Filthy beaches draw HC flak

PANAJI: The high court of Bombay at Goa has asked the state government to file a report regarding the steps to be taken to ensure cleanliness on the beaches during monsoon. During the hearing of the petition filed by People’s Movement for Civic Action (PMCA) and Goa Foundation, advocate Norma Alvares pointed out that as of mid-May, the beaches were clean. But with the onset of monsoon tarpaulin, plastics, jute sacks and garbage are strewn all over beaches in north and south Goa. Advocate General of the state, Subodh Kantak said the job of beach cleaning has been outsourced to a private agency.
26 Jun 2008, 0546 hrs IST,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

HC sets aside Lachit Bordoloi’s detention

GUWAHATI, June 25 – The division bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising Justice AH Saikia and Justice Hareswar Baruah today set aside the order of detention of Lachit Bordoloi passed by the district magistrate, Kamrup (M), Guwahati under National Security Act, 1980 on March 28 this year. Lachit Bordoloi, adviser, MASS and chief coordinator of PCPI and coordinator of PCG was initially arrested on February 12 in connection with Noonmati PS Case No. 46/08 U/S 120B/121/122/124/IPC read with various sections of Arms Act.The district magistrate by an order dated March 28 passed an order for detention of Bordoloi under National Security Act, 1980.Bordoloi filed a writ petition challenging the order of detention and the court after hearing the WP (Crl) Case No. 11/08 pronounced a judgement today setting aside the order of detention dated March 28 passed by the district magistrate, Kamrup (M) and directed that he will be released forthwith if he is not wanted in any other case.Bordoloi was represented before the court by advocates Bijan Mahajon, Arshad Choudhury, Pranab Das and Nayanjyoti Das. PS Deka, Government advocate represented the State government and D Choudhury, advocate represented the Central government before the court.
By Our Law Reporter
http://www.assamtribune.com

HC orders status quo

PANJIM, JUNE 25 — The government today suffered another set back when the High Court asked Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) not to act on the show cause notice issued to M/s K Raheja Corporation Pvt Ltd over withdrawal of land for a SEZ, until July 18.(Continued on page 10)Rahejas which has proposed to set up a SEZ at Verna Industrial Estate — Phase IV has gone to High Court challenging the show cause notice issued by GIDC as to why lease deed allotting it an area of 10, 59, 118 sq mts should be revoked. A Division Bench of Justices S A Bobde and R C Chavan on Wednesday directed the GIDC not to act on the show cause notice issued until further hearing which is fixed for July 18, when the GIDC counsel sought time to file reply. However, the petitioner will be at liberty to carry out the work in the notified SEZ, but at its own risk. On June 13, the GIDC had issued show cause notices to seven SEZs following direction from the State Government that the land leases granted to SEZs promoters should be revoked/cancelled forthwith in view of its policy, not to permit establishment of any SEZ in Goa. Of the seven SEZ parties, M/s Rahejas is the first one to challenge GIDC show cause notice.The State formed its SEZ policy on June 6, 2006 in the 21st meeting of the council of ministers. But before that was formulated, the government had allotted land to several parties for setting up of SEZs. And,that too without calling for Expression of Interest.
HERALD REPORTER
http://oheraldo.in

HC rejects Nishad's plea to stay RS by-poll

Patna, June 26: Patna High Court on Thursday rejected the petition of Jainarain Nishad, recently disqualified from Rajya Sabha, seeking a stay on Thursday's by-poll for the lone upper house seat until disposal of his writ petition.
Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathy said there was no reason to stay Thursday 's election and allowed the polling, which began this morning, to proceed after hearing Nishad's lawyer YV Giri.
Tripathy had reserved his order on the interlocutory petition filed by Nishad as part of in the original writ petition challenging his disqualification in April this year.
Nishad had been disqualified from Rajya Sabha two years ago when despite being an NDA member he had campaigned for RJD before the Bihar assembly polls. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj had petitioned against him following which he was disqualified.
The contest for the seat was necessitated as an independent Shivshanker Nishad, whose candidature was proposed by some RJD MLAs including its deputy leader in the state assembly Shakeel Ahmed Khan, jumped into the fray against BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy on June 16, the last day of filing nominations.
Khan, who had proposed the name of Nishad said the party would back him as the ruling NDA had given ticket to Rudy, an upper caste leader, disregarding the fact that the seat had fallen vacant of a leader belonging to an extremely backward caste.
Rudy's victory after rejection of Jai Narain Nishad's petition is a foregone conclusion even if the opposition parties vote en bloc for Nishad.
Agencies
Posted online: Thursday , June 26, 2008 at 02:34:27Updated: Thursday , June 26, 2008 at 02:34:27
http://www.expressindia.com

Separation of executive from judiciary needed

In Meghalaya the executive and the judiciary are under one roof. This has led to numerous problems faced by the public in general and undertrial prisoners in particular. A separation of the two is urgently required. .

Often we see scores of undertrial prisoners being brought to the deputy commissioner’s (DC) court and according to some sources these undertrial prisoners are brought here to the DC’s court frequently and that the number of undertrial prisoners in the Jowai District Jail is beyond the recommended capacity. One of the officials also stated that there are some undertrial prisoners who have been serving for years together.
Interestingly, there were two camp courts held recently in the month of May alone but the district jail is still overcrowded as most of the cases under these camp courts are yet to be disposed off. This overcrowding of the jail had not only become a problem to the staff alone but it also became a burden for the exchequer of the state, said one of the sources.
One may wonder as to why these cases were not disposed? According to some of the litigants in the DC’s court, most of their cases were pending for many years and according to them most of the time the magistrates are busy in their administrative work or law and order problem, etc. They (the litigants) also added that the year 2007 was worst because all of the magistrates were busy in the revision of the electoral rolls for the General Elections. As a result there was no trial or disposal of cases and they (litigants) had to bear the burden.
According to some of the magistrates, they gave the same reasons as stated by the litigants for the non disposal of the cases. According to one of the magistrates, he is finding it difficult to conduct a trial as he has very less knowledge about the procedure to adopt, for trying different types of cases. According to this magistrate, it is the duty of the courts to decide upon the fate of the accused if he is guilty or not and with little knowledge of law it is unfair to give a judgment as it will affect the parties concerned.
On narrating the remarks given by the litigants and the magistrates to some of the advocates, the advocates agreed to their (litigants and magistrates) remarks and also expressed their sadness that the magistrates did not know their jurisdiction. The advocates clarified that the law clearly states that all cases between the Tribals have be tried by the district council court.
The advocates also added that there are many instances where cases of the Tribals were tried in the DC’s court. Does this mean that the DC’s court at Jowai is ignorant of the law?
One of the advocate remarks, "In bailable offence a bail petition was rejected not on the ground of insufficiency of surety but on some other flimsy ground. Whereas an accused under any heinous crimes, gets a bail granted without any hesitation."
On comparing the working of the DC’s court and the district council’s court there are vast differences between the two and the working of the district council courts is better than the DC’S court.
This is because all the magistrates in the district council courts, Jowai, have no hesitation to try and disposed off cases, as they are well verse in law and procedures being law graduates.
According to some sources from the district council courts, even though there are a lot of adjournments, the litigants have very less to complain. Unlike the magistrates under DC’s court, the magistrates of the district council courts are free and are engaged only in judicial work and not the administrative work, which are left to the members of district council (MDCs).
The problem with the district council courts lies only with the village courts, as they have to try cases as per the customary laws of the village and each village court has a different procedure in trying cases. The Dolloi of the Elaka is the chairman of the village courts and its members have to be elected by the elders of the Elaka. According to one official of the district council courts said, "A certain procedure should be framed for the trial of cases by the village courts, in order to achieve uniformity of trials."
It is high time that the government separates the judiciary from the executive for the general interest of the public.
CJ: SAJEKI PASSAH ,
http://india.merinews.com

Media focus affects sentencing of undertrials: CJI

Hyderabad (PTI): Media focus affects the process of sentencing and granting bail to undertrials to some extent but the judges should act with a free mind, Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan said here on wednesday.
"Media also controls to a great extent. They focus on the case from the very begining of the investigation and trial. And the judge is in a tough situation on granting bail and at various stages.
"I don't completely blame the media. But media reporting has some effect on the matter of sentencing and the matter of granting bail. The judge should have a free mind, free thinking and be absolutely free from any external interference and unbiased attitude. Free from all prejudice, he must act," Balakrishnan said.
He was addressing a seminar on 'Growing Crimes-Deterrent Punishment: Search for an Appropriate Theory of Punishment.'
Speaking on the occasion, Law Commission Chairman and former Supreme Court judge Justice A R Lakshmanan suggested measures to avoid delays in criminal justice administration and to improve the functioning of courts.
More courts should be established in proportion to the increase in population, infrastructure of courts should be updated procedural law should be further simplified by amending Criminal Procedure Code and some of the powers of high court should be extended to the principal sessions judge, he said.
The number of vacation days in the court should be reduced, seminars and symposia should be conducted periodically at district-level to inculcate a sense of responsibility, police and prosecution systems should be immediately reorganised and revamped, he added.
Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court A R Dave and several senior judges participated in the seminar.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
http://www.hindu.com

