LEGAL NEWS 07.01.2009

CJI not exempt from RTI purview, CIC tells SC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/CJI_under_RTI_purview_CIC_tells_SC/articleshow/3944793.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0255 hrs IST, Manoj Mitta, TNN
NEW DELHI: In a boost to judicial accountability, the Central Information Commission (CIC) on Tuesday rejected the Supreme Court’s claim that the Chief Justice of India was beyond the purview of RTI. Accordingly, CIC directed SC to make public the information available with CJI as to whether its judges had been, in terms of a 1997 resolution, regularly filing declarations of their assets. The decision taken by a three-member bench of CIC headed by Wajahat Habibullah contradicts CJI KG Balakrishnan’s public statement that being a Constitution office holder, he was exempt from RTI. This is also contrary to the file notings made by Justice Balakrishnan, reported first in TOI, approving SC’s evasive reply in November 2007 that the information relating to declaration of assets by judges was “not held by or under the control of” its registry and therefore could not be furnished by its information officer under RTI. Upholding an appeal filed by RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal, CIC rebuffed SC’s attempt to withhold information on the ground that the registry, which came under RTI, was distinct from the CJI’s office, which was the custodian of the declarations of assets made by SC judges. Ruling that the institution and its head could not be two distinct public authorities, CIC said that the information available with the CJI must be “deemed” to be available with Supreme Court. “If any information is available with one section of the department, it shall be deemed to available with the public authority as one single entity.” Since the appellant did not seek copies of the declarations, CIC disallowed SC’s alternative contention that the information could not be disclosed as it attracted exemption under Section 8(1)(e) as the declarations had been received by CJI in a “fiduciary relationship” or Section 8(1)(j) as it was “personal information” which had “no relationship to any public activity or interest.” The bench consisting of Wajahat Habibullah, A N Tiwari and M M Ansari directed SC’s information officer to disclose within 10 days to Agrawal whether its judges had been filing declarations of assets in compliance with the resolution adopted by the entire bench of the apex court in 1997. Though the judiciary had informally maintained that judges had been filing declarations of assets, it was reluctant to say anything on the subject under RTI lest it opened a floodgate of queries related to judicial probity. The tacit, if self-serving, suggestion was RTI could not be allowed to compromise judicial independence.




SC stays non-bailable warrant against Raj Thackeray
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/SC_stays_non-bailable_warrant_against_Raj_Thackeray/articleshow/3947387.cms
7 Jan 2009, 1612 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the non-bailable warrant issued by a Jharkhand court against MNS chief Raj Thackeray for his alleged statements and hate campaign against north Indians. A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan also exempted Thackeray from his personal appearance in the Jharkhand court. The apex court passed the direction on a petition filed by the controversial MNS Chief seeking transfer of the various cases filed in courts of Bihar and Jharkhand against him for his alleged statements and hate campaigns against north Indians. Thackeray had also sought the transfer of these cases outside Bihar and Jharkhand to ensure a free and fair trial.




Law readied to gag TV in crises
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Law_readied_to_gag_TV_in_crises/articleshow/3944751.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0226 hrs IST, Manoj Mitta , TNN
NEW DELHI: In the wake of a controversy over real time coverage of the 60-hour Mumbai siege, the government has proposed a slew of restrictions aimed at preventing news broadcasters from showing any live telecast other than an ‘‘authorized’’ feed in the event of a law and order emergency. The information & broadcasting ministry has obtained the law ministry’s clearance for a draft notification extensively amending the cable television network rules 1994. The amendments, which are due to be notified after receiving feedback from other ministries, include drastic curbs on live coverage of events to be imposed at the discretion of an ‘‘authorized officer’’. All that the channels will be permitted to show in such situations is ‘‘delayed carriage of live feed’’. The programme code proposed in rule 6(1)(o) forbids telecast which: * Contains live coverage of war, violent law and order situation or operations where security forces have to overcome terrorists or other hostile groups. However, with the approval of the authorised officer, such delayed carriage of live feed as may be specified may be permitted at its discretion. * Contains details of identity, number and status of hostages or information regarding the number of security personnel involved or the methods employed by them in a hostage situation. * Contains live-contact including live phone-in calls and interviews with victims or security personnel or other technical personnel involved or the perpetrators of crime, arson, violence while the violence or the criminal activity is in progress. * Contains coverage of operational details in respect of war or any other security operation except as disclosed by the authorised officer. If these rules come into force, they may nip in the bud the whole idea of self-regulation announced only last month by the news broadcasters association (NBA). While the government’s draft rules and the industry’s own ‘‘emergency protocol’’ have a lot in common, the much cherished media freedom is in peril because of the proposed power of pre-censorship to be wielded by the authorized officer. Though NBA’s emergency protocol too concedes that channels should not carry live interviews with terrorists, victims or security personnel or any footage that hinders the operations by security agencies or betrays the identity, number and status of hostages, the government’s proposed rules go much further in imposing a blanket ban on all live coverage and forcing the channels to settle for a delayed telecast of authorized feed. Besides reducing the scope for live coverage of emergencies, the draft notification forbids ‘‘unnecessary repeated or continuous broadcast of archival footage carrying the word ‘LIVE’ that may tend to re-agitate the mind of the viewers.’’ It says that if any archival footage is shown, the channels should clearly indicate that it is a replay, along with the date and time of the actual event. In another draft clause related to violence or disasters, the government prohibits ‘‘close-ups and extended images of blood or gore, dismembered or disfigured limbs or bodies or images of the dead or seriously wounded people or violence which may seriously distress or offend substantial number of viewers or cause public panic and incite further violence or compromise the dignity of the dead’’. As a corollary to its attempt to restrain media coverage of emergencies, the government is seeking to arm itself with the power to give diktats to private channels in the manner it is accustomed to giving to Doordarshan. For, a vaguely worded draft rule says, ‘‘In case of natural and manmade calamities or where the situation so warrants, such information or social messaging as is mandated by government may be made available to the public for their safety and in the interest of public order.’’ If a channel violates any of the rules, the government already has the power to prohibit its transmission. In addition, the draft rules seek to provide a lesser punishment, which may force the channel concerned to ‘‘run an apology scroll over a definite time’’ or empower the government to issue a warning.




Talaq uttered in drunken state valid: Darul Uloom
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Talaq_uttered_in_drunken_state_valid_Darul_Uloom/articleshow/3944741.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0217 hrs IST, Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui, TNN
LUCKNOW: Typing the word ‘talaq’ on an SMS which may not be “sent” or uttering the words ‘talaq’ thrice even under influence of alcohol or in a fit of rage amounts to separation under the sharia. Darul Uloom-Deoband recently issued a fatwa on three issues contrary to the common belief that the state of intoxication or anger or not communicating the decision of ‘talaq’ to the partner did not amount to divorce in Islam. In a recent query from Bangladesh (dated December 28, 2008) it was asked: A person intending to give his wife one talaq, typed “I give one talaq to you.” in his cellphone SMS. But after thinking over, he changes his mind and does not send the SMS at all. Will this result in talaq? According to the Dar-ul-Ifta, in the above condition, one Talaq will be deemed to have occurred, whether the SMS was sent or not. In Fiqh term, SMS is a text which, if written by husband with the intention of Talaq, will be valid. In another question (dated January 3, 2009) a man asked Dar-Ul-Ifta that he said the word ‘talaq’ three times in anger during a fight with his wife though it was not his intention to give his wife talaq. “A week after the incident we came to know that she was pregnant, we want to live together” the question asked. In its response, Dar-ul-Ifta ruled: “That since the divorce came in clear words thrice, the element of intention looses its legitimacy.” Another question is, if a husband is completely drunken and unconscious and beat his wife and he says talaq three times, will the marriage end? According to Dar-Ul-Ifta, talaq given after drinking in state of intoxication is valid in Hanafi sect. “Now, the husband can not marry her without Sharai halalah,” Dar-Ul-Ifta ruled. As per the Sharia, according to Islamic scholars, Talaq should be given once at a time after a period of 30 days each. This wipes off all possibilities of taking the drastic step in a fit of rage or under the influence of alcohol. If a person changes his mind after uttering the word ‘talaq’ once or twice, he can always take his words back within the next 40 days (the Iddat period) of the last utterance and the marriage will stand intact.





By way of warning, Omar reminds govt of Tada, Pota misuse
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/By_way_of_warning_Omar_reminds_govt_of_Tada_Pota_misuse/articleshow/3944666.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0155 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: Taking a different line from that of the ruling Congress, Jammu & Kashmir’s new chief minister Omar Abdullah warned against misuse of anti-terror laws during the CMs’ meeting on internal security here. “Caution,” he said, was very important in implementation of anti-terror laws and even mentioned that the country could “ill-afford” to make mistakes like the ones that came with Tada and Pota. At a time when the Centre is trying to project a hard line on terror, Abdullah, in his new responsibility as chief minister, seemed to speak the voice of the Valley when he reminded the gathering about the importance of “human rights” from both the political and security point of view. Human rights are a major issue in J&K and has become a politically sensitive issue for any leader from the Valley. The young Abdullah also dissented with the Centre’s idea of setting up NSG hubs in different parts of the country. According to him, NSG will lose its exclusivity and it was a better idea to provide commando training to state police forces.




