LEGAL NEWS 10-12.08.2009

No information of terror outfits in markets: Govt
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/08/12/stories/2009081251011001.htm
Our Bureau
New Delhi, Aug. 11
The Government on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it does not have any credible information regarding involvement of any terrorist outfits in the stock market.
In a fresh affidavit filed before the apex court in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) relating to allegations that many Indians have hidden black money in foreign banks, the Revenue Department said that stock exchanges and the Securities and Exchange Board of India have been cautioned to keep a strict vigil on any suspicious entrant into the stock market activity.
"The Government, at present, does not have any reliable, credible information of any surreptitious entry of terrorist outfit into the stock market,'' the Revenue Department said in its affidavit.
"However, the Board (SEBI) as well as stock exchanges have been administered sufficient caution to look out for any suspicious and irregular entrant into the stock market activity,'' it said.
The PIL, filed by lawyer Mr Ram Jethmalani and others, had alleged that the Government had failed to take any action to bring back black money hidden in foreign banks.
The PIL had cited media reports alleging a link between money belonging to Indian citizens lying deposited in foreign banks and terrorist fundings.
"Upon enquiry, it has been confirmed by the Bombay and Chennai Stock Exchanges that no fictitious or notional companies can be stated to be involved in stock market operations,'' the Government's second affidavit said.
Significantly, the Government ruled out imposing any ban on participatory notes and referred to the checks in this regard by citing the monitoring done by SEBI regarding the flow of funds to the stock market through foreign institutional investors.
"In view of the fact that participatory notes are market instruments and when they are created and traded abroad it is not possible to ban the issue of the said instrument,'' the Government said.
It added that it was mandatory for all FIIs to report at the end of every month regarding all the information on participatory notes issued by them including the names of the subscriber to the said participatory notes.
Double taxation
The Centre, however, admitted that there was a possibility of misuse of double taxation treaty between India and Mauritius.
"The Centre is alive and conscious of the potentiality of misuse of double taxation treaty between India and Mauritius. In fact, further amendments to the treaty are being negotiated,'' the affidavit said.
The Revenue Department also denied allegations of inaction on stashing of black money in foreign banks by Pune-based businessman Hasan Ali Khan. The Enforcement Directorate has lodged a complaint against Khan for allegedly violating Foreign Exchange Management Act.
The Government also described as "baseless" the allegation that it was sheltering powerful individuals using Khan and his wife as their nominee.



SC refuses to give urgent hearing to PIL on swine flu
http://www.ptinews.com/news/225971_SC-refuses-to-give-urgent-hearing-to-PIL-on-swine-flu
STAFF WRITER 17:28 HRS IST


New Delhi, Aug 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court today refused to give an urgent hearing to a PIL accusing the government of failing to take effective steps to combat the situation arising out of swine flu in the country and demanding a ban on 'Ganesh Utsav' and 'dahi handi' in Maharashtra.

The PIL, which also sought a ban on celebrating social festivals across the country like 'Ganesh Utsav' and 'Dahi Handi' in Maharashtra where majority of the swine flu deaths have taken place, was mentioned before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan which expressed its reservation in holding an urgent hearing in the matter.

The Bench, also comprising Justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan, outrightly rejected the submission for hearing the matter tomorrow.




SC on drought
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090812/jsp/nation/story_11351357.jsp
OUR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, Aug. 11: Concern over drought and price rise echoed in the Supreme Court today.
“There seems to be a drought-like situation in several parts of the country… people are suffering,” Justice Markandey Katju said while hearing a PIL on water shortage. “The people are facing a terrible situation… prices are rising… dal prices, food prices are rising,” he said.
The judge urged the Centre and state governments to take “immediate” steps to address the problem. “The work must be done in the spirit of patriotic duty,” he added.
Justice Katju, an active proponent of judicial restraint, said: “Some PILs are in national interest. This is one of them.” The PIL was filed by lawyer and wetlands activist M.K. Balakrishnan.
The same court had on June 29 directed the Centre to set up a technical expert committee to undertake research on water shortage in the country. The Centre had accordingly set up a technology mission named Winning, Augmentation and Renovation for Water (WAR for water).
The panel, headed by the secretary to the science and technology department, has an initial term of two years. The court also asked the panel to work on a “war footing” and come up with short-term measures to ease the water shortage.




HC dismisses PIL seeking directions to govt on swine flu
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/hc-dismisses-pil-seeking-directions-to-govtswine-flu/70551/on

Press Trust of India / New Delhi August 12, 2009, 11:28 IST
The Delhi High Court today refused to entertain a PIL seeking directions to the government to provide adequate medical assistance to the general public to deal with swine flu.
A bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah pulled up the petitioner for seeking court's interference in this regard and said, "Government knows how to do its job and is doing its job."
"The Central government and the state governments are alert and the court cannot take charge of the problem," the bench also comprising Justice Manmohan observed while dismissing the PIL saying that it has been filed for publicity.

"The court can interfere only when the state machinery has failed. This is not the only country which is facing the problem and there is no country in which the court has taken charge of solving the problem," the bench said, while giving a warning to the petitioner not to file such PILs for publicity.
The petition was filed yesterday by one Anjana Jain, a Delhi resident, through counsel Sugriv Dubey seeking directions to the government to counter the threat of swine flu by providing adequate medical assistance to the people.
In its petition, Jain had alleged that the hospitals operating under the Centre and NCT government do not have sufficient number of physicians and nurses besides laboratory technicians.
According to the petitioner, due to inadequate equipment in the testing labs the medical staff were at high risk as they were not fully protected while dealing with the patients.
The petitioner had also said that the government has failed to take measures at the IG International Airport and as a result, taxi and auto drivers were vulnerable to the disease.




PIL filed in SC for ban on 'Ganesh Utsav' due to swine flu
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pil-filed-in-sc-for-ban-on-ganesh-utsav-due-to-swine-flu/501163/0
Agencies Posted: Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009 at 1204 hrs New Delhi:
A PIL was filed on Wednesday in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on celebrating 'Ganesh Utsav' and 'Dahi Handi' festivals in Maharashtra in view of swine flu.
However, the apex court refused to grant early hearing to the petition.
The petition filed by advocate Dilip Anna Saheb Taur accused the government of not taking effective measures for protection against the deadly virus.
The PIL, mentioned before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, also sought a direction for the centre to allow private hospitals to admit swine flu cases and allow treating patients as per the guidelines of Health Ministry.
Apart from seeking a ban on public festivals such as 'Dahi Handi' to be celebrated on August 14, and 'Ganesh Utsav' which is to start on August 23, the PIL sought a direction for setting up thermometer machine, provision of adequate staff and separate clinical rooms at every international and domestic airports for the purpose of establishing necessary infrastructure.
The petition also sought a direction for the centre to prepare a necessary action plan and direct all states to shut down schools, if necessary, for a particular period.
Further, the PIL said, the centre should make N-95 masks available to people free of cost.
HC dismisses PIL seeking directions to govt on swine flu
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a PIL seeking directions to the government to provide adequate medical assistance to the general public to deal with swine flu.
A bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah pulled up the petitioner for seeking court's interference in this regard and said, "Government knows how to do its job and is doing its job."
"The Central government and the state governments are alert and the court cannot take charge of the problem," the bench also comprising Justice Manmohan observed while dismissing the PIL saying that it has been filed for publicity.
"The court can interfere only when the state machinery has failed. This is not the only country which is facing the problem and there is no country in which the court has taken charge of solving the problem," the bench said, while giving a warning to the petitioner not to file such PILs for publicity.
The petition was filed yesterday by one Anjana Jain, a Delhi resident, through counsel Sugriv Dubey seeking directions to the government to counter the threat of swine flu by providing adequate medical assistance to the people.
In its petition, Jain had alleged that the hospitals operating under the Centre and NCT government do not have sufficient number of physicians and nurses besides laboratory technicians.
According to the petitioner, due to inadequate equipment in the testing labs the medical staff were at high risk as they were not fully protected while dealing with the patients.
The petitioner had also said that the government has failed to take measures at the IG International Airport and as a result, taxi and auto drivers were vulnerable to the disease.




Spiralling `dal' price and looming drought evokes SC anxiety
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/SC-calls-for-all-out-efforts-to-alleviate-aam-admi-plight/articleshow/4883667.cms
TNN 12 August 2009, 04:08am IST
NEW DELHI: Pained by the common man's plight in a drought year when prices of food articles have skyrocketed, with `dal' selling at an unaffordable Rs 100 per kg, the Supreme Court on Tuesday called for all out efforts "in the spirit of patriotic duty" to counter the looming danger.

Though a Bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and A K Ganguly was hearing a PIL on solving the growing water crisis, the prevailing situation in the country on account of a deficit monsoon did not escape its attention.

It commended the work initiated by a technical expert committee headed by science and technology secretary T Ramaswamy in starting the mission to make saline water drinkable through a cheap process and asked the Centre and the states to fully cooperate with it administratively, financially and technicaly to achieve the objective.

But, having touched upon the "terrible situation" arising out of monsoon failure, the Bench went on to tell the technical expert committee to look for ways and means to alleviate the condition of people staring at an "immediate crisis".

The Centre had on Monday told the SC about its ambitious technology mission "WAR for water" and said that it had already set up a technical expert committee focusing on converting sea water into fresh water to solve the severe shortage of drinking water in the country.

"The technology mission `WAR for Water' is developed on the principle that timely, urgent, cost effective, socially viable and sustainable techno-management solutions are required for solving problems of water scarcity," the Department of Scince and Technology said in an affidavit before the SC in response to the PIL filed by advocate M K Balakrishnan.

The Centre constituted a Technical Expert Committee on `WAR for Water', which stands for `Winning, Augmentation and Renovation for Water', on June 29 and its first meeting is scheduled for August 25, the department said.



PIL for fresh probe into Batla House encounter
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/delhi/PIL-for-fresh-probe-into-Batla-House-encounter/articleshow/4883143.cms
TNN 12 August 2009, 05:41am IST
NEW DELHI: Another application has been filed before the Delhi High court by an NGO, on whose plea the National Human Right's Commission (NHRC) conducted an inquiry into Batla House encounter case, raising doubts about its findings.

Seeking a fresh probe by a court appointed special investigative team (SIT), the NGO 'Act Now For Harmony and Democracy' said, "The report of the NHRC suffers several serious defects. It almost blindly accepts the police version regarding the encounter without examining any of its own witnesses or evidence.''

The NGO, on whose PIL the HC had asked the NHRC to conduct the probe, has sought a fresh inquiry in the case alleging that the commission did not conduct independent probe and has gone solely by the version supplied to it by the Police.

"...there is now no option but to order an independent judicial inquiry into the matter or an inquiry by a special investigative team appointed by this court,'' it said.

"There has neither been a critical examination of the police's own submissions, nor any attempt to address the questions raised in the PIL. No independent fact finding or examination of witnesses or evidence has been undertaken by the NHRC,'' it said.

The NHRC had on July 22 given clean chit to the Delhi Police in the case of encounter in which two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists and a police officer were killed on September 19, last year saying there was no human rights violation by the police.



Amendments to Indo-Mauritius double taxation treaty on cards: Centre
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4882650.cms
Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN 12 August 2009, 04:10am IST
NEW DELHI: The alleged surreptitious entry of large funds into the Indian markets has made the government begin negotiations for remedial amendments to the controversial Indo-Mauritius double taxation avoidance treaty, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Between 2006-07 and 2008-09, foreign direct investment from Mauritius in India was estimated at Rs 1,24,141 crore and it was alleged that many companies were routing their investments through this route to avoid paying taxes.

However, the Centre made light of the apprehensions that terrorist organisations could be misusing participatory notes (PNs) to generate funds in the stock markets for their subversive activities.

"Participatory notes are market instruments and when they are created and traded abroad, it is not possible to ban the issue of the said instruments. However, they are subject to regulations and are effectively being regulated by the SEBI," the Department of Revenue said in an affidavit.

This came as a response to a writ petition of former law minister Ram Jethmalani accusing the government of doing precious little to bring back large amount of illegal money stashed in foreign banks.

The Centre also told the SC that it had no reliable information to infer that terrorist organisations have gained entry into the stock markets. "However, the SEBI as well as stock exchanges have been administered sufficient caution to look out for any suspicious or irregular entrant into the stock market activity," it said.

On the double taxation avoidance treaty, the department said: "The Central government is alive and conscious of the potentiality of misuse of the double taxation treaty between India and Mauritius. In fact, further amendments to the treaty are being negotiated."

The department also referred to the case against Hasan Ali Khan, alleged to have transacted $8 billion from his wife's Swiss bank account, and said: "The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is pursuing its investigations relentlessly and action is being taken in accordance with law."

The SC had on July 20 issued notice to the director of the Enforcement Directorate asking him to detail the steps taken against persons suspected of parking black money abroad.

Jethmalani, in his PIL, had alleged that a whopping Rs 70 lakh crore black money had been stashed in foreign banks and that the government was complacent in its action to bring these money back.

