LEGAL NEWS 10.11.2009

Allahabad HC directs listing of UPCC chief's petition
http://www.ptinews.com/news/369363_Allahabad-HC-directs-listing-of-UPCC-chief-s-petition
STAFF WRITER 20:23 HRS IST
Lucknow, Nov 9 (PTI) The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court today directed listing of the writ petition of UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi seeking a CBI probe in the case relating to arson at her house on July 15.A division bench comprising Justices Abdul Mateen and Satish Chandra passed the order.Meanwhile, it was contended on behalf of the state government that fair investigation was on and allegations levelled by the petitioner of political pressure in the probe are a fallout of some vendetta.A rejoinder affidavit was also filed on behalf of Joshi against a counter affidavit filed by the state government during the last hearing.







Force India face legal action
http://www.wheels24.co.za/Content/FormulaOne/14/a6fd6f6505a14f58abdf356864842315/09-11-2009-08-32/Force_India_face_legal_action
09/11/2009 08:32
London - Italian wind tunnel operator Aerolab said on Friday they were taking legal action against the Force India Formula One team for "serious and persistent" breaches of contract.
The company issued a statement after media reports suggested Force India were concerned that Lotus, who are now working closely with Aerolab's parent company Fondtech, had copied details of their 2009 car.
Lotus F1 technical head Mike Gascoyne was previously employed by Silverstone-based Force India.
Aerolab managing director Jean-Claude Migeot said in a statement that the Lotus rumours were "designed only to tarnish the company's reputation and professionalism and to divert attention away from the facts.
"The truth is that Aerolab is suing Force India for not fulfilling its obligations."
Force India were not immediately available for comment.
Aerolab said their three-year collaboration with Silverstone-based Force India had come to "an abrupt and unhappy end" in September this year after "serious and persistent breaches of contract by Force India."
Gascoyne, whose Malaysian-backed team were awarded what would have been the 13th slot on the 2010 starting grid only in September, played down suggestions that his team's car was based on the Force India.
"Obviously our wind-tunnel model was designed for us by Fondtech in Italy," he told the autosport.com website.
"It is based around a 2010 chassis, because there is a big fuel volume in it, it has a Cosworth engine, an Xtrac gearbox, our suspension, and other stuff designed by us. The Fondmetal guys put some generic bodywork on.
"Whereas you cannot copy anything or take anyone else's IP (intellectual property), you can use your expertise - and you will base that on what you know and what directions you know have been happening. That is what has happened."





Madras High Court gets 14 more permanent judges
http://trak.in/news/madras-high-court-gets-14-more-permanent-judges/21707/
by Indo Asian News Service on November 9, 2009
Chennai, Nov 9 (IANS) Fourteen additional judges of the Madras High Court Monday were upgraded and sworn-in as permanent judges, bringing up the total number of the court’s permanent judges to 40.
The judges were sworn-in by Chief Justice H.L.Gokhale.
While the court, including its bench in Madurai, has a sanctioned strength of 60, it now has 54 judges, with six posts vacant. The court earlier had 26 permanent judges and 28 additional judges. Fourteen of the additional judges were Monday upgraded and sworn in as permanent judges.
Justice K. Chandru, who was one of the 14 new permanent judges, declared the assets owned by him, his wife and his daughter. According to him, he intended to start a new convention by declaring his assets on the swearing-in day itself.






Another SC Judge withdraws from a case related to London-based companyhttp://www.indlawnews.com/newsdisplay.aspx?788fd493-ad7d-4d2f-b595-c664ad0efb51
11/7/2009
Yet another Supreme Court judge Justice S H Kapadia withdrew from a case related to London-based company Vedanta Limited as he has shares in its sister concern Sterilite Company Limited. Justice Kapadia is the third judge, who has recused himself from hearing a case in the company in which he has shares, is one of the parties. On Wednesday, Justice R V Raveendran had recused himself from the bench hearing the natural gas dispute between the Ambani brothers on the grounds of clash of interest. BR>Justice Markandey Katju also withdrew from the case relating to Mukesh Ambani Company RIL and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a PSU, on the ground that his wife had shares in RIL.Earlier, Justice Kapadia was reportedly maligned in a section of media for hearing the case in which Vedanta Limited is one of the parties. Justice Kapadia has, however, disclosed the fact that he was one of the shareholders in the company on the first day of hearing and had offered to withdraw from the case in case any of the parties had any objection to his continuation on the bench. A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan today issued contempt of court notice to a Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan for giving an interview in Tehelka news magazine maligning the reputation of the Judiciary as a whole and that of a former Chief Justice of India. Earlier, senior counsel had objected to the remarks made by Mr Bhushan against the judges, including Justice Kapadia, and had urged the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Mr Bhushan as such conduct by a reputed advocate would send wrong signals to the people regarding the reputation of the Judiciary as a whole. The apex court had permitted him to file a contempt of court petition.Mr Bhushan, along with other eminent lawyers, including his father and former Union Law Minister Shanti Bhushan and other eminent lawyers like Mr Ram Jethmalani, F S Nariman and Anil Diwan, has been spearheading a campaign against corruption in the Judiciary.The committee for judicial accountability in which Mr Bhushan is one of the office-bearers had exposed the allegations of land grab and corruption against Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran whose elevation to the Supreme Court has been put on hold as a reult of the sustained campaign launched by the committee and the committee was also in the forefront demanding the judges of superior courts should make their assets public like other public servants. All 21 judges of Supreme Court, except Justice H S Bedi have put the details of their assets on the Supreme Court website. CJI Balakrishnan, who had been resisting the demand, also revealed his assets. Jutice Bedi is yet to make public his assets. The judges have, however, made it clear that the disclosure was voluntary in terms of Supreme court resolutions of 1997 and they were not legally bound to declare their assets.UNI








WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I WAS IN THAT POSITION
http://fightyourrights.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-should-i-do-if-i-was-in-that.html
Monday, November 9, 2009
Last week was a turmoil for the supreme Court. No it was not a landmark Judgement which was passed but a turmoil which shook the Judiciary. One after another three Judges withdrew themselves from hearing a case to save themselves. Interestingly the withdrawal was not at the beginning of the case but at the fag end... It was like a test match abandoned after 4 days of play as the players decided to call of....

I am sure it must have been a great dilemma for these Judges and also the CJI. The CJI facing turmoil after turmoil starting from the Madras Judge, who said that a cabinet minister had called him, to a judge who defied the CJI and declared his assets, things did not stop there... Then came the RTI controversey, the Dinkaran J. controversy and last but not the least the judges withdrawing from the cases...