Kargil scam: 'Operation Vijay now Operation Cover-Up'
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Kargil_scam_Operation_Vijay_now_Operation_Cover-Up/articleshow/3943593.cms
6 Jan 2009, 2035 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: After making a hue and cry over the alleged Rs 2,400-crore Kargil arms and ammunition purchase scam, the Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court about its inability to honour a nearly two-year-old direction for filing a status report of the CBI probe into various tainted purchases. Immediately after Attorney General Milon Banerjee expressed the Centre's inability to file a status report of the ongoing probe into the alleged corruption in purchases as pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), amicus curiae Rakesh Dwivedi said: "After Operation Vijay, now an Operation Cover-Up is underway." Objecting to the parroting of identical stand regarding inability to file a status report for more than two years, Dwivedi complained to a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam that even after 10 years of the scam, it was a pity that the government did not want to bring the guilty to book. He cited a privilege document given to him by the government on the scam and said though in seven cases a clear case of prosecution was made out, CBI had not yet registered a regular case. "If these seven cases were not to result in prosecution, where majors and colonels have cleared purchases of dead ammunition or those with little shelf life, then the CBI should close all cases investigated by it," he said indicting the manner in which the agency was proceeding in the matter. The government, which had earlier given a virtual clean chit in 19 of the 35 purchases, now appeared to prepare grounds to do the same in nine more cases, the document revealed. The Bench repeatedly asked whether any chargesheet had been filed by CBI in the 25 cases which were referred to it and in which it had registered preliminary enquiries (PEs). When no satisfactory answer came from the AG, the Bench gave six weeks time to the Centre and CBI to file the status report in these cases and posted the matter for further hearing on February 24. The UPA government had referred 48 cases relating to 35 purchases made during the previous NDA regime and promised to the court four years ago that the cases would be taken to the logical conclusion on the basis of adverse remarks of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The court monitoring of the cases had started after a PIL was filed by K G Dhananjay Chauhan seeking a comprehensive CBI probe into the cases mentioned in the report of CAG, which had accused the NDA government of making defence purchases without following rules and regulations. Among the 48 cases referred to CBI for investigation, the important ones pertained to: purchase of T-72 tank ammunition deal at Rs 402.7 crore, the casket deal, Rs 41.95-crore Hand-Held Thermal Imagers deal and the alleged irregularities in the purchase of TGM as well as coffins.




Kasab again seeks legal aid from Pak
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Kasab_again_seeks_legal_aid_from_Pak/articleshow/3943436.cms
6 Jan 2009, 1936 hrs IST, PTI
MUMBAI: Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman, the lone terrorist arrested during the November 26 terror attacks, on Monday once again asked for consular access and legal aid from Pakistan, a top police official said. He sought legal aid for the second time and has been informed that his letter requesting for consular access earlier has been handed over to the Pakistan High Commission. "We have informed him that the letter has been sent to Pakistan mission and they have received it," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said here. Maria further said Ajmal has not responded to various offers made by city lawyers to defend him and has said that his first choice is consular access from Pakistan. Ajmal was, earlier in the day, remanded to further police custody till January 19 for his role in the shootout at the Cama and Albless Hospital in South Mumbai. Ajmal and his slain accomplice Ismail Khan had attacked the Cama and Albless Hospital in South Mumbai killing seven persons there. The 22-year-old, who has been in the custody of the Crime Branch since his arrest, was not produced before the court due to security concerns. Additional Metropolitan Magistrate N Shrimangale and Additional Public Prosecutor E B Dhumal, along with court staff, went to the police lockup where Ajmal is being kept.




PIL against 'Ghajini'
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai_PIL_against_Ghajini/articleshow/3947643.cms
7 Jan 2009, 1704 hrs IST, PTI
MUMBAI: After successfully dealing with copyright suits, Aamir Khan's 'Ghajini' is facing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which seeks 'A' (only for adults) certificate for the film. The film, released last month, has too much violence to be certified as U/A, claims petitioner Pratibha Naithani. The PIL, filed "in the interest of children", is expected to come up for hearing next week. Naithani, a lecturer at St Xaviers College in the city, had earlier taken on TV channels for showing adult movies. Her PIL forced channels in the country to stop telecasting A-certified films. In the present petition, Naithani claims that the film has "intensely affected children across India" and cited a report about a three-year-old in Ahmedabad who inscribed the words 'Revenge' on his body, allegedly inspired by similar tattooing by Amir's character in the movie .






Lawyers' strike paralyzes Delhi courts
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Lawyers_strike_paralyzes_Delhi_courts/articleshow/3946578.cms
7 Jan 2009, 1318 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: Work in five district courts here was paralayzed on Wednesday as lawyers struck work demanding repeal of an amendment made to the CrPC, giving police the freedom to use their discretion on whether to arrest or not arrest an accused in offences punishable upto 7-year jail term. "There is a complete strike in all district courts in the national capital. Advocates are not appearing in court cases listed for today while the courts are adjourning matters to next dates," Delhi Bar Association Secretary Jaiveer Singh Chauhan said. The decision to go on strike at Patiala House, Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Rohini and Dwarka courts was taken yesterday at a meeting of Co-ordination Committee All Bar Associations of Delhi. The Committee disapproved the amendments made to the CrPC whereby the deterrent provisions of law of making arrest mandatory in cognisable offences punishable upto seven years imprisonment has been done away with while giving wide powers to police to arrest or not to arrest. A meeting of all bar associations of the National Capital Region (NCR) is going to be held tomorrow to decide the future course of action, Chauhan said. The Co-Ordination Committee spokesperson Rajiv Khosla and New Delhi Bar Association President Santosh Mishra claimed that the strike is successful. Early in the day, some advocates appeared in the courts but both bar leaders tried to play down their decision to defy the strike call. They said that since the decision to strike was taken late in the evening, everyone among the legal fraternity could not be intimated about it.




HC rejects Shahabuddin's bail plea
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna_Shahabuddins_bail_plea_denied/articleshow/3946576.cms
7 Jan 2009, 1319 hrs IST, PTI
PATNA: The Patna High Court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of controversial RJD MP from Siwan Mohammed Shahabuddin in a case pertaining to recovery of foreign arms and ammunition from the MP's house during a police raid in April 2005. Rejecting the bail application, a Bench of Justice K K Mandal said "the petitioner (Shahabuddin) will have the liberty to renew his bail prayer after six months". The police had conducted raids at Shahabuddin's ancestral house in Pratappur village of Siwan district on April 24, 2005 from where it recovered arms and ammunition in huge quantity. The MP had filed an appeal against the order of a Siwan special court sentencing him to 10 years of imprisonment in September 2008 in this case. The Patna High Court on Monday had granted him bail in another case relating to violation of Wildlife Protection Act. Shahabuddin has been convicted in about half-a-dozen cases, including one in which he has been sentenced to life term for the kidnapping and suspected murder of CPI-ML activist Chotelal Gupta on February 7, 2007.




More rapes registered, but conviction rate dismal
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/More_rapes_registered_but_conviction_rate_dismal/articleshow/3944223.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0003 hrs IST, Somit Sen, TNN
MUMBAI: While a higher number of rape cases were registered in Mumbai in 2008, and a large number of those cases were solved, the conviction rate in court continues to be a dismal 20%. The number of rapes against women registered in Greater Mumbai rose from 45 in 2007 to 68 in 2008. A whopping 61 of the 2008 cases were solved, but police sources said this was little reason for cheer. The biggest reason is that the victims don't want to go through the trauma of a court hearing. "While some feel guilty about being raped and prefer to isolate themselves from public view, others don't want to face the embarassing queries of the defence counsel during the cross-questioning. For some, it's a combination of both,'' a Mumbai police officer said. "Also, some of the victims get married at a later stage and do not want to pursue the case.'' The total number of rapes registered-including rapes of minors- was 212. Startlingly, rapes of minors rose from 125 in 2007 to 144 in 2008. It had been a shameful beginning for Mumbai in 2008 as a group of rowdy New Year's revellers fell upon two NRI women and molested them at Juhu. With respect to molestations, 417 woman complainants came forward last year. In most cases, like the one involving the NRI women, the culprits were granted bail by the court. While the NRI women's male companions looked on helplessly during the onslaught, women in other cases were also molested by gangs at beaches, waterfronts, in parks and in forest areas in the presence of their male friends. Police said there were several cases of women being molested in the presence of their male friends. Dowry-related mental and physical harassment also shot up last year. There were 385 cases in which the police booked the husband and other in-laws and as many as 306 cases were solved. There were 10 dowry-related murders of which six were solved, and 52 cases of housewives committing suicides because of dowry demands from in-laws. Police said there were 71 cases in which wives had lodged complaints about their `streedhan' being usurped or misappropriated. In two cases, women had complained that they were depicted in obscene literature and the police arrested the culprits. Police commissioner Hasan Gafoor has continued the practice of his predecessor, A N Roy, to ensure that police stations took every complaint involving women victims seriously. Even women activists, NGOs and workers from the Tata Institute of Social Science have been active in creating awareness among women about their rights and how they can complain against atrocities, rapes and domestic violence. This has led to more crimes being registered. "Cases of rape, dowry harassment and molestation are accorded priority,'' said an officer from the crime branch. In fact, there are counsellors working with the Mumbai police who try reconciliatory methods to arrive at settlements between the woman and her in-laws. When all options fail, they assist the victim legally and most of this is free of cost. Police statistics revealed that 795 disputes between victims and family members were settled by the special cell for women. Upto 760 cases were resolved by the social service branch and 464 missing children were traced by the juvenile unit.




