he Union Government today filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking permission to derecognise 44 'C' category deemed universities which lack basic infrastructure.
On the last date of hearing, the apex court had restrained the HRD Ministry from implementing its decision to derecognise these universities.
The universities, spread throughout the country, do not fulfill the eligibility criteria. Most of them do not have campuses, adequate number of qualified teachers, laboratories or hostels.
'B' category universities have been given three years time to make up the deficiencies in the basic infrastructure.
The Centre had earlier informed the court about its decision to withdraw the recognition of 44 deemed universities.
The apex court had passed the restraint order keeping in view the career and future of about 200,000 students who were on the rolls.
Some of the students, unconvinced by the assurances given by the government that they will be absorbed in other educational institutions, had approached the apex court of the country challenging the decision.
Most of the deemed universities facing axe are conducting medical science and engineering courses
Friday, February 26, 2010
Bhim Singh moves SC to quash criminal cases against M F Hussain
Panthers Party chief Prof Bhim Singh today filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Centre to withdraw all criminal cases against eminent painter M F Hussain for his alleged obscene paintings of Hindu goddesses.
The petitioner has also urged the apex court to direct the governemnt to ensure the safety and security of the 95-year-old painter who is presently living in exile in London.
There are reports in the media that the painter has decided to take citizenship of Qatar.
Several criminal complaints, which were filed against Hussain in various parts of the country, have already been transfered to Patiala House Court in Delhi by the apex court.
Hindu organisations, mainly Sangh Parivar, have been agitating against Hussain for hurting the religious and patriotic sentiments of the Hindus and the people of India in large.
The petitioner has also urged the apex court to direct the governemnt to ensure the safety and security of the 95-year-old painter who is presently living in exile in London.
There are reports in the media that the painter has decided to take citizenship of Qatar.
Several criminal complaints, which were filed against Hussain in various parts of the country, have already been transfered to Patiala House Court in Delhi by the apex court.
Hindu organisations, mainly Sangh Parivar, have been agitating against Hussain for hurting the religious and patriotic sentiments of the Hindus and the people of India in large.
FM advises people to quit smoking; increases tax on tobacco items
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today advised people not to smoke and increased excise duty on tobacco items.
Presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha, Mr Mukherjee admitted that he himself used to smoke earlier but left the habit many years ago.
''I will advise other people also to quit smoking as it is injurious to health,'' he said.
The budget has increased the excise duty on cigarette, cigar along with that on non-smoking tobacco products like scented chewing tobacco, snuff. Also, an additional tax has been levied on pouch machines of branded tobacco. The annoucement was welcomed by the members who were also happy about excise duty exemption on toys and baloons.
Seeing women members clapping, the finance minister quipped that toys and balloons are source of joy for children. So, to see the happy faces of their mothers the tax on those items has been exempted.
Presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha, Mr Mukherjee admitted that he himself used to smoke earlier but left the habit many years ago.
''I will advise other people also to quit smoking as it is injurious to health,'' he said.
The budget has increased the excise duty on cigarette, cigar along with that on non-smoking tobacco products like scented chewing tobacco, snuff. Also, an additional tax has been levied on pouch machines of branded tobacco. The annoucement was welcomed by the members who were also happy about excise duty exemption on toys and baloons.
Seeing women members clapping, the finance minister quipped that toys and balloons are source of joy for children. So, to see the happy faces of their mothers the tax on those items has been exempted.
Nine Indians killed in Afghanistan suicide attack
Upto nine Indians were killed and several others injured in a dastardly suicide attack in Afghanistan capital Kabul today.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said in a statement that there had been a ''heinous'' terrorist attack in Kabul this morning targeting a few residential facilities used, among others, by Indian nationals. ''As per the preliminary information provided by Afghan Government officials, up to nine Indians, besides a few others from Afghanistan and third countries, have lost their lives,'' the Minister said.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said in a statement that there had been a ''heinous'' terrorist attack in Kabul this morning targeting a few residential facilities used, among others, by Indian nationals. ''As per the preliminary information provided by Afghan Government officials, up to nine Indians, besides a few others from Afghanistan and third countries, have lost their lives,'' the Minister said.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
FBI Director meets Chidambaram
FBI Director Robert Mueller on Tuesday discussed counter-terrorism cooperation with Home Minister P Chidambaram and top security officials, after which it was disclosed that the US was helping in securing India's vast railway system.
The 20-minute meeting with the Home Minister took place in the backdrop of the Pune terror blast. US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer was present.
On his second visit to India in recent months, Mueller also met new National Advisor Shiv Shanker Menon. His other meetings were with Chief of Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Mathur and top officials handling counter-terrorism.
A statement issued by the US embassy on Mueller's discussions spoke of "robust and active" counter-terror cooperation between the two countries and disclosed that American Rail authorities had travelled to New Delhi and Mumbai to "observe first hand the enormous task of securing India's vast railway system."
Subsequently, a team of Indian government and law enforcement officials had travelled to New York city and Washington DC in this connection, the statement said.
The terror attacks in trains in Mumbai and near Delhi have claimed nearly 250 lives in recent past, out of which about 200 were killed in Mumbai train blasts. Over 60 were killed in a blast in Samjhuta Express near Panipat in 2007.
"Terrorism respects no boundaries, and the recent attack in Pune-- where 15 innocent people from around the globe lost their lives-- was a stark reminder that terrorists kill without regard for nationality. We must cooperate globally to protect our citizens locally in their cities, villages, and homes," the statement said.
Mueller is also believed to have discussed among other issues the case of US terror suspect David Coleman Headley, currently in the custody of the American investigating agency, and is understood to have shared information about the probe relating to the Pakistani-American's links to the planning of 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
Mueller had last visited the country in March last year. His current visit comes after India and the United States shared details of intelligence and investigations in the terror strikes in Mumbai in November 2008 -- a joint effort which forced Pakistan to admit that a part of the conspiracy was hatched on its soil.
"Our cooperation extends from the highest reaches of both governments and connects across to provide information and training to local law enforcement in both countries," the statement said.
The visit also assumes significance in view of the meet of Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan on Thursday.
The 20-minute meeting with the Home Minister took place in the backdrop of the Pune terror blast. US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer was present.
On his second visit to India in recent months, Mueller also met new National Advisor Shiv Shanker Menon. His other meetings were with Chief of Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Mathur and top officials handling counter-terrorism.
A statement issued by the US embassy on Mueller's discussions spoke of "robust and active" counter-terror cooperation between the two countries and disclosed that American Rail authorities had travelled to New Delhi and Mumbai to "observe first hand the enormous task of securing India's vast railway system."
Subsequently, a team of Indian government and law enforcement officials had travelled to New York city and Washington DC in this connection, the statement said.
The terror attacks in trains in Mumbai and near Delhi have claimed nearly 250 lives in recent past, out of which about 200 were killed in Mumbai train blasts. Over 60 were killed in a blast in Samjhuta Express near Panipat in 2007.
"Terrorism respects no boundaries, and the recent attack in Pune-- where 15 innocent people from around the globe lost their lives-- was a stark reminder that terrorists kill without regard for nationality. We must cooperate globally to protect our citizens locally in their cities, villages, and homes," the statement said.
Mueller is also believed to have discussed among other issues the case of US terror suspect David Coleman Headley, currently in the custody of the American investigating agency, and is understood to have shared information about the probe relating to the Pakistani-American's links to the planning of 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
Mueller had last visited the country in March last year. His current visit comes after India and the United States shared details of intelligence and investigations in the terror strikes in Mumbai in November 2008 -- a joint effort which forced Pakistan to admit that a part of the conspiracy was hatched on its soil.
"Our cooperation extends from the highest reaches of both governments and connects across to provide information and training to local law enforcement in both countries," the statement said.
The visit also assumes significance in view of the meet of Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan on Thursday.
Price Rise issue rocks Parliament; adjourned till Wednesday
The first day of Parliament after the President's address to a joint sitting saw the two sides at loggerheads as a united opposition charged the Congress-led coalition with "failure" in checking rising food prices.