SHASHI ON SUNDAY: Be more tolerant towards creative fields

Last week i wrote about the landmark judgement by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul of the Delhi High Court on May 8, upholding a number of petitions submitted by painter M F Husain. The nonagenarian artist had sought the dismissal of various cases filed against him for allegedly offending public decency and morality by his "obscene" use of nudity in his paintings, particularly those of Hindu goddesses and of "Bharat Mata". While the judge's ruling had taken care of the legal aspects of the case, his larger observations on the case deserve the attention of every thinking Indian. The most important of these, i believe, is his rejection of the tendency of thin-skinned (or maliciously motivated) people across the country to claim to be offended by artistic and literary works. If you're easily offended, he argues, don't read the book, look at the painting or open the website that offends you, but don't prevent the artist or writer from enjoying his constitutionally protected freedom of expression. What is vital, according to Justice Kaul, is to look at the work of art from the artist's point of view — his or her intent rather than the hyper-sensitive viewer's reaction. Lest he be promptly denounced by the Hindutva brigade as a deracinated pseudo-secularist, the judge wisely cites Swami Vivekananda's words in defence of his approach: "We tend to reduce everyone else to the limits of our own mental universe and begin privileging our own ethics, morality, sense of duty and even our sense of utility. All religious conflicts arose from this propensity to judge others. If we indeed must judge at all, then it must be 'according to his own ideal, and not by that of anyone else'. It is important, therefore, to learn to look at the duty of others through their own eyes and never judge the customs and observances of others through the prism of our own standards." But Justice Kaul goes even further in extending the boundaries of the permissible in India. Nudity and sex, he argues, have an honoured place in art and literature: "In the land of the Kama Sutra, we shy away from its very name?" he asks in surprise. "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and so does obscenity.... (In Indian tradition) Sex was embraced as an integral part of a full and complete life. It is most unfortunate that India's new 'puritanism' is being carried out in the name of cultural purity and a host of ignorant people are vandalising art and pushing us towards a pre-Renaissance era." This is wonderful language in a High Court judgement. Readers should remember that India, unlike the US, has no absolute right to freedom of expression; in our country, Article 19 (2) says that freedom of speech can be curbed by "reasonable restrictions... in the interests of (the sovereignty and integrity of India) the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence." In other words, a differently-minded judge could have easily interpreted the language about public order, decency and morality more narrowly. We Indians are fortunate that a series of judgements over the years, culminating in this one, have tilted the balance decisively in favour of our freedoms. Justice Kaul is sensitive to the charge that liberal attitudes to art and obscenity reflect the inclinations of a privileged minority and that most Indians might indeed be offended by the kind of art his judgement protects. He writes: "Democracy has wider moral implications than mere majoritarianism. A crude view of democracy gives a distorted picture. A real democracy is one in which the exercise of the power of the many is conditional on respect for the rights of the few... In real democracy the dissenter must feel at home and ought not to be nervously looking over his shoulder fearing captivity or bodily harm or economic and social sanctions for his unconventional or critical views. There should be freedom for the thought we hate. Freedom of speech has no meaning if there is no freedom after speech. The reality of democracy is to be measured by the extent of freedom and accommodation it extends." These words should give heart not just to M F Husain, but to artists and writers across the country, who in recent years have found themselves the victims of other people's hyper-sensitivities. "Intolerance," Justice Kaul writes, "is utterly incompatible with democratic values. This attitude is totally antithetical to our Indian psyche and tradition." He goes on to warn that the criminal justice system "ought not to be invoked as a convenient recourse to ventilate any and all objections to an artistic work" and be used as a "tool" in unscrupulous hands to violate the rights of artists. The judge declares that "a magistrate must scrutinise each case in order to prevent vexatious and frivolous cases from being filed and make sure that it is not used as a tool to harass the accused, which will amount to gross abuse of the process of the court.... (A)part from the harassment element there would be growing fear and curtailment of the right of the free expression in such creative persons." He decries "the large number of incidents of such complaints .... resulting in artists and other creative persons being made to run across the length and breadth of the country to defend themselves against criminal proceedings initiated by oversensitive or motivated persons, including for publicity." Let us hope his words are heeded and that the remaining cases against Husain — there are still three pending — will also soon be withdrawn. In the meantime, Justice Kaul's ruling is a remarkable charter for artistic freedom in India. "I have penned this judgment," he concludes, "with the fervent hope that it is a prologue to a broader thinking and greater tolerance for the creative field." Every thinking Indian concerned about freedom of expression should join in the applause.
1 Jun 2008, 0233 hrs IST, Shashi Tharoor
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

After 10 yrs, 93-year-old gets justice

JAISALMER: 93-year-old Haji Amin remembers a 27 year old fight, after which he had to face the consequences. Year after the fight, Amin and 17 others like him, have been awarded three years imprisonment by Balotra Fast Track Court of Badmer district. The case would have gone on for a long if it had not been transferred to a fast track court in 2005. In May 2005, CJM Badmer transferred the case to fast track court and two days back, additional session judge Gajanand Sharma, passed his judgement on the case. Two accused Sika and Janu died during the trial. According to police report filed on August 6, 1981, Kamaal of Selau village in Badmer district had charged 27 people of same village for attemptting murder on him. Kamaal said, "These people barged into my agricultural fields, when I opposed, they manhandled me and my friends and later blew strokes with lathis, iron rods and sharp-edged weapon on us". Following the incident, Karamsar police registered case under section 307 (attempt to murder) and various other sections of IPC against 27 people. During the hearing at Balotra session court in August 1984, seven persons including Dosu, Imam, Hakam, Amar, Gulab, Ameer and Abdullah were held guilty, while 20 others were given clean chit in the case. The people, who have been sentenced to imprisonment, includes Toga (85), Sepal (63), Arbab (48), Idris (43), Wali (68), Gula (55), Haji Amin (93), Haji (73), Ala Bachaya (73), Sachu (68), Kamaal (46), Salim (63), Nabha (41), Muhib (53), Gumana (68), Amar (58), Sharif (63) and Arbu (48). Complainant Kamaal, told TOI "Though justice has been delayed but I am satisfied with the punishment awarded to guilty persons". How-ever, he accepted that if the decision would have come at that same time, the satisfaction among his family and relatives would have been more. Now, jail administration is in a fix over putting 18 people in lockup at the time when most of them have crossed 60 years of age and are suffering from age related problems. Not only this, policemen are facing tough time in helping them in boarding the police vehicle after the court ordered to send them to jail.
1 Jun 2008, 0558 hrs IST, Vimal Bhatia,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Madras HC issues notice to Railway Board

The Madras High Court has ruled that the appointment of any agency to discharge the professional function of architects in the railway stations in the country would be subjected to the result of a writ petition. While admitting a writ petition filed by Mr Ramaraju Tamil Nadu Chapter, Chairman of the Indian Institute of Architects, Mr Justice K Venkataraman issued notice to the Railway Board, returnable by June 9. In his petition, Ramaraju submitted that no person other than those registered with the Council of Architecture (CoA) under the provisions of the Architecture Act 1972 could practice the profession in India. He contented that the railways was in the process of appointing architects and technical consultants for preparing master plan and architectural design for railway stations identified for re-development. The petitioner also submitted that two Hongkong-based firms had already been appointed for preparing master plan and feasibility study for New Delhi and Patna railway stations. The eligibility criteria did not make it clear that membership with the CoA was mandatory for the engagement of such firms for works in India. These companies, in turn, appointed Chief Architects who were neither registered with the Council nor with a firm whose partners were registered with the Council, as required by law. "As for Secunderabad railway station, the last date for submission of proposal had been extended to June 6 from May 28 and the notification mentioned educational qualifications, experience and previous assignments of the Chief Architect, it was silent on the mandatory requirement that he should be a registered member of the Council," the petitioner added. The petitioner submitted that another tender condition stipulated that the Chief Architect should have designed at least one railway station or metro station valued at Rs 100 crore and should have received at least Rs one crore as remuneration. Assailing the provision, the petitioner contended since Indian Railways had not paid such an amount to any architect for any one work so far, it would definitely disqualify all Indian architects from the bid. The petitioner wanted the court to forbear the Railway Board from engaging or designating any foreign agency to discharge the function of architects, other than those who possessed the requisite qualification under the Architecture Act 1972 and duly registered with the CoA. UNI XR SJ SV CS1155
5/31/2008
http://www.indlawnews.com

ESPN basic tier offer to Tata Sky in order: Delhi HC

NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court on 30 May quashed an interim order of the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat), allowing ESPN to offer the three channels to Tata Sky at the basic tier.
The High Court said that ESPN could retain its offer vide the Reference Interconnect Order (RIO) as it existed on 20 May - a day before the Tdsat passed an interim order saying that ESPN’s RIO was not valid as per the regulation that obligates all broadcasters to offer their channels a la carte to all DTH players.
Tata Sky had earlier argued at the Tdsat that their agreement with ESPN had ended in April. But while negotiations for a new agreement were being discussed, ESPN unilaterally said in a specific clause in their new offer (RIO) that Tata Sky would have to take all the three channels - ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket at the basic tier.

ESPN had also reportedly told Tata Sky that if this was not acceptable to them, the sportscaster would disconnect their signals from 20 May.
Tata Sky had argued in Tdsat that this offer was bad in law, as it went against the Trai regulation on DTH.
Then on 30 May ESPN senior counsel N Ganapathi argued before the High Court that Tata Sky had merely prayed for ensuring that there was no disconnection, and not for the specific clause to be set aside.
ESPN argued that the sector tribunal had indeed given Tata Sky more than what it had prayed for, which was not acceptable.