I was just wondering what would I have done if I was the CJI and was surrounded by so many problems. Who knows I may after 20 years be the CJI (I know its a joke but I am a day dreamer). Then what will I do... will I resign from my post or will I remain quiet or will I rush to media to clarrify... what action will I have taken against waste of Supreme Court Judges valuable time.. how will I react to Dinkaran J. problem, the Madras Court Judges issue, the RTI controversy.....
What would I have done if I were in place of these 3 judges of Supreme Court or other Judges who are subject of this discussion... I am sure these Judges and CJI must be feeling very bad and at that level there are very few whom you can consult... But I am a person who thinks too fast and too forward. So let me plan and get the opinion of the other and let me decide as to what will I do if I am in their place..... Help me..... please tell me what should I have done... what do you expect me to do if I am there in that position..... Your comments needed .... After all I am going to do that with your consultation... Are Us Din Kha Puchne Aunga... Aaj hi Bata Do.......
Posted by Siddharth Murarka at 5:05 AM








Provide all info on chain snatchings in state: HC to cops
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Provide-all-info-on-chain-snatchings-in-state-HC-to-cops/articleshow/5213499.cms
TNN 10 November 2009, 06:25am IST
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court has taken a serious note of increase in chain snatching incidents in the state and directed the director general of police to place before the court all data regarding such offences registered across the state. During a hearing of bail application of Shailesh Bhatane, booked for chain snatching at the Naroda police station, Justice ZK Saiyed observed that chain snatching incidents are on the rise in the state off late, and it needs to be taken very seriously. The public prosecutor in the case, Chetna Shah vehemently argued against the bail plea bringing it to court's notice that nowadays it has become difficult for women to go out of home wearing jewellery. She contended that the theft of mangal sutras' in particular is very serious. The lawyer told the court that such incidents have increased and the offenders in most of the cases get away unpunished. Even when courts convict them, the provisions of punishment in such cases do not inflict harsh punishment on criminals. Hence, the high court should look into this issue. Following the argument, Justice Saiyed directed to bring complete information from across the state in connection with chain snatching incidents. Accordingly, a letter was dashed off to the DGP, who later circulated a note to all district headquarters to send data connected with this offence. The court has set a deadline for the state police to furnish all details of such thefts by November 19, when further hearing on Bhatane's bail plea is scheduled.








Stop work on Ganga Expressway: HC tells govt
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/stop-work-on-ganga-expressway-hc-tells-govt/539477/0
Express News Service
Posted: Tuesday , Nov 10, 2009 at 0308 hrs Allahabad:
The Allahabad High Court ordered the state government on Monday to halt all construction work related to the Ganga Expressway, connecting the eastern and western borders of the state.
The Bench comprising Justice D P Singh also served contempt notice to UP Chief Secretary Atul Kumar Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of Ganga Expressway Ravindra Singh, JP Infrastructure Chairman Manoj Gaur and District Magistrate and Additional SP of Mirzapur.
The order was passed by Justice D P Singh on a contempt petition filed by Varanasi-based organisation Ganga Mahasabha and
one Allahabad-based man Narendra Giri. The petitioners alleged that work on the project was being carried on in violation of the court’s May 29 order to stop all work and obtain fresh environmental clearance.
The Bench asked M C Chaturvedi, chief standing counsel of the state, to serve the notices and obtain their replies before the next date of hearing — December 2.
A K Gupta, counsel for the petitioner, said that despite the court’s order, the state government and the JP group was conducting a survey and was carrying on with the land acquisition in Mirzapur. The DM and the ASP of Mirzapur were actively involved in helping the JP Group in the land acquisition, he said.
On the other hand, Chaturvedi assured the court that no construction or land acquisition was going on, and the petitioner had an ulterior motive to stall the development project.
On May 29, a Division Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and Arun Tandon had quashed the environmental clearance certificate obtained by the government from the State Level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority. The Bench also asked the government to stop all work on the project till a fresh clearance within the guidelines laid down by the Environment Protection Act, 1986, was obtained.
The court had rejected the environmental clearance certificate of the state government on the ground that it did not adhere to all the four stages of the process as laid down in the Environment Protection Act.
The Ganga Expressway Project was launched by Chief Minister Mayawati after coming to power in 2007. The project aims to construct a 1,047 km access-controlled eight-lane expressway, which runs along Ganga to connect Greater Noida to Ballia.









Patan gangrape: HC reserves order on bail pleas of accused
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/patan-gangrape-hc-reserves-order-on-bail-pleas-of-accused/539452/
Express News Service
Posted: Tuesday , Nov 10, 2009 at 0250 hrs Ahmedabad
The Gujarat High Court has reserved its order on the bail applications of the six teachers convicted in the Patan gangrape case, till Tuesday. The Patan Fast-Track Court had sentenced them to life imprisonment for raping a Dalit girl student of the Primary Teachers’ Training College in Patan.
Manish Parmar, Ashwin Parmar, Mahendra Prajapati, Suresh Patel, Kiran Patel and Atul Patel were convicted of gangrape, criminal conspiracy and allied charges. Kiran, who is physically challenged, was also convicted for unnatural sex.
Besides the sentences, a fine of Rs 10,000 was slapped on each one of the convicted, which they were supposed to pay to the victim as compensation.
The convicts had challenged the March verdict in the High Court and had also applied for bail.
On Monday, a Division Bench of justices A L Dave and J C Upadhyay heard the applications and reserved the order till Tuesday.







TGTSOA celebrates HC verdict on shacks
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/TGTSOA-celebrates-HC-verdict-on-shacks/articleshow/5214115.cms
TNN 10 November 2009, 06:52am IST
PANAJI: New shack association, The Goan Traditional Shack Owners Association (TGTSOA) said it was ecstatic after winning a court battle challenging the beach shack policy 2009-10 stating that it was a victory for Goan youth over unemployment. Speaking to TOI after the Bombay high court at Goa delivered the verdict directing the tourism department to allot 90% of shacks based on draw of lots, TGTSOA president Manuel Cardoz said that allegations made by rival association Shack Owners Welfare Society had been proved wrong. "Clause 16 in the beach shack policy that gave preference to seniority was not in the interests of Goans," he said. "This clause would have helped those with seniority to monopolize the beaches within the next five years. However, now there is no difference between a person with 10 years of experience and a person with one year's experience. Everybody gets a fair chance at the business and even a person with a year's experience can hope to get a prime spot on the beach," Cardoz said. The TGTSOA president explained that had clause 16 of the shack policy be allowed to continue, over 170 shack owners with seniority would have automatically qualified for a licence without any competition. "The number is around half of the 346 shack allotments. Those who would have been left out - in the 1-5 years category-number at least 300 applicants," he said. TGTSOA spokesperson Kennedy Afonso said that the court verdict had delivered justice to all shack owners. "Despite allegations against TGTSOA, Goans will now know the truth. Everyone has a fair chance of landing a prime spot on the beach, as earlier the seniors used to even choose their spots. We had given the SOWS a suggestion that we could go in for ID cards to all genuine shack owners and freeze the number for the next few years, however, they did not want it," Afonso said. SOWS members were not available for comment. It may be noted here that the business season for beach shacks has already been delayed by over a month due to this feud. TOI had earlier reported that the run-up to the current tourist season had seen a stand-off between two rival shack associations; the older SOWS , and the newer TGTSOA-who were going at each other's throats and the feud threatened to derail the shack allotment process. On Oct 20, TGTSOA staged a hunger strike outside the tourism department protesting clause 16 before it could be notified. However, after the government went ahead and notified the policy, TGTSOA threatened to undertake an indefinite hunger strike from October 29 and also approached the court. The court directed both associations to sit before the tourism director last Friday and work out a truce, but the talks broke down leaving the decision to be taken by the court itself.