PIL petitioner's counsel senior advocate Anil Divan had asked whether the government had acted as per the apex court's suggestion to the Centre to examine the suitability of lodging cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against persons suspected of parking black money abroad to force foreign banks to share confidential data with India.

dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com




Centre denies terror outfits have sneaked into stock market
http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/12/stories/2009081260351000.htm
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi: The Union government on Tuesday categorically denied in the Supreme Court the allegation that certain terrorist outfits had entered the stock market surreptitiously.
In a fresh affidavit on the PIL petition filed by the former Union Law Minister, Ram Jethmalani, and others alleging inaction in bringing back Rs. 70,000 crore in black money stashed away in foreign banks, the Centre said “The government, at present, does not have any reliable credible information of any surreptitious entry of terrorist outfits into the stock market.”
The affidavit said: “However, the Securities and Exchange Board of India as well as the stock exchanges have been administered sufficient caution to look out for any suspicious or irregular entrant into the stock market activity.”
On the charge that fictitious firms companies had entered the stock market, it said, “Upon enquiry, it has been confirmed by the Bombay and Madras stock exchanges that no fictitious or notional companies can be stated to be involved in stock market operations.”
On banning participatory notes, the government said: “Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) are regulated entities with the SEBI being regulator. By virtue of the 1995 Regulations, an FII may issue participatory notes with Indian instruments as the underlying securities. Downstream issue of participatory notes can also be done to regulated entities. All FIIs are mandated to report at the end of every month, in a prescribed format, all information relating to participatory notes issued by them including the names of subscribers to the said participatory notes. The FIIs are also required to undertake that the investor or its associates have not issued, subscribed to or purchased any participatory notes from Indian residents or non-resident Indians during the reporting period.”
The affidavit said: “In view of the fact that participatory notes are market instruments and when they are created and traded abroad, it is not possible to ban the issue of the said instruments. However, they are subjected to regulation and are effectively being regulated by the SEBI.”
“Unfounded fears”
The Centre said the apprehensions expressed by AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa in an article were unfounded. “The issue of entry of funds via Mauritius is a matter which has engaged the attention of the Central government. It is stated that there does exist a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and Mauritius. The Central government is alive [to] and conscious of the potentiality of misuse of the double-taxation treaty. In fact, further amendments to the treaty are being negotiated.”
Regarding the investigation in Hasan Ali Khan’s case, the government said the accusations against the Union of India of blatant inaction and that it was interested in protecting powerful individuals, who might be using Mr. Khan and his wife as their nominees/benamis were based on conjectures and surmises and devoid of merits.
On the basis of the inputs provided by the Directorate of Enforcement and enquiries conducted thereon, Mr. Khan’s passport was revoked and the Regional Passport Officer lodged a first information report with the Mumbai police, the Centre said, and sought the dismissal of the PIL petition.




Save teachers from becoming litigants: FUTAB
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/patna/Save-teachers-from-becoming-litigants-FUTAB/articleshow/4883701.cms
B K Mishra, TNN 12 August 2009, 04:15am IST
PATNA: Strange are the ways of the Nitish government. While, on the one hand, it is striving hard for speedy trial of cases pending in different courts, on the other, it is promoting litigation in universities and colleges by unsettling the old settled cases.

The universities of Bihar have taken the onerous task of shifting the initial date of appointment and demoting more than 2,500 teachers whose services were regularised under different absorption statutes nearly three decades back. Surprisingly, all these teachers were promoted to the ranks of readers and professors under time-bound or merit promotion statutes by statutory and constitutional bodies.

Now, interpreting the court orders wrongly, the government is hell bent on punishing the teachers without any fault.
While some universities have already shifted the date of appointment and demoted the teachers, Patna University (PU) is likely to do it shortly. PU has already received replies to show cause notices served on 134 teachers and the replies are being scrutinised. But according to grapevine, the authorities are adamant to follow the action of other universities in this respect. Ultimately, all these teachers along with their counterparts in other universities would be compelled to move the court for justice.

Most teachers, in their replies, have reportedly drawn the attention of the university authorities towards the judgement of the Supreme Court (SC) delivered on May 2, 1990, which states, “If the initial appointment is not made by following the procedure laid down by the rules, but the appointee continues in the post uninterruptedly till the regularisation of his service in accordance with the rules, the period of officiating service will be counted.” Needless to say, the judgement of the SC is binding on the public authority, including the vice-chancellors, under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.

The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations of Bihar (FUTAB) working president K B Sinha has urged the government to shun its bias against the teaching community and save the teachers from becoming litigants.



To clear backlog, SC calculates: 1,500 judges in HCs, 23,000 in lower courts
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/to-clear-backlog-sc-calculates-1-500-judges-in-hcs-23-000-in-lower-courts/501076/0
Tannu Sharma Posted: Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009 at 0441 hrs New Delhi:
Making the point that courts do not have a “magic wand” to do away with pendency of cases, the Supreme Court , after examining figures for both civil and criminal cases over seven years, has for the first time assessed that the judiciary needs “1,547 High Court judges and 23,207 subordinate court judges, only to clear the backlog in one year.”
This requirement took into account vacancies that existed on January 1 this year, both in the High Courts and subordinate courts. Also factored in was average disposal of cases per judge.
Against a sanctioned strength of 886 High Court judges, the working strength was 606 — 280 vacancies. With the average number of cases disposed by an HC judge working out to 2,504, the Supreme Court calculated that 1,547 HC judges would be needed to clear the backlog in one year.
For a subordinate court judge, the average rate of disposal was 1,138 cases. On the basis of cases disposed last year and the working strength on December 31, 2008, it was calculated that 23,207 judges would be needed to clear the backlog in subordinate courts
With arrears increasing almost every year, this assessment by the Supreme Court will be one of the key issues that will be discussed at a conference of chief justices in New Delhi later this week. To be chaired by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan and other apex court judges, it will discuss ways to streamline and improve the justice delivery system.
Among High Courts, the maximum pendency is at the Allahabad High Court — a total of 9,11,858 cases were pending as on December 12, 2008. In the district and subordinate courts, the maximum pendency is again in Uttar Pradesh — 51,60,174 cases as of December-end.




HC asks govt to pay pension to freedom fighter
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/chennai/TNN11tyagidocHC-asks-govt-to-pay-pension-to-freedom/articleshow/4883569.cms
TNN 12 August 2009, 05:20am IST
CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Tuesday asked the government to pay pension to an 86-year-old freedom fighter who was denied the benefit over a dispute over his date of birth.

While HR Balaraman claimed that he was born on October 4, 1922, the Dharmapuri district authorities claimed his date of birth was October 11, 1922. It may be a question of just seven days, but the dispute nearly cost Balaraman his pension plea forever.

Balaraman was put in the Alipuram Camp Jail in Bellary district of Karnataka between October 1, 1942 and March 31, 1943, for having participated in the Quit India movement. He applied for state government pension, but the collector rejected his application on March 21, 2002, on the ground that he had not produced any clear-cut proof of his date of birth.

Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar, pointing out that Balaraman was aged definitely above 18 years at that point of time, said a division bench of the Madras high court as well as the Supreme Court have condemned raising of technical issues to deny pension to a freedom fighter. He directed the authorities to extend the petitioner pension from the date of rejection of his claim within a period of eight weeks.



Taj Corridor case: HC reserves order
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/taj-corridor-case-hc-reserves-order/500992/
Express News Service Posted: Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009 at 0233 hrs Lucknow:
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday reserved its order over the admission of a PIL in the Taj Heritage Corridor case, questioning the CBI’s action in seeking the Governor’s permission to prosecute Chief Minister Mayawati.
The PIL was filed by Mahoba resident Kamlesh Verma and Anupma Singh, a resident of Lucknow.
CB Pandey, the petitioners’ lawyer, pointed out that the CBI informed the Bench that once the Governor had refused sanction to prosecute the Chief Minister, the CBI court had no jurisdiction to review that order.
“But we argued that the Governor’s sanction was not required and, moreover, even if sanction was refused, the agency should have moved an appropriate court,” said Pandey.
He added that the CBI court has jurisdiction to examine whether Governor’s sanction was required in the case.
In September 2003, the Supreme Court had directed the CBI to investigate the Taj Heritage Corridor case, in which Mayawati allegedly faced charges of cheating and forgery.
Later, the CBI filed an FIR against Mayawati under Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and sought the permission of the then Governor T V Rajeswar to prosecute her.
But In June 2007, the Governor had rejected the CBI’s request.




Probe functioning of Estate Office: HC
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/probe-functioning-of-estate-office-hc/501058/0
Express News Service Posted: Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009 at 0404 hrs Chandigarh:

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has recommended investigation into the functioning of the Chandigarh Estate Office while hearing a case in which an NRI’s house was sold to two persons by a suspended employee of the Haryana government’s Excise and Taxation department.
The HC marvelled at the “speed” shown by the Estate Office in furnishing the required documents. “The speed at which officials/ officers of the Chandigarh Estate Office work in a case of fraud certainly needs commendation. A common man cannot get a file moved for months together even after visiting the office regularly, whereas in a fraud case, a no-objection certificate and letter of transfer of property is issued in less than a month,” Justice Rajesh Bindal observed.
In the case, the application for issuance of a no-objection certificate (NOC) was filed on May 1; it was issued on May 18. The sale deed was registered on May 20, and the letter of transfer of ownership in the name of the buyer was issued on May 29.
The HC also took a dig at the Estate Officer for not showing any “interest” in the case. “Despite intimation of the fraud being sent to the Estate Officer, no effort was made by the Estate Officer to enquire into the entire episode and the fraud committed under his nose,” Justice Bindal remarked while dismissing the anticipatory bail of Pishora Singh Kapoor, the suspended Haryana government employee. “The reasons, therefore, must be best known by the authorities concerned as to whether it is to put the entire thing under the carpet or the effort is to save the guilty and let the dispute die its own death.”
“A copy of this order be sent to the Advisor to the Administrator, Chandigarh, to get the matter regarding functioning of the Estate Office investigated,” Justice Bindal ruled.
Kapoor is accused of selling the house of Ajay Nehra, an NRI living in the United States for 15 years, without his knowledge. The house, located in Sector 11, was sold to Moga resident Balraj Singh Bhuttar for Rs 1.3 crore.
The sale deed was executed by the Estate Office on May 20.
Interestingly, only nine days later, Kapoor sold the same house to one Darshana Gupta for Rs 3 crore.
Later, Darshana complained to the Inspector General of Police. On July 11, the Chandigarh Police registered a case.
The HC also expressed dissatisfaction over the investigation done by the Chandigarh Police in the case.
“As far as the Investigating Officer of the case is concerned, even his way of conducting the investigation cannot be appreciated. He has not conducted any investigation in the Estate Office as to how this fraud was committed. Only one accused has been arrested till date. The Notary Public, who had attested and identified the vendor at the time of issuance of NOC, and one advocate, who stood as a witness in the sale deed, have not been examined. It would be appropriate if the investigation of the case is entrusted to a senior officer,” Justice Bindal observed.
With regard to the involvement of 75-year-old advocate M L Gupta in the case, the HC ruled: “The matter needs to be considered by the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana regarding the conduct of the advocates, who have played dubious role in the deal.”
A copy of the order has been sent to the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana for appropriate action.
The HC said a copy of the order should also be sent to the Chief Secretary of Haryana to take appropriate action against Kapoor, who is accused in another case of fraud.



Reopening of HAL airport: HC seeks renegotiation report
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/bangalore/Reopening-of-HAL-airport-HC-seeks-renegotiation-report/articleshow/4883101.cms
TNN 12 August 2009, 03:07am IST
BANGALORE: The high court on Tuesday directed the stakeholders in the BIA to place before it the renegotiation report with regards to reopening of HAL airport, which was closed to commercial flights simultaneously with the inauguration of BIA.

The division Bench headed by Justice K L Manjunath, the special Bench constituted to hear the batch of cases challenging the closure HAL airport, posted the matter to August 17 for further hearing.

On May 23, 2008 midnight the BIAL was opened. On that day, while refusing to stay the notification regarding HAL Airport's closure, the court had recorded the submission of Central government counsel that HAL airport can be reopened if the parties agree for that after the renegotiation process is over. The Centre had sought 12 weeks time for that exercise.

On April 16, 2008 after refusing to pass any interim order as such on the closure of HAL airport, the court had directed the Union and state governments and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to immediately renegotiate with BIAL regarding two key aspects suggested by the 131st report of Parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture.

"BIAL had raised funds based on terms and conditions in the concessional agreement. We are not in favour of restraining the respondent governments from honouring and giving effect to concessional agreement. But, keeping in mind the larger public interest and minimizing the hardship, the renegotiation may be held as far as the user development fee and also retaining of the HAL airport, the suggestions put forth by the committee", the division Bench headed by Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph had observed in its 14-page interim order.

A petition was filed challenging the closure of HAL airport to commercial operations and also the July 5, 2004 concessional agreement agreed upon between the BIAL and state and central governments.




HC stays conviction of former Nalco chief
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/bhubaneswar/HC-stays-conviction-of-former-Nalco-chief/articleshow/4882886.cms
TNN 11 August 2009, 10:57pm IST
BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa High Court has stayed the conviction of former Nalco CMD S K Tamotia in a case of disproportionate assets filed by CBI. This verdict is considered to be the first-ever stay of conviction under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The high court described the lower court's verdict as "erroneous" and said there was no "prima facie justification" in the conviction order. The CBI special judge court had awarded Tamotia three years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000 in February when he failed to defend property worth Rs 8,36,674.

While registering cases against Tamotia, the investigating agency had carried out raids at his and his relatives' places, too. Beginning his career with the Bokaro steel plant, Tamotia, an engineer by profession, retired as Nalco CMD in 1996.

The HC said the trial court did not accept income amounting to Rs 6,56,741, also the enhanced expenditure by Rs 7,02,941, and only thereafter, came to determine the disproportionate assets valued at Rs 8,36,674. The court expressed surprise as to why income, indicated by the prosecution, was not accepted and, in fact, decreased and also, why expenditure was not accepted and increased.

Justice Indrajit Mohanty said the "appellate court is duly empowered under Section 389(1) to grant a stay on conviction in an exceptional case, where the ramifications and the consequences are such that may justify exercising such authority".



HC seeks details on all City lakes
http://bangalorebuzz.blogspot.com/2009/08/hc-seeks-details-on-all-city-lakes.html
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2009
Bangalore, DHNS:

The High Court, on Tuesday, directed the government to provide details about all the lakes in Bangalore, steps taken to protect them and also the future measures to preserve them.

The Court’s direction came in lieu of a PIL filed by environmentalists in the city, questioning the State’s move to privatise lakes by selling the Agara lake to Hyderabad-based Biota Natural Systems, Hebbal lake to East India Hotels Limited and Nagawara and Vengaiana lakes to Lumbini Gardens Limited.

The division bench headed by Justice D V Shailendra Kumar and Arvind Kumar has also directed the government to furnish details about the officers of the Lake Development Authority, (LDA) who are responsible for protecting the lakes.

ISKCON: Contempt case
Fight over the ownership of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Bangalore, has taken a new twist with the Mumbai ISKCON filing a criminal contempt petition against Bangalore ISKCON, on Tuesday.