It was trouble from the word go in both the Houses as Lok Sabha saw opposition members demanding admission of an adjournment motion, while in the Rajya Sabha, they wanted a debate under a rule which stipulates voting.
Both the Houses were adjourned for day in the afternoon and later till Wednesday as members from BJP, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, RJD and the Left stormed the well shouting anti-government slogans. SP and RJD are outside supporters of the UPA.
In the Lok Sabha, some BJP members were seen carrying placards saying, "Mahangai ko samapt karo, Mahangai mantri ko barkhast karo (check price rise, dismiss the minister responsible for price rise)."
Both Finance Minster Pranab Mukherjee and Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar were present in the House.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said, "This government has completely failed to check rising prices."
Sushma Swaraj, who took over as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, made a strong pitch for an adjournment motion saying several debates on the issue under Rule 193, which provides for a short duration discussion only and no voting, had failed" to have the desired effect on the government.
Making a spirited defence, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal said while the government was ready to discuss any issue on the floor of the House, the "rules do not permit an adjournment motion".
There was an uproar when Bansal suggested that state governments were primarily responsible for implementing laws like Essential Commodities Act and those relating to public distribution system and hoarding.
Opposition members countered that the government was "running away" from confronting the problems of the people by putting the blame on states.
SP and RJD members ten trooped into the well while their Left and BJP colleagues stood in protest.
Speaker Meira Kumar tried in vain to pacify the agitated members who were in no mood to listen. She first adjourned the House till noon and later for the day.
SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav described price rise as a serious challenge and said a large chunk of the people will not be in a position to celebrate the upcoming Holi.
It was trouble from the word go in both the Houses as Lok Sabha saw opposition members demanding admission of an adjournment motion, while in the Rajya Sabha, they wanted a debate under a rule which stipulates voting.
Both the Houses were adjourned for day in the afternoon and later till Wednesday as members from BJP, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, RJD and the Left stormed the well shouting anti-government slogans. SP and RJD are outside supporters of the UPA.
In the Lok Sabha, some BJP members were seen carrying placards saying, "Mahangai ko samapt karo, Mahangai mantri ko barkhast karo (check price rise, dismiss the minister responsible for price rise)."
Both Finance Minster Pranab Mukherjee and Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar were present in the House.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said, "This government has completely failed to check rising prices."
Sushma Swaraj, who took over as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, made a strong pitch for an adjournment motion saying several debates on the issue under Rule 193, which provides for a short duration discussion only and no voting, had failed" to have the desired effect on the government.
Making a spirited defence, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal said while the government was ready to discuss any issue on the floor of the House, the "rules do not permit an adjournment motion".
There was an uproar when Bansal suggested that state governments were primarily responsible for implementing laws like Essential Commodities Act and those relating to public distribution system and hoarding.
Opposition members countered that the government was "running away" from confronting the problems of the people by putting the blame on states.
SP and RJD members ten trooped into the well while their Left and BJP colleagues stood in protest.
Speaker Meira Kumar tried in vain to pacify the agitated members who were in no mood to listen. She first adjourned the House till noon and later for the day.
SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav described price rise as a serious challenge and said a large chunk of the people will not be in a position to celebrate the upcoming Holi.
Govt not to accept any pre-condition for talks with Maoists: PC
"I would like no ifs, no buts and no conditions," Home Minister P Chidambaram said in a statement on Tuesday, a day after the CPI(Maoists) made a conditional ceasefire offer asking the Government to halt the offensive against them for 72 days and involve mediators for talks.
He said Government has seen many versions of a statement reportedly made by the leaders of the CPI (Maoist).
"In the absence of an authentic statement, Government is unable to respond to these versions," the statement said.
Nevertheless, in order to clear the air, the Home Minister said, "I would like a short, simple statement from the CPI (Maoist) saying 'We will abjure violence and we are prepared for talks'".
Chidambaram said he would like the statement to be faxed to Home Ministry number 011-23093155.
"Once I receive the statement, I shall consult the Prime Minister and other colleagues and respond promptly," he said.
On Monday night, top Maoist leader Kishenji told the media over phone from an undisclosed place that "state governments and the Centre should not indulge in violence between February 25 and May 7 and concentrate on development of tribal areas which will be reciprocated by Maoists".
He was responding to Chidamabaram's statement last week that if the Maoists halted violence for 72 hours, the government would be ready for talks with them.
Maoists offer 72-day ceasefire
The Maoists on Monday night made a conditional ceasefire offer asking the government to halt the offensive against them for 72 days and involve mediators for talks.
"State governments and the Centre should not indulge in violence between February 25 and May 7 and concentrate on development of tribal areas which will be reciprocrated by Maoists," top Maoist leader Kishenji said over phone from an undisclosed place on Monday night.
He was responding to Union Home minister P Chidamabaram's statement last week that if the Maoists halted violence for 72 hours the government would be ready for talks with them.
In New Delhi, a Union Home Ministry official said the Government was "studying" the Maoist offer and will come with a response at an "appropriate time".
Another official said if the offer is unconditional then the government may consider it.
Kishenji said "This is not a problem of 72 hours rather it can take 72 days to solve the problem."
Appealing to intellectuals and human rights organisations to come forward as mediators, he said "We appeal to all the intellectuals, human rights organisations and mass organisations, the organisations which understand the cause of the people and want to stand by their side to mediate with the government and negotiate with the government."
"As long as state sponsored terrorism and violence remains stopped we will renounce our revolutionary revenge," Kishenji said.
"We will cease violence hour wise and day wise considering the state's reciprocation. They will have to take the initiative first," Kishenji said after a two-day Central Committee meeting in deep jungles on the Bengal-Jharkhand border.
Home Secretary G K Pillai refused to comment but a spokesman of his ministry said the Government's reaction will be known on Tuesday.
Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said Maoists can't have conditionalities attached which will make the whole ceasefire meaningless.
Singhvi also said "Distinction has to be made between those who practice violence for criminal acts and those who have to do some violence to combat that violence. Let us not equate these two kinds of violence."
He said Government has seen many versions of a statement reportedly made by the leaders of the CPI (Maoist).
"In the absence of an authentic statement, Government is unable to respond to these versions," the statement said.
Nevertheless, in order to clear the air, the Home Minister said, "I would like a short, simple statement from the CPI (Maoist) saying 'We will abjure violence and we are prepared for talks'".
Chidambaram said he would like the statement to be faxed to Home Ministry number 011-23093155.
"Once I receive the statement, I shall consult the Prime Minister and other colleagues and respond promptly," he said.
On Monday night, top Maoist leader Kishenji told the media over phone from an undisclosed place that "state governments and the Centre should not indulge in violence between February 25 and May 7 and concentrate on development of tribal areas which will be reciprocated by Maoists".
He was responding to Chidamabaram's statement last week that if the Maoists halted violence for 72 hours, the government would be ready for talks with them.
Maoists offer 72-day ceasefire
The Maoists on Monday night made a conditional ceasefire offer asking the government to halt the offensive against them for 72 days and involve mediators for talks.
"State governments and the Centre should not indulge in violence between February 25 and May 7 and concentrate on development of tribal areas which will be reciprocrated by Maoists," top Maoist leader Kishenji said over phone from an undisclosed place on Monday night.
He was responding to Union Home minister P Chidamabaram's statement last week that if the Maoists halted violence for 72 hours the government would be ready for talks with them.
In New Delhi, a Union Home Ministry official said the Government was "studying" the Maoist offer and will come with a response at an "appropriate time".
Another official said if the offer is unconditional then the government may consider it.
Kishenji said "This is not a problem of 72 hours rather it can take 72 days to solve the problem."
Appealing to intellectuals and human rights organisations to come forward as mediators, he said "We appeal to all the intellectuals, human rights organisations and mass organisations, the organisations which understand the cause of the people and want to stand by their side to mediate with the government and negotiate with the government."