Now, Adnan's wife takes marital dispute to HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Now-Adnans-wife-takes-marital-dispute-to-HC/articleshow/5213610.cms
Swati Deshpande, TNN 10 November 2009, 04:02am IST
MUMBAI: The matrimonial fight between Pakistani singer Adnan Sami and his UAE-citizen wife Sabah Galadari has now landed in Bombay high court. Shocked by the family court's judgment, which held her marriage to Adnan as invalid, Sabah challenged the stand taken by divorce judge V J Lohiya and said the lower court had not understood the principles of Islamic law. Sabah, in her appeal that came up before the high court on Monday, said the family court had simply gone by Adnan's plea of the alleged invalidity of their remarriage to each other in 2007 on the grounds that she was required to comply with halala provisions. Halala, a system which many Muslim law scholars now frown upon and which even in ancient days was essentially to dissuade Muslim men from divorcing their wife on a whim, requires a divorced woman to marry another man, consummate that marriage, divorce him and only then re-marry the first husband. But halala was not necessary in all cases, said Sabah, and was not required in their case. Sabah's appeal said that halala was not applicable in this case. She said the family court did not take the well-established principle of Islamic jurisprudence which allows a married couple to settle their own terms of divorce. Besides, she said that Adnan had taken the halala plea "fraudulently and with a mala fide intention with sinister designs to harm her reputation and deny her her legal rights''. Differences cropped up in their marriage in January 2009. Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for Sabah, said that for a month now since the family court rejected her plea as untenable, Sabah is being denied her rights. Adnan's counsel Vibhav Krishna asked for some time to study the appeal and file his reply. The court gave him time till November 27. Sabah's appeal raises many key issues involving Muslim laws on marriage and divorce.






What is the purpose of ladies' bars? HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/What-is-the-purpose-of-ladies-bars-HC/articleshow/5213569.cms
Shibu Thomas, TNN 10 November 2009, 03:54am IST
MUMBAI: At a time when pornography is available at the click of a button, what is the purpose of ladies' bars, the Bombay high court has asked.
"They are probably just meeting places for anti-social elements,'' said Justice J N Patel, who along with Justice Amjad Sayed, presided over a division bench. "What is the need for such bars? Close them down.'' The court was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by owners of ladies' bars in the city, who alleged police harassment. The judges said if any individual police personnel had a stake in such a bar, the director-general of police should conduct a survey and weed out such cops. The court added that if the police were serious about taking action they should conduct sting operations to verify if the bars indulged in illegal activities. Policemen, posing as customers, should be sent to the bars and the raid that would follow should be recorded. The bar owners' petition stated that though they had the licence to operate till 1.30 am, the police forced their female orchestra artistes out of the restaurants at 9.30 pm. The "ladies' orchestra bars'' came into existence following a 2005 state law that banned dance bars. Following the ban on dancers, many of these establishments hired women waiters as well as singers. The bars claimed that they had all the licences under the Bombay Police Act, which included permission to run a place of public entertainment, serve foreign liquor and an annual renewable licence for orchestra performance. They also had approval from the BMC under the Bombay Shops and Establishment Act. According to the petition, police officials would come to the bars and force them to close by 9.30 pm. Failing to do so would result in the owners being booked for "indecency'', the plea added. During earlier hearings, the police had submitted draft guidelines, which included restricting the number of women singers on stage at a time. The bars are, however, opposed to it. The bar owners claimed that it was a violation of their fundamental right to practise a profession. They have also alleged discrimination, saying similar rules of a 9.30-pm deadline do not apply to hotels with three stars or more.





HC seeks DM's transfer
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/HC-seeks-DMs-transfer/articleshow/5214133.cms
Ravi Dayal, TNN 10 November 2009, 05:54am IST
PATNA: In probably a first in recent years, the Patna High Court on Monday categorically sought the transfer of a district magistrate (DM) for his failure to "appreciate the law". While hearing a writ petition filed by Arwal Zila Parishad member Madheshwar Prasad, a single bench presided by Justice Navniti Prasad Singh directed the chief secretary to post a "competent" officer in place of Daya Shankar Pandey as the Arwal DM as he convened a special meeting of the Zila Parishad and later cancelled it in violation of the Bihar Gram Panchayat Act. Petitioner's counsel Shree Prakash Srivastava pleaded before the court that the Act does not vest powers in the DM to convene a meeting of the Zila Parishad and that once he had convened such a meeting, he could not cancel it. The petitioner said he along with other members of the Zila Parishad had moved a no-confidence motion against its chairman, Subhash Chandra Yadav, and vice-chairman, Lalmati Devi, for allegedly tampering with Parishad resolutions. As the duo did not agree for the floor test, the petitioner petitioned the Arwal DM who ordered that a special meeting of the Zila Parishad be held on October 26 for the purpose. Later, however, the DM recalled his order, apparently citing legal provisions that he did not have such powers. The court directed the chief secretary to file a report regarding the action taken in the matter on the next date of hearing on November 16. Justice Singh observed an officer not appreciating the point of law should not be given such a responsible post as that of the DM. It appeared that the incumbent Arwal DM either did not know the relevant law or played into the hands of the chairman and vice-chairman of the Zila Parishad, the judge added.