The second count of argument was that Tdsat had passed a final order while still at the interim stage of hearing the case. This was not correct as setting aside the RIO sealed the fate of the case even before the court proceedings were completed.
The court, hearing both parties, quashed the Tdsat order saying that the specific clause of the ESPN offer could remain till the disposal of the case.
Indiantelevision.com Team

(31 May 2008 4:30 pm)
http://www.indiantelevision.com

HC vacates stay on land use changes

JAIPUR: Projects worth Rs 55,000 crore, specially drafted under the theme of 'Resurgent Rajasthan' got a fresh lease of life after the Jaipur bench of Rajasthan high court vacated the stay over land use changes across state. The recent order, issued both by Jaipur and Jodhpur benches of HC, has paved the way for transforming the state infrastructure completely and making Jaipur a medical hub. The Board of Infrastructure Development and Investment (BIDI) had cleared projects worth Rs 55,000 crore. JDA commissioner DB Gupta told TOI, "The recent court directives will accelerate the completion of projects which had been lying pending owing to the stay on land use change from agriculture, ecological, green belt, pastures, public utility to any uses. Now, we have started the process of allotment and lease grant to the concerned parties." Thus, the city is well on its way to become the medical capital of north India. Within the span of three years, Jaipur will have additional 5,000 beds in different hospitals slated to be operational by 2011. The vacation of the stay order by the HC will facilitate construction of 3,000-beded Narayan Hridayalaya super speciality hospital. The Rs 100-crore project has already had 50 acres of land allotted near Agra Road assigned by Jaipur Development Authority. Fortis, a well-known hospital chain, is coming up with a medical college-cum-hospital and the JDA has already assigned 50 acres of land near Ajmer Road. Soon, the students from north India will also get to study at the Manipal Medical and Engineering colleges in Jaipur. The JDA has already allotted 40 acres of land out of 100 acres needed by the group. Housing Board has promised to provide rest of the land requirement. Besides, the Bombay Hospital group has got 18 acres of land near Jagatpura and the Reliance group has got 60 acres in Jagatpura for its Medi-City. The much needed oncology centre by an NRI investor has been planned in Jagatpura for which land has been allotted. "Kamal Sharma Neurology Superspeciality Hospital and SPA Medical College and Hospital, for which initial formalities have been completed, together with all other upcoming projects will catapult the city to become the medical capital of north India. "Hospitals in Delhi are getting overcrowded, so in future, the patients will definitely look towards the two-tier cities and can avail world class medical facilities at economic rates here," added Gupta.
1 Jun 2008, 0603 hrs IST, Akhilesh Sourav Jha,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Constitutional posts don't come under RTI Act: Centre to HC

New Delhi (PTI): The Centre has said constitutional functionaries do not come within the ambit of RTI Act and that Information Commission cannot direct the government to reveal information pertaining to their functioning.
"President, Chief Justice and other constitutional functionaries are beyond the jurisdiction of the authorities under the Right to Information Act," Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra contended before the Delhi High Court.
The Centre made the submission, while challenging the Central Information Commission's order directing it to place the file relating to transfer of High Court Judges before the Commission.
"These are constitutional functionaries and their functioning is not open for disclosure under the Right to Information Act," Malhotra said, while pleading to stay the order.
Justice Rekha Sharma, after hearing the contention of the Government, stayed the order and asked the information seeker who had approached the CIC to file her response by August 26 when the matter would be taken up for further hearing.
Shruti Singh Chauhan, a Delhi resident, had filed an RTI application seeking details from the government on the basis of which High Court judges are being transfered.
The Ministry of Law and Justice, however, declined his application saying that these informations cannot be revealed to the general public.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
http://www.hindu.com

4 more women MPs join panel on law

NEW DELHI: The battlelines are getting clearly drawn on Women’s Reservation Bill as four more women members and senior Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav have joined the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law. While BJP has nominated Kiran Maheshwari, Congress has sent Tejaswini Seeramesh Gowda and Krishna Tirath and CPM P Satheedevi. There are now seven women members in the 31-member committee. Earlier, Brinda Karat of CPM, Najma Heptulla of BJP and Jayanthi Natarajan of Congress were made members of the committee. The first meeting of the committee in May was stormy and witnessed a verbal duel between pro- and anti-reservationists. The committee has decided to meet every Tuesday in June. At the scheduled meeting on June 3, Annie Raja, CPI national executive member and chairperson of National Federation of Indian Women, would depose before the committee. Though there are two meetings over the next two weeks, sources said, it would interesting to watch what national and regional political parties have to say when their deposition begins from June 17. SP’s nomination of Ram Gopal Yadav is interesting. He replaces party colleague Shafiqur Rahman Barg. A senior leader, Yadav is expected to articulate the party’s point of view more forcefully. RJD already has Devendra Prasad Yadav in the committee. SP, along with RJD, has been at the forefront of opposing the 33% reservation for women in Parliament and the state assemblies.
1 Jun 2008, 0219 hrs IST,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India not to open legal services sector

The ongoing World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks will not lead to India opening up the legal services sector to foreign firms, Commerce Secretary Gopal Pillai said.
However, he has made it clear that permitting foreign legal firms into India to deal with mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as well as arbitration cases will be beneficial.
"The Indian legal services sector needs reforms that involve issues related to limited liability, number of partners and advertising restrictions. Once that is done, it has to be ready for liberalisation of the sector," Pillai said.
"In this round, we won't commit opening up of the legal services sector in the services negotiations of the Doha Round. But opening of the sector has great potential for the Indian professionals," Pillai said, adding that foreign lawyers would not come and practice in Indian district courts.
"They are interested in M&A and arbitration between companies." Currently, foreign law firms are not allowed to provide their services in India while professionals in the sector are not comfortable to liberalising the sector for foreign participation.
The resistance by the Indian legal professionals for entry of foreign firms into India is because of a multitude of regulations.
For example, advocates in India are not allowed to advertise. More over, there are restrictions on the number of partners in a legal firm, which cannot cross 20. The Bar Council of India Rules prohibit Indian advocates from sharing remuneration with any person or legal practitioner who is not an advocate.
"We understand that there are limitations. But in the future most of them will be addressed. On issues of liberalisation, the commerce ministry will be guided by the law ministry as well as the Bar Council, with whom we are interacting. Surely, Indian law firms with just 20 partners will be at a disadvantage when a US firm with 2,000 partners set up base in India," added Pillai.
At present, there are nearly one million lawyers in India. The global legal services market has been estimated at $220 billion while India's share stands at $300 million.
BS Reporter / New Delhi June 01, 2008, 20:59 IST
http://www.business-standard.com

Will some of Gir's prized Asiatic Lions find home in MP?