"As long as state sponsored terrorism and violence remains stopped we will renounce our revolutionary revenge," Kishenji said.
"We will cease violence hour wise and day wise considering the state's reciprocation. They will have to take the initiative first," Kishenji said after a two-day Central Committee meeting in deep jungles on the Bengal-Jharkhand border.
Home Secretary G K Pillai refused to comment but a spokesman of his ministry said the Government's reaction will be known on Tuesday.
Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said Maoists can't have conditionalities attached which will make the whole ceasefire meaningless.
Singhvi also said "Distinction has to be made between those who practice violence for criminal acts and those who have to do some violence to combat that violence. Let us not equate these two kinds of violence."
Elections to 14 RS seats on 26th March
While the term of Antony (from Kerala) and Sharma (HP) would expire on 2nd April, Gill's (Punjab) would end on 9th April.
Biennial elections to 13 seats from six states -- five in Punjab, three in Kerala, two in Assam and one each in Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura and by-election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of senior Samajwadi Party leader Janeshwar Mishra (UP) would be held on 26th March.
Counting of votes would be taken up on the same day.
Besides Antony, Sharma and Gill, others who would be retiring are Silvius Condpan and Syeda Anwara Taimur (from Assam), Abdul Wahab Peeve and A Vijayaraghavan (Kerala), Khekiho Zhimomi (Nagaland), Matilal Sarkar (Tripura) and Ashwani Kumar, Naresh Gujral, Dharam Pal and Varinder Singh (Punjab).
According to the schedule, the notifications would be issued on 9th March. Last date for filing nominations would be on 16th March and the scrutiny the following day.
Biennial elections to 13 seats from six states -- five in Punjab, three in Kerala, two in Assam and one each in Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura and by-election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of senior Samajwadi Party leader Janeshwar Mishra (UP) would be held on 26th March.
Counting of votes would be taken up on the same day.
Besides Antony, Sharma and Gill, others who would be retiring are Silvius Condpan and Syeda Anwara Taimur (from Assam), Abdul Wahab Peeve and A Vijayaraghavan (Kerala), Khekiho Zhimomi (Nagaland), Matilal Sarkar (Tripura) and Ashwani Kumar, Naresh Gujral, Dharam Pal and Varinder Singh (Punjab).
According to the schedule, the notifications would be issued on 9th March. Last date for filing nominations would be on 16th March and the scrutiny the following day.
Delhi HC reserves order on Sajjan Kumar’s anticipatory bail plea
The Delhi High Court reserved its order on the anticipatory bail application filed by Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, accused of instigating a mob during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Appearing for Sajjan Kumar, senior lawyer Amarendra Sharan told the court that the CBI has filed two cases against his client for which he has already faced trial and was acquitted.
Nothing new has been added in the fresh chargesheet, he contented.
Justice A K Pathak asked the CBI, ‘What is new in this case? When the witnesses are the same, charges are the same and he has been acquitted in the earlier cases, then where is the need for his arrest?’ The Judge told the CBI lawyer, ‘You filed a chargesheet in the Magistrate’s court and the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) issues warrants against him, Now the ACMM des not have the powers to grant him bail, this power of granting bail rests with the Sessions Court. Now, when the ACMM will hear the case and will commit it to the Sessions Court, will he be granted a bail? You have left him remedy-less.’ ‘A person cannot be left without a remedy, in a limbo,’ the Court said.
Appearing for Sajjan Kumar, senior lawyer Amarendra Sharan told the court that the CBI has filed two cases against his client for which he has already faced trial and was acquitted.
Nothing new has been added in the fresh chargesheet, he contented.
Justice A K Pathak asked the CBI, ‘What is new in this case? When the witnesses are the same, charges are the same and he has been acquitted in the earlier cases, then where is the need for his arrest?’ The Judge told the CBI lawyer, ‘You filed a chargesheet in the Magistrate’s court and the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) issues warrants against him, Now the ACMM des not have the powers to grant him bail, this power of granting bail rests with the Sessions Court. Now, when the ACMM will hear the case and will commit it to the Sessions Court, will he be granted a bail? You have left him remedy-less.’ ‘A person cannot be left without a remedy, in a limbo,’ the Court said.
Rajeev Maheshwari appointed as CEO of Wall Street Finance
Rajeev Maheshwari has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forex services provider Wall Street Finance Ltd.
Wall Street Finance offers foreign exchange and money remittance services in India. The Spice Group Company is one of the principal agents of Western Union Money Transfer and operates over 3,500 locations for money transfer.
Before joining the company, Mr Maheshwari was with Kotak Mahindra Bank as Senior Vice-President in the Asset Reconstruction Division, Wall Street Finance said in filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Last week, Bhupendra Kumar Modi has resigned as the Chairman from its board of directors, the company said.
B K Modi has been replaced by Dilip Modi, who has been appointed as the Chairman and an additional director on the board of the company, it added.
Wall Street Finance offers foreign exchange and money remittance services in India. The Spice Group Company is one of the principal agents of Western Union Money Transfer and operates over 3,500 locations for money transfer.
Before joining the company, Mr Maheshwari was with Kotak Mahindra Bank as Senior Vice-President in the Asset Reconstruction Division, Wall Street Finance said in filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Last week, Bhupendra Kumar Modi has resigned as the Chairman from its board of directors, the company said.
B K Modi has been replaced by Dilip Modi, who has been appointed as the Chairman and an additional director on the board of the company, it added.
SC: Married daughters cannot seek eviction of tenant of parents
The Supreme Court has held that married daughters, who are well-settled in their matrimonial homes, cannot seek eviction of a tenant on the grounds of bonafide requirement, since married daughter is not dependent on her parents.
A bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Tirath Singh Thakur, while disposing of the petition filed by a landlord who died during the pendency of the appeal, also ruled that a married daughter, who is well-settled in her matrimonial home, cannot pursue the eviction petition filed by her parents.
Justice Thakur, writing 21-page judgement for the bench noted, ‘Even in the petition filed before this court, the requirement pleaded was that for the deceased widowed owner of the demised premises and not of any member of her family.’ ‘Super added to all this is the fact that the legal representatives, who now claim to be the family members of the deceased, are all married daughters of the deceased couple each one settled in their respective matrimonial homes in different cities and at different places. That none of them was dependent upon the deceased petitioner is also a fact undisputed before us,’ he noted.
A bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Tirath Singh Thakur, while disposing of the petition filed by a landlord who died during the pendency of the appeal, also ruled that a married daughter, who is well-settled in her matrimonial home, cannot pursue the eviction petition filed by her parents.
Justice Thakur, writing 21-page judgement for the bench noted, ‘Even in the petition filed before this court, the requirement pleaded was that for the deceased widowed owner of the demised premises and not of any member of her family.’ ‘Super added to all this is the fact that the legal representatives, who now claim to be the family members of the deceased, are all married daughters of the deceased couple each one settled in their respective matrimonial homes in different cities and at different places. That none of them was dependent upon the deceased petitioner is also a fact undisputed before us,’ he noted.
Rajiv Gandhi Murderer Nalini Sriharan All Set to Release From Jail
As per information, an advisory board constituted by the Tamil Nadu government to decide to Nalini petition for premature release from jail after 19 years in jail has virtually decided on Wednesday in the matter after it heard Nalini plea and report has got report from Vellore jail authorities which substantiate Nalini Claim for early release.
It is to mention that Nalini filed a petition for release on October 31, 2007 in front of advisory board after nearly 17 years in jail which was than rejected by board.
After that Rajiv Gandhi murder challenged the board’s decision in Madras High Court, which ordered State government to constitute new board to hear Nalini fresh petition.
It is to mention that Nalini filed a petition for release on October 31, 2007 in front of advisory board after nearly 17 years in jail which was than rejected by board.
After that Rajiv Gandhi murder challenged the board’s decision in Madras High Court, which ordered State government to constitute new board to hear Nalini fresh petition.