HC stays extension of 'Dollar' Seshadri
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/HC-stays-extension-of-Dollar-Seshadri/articleshow/5213838.cms
TNN 10 November 2009, 04:18am IST
TIRUPATI: In a setback to the all-powerful `Dollar' Seshadri, the High Court on Monday stayed the Congress government's decision to extend his services as officer on special duty (OSD) at Tirumala. The government issued the extension orders last year to Seshdri as OSD though he had retired a couple of years ago. Challenging the extension, local Congress leader M Gopal Reddy had filed a PIL in the court. Seshadri has been in the eye of storm ever since the scandal about the missing 300 gold dollars from the temple bokkasam (treasury) broke out last year. Within a couple of months, the government-appointed probe committee exonerated him of the swindling charges. The government later gave him an extension. When the opposition parties kicked up a furore over the extension, Seshadri challenged his detractors that he was ready to undergo even a narcoanalysis test to prove his `innocence' as he avowed his loyalty to the temple. With Monday's court ruling, it remains to be seen whether the all-powerful Seshadri would go in for a fresh appeal to retain his post.






Hindi oath row: Petition filed in SC against MNS chief Raj
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hindi-oath-row-Petition-filed-in-SC-against-MNS-chief-Raj/articleshow/5215142.cms
PTI 10 November 2009, 01:53pm IST
NEW DELHI: A writ petition was today filed in the Supreme Court seeking registration of an FIR against MNS chief Raj Thackeray for assaulting SP MLA Abu Azmi in the Maharashtra Assembly for taking oath in Hindi instead of Marathi. The petition filed by one Salek Chand Jain also sought a direction to the Election Commission to de-recognise the MNS for sparking violence "throughout the country" by whipping up parochial feelings. Sugreve Dubey, counsel for the petitioner, made an impromptu mention of the petition before a Bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices P Sathasivam and B Sudershan Reddy. The Bench directed the petitioner to file the same through the registry. Referring to the assault of SP Party MLA on the floor of the house by MNS MLAs, the petition claimed the incident has provoked country-wide violence in the name of language and regionalism, thus threatening national unity.







Peace returns to Karnataka High Court
http://www.ptinews.com/news/370479_Peace-returns-to-Karnataka-High-Court
STAFF WRITER 16:47 HRS IST
Bangalore, Nov 10 (PTI) Peace and calm returned to the Karnataka High Court today, a day after it witnessed stormy scenes in which advocates locked up two judges and jostled with Chief Justice P D Dinakaran during a protest against his continuance in the post.Justice Dinakaran, facing allegations of land-grabbing and inquiry by Supreme Court collegium, attended the proceedings held under a blanket of police security in the court complex.A section of the advocates -- members of the Advocates Association of Bangalore (AAB)-- protesting continuance of Dinakaran as Chief Justice yesterday barged into the hall where the judge was holding court and shouted slogans against him.The lawyers jostled with Justices V Gopala Gowda and B V Nagaratna who refused to suspend hearing, locked them up in the court hall and cut off power supply for an hour.







Jessica Lal case: Manu Sharma back in jail, Delhi Government seeks CCTV footage
http://trak.in/news/jessica-lal-case-manu-sharma-back-in-jail-delhi-government-seeks-cctv-footage/21886/
by ANI on November 10, 2009
New Delhi, Nov 10 (ANI): Manu Sharma, the man serving a life sentence for the murder of model Jessica Lal, returned to the Tihar Jail here on Tuesday, almost two months after being out on parole. Sharma re-entered the jail after generating public ire and controversy for violating his parole terms.
His return to jail came hours after actor Arjun Rampal confirmed that Sharma was partying at Rampal’s nightclub. The Delhi government has reportedly asked for CCTV footage of the actor’s restaurant – the Lap Bar – and deputed some policemen to verify if Sharma, who was out on parole, was indeed present at the bar. Sharma had stated his mother’s illness and late grandfather’s last rites as reasons for asking for parole.
Sharma’s antics have caused a furor, especially after Sharma’s supposedly ill mother was seen attending a function in Chandigarh.
The last two times Jessica Lall’s killer was caught on camera were on February 2, 2007 when he had moved the Supreme Court challenging his conviction by the High Court, and earlier on December 20, 2006 when he had walked into court to hear his fate.
Sharma had cited: ‘Family affairs’ as a reason to avail the first 30 days of parole from September 22 this year. He said he wanted to perform ‘Pind dan’ or ancestral rites of his deceased grandmother, “maintaining social ties with friends and relatives, to attend an aging mother and to maintain his supervision of neglected business.”
Sharma was granted a further thirty-day extension to attend to his business, where he is the MD and currently a major shareholder.
Sharma had clearly used loopholes in the judicial system to his advantage.
Sabrina Lal, Jessica Lal’s sister has questioned Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s reasoning for giving parole to Sharma. (ANI)