Debarshi Dasgupta Why Gir Lions Are Sacred

A central proposal to move some lions to Kuno in MP from Gir has been in limbo for over two decades Gujarat has been resisting since the lions are widely seen as the pride for Gujarat Distributing the lions, feel experts, will reduce risks from an epidemic or natural calamity at one spot Now MP and the Centre want to introduce some zoo lions into Kuno The Supreme Court is hearing a pil pleading the court to order Gujarat to part with some lions***The dispute between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh over sharing wild Asiatic lions has taken a new turn. The possession of the only surviving wild Asiatic lions has been a matter of pride for the Gujarat government. With the Narendra Modi government rejecting an ambitious federal proposal to relocate some of lions from Gujarat's Gir sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh is now going ahead with transferring zoo-bred animals to Kuno—where a special habitat will be readied. Conservationists say this may have disastrous consequences since the lions will have to be adapted to the wild by humans and their offspring, if any, then prepared to be released. Brij Kishor Gupta of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), however, says: "It's the second or third generation of these parent lions that we can think of releasing into the wild. This will take about 10 years." Three genetically 'pure' Asiatic lions, two females and a male, have been identified to be moved from zoos in Delhi and Hyderabad, once the facility at Durandi in the Kuno sanctuary is ready. P.B. Gangopadhyay, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), wildlife, with the MP government, claims this is an interim measure. "Hopefully, Gujarat will one day understand our position that relocation is in the interest of the safety of the lion. Even the National Board of Wildlife has strongly endorsed our stand," he says. The stakes are high for MP as it has already spent Rs 15 crore to prepare Kuno and relocate over 1,500 families from the area.Gir is home to 360 of the last surviving wild Asiatic lions. The proposal to shift some of these animals to a new location was first mooted in 1995 to ensure the lions have better chances of survival in case of a natural calamity, such as an epidemic. The outbreak of Canine Distemper Virus in Serengeti, Kenya, in 1994 which killed 30 per cent of the lions, typifies the kind of risk that exists. However, Gujarat's argument against the relocation plan is that the population of lions in the state has gone up from 327 in 2001 and that the Kuno sanctuary is not suitable enough. Meanwhile, last month, in cooperation with the CZA, the Madhya Pradesh government demarcated an area in Kuno to house the "off-display conservation breeding centre" for zoo lions. But the move to 'rehabilitate' zoo lions in the wild has many critics. Says Asad Rahmani, director of Bombay Natural History Society: "The whole idea of conservation will be defeated, more so because we have a surviving wild population. It is a pity that politics is determining the outcome of such a prestigious project. Animals don't recognise political boundaries but only those that are ecological and Kuno is well within the ecological boundary of the Asiatic lion." Adds Raghunandan Singh Chundawat, a conservationist specialising in big cats: "These zoo-bred lions are used to human presence and their offspring will require training to adapt to the wild and hunt. But what is the guarantee that these lions will not at some point stray into conflicts with humans for easy prey?" The Supreme Court is hearing a pil seeking the relocation of wild lions filed in 2006 by Faiyaz Khudsar, a trustee with the Biodiversity Conservation Trust of India. "The people were relocated around Kuno to make way for wild lions.Would it be ethical to introduce zoo lions instead?" asks Khudsar. While Gujarat is not legally bound to hand over its lions, Ritwick Dutta, the lawyer for the petitioner, argues, "Wildlife was kept a concurrent subject so that the centre can direct a state to carry out a task in the interest of protecting endangered species such as the Asiatic lion." Pradeep Khanna, PCCF, wildlife, with the government of Gujarat, insists relocation does not recognise the successful conservation efforts of the state. "This proposal continues despite our success in tackling poaching and our ongoing efforts to repair wells that trap the lions. Even the local people of Gir take pride in conserving the lions and have paid a price in terms of losing some of their cattle," he says. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, in their affidavits submitted to the Supreme Court, have argued over various points such as whether the prey base in Kuno is adequate for lions, whether lions and tigers can coexist or if the lions will be adequately protected from poachers in Kuno. However, many conservationists argue that Gujarat's reasons for refusing to hand over some lions are not ecological but more political and economic in nature. The possession of the only surviving wild population of Asiatic lions has been an emotive issue for long in the state and the official press releases portray them as the 'pride of Gujarat'. It is common to find local politicians who bristle at talk of moving the lions. Achyut Yagnik, honorary secretary of the Centre for Social Knowledge and Action in Ahmedabad, says the possession of the lions has become a 'political legacy' that the Modi government has inherited from Shankersinh Vaghela. "When this proposal first came up, people from Saurashtra (where Gir is located) campaigned to retain ownership of the lions. The people of Gujarat take great pride in these lions who have a special place in local folk traditions," he says. The sanctuary attracts over a lakh of visitors annually. Revenues from Gir touched Rs 1.37 crore in 2007.All eyes are now on the Supreme Court. Will it settle the dispute and end Gujarat's 'monopoly' over the Asiatic lion? Or will Madhya Pradesh have to continue to make do with lions in captivity? The fate of the conservation programme virtually rests on the apex court ruling.

Source: http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20080602&fname=Lion+%28F%29&sid=1&pn=2
Posted by GIR & ASIATIC LION BY KAMLESH ADHIYA at 9:35 AM

PIL against Road Widening Projects

Karnataka High Court admits PIL against Road Widening Projects in BangaloreIssues emergent notices to RespondentsMr. Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Mr. Justice A. N. Venugopal Gowda,constituting the Division Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka,today admitted a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by EnvironmentSupport Group and others against the ongoing irrational road wideningprojects of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP – Corporation ofthe City of Greater Bangalore). Appreciating the urgency for consideringthe need to protect avenue trees from needless felling and safeguardingvarious rights and priveleges of pedestrians, street vendors, etc., theHon'ble Judges issued emergent notices to the Respondents while alsoallowing for serving of hand summons.The PIL challenges BBMP's ongoing project of widening 91 roads (a numberlikely to increase) in Bangalore, running into a length of about 400 kms.across the length and breadth of the old city areas. This mega projectis predicated on the premise that it would result in improved flow oftraffic and reduce congestion. However, no evidence has been presented toprove that the result of widening would actually achieve these objectives.In contrast to the approach adopted by BBMP, experience from denselypopulated and leading cities from across the world prove that widening ofroads is not the solution for easing traffic congestion. Insteadintelligent design approaches, responsive (rather than reactionary)traffic management, enhancement of public transport, improvement inpedestrian zones, protection of livelihoods of vendors, and discouragingpersonalised modes of transport have successfully addressed the mostserious traffic congestion problems of mega cities. Such approaches havealso enabled the protection of cultural heritage, public spaces and urbangreenery, significantly enhancing the environmental quality of urbanareas.The PIL makes a strong case against tree felling as the first step to roadwidening by demonstrating that the work undertaken by BBMP in severalroads has proved unsuccessful in reducing traffic congestion. ThePetitioners submit that the actions of the Tree Officer in authorising thefelling of hundreds of avenue trees violate various provisions of theKarnataka Preservation of Trees Act, and is admittedly an action takenunder duress. In most cases where hundreds of really old avenue treeshave been felled, the stated object of widening has not been achieved evenafter years, as various utilities have not shifted out of the proposedright of way, or such spaces have been encroached by places of worship.The PIL relies heavily on the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors, theNational Urban Transport Policy and a variety of circulars issued by theUnion Urban Development Secretary that argue for a rational andintelligent approach to managing congestion in urban areas. Inparticular, it makes a case that the object of all travel is to ensurepeople move across cities in safety and comfort, thus necessitatingprivileges to pedestrian movement, non-motorised forms of transport andpublic transport. Contrarily, the BBMP's approach seems to arrogate aright for the private motor car over all other modes of travel, therebyextinguishing many fundamental rights, while also exposing the public atlarge to great discomfort and even harm.The PIL presents a variety of evidence to argue that the road wideningprogramme is illegal as it has skirted fundamental public consultationprocesses required per the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. Inaddition the draft Comprehensive Development Plan -2005 (CDP) of BangaloreDevelopment Authority, defining land use of the city, did not contain anyproposal for widening roads on such a grand scale. Surprisingly, thefinal CDP – 2007 introduced plans for most inner city roads to be widenedwithout in any manner informing or involving the public, an action that ispatently illegal.The PIL is a result of a long and deliberate series of proactive stepstaken by the Petitioners along with Hasiru Usiru, a network of concernedgroups and individuals in Bangalore. The Petitioners draw attention to theruling of the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka in 2005 (WP No. 14104/2005)in which the Government was directed to involve the public in decisionsrelating to road widening and tree felling. It is submitted that despiteexhaustive efforts on the part of the Petitioners and Hasiru Usiru urgingthe Government and its agencies to engage with the public in evolving suchschemes, the current road widening project has been rushed throughdisregarding the directions of the Hon'ble Court. In this context, it isprayed that the Hon'ble Court be pleased to strike down the road wideningproposals, and the consequent tree felling orders. In addition, it isprayed that the Govenment be directed to evolve rational road developmentproposals that met with the highest standards of law, policy and urbanplanning.The petitioners Environment Support Group and CIVIC Bangalore wererepresented by Advocate Mr. Sunil Dutt Yadav and Mr. Leo F. Saldanha,Coordinator, Environment Support Group, appeared in person. A copy of thePIL is accessible online at: www.esgindia.org
posted by Anush Shetty at 9:12 PM
Friday, May 30, 2008
http://www.hasiruusiru.org/blog

Bombay High Court Directs Govt to Start Admission Process for Med PG Seats

The vacation bench of the Bombay high court on Tuesday asked the Maharashtra state government if it was willing to withdraw its April 4 circular announcing closure of 242 seats in the post-graduate (PG) medical courses
Friday, May 30, 2008 at 4:52:54 PM
http://www.medindia.net

SC hears 10-yr-old's cries, grants custody to father

NEW DELHI: Is the law blind to emotions? Ask the Supreme Court, which recently heard the cries of a 10-year-old, quickly changing its mind and agreeing to allow him to live with his contractor father instead of his teacher mother. The apex court, which seldom gets swayed by emotions while sticking strictly to the rulebook, during the hearing on the mother's petition seeking custody of her son, suggested to the boy that he live for some more time with his mother, probably to get him acquainted with her as he had never lived with her after the separation of his parents when he was just three years old. What followed was seldom experienced in a courtroom. The boy started crying and whined at the suggestion and refused to live with his mother, a teacher in DPS Panipat, primarily because he was attached to his father and also that it would mean his getting delinked with his set of friends in Allahabad. Putting aside a series of apex court judgments that had ruled in favour of mothers in custody battles over children, a bench comprising Justices C K Thakker and D K Jain quickly abandoned the proposal and said in deciding such tricky issues the courts should bestow paramount consideration to the "welfare and interest of the child and not the rights of the parents under a statute". Mausami Moitra Ganguli and Jayant Ganguly married in 1996 disregarding the opposition from their parents. Satyajeet was born to them in 1998. The relation between the parents got strained and the mother, employed as a teacher, was allegedly forced out of the matrimonial home at Allahabad on August 16, 2001. She returned to her parents in Kolkata and filed a divorce suit, which was decreed ex-parte in her favour on September 12, 2002. The father did not challenge the divorce decree and it attained finality. On April 5, 2003, she moved the Allahabad Family Court seeking custody of Satyajeet, alleging that the contractor father neither had a regular income nor did he have the time for the child and that future of the boy would be secured if he was brought up under the care of mother. The family court agreed and directed the child's custody to be given to the mother. Jayant appealed before the HC, which interviewed the child and reversed the family court order. However, it granted adequate visitation rights to the mother. Dealing with the mother's appeal challenging the HC order, the apex court said: "Better financial resources of either of the parents or their love for the child may be one of the relevant considerations, but cannot be the sole determining factor for the custody of the child." Justice Jain said: "It is here that a heavy duty is cast on the court to exercise its judicial discretion judiciously in the background of all relevant facts and circumstances, bearing in mind the welfare of the child as the paramount consideration." The stability and security of the child was also an essential ingredient for a full development of child's talent and personality, he said. Noticing that the mother had shifted school from Kolkata to Chandigarh then to Panipat and that she was living alone, the bench said Satyajeet, except for a very short duration with his mother, had been living and studying in Allahabad in a good school. After interviewing Satyajeet, the judges rejected the mother's allegation that the father did not have sufficient time or resources to look after the welfare of the child. "We are convinced that dislocation of Satyajeet, at this stage, from Allahabad, where he has grown up in sufficiently good surroundings, would not only impede his schooling, it may also cause emotional strain and depression on him," they said. "It is also significant to note that during the course of hearing on one of the dates, when we had not interviewed Satyajeet, we had suggested that it would be better if the child could stay with his mother for some more time. However, upon hearing us, he started crying and whining and, showed reluctance to go with the mother. Watching his reaction, we dropped the proposal," the bench said. dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com
31 May 2008, 0406 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Trial court sees Katara murder as honour killing