Shyam Benegal approaches SC to voice gay rights
Gay community has finally found its lone supporter in noted film director and Rajya Sabha Member Shyam Benegal, who has approached the Supreme Court in support of Delhi High Court judgement, legalising an act of homosexuality between two consenting adults.
Till now, the Naz foundation, on whose petition the Delhi High Court had pronounced the judgement in July 2009, was fighting a lone battle against stiff opposition from religious organisations as well as eminent religious and social leaders.
The High Court had recommended to the Union Government to suitably amend section 377, IPC in terms of the judgement of the High Court.
Mr Benegal, in his petition has contended that there was nothing wrong and illegal in the High Court ruling because no FIR can be registered without a complaint and the High Court ruling clearly implies if either of the party complains, then only gay sex would be an offence.
According to the Rajya Sabha MP, the so called religious leaders who were opposing the judgement, were unjustified since the judgement would not spread sexual corruption in the society as alleged by the petitioners opposed to the High Court judgement.
The main contention of the opponents of the High Court judgement, in the Supreme Court, is that the judgement offends Indian culture and ethos and also violates the law of nature which permits sexual intercourse between the two members of opposite sex.
The petitioners opposing the gay sex include Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, two Christian church coalitions, three Muslim organisations and an astrologer and the J and K Panthers Party.
The Union Government is not opposing the High Court judgement in the Supreme Court.
The apex court will hear the petition next month.
Till now, the Naz foundation, on whose petition the Delhi High Court had pronounced the judgement in July 2009, was fighting a lone battle against stiff opposition from religious organisations as well as eminent religious and social leaders.
The High Court had recommended to the Union Government to suitably amend section 377, IPC in terms of the judgement of the High Court.
Mr Benegal, in his petition has contended that there was nothing wrong and illegal in the High Court ruling because no FIR can be registered without a complaint and the High Court ruling clearly implies if either of the party complains, then only gay sex would be an offence.
According to the Rajya Sabha MP, the so called religious leaders who were opposing the judgement, were unjustified since the judgement would not spread sexual corruption in the society as alleged by the petitioners opposed to the High Court judgement.
The main contention of the opponents of the High Court judgement, in the Supreme Court, is that the judgement offends Indian culture and ethos and also violates the law of nature which permits sexual intercourse between the two members of opposite sex.
The petitioners opposing the gay sex include Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, two Christian church coalitions, three Muslim organisations and an astrologer and the J and K Panthers Party.
The Union Government is not opposing the High Court judgement in the Supreme Court.
The apex court will hear the petition next month.
SC asks EC whether statue construction violates Model Code
The Supreme Court today directed the Election Commission of India to examine whether statues of elephant which are being constructed and installed by the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh at the cost of the public exchequer, violate the Model Code of Conduct.
Elephant is the election symbol of the ruling party Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh.
A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan issued the directions when the petitioner submitted before the court that no political party which is in power can waste huge amounts of public money, which is taxpayers' money, to promote its political interests.
The petitioner further submitted that Mayawati's party was liable to be derecognised for brazenly flouting the Model Code of Conduct.
The apex court, which has banned the construction of all memorials and parks in Lucknow and Noida, decided to seek the response of the EC since the issue raised by the petitioner exclusively falls within its domain.
The apex court is examining the issue whether court can interfere when huge amounts of public money are being squandered away by the ruling party even if it is with the consent of the state legislature.
The apex court has granted three months time to the EC to decide the issue.
Mayawati government has earmarked Rs 2,600 crores for construction of memorial parks and statues of Dalit leaders and elephant.
Elephant is the election symbol of the ruling party Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh.
A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan issued the directions when the petitioner submitted before the court that no political party which is in power can waste huge amounts of public money, which is taxpayers' money, to promote its political interests.
The petitioner further submitted that Mayawati's party was liable to be derecognised for brazenly flouting the Model Code of Conduct.
The apex court, which has banned the construction of all memorials and parks in Lucknow and Noida, decided to seek the response of the EC since the issue raised by the petitioner exclusively falls within its domain.
The apex court is examining the issue whether court can interfere when huge amounts of public money are being squandered away by the ruling party even if it is with the consent of the state legislature.
The apex court has granted three months time to the EC to decide the issue.
Mayawati government has earmarked Rs 2,600 crores for construction of memorial parks and statues of Dalit leaders and elephant.
AMU decision on the expulsion of Professor , S.R. Siras
This is in response to the recent justification given by the V.C of AMU on his decision to expel Professor, S.R. Siras stating that "AMU is an institution of international repute and its students go out with character. Homosexuality is not good for them and so such act could not be allowed".
Very assertive indeed, however i have a few reservations on the statement quoted above. What does the word good signify? and what possible relation is there between good and not good, with homosexuality? Homosexuality is considered to be inherently present in one’s personal characteristic. It's not a disease, it's not somebody's choice. What the V.C has totally forgotten is that Every person has a right to life and personal liberty which also guarantees the right to privacy. Private, consensual sexual relations lie at the heart of the privacy- zone protected by the right to liberty. Homosexuality is not of foreign origin or a recent aberration. It has been prevalent in India and other countries since time immemorial. I think the Professor should visit the Hindu Temples of Khajuraho, and Konark and the great Buddhist monument at Borobudur in Indonesia. All of them are abundant with such scriptures of Homosexual activities. In various ancient books and the autobiography of Emperer Babur is quite clear on his indifferent love for his wife and his preference for a lad. Cumming to more recent events, the Delhi High Court recently Struck down the law on Homosexuality on grounds that it violates the right to privacy and equality. Morality can never take precedence over the constitutional rights of the citizens. Further a lot of questions seems to be left unanswered. What sort of conduct is actually immoral? and What sort of actions may justifiably be punished? Prof Hart also advocated the fact that "no evidence is produced to show that deviation from accepted sexual morality, even by adults in private, is something which, like treason, threatens the existence of society." On what basis was this decision made? In fact if somebody needs to be expelled; it is those students who installed a camera at the Professor's residence. Wasn't that a disreputable act?
Monday, February 22, 2010
Delhi Lokayukta: Shiela govt using delay tactics in filing reply
The Lokayukta of Delhi deferred the hearing of a case filed against Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit on charges of misusing power and wastage of public funds during election campaigning.
Lokayukta Manmohan Sarin asked the lawyer, appearing on behalf of Ms Dikshit who had failed to file an affidavit as directed, to stop the practice of delay tactics and file it on Monday, the next date of hearing.
The case, filed by former MCD standing Counsel Vijendra Gupta, alleged that the chief minister incurred huge expenses, to the tune of Rs 27 crore, from the public exchequer to win over the electorate and to combat the anti-incumbency factor in the past Assembly elections .
Public money was spent, one year prior to her elections, on the publicity of her programmes to win over the voters, Mr Gupta alleged.
During the last hearing, the Lokayukta had directed the chief minister, who was delaying the case for long, to file her reply in this regard positively by today and that no request for further extension will be granted if Ms Dikshit fails to reply.
Giving the chief minister one last opportunity, the Lokayukta directed her counsel B N Govardhan not to delay the case and file the reply positively by Monday.
Lawyers H S Phulka and Ashok Kashyap, appearing on behalf of Mr Gupta, intervened and told the opposite party to expedite the case
Lokayukta Manmohan Sarin asked the lawyer, appearing on behalf of Ms Dikshit who had failed to file an affidavit as directed, to stop the practice of delay tactics and file it on Monday, the next date of hearing.
The case, filed by former MCD standing Counsel Vijendra Gupta, alleged that the chief minister incurred huge expenses, to the tune of Rs 27 crore, from the public exchequer to win over the electorate and to combat the anti-incumbency factor in the past Assembly elections .
Public money was spent, one year prior to her elections, on the publicity of her programmes to win over the voters, Mr Gupta alleged.
During the last hearing, the Lokayukta had directed the chief minister, who was delaying the case for long, to file her reply in this regard positively by today and that no request for further extension will be granted if Ms Dikshit fails to reply.
