Godavari sub-basin.
Babli highlights the utter lack of readymade mechanism at the Central level to resolve a river water dispute between two States. There are no regulatory bodies even today to ensure the States get their water quota allocated by the Bachawat Tribunal.
Licence to be mandatory for nursery farmers
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121551750300.htm
Staff Reporter
Public-private partnership method to be encouraged
Oil palm cultivation to be encouraged
Horticulture programmes chalked out with climatic conditions in view
Rajahmundry: Dr. S. Chellappa, Principal Secretary to Horticulture and Sericulture, has said that henceforth, all nursery farmers should obtain licence as the State Government is going to introduce a new law for doing nursery business in public-private partnership. A new act for licensing is going to be brought shortly, he added.
In an informal chat with media at R and B guesthouse, he said licensing system was meant to ensure that no farmer was cheated. If any nursery owner supplied damaged seeds and plants, the Government could take action against him.
Dr. Chellappa said during 2008-09 the Government had allocated Rs.231 crores to the Horticulture department and Rs.81 crores was spent by November 2008 and the department would spend the remaining amount by March 2009.
He said coco and cashew plantation development were two important programmes that the department was going to take up in the State and other 166 programmes were chalked out in different districts in accordance with climatic conditions.
The idea was to encourage farmers to grow palm oil as the demand for it was increasing.
He said out of 1.25 lakh hectares of land under palm oil cultivation in the country, one lakh hectares were in the State. He asked palm oil farmers to add 25,000 hectares this year which would produce 65,000 tonnes of oil.
The Principal Secretary said the AP Oilseeds Corporation would purchase the oil and through market intervention Government was paying Rs.5000 to farmers. Still, the country was importing 45 lakh tonnes of palm oil. The Government had increased subsidy to 75 per cent to farmers who were producing vegetables.
Agriculture Joint Director K. Nandaiah, Horticulture Deputy Director PM Subhani, Assistant Director Subrahmanyam, B. Srinivas, Micro Irrigation Project Director D. Manohar Rao and others participated in the programme.
‘Advocates should not defend terror suspects’
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121550550600.htm
Staff Correspondent
MANGALORE: Karnataka Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs S. Suresh Kumar on Sunday suggested that advocates should not defend suspected terrorists in court.
Addressing advocates at a convention organised by the Dakshina Kannada District BJP Legal Cell here, the Minister said: “We will not stand in defence of accused terrorists.”
The Minister said there was a need on the part of lower courts in the State to use Kannada. It would help many litigants to understand the proceedings and the judgment delivered. However, there was problem in using Kannada in the High Court as there would be judges from outside the State.
Lawyers told to strive for social development
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121556120300.htm
Staff Reporter
PATHANAMTHITTA: Lawyers should value time, infuse the sense of values in society and strive for social development, Kerala High Court Judge V. Ramkumar has said.
Mr. Ramkumar was inaugurating a day-long professional development programme for junior lawyers at the Pathanamthitta District Co-operatvie Bank auditorium here on Sunday. Kerala Bar Council chairman Vinod Singh Cherian presided over the inaugural function.
Additional District Judge John J. Illikkadan and lawyers George Koshy, Abraham Mathew, T.S. Ajith and P. Santhoshkumar also spoke.
Mr. Ramkumar and High Court Judge K.T. Sankaran took classes. Transport Minister Mathew T. Thomas inaugurated the valedictory meet. Bar Council member Parippaly Raveendran presided over the meeting. Pathanamthitta Bar Association secretary K. Jyotikumar also spoke.
Call for urgent police reforms
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121553270400.htm
Staff Reporter
To address the threats to national security
“Their service should not misused for partisan purposes”
“Should be used as a truly independent public service”
NEW DELHI: In the wake of the recent terrorist attack in Mumbai, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has demanded urgent police reforms to effectively address the threats to the national security and integrity.
According to the non-government organisation, the police should be reformed in a manner that their service is not misused for partisan purposes but to ensure basic security and to counter terror.
In a statement, CHRI (New Delhi) chairman B.G. Verghese said: “Although such reforms have been discussed for years without much progress, we urge all politicians in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack to finally acknowledge that police reforms are too important to neglect and too urgent to delay.”
He said all Indians were angry that politicians of all the parties had wilfully allowed policing to deteriorate to a point where it could not provide protection to the citizens in even ordinary circumstances.
“Fighting terrorism and other crime is not possible on the basis of a foundationally weak and compromised police service that is used as a private handmaiden rather than as a truly independent public service,” he said.
Mr. Verghese said the present situation stemmed from three major factors: undue and illegitimate political interference in all aspects of policing; neglect by the governments of the poor condition of the constabulary (involving issues such as corruption in recruitment procedures, faulty and misdirected training, bad management and abysmal pay); and lack of accountability for the performance in everyday duty like crime prevention and investigation.
Stating that a swift police reformation was possible, Mr. Verghese said clear and practical recommendations had been given by the National Police Commission in 1979, which were endorsed by the recent Soli Sorabjee Committee. “And in 2006, the Supreme Court issued seven clear time-bound directions to the Central and the State Governments to set in place mechanisms that will address the infirmities of policing. Unfortunately, none of them have complied with these directions,” he said.
The CHRI has urged that all political parties should agree that police reforms and independent policing will be treated as a bipartisan issue; that all political parties in power at the Centre and in States take immediate and effective action towards demonstrable police reforms; and that all the national political parties declare in their manifestos for the general elections that practical steps they commit to take on police reforms during their first 100 days of office.
The NGO is organising a discussion on “Citizens for police reforms: A basis for national security and good governance” at India International Centre this Monday.
Seven cops sacked for custodial death
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121553410500.htm
GHAZIABAD: Seven policemen in Ghaziabad, including two sub-inspectors, were suspended on Sunday after a first information report (FIR) was lodged against them for the death of an person in police custody.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Charan Pal Singh lodged a complaint at the Kavi Nagar police station that legal action should be initiated against the police officers who had picked up for questioning suspect Yogesh Tyagi who died during interrogation.
Station Officers Pramod Kumar and Avinash Gautam were among the policemen suspended after a criminal case was registered against them. Police driver Ram Niwas and constables Surendra, Krishna Pal, Jogendra and Nitendra were also suspended. After Tyagi’s custodial death, tension had erupted in some parts of Ghaziabad. - IANS
“Need to review definition of new drug”
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121560330300.htm
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI: The Indian Pharmaceutical Congress organised by the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association concluded at Netaji Subash Institute of Technology campus in Dwarka here over the weekend.
This year’s theme was “Pharmavision-2020 Regulations for better Healthcare,” and one of the objectives of the discussion was whether India could be a superpower in pharmaceuticals by 2020.
Various resolutions that were passed highlighted the necessity to review the definition of “new drug” and the need for a separate wing to regulate and monitor the activities of contract research organisations among others.
Licences cancelled for 167 fair price shops
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121555610300.htm
Chandigarh: The Haryana Government has cancelled licences of 167 fair price shops for corruption, officials said here Sunday.
The vigilance cell of the State Food and Supplies department has cancelled 167 licences and forfeited security of 677 dealers, amounting to over Rs.519,000 for corrupt practices in distribution of essential commodities among people during the current financial year, officials said.
Officials said that during the period, 18 cases were registered by the police and 16 people were arrested.
Goods worth over Rs. 3,78000 were seized from these traders.
Haryana has 9,552 fair price shops across the State, 6,888 in rural areas and 2,664 in urban areas.
Faulty policy’ affecting PMGSY work, say contractors
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121551850300.htm
Staff Reporter
Threaten to abstain from participating in tenders if talks with Chief Minister fail
Contractors in three districts have already started to cease works under PMGSY
Delegation meets Ministers to convey their demands
BHUBANESWAR: Developmental works in the State are likely to be hit as contractors have taken a tough stance by threatening to abstain from participating in tenders if their proposed talks with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Rural Development Minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu fail to solve their problems.
The unanimous decision was taken at the “All Orissa Contractors’ Meet” held here on Sunday.
Contractors’ Association charged that unprecedented rise in prices of materials such as cement, steel and bitumen and flawed procedures being followed by administration emerged as big hindrances for carrying on works.
They said cement prices had gone up by 18.33 per cent by April 2008 compared to last year, similarly steel by 43.26 per cent in the month of July and bitumen by 77.36 per cent this October.
Reimbursement
Prabhat Dash, chairman of Contractors’ Forum, said contractors were working as per the prices fixed in 2002 –2003, during last five years the material cost had skyrocketed which was ignored by administration.
“Although the State government agreed and notified for reimbursement of such differential cost of materials to ongoing and future works two years back, the provisions were kept unrealistic that no contractor could get the reimbursement,” alleged Jagdip Bansal, convenor of Western Orissa Contractors Forum.
He said contractors in three districts had already started to cease works in Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme due to those problems.
Procedural obstacles like finalisation of completed works, approval of deviations and extension of time, non-reimbursement of statutory increase by government towards hike of minimum wages and royalties and non-adoption of standard of bidding documents required a re-look, Mr. Bansal said.
A delegation of contractors had already met State Finance Minister, Rural Development Minister and Works Minister to apprise them about the problems being faced by them.
Orissa to implement Sixth Pay Commission recommendations
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121553780600.htm
Special Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The State Cabinet on Sunday gave its approval to the report of the fitment committee to revise the pay scales of the State government employees as per the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.
The Cabinet meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, approved the fitment committee report raising the pay scales.
The fitment committee was set up after the Central government implemented the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.
The revised pay scales will be implemented with effect from January 1, 2006.
Arrears
As regards the payment of arrears, the Cabinet decided that 40 per cent of the arrears would be paid during the current financial year and the remaining 60 per cent would be paid in the next fiscal.
The revised pay will be paid to the government employees from this month, the Cabinet decided.
The government would bear an additional Rs. 1,400 crore per annum to pay salary as per the revised scales.
The government has already allocated Rs 2,255.36 crore in the supplementary budget to pay salary, pension and arrears.
Panchayati Raj
Although it was a holiday, hundreds of employees had reached the Secretariat to hear about the pay revision.