Class Action Lawsuit
http://www.taxguru.in/company-law/class-action-lawsuit.html
Nov 10, 2009 Company Law
Monika Bhardwaj, B.Com (Hons.), Company Secretary
Class Action lawsuits have recently made to the front page news, more particularly in western countries. The reason being the sudden fall (bankruptcy) of financial industry giants like Freddie Mac, Wachovia, AIG to name a few and the consequent losses suffered by large number of investors amounting to millions of dollars.
What is this ‘Class Action’ all about?
‘Class Action’, which is also known as ‘Representative Action’, is actually a form of lawsuit where a large group of people collectively bring a claim to the court through a representative.
This form of lawsuit finds its origin in United States and is predominantly tried in their federal / state courts. In United States, such claims are governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, more particularly Rule 23. Later on Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 was introduced which expanded federal jurisdiction over many large class-action lawsuits (where amount in controversy exceeds $5 Million) and mass actions taken in the United States. It is pertinent to note here that Class Action Fairness Act contains carve-outs for, inter-alia, shareholder class action lawsuits which are covered by Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 which imposes new Rules on securities class action lawsuit to curtail frivolous claims that are also known as “strike suits”.
It is observed that mainly the class action lawsuits are filed either by a large number of consumers who suffer losses due to some illegal claims made by companies about their products (which we may term as “Consumer Class Action”) or by employees of a Company adopting discriminating hiring or illegal salary practices (which may be termed as “Employee Class Action”) or by large number of investors who suffer losses due to erroneous decisions or actions taken by the management of a Company wherein they had invested their hard earned money (which may be termed as “Shareholder Class Action”).
This article primarily focuses on “Shareholder Class Action” lawsuits. We have made an attempt to understand the concept & its existence in western countries and have tried to relate to the Indian context.
What exactly are ‘Shareholder Class Action’ suits?
Generally it is observed that when a Company’s management plays fraud or take erroneous policies with mala-fide intentions and consequently, the share prices falls or the Company becomes bankrupt; the most hit class of people are its shareholders who losses mainly on account of finance and to recover such losses they collectively file Class Action. Most class actions seek to recover shareholder losses relating to falling share prices or, in the worse case scenario, insolvency. History has witnessed that shareholder class action litigation results more from a company’s stock price movements than from the actual commission of fraud by the corporation.
It is interesting to note here that it’s not necessary that such Class Actions are filed only against the Companies; sometime they are also initiated against the errant management including the Directors and other officers. But the class of shareholders must comprise of those shareholders that have suffered common injury or injuries. When one joins a class action suit, he / she have to forgo his / her right to file an individual suit against the Company.
One may find that Shareholder Class Action may either become jury trials or may be settled prior to trials through mediation and settlement. In mediation, the damages and compensation are agreed to by the defendant company. In Jury Trials, the compensation is awarded through a judgment wherein if the compensation is a huge amount the defendant company may opt for appeal. The appeal process may take years and then the concerned plaintiff/s have to wait for long to get compensation and in such cases if the Company declares bankruptcy, the plaintiffs may never get a compensation then.
“The shareholders of a Company, which is in administration, can make claims against the administrator for continuous breach of disclosure guidelines and misleading and deceptive statements and conduct of the Company and such shareholders can be ranked equally with the unsecured creditors rather than making them stand in the queue after the creditors. Accordingly, the shareholders who buy shares in a Company, which becomes bankrupt shortly, relying on the misleading statements or incomplete disclosure by the Company will have an action as a creditor against the liquidator or administrator for any loss suffered as a result of that reliance.” – Federal Court in Sons of Gwalia Limited (Administrators Appointed) v Margaretic.
In Satyam Computer Services case, twelve class action suits have been filed so far and more are expected against the Company and the Managing Director including the other members of errant management of the Company by US Law firms on behalf of purchasers of Satyam’s American Depository Receipts. In the same fiasco, the global audit firm PwC, along with its international and India unit, was also charged with class action for having “recklessly disregarded” a multi-year massive fraud by the management of Satyam. The suit was filed on behalf of the purchasers of the American Depository Receipts of Satyam between January 6, 2004 and January 6, 2009.
Some recently seen Class Action suits are on Freddie Mac, Wachovia, Fannie Mac.
In United States, the law which deals with Class Action suits is “Class Action Fairness Act of 2005”.
Types of Class Action Suits:
Apart from share-holder Class action suits, there are some other types as well. Class Action lawsuits may be filed for matters relating to Dangerous consumer products, Unauthorized telephone charges, Unpaid overtime, Unauthorized Web loyalty charges, Unauthorized disclosure of credit card information, Illegal debt collection practices, Predatory lending practices, Excessive loan servicing charges, Unfair credit reporting, Pharmaceutical liability, Product liability.
Scenario in India:
We have observed that in India, class action lawsuits may be compared to Public Interest Litigation (PILs) allowed under Civil Procedure Law, wherein an individual or a group of individuals are allowed to file a complaint. Such litigation’s are mainly used in consumer complaints and rising environmental & cultural concerns; generally limited to protection of fundamental rights and are meant for protection of public interest. Such litigation’s can be initiated either by the Court itself or by a public spirited individual/s that represent the victim/s. In such cases, generally victims are unable to approach courts due to financial disability or otherwise. One may find that in India, though the principles of class action suits by shareholders against managements have been upheld by various Courts in the past, these are yet to be reflected in law.
Class Action Vs. PIL
Interestingly, it can be observed that though both Class Action lawsuits and Public Interest Litigation’s allow a large number of plaintiffs to bring collective suits that relate to same cause of action by way of representation as opposed to conventional lawsuit wherein the plaintiff represent himself only; still these both differ from each other. Like in Class Action lawsuits the plaintiff’s attorney charges contingency fees; which means no fees in case of failure and in case of success it is directly related to the amount of compensation / award (whether awarded in a judgment or received through settlement) and hence the risk of success or anxiety to succeed gets shifted from plaintiff to his Attorney, which is not so in Public Interest Litigation’s since as per Indian law, lawyers are not permitted to charge contingency fees. Another difference is in Class Action lawsuits, US Law requires each party to bear its own cost of litigation irrespective of the result of the lawsuit and hence even if plaintiff losses, he is not required to pay the defendant his cost of litigation. However, as per Indian law the courts may ask payment of such cost by the losing party. Actually, these differences alone acts as a deterrent to use class action mechanism in India, the way it is used in US and other European Countries. Further, PILs can only be filed against public bodies / regulatory bodies / state in High Court or Supreme Court under Article 226 or 32 of the Constitution respectively however; the Class Action lawsuits can be filed even against the private bodies. For establishment of Class Action litigation there must be a legal injury to the plaintiff however in PIL such injury / damage is not necessary.
Shareholder Class Action and Indian Corporate
In India, the need to codify class action litigation in Indian law had been recommended by J J Irani Committee which submitted its report to Ministry of Company Affairs on May 31, 2005. One may find that after the Satyam Fiasco, the greater need to encourage class action litigation’s has been felt in India. The provisions contained for representative suits in Section 397 and 398 in the existing Companies Act, 1956 for oppression and mismanagement may be termed alike US Class Action.
However, there is no specific provision for class action litigations under existing Indian Companies Act.
Interestingly the proposed Companies Bill 2009 however contains few provisions for class action lawsuits. Clause 32 of the Bill states that “A suit may be filed or any other action may be taken under Section 30 or Section 31 by any person, group of persons or any association of persons affected by any misleading statement or the inclusion or omission of any matter in the prospectus.” Similarly Clause 215 and Clause 216 propose to provide for a class action mechanism. Once enacted, these provisions will enable the shareholders of a Company to hold the errant companies and their management responsible for the wrong-doing.
Recently, on May 19, 2009 the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) also notified SEBI (Investor Protection and Education Fund) Regulations, 2009 according to which SEBI will establish an Investor Protection and Education Fund which will be used inter-alia, for “aiding investors’ associations recognized by the Board to undertake legal proceedings in the interest of investors in securities that are listed or proposed to be listed” – clause 5 (2) (d) of the Regulations. Such aid will be subject to certain conditions as stipulated under Regulation 6. This amendment is a path-breaking one and is believed to set shareholder activism in India. Through this an attempt is being made to provide incentive to class action litigation’s. Though a regime has started yet much is needed to make such litigation’s successful in India. In order to make the system functional lot of issues need to be settled which pertains to procedural as well as legal aspects. The procedure need to be clearer in terms of approach. Several amendments are still expected in Securities Law of the country so as to avoid abuse of process.
Benefits of Class Action Suits:
Class action lawsuits are beneficial from various angles.
Firstly, they enable aggregation of large number of individualized claims into one, which is cost effective for claimants and also avoids unnecessary repetition of lawsuit pertaining to common questions of law and fact. It provides an edge to small shareholders to come together and claim damages for the wrong-doing; at the same time lessen the burden on courts.
Secondly, it encourages bringing of claims that are very minimal when you see them individually but are considerable when seen collectively. Small recoveries normally discourages individual when compared to the litigation cost involved. This is the most efficient way of penalizing the wrongdoer and deterring him to repeat his wrongdoing in future where his wrongdoing has caused a significant loss / injury to a number of persons.
Thirdly, it also avoids conflict in rulings passed by different court on same question of facts and law. Fourthly, it provides relief to all individuals (plaintiffs) comprised in the class by way of single judgment or single settlement.
“Class-action lawsuits are an important and valuable part of the legal system when they permit the fair and efficient resolution of legitimate claims of numerous parties by allowing the claims to be aggregated into a single action against a defendant that has allegedly caused harm.” – Preamble to the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 of United States.
Impact of Class Actions on the ‘Performance’ of an investment portfolio:
In United States, mutual funds may file class action lawsuits on behalf of its investors, with an option given to them to opt in or out of the participation in the lawsuit.
If a company goes bankrupt or goes bust due to any reason suddenly, the stock price of that company falls drastically and if a portfolio holds the shares or securities of that company, then the return on investment obviously gets impacted, since the portfolio value drops to an extent of the quantity of the units held in the portfolio, going by the logic that more weightage the security has in the portfolio, the more will be loss of return. Mutual Funds have no control over this situation and have to report the ‘understated’ rate of return which is caused due to the fall in price of the security.
Now here, two scenarios arise. When the stock price falls drastically, as explained above, the portfolio gives a low rate of return in that particular month or period of months. Now since the class action lawsuit takes long time to reach the settlement, it happens that when the shareholders get compensated for their losses, there is an inflow of funds into the portfolio, which may be huge. Now this un-expected flow of funds causes the return of the portfolio to shoot up, since the portfolio value increases as compared to the previous month or period’s portfolio value. This flow of funds causes the portfolio to get overstated.
Therefore, due to class actions we have two scenarios: One, which makes the return to quote ‘understated’ and second, which makes the return to quote ‘overstated’.
The mutual fund industry is in a debate, whether to include and use this inflow of funds arising out of the result of the settlement, for performance of the portfolio or to give the funds, back to the investor?
Criticisms / Pitfalls:
The Class Action Lawsuits are subject to several criticisms as well. One among them is the large fees for attorney who normally charge conditional / contingency fees which is proportionate (normally a higher percentage of compensation / award money) leaving behind very small portion of money with class members and the second being the time taken for a final judgment, which may take years.
Disclaimer: The author or www.taxguru.in does not claim authority or expertise over this subject. The article merely aims at highlighting the facts about Class Action Lawsuits, derived from the information available in public domain. Readers are advised not to consider anything mentioned in the article as a legal advice. Care has been taken while writing this article; however errors or omissions cannot be completely ruled out.