NEW DELHI: The trial court saw Nitish Katara's murder as an honour killing and one borne out of a "prevalent gender bias" because Bharti Yadav exercised her own discretion in choosing her male partner. On a day when Bharti Yadav defended her brothers in an exclusive interview with TOI, claiming they were innocent, additional sessions judge Ravinder Kaur released the concluding part of her judgement convicting Vikas and Vishal. While describing the motive for the murder, ASJ Kaur concluded Bharti had had a subordinate role in her family. "The motive for Nitish's murder can thus be better understood in the context of the socio-cultural framework of society where in some sections from birth...they are kept unaware of their rights and made to play a subordinate role to their brothers," the court noted. Since Bharti made an independent decision to choose her partner, it wasn't acceptable to her brothers who then killed the man she loved, the court reasoned, adding, "It isn't digested by elder males of the family like brothers (in such sections of society) that a female exercises her right to choose a male partner of her own choice which often leads to shocking and macabre consequences." The judgement also speaks about various strategems adopted by Vikas and Vishal throughout the trial to influence witnesses and browbeat the prosecution, something which was always talked about but now is openly on judicial record. "The conduct of the accused has been to mislead the court and to put pressure on witnesses or to give them temptations so that they don't depose against them in court," the judge noted, viewing it as an additional link in the chain of circumstances indicting them. She was clear that attempts to subvert justice had been made and this went against the accused notwithstanding their protestations of innocence. As if intimidation of witnesses wasn't enough, the court noted, even the special public prosecutor wasn't spared with the accused and their lawyers putting him under intense pressure. ASJ Kaur recalled how SPP B S Joon was slapped with a defamation notice demanding crores of rupees for allegedly making a false statement and harming the reputation of the convicts. The suit was later tossed out by Delhi High Court as devoid of any merits but worked as a tactic to put pressure on Joon hoping that he wouldn't be able to conduct his case properly. abhinav.garg@timesgoup.com
31 May 2008, 0506 hrs IST, Abhinav Garg,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

HC quashes Talaq, grants maintenance to wife

Mumbai, May 30: In a significant order, Bombay High Court has set aside divorce given by a Muslim man, saying there was no valid reason to justify it, and ordered that he pay the wife maintenance under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Under Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, Muslim husband is liable to pay maintenance for about three months called `Iddat', and not thereafter. Once divorced, Muslim woman can not get maintenance under section 125 of Criminal Procedure Code.
But in the present case, High Court held that the Talaq itself was not legally valid, so husband must pay maintenance as per section 125.
The applicant in this case, Parveen Ismail Shaikh, was married to Ismail Shaikh in 1983. According to her, four years after the marriage, Ismail started ill-treating her. On a few occasions she was beaten up, and finally he drove her out of the house along with her daughter on June 23, 1994.
When the next day her father brought her back, Ismail did not allow them to enter. On June 28, he gave her Talaq by executing a deed in the presence of Kazi and two witnesses, and sent her a copy of `Talaqnama' by post.
She then applied for maintenance under CrPC. In the hearing before Judicial Magistrate at Pathardi, district Ahmednagar, Ismail alleged that Parveen had left the house of her own will, and subsequently she had an affair with another man.
Magistrate upheld the Talaq, and denied her maintenance.
Ahmednagar Sessions Court also took the view that she was not entitled to maintenance beyond Iddat period (90 days), since she had been given a proper Talaq.
But the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court differed with lower courts. Justice V R Kingaonkar observed in his judgement early this month that a Talaq, as per Muslim law, must have a valid reason.
As per Ismail's own statement, there was no marital discord till their daughter was born. "If that was so, then there is no reason for a sudden change in her attitude," judge said. "His version does not reveal reasonable cause for divorce," Justice Kingaonkar concluded.
Secondly, there was no attempt to reconciliate before the Talaq, said the judge. Relying on the law laid down by Supreme Court, judge noted that there should be an attempt to resolve the dispute between the couple through arbiters, but no such attempt was ever made by Ismail.
Reversing lower courts' decisions, High Court directed Ismail to pay Parveen maintenance of Rs 1000 per month -- from the date of her application -- and cost of Rs 2000 in addition.
Agencies
Posted online: Friday , May 30, 2008 at 04:07:26Updated: Friday , May 30, 2008 at 04:07:26 http://www.expressindia.com

Navy leak case: HC grants bail to Abhishek Verma

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to the navy war room leak accused Abhishek Verma but restrained him from leaving Delhi without prior permission of the trial court. Verma, a Delhi-based businessman and the son of former MP Veena Verma and poet Srikant Verma, was in jail since July 2006 for his alleged involvement in leaking of the classified documents from the Directorate of Naval Operation here. "On balancing several factors this court comes to the conclusion that the petitioner (Verma) should be granted bail, subject to the conditions which would be stringent considering the nature of the case and the fact that he is facing trial and prosecution in certain other cases," said Justice S Muralidhar in a judgement. Justice Muralidhar asked the accused to furnish a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh and two sureties of same amount. The court directed Verma to surrender his passport to the CBI and asked him to appear before the trial court on every second and fourth Monday of the month and furnish his current address. Further, the CBI was also asked to ensure that the accused should not go out of India during the pendency of the proceedings. The court made it clear that in case Verma attempts to influence any witness or tampers with evidence or violates any of the conditions, the investigating agency can seek cancellation of his bail.
30 May 2008, 2117 hrs IST,PTI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

HC rejects Amit Jogi, 3 others' plea over sting operation case

The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected a plea by Amit Jogi, son of former Chhatisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, and three other accused challenging a trial court's order on charge against them in connection with a sting operation against former Union Minister Dilip Singh Judeo.
Dismissing a batch of petitions filed by Arvind Vijay Mohan, Bhupinder Singh Patel, Rajat Prasad besides Jogi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said "They are neither police officers nor were authorised by any one to carry out any investigation. Therefore, it cannot be held that they were conducting any proceeding under the code."
"...But entrapment of any person should not be resorted and can not be permitted unless a right approach is taken in accordance with the law of the land," the court observed in a judgement.
On April 25 last year, a Delhi court had framed charges against Judeo and five others after finding prima-facie evidence against them in the case.
The court also framed charges against Judeo's former private secretary Natwar Rateria, who was caught on camera when the former minister was allegedly receiving cash and four others, including Jogi.
The CBI has alleged that Judeo, who was the Forest and Environment Minister in the NDA government, and Rateria had received a bribe of Rs nine lakh at Hotel Taj Mansingh Palace in New Delhi on November 5, 2003. The bribe money was offered by Patel, a journalist, who had carried out the sting operation at Jogi's behest.
The sting operation, later telecast on various news channels, was plotted to derive political mileage in favour of the then Chhatisgarh CM Ajit jogi as Assembly elections were scheduled in November, 2003 as per the chargesheet.
Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, May 30, 2008
First Published: 22:01 IST(30/5/2008)
Last Updated: 22:14 IST(30/5/2008)

http://www.hindustantimes.com

HC issues fresh notice to Bainsla

Gujjar agitation spearhead Kirori Singh Bainsla was on Friday issued a fresh contempt notice by the Rajasthan High Court for allegedly violating its order restraining him from resorting to violence as earlier communiques to him remained unserved.
Justice MN Bhandari issued the fresh notice and granted three weeks time to serve it to Bainsla.
The order was passed as previous notices remained unserved as Bainsla was not available at his residence and relatives denied to accept them.
Taking a serious note of the "laxity" of the state government, Bhandari said it had not acted in a proper manner during the period between last September year, when the order was passed, and till the agitation started again this year.
"The state government is trying to justify Bainsla's act as contumacious but what has been the role of the state government...If the orders were complied, things would not have been so grimmer" Bhandari told Additional Advocate General Bharat Vyas.
On January 18, Bhandari had issued contempt notices to 15 Gujjar leaders including Bainsla for their inflammatory statements and also for disrupt the law and order situation.
The court again issued notice in the matter on May 27 and directed the Deputy Registrar to deliver it to Bainsla through the district collector concerned.
Press Trust Of India
Jaipur, May 30, 2008
First Published: 20:26 IST(30/5/2008)
Last Updated: 20:29 IST(30/5/2008)
http://www.hindustantimes.com