Giving the chief minister one last opportunity, the Lokayukta directed her counsel B N Govardhan not to delay the case and file the reply positively by Monday.
Lawyers H S Phulka and Ashok Kashyap, appearing on behalf of Mr Gupta, intervened and told the opposite party to expedite the case
Himachal Pradesh HC to constitute Green Bench by Feb 26
Himachal Pradesh High court would constitute a separate Green bench to dispose of the cases related to Environment, Forest and Mining, which was to be made functional by February 26.
Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice, Joseph Kurian told media persons that the ‘Green Bench’ would comprise of two judges from Himachal and would be presided over by a senior Judge.
He said that bench would have ‘sons of soil’ who would be better able to understand the issues and cases related the Environment matters related to the hill state.
He said that basic purpose to set up this bench is to hear the case related to Environment, Forest and Mining in continuity and consistently.
Justice Kurien also did not rule out setting up of Dharamshala bench of Himachal Pradesh High Court but said that he could not comment on this issue right now as he had taken charge just ten days ago.
However, he pointed out that Ministry of Law has emphasized three factors to set up such court benches, including number of cases, pendency of cases of particular area and geographical location of area.
The Chief Justice said that he was in favour to early disposal of the pending cases in High Court and lower courts and added that Himachal would be shortly placed among states that would have completely computerised networks in the all courts to streamline and boost its functioning.
Justice Kurien said that ‘Lok Adalats’ were best instrument to dispose of the pendency’s in the court as many type of cases including partitions and land disputes were well suited to be settled in the Lok Adalats.
‘Lok Adalat are win-win offer to both the aggrieved and respondents as both party remained unhurt after amicably sorting out the dispute in such courts,’ he said.
Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice, Joseph Kurian told media persons that the ‘Green Bench’ would comprise of two judges from Himachal and would be presided over by a senior Judge.
He said that bench would have ‘sons of soil’ who would be better able to understand the issues and cases related the Environment matters related to the hill state.
He said that basic purpose to set up this bench is to hear the case related to Environment, Forest and Mining in continuity and consistently.
Justice Kurien also did not rule out setting up of Dharamshala bench of Himachal Pradesh High Court but said that he could not comment on this issue right now as he had taken charge just ten days ago.
However, he pointed out that Ministry of Law has emphasized three factors to set up such court benches, including number of cases, pendency of cases of particular area and geographical location of area.
The Chief Justice said that he was in favour to early disposal of the pending cases in High Court and lower courts and added that Himachal would be shortly placed among states that would have completely computerised networks in the all courts to streamline and boost its functioning.
Justice Kurien said that ‘Lok Adalats’ were best instrument to dispose of the pendency’s in the court as many type of cases including partitions and land disputes were well suited to be settled in the Lok Adalats.
‘Lok Adalat are win-win offer to both the aggrieved and respondents as both party remained unhurt after amicably sorting out the dispute in such courts,’ he said.
Advani takes over as working chairman of NDA
Chairman of the BJP Parliamentary Party L K Advani was today appointed as working chairman of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which was till now headed by veteran party leader and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Besdies, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, who was a working convenor of the NDA has been made fullfleged convenor.
These decisions were taken with consensus at a meeting of the floor leaders of the NDA on the eve of the Budget session of the Parliament.
Briefing mediapersons about the meeting, BJP leader and Deputy Leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha SS Ahluwalia said it had been decided by the NDA that Mr Advani would take up the responsibility of working chairman of the Alliance with effect from today till Mr Vajpayee regains health.
He said Mr Yadav's appointment as NDA covenor also comes into force with immediate effect.
''All the NDA leaders felt that they need the wise guidance of Mr Advani, and so his name was proposed by Mr Yadav at the beginning of today's meeting he chaired. His proposal was endorsed by Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, SAD leader Naresh Gujral and BJP leader Nitin Gadkari,'' he said.
Besdies, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, who was a working convenor of the NDA has been made fullfleged convenor.
These decisions were taken with consensus at a meeting of the floor leaders of the NDA on the eve of the Budget session of the Parliament.
Briefing mediapersons about the meeting, BJP leader and Deputy Leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha SS Ahluwalia said it had been decided by the NDA that Mr Advani would take up the responsibility of working chairman of the Alliance with effect from today till Mr Vajpayee regains health.
He said Mr Yadav's appointment as NDA covenor also comes into force with immediate effect.
''All the NDA leaders felt that they need the wise guidance of Mr Advani, and so his name was proposed by Mr Yadav at the beginning of today's meeting he chaired. His proposal was endorsed by Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, SAD leader Naresh Gujral and BJP leader Nitin Gadkari,'' he said.
MCI chief seeks law to curb ‘gifts’ by pharma cos to docs
The president of the Medical Council of India (MCI), Dr Ketan Desai, has submitted a letter to the Health Ministry seeking legislation to regulate the pharmaceutical industry’s practice of giving freebies to doctors to influence their prescribing habits.
“The MCI has no jurisdiction over the pharma industry. The MCI’s ban on doctors accepting gifts, travel facilities and hospitality of any kind from any pharmaceutical or allied health care industry will only apply to doctors. But the pharmaceutical industry is also a party to such a transaction and hence the government of India needs to bring in a legislation to restrain pharmaceutical companies from these type of activities,” said Dr Desai.
Speaking at a conference on ‘Medical Ethics Conundrum-The Road Ahead’ organized by Health Essayists and Authors League (HEAL) on Tuesday, Dr Desai said that the industry and doctors would find ways to circumvent the rules but that should not stop the government from making laws.
“A friend who owns a pharmaceutical company in Ahmedabad told me that the MCI had made things difficult by banning gifts. He told me that so far they were paying doctors by cheque, but would now have to do that in cash,” said Dr Desai.
Though the MCI had suggested a guillotine or sorts by banning all gifts to doctors, Dr Desai admitted that it would be difficult to actually ban all gifts as a lot of questions were being raised about whether educational books, pens and prescription pads would count as gifts.
“We are struggling to define what a “gift” is and whether there should be some ceiling on the worth of a gift. I know that would become a loophole, but we will have to come up with an acceptable definition making things more clear. If we say the ceiling is Rs 1,000, what if the pharma companies give several gifts worth Rs 900? These are questions we have to consider. But a fear of laws being broken cannot stop us from making laws,” said Dr Desai.
Despite several meetings of the MCI’s ethics committee since the law on banning gifts was passed in December, they haven’t been able to decide on the quantum of punishment for violation of the various rules and regulations related to the ban. “We will hopefully decide on this within the next two months. Anyway, each state is free to decide the quantum of punishment applicable just as it is doing for medical negligence cases,” said Dr Desai.
Dr Ved Prakash Mishra of the MCI ethics committee explained that the MCI would not do any policing and would not be taking any suo moto action. “The regulations are enforceable only if a person brings a complaint to the state council where a doctor is registered. If the parties are not satisfied, they could approach the MCI. The onus of proving innocence would be on the accused and not on the person filing the complaint,” said Dr Mishra.
“The MCI has no jurisdiction over the pharma industry. The MCI’s ban on doctors accepting gifts, travel facilities and hospitality of any kind from any pharmaceutical or allied health care industry will only apply to doctors. But the pharmaceutical industry is also a party to such a transaction and hence the government of India needs to bring in a legislation to restrain pharmaceutical companies from these type of activities,” said Dr Desai.
Speaking at a conference on ‘Medical Ethics Conundrum-The Road Ahead’ organized by Health Essayists and Authors League (HEAL) on Tuesday, Dr Desai said that the industry and doctors would find ways to circumvent the rules but that should not stop the government from making laws.
“A friend who owns a pharmaceutical company in Ahmedabad told me that the MCI had made things difficult by banning gifts. He told me that so far they were paying doctors by cheque, but would now have to do that in cash,” said Dr Desai.