Mumbai ISKCON’s advocate Uday Holla claimed that Bangalore ISKCON’s request for shifting the bench lowered the dignity of the court.

He argued that the rule of law would collapse if this step was taken, especially after the letter of blackmail was written to Justice K L Manjunath.

The petition is at the moment awaiting approval from the Advocate General Ashok Harnahalli.

Meanwhile, the proceedings were heard on Tuesday after Chief Justice P D Dinakaran directed that the case will continue to be posted in front of Justice K L Manjunath.

While the Mumbai ISKCON’s counsel presented its ground for a criminal contempt petition, the Court adjourned the matter on Bangalore ISKCON’s request.

Report on HAL airport
The Karnataka High Court, on Tuesday, directed the stakeholders of the Bengaluru International Airport (Union and State government and the Airport Authority of India) to place before it the renegotiation report with regard to reopening of HAL airport.

On March 23, 2008, an application was filed in the High Court regarding the closure of HAL airport.

The Counsel for the Central government at that time, had said that the matter would be resolved through negotiation and had sought 12 weeks’ time.

The division bench headed by Justice K L Manjunath wanted to know the details of the renegotiation report. The matter has been adjourned.

Violation of by-laws
The High Court, on Tuesday, issued summons to a city-based couple for violating building by-laws.

Gautam Kothari and his wife has been asked to appear before the High Court by Justice Rammohan Reddy in relation to the construction of five-storey building in Seshadripuram, after obtaining approval for the construction of three storeys.

The couple had approached the High Court after the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike had issued orders for the demolition of the additional storeys. But the judge issued summons to the couple, when it was pointed out that no permission was obtained for the construction of two additional floors.
posted by The Bangalorean @ 8/12/2009 09:39:00 AM




CJI, please declare my assets
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cji-please-declare-my-assets/501022/0
J. S. Verma Posted: Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009 at 0319 hrs
A leader of the Bar, Fali S. Nariman, commenting on the Rajya Sabha’s refusal to grant leave to introduce the Judge’s (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Bill 2009, recently wrote in these columns: “It was a rebuke also to the judges of the higher judiciary; they were pulled down a peg or two... The prestige of our higher judiciary has been adversely affected.” He has voiced the feelings of many of us — retired and sitting judges of the higher judiciary. My anguish is deeper because my long apprehended fear in this behalf has come true. Our attempt at self-regulation of judicial accountability, a facet of the independence of the judiciary, from within having failed, it is now to be done from outside, and that too at our behest. It has now been said that we judges will declare our assets only if required to do so by a law. I believe most of us prefer voluntary correct behaviour instead of outside imposition. That, in my humble view, is the dignified course for judges of the higher judiciary, which appears to have been the view also of the framers of the Constitution.
It was in this spirit the earlier Chief Justice’s Conferences resolved to evolve a framework for self-regulation of the Supreme Court and high court judges, which culminated in the three resolutions adopted unanimously by the Supreme Court on May 7, 1997 when I was the Chief Justice of India. One of these required compulsory “declaration of assets” by every judge (including the Chief Justice) of the Supreme Court and the high courts. This was the commitment of all 22 judges of the Supreme Court (including me, as the CJI), of whom six later became CJI. The remaining CJIs including the present incumbent were then puisne judges in the high courts bound by those resolutions. Acceptance of these resolutions by every new appointee was ensured during my tenure.
Conscious of the strength only of social sanction instead of legal sanction to make it enforceable in case of need, I wrote to the then prime minister on December 1, 1997 of the need of parliamentary legislation based on the framework provided by the Supreme Court with its unanimous consent. Nothing more was required to be done by the political executive except to endorse the Supreme Court’s suggestion in the form of legislation, which preserved the independence of the judiciary with judicial accountability as a necessary concomitant. I believe the later Chief Justice’s Conference of 1999 endorsed the same, followed by the Bangalore Principles of 2002.
What more consensus or approval of the proposed legislation is needed? If at all, there may be some room for marginal improvement in the content of those resolutions covering the field of judicial accountability in the light of experience gained during the intervening last 12 years. That does not require much imagination, time or effort. I may here mention that even after my retirement I had reminded the prime minister of this urgently felt need in a letter of April 7, 2005, reiterating the material facts.
My dissent with the majority view in the Veeraswami case (1991) was based on the felt need for a legislation to cover the field of judicial accountability at the higher level preserving the independence of the judiciary, because the existing mechanism was found ineffective. The subsequent infructuous removal proceedings in Parliament against V. Ramaswami after the adverse finding of the judge’s committee proved the point. I had concluded my dissent by expressing the apprehension of the danger of erosion in the judiciary’s independence, if the remedy were to be devised from outside. That stage is now reached.
The framers of the Constitution enacted Article 235 to enforce accountability of the subordinate judiciary and vested the “control” over it to the high court to preserve the independence of the judiciary consistent with the directive principle of state policy in Article 51 of separation of the judiciary from the executive. No similar provision was made for the higher judiciary, and the high courts were not made subordinate to the Supreme Court, except in their judicial functions. Obviously, the higher judiciary was expected to self-regulate its behaviour without any outside intervention, except for removal by Parliament for proved misconduct or incapacity after an adverse finding by a committee of judges. I would like to believe that the framers of the Constitution were keen to preserve not only the independence of the judiciary, but also their self-respect by leaving that sphere of discipline to be governed by self-regulation according to the well-established traditions and norms of judicial behaviour.
The enactment of Article 235 is clear evidence of the recognition that judicial accountability is an essential facet of the independence of the judiciary. The only difference can be in the form of the mechanism to enforce accountability at the higher level, ensuring that it is effective and it does not erode the independence or conflict with the directive principle of separation of the judiciary from the executive. Undoubtedly, every holder of a public office in a republican democracy has to be accountable to the political sovereign — the People.
If a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court mandates every candidate at an election to Parliament or legislative assembly to publicly declare his/ her assets and liabilities, there is no reason why the higher judiciary should be exempt from that requirement. This is the demand of transparency for effective accountability of every holder of a public office.
The requirement of transparency automatically invokes the RTI Act. Judicial functions are in the open court and in public view. There is no reason why the administrative acts should not be equally transparent and subject to public scrutiny, as are the similar acts of other organs. In fact, judicial review of the administrative acts of the Chief Justice and of the Court is well established.
Judicial accountability requires transparency. Public knowledge of the antecedents, assets and liabilities of the judge, spouse and dependents is necessary for adjudging the judge’s conduct and suitability for the performance of official duties.
Even though it is more than a decade since I demitted the office of Chief Justice of India, yet I would like to do the next best. I had made a disclosure of my assets soon after I assumed office of CJI in March 1997 and kept it with the Registrar General of the Supreme Court as a part of the official record. Similar declarations were then made by all the Supreme Court judges voluntarily pursuant to the unanimous resolution of May 7, 1997. I invite the Chief Justice of India to make a public disclosure on the Supreme Court’s website of the declaration of my assets which must be with the Registrar General in the official record. I do hope most of the judges in the high courts and the Supreme Court would act likewise and bring quietus to this unsavoury controversy. Judiciary’s real strength lies in
in public acclaim. I am sure this will raise us a “peg or two” in public estimation.
The writer is a former Chief Justice of India express@expressindia.com





SC agrees to reveal information with CJI under RTI Act
http://www.samaylive.com/news/sc-agrees-to-reveal-information-with-cji-under-rti-act/645934.html



Published by: Noor Khan
Published: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 at 18:40 IST
New Delhi: Mellowing down its earlier stand that no information with the Chief Justice of India could be revealed under RTI Act, the Supreme Court today agreed to disclose information on what action the CJI has taken on a complaint filed against a sitting Allahabad High Court Judge.

Attorney General G E Vahanvati, appearing for Supreme Court registry, told the Delhi High court although he does not accept the "correctness" of Central Information Commission's judgement, the information would be provided under the transparency Act.

The CIC had on July 16 held that the office of CJI came within the purview of the transparency law and the Apex court was under obligation to reveal the information available with CJI'S office including the details of action taken on the complaint.

The CIC, while passing the order, had rejected the plea of Supreme Court registry that the office of CJI is distinct from the Apex Court and cannot be said to be under the purview of the RTI Act.

Appearing before Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the AG informed the court though the Apex Court has agreed to reveal information it was necessary to file the appeal against the CIC order as "non filing of a petition in the present case could not be construed as an acceptance of ratio of the order of CIC."




SC to hear Hyd Corporation election row on Aug 21
http://www.ptinews.com/news/224791_SC-to-hear-Hyd-Corporation-election-row-on-Aug-21
STAFF WRITER 20:35 HRS IST
New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) The Supreme Court today posted for August 21, hearing of a special leave petition filed by The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation challenging a July 29 interim order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court staying the elections to the civic body.

A bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and R M Lodha posted the matter for hearing after Attorney General G E Vahanvati made a mention of the matter and sought early hearing of the issue.

The high court had restrained the state government from issuing the poll notification for elections to the 150 wards and all further proceedings relating to the poll.

It had passed the order on a batch of writ petitions contending the elections are being held without excluding creamy layer for backward classes.




Army to stay in Swat until normalcy returns: Gilani
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Army-to-stay-in-Swat-until-normalcy-returns--Gilani/500699
ANI Posted: Tuesday , Aug 11, 2009 at 1223 hrs Malakand, Pakistan:
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said security forces would remain in war ravaged Swat Valley until displaced people are rehabilitated and normalcy returns to the region completely.
“I am confident your presence in the area will not only discourage anti-state elements from regrouping, but also improve the pace of development in the area,” Gilani told a gathering of soldiers during his visit to Malakand.
Addressing tribal elders separately during his first visit to the valley after the military operation, Gilani said extremists were on the run and would be eliminated soon. Gilani said militants would not be allowed to establish their writ through violence again.
“Nobody will be allowed to stop our children going to school or impose a system through violence in the name of Islam and at gunpoint,” The Daily Times quoted Gilani, as saying.
He asked the people of the region to be wary of ‘black sheep’ trying to mislead them and create problems for the country. Gilani said the government would introduce a special package for the region, incorporating development work, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs).
He said the government has already allocated 50 billion rupees for the rehabilitation of the IDPs and ongoing development projects. Over two million people were forced to move out of the region after the Pakistan Army announced an all-out operation against the Taliban and other extremist groups in mid-April. While the military claims that it has killed over 1800 militants in the operation the numbers could not be verified independently.




HC refuses to stay arrest of SP legislator, corporator
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/hc-refuses-to-stay-arrest-of-sp-legislator-corporator/500476/
Express News Service
Posted: Aug 11, 2009 at 0228 hrs IST
Allahabad The Allahabad High Court dismissed a writ petition on Monday filed by Samajwadi Party legislator from Varanasi Abdul Samsad Ansari and Manoj Rai, a corporator of Varanasi Nagar Nigam, who were accused in a case of assault.
The petitioners had sought a stay on their arrest from the court.
An FIR was lodged against them with the Cantt police station, Varanasi, for allegedly thrashing the additional district magistrate (Protocol), RK Singh.
The accused had filed the writ petition on July 29 in the Allahabad High court, challenging the validity of the FIR lodged against them at the Cantt police station on July 27.
The writ was dismissed by a Division Bench comprising Justice Imtiyaz Murtaza and Justice KN Pandey.
The two had been booked under Sections 323 (causing hurt), 504 (causing intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), 332 (causing hurt to deter a public servant from doing his duty), 353 (causing criminal assault to deter a public servant from his duty) and 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act.




Haryana invokes Epidemic Act to meet swine flu challenge
http://www.ptinews.com/news/223294_Haryana-invokes-Epidemic-Act-to-meet-swine-flu-challange
STAFF WRITER 11:26 HRS IST
Chandigarh, Aug 11 (PTI) The government of India's northern state of Haryana has decided to invoke the Epidemic Disease Act of 1897 to tackle swine flu, the third state to make use of the law after Delhi and Maharashtra.

Regulations of the Act would remain in force upto one year, an official spokesman said here Monday night.

These regulations shall be called Haryana Epidemic Disease, A H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu) Regulations 2009, he said.




Black money: Govt denies link between terror outfits and stock market
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Black-money-Govt-denies-link-between-terror-outfits-and-stock-market/articleshow/4881965.cms
11 Aug 2009, 1754 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: Government today ruled out any surreptitious entry of terrorist outfits into the stock market and said sufficient caution have been administered to the stock exchanges to look out for any suspicious entry into their activity.

"The Government, at present, does not have any reliable, credible information of any surreptitious entry of terrorist outfit into the stock market," the Department of Revenue said in a fresh affidavit to the Supreme Court which is hearing the issue relating to stashing away of black money by Indians in foreign banks.

"However, the Board (Security and Exchange Board of India) as well as stock exchanges have been administered sufficient caution to look out for any suspicious and irregular entrant into the stock market activity," said the affidavit filed in response to the PIL accusing the government of not taking action in bringing back black money stashed in foreign banks.

The PIL filed by eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani and others had referred to the media reports alleging a link between money belonging to Indian citizens lying deposited in foreign banks and terrorist fundings.

"Upon enquiry, it has been confirmed by the Bombay and Chennai Stock Exchanges that no fictitious or notional companies can be stated to be involved in stock market operations," the second affidavit filed in response to the PIL said.

The government elaborated on the mechanism for regulating the flow of money coming into the stock market through Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) by SEBI and ruled out the possibility of banning participatory notes.

"In view of the fact that participatory notes are market instruments and when they are created and traded abroad it is not possible to ban the issue of the said instrument," it said adding they are subjected to regulations and effectively being regulated by SEBI.

The Centre said all FIIs are mandated to report at the end of every month all the informations relating to participatory notes issued by them including the names of the subscriber to the said participatory notes.

However, the Centre agreed that there is a possibility of misuse of double taxation treaty between India and Mauritius.

"The Centre is alive and conscious of the potentiality of misuse of double taxation treaty between India and Mauritius. In fact, further amendments to the treaty are being negotiated," the affidavit said.