Bengal CM's letter on selection of HC judges to be sent to CJI
http://www.zeenews.com/states/2009-01-06/496620news.html
New Delhi, Jan 06: The Law Ministry is preparing to forward to CJI K G Balakrishnan a letter written by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee raising questions about the merit of four lawyers shortlisted to be judges in the Calcutta High Court.
A ministry official today said the Chief Minister's concerns over the suitability of the lawyers shall be shared with the CJI who heads the panel of judges (collegium) which is the final authority for selecting judges before sending their names to the President, through the Law Ministry, for appointment. The communication between the Ministry and Bhattacharjee has shades of a recent controversy over appointment of three HC Chief Justices as Supreme Court judges at a time when questions have been raised about the secrecy around judicial postings. In the case of SC judges, the Union government had questioned the collegium's decision on selecting them and sent the proposal back to CJI for reconsideration. However, the three candidates were appointed to the apex court later after the CJI stuck to his ground and re-sent their names to the government for their appointment. Bhattacharjee, in his letter last week, questioned the credentials of four lawyers, out of a list of 13 lawyers chosen for appointment as judges. He had reservations about four lawyers, Uttam Kumar Majumdar, Debdutta Sen, Anit Kumar Rakshit and Arijit Banerjee. In his letter, the Chief Minister doubted Majumdars qualification and Sens law degree. He described Rakshit's conduct as "unbecoming of that of a high court judge". While referring to Banerjee he said that he had "nothing worthwhile to show as a lawyer". A panel of three senior-most high court judges, headed by Chief Justice S S Nijjar, had recommended the names of 13 lawyers to be appointed as judges. The high court has a sanctioned strength of 58 judges and, at present, 18 posts are vacant. The development comes in the backdrop of a House panel questioning the veil of secrecy around judicial appointments. The panel even suggested putting the candidates' names on the website. However, the Centre has shown no interest in the Committee's proposal to put the names of candidates, being considered for judicial appointments, on websites and also involve the Executive in the process of judicial appointment. Law Minister H R Bhardwaj informed the panel that so far as making the appointment process transparent is concerned "public disclosure of names of candidates during the appointment process may be an impediment in the dispassionate consideration of the names." Apart from this, any change in the present system would require amendment of the Constitution or a review of apex court judgements over the matter, the Committee was informed. The parliamentary standing committee, however, has reiterated its stand that the collegium-bases system for appointing judges needs to go. "The Committee is not convinced with the reply given by the department of justice. The Committee has already addressed the issue of appointment, accountability and transparency in appointment of judges of Supreme Court and High Courts...and impressed upon the Government to take necessary steps in restoring the pre-1993 arrangement by involving the Executive," said the committee. Bureau Report





CBI gives Pandher clean chit, again
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/CBI_gives_Pandher_clean_chit_again/articleshow/3944156.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0148 hrs IST, Lalit Kumar, TNN
NOIDA: The CBI on Tuesday evening filed the sixteenth chargesheet in the Nithari case. Once again, it gave a clean chit to Moninder Singh Pandher, employer of Surendra Koli, who is accused of rape and murder in all 16 cases. Pandher has so far been given a clean chit in all cases. The clean chit in this case primarily rests on the records of his cell phone calls, which indicate that he was in Chandigarh when Rimpa Haldar was raped and murdered on April 27, 2006. The seven-year-old went missing after she went out to buy some sugarcane juice from a vendor at Nithari. Meanwhile, a piquant situation arose when it was learnt that Koli had not been formally arrested in this case. Taking cognizance of the case, special CBI magistrate Abhinitam Upadhyaya ordered that Koli be produced in court on Wednesday, so that he can formally be arrested.




AIIMS docs get a clean chit
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/AIIMS_docs_get_a_clean_chit/articleshow/3943803.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0150 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: Three senior doctors of AIIMS who were summoned by the trial court recently for allegedly fabricating the medical report of a woman in a dowry harrassment case have come out unscathed with the court giving them a clean chit. Stating that it was a "bonafide mistake" by doctors, additional sessions judge directed that no further proceedings be initiated against Dr Sanjeev Lalwani, Dr Arvind Kumar and Dr Gaurav. "It is clear from medical records that some bonafide mistake or error might have been committed by doctors in interpreting legal provisions and doctors have been guided by their own medical literature in giving their opinion on injuries sustained by the woman," the court said. "In the circumstances, I am of the considered opinion that from the material on record benefit of doubt may be extended to all three doctors and no further proceedings be initiated against them," the court added. Later, holding a press conference, Dr Sanjeev Lalwani, assistant professor, Forensic Medicine, AIIMS, said, "The case was referred to the Forensic department in December 2008 and after going through the medical reports of the patient we found that the injuries were grievous in nature, therefore, we had written that in our report. The ENT report shows that there is mild conductive hearing loss caused to the patient. This could be due to physical injury or other medical reasons like infection etc, but in this case the woman did not have any other medical problem." The three doctors had quoted medical literature to prove that injuries suffered by the patient were grievous in nature. "Any physical damage which is partial can be termed grievous in nature. She was suffering from partial hearing loss. We were able to convince the judge that we had purely gone by medical books while terming the injury grievous in nature and had not fabricated records, but we couldn't convince him that it was actually grievous in nature," said Lalwani.





HC gives police a week to file chargesheet against Rohit
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa/HC_gives_police_a_week_to_file_chargesheet_against_Rohit/articleshow/3945072.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0446 hrs IST, TNN
PANAJI: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday directed the police
to file a chargesheet against Rohit Monserrate, son of education minister Atanasio Monserrate, within a week in connection with the alleged rape of a minor German girl. Hearing the suo motu public interest litigation, a division bench comprising justice PB Majmudar and justice NA Britto, directed the government to place before it a copy of the chargesheet along with the files containing the opinion of the Prosecution director. SP North Bosco George had filed an affidavit stating that police investigations have been completed and a chargesheet against Rohit would be filed soon. The affidavit also disclosed that no chargesheet would be filed against Atanasio Monserrate, a co-accused in the case, as the Prosecution director had opined that there was no material on record to prosecute him. The court also questioned the failure of the police in arresting the accused as soon as the FIR was registered, and referring to the rape observed that "it is a crime against society". State advocate general (AG) Subodh Kantak replied that as the girl had delayed in making her statement to the police, arrests could not be made. The bench also observed that the "investigation in the case must be impartial, honest and objective" and was of the view that "an independent investigation by the police is the backbone of our criminal justice system". Referring to the bail granted to Rohit, the court orally observed "why was the judge in such a hurry to grant bail?" and expressed surprise at the prosecution decision not to challenge the bail. The AG replied that the directorate of Prosecution had opined that there was no need to challenge the bail as the investigations were almost over. Advocate Atmaram Nadkarni appearing on behalf of Rohit argued that they (accused and victim) were friends and therefore did not attract section 376 of the Indian Penal Code that concerns rape. Rejecting this contention, the court said that sex with a girl below 16 years of age is held to be rape as per the code. The matter will now be heard on February 3.




HC judge shares green thoughts with activists
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chandigarh/HC_judge_shares_green_thoughts_with_activists/articleshow/3944141.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0440 hrs IST, Vishal Sharma, TNN
CHANDIGARH: The name of Punjab and Haryana High Court now finds a mention in the hallowed portals of The International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE), a prestigious body of 4,000 government and non-government enforcement and compliance practitioners from more than 150 countries, thanks to justice Surya Kant Sharma. In a rare honour for the HC, justice Surya Kants presentation on Good Governance and Law in the context of sustainable development has been compiled into a summary report by the global body that had invited the judge to attend a conference on environmental compliance and enforcement in South Africa last year. Devoted to promoting green causes, INECE works towards raising awareness for compliance and enforcement, developing networks for enforcement cooperation and strengthening capacity to implement and enforce environmental requirements. The conference was not only attended by the worlds best environmental enforcement brains, but also graced by Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who emphasized on the need to toughen environmental protection and compliance laws. At the meet, justice Surya Kant emphasized on the need of ensuring balance between pace of development and environmental concerns. He told the gathering that good governance could be defined as decision-making in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard to the rule of law. Stating that unbridled progress at the cost of environment was nothing but suicidal, justice Surya Kant asserted: Sustainable development is the method that governments must adopt to set a balance between the pressures that are forced upon both developed and developing countries. Hammering on the urgency of the situation, he buttressed that it was a now-or-never situation given the rapid disintegration of families, destruction of indigenous societies, degradation and annihilation of plant and animal life, pollution of rivers, oceans and the atmosphere coupled with crime, alienation, and substance abuse. Drawing from his experience as a HC judge, he emphasized that the rule of law was the sine qua non for good governance. The most important application of the rule of law was the principle that governmental authority was legitimately exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws.




HC relief to education officials
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Patna/HC_relief_to_education_officials/articleshow/3943485.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0326 hrs IST, TNN
PATNA: The Patna High Court on Tuesday set aside the state government order to cancel the transfer of Bihar Education Service's class I officers.
The transfers were ordered by the state government in June 2008. Through a subsequent order in October, the state government had cancelled the transfers. A single bench presided by Justice Navin Sinha passed the order on a set of writ petitions of several district education officers, district superintendents of education and deputy directors (education). The court directed the state HRD department to reinstate the petitioners at the places of posting where they reported for duty after their transfer. Petitioners' counsel Tej Bahadur Singh, Brijesh Kumar and Gyan Shankar submitted that the cancellation of the transfers, ordered about four months after they were effected, was unjustified and bad in law. The counsel referred to two Supreme Court rulings in this regard. BPSC case adjourned: The same bench adjourned to January 9 hearing on the writ petitions of Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) aspirants. The court directed the BPSC, which conducts the exam for BAS appointments, to explain how many model answers of the objective test were wrong. In their writ petitions, Mukesh Kumar Singh and others have disputed the results of prelims alleging discrepancies in the model answers and question papers.