The Cabinet also decided to amend certain provision of the law pertaining to the functioning of the Panchayati Raj system.
District level planning panels constituted in Punjab
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121555630300.htm
An initiative to speed up development process
Committees in 12 districts formed, others to be announced shortly
Committees to ensure implementation of various development schemes for respective districts
Chandigarh: In a bid to speed up the development process, the Punjab Government on Sunday constituted District Level Planning Committees in 12 out of the 20 districts in the State. The orders to this effect were issued on Sunday under Punjab District Planning Committees Act 2005, an official spokesman said here.
Broaden decision making
He said Planning Committees were being set up to broad-base decision making process and to bring into force the top-down approach to planning and development as advocated by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at different forums, including the National Development Council.
The Committees would prepare the draft plans for their respective districts, ensure their implementation and monitor progress of various development schemes meant for their areas, the spokesman said.
CM’s direction
“The Chief Minister has directed administration in all districts to work through these committees and ensure the implementation of the grass-root approach to development,” he added.
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leaders Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Bibi Jagir Kaur and Sikandar Singh Maluka have been appointed as the heads of the committees. The Composition of Planning Committees in Amritsar, Roop Nagar (Ropar), Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshehar) and SAS Nagar (Mohali) would be announced shortly, he said. --PTI
275 arrested for Railways examination paper leak
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121555670300.htm
Exam slated to be held on Sunday cancelled
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh police arrested 275 people following the leakage of a question paper of the Railway Recruitment Board examination, officials said Sunday.
The arrests were made by the Special Task Force (STF) late Saturday night from the Jhunsi locality of Allahabad while 264 candidates were cracking the paper in a house on the outskirts of the city.
The examination was slated to be held on Sunday but was cancelled after the incident.
Arrests
“The kingpin, train ticket examiner Bedi Lal was arrested earlier Saturday from Allahabad,” Additional Superintendent of Police (STF) S. Anand told reporters.
“Ten of his associates were arrested from the spot while supervising the crime. The examination was to be held for 665 posts of assistant loco pilots and about 35,000 candidates were to appear for it,” Mr. Anand added.
The railways also ran two special trains for ferrying the candidates and declared that a fresh date for the examination would be announced later.
Papers recovered
“The examination has been cancelled and we will soon declare a date,” Railways spokesperson B. Pandey said. The police also recovered two original question papers, 180 photocopies of the question paper besides a large number of mobile phones from the spot.
“The youths were caught red-handed while solving the paper,” Anand added.
--IANS
Drive to curb illegal plying of buses
http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/15/stories/2008121555600300.htm
Lucknow: In the wake of ‘bus fire’ tragedy in Firozabad district in which 60 passengers were killed, the State transport department is going to launch a massive drive to check fitness of public vehicles and illegal plying of private buses form December 31.
The directives have been issued in this regard on directions of Chief Minister Mayawati after a bus, which was surrendered on transport department’s record, caught fire in Firozabad district on December 9, killing 63 persons.
“The department has directed its tax enforcement officers to keep a tab on vehicles surrendered and ensure that they should not ply on roads,” a senior Transport Department official said.
The additional road transport officers have been asked to monitor such vehicles and send its reports regularly to transport commissioner.
It has also been directed to the officers to realise penalty from the erring vehicle owners if the surrendered vehicles were not found in the specified places during surprise inspections.
“FIRs would also be lodged against them (owners) under section 12 of Motor Vehicle Act,” the official said. --PTI
HC directs Amreli SP to supervise Dalit death case
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/hc-directs-amreli-sp-to-supervise-dalit-death-case/398630/
Parimal Dabhi
Posted: Dec 15, 2008 at 0446 hrs IST
Ahmedabad The Gujarat High Court has ordered the Superintendent of Police of Amreli to supervise the investigation into the mysterious death of a 30-year-old Dalit man, based on the postmortem report.
The order has come in view of the tardy police investigation in the 2007 case in Amreli district. The Amreli police had reportedly dismissed the case as an accidental death. The deceased’s younger brother, however, suspected foul play behind the death of his brother, who went missing after two of his upper-caste employers had forcibly taken him to drive a truck.
According to the details of the case, the deceased, Arjan Bamaniya, a driver by profession from Ghantvad village of Junagadh district, went missing on September 6, 2007, after two of his employers, Ramsing Vala and Kalu Vala, had allegedly taken him to drive a truck against his wish.
When he did not return home, his family started searching for him. The next day, they were asked by the police to identify a dead body recovered from a well in a village in Amreli district. “The Amreli police had filed a case of accidental death saying that Arjan had committed suicide in the well out of fear, as the truck he was driving had met with a fatal road accident. Subsequent police investigation, however, revealed nothing to prove this claim,” said Valjibhai Patel, secretary of Council for Social Justice, a voluntary organisation working for the welfare of the down-trodden.
“The police did not even do the panchnama of the said truck, nor did it record the statement of the cleaner of the truck,” added Patel, who helped Arjan’s brother, Babu, a farm labourer, to file a writ petition in the High Court against the police investigation in the case.
Announcing the order on the petition, Justice D H Waghela also gave the petitioner “the liberty to file fresh petition at the appropriate stage, if necessary”.
HC seeks probe into road bill scam
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081215/jsp/jharkhand/story_10249196.jsp
CHANDRAJIT MUKHERJEE
Ranchi, Dec. 13: Jharkhand High Court has directed the state to probe into allegations of misappropriation public money on the pretext of road construction in Palamau.
The court has asked the government to review an enquiry report, which has named former Palamau deputy commissioner Vinay Kumar Chaubey, now posted in Hazaribagh, and a number of engineers guilty of embezzlement of government funds. The government will have to file an affidavit.
In a PIL, one Ram Pravesh Singh, had said that road construction work was undertaken at Husainabad in Palamau in 2002 under the food-for -work programme of the Union government. In the name of road repair, a large number of fake bills were made to withdraw money from the treasury, he alleged.
Singh claimed that bills have also been produced of roads that are in a good condition and no repair work has been done on them. The disbursing authority has also not bothered to check the genuineness of the bills and has released money. A complaint was made to the commissioner of Palamau and he had ordered an enquiry by the additional deputy magistrate (law and order) Khurshid Alam.
The latter, after conducting a detailed enquiry named a number of executive and superintending engineers, who were guilty of raising false bills to realise government money. Alam in his report had also named the then Palamau deputy commissioner, Chaubey. He was said to be guilty of overlooking the bills that had his signatures. The deputy commissioner ought to have enquired into the bills before passing them for payment, the report said.
The report was presented before the Palamau commissioner, who sent the matter back to Chaubey for taking action against errant officials. However, the matter was put in the cold storage and no orders were passed by Chaubey against the named officials of the road construction department. The petitioner, finally, moved the high court.
HC provides relief in 'high-pitched' tax assessment cases
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/hc-provides-relief-in-high-pitched-tax-assessment-cases/01/06/343251/
Bs Reporter / New Delhi December 15, 2008, 0:49 IST
In the case of an unreasonably ‘high-pitched’ assessment and tax demand, the assessee would be entitled to a stay on the tax demand, the Delhi High Court has said in a recent ruling.
The court also held that Instruction No 96 of August 21, 1969, which permits stay in ‘high-pitched’ assessment cases, would still hold good, despite the fact that it has been superseded by another instruction later.
A tax demand is called ‘high-pitched’ if the income-tax officer estimates the income to be at least more than twice the amount declared by the taxpayer.
The Delhi High Court gave its ruling in a case where a search was conducted in the business premises of the petitioner (assessee) and an order was passed, assessing the assessee’s income at approximately 74 times higher than the income filed in the tax return.
The assessing officer (AO) sent a demand notice of Rs 3.57 crore and a part of the demand was adjusted against the cash seized during the search. During appeal, the AO granted stay on some part of the demand.
The assessee also filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT). Even as this appeal was pending, the assessee filed a writ petition against the demand notices before the Delhi High Court, requesting to quash the demand notices and stay the balance demand in view of the Instruction No 96.
The revenue department contended that Instruction No 96 stood superseded by the subsequent Instruction No 1914.
According to the high court ruling, under Instruction No 1914, a demand could be stayed in exceptional circumstances where the assessment order appeared to be unreasonably high-pitched or where genuine hardship was likely to be caused to the assessee. The court added that Instruction No 96 had the illustration that an assessment at twice the amount of the returned income would be a high-pitched case.
The assessed income in the case in question was approximately 74 times of the returned income and hence would fall within the expression “unreasonably high-pitched”, the court held.
The court directed that the impugned notices be kept in abeyance until the jurisdictional CIT decided the stay application.
Madras HC allows Quo-warranto against retired judge
12/14/2008
The Madras High Court allowed a Quo-warranto petition against N Kannadasan, who was appointed as the President of the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (SCDRC).A Division Bench, comprising Justices P K Misra and A Kulasekaran, set aside the Government Order for the appointment of Mr Kannadasan.Mr Kannadasan, a former Additional Judge of the Madras High Court, was not confirmed as a permanent judge. Later, Mr Kannadasan accorded the status of a retired judge of the High Court and was appointed as the President of the SCDRC.However, this was challenged by Advocate Annametha and ten other advocates. In their petition, they had submitted that there were certain allegations against Mr Kannadasan, in view of which he was not confirmed as a regular judge. Only a retired High Court Judge could be made President of the SCDRC. Hence, his appointment was against the law, it should be quashed.The petitioners also challenged his status as a retired judge. UNI
Calcutta HC ask tanneries to relocate
http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?942e4223-a0f8-4767-96d2-43eee9e900fc
12/13/2008
In a bid to control pollution, the Calcutta High Court asked all the existing tanneries in Tangra and China Town area to shift to the New Leather Manufacturing Complex at Bantala by Wednesday.A two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Surinder Singh Nirjhar, issued a ruling on the petition filed by a local resident Mukhtar Alam.In his petition, Mr Alam said, more than 67 tanneries existed in China town and Tiljala area, despite a court order to relocate the industries.In 1977, the Apex Court directed all tanneries in the area to shift to the Bantala Leather Complex where all modern facilities are available for the leather manufacturing unit.There are over 500 tanneries in the area. Most of them had shifted to the Bantala Shopping Complex following the Apex court order, excepting these ones, according to a petition.UNI
HC grants bail to cab driver in drug smuggling case
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200812141503.htm
New Delhi (PTI): A cab driver, accused of drug peddling, has been granted bail by the Delhi High Court under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Directing to release Dilbagh Singh on bail, Justice Kailash Gambhir in a recent order asked Singh to furnish a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of like amount.