HC upholds life term for army man who ‘used his skills to kill’

Defence personnel are trained to kill to defend their country. It was the precision with which Vinod Panchal was shot dead with a 12-bore gun in 2004 that helped nail army man Omprakash Vaishnav for the murder.
The Bombay high court recently upheld the life imprisonment of Nashik resident Vaishnav, 30, for killing Panchal, whom Vaishnav suspected of having an illicit relationship with his wife.
“The accused (Vaishnav) being in services is consciously aware about impact by fire from rifle and used his skill by operating gun, fired single bullet to the chest of the victim who naturally suffered rat hole injury”, read the HC order.
The recent murder of Neeraj Grover — allegedly by naval officer Jerome Matthew and actor Maria Susayraj — too invited comments that it was Matthew’s defence training that had helped him chop up Grover’s body with clinical precision using a knife before disposing it.
In Vaishnav’s case, he was posted in Jammu and had come to Nashik on leave in June 2004.
He and his wife lived in the same block as Panchal. Vaishnav suspected that his wife, Shalini, was having an affair with Panchal and had even confronted him.
On August 26, 2004, Vaishnav had shared his suspicion with Panchal’s brother, Anil, who dismissed it as a misunderstanding. Anil even made Panchal and Vaishnav speak on the phone to sort out the issue.
Around 5pm Panchal returned home and was called by Vaishnav to his room. Two minutes later a gun shot was fired and Shalini’s shouts for help were heard by Anil and his mother, who rushed to the spot.
They found Vaishnav holding a gun and Panchal lying in a pool of blood. Vaishnav then threw the gun and ran to the bathroom and tried to consume poison. However, Panchal’s brother stopped him and later Vaishnav’s wife consumed the remaining poison and died in hospital.
In his defence, Vaihnav pleaded “not guilty” and claimed that he was in the bathroom when Panchal accidentally shot himself with the gun. However, relying on the testimonies of people who saw the accused with the gun in his hand after the incident and other evidence, Justices FI Rebello and KU Chandiwal disbelieved Vaishnav’s theory. “The gunshot to Vinod (Panchal) is by a skilled person/shooter which could be none other than the accused (Vaishnav)”, the court ruled.
Anshika Misra
Saturday, May 31, 2008 03:28 IST
http://www.dnaindia.com

HC notices Centre on 'black money' issue

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court issued notices to Union government (through cabinet secretary) and secretary, ministry of home affairs for July 25 on the reluctance of Indian authorities in seeking data related to hush money deposited in a Liechtenstein bank. A PIL in this regard was filed by SAd (A) president Simranjit Singh Mann. In his petition, Mann prayed for directions to the respondents, seeking details of accounts of Indians in the LTG bank at Liechtenstein from the government of Germany. He further sought action against all those Indians who have illegal accounts in the bank. Petitioner's counsel Ranjan Lakhanpal emphasised before the division bench, headed by chief justice Vijender Jain, that the situation was pregnant with possibilities and the data, if revealed, could result in many skeletons tumbling out. He hammered on the need to ensure transparency. The TOI story dated May 21 had mentioned that "investigators in India might have their best chance yet to trace those Indians who have stashed away millions in the tiny tax haven of Liechtenstein, a small landlocked country between Austria and Switzerland, provided the Manmohan Singh government asks for the information on offer". It was highlighted that the information on hundreds of Indians who had black money parked in Liechtenstein could be made available to the authorities here as the German government, which has obtained a list of account holders at LTG Bank, was willing to part with the names.
31 May 2008, 0328 hrs IST, Vishal Sharma,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bihar MP, cohorts get life

PATNA, June 25: The controversial LJP MP Surajbhan Singh, along with two of his associates, was today sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court in Bihar in a 16-year-old murder case. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 each on all of the convicted. Singh, who represents Balia seat from Bihar in Parliament is among a dozen Bihar politicians punished by the court in the last year for their criminal past. Yesterday, all of them had been convicted for murder and were subsequently sent to jail. The court had fixed today to pronounce judgement in the murder case pending in the court for the last 16 years. The much-needed judgement brought smiles to the face of the victim family who had been fighting the lone court battle against the MP. “We came across severe odds during the course of the trial. We were threatened with dire consequences for pursuing the case and were also offered money… It’s a victory of justice today. We are delighted,” the victim’s wife Shakuntal told reporters outside the court. The judgement came 16 years after the killing of local villager Rami Singh in Begusarai district. The MP was found guilty under section 302, 149 of the IPC and Arms Act by a fast track court headed by Justice Mr RP Dubey. The Patna High Court had recently asked the fast track court to complete the trial and pronounce the judgement by 30 June. The MP, according to the FIR, had attacked the house of the villager with two of his associates at Mathurapur village during the morning of 16 January, 1992, and then shot him dead since he refused to pay extortion to the accused people. Mr Singh is an accused in more than six other cases of murder, extortion, kidnapping and loot trial of which are in different stages of progress. Beginning his political career as an Independent legislator, Mr Singh shot to the limelight after he with a bunch of legislators with criminal backgrounds lent his support to the chief minister Mr Nitish Kumar in forming a government in Bihar after 2000 Assembly elections although his government lasted for only a week.
Statesman News Servicehttp://www.thestatesman.net

Sikkim government moves Supreme Court on Gorkhaland issue

New Delhi: Following the ongoing Gorkhaland agitation, the Sikkim government on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court for a direction to the Centre and the West Bengal government to ensure free movement of traffic on National Highway No. 31A to and from Sikkim.
A vacation Bench of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice G.S. Singhvi decided to hear the petition on Thursday on a mention made by counsel for the State A. Mariarputham about the filing of an application.
The Bench, after hearing senior counsel P.H. Parekh, said it would take up another application filed by O.P. Bhandari seeking the same relief.
The apex court had already issued notice on a writ petition from Mr. Bhandari for a direction to the parties concerned to take appropriate action during bandhs and strikes called by political parties and social organisations. The present applications are filed in the same writ petition.
The applicants said on account of frequent bandhs called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the last few days, the entire stretch of NH-31A from Siliguri to Sikkim was closed and traffic had been disrupted as the followers refused to allow vehicles on the road.
This was the only national highway connecting the State with the rest of the country and due to the blockade, the people of Sikkim and thousands of tourists were stranded. The people were facing miserable conditions as even essential commodities and medicines could not reach Sikkim.
The applicants pointed out that the GJM had commenced an indefinite strike from June 14 and had asked the people to store essential goods for about 45 days.
Contending that life had come to a standstill due to the road block, they sought a direction to the Centre and the West Bengal government to ensure free movement of vehicles and people on NH 31A.
Thursday, Jun 26, 2008
Legal Correspondent
http://www.hindu.com

Vodafone to challenge amendment to I-T law

MUMBAI: Vodafone, which is facing a $2-billion tax demand on account of its $11-billion acquisition of Hutch-Essar, is planning to move court in the first week of June against a recent amendment to the Income-Tax Act. Vodafone was asked to pay taxes by the Indian income-tax authorities on the capital gains arising from the sale of Hutchison’s stake in Hutch-Essar. Hutchison sold its 66% in Hutch-Essar to Vodafone for $11 billion in 2006. However, Vodafone dragged the income-tax department to the Bombay High court, saying being the buyer of the shares, it was not liable to pay taxes in India. It is in this context that the amendment to Section 201 of the Income-Tax Act, made with retrospective effect from 2002, becomes critical. The amended law stipulates that the buyer of the shares is also liable to pay taxes in India. The amendment will go against Vodafone, as it would effectively blunt the telecom major’s stand that even if the Hutch-Essar deal is taxable, Vodafone, the buyer, is not obliged to pay tax here. It is learnt that Vodafone would challenge the retrospective aspect of the amendment rather than the amendment itself. The amendment to the Income-Tax Act was incorporated in the budget proposal after a writ petition against the notices issued by the Income-tax Department was filed by Vodafone before the high court. Dinesh Kanabar, executive director and leader of tax practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is handling Vodafone’s tax issue, told ET: “We would amend our writ petition already filed before the Bombay High Court, to challenge the amendment in section 201 of the Income-Tax Act.” Vodafone’s plan to challenge the amendment was mentioned before the Bombay High Court during the hearing of the Vodafone writ petition in March. Since Hutchison, a Hong-Kong based company, has not paid any tax on the deal, the amended law would bind Vodafone, who bought the shares from Hutch, to pay tax on the deal. Vodafone has chosen to wait until the Budget proposals get the President’s nod, before moving the court. The Income-tax department has cast its net wide recently, slapping notices on several cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Vodafone’s writ petition challenging the Income-tax notice was based on the following grounds. For one, the sale of Hutch-Essar shares by the Hong Kong-based Hutchison International to Vodafone was a transaction that took place outside India and, therefore, the Indian tax authorities have no locus standi on the deal. Two, Vodafone has no tax liability in India on account of the deal. The Indian tax authorities took a diametrically opposite stand. It said the profit made by Hutchison while it sold Hutch-Essar stake to Vodafone, was profit generated in India. Therefore, Vodafone, the buyer, has an obligation to pay the withholding tax in India, before making the payment to Hutchison.
30 May, 2008, 0000 hrs IST,M Padmakshan, TNN
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