HC summons prin secy and CMO in multi-crore health dept scam
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/TNNLaw2timHC-summons-prin-secy-and-CMO/articleshow/5213782.cms
TNN 10 November 2009, 07:02am IST
LUCKNOW: The High Court has summoned principal secretary, medical and health and present and former chief medical officer in an alleged multi-crore scam in the health department in Faizabad, on November 17. The order has been passed by a bench of Justice Pradeep Kant and Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi on a PIL filed by Viklang Kalyan Mahasangh and another through his counsel Anurag Narayan. The petitioner has demanded CBI probe into the scam. It has been alleged in the petition that since the scam involves top officials, the government is shying away to make any probe in the case. It has been alleged in the PIL that Rs 2 crore have been siphoned off in purchase of medicine. Besides, expired medicines worth Rs 1.5 crore were fraudulently burnt and forged rail tickets purchased from LTC accounts for Rs 80 lakh. Similarly Rs 40 lakh have been devoured from the general provident fund accounts of employees. Rs 50 lakh have been bungled in construction and maintenance work. A Rs 99 lakh scam has been there in health, sanitation, patient welfare committee and annual maintenance fund in the department, alleges the PIL.






Destroy explosives at dry port: Court to DC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ludhiana/Destroy-explosives-at-dry-port-Court-to-DC/articleshow/5213020.cms
TNN 9 November 2009, 09:21pm IST
CHANDIGARH: In a significant development, Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the district commissioner (DC) Ludhiana to ensure that explosives lying in containers at dry port Ludhiana be destroyed within two months. The high court has instructed authorities, statutory or otherwise, including the Army, to act according to the DC’s instructions. Explosives would be destroyed by Army authorities under operation Sanyam. Orders to ensure protection of life and limb and property of persons involved in the operation and also of properties in the vicinity of site of the operation have also been given by HC. HC has also asked the state home secretary to monitor operation Sanyam of Indian Army while destroying the explosives. Division bench comprising chief justice Tirath Singh Thakur and justice KS Ahluwalia passed these orders on Monday while allowing a PIL preferred by advocate HC Arora. In his petition, advocate Arora had sought directions to state of Punjab and Army authorities to remove the huge stock of explosives lying in containers at dry port, Ludhiana. The petitioner had disclosed in the PIL that the stock of explosives lying at the dry port was a threat to lives of people of Ludhiana. The stock of explosives includes 55 stick bombs, 365 grenades, 54 boxes of bottle bombs, one box of ballistic cartridges, 215 golas (tope) medium, 857 mortar shells, 234 rockets, one drum magazine filled with live cartridges, one box of medium cartridges, three large bomb shells, 17 gun golas (32 miles), 6,908 cartridges MMG, 1,007 medium gunshells, 189 small gunshells, one unknown bomb, 392 small gola tope cells, 891 anti-aircraft cartridges, 239 cartridges (A/T), 30 base rockets and 11 grenades. According to an estimate, around Rs 1.35 crore would be spent in destroying the said explosives. The entire expense on destroying the explosives would be borne by the importers as the high court has directed DC Ludhiana to recover the share of expenses of operation from Raghav Industries, Ludhiana, as arrears of land revenue.






HC seeks info from Government on red gram

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=HC+seeks+info+from+Government+on+red+gram&artid=pLuMkJy3Gz4=&SectionID=xAV59odivTs=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=BUzPVSKuYv7MFxnS0yZ7ng==&SEO=

Our Legal correspondent
First Published : 10 Nov 2009 09:22:05 AM IST
Last Updated : 10 Nov 2009 11:11:06 AM IST

HYDERABAD: The PIL bench of the High Court on Monday sought information from the government on how and through whom it proposes to sell red gram (toor dal)The bench is dealing with a public interest writ petition on the alarming increase in the selling price of the commodity. P Suresh Kumar, a practising advocate,
moved the court complaining of government’s inaction on controlling the alarming increase in the price of the essential commodity. The government informed the court
that the Markfed had been authorised to procure the same.
The bench gave time to the authorities to spell out the details of how it would distribute and on what basis it would be priced.