The Department of Revenue brushed aside the allegation of inaction relating to stashing of black money in foreign banks by Pune-based businessman Hasan Ali Khan against whom Enforcement Directorate has lodged a complaint for violating Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA.)

It termed as baseless the allegation that the Centre was interested in protecting powerful individuals who may have been using Khan and his wife as their nominee/benamidar.




'Kankaria fortification has affected our rights'
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_kankaria-fortification-has-affected-our-rights_1281373
DNA Correspondent
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 9:40 IST
Ahmedabad: A division bench of Gujarat high court consisting chief justice KS Radhakrishnan and justice Akil Kureshi has allowed eight residents to join as respondents inthe hearing of a PIL filed against the fortification of the lake as well as heavy levy of entry fee done by AMC. The citizens had filed a civil application to join as parties in the PIL filed by one Kirti Bhatt last week.
The citizens, through their counsel Anand Yagnik and Shalin Mehta, submitted that charging of entry fee at Kankaria "is violation of the doctrine of public trust". The fortification of Kankaria lake and charging of entry fee is direct violation of Article 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution and therefore unconstitutional. It is also in violation of the relevant provisions of Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act and therefore illegal," stated the application by citizens, who have been residing near Kankaria for years.
The application went on to say: "Fortification and charging of entry fee is violation of doctrine of public trust as Kankaria lake is a community and public resource where the state and the AMC are their trustees and the people of Ahmedabad city and state of Gujarat are beneficiaries. The right of the citizens over Kankaria lake cannot be taken away by the state and the AMC or restricted. People are owner of such resource and use and access to such resource cannot be restricted or conditioned in a manner that deprives people and the community of their own resource."
The eight citizens, who include three students, submitted in the application: "The development of Kankaria lake front, fortification of the lake and charging of entry fee has affected them the most as the fortification has deprived them of their natural and fundamental right of movement, access to a historical monument, a lake and water body, a place with cultural heritage and, most importantly, the place of amusement and enjoyment."
During the hearing on Monday, the counsel for AMC submitted that they would furnish details about the whole issue during the next hearing.
On Saturday last, the municipal commissioner and police commissioner had taken a round of Kankaria lakefront project to take stock of the situation in the wake of the PIL filed in the High Court.




Fill vacancies at remand homes soon: High court
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_fill-vacancies-at-remand-homes-soon-high-court_1281372
Nikunj Soni / DNA
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 9:39 IST
Ahmedabad: Gujarat high court has ordered the social justice and empowerment department of the state government to fill over 500 vacant posts in over 100 destitute home across the state. The bench has also set the deadline of three months to initiate the process of recruitment with an aim to improve the conditions of inmates in juvenile homes, observation homes, nari niketans and special homes.
A division bench of chief justice KS Radhakrishnan and justice Akil Kureshi issued the order on Monday during hearing of two petitions seeking uplift of destitute children, boys and women living in such places. "All the welfare and reformative legislature for children, women and disabled can be implemented only if the state has sufficient number of employees in various homes," the order said.
The high court was hearing a suo motu petition and a PIL filed in 1995. The high court had then converted a letter written by a woman to the chief justice narrating bad conditions at destitute homes, into a suo moto petition.
After that, Lok Adhikar Sangh, a civil rights organisation, had filed a PIL following a report published in a national magazine exposing the poor condition of children in the remand home inAhmedabad.
During the hearing of the petitions, senior counsel Girish Patel with counsel Anand Yagnik submitted that the inhabitants of the destitute homes were facing problems as many as 524 posts against sanctioned strength of 900 were lying vacant in different destitute homes. "Children, girls, widows, forsaken ladies, disabled are facing problems of education, health and rehabilitation due to lack of staff and proper counselling,'' they submitted.
"When the state takes the custody of a child, a woman or a disabled person, they have to be looked after by the staff in the protective custody. In the absence of required number of staff in such homes, the state can't fulfil the statutory commitment of looking after this inmates," said Anand Yagnik, court commissioner of a committee earlier appointed by the high court to look into the issue.
"Non-appointment of probation officers or sympathetic staff, who are a bridge between destitute, police and society, is also affecting the rehabilitation of the such persons," Yagnik said.
The high court had earlier appointed a committee to address the issue. The members of the committee at different points of time had visited various destitute homes and submitted to the high court reports on the prevailing bad situation at such homes.
"Earlier the scope of suo motu action and PIL was limited for the remand home of Ahmedabad only, but after conclusions put by committee, the high court expanded the scope of action for all destitute homes across the state," said Patel, counsel for Lok Adhikar Sangh.




Police forces ready to counter 26/11 type attacks: Centre
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Police-forces-ready-to-counter-26-11-type-attacks--Centre/500526
Express news service Posted: Tuesday , Aug 11, 2009 at 0329 hrs New Delhi:
The government has “set up 20 Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorism Schools across the country to train police personnel” and prepared a “multi-pronged strategy” to counter 26/11 type terror attacks, the Supreme Court was informed on Monday.
Responding to a PIL filed by former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee after the Mumbai terror attack, the Union Home Ministry informed a Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, that it has formulated a special policing scheme, the Mega City Policing Scheme, for Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahemedabad “to enable the respective state governments to meet the unique policing needs of these cities”.
The SC had in December last year issued a notice to the Centre seeking its response on the pleas for equipping police and security forces with modern weapons and devices to combat and counter 26/11 type terror attacks.
The government refuted Sorbajee’s claim that Maharashtra police was ill-equipped to meet the challenges posed by terrorist outfits and said Maharashtra was allocated Rs 725.62 crore between 2000 to 2009 for upgrading infrastructure, purchase of modern weaponry and intelligence gathering equipment.
The Centre said it is supplementing efforts of state governments to modernise their police forces. “The scheme for modernisation of state police forces is an important initiative of the Home Ministry towards capacity building of the state police forces, especially for meeting emerging challenges to internal security in the form of terrorism, Naxalism etc,” the government informed the Supreme Court.
The MHA also assured the apex court that the country’s coastal areas were safe and secure. “A dedicated scheme for securing the coast line of the country is being implemented by the Home Ministry in which assistance is provided to the coastal states for capacity-building to meet the needs of the policing the coastal areas,” the Government’s affidavit said.




Govt spells out multi-pronged plan to counter terrorism in SC
http://www.enewstrack.com/govt-spells-out-multi-pronged-plan-to-counter-terrorism-in-sc/10022.html
The govt on Monday told the Supreme Court that it has outlined “multi-pronged strategy” to combat and counter terror attacks like 26/11 in Mumbai and naxalism, which includes setting up of 20 anti-terrorism schools across the country and special policing scheme for sensitive mega cities.
It said a special policing scheme has been formulated for Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahemedabad which bore the brunt of terror attacks in recent times.
The Centre outlined the measures taken by it to deal with terrorism in response to a notice issued to it by the apex court on a PIL filed by former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee who had alleged 26/11 attacks have exposed the mismatch between the might of terrorist outfits and the state machinery to counter them.
It said that apart from pursuing a “multi-pronged” strategy to deal with terrorism “20 Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorism Schools are being established in different parts of the country with the purpose of offering training to police personnel”.
“In addition, the Mega City Policing Scheme, which is dedicated to enable the respective state governments to meet the unique policing needs in the seven mega cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, will enable the respective state governments to meet their needs,” the affidavit filed by the Home Ministry said.
The Centre said it has been adopting a multipronged strategy to deal with terror, which include deployment of specific forces on different borders and supplementing efforts of state government in modernisation of forces.
Keeping in view the Mumbai terror attack in which the terrorists had used sea route to enter the country, the government said “a dedicated scheme for securing the coast line of the country is being implemented by the Home Ministry in which assistance is provided to the coastal states for capacity-building to meet the needs of the policing of coastal areas”.
“The scheme envisages equipping these coastal police stations with vessels, jeeps and motorscycles and the manpower in respect of the scheme shall have to be provided by the respective states and union territories,” the affidavit said.
Among the several steps taken, the Centre said regional hubs of National Security Guards (NSGs) have been set up and amendment has been made in anti-terror law to reinforce punitive provisions to combat terrorism.
Countering the allegations of Sorabjee that the Maharashtra police was ill-equipped to meet the challenges of terrorist outfits, the Centre said the state has been allocated Rs 725.62 crore between 2000 to 2009 for upgrading its infrastructure which included modern weaponry, intelligence gathering equipment etc.
The affidavit said in order to supplement the efforts of state governments in modernising their police forces, the Centre has been implementing Non-plan Scheme.
“The scheme for modernisation of state police forces is an important initiative of the Home Ministry towards capacity building of the state police forces, especially for meeting the emerging challenges to internal security in the form of terrorism, naxalism etc,” it said.
Further, the Centre has been emphasising the need for setting up anti-terror squads by state governments and a number of them have already put in place such squads, the affidavit said.
Sorabjee had filed the PIL after the Mumbai attack seeking direction for equipping police and security forces with modern weapons and devices to combat and counter terror attacks.
He had alleged terrorist attacks in Mumbai have exposed that weapons used by the police are no match to the arms and ammunition carried by terrorists.
When a notice was issued on the PIL, it was pointed out that the ill-equipped police failed to counter the offensive of the terrorists at Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus.
The killing of police personnel wearing bullet-proof jackets, including Anti-Terrorist Squad Chief Hemant Karkare, at the CST terminus speaks volume on the nature of the equipment supplied to the police force, Sorabjee had said.
While the police at the CST were countering with 303 assault rifles, terrorists were armed with deadly weapons, Sorabjee’s counsel had said adding NSG commandos deployed to flush them out reached Mumbai only nine hours after the attacks and had to be transported by a bus in the absence of special vehicles.
Sorabjee, who was the AG during the previous NDA government, pointed to 18 major terrorist incidents since the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, to support his contention for training and arming the police force with modern weapons to thwart any further attack while creating an atmosphere where citizens’ right to life is protected.
Sorabjee, who was the Chairman of the Police Reforms Committee, contended that the shortcoming of police and security forces emerging from the Mumbai terror attacks establish the violation of Article 21 of the Constitution which calls for protection of life and liberty of citizens, without which, other fundamental rights are incapable of being exercised.




HC bench declines to hear court clash cases
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4879418.cms
TNN 11 August 2009, 07:45am IST
CHENNAI: Nearly six months after the Madras High Court campus witnessed violent scenes, the cases relating to the February 19 violence were posted before a division bench for hearing.

The bench, however, expressed its inability to take up the matter, as one of the judges recused himself from the proceedings. When the case came up before the bench comprising justice SJ Mukhopadhaya and justice K Chandru on Monday, the huge gathering of advocates was informed by the judges that they could not hearing the case as justice Chandru had already expressed his unwillingness to be associated with the case.

"One of us (justice Chandru) has already recused from the cases by writing a letter dated March 25 to the chief justice, as also one of use (justice Mukhopadhaya) is not holding the court in the division bench. Let the case may be listed before a bench in which none of us is the member, after necessary orders of the chief justice," said the brief order of the bench.

The matter came to be posted before this bench, after it was remanded by the Supreme Court back to the Madras High Court for hearing. On March 18, a full bench of the court had recommended suspension of two senior IPS officers -- the then additional commissioner of Chennai, AK Viswanathan, and the then joint commissioner (north) Ramasubramani. The officials filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court, stating that they were not heard before the order was passed. After several adjournments and many rounds of arguments, the apex court decided to remand the matter back fot he High Court for hearing, this time including the officials as well. The officials, however, are yet to file their review applications in the High Court.

A large number of advocates, led by the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) president RC Paul Kanagaraj and Tamil Nadu Advocates Association (TNAA) president S Prabakaran, were present in the court hall when the matter was taken up for hearing.



Coordinate with other states to curb begging, HC tells govt
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Coordinate-with-other-states-to-curb-begging--HC-tells-govt/500437/
Express News Service Posted: Tuesday , Aug 11, 2009 at 0202 hrs New Delhi:
A Social Welfare Department report of 781 beggars nabbed in Delhi between June and August prompted the Delhi High Court on Monday to point out that it is time the government sought help from neighbouring states to curb the begging menace in the Capital.
An affidavit submitted by the department said 187 beggars were caught in June, 371 in July and 223 in August.
This is for the first time, the High Court has asked the government to co-ordinate with other states, a view primarily based on the fact that majority of beggars are migrants from states like Bihar, UP, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Any scheme of rehabilitation requires coordination between social welfare departments of Delhi and neighbouring states. We expect social welfare departments of other states to cooperate with their counterpart in Delhi, a Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said.
The government has been asked to file an affidavit on October 8, the next date of hearing, detailing the steps taken to co-ordinate with neighbouring state apparatuses.




Maya plea against HC order on quota
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Maya-plea-against-HC-order-on-quota/500525
Express news service Posted: Tuesday , Aug 11, 2009 at 0327 hrs New Delhi:
The Mayawati government on Monday filed an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging an Allahabad High Court’s order which had disallowed the state from providing 50 per cent quota to SCs/STs and OBCs in technical and vocational courses being run by private unaided educational institutions.
The state government through an order dated July 22 had provided 50 per cent reservation for SCs/STs and OBCs in private engineering colleges affiliated to Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU). UPTU has also challenged the HC decision.
The petitioners have prayed before the apex court to stay the HC’s interim order till the final disposal of the petition as the entire academic session will have to be rescheduled since 70 per cent of counselling is already over.
According to the government, 11,383 admissions have already been made in the OBC category. As many as 789 SC candidates and 286 ST candidates have been admitted.
The state government has contended that the quota decision has been taken within the terms of the Supreme Court judgment dated July 17 this year.




HC denies bail to Sardarpura accused
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/ahmedabad/HC-denies-bail-to-Sardarpura-accused/articleshow/4879185.cms
TNN 11 August 2009, 04:52am IST
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat High Court on Monday rejected bail plea of the eight accused in Sardarpura massacre after the special investigation team's (SIT) counsel contended that the trial has already begun in this case.

The accused had sought bail on the ground of parity, citing that 55 people were released on bail by courts in this case. They also claimed that there are major contradictions in the FIR lodged against them and the statements by witnesses.