Filing a bail plea, Singh's counsel T L Garg submitted that no contraband was recovered from the driver's possession when DRI officials intercepted a Nigerian national taking contraband from co-accused Rohit Goel, saying Singh was a mere taxi driver and had provided service to the prime accused.
He claimed that Singh had no knowledge about the involvement of the Nigerian national in the drug smuggling and denied of having any relation which the prime accused.
According to the case registered by the Department of Revenue Intelligence(DRI) on September 9, last year, Kouassi Nguessan Williams had hired Singh's taxi to reach Vikas Puri where Goel was to deliver him the drugs.
The DRI officials had then intercepted them.
SC slams courts passing judgement without giving reasons
http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?fdef4c47-f018-42df-8a28-3e3ee6f80e91
12/15/2008
The Supreme Court has strongly disapproved the practice of courts passing orders without giving reasons.A bench, comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and Mukundakam Sharma, while remanding back a case involving the murder of five people, including police officials in Paradip port in Orissa, observed, ‘We find that the High Court has discussed in major parts of its judgement the factual scenario as projected by the parties. Thereafter by abrupt conclusions prosecution witness 2’s evidence has been discarded.This certainly was not the proper way of disposing of an appeal involving accusations relating to death of the five people. On that limited ground we set aside the impugned judgement and direct the High Court to reconsider the matter afresh dealing with various points highlighted by the prosecution and the response of the accused persons.If the High Court intends to differ from the conclusions of the trial court it has to indicate reasons therefore. Merely stating that the evidence of a witness is not believable would not suffice.We make it clear that we have not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case.’ On March 14, 1984 tension prevailed among two groups of workers, who were working in the Paradip port area and a 500-strong mob attacked the police party, who had gone there to rescue Bhima Jena and his supporters, whom the mob wanted to kill. As a result of mob violence Bhima Jena and officer in-charge AK Kanungo, APR Mustaqe Mohammad, APR constable Niranjan Sahu and sepoy No 3 P K Mohapatra were killed. The unruly mob also set on fire the hutments of the rival labour group. Due to police firing some members of the mob were also injured. In all, 114 people were put on trial. Some of them died during the trial. The trial court convicted the five respondents for murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment. They were also found guilty of the offence of attempt to murder. The Orissa High Court, however, acquitted all the respondents, including Sikhar Jena and others through a cryptic and non-reasoned order. The State of Orissa challenged the High Court order of acquittal in the apex court.UNI
Bombay HC dismisses PIL without locus standi
http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?030a0af9-e456-4afe-b325-2562c875119f
12/15/2008
The Bombay High Court has dismissed a writ petition of a social activist against a businessman and his companies for allegedly frauding people. The court recently dismissed Moin Akhtar Qureshi’s petition seeking criminal action against one Sayeed Mohammed Masood and his companies on the ground that the petitioner did not have a locus standi and demanded imposition of Rs 5,000 as penalty on him, sources said.Rejecting the PIL, a division bench comprising S B Mhase and A A Sayed, termed the petition frivolous and slapped a penalty of Rs 5,000 on Qureshi to be paid within two months.Qureshi had filed a PIL against Masood, alleging that the businessman along with a senior police official had started various companies and smashed Rs 10,000 crore from the public by fraudulent means.It further stated that Qureshi had utilised the funds for his own benefit and left thousands of people in lurch.City Realcom Ltd, City Cooperative Credit Society, City Communication Ltd, City Money Ltd, City Airlines Pvt Ltd, City Resorts were some of the companies run by Masood.UNI
Jharkhand HC asks IT dept to file report on 8 ministers by Jan 22
http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?b10d1d0d-74ff-440c-ac3e-333e4d7b9ab9
12/15/2008
The Jharkhand High Court asked the Income Tax Department to file a report about assets of eight MLA’s, including seven ministers, and a former chief minister by January 22 in connection with a case of possession of property more than known source of income.The eight ministers under scrutiny were Dulal Bhuiyan, Kamlesh Singh, Bandhu Tirkey, Bhanu Pratap Shahi, Chandra Prakash Chaudhary, Enos Ekka and Harinarayan Rai. Former chief minister Madhu Koda was also an accused in the case.Significantly, regarding the Rural Development Minister Enos Ekka and Tourism and Urban Development Minister Hari Narayan Rai against whom FIRs had already been filed by the government as per an earlier legal order, the Court also directed the vigilance department to submit a progress report about the duo’s case by the same date.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra and Justice Ajit Kumar Sinha passed the order while hearing a PIL filed by one Durga Oraon. Reetu Kumar and Rajeev Kumar appearing on behalf of the petitioner contended that the ministers under scanner got more than what they had disclosed in their affidavit while filing nomination papers during the elections. Another controversial businessman Sajeev Chaudhuri, allegedly close aid of former chief minister Madhu Koda, was also under the court vigil in the same case.UNI
Two PILs look to tech to rescue Mumbai
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/two-pils-look-to-tech-to-rescue-mumbai/01/26/343242/
Leslie D'Monte / New Delhi December 15, 2008, 0:25 IST
One wants ban on Google Earth, other for harnessing technology to combat terror.
Two public interest litigations (PILs) have been filed in the Bombay High Court, following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai — one by Mumbai-based lawyer Amit Karkhanis seeking a ban on Google Earth, a technology application which gives access to ‘sensitive’ Indian defence and civilian establishments, and the other filed by Ficci IT cell chairman Vijay Mukhi, which includes a 12-point Rs 50-crore plan on how the government can save India from terror attacks with the help of technology.
Mukhi’s PIL (which has Sarla S Parekh, mother of Sunil and mother-in-law of his wife Reshma who lost their lives in the Mumbai attack, as the co-petitioner) states: “...the present security capabilities of the state machinery are inadequate to anticipate, prevent and mitigate such attacks and there is an urgent need to introduce fresh technology and upgrade the existing technology”.
It has, therefore, recommended a Rs 50-crore, 12-point plan for the use of surveillance technology (see box) to avoid such attacks in the future. “The purpose of giving the costing herein is to pre-empt being faced with an answer that all the suggestions below are too expensive and that there isn’t a budget available...(and that with this budget, Mumbai could) set up state-of-the-art e-security software, equipment and personnel. Out of this, some expense would be an annual expense and some would be useful beyond Mumbai...,” states the petition. On the other hand, the PIL filed by Karkhanis asks for a ban on Google Earth or at least that vital installations be blocked out.
The irony of the approaches to technology by the two well-intentioned petitions has not been lost on observers. “If you ban Google Earth, why not ban MapQuest too,” asked an internet security expert who did not wish to be named. Moreover, there is not only Google Earth or MapQuest but hundreds of such offerings in the market, not to forget the global positioning system (GPS) devices which can perform these tasks with ease and more efficiency than even Google Earth. “Are we going to ban all these too?” Experts point out that such PILs could only harm the interests of Indians since terrorists could anyway access Google Earth from other countries.
TECHNOLOGY BLUEPRINT TO SAVE MUMBAI
Measure
Cost
Internet and e-mail surveillance
Around Rs 10 crore, including cost of physical premises and training
VOIP
Around Rs 5 crore, including R&D in this area
State-of-the-art Mobile forensic lab
Around Rs 1 crore
Intercept mobile phone conversations in real time in Mumbai would cost
Around Rs 1.5 crore
Satellite phone interception
Around Rs 8 crore
Mobile phone jamming
Around Rs 2 crore
Writing keystroke loggers and stealth software and hacking into computers
Around Rs 3.5 crore
Creating a virtual cyber police (machines + core group of 10 hackers)
First-year cost around Rs 1 crore
Computer Forensics Laboratory
Around Rs 3 crore in first year
Breaking encryption and creating one's own Algorithms
Rs 2 crore per year
Installing CCTVs in public places
Rs 13 crore to start with
When contacted, a Google spokesperson said: “We are yet to receive a copy of the petition, hence cannot comment on the specifics.” The spokesperson, however, added that “...Google strongly condemns acts of terrorism and violence. Tools such as Google Earth are built from information that is already available from both commercial and public sources, and it is important to remember that the same information is available to anyone who purchases imagery from those public sources. In India, Google Earth has been used for flood relief in Gujarat, Tsunami relief and rehabilitation in southern India and earthquake relief in Kashmir. We believe that the benefits of access to tools such as Google Earth for such valuable purposes far outweigh any negatives from potential misuse. Google is always willing to discuss relevant issues with public agencies and officials.”
The Bombay Technology Club (BTC), which has seasoned industry professionals as its members, such as Zenith Computers Chairman Raj Saraf, Hexaware Technologies Chairman Atul Nishar, Infrasoft Technologies CEO Hanuman Tripathi and Adino Group Chairman Nanik Rupani, said it “strongly approves of the (Mukhi’s) PIL”.
“We need to use large doses of technology not only to gather intelligence but also to collect evidence that can be used in courts to convict the terrorists and also convince the world of the country that they come from. We would encourage others to file PILs that specify specific steps that the government should take which are doable and practical,” the BTC urged in a statement.
Post-26/11, a PIL boom to reform govt
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/mumbaiterrorstrike/Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20080076421&type=News
Press Trust of India
Sunday, December 14, 2008 1:55 PM (Mumbai)
It seems that citizens' weapon of choice for battling the terror is PIL.At the last count, six Public Interest Litigations (PILs) have been filed so far, urging the courts to force the government to reform the security set-up; and punish those whose lapses helped the terrorists.The petitioners include a body of law firms, a woman who lost her son, daughter-in-law in the attacks, and a former top law officer of the country.How can a handful of terrorists enter Mumbai so easily and cause mayhem, asks petition filed in the Supreme Court by Soli Sorabjee, former Attorney General of India."Current level of training as well as weaponry possessed by police is antiquated and unable to cope with weaponry of the terrorists," Sorabjee's petition says, seeking direction to the government to provide modern weapons and equipments to police.Though reluctant initially, the apex court issued notice to Central Government in this PIL.Bombay High Court came literally within the 'striking distance' of terrorists on November 26. All the places where terrorists struck are within the radius of two kilometers from the High Court building in South Mumbai.Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) has filed PIL in the Bombay High Court, asking why 'Quick Response Team' of Mumbai police could not do much when attacks began.Another PIL, filed by advocate V P Patil, seeks action against M K Narayanan, National Security Advisor, accusing him for "negligence".