Fermeena's bail stayed by HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa/Fermeenas_bail_stayed_by_HC/articleshow/3944121.cms
6 Jan 2009, 2339 hrs IST, TNN
PANAJI: A single bench of the high court of Bombay at Goa has stayed the order of the additional sessions judge, Panaji, granting anticipatory bail to Fermeena Khaunte, Pradeep Khaunte,Yaispal Raikar and Ravindra Navelkar in connection with a cheating and forgery case involving property worth several crores of rupees. The petition was filed by one Nageshwar Pandey seeking to quash and set aside the lower court's order dated January 3, 2009, granting bail for 7 days to the accused. The bail was granted to the accused on a personal bond of Rs 50,000, with surety of like amount. The court issued notices to the accused persons and the matter will be heard in third week of January.




Food supply scam: HC disposes of PIL
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/Food_supply_scam_HC_disposes_of_PIL/articleshow/3944187.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0337 hrs IST, TNN
PATNA: The high court on Tuesday disposed of a PIL of the Council for Protection of Public Rights and Welfare. The petition had alleged involvement of top officials in a food supply scam. The HC, however, gave the liberty to the organisation to file the PIL again if it could establish their involvement in the scam. A division bench comprising Justice Shiva Kirti Singh and Justice Shyam Kishore Sharma directed the state government to give the petitioner's counsel, M P Gupta and Brijesh Kumar, copies of the replies filed by seven district magistrates, 30 BDO-rank officers and six agriculture officers in connection with the scam allegations. The state government submitted that the above-mentioned officials had been exonerated of the charges in the food supply scam.




Abuse of caste certificate angers HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Abuse_of_caste_certificate_angers_HC/articleshow/3944342.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0028 hrs IST, TNN
CHENNAI: Permitting fraudsters to abuse community certificates and enjoy the benefits meant for SC/STs would amount to "raping the Constitution," the Madras High Court has said. Lambasting a Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) employee for having got an appointment on the basis of a spurious ST certificate, a division bench of the court directed the Chennai district collector to initiate criminal proceedings against the employee who had been dismissed by LIC for the fraud. The bench comprising Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Justice S Tamilvanan was passing orders on a writ appeal preferred by T R Vijayanandan on Tuesday. Vijayanandan had joined LIC as typist on the basis of an ST certificate. However, his deceit came to light in 1991 when his certificate was sent for verification. Since then, Vijayanandan had fought three separate rounds of litigation but various agencies such as the district level and state level scrutiny committee, besides the vigilance committee, found the certificate fake. All the inquiries revealed that the cultural characteristics of Vijayanandan family resembled that of the forward Reddy community and not Konda Reddy, which comes under the ST category. A field-level investigation by an anthropologist also revealed that the school records of T R Renukadevi, Vijayanandan's sister, stated that she belonged to the Hindu Brahmin community. The SSLC certificate of Vijayanandan did not mention his community. Citing these pertinent facts, the Bench said: "We are able to see that neither the petitioner (Vijayanandan) nor his ancestors belong to the Konda Reddy community, and it seems that the father of the petitioner (Vijayanandan) had orchestrated the entire episode of creating false community certificates for the benefit of his children." Vijayanandan had produced a spurious and false community certificate, the bench concluded, adding, "while for the sake of social status he wanted to maintain as a Reddy, for the sake of his individual benefit he is claiming as if he is belonging to Konda Reddy community, solely with a view to deceive the authorities and to snatch away the benefits extended to underprivileged communities by the Constitution." The bench further said: "The petitioner (Vijayanandan) and his deceased father have attempted to play fraud on the Constitution, taking advantage of the similarity between the words Reddy and Konda Reddy. If people of this type are let out freely without being prosecuted and punished, it would amount to raping the Constitution, further shaking the confidence of people." The judges then upheld Vijayanandan's dismissal from service and directed the district collector to book criminal cases against him, as recommended by the state-level scrutiny committee.





HC lawyers criticize Buddha's comment
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata_/HC_lawyers_criticize_Buddhas_comment/articleshow/3944782.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0250 hrs IST, TNN
KOLKATA: The chief minister's statement on the academic qualifications of lawyers shortlisted for the judges posts in Calcutta High Court as published in newspapers, is defamatory to the lawyers and the high court alike. This is how barrister Bhaskar Sen, secretary of the Calcutta High Court Bar Library, reacted on Tuesday. "We do not know on what basis the chief minister has expressed doubts over the qualifications of those lawyers, who have been practising successfully for years. A lawyer cannot be a member of the Bar Library without having a proper degree," said Sen. Calling the CM's statement illogical and untrue, he added that a chief minister does not have the legal power to intervene in the selection of high court judges. As per Article 217 of the Constitution, every judge of a high court shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the state concerned, Sen clarified. "The state has no role to play in the process of appointing a high court judge. According to convention, only the state's advisory view is sought in the process and such advisory powers cannot be misused like this," he remarked. Narrating the pedigree of aspirant barristers Arijit Banerjee and Debdatta Sen, son of a retired high court chief justice and nephew of Ashok Sen, Sen said the high court coliseum has recommended their names after considering all these aspects. "But how and from where did the chief minister get the information that they do not have proper qualifications," he wondered. "I don't know whether there is any political colour," Sen added. "This is also a message to the high court coliseum that they did not apply their mind while selecting those names," he pointed out. The Bar Library Club is going to hold a meeting on this issue, Sen said. "This is a heinous attack on the judiciary. The independence of the judiciary will be at stake if such statements are made by the chief minister," said Ashis Roy, secretary of the Calcutta High Court Bar Association.




HC panel to look into tree felling
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/HC_panel_to_look_into_tree_felling/articleshow/3944049.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0226 hrs IST, TNN
Bangalore: The high court's lok adalat on Tuesday reverted a petition on felling of trees and widening of Seshadri Road to the court's legal services committee. "The issue of applicability of the Town and Country Planning Act, raised by the petitioners, has to be decided by the authority," it said. The petitioners said in the absence of a consensus on an issue, the matter has to be referred to the panel. This argument was accepted by the adalat. The court said any further tree-felling should be routed through the panel. Following tree felling on Seshadri Road, a PIL was filed by Environment Support Group (ESG). The high court constituted a committee headed by environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy to review the project. ESG found the panel working in violation of the HC order and approached the lok adalat. The petitioners made a detailed proposal as they felt widening of the road could have been undertaken without felling of trees. According to ESG, the proposal was made following the felling of over 300 trees by the BBMP's tree officer. Procedures laid down in the Karnataka Tree Preservation Act, Karnataka Forest Manual and various applicable legislations were not followed, they claimed.




Even pimples can ground you
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/Even_pimples_can_ground_you/articleshow/3944690.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0201 hrs IST, Prashanth G N, TNN
BANGALORE: More than three pimples and you’re grounded. On Monday, a few Air India flight attendants were grounded because they were overweight, but airlines ground attendants for less. “If it’s more than three, you’re grounded. They’ll wait for the pimples to disappear. If they don’t, you’re likely to be grounded for three months. If you don’t care for your skin, forget about being a flight attendant,” an airline official told TOI. He added, “We advise youngsters to use liquid soaps wherever they are. The skin tends to get dry as moisture dissipates in a pressurised cabin. Liquid soaps would be best as they keep the skin good. Skin tone and texture will be smooth. Use of cream is not mandatory, but definitely suggested.” If you’re of a particular height, your weight should be commensurate with that. An official of another airline explained: “Men can’t be less than 5 ft 6 inches and women 5 ft 4 inches. Anything over and above these are fine. Too short wouldn’t do. But weight also should be proportionate. On average, men can’t weigh more than 25 BMI (body mass index) and women 22 BMI. If they cross this, they’d be considered obese and will have to be grounded.” Consequently, flight attendants are extremely cautious about their diet, for their jobs are at stake.




Oil sector employees to go ahead with strike despite court ban
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200901070343.htm
New Delhi (IANS): Despite a stay order of the Delhi High Court on the oil sector strike, employees of the public sector petroleum companies remained firm Tuesday that they will go ahead with the strike from Wednesday.
The Delhi High Court banned the strike Tuesday after gas major GAIL Ltd approached it, calling the strike "illegal"
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), the nation's largest oil and gas producer, has also moved court for a similar ruling against strike to keep its operations running.
But despite the court order, the officers are not ready to heed the ministry's appeal for calling off the action. "The strike is going ahead from tomorrow (Wednesday) starting at 0600 hours (6 a.m.)," OSOA president Amit Kumar told reporters here.
The OSOA, representing around 45,000 employees in 14 public sector oil firms, has called for the indefinite strike demanding higher wages.
Reacting to the strike threat, the petroleum ministry has asked the states to invoke the stringent Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) or the National Security Act (NSA) to tackle work stoppage.
"Several states are already in the process of invoking these Acts. I believe that Delhi and Assam have already invoked these," Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey told reporters Monday.
Reacting to Pandey's statement, Kumar said: "It was a sad day to know that technocrats who had given them blood and sweat to run the country's economy will be persecuted."
The association said in November 2008, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Santosh Mohan Deb had agreed to the legitimacy of their demand for enhanced pay package.
But, they waited in vain, said Kumar. The association gave the strike notice to the companies in December, following which the government set up a committee chaired by Home Minister P. Chidambaram Jan 3.
The committee said it would give its report on the pay revision packages for oil sector within 30 days.
But, the officers claimed that there was a "lack of trust" and doubted the sincerity of the government. "Since everything has already been decided, it requires only 15 minutes of attention from the government to approve our demands," said Kumar.
The petroleum secretary said there had to be a "certain amount of faith" that the government will take action on the grievances of the public sector employees. "They should not inconvenience the consumers," Pandey added.
The ministry estimates that only three of the 17 refineries being operated by the public sector will be affected by the strike. "There will be no impact on the aviation sector," he said, adding that the territorial army had been asked to stand by for any support.