SIT argued that these eight were among the last ones who were arrested in May 2008 and the 55 people have already been charge-sheeted in this case. After these arguments, Justice R H Shukla refused to grant bail to the accused.

Thirty three people were killed and 20 sustained injuries during the post-Godhra riots in this village on March 1, 2002.



SC refuses to stay HC ban on vehicles
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/kolkata-/SC-refuses-to-stay-HC-ban-on-vehicles/articleshow/4879731.cms
TNN 11 August 2009, 05:49am IST
KOLKATA: The battle to clean the city’s air got a double boost on Monday. While the Supreme Court refused to override Calcutta High Court’s order on phasing out pre-1993 commercial vehicles, the HC dismissed a plea by autorickshaw operators challenging a government order on replacing 2-stroke autos with new single mode 4-stroke LPG autos.

The Supreme Court development has dashed the hopes of bus operators, who’d hoped to save their vehicles from the ban axe. The next date for hearing is August 21.

The high court refused to accept the auto unions’ counsel’s contention and said the government’s action was justifiable taking into account increasing pollution.




HC quashes auto union petition
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/kolkata-/HC-quashes-auto-union-petition/articleshow/4879530.cms
TNN 11 August 2009, 05:18am IST
KOLKATA: Calcutta High Court on Monday dismissed a plea by autorickshaw operators challenging a government order on replacing two-stroke autos by new single mode four-stroke LPG autos.

The additional chief secretary, transport, had issued an administrative order on January 12, directing owners of all registered two-stroke autos with valid permits to replace them by new single mode four-stroke LPG autos. The order also offered an option for replacement by new battery-run autos.

Kolkata Auto-Rickshaw Operators' Union moved a writ petition before Justice Tapen Sen contending that the January 12 government order was contradictory to the High Court order passed on July 18, 2008, which had directed phasing out of pre-1993 commercial vehicles.

The auto union's counsel, Asish Chakraborty, argued that the HC order and the government notification issued on July 17, 2008 had asked the auto operators to convert and never asked them to replace old autos by new single mode LPG autos. But the government order of January 12 asked them to purchase new single mode four-stroke LPG autos. So, the government order was contradictory to the High Court's order and liable to be struck down, the counsel contended.

However, the court on Monday cleared all doubts regarding the public policy shift to clean fuel. The Court ratified the transport department move. This proved to be a lethal blow to the auto-operators insistence on conversion, not replacement. The High Court also made it clear that they would not tolerate the unbridled plying of old two-stroke auto rickshaws in the name of conversion.

The counsel further submitted that they were very keen on complying with the court's order and for that they had already applied to the PVD and RTAs. The authorities, and not his clients, were responsible for the delay, he contended. The court refused to accept the contention and dismissed the petition, observing that in view of increasing environmental pollution the government's action was justifiable.

Pradip Saha of Auto Bachao Committee said, "We are to follow the High Court order. We will now only ply two-stroke autos registered after August-2000. But we will definitely raise the question as to why the government allowed only post-2000 autos and not the pre-2000 ones. If it's arbitrary, we have to fight it legally."

But a check on city routes revealed that illegal autos and autos registered long before August 2000 were plying in prominent routes like Garia-Tollygunge and Kasba to EM Bypass.




Film producers appeal against HC stay order
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4879523.cms
TNN 11 August 2009, 05:13am IST
KOLKATA: Calcutta High Court on Monday stayed the screening of Bengali film Poran Jay Joliya Re for copyright infringement. Sri Venkatesh Films which owns the rights of the Bengali film moved an appeal before a division Bench immediately after this interim order. The division Bench admitted the appeal, which is expected to come up for hearing on Tuesday.

The interim stay didn't affect screening of the film on Monday, though as counsel for Bollywood producer Vipul Shah who had moved the petition of copyright infringement against Sri Venkatesh Films assured the division Bench that they would not file for contempt till the matter is heard further.

Shah had moved the high court a week ago through counsel S N Mukherjee, Ranjan Bachawat, Rudraman Bhattacharya and others, alleging that the producers of the Bengali film had lifted the storyline of his 2007 blockbuster Namastey London. Justice Nadira Patherya heard both sides and also watched the films before passing her interim order on Monday. While staying screening of the Bengali film, Justice Patherya observed that sequences and costumes of both films are the same. She observed that this was a total infringement of copyright.

Justice Patherya also directed the producers of the Bengali film to submit all paraphernalia related to Poran Jay Joliya Re to the Central Board of Film Certification (the censor board).

Immediately after the interim order was passed, counsel for Sri Venkatesh Films moved an appeal before the division Bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Justice

I P Mookerji. In their appeal, makers of the Bengali film challenged the single Bench order. They pointed out that the Dev-Subhashree starrer was doing very well at theatres across the state. Seeking a stay on the single Bench order, they pleaded that any interim stay on screening would result in losses.

After admitting the appeal, Justice Ghosh and Justice Mookerji directed both sides to submit all documents on Tuesday when the matter will be heard. When Sri Venkatesh Films pleaded for a stay on the single Bench order, Shah's counsel assured the court that they would not file a contempt plea if the film continues to be screened till Tuesday's hearing.

Legal experts, while refusing to comment on the outcome of the case, seemed happy that issues such as copyright infringement were finally being taken seriously. According to them, protection of such rights are extremely important in today's world.

"It does not matter how this case ends up finally. What is important is that the legal world has started taking notice of such matters. Till some time ago, such allegations were not taken seriously. In some cases, the complainant would incur heavy losses while their efforts were copied and commercially used by others. This in no way means that there has been any infringement of copyright in this particular matter. That is for the court to decide," said a senior lawyer.




HC seeks Centre reply on beggars
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4878868.cms
TNN 10 August 2009, 11:48pm IST
NEW DELHI: Following the Delhi government's plea for court direction to the Centre for coordination to tackle the begging menace in the capital, the Delhi High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre asking it to file a reply.

The high court suggested that the city government make all efforts to coordinate with neighbouring states to rehabilitate beggars and eradicate the menace from the national capital.

A division bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Ajit Bharihoke asked the social welfare department of Delhi to discuss the matter with the governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and find a solution to the problem. To this, the Delhi government counsel submitted that it was not possible on the part of the Delhi government and sought the court's direction to the Centre for co-ordination.

Earlier, the Bench had pulled up the Ministry of social welfare for its failure to implement the suggestions of V P Chaudhary, amicus curiae, that the city should have at least mobile courts to dispose of begging-related cases on the spot.

The amicus also suggested that the government should make efforts to provide skill training in beggars homes so that they could be rehabilitated. Taking suo motu cognizance of a media report on the menace of beggars in the city, the Bench had appointed Chaudhary as amicus curaie and asked him to file a report after visiting the city's beggar homes.



Authorities should not evict cobblers: HC
http://birlaa.com/news/authorities-should-not-evict-cobblers-hc/344458
August 11, 2009 By: admin
Madras High Court has held that it was not open to the authorities concerned to evict those cobblers for whom bunks had been constructed and allocated and licences issued by the Chennai Corporation and imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the civic body.




Arrears PIL
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090810/jsp/nation/story_11340326.jsp
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Cuttack, Aug. 9: The Naveen Patnaik government is in the dock for having failed to collect royalty arrears worth Rs 11 crore outstanding for more than three years now, against Bhusan Steel and Strips which is coming up with a 3MT steel plant at Meramundali near Dhenkanal.
Responding to a petition, Orissa High Court has asked the state to explain the pending revenue arrears.
Dhenkanal (Sadar)’s NCP MLA Nabin Nanda sought judicial intervention into the matter through a PIL. The legislator accused the state of failing to collect royalty due to administrative inertia vis-à-vis non-co-operation by the company. Bhusan Steel had used sand raised from the land leased out by Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) for the steel project at Meramundali.
Tehsildars of Dhenkanal and Hindol had sent demand notices to the company on May 19, 2006, under Orissa Minor Minerals Concession (OMMC) Rules-2004 for depositing royalty on the use of earth, morrum and sand. The levy was pegged at Rs 11.01 crores. But the revenue officials had failed to collect the revenue till date, Nanda pointed out.
Acting on the petition, a two-judge bench of acting Chief Justice I.M. Quddusi and Justice Sanju Panda had issued notices to the state and Dhenkanal administration last week. Notices were also issued to Bhusan Steel and Strips. The court gave the respondents four weeks time to file their responses.




EVM expose
Is electronic 'rigging' subverting electoral mandate?
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=304&page=28
By GVL Narasimha Rao
Shockingly, of the 13.78 lakh EVMs deployed in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, only 4.48 Lakh are either new or upgraded machines, while as many as 9.3 Lakh EVMs (or over 2/3rd of all EVMs) deployed are old machines. The Commission has furnished this information in reply to a RTI query dated July 21 to V. Venkateswara Rao, the main petitioner who filed a PIL in the Supreme Court on the issue.

Political parties now suspect that something has wrong but appear woefully short in understanding the rigging possibilities of electronic voting machines. Most of them have nagging doubts about the tampering of the EVMs, but have not raised these concerns in an open manner for fear of retribution and ridicule. The Supreme Court in its order in disposing the writ petition on EVMs had stated last month that the issue raised are of vital concern and the political parties may approach the Commission to clarify their doubts about the EVMs.
The debate over the unreliability of the EVM that raged over the last two months is reaching a crescendo as many new facts come to light, even as Election Commission officials continue to carp ad nauseam that the EVMs used by the Election Commission are infallible, without any substantive proof, whatsoever.

On the other hand, there is now enough verifiable and circumstantial evidence to show that there is something amiss about the EVMs. The true story of the EVMs is beginning to unfold and it would be a tragedy if the political parties do not get to the bottom of the truth about these allegations and apprehensions. The poll panel is betraying signs of nervousness as it has no convincing explanations to a number of emerging concerns and the political parties owe it to the millions of the voting public to investigate and arrive at proper conclusions to show that their votes have not been robbed by unscrupulous individuals and to restore the public faith in our voting system.

Shocking verdicts
As someone who has analysed and predicted many parliamentary and assembly elections in the past, let me add a new perspective to the raging EVM debate. The only two parliamentary elections where the pollsters in general have gone horribly wrong in India’s parliamentary history are the Lok Sabha elections of 2009 and 2004. Consider this fact these are the only two national elections that were totally electronic.

In stark contrast, the Lok Sabha election results of 1991, 1996 and 1999 which were manual could be accurately predicted by most pollsters. For instance, my own Lok Sabha predictions for the Times of India and Doordarshan for all these elections were bang on target. (See box for these predictions and actual results).

That brings up the relevant question: Has the voter mood in the Lok Sabha elections that we were able to gauge very accurately until 1999 become so complex after the Election Commission made them totally electronic employing the EVMs?

Poll predictions vs. Actual results
* Polls by G.V.L. Narasimha Rao for Times of India/Doordarshan

Interestingly, we could accurately predict various assembly elections (held using EVMs) held between 2004 and 2009 general elections including the elections of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. How is it that the same electronic voting machines turned in voting results that we could capture accurately in assembly polls, but not in national elections?

Is it the case that these voting machines per se are reliable when they are properly handled (which explains why there were no problems in assembly elections), but have been tampered with in the Lok Sabha polls producing startling results both in 2004 and 2009?

Lest the cynics argue that my theory of “electronic rigging” in national elections based on this circumstantial evidence is a figment of my imagination and rubbish it on the promise that the BJP would not have performed creditably well in states like Bihar and Chhattisgarh in 2009 general elections if that were the case, let me substantiate my claims with some pertinent information and questions.

EC owes explanation
The Election Commission is less than truthful in claiming that the EVMs deployed in general elections are tamperproof, when its own technical committee led by Prof. P.V. Indiresan held otherwise. The Expert Committee in its September, 2006 report (points 3.6 and 3.7) recommended that the old EVMs should be upgraded with suggested modifications, testing and operating precautions to make them tamper proof.

Shockingly, of the 13.78 lakh EVMs deployed in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, only 4.48 Lakh are either new or upgraded machines, while as many as 9.3 Lakh EVMs (or over 2/3rd of all EVMs) deployed are old machines. The Commission has furnished this information in reply to a RTI query dated July 21 to V Venkateswara Rao, the main petitioner who filed a PIL in the Supreme Court on the issue. (Copy of the ECI reply enclosed)

New, improved EVMs were deployed in the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and some UT’s and all north eastern states except Assam. In all others states, old EVMs, which do not meet the technical specifications, were used.

Why is it that these new, improved machines were not deployed in any of the key Congress-United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ruled states? Who were the persons responsible in making these decisions and what was the rationale in making the choice of states with the new, improved EVMs?

Curiously, while many states seem to have been selected following some alphabetical sequence, the UPA ruled states like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Maharastra and Tamil Nadu (which fall in the same sequence) have been left out systematically.

Naturally, the following questions arise and the EC is duty bound to answer them satisfactorily. What considerations guided the deployment of the old EVMs, more susceptible to tampering in all the states ruled by the ruling combine at the Centre? Why all the EVMs were not upgraded or replaced as recommended by the Expert Committee? Isn’t the Commissions guilty of misleading the political parties and the public opinion that it’s EVMs are tamper proof when it is fully aware of their limitations and shortcomings? All these serious questions warrant convincing answers from the Commission.

Latest statements from Commission officials reveal that they themselves seem to entertain doubts about the functioning of the old EVMs deployed in Lok Sabha elections. The Commission officials now say that only new, improved and ‘certified’ EVMs will be deployed for by-polls due shortly in Tamil Nadu where the opposition parties led by the AIADMK have decided to boycott by-elections. Does it not amount to admission of guilt that the old EVMs used in the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu were not reliable and prone to tampering?

‘Stand alone’ EVMs
Election Commisison officials have time and again argued that the EVMs cannot be tampered as they are stand alone machines without being part of any network and are not based on operating systems as the EVMs used elsewhere in the world.

That is an erroneous argument. The stand alone EVMs can be hacked on a selective basis; in any state, constituency or polling station of one’s choosing. Granted, this cannot happen without tampering with the individual EVMs deployed for election duty at some stage of their handling in the manufacture or election operations. That brings up the relevant question as to who can actually be involved in tampering.