Jharkhand's newly-married minister in trouble
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/Jharkhands_newly-married_minister_in_trouble/articleshow/3838700.cms
15 Dec 2008, 1047 hrs IST, Sanjay Ojha, TNN
RANCHI: Jharkhand health minister Bhanu Pratap Sahi is in the news but for a “knotty” reason. On Sunday, a woman from Sidhi district in Madhya Pradesh accused him of marrying another woman even if he is engaged to her for almost two years. In an FIR filed with the local police station, Shipra Singh alleged that Sahi was engaged to her but married another woman, Chhani, from Uttar Pradesh, on Friday. “Sahi got engaged to me at a family function at Ambikapur in Chattisgarh on February 1, 2007. His sisters and other relatives were present at the function that was held in accordance with Hindu rituals. His nephew, Prakash Singh, had played a very important role. I was shocked to learn that he has got married to another woman. He did not even inform us about his intention to break the engagement,” Shipra said. “He has ruined my life and harmed my family prestige. Everybody in the town is talking about it. My family is going through a tough time explaining to people that it was not my fault that our engagement was broken. He had demanded a dowry of Rs 50 lakh and we were ready to pay the amount. He had also demanded a four-wheeler of his choice,” she told TOI over phone from Sidhi. Sahi was, however, not ready to accept the charges. “A few days after the engagement, I realized that the girl’s family did not match our social status. As a matter of fact, she does not come from a respectable family,” he said. “Without making much hue and cry, I disassociated myself from the girl and her family. On Friday, I married a woman who fits into my family,” the minister said, adding that he was ready to face a court case rather than marry a woman “with whom I cannot lead a peaceful life”. Incidentally, the minister was in the news recently after a PIL was filed with Jharkhand High Court accusing him and some of his Cabinet colleagues of amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.
Irregularities galore in admission process of homoeopathy colleges
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/irregularities-galore-in-admission-process-of-homoeopathy-colleges/398625/
Amrita Didyala
Posted: Dec 15, 2008 at 0436 hrs IST
Ahmedabad Close to 350 of the total 1,050 seats in the 12 homoeopathy colleges across the state have been remaining vacant for the last couple of years.
The primary reason for this is the substantial delay in the completion of the admission procedure that has diverted many students to other educational options.
Exams for the homoeopathy colleges are held in May every year. This year, the number of seats lying vacant at the time of the closure of admission in November, was over 300. In the last two years, the numbers have been equally large at over 350 vacant seats.
While the delay has, of late, become a trend, it has also brought about a large number of admission as well as eligibility-related irregularities as pointed out by the students. The vacant seats are later offered for direct admission.
Snehal Shah, a first-year homoeopathy student said: “At the time of the acceptance of the application form, the eligibility criteria was 55 per cent marks. By the time the admission process got over, it was lowered to 35 per cent. In the process, some of my batchmates diverted to other options, while later on students with lower percentages secured admissions.”
Manish Doshi, an executive council member of Gujarat University, said that after a PIL was filed in 1994 to put a check on large-scale irregularities in the admission procedures, the process was centralised in 1996.
“However, the irregularities are fast setting in once again. On one hand, the unnecessary delay in the procedure has caused a loss of talented students as they divert away, on the other hand, it has become a money making business for the management, as they offer the vacant seats for a good price and reduce the eligibility criteria, giving a severe blow to the merit-based admission system,” Doshi added.
Technology held captive to paranoia
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1213959&pageid=0
Kamlesh Singh
Sunday, December 14, 2008 23:44 IST
The maniacs who mauled Mumbai on November 26 were armed with more than just Kalashnikovs and grenades. They had satellite phones, Blackberry phones, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Google Earth maps. Mumbai 26/11 was not the first time terrorists used technology to kill. It will not be the last. But yet, every time there is evidence of technology aiding terror, hawks inside the government and outside it seek to wage a war on personal technology tools that have made our lives easier.Last Tuesday, a Mumbai-based lawyer filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court demanding that Google remove images and maps of Indian cities or at least of our vital installations from the Google Earth service.In one more after-effect, New Delhi has found another excuse to mount an offensive on the Canadian proprietor of Blackberry, Research In Motion (RIM). Blackberry devices are encrypted so strongly that even government agencies find it difficult to intercept and crack them. Security hawks had threatened RIM with a ban early this year unless it gave the government access to its servers. RIM had then refused to oblige. Post-Mumbai, it faces twice the pressure to give in.Half-knowing media pundits add to the shrill. Every time a group like the Indian Mujahideen sent emails to claim responsibility for a blast, TV news channels made Wi-Fi the root of all terror every half an hour. Cops cracked down on cyber-cafes giving the impression that those emails were more dangerous than the explosions.A couple of years ago, there was a rumpus over satellite images of Rashtrapati Bhavan being available on the Internet. A newspaper hyped the security risk and the government forced Google to blur some images. If somebody wanted to attack the Rashtrapati Bhavan, he or she would find myriad ways to get maps. There are books available on its architecture and history with maps in fine detail. If you want a South Mumbai map with hotel legends, you can buy it anywhere in the world.So can a terrorist. You need a modern police force and better intelligence infrastructure to stop that terrorist from coming on to your shore. Since the poor state of the police force exposes the performance of the political class, politicians look for softer targets like Blackberry. It creates a fig leaf to hide the decades of neglect that has rusted our security apparatus.Blackberry's encryption helps corporations conduct business on the go without the fear of someone snooping on company secrets. Google Maps, now also available on mobile phones, helps us find our way in unknown cities. It also helps us to find the nearest ATMs, restaurants, chemists and other utility near any place we may be. With GPS-enabled phones, you also get your location and turn-by-turn directions to your destination. We have also inherited Raj-era paranoia, together with our police and bureaucracy — both built by the gora sahibs. As a result, they still treat the common folk as not-to-be-trusted natives. Till date, you cannot take photographs of random bridges, railway stations, airports and even some bus stands. This, in an age when satellites can spot every single brick used in the structure which bears the legend, "Photography Prohibited". Possession of maps and photographs may lead you to detention if not jail. You may end up violating the Official Secrets Act. Ask Professor Iftikhar Gilani.Technology is a two-edged sword. When mobile phones became very popular, the police feared that criminals would use them to their advantage. The mobile phone did make criminal enterprise quicker and deadlier. But the same phone gave it away. Today, police track down criminals by tracking their phones. Controlling modern communication tools will only mean controlling freedom. Giving police smarter devices is a smart idea. Banning smart devices just because a terrorist may misuse them is stupid. Should we ban kitchen knives because one can be used for committing a murder?The author has just shifted to Chandigarh and often uses GPS to find his way
ARBITRAL PROCEEDINGS AND THE JURISDICTION OF COURTS
http://indiacorplaw.blogspot.com/2008/12/arbitral-proceedings-and-jurisdiction.html
Monday, December 15, 2008
The case of Vijay Kumar Gupta v. Renu Malhotra, recently decided by the Delhi High Court, deals with the important issue of the definition of the word “Court” in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, as well as the pecuniary jurisdiction of the High Court. In 1998, the decree-holder filed a petition before the Delhi High Court for appointment of an arbitrator under Section 11 of the Arbitration Act. The petition was valued at Rs. 5 lakh, which was within the pecuniary jurisdiction of the High Court. While the arbitration proceedings were pending, the judgment debtor filed two petitions before the Court under Sections 27 and 37(2)(b) of the Act. During the pendency of the petition under Section 37(2)(b) the arbitrator passed an award in favour of the decree holder. The judgment debtor assailed this award under Section 34 of the Act, in the Delhi High Court. The question was whether the High Court had jurisdiction over the matter.The relevant provision is Section 42 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. Section 42 of the Act provides for jurisdiction of Court to deal with arbitral proceedings. It states that only the Court to which an application has been previously made with respect to an arbitration agreement, will have jurisdiction over subsequent matters arising from the arbitration agreement and arbitral proceedings. The issue raised in the instant case was whether the appointment of the Arbitrator by the Delhi High Court clothed the High Court with the jurisdiction to deal with the execution proceedings following the arbitral award. The decree-holder contended that since the High Court had appointed the arbitrator, it is vested with the jurisdiction to deal with subsequent matters by virtue of Section 42 of the Act. The judgment debtor raised the contention that the mere appointment of the arbitrator under Section 11, Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 should not endow the Delhi High Court with the jurisdiction to deal with the execution petition. Relying on precedents, the judgment debtor contended that the execution petition can only be entertained by the Civil Court and not the High Court. In this light, it is pertinent to cast a look at Section 2 (e) of the Arbitration Act. It states that for the purposes of the Arbitration Act, the word “Court” includes the principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction and the High Court in exercise of its original jurisdiction. The only precondition is that the Courts should have been of competent jurisdiction to deal with the subject-matter of the arbitration if the same would have arisen in a suit.In the instant case, the decree-holder contended that the word “Court” under Section 2(e) of the Act refers to High Court. Rejecting this submission, the Court remarked that as has been well-established through precedents, ‘Chief Justice’ under Section 11 of the Act is not equivalent to “Court” under Section 2(e) of the Act. Therefore, the mere appointment of the Arbitrator does not vest the Delhi High Court with the jurisdiction to deal with execution proceedings. The Delhi High Court asserted that the meaning of the term “Court” under Section 42 must be read in conformity with Section 2(e). It was also contended that by filing an application under Section 34 for setting aside the award, the judgment debtor had acquiesced to the jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court, and was therefore now barred from making a challenge about the same. However, the Court rejected this contention, and noted that acquiescence could not confer jurisdiction where none had existed. In the instant case, the Court found that the Court lacked jurisdiction because of the pecuniary limits that had been placed upon it by a 1996 amendment to the Delhi High Court Act, which enhanced the ordinary civil jurisdiction of the Court from five lakhs to twenty lakhs. As no action on the part of the judgment debtor could confer jurisdiction upon the Court where it was clearly lacking, the Court held that it lacked the pecuniary jurisdiction to entertain the present execution petition. This judgment is especially relevant for clarifying doubts as to the jurisdiction of the High Court over execution matters, and also settles a controversial debate about the correct construction of Sections 11 and 42 of the Arbitration Act. Gautam Bhatia & Venugopal Mahapatra
Posted by Venugopal Mahapatra at 4:58 PM
Will Supreme Court take note of High Court's Order on Waste Trade?