Though the MCI had suggested a guillotine or sorts by banning all gifts to doctors, Dr Desai admitted that it would be difficult to actually ban all gifts as a lot of questions were being raised about whether educational books, pens and prescription pads would count as gifts.
“We are struggling to define what a “gift” is and whether there should be some ceiling on the worth of a gift. I know that would become a loophole, but we will have to come up with an acceptable definition making things more clear. If we say the ceiling is Rs 1,000, what if the pharma companies give several gifts worth Rs 900? These are questions we have to consider. But a fear of laws being broken cannot stop us from making laws,” said Dr Desai.
Despite several meetings of the MCI’s ethics committee since the law on banning gifts was passed in December, they haven’t been able to decide on the quantum of punishment for violation of the various rules and regulations related to the ban. “We will hopefully decide on this within the next two months. Anyway, each state is free to decide the quantum of punishment applicable just as it is doing for medical negligence cases,” said Dr Desai.
Dr Ved Prakash Mishra of the MCI ethics committee explained that the MCI would not do any policing and would not be taking any suo moto action. “The regulations are enforceable only if a person brings a complaint to the state council where a doctor is registered. If the parties are not satisfied, they could approach the MCI. The onus of proving innocence would be on the accused and not on the person filing the complaint,” said Dr Mishra.
20 US banks collapse in 2010 so far
In less than two months, 20 American banks have closed down even as the US economy is slowly coming out of the financial turmoil.
As many as 15 banks failed in January, while five have gone belly up so far this month.
In signs that the banking sector continues to remain shaky, four banks were shut down on February 20, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The counts of failures are climbing mainly on account of high unemployment rate which has resulted in increased defaults at small and medium banks.
Going by the FDIC, which insures deposits at more than 8,000 banks, four entities - Marco Community Bank, The La Coste National Bank, George Washington Savings Bank and La Jolla Bank, FSB - collapsed last week.
These four failures are expected to cost the FDIC little over USD 1 billion. Among them, the collapse of La Jolla Bank alone would result in expenses of USD 882.3 million.
A staggering 174 US banks have bite the dust since the collapse of the Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers in September 2008, which had sparked one of the worst financial crises in decades.
Bolstered by massive public spending and slowly stabilising financial system, the US economy is on the growth path. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the national GDP expanded 5.7 per cent, much higher than expected.
As many as 15 banks failed in January, while five have gone belly up so far this month.
In signs that the banking sector continues to remain shaky, four banks were shut down on February 20, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The counts of failures are climbing mainly on account of high unemployment rate which has resulted in increased defaults at small and medium banks.
Going by the FDIC, which insures deposits at more than 8,000 banks, four entities - Marco Community Bank, The La Coste National Bank, George Washington Savings Bank and La Jolla Bank, FSB - collapsed last week.
These four failures are expected to cost the FDIC little over USD 1 billion. Among them, the collapse of La Jolla Bank alone would result in expenses of USD 882.3 million.
A staggering 174 US banks have bite the dust since the collapse of the Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers in September 2008, which had sparked one of the worst financial crises in decades.
Bolstered by massive public spending and slowly stabilising financial system, the US economy is on the growth path. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the national GDP expanded 5.7 per cent, much higher than expected.
Renuka Sugars buys Brazil co.
Shree Renuka Sugars, one of the leading sugar producers and the largest sugar refiner in the country, on Sunday said is is acquiring a 51% stake in Brazil's Equipav SA Acucar Alcool for Rs 1,530 crore ($329 million). With a debt of about Rs 3,821 crore ($822 million), the enterprise value of the deal is nearly $1.2 billion. Equipav is one of the largest sugar producers in Brazil.
The $1-billion-plus transaction value makes it the largest deal by an Indian sugar producer. The second biggest deal in the sugar space — that of a $240-million buyout of Brazilian sugar and ethanol maker Vale Do Ivai in November 2009 — was also by Renuka Sugars. The two deals together will partly meet the need of raw sugar for its two refining capacities, the already commissioned plant in Haldia in West Bengal, and its upcoming plant in Mundra, Gujarat, said Gautam Watve, head-strategy & planning, Shree Renuka Sugars.
The Indian sugar producer clinched the deal in a field of five bidders which included Noble group from China, part owned by the Chinese government, and Bungee from the US. After the deal, the balance equity in the unlisted Equipav will be held by its current promoters but top officials at the Indian company said it was willing to raise its stake if any opportunity comes. The deal is expected to be closed in about 40 days, K K Kumbhat, chief financial officer, Shree Renuka Sugars, told reporters here.
The $1-billion-plus transaction value makes it the largest deal by an Indian sugar producer. The second biggest deal in the sugar space — that of a $240-million buyout of Brazilian sugar and ethanol maker Vale Do Ivai in November 2009 — was also by Renuka Sugars. The two deals together will partly meet the need of raw sugar for its two refining capacities, the already commissioned plant in Haldia in West Bengal, and its upcoming plant in Mundra, Gujarat, said Gautam Watve, head-strategy & planning, Shree Renuka Sugars.
The Indian sugar producer clinched the deal in a field of five bidders which included Noble group from China, part owned by the Chinese government, and Bungee from the US. After the deal, the balance equity in the unlisted Equipav will be held by its current promoters but top officials at the Indian company said it was willing to raise its stake if any opportunity comes. The deal is expected to be closed in about 40 days, K K Kumbhat, chief financial officer, Shree Renuka Sugars, told reporters here.
PROMISES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN : UPA govt hands out a raw deal to dalits and adivasis
In its election manifesto for the 2009 general elections, Congress had promised that it would ensure that allocations made under the Special Components Plan (SCP) for scheduled castes and the Tribal Sub-Plan for scheduled tribes are in accordance with their proportion in the total population. These two crucial schemes ensure that a proportion of all plan spending has to go towards the most marginalized and deprived sections of Indian society dalits and adivasis.
Funds routed under these schemes are non-divertable and non-lapsable. Such a promise was necessary because over the years, it had become almost customary to spend only a small amount under these schemes despite clear mandate that expenditure has to be about 16% for dalits and about 8% for adivasis. When UPA came to power for first time in 2004, only 5 out of 104 departments/ministries were showing such expenditure. Addressing the 51st National Development Council meeting in 2005, PM Manmohan Singh said that within 10 years expenditure would be brought in line with population proportions. Since then, this promise has been repeated several times, and all parties have voiced support to it.
Yet reality is quite the reverse. Not only is the allocation under SCP and TSP below the target, it has actually declined in past three years, according to research done by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), a Delhi-based think tank. Spending for dalits under SCP increased from 4.25% in 2004-05 to 8.12% in 2007-08, but then declined to 6.49% in 2009-10. By law it should be at least 16%, that being the proportion of dalits in the Indian population. Similarly, spending for tribals under TSP increased from a puny 2.8% in 2004-05 to 4.89% in 2007-08, but then declined to 4.1% in the last budget. Again, legally, it should be 8%, which is the share of tribals in Indias population.
This shocking truth emerged from CBGA research on expenditure details under SCP and TSP by 18 ministries/departments which had undertaken such allocation. These include some of the major ministries handling matters that relate to dalit and adivasi communities, like education, rural development, tribal affairs and social justice and empowerment. In 2009-10, total plan expenditure was Rs 243,893 crore. Out of this, Rs 15,832 crore was spent through SCP for dalits. By statutory requirement, it should have been 16% of total expenditure, that is, about Rs 39,514 crore. So, just in one year, dalit communities in India were short-changed for a whopping Rs 23,682 crore. Expenditure on adivasis was pegged at Rs 9,995 crore, whereas it should have been 8% of total, that is, about Rs 19,751. They were deprived of Rs 9,756 crore last year.
Dalits and adivasis constitute the poorest of our society. The bulk of them own very little land, have higher proportion of illiterates and suffer more social exclusion, than other strata. It was to partially mitigate these consequences of centuries of discrimination that schemes like SCP and TSP were devised. But the casual manner in which they are being dealt with despite repeated promises at the highest levels, raises questions about how serious these promises are.