It may be difficult or even impossible to influence lakhs of government functionaries deployed for election duty to tamper all the EVMs. But, it appears that there are a number of private players involved in gaining access to the EVMs at various stages, starting from their manufacture to their operations and maintenance at various stages of elections. Evidently, they are a huge potential security hazard.

Role of private players
Election Commission officials now claim that the EVMs are tamper proof and this confidence stems merely from the certificates of authenticity given by their manufacturers namely the ECIL and BEL, both in the public sector. Is that a valid ground for unbridled optimism about their tamper proof reliability? Is there any way that the officers on election duty or political party representatives to verify that these EVMs are indeed not tampered with? The answer is a no.

In addition to the manufacturers, there are a number of private players and individuals who are engaged in handling these machines at several crucial stages. There is not much information available on who these people are, who hires them, what duties they perform, what process is adopted to hire them and what are the terms of their engagement?

Preliminary enquiries show that they include chip manufacturers, service maintenance staff, manpower suppliers, outsourcing agencies, transporters of EVMs etc., who have unlimited access to the EVMs. What prevents them from tampering with the EVMs at some stage of election operations? In some states, we found reports suggesting that the maintenance and EVM handling work has been done by people belonging to the ruling parties. Does that not give ample scope to these parties to manipulate these machines?

A few authorised, unscrupulous elements gaining access to the machines can play havoc with them. No one would even get a hint of such manipulation as most officials are completely ignorant of the technology manipulation possibilities. Experts allege that these manipulations are so simple and devious that these could be done even without any knowledge on the part of the operational staff engaged in such manipulations who will mistake these activities to be part of the operational procedures.

EC operations in mystery
The biggest problem is that all the operations of the Election Commission of India are shrouded in mystery and there is a veil of secrecy that surrounds them, while as a public institution; it is expected to function in a transparent manner. India’s democracy cannot be held hostage to the whims and fancies of a few high ranking and well meaning officials of the Election Commission who would like us to simply believe that under their watchful supervision, nothing can go wrong.

Most senior officials of the Election Commission and those engaged in the polling process at various levels seem blissfully unaware of the manipulation possibilities of the EVMs. Worse, ECI officials see any doubts raised against EVMs as attacks on their personal integrity.

But, in a country where the election commissioners are appointed owing to their known political affiliations and former election commissioners are rewarded with positions and ministerial berths for ‘services’ rendered, doubts are bound to be raised about their impartiality. It is the duty of the Commission to reveal all facts to show that it has little to hide.

The Election Commission has the responsibility to initiate a national debate to discuss all issues threadbare. In stead of addressing valid concerns, it has been asking everyone to prove that their EVMs are tamper prone. Granted, no tampering can be done without physically manipulating it. Experts are challenging that the EVMs used in the elections can be tampered if one has physical access to them and the commission is not willing to take the challenge. The Commission perhaps wants the petitioners to perform some magic skills in manipulating their machines without gaining any physical access.

In the wake of serious concerns and the emerging potential possibilities for manipulation at various stages, it is the onerous duty of the poll panel to demonstrate basis for their oft repeated claims that their EVMs cannot be tampered with and not anyone else. The Commission should take voluntary steps in promoting a healthy debate and remove all hurdles to restore public faith in a system that has been junked by most western democracies rather than attempt to muzzle all opposition by making unsustainable claims.

Political parties must demand accountability
Most political parties now suspect that something has wrong but appear woefully short in understanding the rigging possibilities of electronic voting machines. Most of them have nagging doubts about the tampering of the EVMs, but have not raised these concerns in an open manner for fear of retribution and ridicule. The Supreme Court in its order in disposing the writ petition on EVMs had stated last month that the issue raised are of vital concern and the political parties may approach the Commission to clarify their doubts about the EVMs.

At stake is not just the fate of the political parties but the sanctity of our electoral process and the essence of our democracy. Parties must vociferously raise their concerns in public domain and in Parliament and ensure that the poll panel is held accountable to the millions of its electorate and conduct future elections in a manner that enhances the confidence of the electorate and that of the political parties in their outcomes.

(The author is a leading political analyst and a member of the BJP. Views expressed here are his own.)




Around 18,000 students still to get admission to std 11th

http://www.samaylive.com/news/around-18000-students-still-to-get-admission-to-std-11th/645655.html
Published by: Noor Khan
Published: Mon, 10 Aug 2009 at 19:57 IST
Mumbai, Aug 10 Despite the online admission system, some 18,000 students in Mumbai Metropolitan Region are yet to get admission to std 11th, state today told Bombay High Court.

Today is the last day of admissions, and std 11th classes would start from tomorrow.

Online admission system was introduced by the government in Mumbai and surrounding areas only this year.

Pratap Sarnaik, a Thane-based Shiv Sena corporator has filed a PIL, alleging that there is large-scale bungling in the online process.

Many students have not got admissions at all, while in several cases students have got admissions to the stream which they did not opt for, said petitioner's lawyer advocate Suhas Oak.

Government pleader Jyoti Pawar said that colleges have been instructed to give admissions to the students in their respective locality who have not got admission through the online system.

But Oak said that most seats in most colleges are filled up, and what is left now is management seats.

Division bench headed by Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar adjourned the hearing for one week, asking government lawyer to file affidavit as to how the remaining students would be accomodated.




One-time settlement scheme
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/one-time-settlement-scheme/366448/

BS Reporter / New Delhi August 10, 2009, 0:12 IST
The Supreme Court last week upheld the right of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to invoke the One-Time Settlement Scheme of the RBI in repayment of loans. In the case of Sardar Associates Ltd vs Punjab and Sind Bank, the firm defaulted in its installments to the bank. So the bank declared the account as non-performing assets and started recovery proceedings. The firm offered a one-time settlement according to RBI guidelines. The bank did not accept it, leading to litigation in the debt recovery tribunal. The tribunal directed the bank to settle the case in terms of the RBI guidelines. However, the bank appealed to the Punjab and Haryana high court which quashed the tribunal’s order. The firm appealed to the SC.

ESIC cover for petrol pump staf

Staff at a petrol pump is covered by the Employees State Insurance Act, the SC held last week in the judgement, M/s Qazi Noorul Pump vs ESI Corporation. The pump owner challenged the notice from the corporation for contribution. The high court dismissed his petition. He appealed to the SC, arguing he was not manufacturing goods, but only pumping oil. The SC dismissed the appeal rejecting his argument that according to the excise law, manufacturing means producing a new commodity. The SC asserted that under the Factories Act, pumping oil is a “manufacturing process.” It was the Factories Act definition which was applicable to the ESI law, the judgement said.

Arbitration for speedy resolution of disputes

Arbitration proceedings are aimed at speedy resolution of disputes untrammelled by the rules of a civil court and therefore, there is no need for framing of issues when a party challenges the award of an arbitrator, the Supreme Court said in its judgement last week in Fiza Developers & Inter-Trade Ltd vs AMCI (I) Ltd. The award was for payment of Rs 58 crore by Fiza to the opposite party. It moved against the award in the civil court and later in the Karnataka high court where it failed. In its appeal before the Supreme Court, it argued that the court must frame issues as in a civil court.
The Supreme Court rejected this contention and ruled that “having regard to the object of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, that is providing an expeditious alternative binding dispute resolution process with minimal court intervention, it is difficult to envisage proceedings under Section 34 of the Act as full-fledged regular civil suits under Code of Civil Procedure.”

Dependants of carpenter get their due
The Supreme Court last week dismissed the appeal of National Insurance Company against the Madhya Pradesh high court asking it to pay Rs 4.48 lakh to the dependants of a carpenter who died in a road accident when a truck hit a jeep in which he was riding. The tribunal had awarded Rs 2.32 lakh, which was enhanced by the high court. The insurance company argued in appeal that the amount was exorbitant as a carpenter could not have been earning Rs 100 a day as the high court estimated. The Supreme Court rejected the contention and asserted that even in 1997 when the mishap occurred, “he could have comfortably earned Rs 100 a day.”

Closed saw mills of UP
The Supreme Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to decide within three months whether the saw mills which are lying closed following its orders could be allowed to open and start manufacturing if wood is available. It may be recalled that the court had ordered the closure of saw mills in forest areas a decade ago. In this case, T N Godavarman vs Union of India, several saw mills of the state submitted that they were suffering huge losses as the units were not functioning at present though they were in existence for long. They claimed that wood was available for them. The court therefore asked the government to find out whether they can be “accommodated” in future if wood was available.




Madras HC directs CB CID to complete inquiry in kidnapping case
http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?d7479c68-aee9-43ad-9931-144695e12868
8/8/2009

The Madras High Court has said the CB-CID should complete investigation with in three months and submit the final report in a case relating to alleged kidnapping of three people and damage to their property in Erode district last year.

Justice P R Sivakumar passed the order on a petition filed by B R Rangasamy, V Gobinath and R Mohanraj of Erode district, cited as accused in the case, seeking speedy investigation of the case.

The matter related to a property dispute. P C Palanisamy, his wife Malarvizhi and their son Sivabalan were allegedly kidnapped by former State Minister N K K P Raja and his henchmen and their property was damaged.

The petitioners said because of the long pendency of investigation, they were not in a position to go for their avocation and were finding it difficult to lead a normal life.

They had been denied their right to speedy investigation and trial, they said.

UNI




MP HC stays ban on book 'Five Past Midnight in Bhopal'
http://www.indlawnews.com/newsdisplay.aspx?346c3ed4-4fed-467a-8c98-cc961bf49989
8/10/2009

Madhya Pradesh High Court stayed the order of a fast track court and additional district court for imposing ban on the publication, printing, distribution and sale of Five Past Midnight in Bhopal, a book based on Bhopal gas tragedy written by French writers Dominic Lapierre and Javier Moro.

The writers challenged the order of the lower court and said that there was nothing derogative and against the then Director General of Police Swaraj.

Justice Rajendra Menon while hearing the petition of Mr Pierre, Mr Javier and Publisher Shikher Malhotra, stayed the order.

It was reported that the book mentioned that on the next day of the world’s disastrous gas leakage tragedy, the state police head was busy in looking after the distribution of lunch packets and other allied works.

UNI




MP HC notice to Sushma Swaraj on her election
http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?75d21ae0-d4c1-4931-b677-3059f4877ce1
8/8/2009

The Madhya Pradesh High Court issued a notice to BJP leader and Lok Sabha Member Sushma Swaraj on a plea challenging her election from Vidisha on the ground of improper randomisation of electronic voting machines (EVMs) from Budhni, Khategaon and Ichhawar assembly segments.

Justice K K Lahoti, hearing the petition of Ichhawar voter Balbir Tomar who accused Ms Swaraj of employing illegal practices and submitting wrong and incomplete accounts, asked the BJP leader to submit her reply within six weeks.

Petitioner’s Counsel Mahendra Choubey submitted that the randomisation of EVMs was improperly done. ‘BJP candidate Swaraj adopted unethical and corrupt practices in violation of the Representation of the People Act,’ he added.

UNI




HC reverses divorce order, makes bigamous man pay wife
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/mumbai/HC-reverses-divorce-order-makes-bigamous-man-pay-wife/articleshow/4875142.cms
Swati Deshpande, TNN 10 August 2009, 02:34am IST
MUMBAI: Hiding an extra-marital relationship, either from the wife or the court, doesn't pay. In a rare order that would make men think twice before trying to mislead the court to protect his second marriage, the Bombay high court recently reversed a divorce and imposed an exemplary cost of Rs 50,000 on a Pune resident. He has to pay his wife for his "deliberate efforts to keep the wife deprived of her conjugal rights and make it impossible for her to resume cohabitation,'' said a bench of Justice B H Marlapalle and Justice S J Vazifdar.

"If the husband, by his own acts, made cohabitation with his wife impossible by living with another woman, his behaviour amounts to being `wrong' and disentitles him from seeking a divorce on the grounds that he had no physical relationship with the first wife,'' the HC stated.

Kavya and Sanjiv Gupta (names changed) got married in 1980 and subsequently had three children. In 1991-92, Sanjiv left Kavya and started staying with another woman. In 1995, Kavya moved a Pune court for restitution of her conjugal rights and a year later, Sanjiv filed for divorce, alleging desertion and cruelty.

The family court allowed Kavya's plea but dismissed Sanjiv's. Two years later, he moved court seeking divorce again, this time on technical grounds under the Hindu Marriage Act that a year had passed without them cohabitating. In 2003, he was finally granted a divorce.

Kavya, however, refused to comply. She approached the Bombay high court to challenge the divorce, saying her husband had been staying with another woman-ie, had an adulterous relationship-even after the court had denied him a divorce in 1999. In July 2009, when she finally won, the court was deeply upset with Sanjiv as well as the Pune family court. The HC ticked off the Pune court for its "gross and manifest errors in allowing the husband's divorce plea instead of dismissing it''.

While Kavya said Sanjiv could not take advantage of "his own wrong'', the latter argued that "there was no obligation placed by law on him for compliance before seeking relief''. "Even the defaulting party can seek divorce...,'' Sanjiv said, but never listed out the steps he had taken to resume a physical relationship. He said he remarried in 2004, only after the divorce was granted.

His counsel A Kumbhakoni called for a "pragmatic approach'' to "warrant protection of the second marriage after the limitation period under the law''. Besides, to be "wrong'' the husband's "conduct should be more than a mere disinclination to agree to a re-union''. "Quashing the divorce would destroy the second marriage'' and would not do "substantial justice'', he said.

However, a 2002 courier receipt, revealing his bigamous relationship, blew the lid off the husband's true self. The HC was "not impressed'' with Kumbhakoni's submission that the receipt could not be used as evidence. It rapped the family court for its "procedural lapse'' in not recording the receipt.