http://toxicswatch.blogspot.com/2008/12/will-supreme-court-take-note-of-madras.html
Monday, December 15, 2008
Note:One hopes even Supreme Court bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia will adopt the wisdom of the Madras High Court with regard to Waste Oil, Obsolete ships and other hazardous wastes. The next date of hearing is on January 9, 2009. A hazardous wastes case is pending in the apex court since 1995. But in the absence of sound approach like asking the Central Government to initiate civil and criminal proceedings against officials who mastermind illegal and anti-national deals, imposing cost of waste clearance on importers and slapping litigation cost; illegal traffic in toxic waste has become a routine affair in our country. A Supreme Court order had banned import of hazardous waste. Officials of easy virtue in the Environment Ministry have acted to undermine the order with impunity at the behest of hazardous waste traders. The situation has worsened after the order. Shockingly, there are numerous instances in the ongoing case in the Supreme Court where importers were reported non-existent and toxic ships enter Indian waters with fake national flags! Our hazardous wastes regulation is one of the most weakest in the world and even the new that Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 is a disappointment. Rajya Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation has invited comments on it. Hopefully, the Committee will take cognisance of Madras High Court's order and get the current rules and institutions overhauled and brings Union Ministry of Environment and Forests under parliamentary control because this Ministry's acts of connivance is too grave to be ignored. Even Commerce Ministry's role does not bring it any glory. It is germane to recollect that Japan and India have signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement that may facilitate dumping of Japanese toxic wastes in our country.Given the fact that our municipal waste remains quite toxic and household hazardous waste has been totally ignored, the parliamentary committee must treat mixed municipal waste too as having characteristics of hazardous waste. It appears that Madras High Court order of November 21, 2008 has done the same.Gopal KrishnaMadras HC orders to return containers imported from United States*The Madras High Court ordered to send back the 40 containers of hazardous municipal waste imported from the United States and rotting at Tuticorin Port for three years.While dismissing a writ petition by ITC, the division bench comprising Justice Elipipe Dharmarao and Justice S Tamilvanan said, ‘The cargo is municipal waste shipped to India, which cannot be sold or allowed to be disposed of in any manner in India, since it will cause danger to Mother Nature, as has been correctly observed by the Customs Department and Pollution Control Board.’ The bench also rapped ITC Limited for importing the ‘undesired cargo’. The Judges directed the company toclear out the waste at its own cost and slapped a litigation cost of Rs 50,000. Judges also asked the Centre to initiate civil and criminal proceedings against officials who masterminded such illegal ideas within a period of 12 weeks.ITC sourced the material from US-based Evergreen Specialities, which was meant to supply mixed wastepaper in August 2005. But on examination, the Customs found that consignment contained plastic carry bags, pet bottles, used clothes, metal cans and dirty liquid emitting foul smell. Officials said hazardous municipal waste had characteristics of Eco-toxic and infectious substances.UNI
Posted by Gopal Krishna at 4:07 AM
Kandhmal: anti-conversion law imperative
http://rashtravarta.blogspot.com/2008/12/kandhmal-anti-conversion-law-imperative.html
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Sandhya Jain Vijayavaani 27 August 2008http://www.vijayvaani.com/article_27au2.htm In a virtual replay of the post-Godhra riots of 2002, the secular and foreign media has worked overtime to delink the ugly, provocative murder of 80-year-old Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four disciples on Krishna Janmastami day with the violence that subsequently rocked some districts in Orissa. This is simply not on.Swami Laxmanananda was actively involved in the protection of tribal dharma from aggressive Christian evangelists in the state's tribal belt since 1966. He was killed in his crowded ashram at Jalespata, Kandhmal district, while performing Janmastami prayers. The murder came close on the heels of a letter warning he would suffer for preventing Hindus from converting to Christianity; in fact, his efforts had caused thousands of tribals to return to the Hindu fold, to the chagrin of the missionaries.As the Swami had been previously attacked on 25 December 2007 for the same reason, he personally lodged a complaint with the police and enclosed the threatening letter along with the FIR. He sought police protection, but fell to the determination of his assailants before it could arrive. A gang of 20 to 25 goons barged into his ashram around 9.35 pm, lobbed a hand-grenade at the gathering of devotees, and fired indiscriminately with sophisticated weapons, killing Swami Laxmanananda and four ashram inmates, including Mata Bhaktimayee, on the spot.Initially, the administration suggested that the killers could be Maoists, identifying a group known as the People's Liberation Revolutionary Group. But Hindu leaders vigorously refuted this, accusing Christian groups of sponsoring the attack, especially as the district witnessed fierce Christian violence against Hindus last Christmas. A BJP state leader Suresh Pujari said Swami Laxmanananda had no enmity with the Red rebels, and was only opposed to religious conversion taking place in various parts of Orissa. He alleged that those opposed to the saint's anti-conversion activities had killed him.However, it may be pertinent to note that most Maoist activists in the district are also recent converts to Christianity. Security forces are said to have seized 20 guns from 47 Maoists arrested in connection with the burning of villages inhabited by Hindus. In this respect, the murder of Swami Laxmanananda may be said to closely resemble the murder of Swami Shanti Kali ji Maharaj in Tripura in August 2000; he too was shot in his own ashram by gun-wielding goons after several dire warnings for anti-conversion activities in the state's tribal belt. Subsequently, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar admitted the involvement of the Baptist church with the insurgency in the state.It is surely pertinent that Orissa police arrested one Pradesh Kumar Das, an employee of the aggressive Christian organisation, World Vision, from Khadagpur, while trying to escape from the district at Buguda. Two other neo-converts, Vikram Digal and William Digal were arrested from the house of Lal Digal, a local militant Christian, from Nuasahi at Gunjibadi, Nuagaan. They admitted having joined a group of 28 other assailants. Orissa has also seen an influx of rich American Baptists, for obvious reasons.In a television debate on the violence that followed the Ashram murders, Biju Janata Dal MP Tathagata Satpathy asserted that regardless of the actual efficacy of an anti-conversion ban, there could be little doubt that there was an urgent need for anti-conversion legislation as aggressive evangelization was seriously harming the social fabric of the state.Violence broke out in the state as public sentiments ran high when the body of Swami Laxmanananda reached Chakapada in Kandhamal district for last rites; some shops and vehicles were torched though Home Secretary Tarunkanti Mishra said the bandh called by the Sangh Parivar was "total and by and large peaceful."It is true that two persons, including one woman, were burnt to death when unidentified persons torched an orphanage run by a Christian organisation at Phutpali in Bargarh district. The twenty children at the orphanage were unhurt. One Rasananda Pradhan was also burnt to death when his house was set ablaze at Rupa village in Kandhamal district. Nearly a dozen churches were attacked in Khurda, Bargarh, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Koraput, Boudh, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur and Kandhamal districts and Bhubhaneswar.Yet the secular media, particularly the electronic media, has highlighted the violence of the post-Ashram murders as though it were a suo moto, unprovoked assault by the Hindu community, particularly the agitating VHP cadres, completely glossing over the original sin. Media has sought to diminish Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati by calling him a 'VHP leader' opposed to conversions – as though that vindicates his murder! In contrast, a woman who died in the subsequent violence was erroneously and repeatedly identified as a 'nun' and projected as a victim of religious persecution.The truth is otherwise. It is those working overtime – with foreign funds and foreign missionaries – to annihilate the native faith of this country who are aggressors and cultural iconoclasts; this point needs to be understood by all concerned. In the specific context of Orissa, there is need to revisit the sensational murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines in January 1999, and honestly assess the tribal anguish that led to that sad denouement. One of the reasons why there has been no sober voice on the Staines murder is the tragic fact that his two minor sons died with him; but now that we are nearly a decade away from that event, we need to give the tribal agony due respect. A blanket ban on missionaries operating in tribal areas could go far to assuage tribal feelings. Indeed, the recognition that missionaries may have gone too far in provoking the increasingly affirmative Hindu community forced some Christian groups to condemn the murder of Swami Laxmanananda by evangelist religious fanatics.No doubt the Judicial Commission set up by the Orissa Government under Justice Basudev Panigrahi will bring out the truth about the previous December 2007 violence in which Swami Laxmanananda was attacked; he escaped four attempts on his life before falling to the last attack. The Commission's findings will also throw light on the events that resulted in his eventual murder.Initial reports suggest that Swami Laxmanananda was also active in the movement against illegal beef trading, and was demanding a high level probe into an alleged illegal beef trading racket in Kandhamal. The multi-faceted Swami devoted considerable energy to the socio-economic development of local people in remote areas of Orissa. He opened several social service institutions including schools and hostels for tribal boys and girls, with free education and hostel facilities. This cut at the roots of the evangelists and created much ill-will towards him.A major reason for the heightened tensions in Kandhamal over the past few months was due to the fact that the important Kandha (Kondh) tribe was extremely vigilant about protecting its religion and culture. The second local group, the Scheduled Caste Panas, have mostly converted to Christianity.As a result of conversion, the Panas lost the reservation benefits due to SCs under the constitution. Guided by the missionaries, they began to agitate for Scheduled Tribe status on the specious plea that they also spoke Kui, the mother tongue of the Kondhs, which is also the principal language of the district. This agitation created deep apprehensions in the minds of the Hindu STs and SCs, that converts would grab their reservation benefits. Their fears deepened when the UPA-appointed Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission recommended extension of all reservation facilities to converts among the Dalits, which would include the Panas in Orissa.Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati took this simmering discontent head-on, calling for an open debate on conversions, which were at the root of the unrest in tribal-dominated areas. He asserted: "I have told the National Human Rights team that conversion and foreign funding to NGOs were the reasons behind communal riots in Kandhamal." He asked the NHRC to probe the fake caste (Scheduled Tribe) certificates fraudulently obtained by non-tribals and take appropriate action against them.Now that this valiant warrior for Hindu civilisation and India 's foundational ethos has been struck down, the State and Central Government owe it to the nation to scrutinize the flow of foreign funds to Christian missionaries and make public the manner of their utilization. There must also be a complete ban on the foreign funding of faiths not indigenous to this soil.