Funds routed under these schemes are non-divertable and non-lapsable. Such a promise was necessary because over the years, it had become almost customary to spend only a small amount under these schemes despite clear mandate that expenditure has to be about 16% for dalits and about 8% for adivasis. When UPA came to power for first time in 2004, only 5 out of 104 departments/ministries were showing such expenditure. Addressing the 51st National Development Council meeting in 2005, PM Manmohan Singh said that within 10 years expenditure would be brought in line with population proportions. Since then, this promise has been repeated several times, and all parties have voiced support to it.
Yet reality is quite the reverse. Not only is the allocation under SCP and TSP below the target, it has actually declined in past three years, according to research done by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), a Delhi-based think tank. Spending for dalits under SCP increased from 4.25% in 2004-05 to 8.12% in 2007-08, but then declined to 6.49% in 2009-10. By law it should be at least 16%, that being the proportion of dalits in the Indian population. Similarly, spending for tribals under TSP increased from a puny 2.8% in 2004-05 to 4.89% in 2007-08, but then declined to 4.1% in the last budget. Again, legally, it should be 8%, which is the share of tribals in Indias population.
This shocking truth emerged from CBGA research on expenditure details under SCP and TSP by 18 ministries/departments which had undertaken such allocation. These include some of the major ministries handling matters that relate to dalit and adivasi communities, like education, rural development, tribal affairs and social justice and empowerment. In 2009-10, total plan expenditure was Rs 243,893 crore. Out of this, Rs 15,832 crore was spent through SCP for dalits. By statutory requirement, it should have been 16% of total expenditure, that is, about Rs 39,514 crore. So, just in one year, dalit communities in India were short-changed for a whopping Rs 23,682 crore. Expenditure on adivasis was pegged at Rs 9,995 crore, whereas it should have been 8% of total, that is, about Rs 19,751. They were deprived of Rs 9,756 crore last year.
Dalits and adivasis constitute the poorest of our society. The bulk of them own very little land, have higher proportion of illiterates and suffer more social exclusion, than other strata. It was to partially mitigate these consequences of centuries of discrimination that schemes like SCP and TSP were devised. But the casual manner in which they are being dealt with despite repeated promises at the highest levels, raises questions about how serious these promises are.
SC disapproves arrogance, vanity of superior officers
The Supreme Court has strongly disapproved the arrogance and vanity of superior officers while dealing with their subordinates.
A bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A K Patnaik while allowing the appeal of CRPF Head Constable Angad Das noted, ''People in power and authority should not easily lose equanimity, compose and appreciation for the problems of the lesser mortals.'' ''They are always expected to remember that power and authority must be judiciously exercised according to the laws and human compassion. Arrogance and vanity have no place in discharge of their official functions and duties,'' the bench further said.
The constable was posted in Jammu and Kashmir and was compulsorily retired on the ground that his date of birth was false. Following which, Das wrote a letter to DIG and made a humble request for his reinstatement.
The DIG responded to his request by enhancing his punishment from compulsory retirement to removal from service.
The apex court while imposing a cost of Rs 50,000 on the Union Government directed that Das shall be paid all pensionary benefits which have become due with nine per cent interest and expressed the hope that senior officers in future would not be totally oblivious of the problems of the humble and modest employees and pass similar orders.
The apex court restored the punishment of compulsory retirement.
A bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A K Patnaik while allowing the appeal of CRPF Head Constable Angad Das noted, ''People in power and authority should not easily lose equanimity, compose and appreciation for the problems of the lesser mortals.'' ''They are always expected to remember that power and authority must be judiciously exercised according to the laws and human compassion. Arrogance and vanity have no place in discharge of their official functions and duties,'' the bench further said.
The constable was posted in Jammu and Kashmir and was compulsorily retired on the ground that his date of birth was false. Following which, Das wrote a letter to DIG and made a humble request for his reinstatement.
The DIG responded to his request by enhancing his punishment from compulsory retirement to removal from service.
The apex court while imposing a cost of Rs 50,000 on the Union Government directed that Das shall be paid all pensionary benefits which have become due with nine per cent interest and expressed the hope that senior officers in future would not be totally oblivious of the problems of the humble and modest employees and pass similar orders.
The apex court restored the punishment of compulsory retirement.
After burqa, halal menu target of French ire
A French fast food chain’s decision to serve only halal meat in eight restaurants with a strong Muslim clientele has sparked a wave of criticism from politicians decrying the step as unacceptable.
A far-right leader said the 350-branch Quick chain was imposing “an Islamic tax” on its customers. A Socialist mayor has threatened a lawsuit for discrimination against customers who do not want to eat according to Muslim dietary laws.
The uproar, like France’s drive to ban Muslim face veils and its state-led debate on national identity, has come just ahead of regional elections next month even though Quick began what it calls a six-month marketing test in late November. The $7.46 billion halal market in France is growing strongly, according to a survey in December 2009, citing increasing demand among young Muslims for halal produce.
Marine Le Pen, vice-president of the far-right National Front, launched the accusations on Sunday, saying clients “are forced because of halal meat to pay a tax to Islamic organizations” that certify the food was produced according to Muslim dietary laws.
A far-right leader said the 350-branch Quick chain was imposing “an Islamic tax” on its customers. A Socialist mayor has threatened a lawsuit for discrimination against customers who do not want to eat according to Muslim dietary laws.
The uproar, like France’s drive to ban Muslim face veils and its state-led debate on national identity, has come just ahead of regional elections next month even though Quick began what it calls a six-month marketing test in late November. The $7.46 billion halal market in France is growing strongly, according to a survey in December 2009, citing increasing demand among young Muslims for halal produce.
Marine Le Pen, vice-president of the far-right National Front, launched the accusations on Sunday, saying clients “are forced because of halal meat to pay a tax to Islamic organizations” that certify the food was produced according to Muslim dietary laws.
Women lawyers set to enter Saudi courts
Saudi Arabia’s justice minister says his department is drafting a law that would allow female lawyers to argue legal cases in court for the first time.
Sheik Mohammed al-Issa told reporters Saturday the bill will be issued in the coming days as part of the Saudi king’s “plan to develop the justice system.’’
The law would mark a major step for female lawyers in the kingdom. Currently, women law graduates can work in government offices and in court offices, but cannot argue cases before court.
Under the new law, women would be allowed to argue cases on child custody, divorce and other family-related issues. Saudi Arabian women are required to be kept separate from men they are not related to. All are veiled to a greater or lesser degree in public, they are not allowed to drive, and women under 45 must receive permission from a male when they travel.
But a number of steps have been taken to ease restrictions on women — for instance Saudi women are now allowed to stay in hotels unaccompanied.
Sheik Mohammed al-Issa told reporters Saturday the bill will be issued in the coming days as part of the Saudi king’s “plan to develop the justice system.’’
The law would mark a major step for female lawyers in the kingdom. Currently, women law graduates can work in government offices and in court offices, but cannot argue cases before court.
Under the new law, women would be allowed to argue cases on child custody, divorce and other family-related issues. Saudi Arabian women are required to be kept separate from men they are not related to. All are veiled to a greater or lesser degree in public, they are not allowed to drive, and women under 45 must receive permission from a male when they travel.
But a number of steps have been taken to ease restrictions on women — for instance Saudi women are now allowed to stay in hotels unaccompanied.
WHAT A LAW : Saudi to get 20 lashes for each wife
A Saudi court in Al-Masarha in Jizan region has sentenced a 56-year-old Saudi employee to 120 lashes for being married to six wives at the same time.
The man who worked for the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai'a) will be punished with 20 lashes per wife. He has also been ordered to memorise two chapters of the Holy Qur'an as part of the punishment.
The court also banned him from travelling abroad for five years and delivering sermons or leading prayers in mosques.
The man who worked for the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai'a) will be punished with 20 lashes per wife. He has also been ordered to memorise two chapters of the Holy Qur'an as part of the punishment.