High court upholds death penalty for three

The Punjab and Haryana high court Friday upheld a sessions court judgement sentencing three people, including a young woman, to death for kidnapping and murdering a 16-year-old schoolboy in Hoshiarpur town of Punjab in 2005.
A division bench of the high court ruled that the death penalty for the three accused, who had killed the boy, Abhi Verma, in cold blood after kidnapping him on way to school Feb 14, 2005, fell in the rarest of rare cases.
All the three people were earlier sentenced to death by the district and sessions court in Hoshiarpur town, 140 km from here, for murdering Verma.
Handing down the death sentence in Dec 2006 to the three accused - Vikram Walia, Jasbir Singh and his wife Sonia, district and sessions judge G.K. Rai observed that the three had premeditated the kidnapping and murder of the innocent boy.
They were held guilty of kidnapping and murdering Verma while he was in their custody. Verma was kidnapped in a car while on way to his school.
The kidnapping was masterminded by Vikram, who knew the boy's family closely. The boy died in their custody after they injected an overdose of tranquilizer.
The sensational incident had shocked Hoshiarpur town and resulted in violence there.
Verma's kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs.5 million from his family and even as negotiations were on, his naked body was dumped near Adampur town, 20 km from here.
The mastermind, Vikram, even met Abhi's businessman father after the kidnapping to know what was happening in the boy's home.
Even though his kidnappers knew that he was already dead, they continued to seek the ransom from his family.
Vikram, Jasbir and Sonia had planned the kidnapping to become rich with the ransom money. However, things went out of their hands after the tranquilizer shot administered to the boy became fatal.
They had tried to drug him as he knew Vikram and would have identified him when released after the ransom had been paid by his family.
The police was able to track down Verma's killers within days of his murder.
(Staff Writer, © IANS)
From correspondents in Punjab, India, 09:02 PM IST
http://www.indiaenews.com

Court dismisses all cases against Dasavatharam

At last V Ravichandran has all the reasons to breath ease and smile. A special bench of Madras High Court comprising Judges M Satyanarayanan and K Venkatraman dismissed all the cases filed against the film Dasavatharam and condemned the petitioners for their complaints on the film on imaginary reasons.A few weeks before, International Institute of Sri Vaishnava Dharma Samrakshana had filed a case on Dasavatharam that the title and content of the film were against the holiness and sentiments of Hindus. Another pro-Hindu organisation Kalyana Subha Samithi also filed a petition that the title of the film denoted the 10 holy avatars of Sriman Narayana and the title is like a patented property of Hindu religion.
After viewing the petitions, the judges dismissed all and declared that no one could claim patent rights for the title Dasavatharam. They also pointed out that the petitioners filed the cases purely on imaginary basis without watching the original and full length film."Trailer is not the parameter to review or condemn a film and it will never show the full content of the same. The producer and director of the film have cleared that there are no scenes of Kamal stamping on the Om Mantra and Bagavad Gita in any of the scenes in the movie. The members of Censor Board are not illiterates to allow such scenes in a sensitive film like Dasavatharam", the judges told in their verdict.They also advised the producers and directors to make films without affecting any segment of the society."Cinema is the powerful media. All the producers and directors must be careful while announcing and making a film based on sensitive issues. Though they have entitled to enjoy the freedom of expression, they should always take care of the peace and feelings of others too. We hope the film Dasavatharam would not affect any one's sentiments and feelings through its content," is the highlight of the final verdict of the judges.
By: Settu ShankarFriday, May 30 2008

Delhi HC to take up PIL on gay rights

MUMBAI: In a tony neighbourhood in Andheri, Rahul, a 25-year-old ITprofessional, shares an apartment with Brian (27), who works at amulti-national bank. For the last two years, their landlord and neighboursknow them as perfect roommates, but to friends and a few family members theyare a gay couple. In a country where homosexual acts are punishable with life imprisonment,few like Rahul and Brian manage to make a home for themselves. A publicinterest litigation being heard in Delhi HC this week seeking todecriminalise homosexuality is being watc-hed with bated breaths by thelesbian and gaycommunity<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Delhi_HC_to_take_up_PIL_on_gay_rights/articleshow/3054907.cms#>. "Living with one's partner is taken for granted by my straight friends, butI have to make sure who I tell about our relationship," said Rahul, the moreoutspoken one who has also told his family about himself. Brian is still todecide what to tell his parents. "The Constitution guarantees the right to privacy and right to health, butthe law treats gay people as criminals whose rights can be abrogated," saidLesley Esteves, alesbian<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Delhi_HC_to_take_up_PIL_on_gay_rights/articleshow/3054907.cms#>activistand spokesperson for Voices Against 377 a coalition of LGBT,women's and human rights activists. Voices is one of the organisations thathas filed an intervention application in the high court seeking a "readingdown" of the law. Section 377 says "whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against theorder of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished withimprisonment of either up to 10 years or life". Enacted in 1860, it was morestringent than anti-sodomy laws that existed in English law of the time. The section says, "Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnalintercourse necessary for the offence. It includes a whole range of offencesfrom mutual masturbation, to fellatio and anal sex." The Law Commission in 2001 had recommended a repeal of Section 377, a movebacked by the Union ministry of family and child welfare in 2006. The law,however, remains. Gay<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Delhi_HC_to_take_up_PIL_on_gay_rights/articleshow/3054907.cms#>activistand founder of NGO Humsafar Ashok Row Kavi explains that the PILdoes not seek a repeal of Section 377. "The court has been urged to readdown Section 377, so as to decriminalise homosexuality," said Kavi, addingthat more than legal repercussions, it is the social consequences that makesthe law draconian
Nitin KaraniFri, 30 May 2008 01:47:28 -0700http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Delhi_HC_to_take_up_PIL_on_gay_rights/articleshow/3054907.cms 20 May 2008, 0259 hrs IST,Shibu Thomas,TNN

'Made in India' tag can't fool Scotch whisky drinkers: SC

NEW DELHI: In scotching the Scotch Whisky Association's apprehension that Indian whisky 'Peter Scot' could mislead people into believing a Scottish origin for it, the Supreme Court relied greatly on the Scotch connoisseur's ability to differentiate between an original and fake. The most discernible difference between an Indian whisky and the Scotch whisky is the price, the latter being much more costlier than the 'desi' product. When an aggrieved party, like the Scotch Whisky Association, makes a complaint about the deception that a product with a similar name could cause, the courts should apply a variety of tests, which included "nature and kind of customers who are likely to buy the goods", the apex court said. "Thus, when and how a person would likely to be confused is a very relevant consideration," said a bench comprising Justices S B Sinha and Lokeshwar Singh Panta. The bench set aside concurrent judgments of the Madras high court, which had upheld the Trademark Registrar's decision to de-register the 'Peter Scot' trademark of Khoday India Ltd on the ground that it was deceptively similar to Scotch, that could confuse consumers into buying the Indian product instead of the whisky that is produced only in Scotland. Justice Sinha, writing the judgment for the bench, said the Trademark Registrar as well as the high court failed to apply the consumer's knowledge test to the issue and hence arrived at a wrong conclusion. It felt that the exorbitant cost of Scotch whisky would naturally attract only the rich who have a knowledge about quality of alcohol they buy. "Where the class of buyers is quite educated and rich, the test to be applied is different from the one where the product would be purchased by the villagers, illiterate and poor," the bench said. Connoisseurs of Scotch whisky would purchase alcoholic beverages by their brand name. If the product was of universal usage value to be purchased by the rich and poor alike, then the tests for 'passing off' as an original product would be different, it added. "But then we are concerned with the class of buyer who is supposed to know the quality and content of Scotch whisky. They are supposed to be aware of the difference of the process of manufacture, the place of manufacture and their origin," the bench ruled. dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com
30 May 2008, 0344 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Judiciary prefers high profile disputes over poor litigants: Panel

New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel has slammed the judiciary saying it was giving “preference to high-profile corporate disputes” over cases concerning common people leading to long delays of several decades in disposal of cases.The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, which is currently examining the government proposal to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from 26 to 31, said corporate tussles were taking away a lot of precious time of courts. It is likely to place its recommendations in the Monsoon session of parliament.“The government proposal to increase the judges number has some merits, but clarity is required why was there a need to have more judges? If it means that high profile corporate disputes would get preference then there is no use of doing it,” committee chairman E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan said.“The appeals by parties unhappy with decisions of tribunals set-up through special enactments like TRAI, SEBI, Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, etc., were consuming a lot of time of the Supreme Court”, he said.The increasing trend of frivolous Public Interest Litigations filed by big industrial houses to settle scores with their rivals was responsible for rising number of pending cases, Natchiappan said. Nearly 50,000 cases were pending in the Supreme Court alone and majority of these cases have been in various courts sincethe last 20 years. Poor people who do not have access to highly paid lawyers keep suffering for decades, he said. The committee is of the view that Supreme Court be asked to fix a higher court fees for corporate cases before these are admitted for hearing. “Why should the common man pay for cases involving money and other disputes between big industrial houses which incur a huge cost to the nation by taking a lot of precious time of courts”, Natchiappan said. The committee has felt the need to set-up a special corporate bench in the Supreme Court for deciding such cases. “The Supreme Court should set an example by delivering quick justice to the common people. The notion that only rich and powerful can get relief from the highest court of the country needs to be dispelled at the earliest”, he said.The committee is likely to recommend steps for out of court settlements of corporate disputes by having clear guidelines for arbitrations. It has asked the law ministry for a fresh arbitration policy with regulations for arbitrators, who should be decided by the CJI.© Copyright 2008 HT Media Ltd. All rights reserved.
Friday, May 30, 2008
http://news.in.msn.com