Posted by Rashtra Varta at 9:17 PM
4 yrs on, accident victim gets justice at Lok Adalat
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/4-yrs-on-accident-victim-gets-justice-at-lok-adalat/398204/
Aneesha Sareen
Posted: Dec 14, 2008 at 0058 hrs IST
Chandigarh The special Lok Adalats held at the district courts, on Saturday, brought relief to a man who had been fighting the compensation battle for his legs for over four years.
Yoginder Pal Sharma, a former technician with the Punjab State Electricity Board, had received nearly 40 per cent permanent disability in the legs on January 6, 2005, when he was hit by a car in Sector 26. He was later operated at the Fortis Hospital.
The motor accident claim tribunal (MACT) directed the Oriental Insurance to pay Sharma Rs 4.25 lakh as compensation. On the decision, an emotional Sharma said his paralysed legs discouraged him to take further steps, but his staunch determination to fight till the last kept him going.
The Patiala resident told Newsline: “Life has to go on and I am contended that I finally received the compensation.”
Yoginder’s counsel Manish K R Rampal said the tedious trial had forced his client to travel all the way from Patiala every time there was a hearing. “With the case compromised, he is saved from the harassment too,” said Munish.
Litigants flood pre-Lok Adalat
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chandigarh/Litigants_flood_pre-Lok_Adalat/articleshow/3833704.cms
14 Dec 2008, 0301 hrs IST, TNN
CHANDIGARH: Flooded with litigants, who were keen to get their cases settled, city's district court had a glimpse of things to come during Samadhan 2008, a mega Lok Adalat. The Punjab and Haryana High Court's chief justice, Justice Tirth Singh Thakur along with other judicial officers and a senior police officer supervised the court premises during pre-Lok Adalat on Saturday and also guided the judicial officers. Approximately 8,200 traffic challans were disposed of and Rs 8.51 lakh was realized as fine from the traffic violators today. Meanwhile, 513 cheque bounce cases, involving Rs 35.72 lakh, were settled under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Besides, 147 civil suits and six Motor Accident Claim (MACT) cases were decided and a sum of Rs 17.31 lakh was awarded to complainants. In order to handle the crowd, tents were raised in district court premises to accommodate makeshift courts. It been a special traffic Lok Adalat, the Chandigarh traffic police has put up an exhibition to spread the message about road safety loud and clear to residents. "The awareness camp was stationed in court's complex for the first time,'' informed HS Doon, SP traffic. The District State Legal Services Authority organized another Lok Adalat in Panchkula's district court, where 1,882 cases were decided by eight benches of local courts. "While in Chandigarh it was a special traffic Lok Adalat, in Panchkula all types of cases - traffic challans, MACT, Hindu Marriage Act- were taken up in pre Lok Adalat,'' said a court official. Box:
HEAD
Samadhan to settle all pending cases According to officials, any person whose case is pending in any court can get his case settled during mega Lok Adalat, which is scheduled to be held on December 21-22. During Samadhan 2008, cases from all categories, including traffic challans and cheque bounce litigations, will be decided amicably.
MACT Lok Adalats disburse Rs 1.34 crore
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mact-lok-adalats-disburse-rs-1.34-crore/398279/
Express News Service Posted: Dec 14, 2008 at 0223 hrs IST
New Delhi: More than Rs 1.34 crore was disbursed to road accident victims on Saturday at the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) Lok Adalats, organised at all five district courts by Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA).
The bench, comprising a sessions judge and a doctor, aided the victims and insurance companies in arriving at harmonious decisions.
While the sessions judge looked after legal issues and lawful ways of resolving contentious issues pertaining to compensation, the doctor opined on the nature of injuries and similar medical matters, so as to arrive at a just and fair figure of compensation.
Nine Lok Adalats were organised at the Tis Hazari, Rohini, Karkardooma, Patiala House and Dwarka district court complexes and as many as 79 such matters were disposed of, to the mutual satisfaction of victims and the companies.
Lok Adalats at Tis Hazari disposed of the maximum, 29 accident claim cases, while at Patiala House courts, 18 such matters were decided upon.
“Despite the letter threatening to blow up court complexes, litigants appeared before the benches, showing their unshaken faith in the judicial system and the law and order arrangements,” Sanjay Sharma, DLSA project manager, told Newsline.
The event garnered an encouraging response, strengthening confidence in alternate disputes redressal mechanisms, like Lok Adalats, which could help immensely in reducing the burden on regular courts, Sharma said.
A scar fetched her Rs 60K relief
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/A_scar_fetched_her_Rs_60K_relief/articleshow/3833475.cms
14 Dec 2008, 0206 hrs IST, Smriti Singh, TNN
NEW DELHI: Arguing that any visible defect on the body of a girl can harm her marriage prospects, a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal on Saturday awarded a compensation of Rs 60,000 to a 23-year-old girl who got a scar on her ankle due to an accident. Poonam Sharma (name changed), went home content as her case under MACT court was settled by presiding officer Arun Kumar Arya. As per the case, while going to her office, Poonam had met with an accident and injured her left foot. Although there was no fracture, the injury left a scar. Settling the case amicably and directing United India Insurance to pay her a compensation for the scar so that she could go for a plastic surgery, judge Arya disposed of the case as part of Mega Lok Adalat. In another case, a 12-year-old boy, who sustained 31% disability in the leg after he met with an accident, was awarded a compensation of Rs 1,40,000 by the lok adalat. His case was also settled amicably by the court. Many such MACT cases were disposed of on Saturday in lok adalats held at all the five court complexes. Lok adalats on Saturday disbursed Rs 1.34 crore as compensation to road accident victims and their families by settling 79 cases. Nine lok adalats were organized at Tis Hazari, Rohini, Karkardooma, Patiala House and Dwarka district courts and they took up to 518 motor accident claims cases, Sanjay Sharma, project manager of the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA), said. "Out of 518 cases, 79 cases were decided to the mutual satisfaction of the insurance companies and the accident victims and their family members,'' he said, adding lok adalats elicited "overwhelming'' responses from the litigants. The Lok Adalats have been set up to amicably resolve non-serious cases and the regular courts transferred the matters after taking consent from litigating parties. Each court had an experienced doctor to asses the injuries and thereby helping the court to award the compensation. "Alternate disputes redressal mechanisms such as lok adalats help in decreasing the burden on regular courts,'' Sharma said. Unresolved 439 cases were remanded back to the original courts, he said. Lok adalats at Tis Hazari disposed of the maximum accident claims cases, a total of 29, while at Patiala House courts, 18 such matters were decided, he said. "The DLSA has become the first such body in the country which has decided to organize MACT lok adalat in all the five district courts on every second Saturday of the month,'' the project manager said. smriti.singh@timesgroup.com
Cabinet clears move on federal probe agency
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Cabinet_clears_move_on_federal_probe_agency/articleshow/3842368.cms
15 Dec 2008, 2144 hrs IST, IANS
NEW DELHI: The union cabinet on Monday gave its approval to the proposals to amend the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and to set up a national investigating agency, it was announced. "Bills for these purposes will be introduced in parliament," an official statement said after the cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. An all-party meeting, held this month in the wake of the November 26 Mumbai terrorist attacks, had proposed to set up a federal investigating agency.
No 'one rank-one pension' for Armymen
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/No_one_rank-one_pension_for_Armymen/articleshow/3842223.cms
15 Dec 2008, 2033 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: Rejecting a long-standing demand of ex-servicemen, the government today said it was not contemplating providing "one rank-one pension" to similarly placed officers and jawans after their retirement. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said the demand was "not found acceptable" due to administrative, financial and legal reasons. Moreover, Raju said, the pensionary benefits of personnel below officer rank, particularly of the three ranks of Sepoy, Naik and Havildar have been significantly increased by increasing weightage from five years to 10, eight and six years respectively. They were also allowed pension before January 1996 to be computed with reference to the maximum of the pay scale introduced from January 1, 1996. With the pay commissions increasing the pay of armed forces and men every 10 years, the gap between the pension received by those who retired before the implementation of the respective commissions widened. Similarly placed retired officers (with same ranks and number of years of service) were receiving different amounts as pension, which has been opposed by lakhs of ex-servicemen all across the country and hence the demand from them for "one rank-one pension." In another reply, Raju said the government had already received representations from ex-servicemen regarding their grievances against various recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission.
Pirates held, ship saved, what next? Indian ship doesn't know
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Pirates_held_ship_saved_what_next_Indian_ship_doesnt_know/articleshow/3842106.cms
15 Dec 2008, 2006 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: With no instructions from the Indian government, naval officers on board the ship INS Mysore are confused about what to do with the 23 pirates and their dhow apprehended in the Gulf of Aden while repulsing an attack on an Ethiopian merchant vessel. "Since Saturday afternoon, the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni pirates are in custody on board INS Mysore and they are being fed with rations meant for sailors," Navy officials said here on Monday. "We have not received any instructions yet from the defence ministry or the external affairs ministry on what needs to be done with the pirates," they said The piquant situation that INS Mysore finds itself in has been compounded as the Rules of Engagement issued to the warship before it set sail to Gulf of Aden on anti-piracy patrol duties is unclear on the course of action if it did seize a pirate vessel and sea brigands, officials said. However, officials claimed that frantic efforts were in progress in both ministries to get a foreign port to accept the bandits for trial in their courts and were optimistic of finding a solution by Tuesday. The only other option available to INS Mysore is to abandon its anti-piracy patrols and return to an Indian port to hand over the pirates to local authorities for trying them. But that appears to be unacceptable to the Navy authorities as their action against the sea bandits was just gaining momentum. Officials said under the United Nations Convention on Laws of the Seas (UNCLOS), International Maritime Organisation resolutions and the Navy Act and Regulations, the warships were authorised to seize and apprehend the pirates.