NRI custody row: HC asks woman to take her battle back to UK
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nri-custody-row-hc-asks-woman-to-take-her-battle-back-to-uk/500139/0
Krishnadas Rajagopal Posted: Monday , Aug 10, 2009 at 0437 hrs New Delhi:
Are foreign courts in a better position to decide marital disputes and child custody battles between NRI couples?
In a decision that may act as a judicial precedent, the Delhi High Court said that a court in the couple’s city of residence will be better placed to decide what is best for the couple and their children.
A Division Bench of Justice S K Kaul and Justice Ajit Bharihoke said that for NRIs, “in matters of matrimony and custody”, it is best to follow the law of the place which has the “closest connection” with their own well being and that of their children. The court was deciding on a habeas corpus petition filed by UK resident Aviral Mittal for his three-and-a half-year old daughter.
Mittal’s wife had left their home in UK with her daughter in September 2008 and refused to return.
His request to join him at his New Delhi residence was met with a demand from his wife’s family that he undergo a “psychiatric evaluation”. Two months later, on his return to the UK, Mittal filed a case before the High Court of Justice, Family Division, UK, for a direction to his wife to return their daughter, a British passport holder, to the UK.
Justice Munby, who heard the petition, passed an order that the child be returned to the “jurisdiction of England and Wales within 14 days” and the child should “thereafter be forbidden to be removed from the jurisdiction of England and Wales without the permission of the judge of this (UK) court”. The judge also passed a direction to hand over the passport and travel documents of the child within 72 hours of her return.
When he
found that his wife had not obliged, Mittal filed his petition before the Delhi Bench through his counsel Prabhjit Jauhar. Mittal’s wife argued in court that the custody of a “female child of tender age” ought to remain with the mother. She further refused to recognise the authority of the UK court’s order and accused her husband of cruelty.
Perusing the records, the court noted that Mittal and his wife were involved in a “no-holds barred fight” over their five years together in the UK, and all the “relevant evidence” was available in that country alone.
“The parties (the Mittals) continued to live, cohabit, work for gain and bring up the child together in the UK. The child holds a British passport and both parents have permanent resident status in the UK. It can hardly be said that any court other than the courts in the UK would best serve the ends of justice,” the Bench observed in its judgment on August 7.
Since the child is a British citizen by birth, the Bench held that a UK court would best take care of the her welfare, which is of “paramount” importance.
The Bench ordered the mother to take her child back to the UK and “join the proceedings before the courts of England and Wales”, failing which the child will be handed over to Mittal to be taken there.




HC relief for Tata Teleservices in dispute with MSEDCL
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/15091321.htm
MUMBAI: In a relief for Tata Teleservices, the Bombay High Court has restrained Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd from charging it at the steeper commercial rate for the time being.
Court gave an interim stay, and asked MSEDCL to reply by August 13. In a letter sent to Tata Teleservices on June 20 this year, MSEDCL informed it that it would have to pay for the power consumption at the commercial rate, which is around Rs 7 per unit.
Earlier, Teleservices was billed at the industrial rate, which was around Rs 4 per unit. New rate would translate into increase of around Rs 5 crore in its bill. Further, MSEDCL said, that change of rate would apply retrospectively, so Teleservices woul d have to pay arrears for the last one year. Teleservices has filed a petition against this in the High Court.
At the hearing last week, its lawyer Mr Sudeep Nargolkar argued that as per the 2003 Industrial Policy of the state government, companies engaged in information technology and relates services were to be charged at industrial rate.
MSEDCL's argument was that Teleservices' actual user of power did not make it eligible for industrial rate. - PTI




CJI asks trade unions to register construction workers
http://www.ptinews.com/news/221065_CJI-asks-trade-unions-to-register-construction-workers
STAFF WRITER 21:54 HRS IST
Bangalore, Aug 9 (PTI) Chief Justice of India Justice K G Balakrishnan today asked trade unions to register construction workers under the relevant Act so that they could avail benefits provided by it.

In his inaugural address at a seminar organised by the Karnataka Government to create awareness among construction workers of their rights and privileges, he lamented lack of efforts on part of states to implement the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act.

Lauding the initiative taken by the state government to organise the seminar, he expressed hope that the state which had constituted a welfare board for construction workers in 2007 would set up such boards at the district level.




With CJI push, bid to make laws simpler
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/with-cji-push-bid-to-make-laws-simpler/500043/0
Maneesh Chhibber Posted: Monday , Aug 10, 2009 at 0155 hrs New Delhi:
England has the Laws of Halsbury while the USA has the annual Restatement of Laws. Now, very soon, India will also have something similar.
In what is the biggest-ever and most-ambitious exercise undertaken by any agency, a Supreme Court of India-appointed panel is working on a set of guidelines to remove uncertainties in Indian laws and to remove ambiguities surrounding various legal principles and their applicability. The job of the panel would be to sift through the maze of hundreds of prevailing laws, including those that owe their genesis to court rulings, and come up with simpler to understand but more acceptable laws.
The pilot project of the first-of-its-kind initiative — the brainchild of Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan — will come up with a set of rules and guidelines for Legislative Privileges, contempt of court and PILs. Experts say PIL is one area that could certainly do with some kind of guidelines, with growing instances of big corporations and unscrupulous elements resorting to filing PILs, either on their own or through proxies, to settle scores or get big ticket projects stalled.
Being done under the aegis of the Indian Law Institute (ILI), New Delhi, the project is likely to soon result in a memorandum of understanding between the ILI, a deemed university, and the American Law Institute (ALI), Philadelphia, a non-profit organisation responsible for the Restatement of Law. The CJI is also the patron of the ILI.
“It is a big project. A committee comprising Justice R V Raveendran is supervising it,” CJI Balakrishnan told The Indian Express.
It is learnt that three separate committees headed by Judges of the Supreme Court and comprising law officers of the Government of India, legal luminaries and academics have been constituted to prepare restatements of law on these three subjects, which would be models for the future.
Union Law Secretary T K Vishwanathan, Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati, jurist Fali Nariman, law expert N R Madhava Menon and ILI Director-cum-Vice-Chancellor D S Sengar are among those involved in the project. Sources said a team headed by the CJI has already visited the ALI.
“The idea is to promote clarification and simplification of the law for its better adoption for changing social needs,” said Sengar.
The three committees have been asked to submit their reports within 4-6 months, after which the same would be discussed with other experts and finally forwarded to the Law Ministry for action.





CJI conferred honorary doctorate by Gulbarga University
http://www.ptinews.com/news/221033_CJI-conferred-honorary-doctorate-by-Gulbarga-University
STAFF WRITER 21:22 HRS IST
Bangalore, Aug 9 (PTI) Chief Justice of India Justice K G Balakrishnan was today conferred an honorary doctorate by the Gulbarga University.

Presenting the doctorate at a brief function in the Raj Bhavan here, Governor of Karnataka and the Chancellor of the University H R Bhardwaj described Balakrishnan as one of the eminent legal luminaries of the country.

"He is recognised as a person with rich talents, powerful intellect, in-depth scholarship, commitment to justice and humanism", the governor said.

The Chief Justice thanked the university for honouring him with the doctorate




Illegal slaughterhouses polluting drinking water in Meerut: NHRC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4882455.cms
IANS 11 August 2009, 08:18pm IST
NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has ordered the closure of illegal slaughterhouses and furnaces used in extraction of animal bone fat in Meerut city of Uttar Pradesh because the blood and animal waste flushed into open drains has started polluting drinking water supply system.

An official of the commission said: "The commission has issued a notice to the chief secretary, the municipal commissioner of Meerut and chairman of the State Pollution Control Board to appear in front of the commission on Aug 25 for non-compliance of its recommendations on closure of illegal abattoir and about 200 furnaces used for extraction of animal bone fat in the city."

During an inquiry last month, the commission found that the local administration's claim that some of the furnaces have been demolished was not true. The slaughterhouse on municipal corporation land also continued to function illegally, polluting the environment within a radius of 2.5 km.

"Slaughtered animals' blood and waste are flushed through open drains, resulting in pollution of drinking water. The commission had issued a notice on Aug 10 with regard to removal of these furnaces, stressing that the right to health is not only a vital human right but also a fundamental right," the official said.

"However, because of non-compliance of the recommendations, officials of the state government have been summoned by the commission," the official added.



Manipur second highest in fake encounter, NHRC report
http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=22..120809.aug09
Source: Hueiyen News Service
New Delhi, August 11 2009: The killing of two persons, including a pregnant woman, during an alleged fake encounter in Manipur last month was not a one off incident.

The northeastern state has, in fact, witnessed a sudden spurt in such encounters by trigger-happy cops - putting it among the top in the list of states reporting such cases.

The number of "fake" encounter cases, registered by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the last over three years, shows that Manipur reported the second highest number of such incidents during 2008-09 and 2009-10 (till July this year).

While a big state like Uttar Pradesh has consistently been reporting the highest number of alleged fake encounter cases, Manipur has witnessed a substantial rise - from only one case during 2007-08 to 16 in 2008-09 and six during the first four months (April-July) during 2009-10 .

A senior home ministry official said: "The rising figures could well explain the current public unrest in Manipur where people have been on the street against trigger-happy cops ever since the state witnessed the killing of two persons in an encounter on July 23" .

Though state chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh ordered a judicial inquiry and suspended six commandos of the Manipur Police involved in the incident last week, people in the state have been asking the government to look into the reason of the 'rising number' of alleged fake encounter cases.

Even officials here are quite convinced about 'high-handedness' on the part of the state police as they pointed out that while other states like UP have been showing a decrease in the number of "fake" encounter cases, Manipur has been showing an increase which is quite disturbing.

Another small state like Uttarakhand too, of late, joined the club of having a high number of alleged fake encounter cases.

It recently witnessed the killing of a 24-year-old person - a resident of Ghaziabad, UP - who was allegedly shot dead by the Dehradun Police.

Incidentally, violence-hit Jammu and Kashmir has not reported any case to NHRC this year or during 2008-09.While the state reported two alleged fake encounter cases during 2007-08, it reported four such incidents in 2006-07 .




Sold twice by parents, minor girl goes to NCW, NHRC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/chandigarh/Sold-twice-by-parents-minor-girl-goes-to-NCW-NHRC/articleshow/4883705.cms
TNN 12 August 2009, 04:19am IST
CHANDIGARH: She was just 13 when she was sold off to a 30-year-old man for Rs 50,000 after a small bidding. Two years later she escaped her captor, but was sold off again, this time for Rs 100,000.

Now 15-year-old Netra (name changed), who managed to give her second “husband” the slip on Aug 5, Rakhi day, has decided her parents cannot get away with it and that “victimized minors like me” need to send a strong message to society against sexual exploitation of helpless young girls. “The excuse was that my father was poor, so even those who knew about it kept quiet,” said Netra, tears welling up in her swollen eyes. “But I have now decided to take up my case with the NHRC and the National Commission for Women. Maybe there will be some justice for me.”

Narrating her horrifying story on Tuesday, she said, “I was sold by my father for Rs 50,000 to a man in Pinjor first. The other one in Kurukshetra, a mill owner, bought me for Rs one lakh. My family was in dire need of money and my father’s vegetables shop wasn’t doing well. And I ended up getting sold.”

The girl from Rajpura added she was “physically, mentally and sexually” abused by both men for two years. “I still remember the date when I was put up for sale. January 17, 2007. I was just 13. My family had then asked me to accompany them to Pinjore. But when we reached there, I was informed about my marriage. Later, he told me that he had purchased me for Rs 50,000 and that I should do as he wished.’’




26/11 trial: FBI confirms Pakistan link
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/26/11-trial-FBI-confirms-Pakistan-link/articleshow/4885130.cms
AGENCIES 12 August 2009, 02:15pm IST
MUMBAI: Agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Wednesday gave evidence at the trial of the sole surviving terrorist of the deadly Mumbai attacks, Mohammad Ajmal Kasab.

The first witness, an FBI electronic engineer and forensic expert, told a special prison court that he had examined one satellite phone and three global positioning systems (GPS) recovered after the attacks.

The downloaded data from the devices showed a number of maps and routes, including one from off the coast of Pakistan to Mumbai, the FBI agent told the court, under condition of anonymity.

"This route starts in the ocean near the Gulf of Karachi and it goes to Mumbai. The route was stored by the user," he added.

Other locations found on the GPS system included areas of the cities of Karachi and Rawalpindi and of Mumbai.

The ten terrorists, who attacked Mumbai last November, killing over 170 people and wounding more than 300 others, are said by the prosecution to have come to the city via the sea.

The surviving gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, and an accomplice are alleged to have committed the bloodiest episode in the 60-hour reign of terror, opening fire with AK-47 assault rifles and throwing grenades at commuters at the city's main railway station.

Kasab is being tried on a string of charges, including waging war against India, murder and attempted murder. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

After the 26/11 terror attacks, in which six Americans were also killed, FBI had also conducted a probe and collected clinching evidence which is being placed before the trial court here.

Three US nationals are also expected to give their testimony in the 26/11 terror attack case through videoconferencing.

The identities of the witnesses have been kept secret for security reasons, the prosecutor said.




Govt nod for graft case against Coimbatore V-C
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4883549.cms
TNN 12 August 2009, 05:08am IST
CHENNAI: The state government on Tuesday informed the Madras high court that it has granted permission to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a corruption case against R Radhakrishnan, vice-chancellor of the Anna University-Coimbatore.

A counter-affidavit of the deputy secretary of the higher education department, filed in response to a public interest writ petition seeking registration of corruption case against Radhakrishnan and his prosecution, said the government accorded its sanction to the DVAC on July 30.

The counter, filed by G Sankaran, special government pleader for education, said the government has asked the DVAC to "register a regular case" on the allegations contained in the proposal of the DVAC director as well as the contents of an affidavit filed by advocate S Sivapandi, who filed the present PIL.

N R Chandran, senior counsel and former advocate-general of Tamil Nadu, who represents Sivapandi, has been arguing before the first bench, comprising Chief Justice HL Gokhale and Justice D Murugesan, that the DVAC be directed to register a case, investigate and file a final report on Sivapandi's complaint dated May 30. Suitable action should also be initiated against the vice-chancellor on the basis of the findings, he had argued.

The counter, pointing out that the permission to register a case has already been accorded, said the PIL may hence be dismissed by the court.

Though the matter figured in the list of the first bench, it could not be taken up for further hearing on Tuesday.