Katara murder case: Vikas, Vishal get life term

A Delhi court has sentenced Vikas and Vishal Yadav to life imprisonment in the Nitish Katara murder case and now they will spend the rest of their lives in jail.They have also been fined with Rs 1.6 lakh each.The cousins were found guilty of bludgeoning Nitish Katara to death and burning his body six years ago.The prosecution, in a packed courtroom, described it as an act of extreme depravity.But the judge said that this is not a rarest of rare cases and the Yadavs should not be given death.Neelam Katara, Nitish's mother said, ''I respect the order of the court.''Nitish Katara was a 24-year-old executive in love with Bharti Yadav, daughter of DP Yadav.Vikas Yadav's father DP Yadav, a powerful UP politician, was also present in court with a large number of supporters.''We have faith in the judiciary but we will fight it,'' he said.It is one of Delhi's most controversial and closely watched cases and the trial took nearly six years to conclude. The motive of the crime was Vikas Yadav's objection to Nitish Katara's relationship with his sister Bharti.In documents available to NDTV, in both her police statement and her e-mails, Bharti clearly blames her father and brother for kidnapping and killing Nitish.But she later backtracked and has since maintained that her brother is innocent, a statement she repeated even after arriving in Delhi on Thursday for the sentencing.This may be the last day of the Nitish Katara case at the Patiala house court but both have made it clear the legal battle will continue and the mother who has fought for the last six years is clear she will not rest till she ensures justice for her son.Twists and turns Nitish's mother Neelam Katara has seen it all in her fight for justice. From identifying her son's charred remains to fighting for the case to be heard out of Ghaziabad courts for a fair trial. She also saw the witnesses turn hostile and lost her husband, who supported her in the fight for justice. She has sat through 400 sittings waiting to hear what she did on Tuesday- that Vikas and Vishal Yadav are guilty of murdering her son Nitish Katara.''I found the body badly charred and the head had been struck with a hard object. There was a crack on the head and after that the body had been badly burnt. Everything was charred. God forbid that any parent ever have to see the child like that,'' said Neelam Katara, mother of Nitish Katara.And yet, that's exactly what Neelam Katara saw on a foggy February morning six years ago. Her older son was found dead in a sugarcane field near Ghaziabad. He had been attacked repeatedly with a hammer.His body had then been set on fire.The night before, he was at the wedding of a college friend. With him, as always, was Bharti Yadav. Bharti's brother Vikas and her cousin Vishal were also at the wedding. They allegedly left the party with Nitish that night in their SUV and killed him because they didn't approve of his romance with their sister. But when Nitish was found dead, the Yadav boys were already missing.Their father, then a Rajya Sabha Samajwadi Party MP spoke in their defence.''We are being falsely implicated. There is an election coming, that is why people are trying to tarnish the family's name,'' said D P Yadav, father of accused. Vikas and Vishal Yadav were found and arrested four days after Nitish's death. In Madhya Pradesh, Vikas first confessed he got into a fight with Nitish at the wedding.''I had a minor fight with someone, thats all. Someone told me later that the person was Nitish Katara. I had no idea till then,'' said Vikas Yadav, accused.A week later came this retraction. ''I have never heard that name. I have never seen him in my life. I just went to the wedding and came back,'' said Vikas.Bharti's flip-flop In documents available to NDTV, in both her police statement and her emails days after Nitish's death, Bharti clearly blames her father and brother for kidnapping and killing Nitish. But sitting next to her father, Bharti told the press that despite all the Valentine's Day cards, she had never dated Nitish. Bharti was then sent to London to study. In the next four years, one witness after another turned hostile. Neelam Katara campaigned successfully to have the case transferred out of Ghaziabad on the grounds that D P Yadav was infliuencing proceedings. Two years ago, the case moved to Delhi and then began the battle to get Bharti back to Delhi to testify.The Yadavs refused to cooperate stating in court that they had no idea where their only daughter was. Finally the government cancelled her passport forcing her to testify in Delhi but she had nothing new to say. In April last year, Neelam Katara succeeded in getting her son's case fast-tracked. In the last six years, she has quit her job, her husband has died but she followed a one-point agenda.
Anasuya Roy
Friday, May 30, 2008 (New Delhi)
NDTV

Tenant no defaulter if landlord doesn't accept rent: HC

MUMBAI: Granting relief to a Nashik-based woman after over two decades, the Bombay High Court has held that she could not be termed a `defaulter' as landlord had refused to accept rent when she had offered it. The High Court overturned rulings of the two lower courts in this case. Bibi Amar Shaikh, a resident of Nashik, was served eviction notice by her landlord Kadir Khot in 1981 on the ground that she failed to pay rent for the period between March 1979 to December 1980. The Matter went to the court. She pleaded before the civil court, junior division, that in January 1980 she had sent a money-order to the landlord. It was not accepted. She sent another money-order in October, and finally paid the rent personally. But the landlord did not accept the rent, neither did he gave her any receipt. Lower civil court decided against her. District court too held her to be a rent-defaulter, as she did not have rent receipts. Both the courts did not consider the fact that she had deposited the amount of rent in the court at the start of the litigation. But when the matter finally reached the High Court -- on her appeal -- Justice V M Kanade observed that she had twice sent money orders, in due time, to her landlord. Previous judgements of the High Court favoured tenant in similar situation, he noted. Declaring the woman not be a defaulter, the High Court set aside rulings of both the lower courts in the decision early this month.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
29 May, 2008, 1901 hrs IST, PTI

Speed governors are a must: HC

BANGALORE: It's mandatory for all new vehicles falling under the notified category to install speed governors. The high court on Thursday, pulling up the state government for wrong interpretation of the apex court's stay order, firmly asked the transport department not to register any new vehicles falling under the notified category without speed governors. "The apex court only stayed this court's order but not the notifications wherein speed governors were made mandatory for new vehicles. This was not challenged anywhere. There was no grievance over new vehicles. The only contention was about old vehicles that have been registered earlier," the court observed. It went on to add: "In our February 12 order, we clarified the position vis-a-vis new vehicles. What is the confusion? We have heard you are registering vehicles of neighbouring states without speed governors. It seems you have become magnanimous towards neighbours. We can issue a contempt notice in this regard." The Bench headed by Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph fixed May 31 as the final disposal date for the PIL seeking fixing of speed governors be mandatory for all notified vehicles. Y N Nanjappa, a resident of Bangalore who lost his son N Chetan in a road accident in 1996, filed the PIL claiming that by the June 29, 2007 notification, the government had once again postponed the date of implementation of speed governors scheme from July 1, 2007 to January 1, 2008 without any valid reason. This had put road users as well as pedestrians at great risk. The high court had earlier given directions for taking necessary steps to reduce motor vehicle accidents, on August 22, 2006. After this, on November 29, 2006 a notification was issued for extension of the policy of fitting speed governors on old vehicles plying on the roads, to December 1, 2006. Thereafter it was extended to May 1, 2007 and on further to June 1. Another notification dated June 1 extended it further to July 1, till finally to January 1, 2008. On January 22, the government indefinitely put off implementation of the scheme for old vehicles. This order was stayed by the high court on February 12 and a direction was issued to implement the scheme within a month for those old vehicles for which fitness certificates have already been issued. The last date was fixed as June 30, 2008. This was stayed by the apex court and it asked the high court to dispose the matter expeditiously. Every year, on an average 10,000 persons are killed, 1.4 lakh injured and 60,000 disabled due to road accidents. "Though these instruments are now available in the market, the state government is back-pedalling on the issue time and again without any ground," Nanjappa had claimed. Sugar communication stayed The high court has stayed the March 31 communication issued by commissioner for cane development and director for sugar, asking sugar factories to pay farmers Rs 160 per tonne in addition to the SMP fixed for sugarcane. South India Sugar Mills Association has challenged the communication. Notification quashed The high court has quashed a notification dated September 24, 2001 seeking to shift the National Institute of Miners' Health from KGF to Nagpur. The court has asked the government to retain the present institute, at least as a branch. G S Ravindra Rao and J Jayakumar, two scientists working at the institute, claimed that the shifting order was issued without assigning any valid reason. Police to file affidavit A division Bench has directed Bangalore police to file an affidavit on progress in the investigation pertaining to a missing 16-year-old girl from Jeevan Bima Nagar. The girl, a student of Oxford High School, is missing since January 6, 2008. Her father, a retired government servant, has filed a habeas corpus petition. Two new judges Justice B Shrinivasa Gowda and Justice K N Keshavanarayana will take oath as additional judges of the high court on Monday. The number of judges in the high court will now go up to 39, as against the 41 required.
30 May 2008, 0116 hrs IST,TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com