No arms training for CBI's new sleuths
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/No_arms_training_for_CBIs_new_sleuths/articleshow/3841781.cms
15 Dec 2008, 1907 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: Is CBI saying Farewell to Arms? It appears so since GenNext CBI sleuths will be on the field without any arms training following a decision by the country's premier probe agency to stop imparting this skill in their training course. "...We have taken out the arms training module for them and have concentrated on increasing their hi-tech skills like using the latest softwares and gadgets which would be useful in their investigation," CBI Joint Director K Saleem Ali told journalists during an interaction programme. With every second terror strike having a vital link to the cyberspace, the CBI has decided to train new officers more on cracking cyber crimes rather than focus on target shooting with arms. At present a batch of 38 trainee sub-inspectors are undergoing training at the CBI Academy in Ghaziabad who would be the agency's generation-next officers, he said. "These officers are being trained in everything from computer to driving a car...We have concentrated on increasing their hi-tech skills so that on their induction, they could perform in more better way," Ali said. Ali said the CBI is training them in such a way that the new breed of officers become multi-taskers and hence the stress is not only on physical fitness but also mental and intellectual strength.
Parliament approves salary, pension hike for President, Vice-President, governors
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Parliament_approves_salary_pension_hike_for_President_Vice-President_governors/articleshow/3841371.cms
15 Dec 2008, 1726 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: Parliament on Monday approved three-fold increase in the monthly salary of the President, Vice-President and state Governors with the Rajya Sabha returning the bills. While the President will get Rs 1.50 lakh per month, it will be Rs 1.25 lakh for the Vice-President and Rs 1.10 lakh for the Governors. The four bills have already been approved by the Lok Sabha. The President and Vice-President will also be entitled to a pension of 50% of their salaries. The revision in salary and pension will come into effect from January 1, 2006. At present, the President gets a monthly salary of Rs 50,000, the Vice-President Rs 40,000 and Governors Rs 36,000. In addition, former Presidents will also be entitled to a mobile phone, internet and broadband connection and an additional private secretary and peon. The office maintenance expenses will be raised from Rs 12,000 to Rs 60,000 per annum. The spouses of deceased Presidents will also be entitled to furnished residence, secretarial staff, car, telephone and travel facilities. In case of former Vice-Presidents, the bills seek to provide additional staff and office maintenance expense of Rs 60,000 per annum, up from existing Rs 12,000. The spouse of the deceased Vice-President too will be entitled to a furnished accommodation.
SC issues notice to Centre over OBC creamy layer
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/SC_issues_notice_to_Centre_over_OBC_creamy_layer/articleshow/3840265.cms
15 Dec 2008, 1500 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the central government on a lawsuit questioning an October 2008 government order that people of Other Backward Castes (OBC) earning annually Rs.450,000 or above alone would be categorised as creamy layer. A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and P. Sathasivam issued the notice on a petition filed by noted academician P.V. Inder Sen.
Probe ordered into Pulwama violence
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Probe_ordered_into_Pulwama_violence/articleshow/3839517.cms
15 Dec 2008, 1235 hrs IST, PTI
JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday ordered an inquiry into violent clashes at Quil in Pulwama district, which left one dead and six others injured, during polling on Saturday. The fact-finding committee to be headed by Principal Secretary (Home) Khursheed Ahmed Ganai has been asked to wrap up the inquiry within 10 days and submit its report by December 26 an official spokesman said here. One person was killed and six others were injured in clashes between anti-poll protesters and security forces in militancy-infested Pulwama during polling for the fifth phase of the J and K assembly elections on December 13. Security personnel had fired in air and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a group of about 200 anti-poll protesters who turned violent after they were stopped from marching towards a polling booth at Quil village in Pulwama district. One of the three injured identified as Muzamil Ahmad Ganai succumbed at a hospital in Srinagar, officials said. This was the first major incident of violence during polling since the seven-stage exercise began on Nov 17.
Cash-for-vote report: Clean chit to Amar Singh, Ahmed Patel
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Cash-for-vote_report_Clean_chit_to_Amar_Singh_Ahmed_Patel/articleshow/3839469.cms
15 Dec 2008, 1507 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: Samajwadi party MP Amar Singh and Congress MP Ahmad Patel were on Monday given a clean chit by a Lok Sabha Committee that went into the alleged 'cash-for-vote' scam during the confidence vote in July and said no further action be taken against them. ( Watch ) "As there is no case against Patel and no clinching evidence against Amar Singh, there is no occasion for the Committee or the House to make a request to Rajya Sabha requiring them to appear before the inquiry committee for evidence", the Committee said in its 466-page report. The Committee, however, recommended that a probe by an "appropriate investigating agency" be done into the roles of Sanjeev Saxena, said to be an aide of Singh, Suhail Hindustani and Sudheendra Kulkarni, an aide of BJP leader L K Advani. Two opposition MPs, V K Malhotra of BJP and Mohd Saleem of CPM, gave notes of dissent on the dissociating themselves from the clean chit given to Singh and Patel. The 7-member Committee was constituted by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee after three BJP MPs Ashok Argal, Mahavir Bhagora and Faggan Singh Kulaste shocked the House by bringing a huge bag and displaying bundles of currency taken out from them. They alleged that Singh and Patel had offered them bribes amounting to Rs 3 crore each for abstaining from voting in support of the government during the trust vote. The two had denied the charge in the media.
Are your drugs boosting your doctor's lifestyle?
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Are_your_drugs_boosting_your_doctors_lifestyle/articleshow/3837323.cms
15 Dec 2008, 0028 hrs IST, Rema Nagarajan, TNN
A platinum coupon if you prescribe drug `X' to 10 patients. A gold coupon if you prescribe brand `Y' to 25 patients. The more coupons you get, the greater your chances of winning. The prizes: cars, frost-free refrigerators, television sets, digital cameras and silver coins. If you knew your doctor was a contestant for these prizes, how confident would you feel that what has been prescribed to you is what you need, not what improves his chances in the contest? Such contests for doctors are not unknown in India. In one such case, 100 doctors who topped the prescribers charts from cities like Ahmedabad, Chennai, Alwar, Belgaum, Ambala and Agra participated in a lucky draw and were awarded publicly by the Gujarat-based Torrent Pharmaceutical. In another, the same company let some other doctors and their families sample traditional Turkish cuisine and culture in Istanbul as part of a so-called international symposium on metabolic medicine. Another lot from 12 metros splashed around in the best water parks in their cities courtesy the same company. This company has also not spared expenses in helping `educate' doctors to decide which drugs to prescribe - it took a batch of Sri Lankan doctors on a safari to Kenya for their education. These aren't allegations - the information is available on the company's own website. In fact, check out how Torrent itself described the Istanbul junket: "Torrent has once again raised the bar in offering a perfect combination of knowledge sharing and hospitality in the pharma industry". While these instances may seem particularly brazen, drug manufacturers are no strangers to handing out gifts to doctors. A representative of a pharma firm, who requested anonymity, told TOI that his firm's Delhi operation has earmarked an annual budget of Rs 2 crore for sundry freebies for doctors in the Capital alone. This does not include gifts and trips abroad, which come from the company's central funds. And this is just one company's budget. There are hundreds of such companies with comparable, and sometimes bigger, budgets. Should this be legal? Several countries have brought in legislation to crack down on unethical marketing practices, and the penalties are stiff. Drug companies have had to cough up millions as fines in Europe, the US, Canada and Australia. Over 25 medical centres including prestigious ones like Harvard Medical School, Yale University, University of California and the Stanford School of Medicine have put in place strong conflict-of-interest policies that include zero tolerance for company gifts and free meals and curbs on travel for conferences. In India, however, we just have vague assurances of self-regulation by the drug industry and reliance on doctors' ethics. Both the associations of drug manufacturers in India, the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) and Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) on paper have a code of ethics for marketing practices with detailed procedure for registering and examining complaints. However, OPPI Director General Tapan Ray refused to divulge the number of complaints received, the nature of the complaints or what action was taken. "I cannot reveal (that) because it is a self-regulatory process," says Ray. The Federation of Medical Representatives Associations of India (FMRAI) had sent a complaint against Torrent with evidence to the IDMA. "Forget about acting on our complaint, IDMA has not even acknowledged receipt of the complaint," says Amitava Guha, joint general secretary of FMRAI. Indian Medical Association general secretary Dr S N Mishra says reports of doctors being bribed are just allegations till proved. "We condemn bribing of doctors, but IMA has no teeth to take action. The government ought to bring in strict regulations," he says. Repeated attempts to get comments from the Drug Controller General of India Dr Surinder Singh proved futile with faxes and calls remaining unanswered. Chairman of Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr B K Rao, admits unethical marketing practices are a threat to patients and hospitals. "The beneficiaries are chemists and doctors. Even if a doctor takes a favour from a pharma company he cannot push their product in our hospital because we have a committee which shortlists the drugs we use," explains Dr Rao. However, he admits that the hospital cannot check doctors' prescriptions in the hospital's out-patient clinics. So, next time you pop a prescribed pill, be warned: unless it is a doctor you can trust, you might not necessarily be taking what you need. Some of the recent big cases of unethical practices in US October 2008: Biotech firm Cephalon had to pay $425 million. Charge: Company gave millions of dollars of grants for continuing medical education (CME) programs to promote off-label uses of its drugs and gave illegal kickbacks to physicians. January 2008: Neurosurgeon Patrick Chan, had to pay $1.5 million Charge: Took hefty kickbacks from medical-device suppliers September 2007: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company had to pay $515 million. Charge: Paid illegal remuneration to physicians and other healthcare providers in the form of consulting fees, other programs and travel to luxurious resorts to get them to promote BMS drugs. September 2007: Five orthotics companies accounting for nearly 95% of hip and knee surgical implants in the US paid $310 million. Charge: Paid surgeons thousands of dollars per year as consulting contracts and lavished trips and expensive perks to get them to choose their products.