SEZ policy to allow easier takeover
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/SEZ_policy_to_allow_easier_takeover/articleshow/3944679.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0159 hrs IST, Anil Kumar M, TNN
BANGALORE: Karnataka’s much anticipated Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy is finally here. The highlights of the draft policy expectedly are exemption from stamp duty, land registration fee, waiver of electricity duty and payment of 1% labour welfare cess. Land acquisition process has been made easier with units allowed to be set up even on single crop agricultural land. SEZs are increasingly seen as tools to jump start economic growth by governments. Karnataka’s lack of one was seen as impeding its industrial growth. The draft policy was put out for comments on Tuesday by the industries department. Objections have to be tabled before January 11. After which the final notification will be used subject to state cabinet clearance. An important feature of Karnataka’s policy is the provision for a single point clearance. A unit approval committee headed by the Development Commissioner is being created for this purpose. Interestingly, the policy has invoked Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) Act 1966. This empowers the government to acquire the required land for the SEZ and transfer it to the developer of the unit subject to certain central provisions.




Govt has new plan to make land acquisition easy
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/Govt_has_new_plan_to_make_land_acquisition_easy/articleshow/3944062.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0019 hrs IST, TNN
Bangalore: The government has mooted a new formula to make land acquisition easy and attractive since all urban development authorities (UDA) in the state have been facing constraints in buying land to develop layouts. "Henceforth, land losers will be given an option to get 35-40% of the land developed by UDAs in lieu of compensation,'' urban development minister S Suresh Kumar told reporters on Tuesday. To speed up the land acquisition process, he said a clear-cut and simple land acquisition policy will be framed and notified shortly. "Land owners have been preferring private developers ahead of urban development authority since they offer attractive prices. It has become difficult for us to compete with private developers, whose sole intention is to make profit,'' Kumar said. New chief for State Law Commission: Former Chief Justice of Karnataka and Kerala High Courts V S Malimath will be the first head of the State Law Commission set up by the state government. New V-C for Law University: Prof J S Patil has been nominated as the first vice-chancellor of Karnataka Law University. According to Kumar, Patil was earlier the special officer appointed by the government to look into issues pertaining to the development of the university. Seven Bills for Belgaum session: An ambitious BJP government has listed seven Bills for introduction and passage during the Belgaum session, beginning January 16. The bills include Karnataka Agricultural Universities Bill 2009, Karnataka Horticultural Universities Bill 2009, Karnataka Law Universities Bill 2009 (all for setting up respective universities), Karnataka Municipal Corporation Bill 2009, Karnataka Park Preservation Bill 2009, Karnataka Land Revenue Bill 2009 and Karnataka Prohibition of Violence Against Medicare Service and Damage to Property in Medicare Service Institutions Bill 2009.




HC quashes penalty provision in VAT Act
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/HC_quashes_penalty_provision_in_VAT_Act/articleshow/3944055.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0028 hrs IST, TNN
Bangalore: In a major relief to dealers, the Karnataka High Court has struck down section 72 (1) of Karnataka VAT Act, 2003, as unconstitutional and unreasonable. Allowing a batch of petitions filed by Philips Electronics India Limited and others, Justice D V Shylendra Kumar has said that frequent tinkering in the said Act shows that there is lack of clarity in the legislative policy. Levy of penalty on tax liability is nothing but tax on tax. The court has ordered the authorities to refund the penalty collected so far under the said provision. The complainant challenged the provision which enabled the authorities to impose penalty at the rate of 10% of the value added tax payable in addition to a daily penalty of Rs 50 and interest of 1.25% if there is delay of even one day in furnishing the monthly tax returns. It termed this provision as oppressive and unreasonable. "The huge penalty on smaller dealers and small liability of tax assumes gigantic proportions when the delay is 3-5 years as seen in some cases. A penalty based on extent of delay which sometimes exceeds the liability is grossly disproportionate. An arbitrary penalty which is also an irrational levy automatically loses nexus achieving the object of correcting mischief sought to be prevented by the legislation and therefore renders itself as unconstitutional. Any penalty should be in reasonable limits to act as sufficient and mere deterrent and not reaching level of confiscation," the judge has observed.




Judges to view teleserial CD
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/Judges_to_view_teleserial_CD/articleshow/3944038.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0228 hrs IST
The division bench headed by Justice S R Bannurmath will look into the CD of teleserial `Muktha Muktha' before deciding on the criminal contempt petition against the director of the serial T N Seetharam. G R Mohan, the city advocate who filed the criminal contempt petition has submitted transcripts of the objectionable sequences in the serial apart from the CD and audio input. The next hearing is fixed for Friday.




PIL seeks probe into 'misappropriation of funds'
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/PIL_seeks_probe_into_misappropriation_of_funds/articleshow/3944037.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
Bangalore: A high court division Bench has issued notices to the BBMP, state government and the CBI on a PIL seeking an independent investigation into awarding of contracts for remodelling of storm water drains in Koramanagala and Vrushabhavati. The petitioners have claimed the BBMP authorities in collusion with the contractors increased item rates unreasonably against the quoted rates at the time of negotiation. "A thorough probe is needed to curb misappropriation of public funds," the petition states.
Penalty for causal appeals: The high court has imposed costs of Rs 50,000 on the special land acquisition officer for filing appeals `with a casual approach and without looking into documents and evidence on record'. The government had moved the HC challenging a lower court's order awarding compensation at the rate of Rs 20,000 per gunta for land at Guddhahatti village near Attibele in Anekal taluk, as against Rs 2 lakh fixed by the authorities. BDA told to take action: A division Bench has asked the BDA to take action within seven weeks on the October 2003 show-cause notice issued to an organization for running a `kalyana mantapa' on a site earmarked for a hospital. The court had already restrained the Kammavari Sangha from running the `mantapa' built on a civic amenity site at Banashankari 3rd Stage, 2nd Phase (Ring Road). The petitioners had claimed that the site was granted to the sangha in 1983 for construction of a hospital. "They utilized 80% of the space for the mantapa and are charging Rs 85,000 per day. There is a make-shift and namesake hospital in the remaining space," the petitioners claimed. Petition against camel slaughter: The government has said the two circulars issued in 1997 and 2006, banning entry and killing of animals in the city, are still in force. NGO Animal Rights Fund in its PIL said camels are made to walk miles together from Rajasthan to the city. "They are sluaghtered during festivals. Even though there are circulars regarding camel slaughter, no percievable action has been taken," the petition stated. Frame rules, pay salary: A division Bench has directed the government to frame necessary rules under the Karnataka Minorities Commision Act within 90 days so as to fix the salary for members of Karnataka Minorities Commission. The court also directed the government to settle salary dues of Mohammed Shafi, a member of the panel.




SC files PIL challenging delay in appt of judges
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Hyderabad/SC_files_PIL_challenging_delay_in_appt_of_judges/articleshow/3944328.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0023 hrs IST, TNN
HYDERABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday admitted a public interest litigation challenging the delay in the appointment of 19 vacant judge posts in the AP High Court and nearly 200 posts of judicial officers in the subordinate courts. The bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Sadasivam admitted the petition filed by the AP High Court Advocates Association.




A violation of apex court order, says High Court
http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/07/stories/2009010754071300.htm
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday restrained officers of public sector gas supplier company GAIL (India) from going on their proposed indefinite strike from Wednesday for hike in wages.
Justice Anil Kumar stayed the strike on a petition by GAIL (India), submitting that the decision by the officers to on strike was in violation of an earlier order by the Supreme Court.
Counsel for the company further submitted that if the officers went on their proposed strike it would severely affect the supply of oils, throwing the country’s air and road traffic out of gear.
He further submitted that the GAIL (India) was also negotiating with these officers for redress of their grievances.
Besides, the company had already provided them interim relief, the counsel submitted.
The High Court has already stayed strike by public sector oil companies’ employees.
Staying the strike, Mr. Justice Kumar adjourned the matter for further hearing on March 2.




HC notice to ONGC over freak mishap
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Chennai/HC_notice_to_ONGC_over_freak_mishap/articleshow/3944313.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0021 hrs IST, TNN
CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Tuesday ordered notice to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) over a freak mishap in which a Plus Two student was crushed by an unmanned pumping machine, causing severe abdominal damage to the boy, at Perungadi village in Tiruvarur district last month. Acting on a petition filed by R Narayanasamy, the father of 17-year-old N Jayaprakash, seeking a compensation of Rs 10 lakh, including an interim award of Rs 2 lakh, from the public sector company, Justice K Suguna ordered notice to the ONGC and other government officials. Jayaprakash is currently recuperating in a private hospital in Thanjavur. It all started when Jayaprakash, a National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteer, went to a school at Perungadi village near Pulivalam on December 19. Some boys were playing near an unmanned pumping machine, which was standing idle due to power disruption. As there was no security for the machine, some of the boys, including Jayaprakash, climbed on it. When Jayaprakash was standing atop, the machine started working all of a sudden as power supply resumed, causing him to fall. Jayaprakash's abdomen, especially the male organ, was smashed due to the fall. In his petition, Narayanasamy said he had already spent about Rs 1.2 lakh and added that the hospital had quoted Rs 2.5 lakh for the entire treatment. Unless the amount was paid the boy would not be discharged from hospital, he said. Claiming that the ONGC and the state government had not responded to his pleas, the father wanted the court to direct the ONGC to pay Rs 10 lakh. In separate letters, the Tiruvarur collector as well as the chief educational officer have written to the ONGC asking the company to help out the family which is "below the poverty line."