In the petition, Sivapandi said that though a detailed representation for registration of a case was sent to the DVAC, no action had been taken. He wanted the court to restrain Radhakrishnan from continuing in the post of vice-chancellor. "If he is not prevented from functioning as vice-chancellor, he will tamper with records of the university and also coerce officers of the university to give false statements to the police," he said.

On July 12, The Times of India had reported about Tamil Nadu governor Surjit Singh Barnala's decision to seek a DVAC probe into Radhakrishnan conduct. On Friday last, the DVAC officials had conducted raids at the offices and house of Radhakrishnan and the office of the trust run by his wife.



Two more "fake encounter" deaths in U.P.: NHRC orders relief
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200908101932.htm
J Balaji
NEW DELHI: In yet another order on the death of two persons due to "fake encounter" in Uttar Pradesh, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the State government to provide a relief of Rs.3 lakh each to the families of the victims. The incident allegedly occurred on September 2, 2003.
The U.P. government should submit the compliance report along with the proof of payment within eight weeks, NHRC directed.
The Commission found that one Ram Shankar, son of a farmer Bhansidhar Sahu and Prabhat Singh, son of a retired teacher Lallan Prasad from Meral village of District Gadwha, Jharkhand, were going to Beejpur by train and were picked up by the police when they alighted at Jharokas railway station to take some refreshment.
The cops took them to the forest within the jurisdiction of Mayorpur Police Post and killed them in a "fake encounter." The police had claimed that they were in search of criminals involved in robbery of a bus on September 1, 2003 and in this connection had gone to Rantola jungle on 2nd September, 2003.
They overheard conversation among some persons hiding in the Khadpattar Nallah. The police said that they were convinced that the persons hiding in the Nallah were involved in the robbery as when asked to surrender, they started firing at them, and in self defence they had to return the fire.
However, the U.P. Crime Branch CID, which probed the case, found that the "encounter" story of the local police was not correct. A criminal case was also registered against the delinquent police personnel at Pipri police station in Sonebhadra District. Subsequently, the State government, in response to NHRC’s show cause notice, conceded that the slain youths family entitled to get monetary relief.
This is NHRC’s second such order in recent weeks involving U.P. cops. Late last month it had ordered the U.P. administration to provide a relief of Rs. three lakh to the family of Manisha (40), a lady, who was killed in a fake police encounter in Tajgang police station limits of Agra on September 8, 2000.
Similarly in June it sought a report from the IGP, Railways, Lucknow, on media reports alleging that a pregnant woman – Kavita - was killed after being pushed from a moving train in Lakhimpur Kheri district by two Government Railway Police (GRP) constables.
It was alleged that the woman was pushed by the constables – Ram Singh and Sudhir Singh - as she failed to pay them a bribe of Rs. 100 for travelling without ticket in the Mailani-Gonda passenger train.




Top Article: Tied Up In Knots
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4882187.cms
Tahir Mahmood12 August 2009, 12:00am IST
"Islam, which is a pious, progressive and respected religion with a rational outlook cannot be given a narrow concept as has been tried to be done by the alleged violators of law. The progressive outlook and wider approach of Islamic law cannot be permitted to be squeezed and narrowed by unscrupulous litigants." This was the Supreme Court of India, in its Lily Thomas ruling in 2000, reaffirming its five-year-old Sarla Mudgal judgement outlawing bigamy by married non-Muslims under the pretext of conversion to Islam. I see the law so settled by the apex court of India as a great tribute to Islamic law.

The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 enforced monogamy, and deemed that a bigamous marriage would attract anti-bigamy provisions of the Indian Penal Code. Since then married men governed by this Act have often resorted to sham conversion to Islam for the sake of a second bigamous marriage. Two such cases made headlines in recent times. In one of these a married army physician of India serving in Afghanistan temporarily converted to Islam in order to marry an Afghan girl and, a few years later, returned to his family in India leaving her in the lurch.

In the second case a married politician and his lawyer friend, both Hindu, ostensibly embraced Islam to get married and kept on publicly claiming that they had done nothing illegal. As their marriage failed before long, the man returned to his original faith and reunited with his first wife. These, and many other similar cases, make it abundantly clear that the law settled by the Supreme Court is being observed in violation.

The true Islamic law on bigamy is gravely misunderstood, indeed by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Both wrongly believe that it gives married men an unfettered right to marry again, which is nothing short of caricaturing a noble legal provision. Unrestricted bigamy was rampant in Arab society, which Islam had tried to contain by allowing it within carefully defined limits and subjecting it to strict discipline. Bigamy was permitted subject to a precondition that the man must be capable of treating his co-wives absolutely equally in every aspect of conjugal rights.

Clearly, throwing out the first wife without divorce and bringing in a new wife in her place was not what the Quran had envisaged. Also, noting that treating co-wives with complete equality would be no easy job, the Holy Book had added an advisory: "Monogamy would keep you away from doing injustice." The Prophet had added to it a deterrent warning: "A bigamist failing to treat his wives equally will be torn apart on the Day of Judgement." This 7th century attempt to gradually eradicate the social vice of unlimited polygamy was admirable.

The Quranic precepts, and the Prophet's warning on bigamy, apply to all Muslims born or converted. But the idea that Islam must welcome to its fold a convert whose conversion is not for the love of Islam but an obvious camouflage to play fraud on the law that otherwise governs him is indeed preposterous.

Whatever one may erroneously presume the Islamic law on the subject to be, the two Supreme Court rulings had laid down a binding law on the issue of bigamy by non-Muslims under the cover of embracing Islam. This law, however, has not percolated down to society and married non-Muslims keep on violating it on a whim. Taking cognisance of this state of affairs, the Law Commission of India thought it fit to recommend to the government that the judicially settled law of 1995-2000 be incorporated into the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and other statutory marriage laws of India.

The 227th report of the commission containing this recommendation did not go beyond this. Conscious of the religious sensitivities of Muslim society in respect of personal law, the commission did not touch upon misuse of the Islamic law on bigamy by born Muslims themselves, which is not unknown. Ignorant of the limited scope of its report, the Law Commission is being uncharitably criticised in Muslim religious circles. Members of these circles naively believe that their personal law, despite being distorted and misused in practice, is outside the powers and functions of all constitutional organs and advisory bodies of the state.

Seeing it as an inseparable part of Islam, they want all such organs and bodies to perpetually keep away from it. They are yet to appreciate the true position of Muslim personal law under the Constitution of India and its real place in the legal and judicial systems of the country. It will be in their own interest to acquaint themselves with the proper legal position in this regard. Till this day all constitutional and statutory bodies in India have spoken of Islamic law with respect and done their best to accommodate the religious sensitivities of the community. Persistently alienating these bodies through irresponsible criticism is an act of short-sightedness.

The writer is member, Law Commission of India.




'Extra-judicial killings on rise in TN'
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Extra-judicial+killings+on+rise+in+TN&artid=7dZpiRnx7rM=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO=NHRC,%20Sivakasi,M%20J%20Prabhakar,%20Manalmedu%20Shankar

R Guhambika
First Published : 10 Aug 2009 04:19:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 10 Aug 2009 08:41:54 AM IST

CHENNAI: Rights groups in Tamil Nadu are watching with a growing sense of disquiet at the increase in the number of ‘encounter killings’ in the State and the impunity with which the authorities flout the NHRC guidelines and procedures to be followed while dealing with deaths occurring in an encounter.
A government order issued on August 8, 2007 is also being ignored, they say.There have been 20 ‘extra-judicial killings’ or what is known in local parlance as ‘encounter killings’ since the present government took over on May 13, 2006, the activists claim. Between 2006 and 2008, there were 16 such killings. Four ‘fake encounters’ have taken place in the last seven months alone, the latest on July 29, when history-sheeter Sundaramurthy was gunned down by his police escorts in an ‘encounter’ in Sivakasi, Virudhunagar district.
The police have perfected the modus operandi, the activists say. The criminals are arrested and produced before the court, which remands them in judicial custody. En route to jail, the ‘marked’ men are shot dead and the police go to town claiming that the accused tried to escape. They also “feign injuries” to prove their point.
“Invariably, the policemen sustain injuries only on their hands to prove that they were attacked,” M J Prabhakar, PRO, People’s Watch, alleged.
In fact, in the case of rowdy Manalmedu Shankar, People’s Watch whiffed the police intention to bump him off en route Madurai jail to Mayiladuthurai court and filed a plea in court. “It bought him some three to four months’ time.
Eventually he was killed in an ‘encounter’ in Pudukottai,” Prabhakar said.
The activists allege that this saves the police the trouble of having to deal with the judiciary.
Securing conviction in most of the cases is almost impossible, as witnesses are afraid to depose against the dons. It also means one rowdy less on the streets for them to tackle. Sometimes they are silenced because they know too much.
There seem to be new emerging pattern in the ‘encounter killings’. The police officers and their ‘victims’ belong to the same caste, activists say and cite two examples: Sundaramurthy and Muttai Ravi. This could be a tactic to deal with the fallout. It becomes easier to workout a truce with the help of the caste leaders, they add.



Guilty cops never punished
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Guilty+cops+never+punished&artid=7SW/6w5ok0c=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=rSY%7C6QYp3kQ=&SEO=NHRC,%20RDO
Express News Service
First Published : 10 Aug 2009 04:20:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 10 Aug 2009 06:18:00 AM IST

CHENNAI: The hue and cry after an encounter dies down after some time and most of the cases are never pursued to their logical conclusion: punishing the guilty police officials.
In most cases, RDO enquiries are ordered and the cases closed after the incidents fade from public memory. NHRC guidelines require the police to register an FIR against the officials involved in the encounter. Instead, they register a case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) against the deceased.
Firearms or any deadly weapon seized from the rowdies are never brought to record and are reportedly used by the police during ‘fake encounters’ as if the accused tried to attack the police with the weapon.




No matter who is in the government, BJP or Congress, colour of the state machinery always remain saffron!
http://dsujnu.blogspot.com/2009/08/no-matter-who-is-in-government-bjp-or.html
August 10, 2009
No matter who grabs the seat of power in Delhi, be it the BJP or the Congress, the Indian state machinery is owned by the communal fascist forces and they will go to any extent to maintain the repressive ‘Hindu order’. Be it the Congress government in the center or the BJP state government, justice remains a far fetched fantasy when it is sought against the communal fascists. From M.P. to Delhi this is being proved over and over again, in the countless witch hunting of minorities, in the atrocities on the dalits, in the killings of the likes of Prof. Sabharwal who dares to challenge the saffron brigade...an so on. The army, the police, the court, the organizations like NHRC and lastly the media are all used regularly by the ruling class and the feudal forces to safeguard their regime.

NHRC recently gave a clean chit to the police in the Batla House fake encounter: so much for ‘human rights’. The NHRC report refuted all the points raised by Kamran Siddiqui, General Secretary of an NGO Real Cause and proclaimed that the police fired in ‘self-defense’ as the two dangerous ‘terrorists’ had attacked the police frontally with sophisticated weapons. Shockingly, the entire report of NHRC is based only on the report and response of the police to its queries. They have not even taken the testimony of a single resident of the area, many of whom had openly attacked the police version of the entire incident in front of the media.
The feeling among the residents of Batla house region now is understandably full of despair and anger on the police and state version of the incident which has been shamelessly vindicated by the NHRC. The report of NHRC deals in details on the post mortem report of M.C. Sharma which has again been provided by the police. On the basis of that, they refute any chance of M.C Sharma being shot at the back, as was reported or even visually proved through photographs. They however, are extremely brief on the postmortem reports of the two men who were killed, Atif Amin and Mohammad Sajid. They make no mention at all about the six shots found on Md Sajid’s head, which very clearly shows that they have been shot from point blank range and can not be a result of a ‘shoot out’. In the brief reporting on their postmortem reports they have however mentioned that some injuries on the two men were sustained because they were hit by some blunt objects. This does not corroborate with the police version that they died because they sustained bullet injuries only. The NHRC however has not commented on that. The NHRC has justified the Home Ministry’s response as to why there was no magisterial enquiry ordered by the Lt. Governor, on the incident, which is compulsory after any encounter. ‘Dangerous terrorists’ like Atif and Sajid deserves no further probing said the state and NHRC agrees in silence. Questions were raised about the impossibility of the claims made by the police that two other ‘terrorists’ had escaped while the ‘shoot out’ was on, as the building L-18 in Batla house has only one entry/exit which was heavily guarded by the police.
The NHRC once again has upheld the police version in this regard, which is extremely opaque and open ended. They further maintained that they are not interested in this point because it does not fall directly under the purview of the incident, i.e. The encounter! They simply reiterated the police version and made no efforts at all to to probe beyond that. Such blatant and shameless efforts to shield the police and its bloody histories only expose the inherent bias of the NHRC itself. Such bodies in the past too have tried to safeguard this communal and repressive state machinery and its various organs. Justice on its own will always be on side of the police, the army, the political parties and other agents of the ruling class and the dominant feudal forces and never to common people, unless it is forced upon by assertive people’s movements.

The acquittal of the murderers of Prof. Sabharwal, and murder of another person yesterday night, only proves this further. Prof. Sabharwal was murdered in full view of hundreds of police men, teachers, students and office staffs of Madhav College, Ujjain in 2006. The Nagpur high court however, recently acquitted all the six accused goons of ABVP who had killed him. Further, yesterday, Parminder Singh, a friend and accountant of prof. Sabharwal's son, Himanshu Sabharwal, was killed by unidentified people in DU, North Campus. They along with some other people were pasting posters yesterday night about a protest march against the unjust acquittal of the killers of Prof. Sabharwal. After that Parmindar Singh was killed. Himanshu Sabharwal alleges that it was the ABVP goons again who had killed him too.

And these acts of violences are 'official, justified and legal'. The perpetrators of these acts are therefore never convicted by the 'rule of law'. State terror gets vindicated and safeguarded every time while the same law brands people's movements for their lives, livelihood and dignity as 'terrorist/ extremist' etc. This will continue if we do not fight this fascist state machinery and their agents. Because it is only organised, assertive movements of the people which can and have always defeated fascism
Posted by Democratic Students Union at 3:46 PM