MLA denied bail in murder case
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/MLA-denied-bail-in-murder-case/articleshow/5213048.cms
TNN 9 November 2009, 09:34pm IST
PATNA: The Patna High Court on Monday rejected the bail petition of JD(U) MLA Vijay Kumar Shukla alias Munna Shukla in the case of murder of former science and technology minister Brij Behari Prasad. A division bench comprising Justice Chandra Mohan Prasad and Justice Dharnidhar Jha denied bail to Shukla who is serving life term in the case. The division bench had earlier admitted his criminal appeal against the life sentence given to him by a CBI court. Franking machine: The advocate general on Monday submitted before a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Shiva Kirti Singh and Justice Shyam Kishore Sharma that franking machines for printing judicial stamps on petitions and affidavits would be installed in all the district civil courts in the state by March. The machines would be installed in eight district courts in the state by next month, he added. Students' union polls: The Council for Protection of Public Rights and Welfare, through its general secretary M P Gupta, has filed a PIL in the Patna High Court seeking conduct of students' union polls in all the universities and colleges in the state. The PIL has said these polls have not been held in any of the universities for the last over two decades. This despite the fact that a division bench of the high court in 2006 directed the chancellor of universities of Bihar and the VCs to do the needful in this regard.







Dark Spell of Witch – Hunting
http://www.sinlung.com/pickledreadings/dark-spell-of-witch-hunting.html
Posted by sinlung on Nov 9th, 2009 and filed under Pickled Readings.
By Shib Shankar Chatterjee
Witchery Nightmare Nags Many Noteworthy & Noteless Villagers of Northeast India
Case Study/Incident – A: “….. in our village a boy has been suffering from a serious disease for several months. He couldn’t get rid of the disease. He confided to his parents that he dreamed that 4 women witches including myself took him to our den and have been harassing him in different ways. His parents discussed the matter with our village people.
Hearing this, the village flew into a rage and attacked the so-called witches including myself. They beat us black and blue and I fell senseless and my friends fled away from our village. Later, the same mob also attacked and torched the houses of our 2 neighbours, but they left the village by that time.
But already this mob hacked 3 members of a family to death (including a one-and-a-half-year-old child) of our village on the night of July 3, 2001. At the present time we feel unsecured …..”, explained this gory episode pregnant Sura Hembram, who hails from Saharpur village under Basugaon Police Station (PS) under the Kokrajhar district of Northeast Indian State, Assam.
Case Study/Incident – B: “….. my stepbrother and I had on our landed property, which I inherited after the death of my father. So, to capture that property, my stepbrother hit upon a plan and according to that plan, he conspired the matter with a village-quack and turned me into a witch.
The quack and my step-brother then began to propagate in the village that I am the cause of creating various diseases in our village; then one day a section of our village people took me forcibly to a place and began to torture me and at last, they buried me to try to kill me with suffocation. All these are done to occupy my property. But I escaped …..”, expressed this in horrified voice Subhadra Basumatary of Silapara village under Dudhnoi PS under Goalpara district of Northeast Indian State, Assam.
Case Study/Incident – C:“….. it was an incident of one Sunday, when a gathering like other such gathering was arranged in the Kalikot Tea-Estate at latter part of the day under a cluster of bamboos. Sani Charoa Oraon, Jaanguru (that is, village-headman) was presiding over the meeting.
In that Gaon-Sabha (that is, village-meeting) five women (Binsari Oraon, Etoari Oraon, Sumari Oraon, Menja Munda and Pakka Kharia) of our village were called to attend. It was alleged that those five women were none but five witches, who caused the death of Bandhe Oraon (42), the resident of Kunjaline village near the said tea-estate.
The brother of the said tea-estate car-driver, Raju Oraon explained at a village meeting that his brother suddenly fell ill on July 23, 2002 and the next day they rushed to the nearby hospital (which is situated at Malbazar area). But, his brother could not survive and died. He begged justice because, at the time of his brother’s death, five witches appeared in our village and those five witches were none but the said five village-women of our village; in a word, his brother’s death was caused by those women.
After hearing all these things, the people of our village then termed them as witches and a brutal punishment was inflicted upon them. It was decided that they would be brought to death by pelting stones towards them and beating them by the heavy sticks and he, who would try to prevent this inhuman deed, would have to be made himself ready to face serious consequence, even, death …..”, described fearfully, local labour leader of Kunjaline village under Meteli PS of Jalpaiguri district of the Northeast Indian State, West Bengal.
“Witch-hunt” or “witch-slaughter” is now one of the most brutal deeds ever committed by rational people since the dawn of civilization. This is a great horror and it haunts the innocent women like anything. According to the recent news a lot of innocent women are butchered or burnt to death on the charge of witchery.
Several reasons they play a dominant role behind this inhuman torture and killing, poverty, illiteracy, superstition, fear are all the reasons that act directly and indirectly to give birth to such a belief in witchery. But the most heartrending cause is the voracious attitude of the relatives or near and dear ones to gulp his or her property.
But prior to this, tricks after tricks are played to give up the right upon the property coveted for and when all these attempts turn fruitless, they hit upon a plan to get rid of these women or men by giving this scurrilous name the ‘witch’. They calumniously start to call them witch and then murder them when the opportunity appears.
The so-called witches are very unfortunate inhabitants of the villages, who knew the art of healing a few common diseases but they fail to cure, they are termed as witches. Sometimes, when any epidemic breaks out, the mischievous persons the so-called opportunists take chance and try to exterminate her or him.
Witch-hunting is a great ruinous attack upon the growth and development of civilization. It occurs, when there is a great transformation going on in our thoughts, manner and movement etc. Today, humans live in an age where science and technology lords over everything. Today the society is more rational than the society was in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The human being and his society have won victory over superstitions, religious bigotry and worn-out beliefs.
But, yet the people cannot shake off the idea of hating and killing the so-called witches. These deserted men and women, who people call witches, know different arts of healing diseases. These men and women are generally acquainted with ‘black-art’. They know some magical fits or enchantments by means of which they help to overcome some domestic problems.
It is said that they can whip out the obstacles that often stand to easy marriage of the unmarried girls, employment of the unemployed youths, to solve problems related to litigation and so on. But there are some mischievous persons, who don’t want all these to be solved and so try to find out fault with them and make plans to harass them; kill them and in some cases ravish them.
These incidents take place in those villages, where Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) Other Backward Class (OBC), Most Other Backward Class (MOBC) and such others people live, which lack infrastructure facilities like, good medical system, sanitation system, road-communication system, electrification system, education system, drinking-water system etc.
As a result of this, neither any patients nor any men or women victims of any accidents have any sort of help. It is an astonishing fact that those, who are engaged in harassing and killing the so-called innocent witches, belong to same clan or tribe or group.
According to some particular class of inhabitants of the village, they harass these men and women in order to free villages from the evil influence of the witches. But it happens due to the envious attitude of some important people cannot do anything to fit fat personal desire or wish due to power, popularity and personality of the women, who they call as witch.
“This is a dangerous trend. Shortage of doctors, nurses and the Primary Health Centre or Public Health Centre (PHC) in remote or rural areas compelled the tribal clans to rely or trust on Kabiraj (that is, exorcist or sorcerer, locally called Ojha or Baiga) and also the quack, who on failure to cure serious diseases, put the blame on witch-craft and numbers of Tonhi or witch”, explained Ms. Promila Rani Brahma, a prominent women Bodo leader and the former Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Kokrajhar constituency under Kokrajhar district of Northeast Indian State, Assam.
‘All Bodo Women’s Welfare Federation (ABWWF) planned to launch a vigorous campaign among Bodo villagers against this wicked process done by a section of exorcists and quack’s the further added.
On the other hand, Jyotsna Chaterjee an activist of New Delhi (capital of India) based Women’s Non Governmental Organization (NGO), Joint Women’s Programme claimed, “The patriarchal society is reluctant to give women their property rights and the widows are regularly killed after being called witches”.
She further revealed, “Their standard excuse seems to be that it is a family dispute and there is no need to take the matter to the court. In most cases, the women targeted were either widows or older single women and therefore, more vulnerable. The belief in the existence of witches is strong and deep-rooted especially in tribal communities. Older women, especially widows are supposed to have an evil eye and are considered inauspicious. The practice reflects the low status of women, particularly widows”.
But, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has mooted introduction of a subject relating to ‘Dayan Pratha’ or witch craft in the syllabus of primary education in the Eastern Indian state, Assam. The idea behind introducing Dayan Pratha in the curricula of Primary Schools is to bring about awareness from an early age to do away with the primitive practice of witch hunting based on superstitious beliefs, according to the Neeva Konwar, member of NCW of the Assam State chapter, who also claimed that the witch-hunting like, an infectious disease that spreading to newer areas.
Though, the chairperson of the NCW of the Assam State chapter, Mridula Saharia blamed that the need for better Medical (health), Education, Drinking Water, Sanitation and Transportation facilities and certainly mass awareness in remote rural areas to eradicate the evil practice. And, women cell and Mahila Panchayet Pradhan (Woman Village Panchayet Head)s should be activated at Village Panchayet and District Headquarter levels of the Indian states to tackle the evil.
“Even, the ‘Church’ with close bonding with the tribals and the Adibashis have preferred to keep away from the sensitive subject. Although we have made clear our objection to witch- hunting or witch-burning issue,” disclosed Justin Lakra, an Adibashi Santhal Students’ leader of the Northeast Indian State, Assam.
The killing of women suspected of being witches is a frequent phenomenon in the parts of northeastern and central India. Those, who intent to exploit unguarded women turn them into witches, these people don’t honour and follow the conventional methods of the society and they decry social customs etc.
“More than 300 numbers of cases of Tonhi, (Means: Witch, locally called in Chhattisgarh State in India) and resultant deaths of more than 100 numbers of woman have been reported since 2005. Public abuse and disrespect imposed on the minds and souls of the victims keep alive forever. And to get rid of that lots of women commit suicide. Though, in India, only in our state has an act (known as, Chhattisgarh Tonhi atyachar [Niwaran] Act, 2005), against witchery, but everything depends on State Government, who may arrest the go-wild above situation through the above law”, claimed Dr. Dinesh Mishra, president of an association against superstitions of Chhattisgarh State.
The NGOs should go to those villages, where the incidents occurs, enquire the case thoroughly specially those, who became victims of exploitation witch-craft and clearly explain to them the reasons by behind the victims, so that, the villages could realize the causes of witchery smoothly. Otherwise, such barbaric incident would occur and the helpless unprotected women would have to face these unfortunate “death”.
(Author is former BBC, The Times of India, Hindustan Times & The Statesman Contributor of Northeast India/The Writer specialises in Northeast India Affairs)
References:01. Livewire : Witch-Hunt – Whose Turn Is It Next? by Shib Shankar Chatterjee, Hindustan Times (Northeast Live Page), dated 18th August, 2001, (Page Number-02).02. Witch Hunting Plagues Rural Assam by Shib Shankar Chatterjee, The Statesman (North East Page) , dated 04th May, 2002, (Page Number-07).03. Investigation: Phuks in Fatalities (Witch Hunt) by Shib Shankar Chatterjee, CAM NEWS NETWORK TODAY (CNN), dated August, 2005, (Page Number-42 to 45).