CAG faults implementation of highway projects
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/CAG_faults_implementation_of_highway_projects/articleshow/3836907.cms
15 Dec 2008, 0024 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: At a time when the UPA regime is betting heavily on infrastructure sector to beat the economic slowdown, a report prepared by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said that government's thrust to push investments through public private partnership (PPP) projects has failed to take the desired course. In a report submitted to Parliament, CAG said the government's key infrastructure ventures based on PPP model missed the target in 12 out of 17 projects in the first phase of the National Highway Development Programme (NHDP). Though the target date for completion of NHDP Phase-I projects was June 2004, the highway authority was able to complete only five of the 17 PPP projects, the report said, urging the government to "strengthen its planning machinery to monitor and take corrective action for timely execution" of projects. The CAG found discrepancies in the norms set for execution of projects and with regard to their completion and financial rewards resulting in a loss of hundreds of crores to the exchequer. There were inordinate delays in projects, ranging between two and 42 months. Although time and cost were key factors for successful implementation of NHDP, the authority did not prepare a corporate or strategic plan to monitor the same, the report said. Losses were also incurred due to inordinate delays in award of work and in acquisition of land. In fact, the CAG faulted the highway authority for not having the mandatory written code on the basis of which a particular project is assigned for execution under BOT-Toll.
Kasab can't be denied legal aid, say experts
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Kasab_cant_be_denied_legal_aid_say_experts/articleshow/3836854.cms
15 Dec 2008, 0008 hrs IST, Shibu Thomas, TNN
MUMBAI: A legal counsel for Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone militant captured alive in the Mumbai terror attacks may become the state's necessity if it wants to succesfully prosecute him, say legal experts.
Over the years Indian laws and its interpretaion by the Supreme Court as well as the high courts are emphatic that an accused charged with commiting henious offences would have to be provided legal aid, irerespective of the fact whether he asks for it or not. " Free legal assistance at state cost is a fundamental right of a person accused of an offence which may involve jeopardy to his life or personal liberty,'' said a three judge bench of the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment of 1986 in Sukhdas vs Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh. The view was not new as right from Independence and the promulgation of the Constitution, courts have been equivocal that every accused person has the right to be represented by a lawyer of his choice. The right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, includes right to Legal aid. Article 39 A of Constitution further mandates equal justice and free legal aid. Section 303 and section 304 of the Criminal Procedure Code speaks of the right of an accused to be defended by a lawyer and the state's duty to provide legal aid. In Kasab's case, he has sought legal assistance, but the SC judgment ruled that an accused need not even make such an explicit request. Though Kasab's case may be an open and shut case, he cannot be denied legal assistance and it may affect his conviction. "The exercise of this fundamental right is not conditional upon the accused applying for free legal assistance,'' said the 1986 SC order, which added that a conviction of guilt in such cases cannot be sustained. "The conviction reached without informing the accused that they were entitled to free legal assistance and inquiring from them whether they wanted a lawyer to be provided to them at State cost which resulted in the accused remaining unrepresented by a lawyer in the trial is clearly a violation of the fundamental right of the accused under Article 21 and the trial must be held to be vitiated on account of a fatal constitution infirmity,'' the apex court had further said. In recent years there have been many instances when the Bombay high Court has sent back the case to be retried only because the accused was not represented by a lawyer. Earlier this year a case involving the murder of a doctor by a mother-daughter duo in Pune, the high court ordered a retrial. In 2006, a division bench of Justice J N Patel and Justice Roshan Dalvi called a mistrial in a case of robbery and murder for violation of the legal aid rule. "Denial of opportunity to the accused to be defended by an advocate of their choice or if they were not capable of doing so,or failure on the part of the State to assign an Advocate to defend them at the cost of the State have deprived them of their right and has resulted in miscarriage of justice.'' The apex court in an earlier judgement had gone a step ahead and said that legal aid should be provided to an accused not just at the time of trial but also when he is first produced before a magistrate. "That is the stage at which an accused person needs competent legal advice and representation and no procedure can be said to be reasonable, fair and Just which denied legal advice and representation to him at this stage,'' said the order of Justice P N Bhagwati and Justice A P Sen in 1981. Besides according to rule 46 of the Advocates Act, anyone genuinely in need of legal assistance should not be denied such aid. Most of the lawyers whom TOI spoke to preferred to stay away from the controversy. Kasab's Pakistani nationality makes little difference. The Supreme Court as well as laws have been clear that even a foreign national is entitled to rights under Article 14 (equal;ity before law), Article 21 (right to personal liberty) and Article 22(1) and (2) of the Constitution that confer the right to be represented by a lawyer. mailto:shibu.tthomas1@timesgroup.com
Cash-for-vote scam: House privileges panel summons bribe-takers
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Cash-for-vote_scam_House_privileges_panel_summons_bribe-takers/articleshow/3836802.cms
15 Dec 2008, 0050 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: The drama over cash-for-vote scam seems to be unending, with a parliamentary panel on privileges summoning the three MPs who brought the currency notes to Lok Sabha to claim that bribe was being given to win the trust vote. It means the so-called `whistle-blowers' may be in the dock if they are found to have violated parliamentary privileges, just as the bribe-givers could bear the brunt if proved that they had tried to buy MPs. The privileges committee has called Mahavir Bhagora, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Ashok Argal for a hearing on complaints from MPs Madhusudan Mistry of Congress and Mohan Singh of Samajwadi Party. The complainants were heard by the committee earlier. While Mistry has accused the BJP trio of bringing the House into disrepute by carrying money inside the Lok Sabha, he claimed that their honesty was an afterthought as they had accepted the bribe. He alleged that the three could have gone to the Speaker to lodge a complaint. Mohan Singh has charged them with having indulged in misconduct and breached the House privileges by not allowing him to speak during the confidence motion. It was the turn of the SP MP to speak on the motion when the BJP MPs brought out wads of currency notes and waved them in the House, plunging the proceedings into chaos. The notice to the three MPs comes when an inquiry into the bribery scam is pending with the Speaker and a report is likely to be tabled on Monday. The Deo panel is learnt to have recommended that the bribery allegations for the July 22 trust vote be referred to an independent agency for investigations. While SP general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, who was accused of being the brain behind the operation, has got a reprieve, his Lok Sabha colleague Reoti Raman Singh and the alleged conduit Sanjeev Saxena, said to be an employee of Amar Singh, are not out of trouble yet. Panel members Mohd Salim of the CPM and V K Malhotra of BJP are learnt to have given dissenting notes.
CBI looks up to its masters in every politically sensitive case
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/CBI_looks_up_to_its_masters_in_every_politically_sensitive_case/articleshow/3836691.cms
15 Dec 2008, 0056 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich must be ruing his luck for being born in the US. Had he been in politics in India, he probably could have got away or pulled a string or two to avoid FBI from arresting him on the charge of trying to sell President-elect Barak Obama's vacant Senate seat.
But he could still qualify as a student of Indian politics for refusing to resign despite the humiliation of being arrested and virtually ostracised in US political circles. Similar allegations were made recently by Margaret Alva that tickets to contest MP and MLA elections were being sold. It got "I told you so" grins from everyone. But no one, not even the Opposition, stood up to seek an inquiry. For, they must be aware of the spread of the malaise and felt that any surgical treatment could affect their own limbs. In this "I scratch your back and you scratch mine" politics in India, the investigating agency, especially the image-conscious CBI, gets treated like a pawn and is made to do flip-flops every now and then. We all know how CBI would have loved to step into FBI's shoes and bring to book Blagojevich clones in India. This predicament of CBI was gauged by the Supreme Court in its famous Vineet Narain judgment in Jain hawala case. It said, "Inertia was the common rule whenever the alleged offender was a powerful person. The Constitution and working of the investigating agencies revealed the lacuna of its inability to perform whenever powerful persons were involved." It talked about a simple remedy: "Everyone against whom there is reasonable suspicion of committing a crime has to be treated equally and similarly under the law and probity in public life is of great significance." Will this ever happen in India? Take, for example, the CBI cases against BSP supremo Mayawati and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Their parties always had a sizeable number of MPs. Big parties, whenever short of majority, have naturally vied for their support. And the CBI has always been used as a weapon with both Mayawati and Mulayam -- to either wreck vengeance for their refusal to play ball or to oblige them for their support. Mayawati had her time immediately after being elected to power. Her good equations with the Centre paid rich dividends. She was let off in the Taj Heritage Corridor scam by the UP governor, who refused to grant sanction to CBI for her prosecution. But she knew that nothing is permanent in politics. Her refusal to side with the UPA government saw CBI filing an affidavit in the SC seeking her prosecution in a disproportionate assets case. When she was in the Centre's good books, Mulayam was not. The Centre egged on the CBI to pursue his alleged disproportionate assets in the SC, which had refused to do so against Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi on the ground that courts should not be political battlefields. After the SC directed a CBI probe, the agency on the basis of evidence collected through a preliminary inquiry sought the top court's permission to register a case against him and his kin. Mulayam also knew that nothing is permanent. He bided his time for a change in equation with the UPA government. After saving the UPA in the trust vote, it was time to demand his pound of flesh. The CBI moved another application seeking to withdraw its earlier brave stand in the DA case against him. If Mayawati and Mulayam had their share of joy and sorrow at the hands of CBI, there are many who reaped the benefits of being close to power. Bofors case, Babri Masjid demolition case, DA case against Lalu and Rabri, Shibu Soren, Ajit Jogi... the list is endless. Again, the solution to this could be found in Vineet Narain judgment. The SC had said, "A scheme giving the needed insulation from extraneous influences, even of the controlling executive, is imperative." Till then, the CBI cannot step into the FBI's shoes and arrest corrupt politicians like Blagojevich. mailto:dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com
About Me
- Kamal Kumar Pandey (Adv. Supreme Court of India)
- 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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