International law binds Pakistan to cooperate: judge
http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/07/stories/2009010760581200.htm
J.S. Ifthekhar
HYDERABAD: “Though India has no extradition treaty with Pakistan, the latter is duty bound to cooperate as per international law in respect of the Mumbai terrorist attack. The doctrine of ‘non state actors’ does not absolve Pakistan of this good faith obligation,” said P. Chandrasekhara Rao, Judge, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Hamburg, Germany.
Under international law, a formal treaty is not required for seeking extradition in certain category of offences such as hijacking, piracy and acts of terrorism. “All states are expected to extend cooperation to each other,” Mr. Rao told The Hindu here on Monday.
The docket of evidence collected by India showed the hand of not just non-state actors but also state actors. An operation of this magnitude could not have taken place without the connivance of official agencies. “India can seek reparation for losses suffered,” said Mr. Rao, who was recently re-nominated to the International Tribunal.
The denial game being played continuously by Pakistan had no meaning when its former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, and its media confirmed the Faridkot connections of Mohammed Ajmal Amir, the lone terrorist in custody. The argument that Pakistan too was a victim of terrorism and would deal with the terrorists in its own way was not valid. It had to hand over the ‘masterminds’ behind the 26/11 incident.
“Failure to comply with the international law will lead to state responsibility. India can approach the U.N. and seek imposition of economic sanctions and sever diplomatic ties with Pakistan,” Mr. Rao said.
He sees no purpose being served in India alone approaching the international court as the latter had no compulsory jurisdiction unlike domestic courts. Was a country entitled to seek relief through military action? “The state practice is not yet clear on this subject,” he says.
Mr. Rao wants India to share the evidence with friendly countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia and exert diplomatic pressure.




Public hearing on Indrayani's pollution by month-end
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Pune/Public_hearing_on_Indrayanis_pollution_by_month-end/articleshow/3944210.cms
6 Jan 2009, 2359 hrs IST, TNN
PUNE: The Save Indrayani Action Committee, comprising various environment groups and warkaris, plans to hold a public hearing of citizens' complaints and suggestions on the pollution level of River Indrayani, by the end of this month. According to convenor Vikas Patil, the committee is planning to invite officials from the district collectorate, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and the Pune municipal commissioner for responding to queries on the river's pollution. "We have asked citizens to submit their written suggestions and complaints before January 20. The public hearing will be held by the end of this month," Patil told TOI on Monday. Complaints can be forwarded to Patil at: Sushriyas, Chikhali road, Sudarshannagar, Chikhli, Pune - 412114. The action committee had initiated a campaign to study the river's polluting agents on December 25 in 2008 and had decided to form groups to study the river's length - from its origin near Lonavla to the place where it joins River Bhima. The study groups, comprising experts, will document all the reasons for pollution by clicking pictures, preparing short films, and by collecting water samples. The study is expected to be completed by March next year. The report and the demands would be submitted to the state government and organizations like the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. The committee has observed that local civic bodies, like the Lonavla Municipal Council, Vadgaon Grampanchayat, Talegaon Municipal Council, Dehu Grampanchayat, do not have necessary facilities to treat domestic effluents which are released in the river directly.




German girl rape: Charges against Goa minister may be dropped
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Goa/German_girl_rape_Charges_against_Goa_minister_may_be_dropped/articleshow/3945921.cms
7 Jan 2009, 1101 hrs IST, IANS
PANAJI: The Goa police are likely to drop the charge against state education minister Atanasio Monserrate of abetting his son Rohit, charged of raping a 14-year-old minor German tourist. The police have in their affidavit told the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court that there was no proof to proceed against the minister. They said their inference was based upon the opinion of the directorate of prosecution, where the case was sent formally for opinion. The police had earlier named Atanasio Monserrate as an abettor in the case, because the vulgar SMSes received by the minor German girl, coaxing her to abort her pregnancy by going on a drinking and smoking binge, were sent from a mobile connection issued in the minister's name. Earlier Tuesday, the Panaji bench asked the Goa police to file within seven days a chargesheet against Rohit. The bench comprising Justice S B Majumdar and Justice Nelson Britto told Advocate General Subodh Kantak to direct the police to file a chargesheet. The court earlier pulled up the Goa police for their shoddy investigation in the case and had asked the investigating officers to do better. About two months ago, Bombay High Court Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar along with Justice S A Bobade, while taking up the matter suo moto, had said: "If newspaper reports are correct even to some extent, then they demonstrate the apathy of the police machinery towards the rule of law". The police were blamed of shielding the minister's don, with the victim's mother even accusing the police and the administration of "conspiring collectively to ensure that Rohit evaded arrest".




Foreigners owning property receive show cause notice
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Goa/Foreigners_owning_property_receive_show_cause_notice/articleshow/3945093.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0448 hrs IST, Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Two British nationals owning property in Corona, North Goa have received a show cause notice, from the Enforcement directorate, Mumbai, seeking to know why their property should not be confiscated. The ED is investigating property purchases by foreigners in Goa. The notice was based on a complaint filed by the assistant director of DoE under section 16 (3) of FEMA, as the duo had failed to establish their status as "persons resident in India" and yet had purchased and sold property in India without obtaining RBI permission. The show cause notice, issued by K Nageshwar Rao, special director, DoE on December 11, 2008, asks "why the property which is involved in the contravention of the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (1999) should not be confiscated to the Central government account". This is the first time a foreign national who had "illegally" invested in property in Goa has been issued a show cause notice for confiscation of the property by the ED. The state government has sent a list of 482 transactions by foreigners for the Enforcement directorate to investigate. TOI had reported in June that the ED had come across reports that foreigners have purchased properties in excess of 100-acres in Goa and that of 400 cases of FEMA violations in Goa referred to the Reserve Bank of India, 74 cases had been forwarded to the ED. Earlier in May, the ED had served notices to foreigners asking them to appear for hearings. In his complaint, the assistant director of the ED said he had received information from the Reserve Bank of India about the purchase of immovable and agricultural property by foreign nationals, Nicholas Joseph Papa and his friend Michael Dennis Cooper, who "on tourist visa had purchased immovable properties in Goa in contravention of FEMA regulations". The complaint further states that Nicholas has declared that he had stayed in India for a period of more than 182 days, had residential permit visas and funds from abroad to purchase an old house of about 1125 sq mts in 2001 at Aldona, which he sold in 2006. In September 2006, he purchased another property of 928 sq mts at Corona. "He had not taken RBI permission to purchase and sell the said properties," the complaint notes. The value of the land is estimated at Rs 77, 25,000. The complaint also notes that documents forwarded by the Britishers, including authenticated copies of their passports, visas, certificate of registration, residential permits describe the duo as "retired" and the purpose of their residing in India as "holiday". However, they had purchased agricultural land in Aldona and declared themselves as "persons resident in India" in the sale deed dated September 7, 2006. The complaint says that the Britishers had, falsely declared themselves as persons "resident in India" and so are "prohibited from the acquisition of any immovable property in the form of agriculture or plantation farm house".




M J Antony: Directors in the dock
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/m-j-antony-directors-indock/00/06/345407/
M J Antony / New Delhi January 07, 2009, 0:58 IST
Separating the liability of the company and its managers for offences is a tricky judicial task.
The liability of directors for the fault of their companies has been set out in various statutes. Though there are special provisions dealing with this aspect, this is one of the most litigated issues. Delhi is still watching the forensic embers which enveloped the Ansals who ran the Uphaar cinema that was gutted due to the negligence of the employees. It took more than a decade to decide their vicarious liability. Last month, there were three significant judgements dealing with this question. Two of them took more than two decades to reach the Supreme Court, indicating how complex the issue could become, or could be made so by legal professionals.
The Supreme Court took a tough stand against Modi Carpets Ltd for discharging noxious effluents into the Sai river in Uttar Pradesh. In 1985, the Allahabad high court had stayed the prosecution of the company, its chairman and other top officers. In 2004, the high court quashed the complaint so far as it related to the joint managing director, B K Modi. In the appeal, UP Pollution Control Board vs B K Modi, the Supreme Court ruled that Modi should appear before the special magistrate (pollution) and that court will decide whether the joint MD was personally liable or not. It chastised the high court for exercising its inherent power in a casual manner. Such power should not be exercised to “stifle a legitimate prosecution”, the Supreme Court said.
It recalled an earlier judgement in the case of Mohan Meakins Ltd, which faced similar charges. The directors were arraigned for discharging pollutants into the Gomti river. The legal wrangle over the role of the honchos dragged on from 1985 till 2000 when the Supreme Court cleared their prosecution. The courts below had quashed the complaints against them. Both these cases started in 1985 and the Supreme Court asserted that “the lapse of such long period cannot be a reason to absolve them from the trial.”
In matters affecting public health, the Modi judgement explained, the court cannot afford to deal with cases lightly. “The message must go to all concerned persons, whether small or big, that the courts will share the parliamentary concern to check the escalating pollution levels and restore the balance in our environment…Those who discharge noxious polluting effluents into water bodies should be dealt with strictly, irrespective of technical objections,” the court emphasised.
Another judgement of recent weeks, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board vs Rasipuram Textiles Ltd, dealt with theft of power in which top men of the company were implicated under the Indian Electricity Act. During the two decades of litigation, the managing director and one director had expired. The trial court held that if the surviving directors were not in charge of and responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the mills, it was for them to prove it, and it was not done by them. Therefore they should stand trial. On appeal, the district judge and the Madras high court ruled that the burden of proving that the directors were personally responsible was on the electricity board. The Supreme Court supported this view. Thus the directors were spared in this case.
The Consumer Protection Act also has a provision which makes the directors liable for the fault of the company. The National Consumer Commission delivered a judgement in the case of Ashish Birla vs Murlidhar Patil in which a cooperative bank failed to repay a depositor the amount with interest. The depositor sued the bank as well as its directors. The consumer forum, the Maharashtra state forum and the National Commission agreed with the depositor and ordered the directors “jointly and severally” to pay the amount with interest. “We would like to remove the corporate veil and hold that the directors are responsible for the deficiency in service of the bank,” the commission said.
The question of the director’s liability arises more frequently in the case of cheques issued by companies and later dishonoured by the banks for want of sufficient funds. Three years ago, the Supreme Court had laid down the principles to be followed in deciding the liability of directors under the Negotiable Instruments Act (SMS Pharmaceuticals vs Neeta Bhalla). However, this has not reduced the flow of appeals before the court. In one recent case, BSNL prosecuted the honorary chairman of a company who pleaded that he was not drawing any remuneration. However, the Supreme Court stated that he should prove his status before the trial court.
The position of the directors who stand guarantee for the company’s loan is even more complex; and if the company goes under, it would be murkier still, according to the decisions delivered by different courts.