Difference of opinion no ground for penalty: Tax tribunal
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/personal-finance/tax-savers/tax-news/Difference-of-opinion-no-ground-for-penalty-Tax-tribunal/articleshow/5214016.cms
10 Nov 2009, 0436 hrs IST, M Padmakshan, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: The Delhi Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that difference of opinion cannot be a ground for levying penalty in transfer pricing issues. The ITAT said there should be sufficient ground to believe that the assessee had malafide intention before levying a penalty under section 271 (I) (C) of the Income-tax Act. The ITAT decision, given in October 2009, was on an appeal filed by Vertex Customer Services, which runs a call centre. The company incurred a loss of Rs 4.3 crore after making adjustments for cost of first year operation, cost of excess capacity and a provision of doubtful debts towards sum due from the parent company. The adjustments were on the premise that these are extraordinary costs that need to be excluded while estimating arm's length price under transfer pricing regulations. The transfer pricing officer, however, rejected the third adjustment on the premise that provision for doubtful expenditure could not be construed extraordinary in nature. On this ground a penalty was levied on the company. Explanation 7 to section 271 (I) (C) of the Income-tax Act provides that in the case of an assessee, who has carried out a cross-border transaction, the amount added or disallowed be deemed to represent income in which particulars have been concealed or inaccurate particulars furnished unless the assessee shows that that income was calculated in good faith and with due diligence. Vertex moved the first appellate authority, the commissioner (appeal), which allowed the appeal, holding that the company had disclosed the full facts of the transaction and the adjustment was only on account of difference of opinion and therefore penalty could not be levied on the transaction. Following this, the income-tax department moved the ITAT. The tribunal too dismissed the levy of penalty and observed that there can be more than one opinion on the issue of whether provision for bad debt is to be classified under ordinary item or extra ordinary item. It cited the Supreme Court decision in the case of Hindustan Steel to hold that penalty under 271 (I) (C) cannot be imposed where there is only a difference of opinion. Moreover, penalty is warranted only if assessee's intention is proved malafide.