Lalu gets relief from SC
http://www.samaylive.com/news/lalu-gets-relief-from-sc/603700.html
Published: Wed, 07 Jan 2009 at 17:51 IST
New Delhi, Jan 7: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad today got a reprieve from the Supreme Court which refused to entertain a plea seeking a CBI probe against him for allegedly abusing his official position to derive pecuniary advantage for himself and his family.The PIL filed by his rival Janta Dal (United) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan had said there was a need for investigations into the allegations by an independent agency as despite an assurance from the Prime Minister for fair and impartial probe the matter had been sent to the Railway Vigilance for an inquiry against Prasad.After the brief hearing, the court said that it cannot pass any direction on the PIL and asked the Bihar politician to pursue the matter with the Prime Minister's Office."You pursue the matter with the PMO. You can wait for the report of the Vigilance Officer. Why do you feel the report would be false," a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan observed.Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for Lalan, decided to withdraw the PIL after the Bench made it clear that it was not going to direct a CBI probe."There is no question of directing a CBI probe. You can approach an appropriate authority," the Bench, also comprising Justice P Sathasivam, said.Dhavan said a delegation of NDA leaders had met the Prime Minister and submitted a representation on August 23 last year and was assured by him of appropriate action into the allegations against Prasad.The PIL pointed out 10 acts of omission, commission and misfeasance allegedly committed by RJD chief after becoming the Railway Minister in UPA government in 2004. The allegations against him include procuring land and awarding commercial contracts in exchange.




Vishal’s PIL on track
http://www.starboxoffice.com/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/January/News_20090106_37
Composer, singer and song-writer Vishal Dadlani had filed a petition against the live media coverage of the 26/11 attacks in December 2008. And the singer composer has been following it up. In fact he says he has recently received an update from the court about the same.

"I have just received an update on that from the court. It is being converted into a PIL (public interest litigation); it is in the petition department right now. Then it will be converted to a PIL. The court will call for the channels to submit their footage over that time. They will also hopefully issue those guidelines or form a body to issue those guidelines which are legally enforceable. The TV channels have already made these guidelines that should be enforced public so all that we have to do is make these guidelines enforceable by law. So hopefully, we will try and make that happen,” says an upbeat Vishal.Vishal had also mentioned that he wanted to form a political party but he has changed his mind now."Political party is a very bad word. It has a lot of negative connotation. I don't want to form a political party. As a citizen I want to change the way politics is run in the country, I want to change the way everything is run in the country and make this is the best place in the world to stay in. It's not possible for me to do this alone but if every Indian thinks like this we can really do something. I am not looking at running for elections myself; I don't want to be a politician but I do want a good set of decent, accountable and educated politicians representing us at the centre.”“I understand that there is a huge mass of people in the country that is not urban or educated and everyone including the farmers needs accurate representation. But the urban class of India has no accurate representation at the Centre. This is very important because the educated, intelligent and forward thinking urban people have to take action to improve the politics in the country" he adds.But with our justice systems painfully slow, doesn’t he think his PIL could take very long?"I don't know what will happen but I am doing my best. I hope they will understand the importance of the petition. Over the months, if thousands of people sign it and it reaches the court, then the court should issue a directive to the government and make a code of conduct which the press will have to obey."Vishal is a strong believer in the power of one. "I think anger is brimming in the heart of every Indian today. But we need to get away from it and calm ourselves and try and think how each of us can contribute to change the system, to find out what is wrong and what I, one person can do to change it. Inspired by this thought, I have made this petition. I want to talk to people and spread the word so that some action is taken soon and some changes are made in this field at least. Also, if every person in India does something like this, the country will change for the better soon."
· Janhvi Patel, Hill Road Media· Tuesday, January 06, 2009



High Court stays strike
http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/07/stories/2009010760661300.htm
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday restrained officers of GAIL (India) from going ahead with their proposed strike from Wednesday seeking a hike in wages.
Justice Anil Kumar stayed the strike on a petition by GAIL (India), which submitted that the officers’ decision was in violation of an order of the Supreme Court.
The High Court had stayed strike by public sector oil companies’ employees. Mr. Justice Kumar adjourned the matter for further hearing to March 2.




Watch Tower: Live-in relationship in, marriage out
http://www.centralchronicle.com/20090107/0701304.htm
Wednesday Jan 7, 2009
It is beyond comprehension how a live-in relationship can be legally made to last "for a reasonably long period", as Maharashtra proposes- Amba Charan Vashishth
Rajya Sabha MPs Prabhat Jha and others did the right thing to make the Union government clarify its stand and declare that it was no considering any such proposal in the wake of the Maharashtra government's efforts to legalise the live-in relationship.
Explaining the genesis of live-in-relationships, a Central government official, herself a poet, said it is the result of a fast changing society, greater affluence, particularly among women who are gradually attaining financial independence, and because of incompatibility of the working hours of the couples. But this handicap, she feels, can be overcome by striking matrimonial alliances that suit the working conditions and environment of the man and the woman.
It is difficult to say that the Maharashtra proposal is "a progressive step" or a retrograde one because it will only provide legal sanction to promiscuous behaviour leading to revival of the age-old system of polygamy which only in the last century the world was feeling proud to ban. It is a mirror to the permissiveness in society overwhelming the rights or wrongs of human behaviour. Any proposal to amend Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) seeking to "protect the pecuniary interests of the 'other woman' would only mean undoing the law that prohibits polygamy.
Such a step will also do away with the moral and criminal stigma attached to a couple indulging in an act of adultery that is uniformly recognised as an unpardonable crime by almost every government, every section of society - primitive, orthodox or modern -- and every religion the world over. A legal sanction to live-in relationship will automatically leave superfluous the provisions of Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code according to which adultery is a punishable criminal offence.
As per the amendment proposed by Maharashtra, the definition of the word 'wife' under Section 125 CrPC needs to be changed to include a woman who was living with a man like his wife "for a reasonably long period" to cover the interests of women involved in polygamous or live-in relationships. But this "reasonably long period' has not been defined or specified.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) seeks a change in the definition of live-in relationships "which are in the nature of marriage" excluding "relationship of convenience". It implies that the latter relationship should not be recognised either by law or society. NCW Chairperson Girija Vyas added: "In certain cases where the relationship is barely six months old and there is no commitment, the court can take a decision to declare it null and void". She also stresses on the "need for gauging the seriousness of a relationship which should be done by courts".
Yet, it will be damn difficult to distinguish between the one live-in relationship that is "in the nature of marriage" and the other that is a "relationship of convenience". The live-in relationship, in reality, is more or less a "relationship of convenience", like a person maintaining one relationship at his present place of posting or working and changing it the way he changes his company or place of work.
Explaining the government position, Union Law Minister HR Bhardwaj said the rights of women in such relationships were governed by the Domestic Violence Act which protects them from being thrown out of house "after being used".
We cannot overlook the harsh reality of an irreconcilable clash of interests between a socially recognised and legally wedded wife and the 'other woman' or a woman in a live-in relationship. To claim to protect the interests of both is something impossible. NCW chairperson, at the same time, demanded "strict protection of the rights of the first wife". Therefore, the very act of protecting the interests of one, in effect, will result in an act of robbing those of the other.
A marriage enjoys the sanctity of society as it stands associated as a witness to the act of nuptial bondage. It also has the sanction of law. Under the general Indian concept, the bond of marriage is unbreakable except on account of the death of the spouse. Now with the advent of modernity and change of social outlook, the element of permanence is gradually melting away. There is no minimum period for which a marriage-- love or arranged--under the current Indian laws must last. Alliances have broken and divorce effected even in a week -- and even less -- of marriage. In these circumstances, it is beyond comprehension how a live-in relationship can be legally made to last "for a reasonably long period", as Maharashtra proposes. When there is no minimum period in a marriage after which alone can one of the spouse desert and seek divorce from the other, it will not be humanly and legally possible to ensure "a reasonably long period" for which a live-in relationship must subsist.
Why a live-in relationship and not a divorce if one is married? Why not go in for a divorce and then enter into a regular marriage recognised by law and society?
To continue to have a wife or husband and yet indulge in a live-in relationship involves perpetuating an immoral, unethical marital relationship.
Preference for a live-in relationship over a marriage underlines lack of mutual sincerity and honesty from the very start and the apprehension that it may not last long, That is why they want the alliance to be as loose as possible so that anyone of the two can just walk away at will, without the interference of the law or the society.
We do that our civilisation today is much more advanced, more modern, civilised and human. But in reality it looks otherwise. We are steadily moving back to that pre-civilisation period when the institution of marriage was unknown and men and women were just enjoying free sex. It later evolved into a live-in relationship with the complete license to jilt one and live with the other, at will.
In the process of evolution of the civilisation, the concept of marriage started getting recognised, sanctified and strengthened. This laid the foundation of a society which in a few centuries developed itself into a nation. The live-in relationship questions the very utility of the institution of marriage and thereby of society and the nation.
A live-in relationship is an affront to the pious institution of marriage if the 'other woman' was elevated to the venerable position of a wife. It is nothing less than an opportunistic alliance of convenience for realising a limited purpose, akin to the one struck by our political parties. For all intents and purposes, it is a contract/undertaking, oral or in black and white, between two individuals/parties for any industrial or commercial venture. Therefore, such alliances need to be treated the way they are - just a contract.
The people concerned too should think twice before entering into such a relationship as they are all well-educated people who can think of their future. They need to think of themselves first, before the government should think of providing protection to the 'wronged party'. It is not the duty of the government to pay for the faults and failures of adult individuals otherwise intelligent enough to look before they leap in their life
Any attempt to legalise live-in relationship will only mean doing away with the institution and concept of marriage and rights and duties that go with it for the couple. Marriage is the very essence of a civilised society. Where will the society go if the institution of marriage was made redundant and irrelevant?





AP HC: DV Act Not Retrospective - CRL. P. NO: 3714 of 2007
Published January 6, 2009
I finally got my hands on this judgment thanks to Aejaz_Legal, a reader who posted this judgment as a comment.
If you find yourself accused under the Domestic Violence act, and the accusations date from prior to the passing of this act into law (Oct/26/2006), you must know:
Crl.P 3714 of 2007 delivered by the Hon’ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh where in it was held
“It is a fundamental principle of law that any penal provision has no retrospective operation but only prospective. There is no allegation either in the report or in the statement or in the complaint on the 1st Respondent with regards to the acts of domestic violence that took place on or after 26-10-2006.Therefore continuation of proceedings against the petitioners is nothing but abuse of process of court”.



A new bill that could help some criminals
http://nitawriter.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/a-new-bill-that-could-help-some-criminals/
January 7, 2009...8:50 am
One is not sure whether this new bill is a measure to prevent overcrowding of prisons or to give the police more time to concentrate on serious offences, perhaps terrorism? If that sounds sarcastic, it was meant to be. I am still trying to understand what the country will gain by a law that will encourage criminals.
The new bill, which will become law if the President approves, will make it difficult for the police to arrest anyone who commits an offence for which the maximum sentence is seven years. But hold on, it’s not as if the police cannot arrest the suspect at all…it just means that a “notice” will have to be served to the offender, a notice which makes it imperative on the offender to “cooperate” with the investigation! If this isn’t funny enough, hear this: If the offender refuses to cooperate (and if he is still waiting around for the police to arrive) then he can be arrested! And what’s even more hilarious is the action that the police can take if the accused actually cooperates:
Where such person complies and continues to comply with the notice, he shall not be arrested in respect of the offence referred to in the notice unless, for reasons to be recorded, the police are of the opinion that he ought to be arrested.
As far as I can figure out, this means that we will have a lot more criminals on the streets, and worse, the fear of prison will reduce for the many who commit such crimes. Some of these offences (punished with a prison term of 7 years or less) are very serious indeed, and non-bailable as well. Not just in India, but the world over. The only difference now will be that in India the police will serve them “notices” before starting the investigation.
Take forgers for instance. Section 465 says that committing forgery entails a 2 year jail term. Even those who are in “possession of forged or counterfeit or currency-notes or bank-notes” (Section 489) can be punished only with 7 years. These people now will not be arrested, but given a chance to run away if they wish. Now why did I ever imagine that counterfeiting was an anti-national activity?
Rioters and those engaging in causing communal tensions are the bane of this country and now they must be thanking our government for making their job easier. They can indulge in destroying public property, rioting, or vandalising the houses and offices of those opposed to their idealogy…and then crawl back into their political woodwork. Because now they will be served “notices” instead of being rounded up in police vans. Pieces of paper their political masters will tear up and throw away. A rioter can now destroy public property, threaten and intimidate people without prison staring at him in the face. For Section 506 says that “criminal intimidation” entails only a 2 year jail term, and Section 452 says that “house-trespass, having made preparation for causing hurt, assault” entails imprisonment for 7 years and fine. The latter is a serious, non-bailable offence but who cares.
Those goons who create communal tension will also breathe easier. Because Section 295 mentions that “destroying, damaging or defiling a place of worship or sacred object with intent to insult the religion of any class of persons” can be punished with 2 years only. Now, this too is a non-bailable offense, as also the crime of “maliciously insulting the religion or the religious beliefs of any class.” (Section 295).
So lucky for the political parties….they now save the money used for bailing out their goons and build up their kitty ahead of elections.
Wait a minute, wasn’t it the politicians themselves who passed this Bill? Now I wonder if I am being paranoid or they actually had some vested interest in passing this Bill!
Now lets come to molestation (which could well be an attempt to rape), a common enough crime in India. The perpetrators of this crime no longer need fear that they will be thrown into jail. Because Section 354 says that those who commit “assault or use of criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty” can be jailed for a maximum period of 2 years. I wonder what happened to the grand plans of the National Commission for Women (NCW) of wanting to make harassment and molestation of women a non-bailable offence which could attract a punishment which could go up to 10 years (depending on the offence)? The way things are now, if this new Bill becomes an Act, the molesters’ mums won’t ever find out what their darling sons have been up to!
And if we ever hoped that 24 hours in a police lock-up would reform drunk drivers, we can now give up that hope. In fact even those drunk drivers who accidentally knock down people, perhaps kill them, can now be served a “notice”. Free to do it another day because remember duplicate licences are easy to get!
Punishment for minor assaults is also less than seven years…as also attempts to seriously injure someone. Section 440 says “mischief committed after preparation made for causing death, or hurt, etc” can get the offender a jail term of just about 5 years. And Section 323 talks about “voluntarily causing hurt” which entails imprisonment for 1 year, and if a dangerous weapon is used, the jail term is up to 3 years. Notices is what they will all get!
Extortionists, who can be imprisoned for around 3 years, will have a field day with this law too.
Those attempting to rob will also get away because Section 393 says that “attempt to commit robbery” gets the accused a jail term of 7 years. This is supposedly a non-bailable offence!
The least this Bill could have done is exclude non-bailable offences from the purview of this Bill.
Jails will be less crowdedOne thing this Bill will surely do is reduce the number of undertrials in prison. This may not be the government’s reason to make such a law, but what else is one to think? Prisons in India are crammed with convicts and undertrials. Although the all-India occupancy (NCRB figures) rates show that the overcrowding is easing up (2006 over 2005), even in 2006 our prisons were overcrowded by 41.1%, and the improvement over 2005 was less than 5%. This improvement seems to lose its meaning if we compare it to earlier figures though. Overcrowding in 2002 was 40.2% and in 2003 it was 39.80%.
It is our slow justice system which is putting such a large number of undertrials in our jails. Here are some percentages which I have no reason to believe have changed drastically in 2008:
Speeding up the judicial system is not something that seems to be happening in the near future, but yes new prisons are being built as an attempt to reduce overcrowding.
In the meantime, there will be this new law… and to look at it from the brighter side, it will benefit innocent people who are arrested.



'Amend Mental Health Act, include patient rehab'
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Amend+Mental+Health+Act,+include+patient+rehab&artid=dTm%7C/2xyNJM=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO=

E xpress News Service
First Published : 07 Jan 2009 06:26:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 07 Jan 2009 02:15:08 PM IST
CHENNAI: Members of the State pressure group have demanded an amendment to the Mental Health Act to include provisions of rehabilitation and other important aspects to tackle the problems of mental disorders.
The state pressure group consists of members of various NGOs and independent persons who will be campaigning for the rights of mentally challenged in the country.
Vijay Kumar, an advocate and a member of the state pressure group, told journalists here on Tuesday that the Mental Health Act did not even talk about important measures like rehabilitation of the mentally challenged. The Act, according to him, had even failed to present a manual on how mental health institutions should be maintained.
B Meenakshi, a member of Vidya Sagar, an NGO, who quoted the National Human Right Commission’s (NHRC) report on 37 mental hospitals during November 2001 and January 2002, said that most of the hospitals did not have adequate infrastructure, staff, clinical services, treatments, quality food, decent clothing and linen and vocational rehabilitation facilities.
Chaitali of Banyan, another NGO, said that even the number of mental health institutions across the state was skewed.
“For a fixed population of one lakh, there is just one psychiatrist which is way below the actual requirement. This affects the productivity of the health professionals too,”she added.
Meanwhile, an important finding of the NHRC is that for about 6,15,21790 major and minor mental disorders in India, there are only about 20, 893 beds in government.
sector and 5096 beds in the private sector.
Members of the state pressure group also demanded the government to present a report to them on the various mental health institutes across the country within a period of two months.
Rajiv, a coordinator of Vidya Sagar, said, “ince 1940 and till now, the situation of mental health institutions has remained the same with no marked change.”



NHRC seeks info on Jamia shootout probe
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/NHRC_seeks_info_on_Jamia_shootout_probe/articleshow/3943768.cms
7 Jan 2009, 0152 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked Delhi Police to apprise it about the magisterial probe into the Batla House shootout that took place on 19 September, 2008. The commission had on December 22 sought a response from the police within six weeks on the matter. The additional commissioner of police (vigilance, Delhi) has communicated that an FIR was registered at Jamia Nagar police station regarding the incident. While the case was initially investigated by local police, it was transferred to the crime branch on October 1, 2008. On request of crime branch, a team of CSFL had inspected the scene of shootout on October 13. The matter has also been referred to L-G. On September 9, 2008, two persons, identified as Mohd Atif Amen and Mohd Sajid, were killed in a shootout at Flat No 108 of L-18, Batla House, Jamia Nagar. The police claimed that both were involved in the serial bomb blasts which had taken place in Delhi a few days earlier. It was claimed the police acted on secret information and opened fire in self-defence. One police-officer, Mohan Chand Sharma, died during the shootout.