The court also banned him from travelling abroad for five years and delivering sermons or leading prayers in mosques.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
GOVT CURBS RTI LAW IN DRAFT BIOTECH BILL
The Department of Science and Technology has said that the proposed National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority will be the final authority in deciding whether particular information should be disclosed or not, undermin- ing the Right to Information law.
Under the RTI act, the Central Information Commis- sion is the final authority that decides on what information can or cannot be disclosed. The panel's decision can be chal- lenged in the high court.
"It (the draft bill) is several steps backwards in ensuring transparency in biotechnology science," said Kavitha Kuruganti of NGO Kheti Virasat Mission.
In the 2008 draft bill, there was no mention of the RTI law.In the 2009 draft, the RTI law is dealt with in detail.
It was only after the 2008 version came out that the com- mittee struck down the gov- ernment's objections to dis- closing Bt brinjal data, saying it should be revealed in public interest.
Information on the Genetic Engineering Approval Commi- ttee website was questioned by many scientists, including P.M. Bhargava, a GEAC mem- ber.
But the department, in the draft National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, had said that the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005, would not be applicable to the new authority, which will have powers to describe any information as "confidential".
"Disclosure of confidential commercial information, such information shall, notwith- standing anything contained in the Right to Information Act, 2005, be retained as confiden- tial by the authority and not be disclosed to any other party," reads Section 27 (1).
The government expects to introduce the bill in the second half of the budget session.
The Department of Science and Technology has said that the proposed National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority will be the final authority in deciding whether particular information should be disclosed or not, undermin- ing the Right to Information law.
Under the RTI act, the Central Information Commis- sion is the final authority that decides on what information can or cannot be disclosed. The panel's decision can be chal- lenged in the high court.
"It (the draft bill) is several steps backwards in ensuring transparency in biotechnology science," said Kavitha Kuruganti of NGO Kheti Virasat Mission.
In the 2008 draft bill, there was no mention of the RTI law.In the 2009 draft, the RTI law is dealt with in detail.
It was only after the 2008 version came out that the com- mittee struck down the gov- ernment's objections to dis- closing Bt brinjal data, saying it should be revealed in public interest.
Information on the Genetic Engineering Approval Commi- ttee website was questioned by many scientists, including P.M. Bhargava, a GEAC mem- ber.
But the department, in the draft National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, had said that the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005, would not be applicable to the new authority, which will have powers to describe any information as "confidential".
"Disclosure of confidential commercial information, such information shall, notwith- standing anything contained in the Right to Information Act, 2005, be retained as confiden- tial by the authority and not be disclosed to any other party," reads Section 27 (1).
The government expects to introduce the bill in the second half of the budget session.
Under the RTI act, the Central Information Commis- sion is the final authority that decides on what information can or cannot be disclosed. The panel's decision can be chal- lenged in the high court.
"It (the draft bill) is several steps backwards in ensuring transparency in biotechnology science," said Kavitha Kuruganti of NGO Kheti Virasat Mission.
In the 2008 draft bill, there was no mention of the RTI law.In the 2009 draft, the RTI law is dealt with in detail.
It was only after the 2008 version came out that the com- mittee struck down the gov- ernment's objections to dis- closing Bt brinjal data, saying it should be revealed in public interest.
Information on the Genetic Engineering Approval Commi- ttee website was questioned by many scientists, including P.M. Bhargava, a GEAC mem- ber.
But the department, in the draft National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, had said that the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005, would not be applicable to the new authority, which will have powers to describe any information as "confidential".
"Disclosure of confidential commercial information, such information shall, notwith- standing anything contained in the Right to Information Act, 2005, be retained as confiden- tial by the authority and not be disclosed to any other party," reads Section 27 (1).
The government expects to introduce the bill in the second half of the budget session.
The Department of Science and Technology has said that the proposed National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority will be the final authority in deciding whether particular information should be disclosed or not, undermin- ing the Right to Information law.
Under the RTI act, the Central Information Commis- sion is the final authority that decides on what information can or cannot be disclosed. The panel's decision can be chal- lenged in the high court.
"It (the draft bill) is several steps backwards in ensuring transparency in biotechnology science," said Kavitha Kuruganti of NGO Kheti Virasat Mission.
In the 2008 draft bill, there was no mention of the RTI law.In the 2009 draft, the RTI law is dealt with in detail.
It was only after the 2008 version came out that the com- mittee struck down the gov- ernment's objections to dis- closing Bt brinjal data, saying it should be revealed in public interest.
Information on the Genetic Engineering Approval Commi- ttee website was questioned by many scientists, including P.M. Bhargava, a GEAC mem- ber.
But the department, in the draft National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, had said that the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005, would not be applicable to the new authority, which will have powers to describe any information as "confidential".
"Disclosure of confidential commercial information, such information shall, notwith- standing anything contained in the Right to Information Act, 2005, be retained as confiden- tial by the authority and not be disclosed to any other party," reads Section 27 (1).
The government expects to introduce the bill in the second half of the budget session.
IPO of Coal India expected by August
Coal India Ltd (CIL) is expected to come out with its Initial Public Offer (IPO) of shares by August, a company official said.
"We discussed the tentative timeline with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) Friday," Coal India Chairman Partha S. Bhattacharyya said Friday after meeting SEBI officials in Mumbai.
He said the Draft Red Herring Prospectus would be filed by June. The issue of giving shares to staff was also discussed and resolved at the meeting.
City-based CIL had earlier said SEBI has objected giving shares to staff employed in a subsidiary.
CIL is a holding company and most of its staff, including all its mining personnel, are in the payroll of eight subsidiaries, which also own the coal mines.
CIL's IPO would consist of divestment of 10 percent stake of the government, which now holds 100 percent in the coal mining major.
"We discussed the tentative timeline with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) Friday," Coal India Chairman Partha S. Bhattacharyya said Friday after meeting SEBI officials in Mumbai.
He said the Draft Red Herring Prospectus would be filed by June. The issue of giving shares to staff was also discussed and resolved at the meeting.
City-based CIL had earlier said SEBI has objected giving shares to staff employed in a subsidiary.
CIL is a holding company and most of its staff, including all its mining personnel, are in the payroll of eight subsidiaries, which also own the coal mines.
CIL's IPO would consist of divestment of 10 percent stake of the government, which now holds 100 percent in the coal mining major.
Sibal to seek consensus on right to education
Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal Saturday said he will try to build a consensus among all states to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act from April 1. He also stressed that the government is and will be strictly against commercialisation of education.
"Our aim is to ensure that all children in India get quality education, but we are against commercialisation of education. Incessant hike of fee and overcharging from parents is something we do not support," Sibal told reporters here.
In order to implement the RTE Act in its true spirit, the minister said, he will hold meetings with various state governments.
"I will talk to every state government on issues regarding implementation of the RTE Act from April 1. I will be meeting Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Diskhit Monday regarding the same," he said.
"Our aim is to ensure that all children in India get quality education, but we are against commercialisation of education. Incessant hike of fee and overcharging from parents is something we do not support," Sibal told reporters here.
In order to implement the RTE Act in its true spirit, the minister said, he will hold meetings with various state governments.
"I will talk to every state government on issues regarding implementation of the RTE Act from April 1. I will be meeting Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Diskhit Monday regarding the same," he said.
Nearly 50% of Indian women get married before turning 18: Study
Child marriage continues to remain a big problem in the country, with half the women getting married before attaining the minimum legal marriageable age of 18 years, according to a study released by health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here on Saturday.
"Marriage happens very early for most of the women in most states - one fifth were married below the age of 15 years and 49 percent were married before turning 18," said the study.
The study was conducted in six states - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu - between 2006 and 2008, involving over 58,000 youths in the age group of 15-29 years.
Findings show that the situation was worst in Bihar -- 77 percent of women were married before the age of 18.
"Not only did marriage occur at young age but it was also often arranged without the participation of young people themselves, particularly young women. Majority of them said that their parents did not seek their approval while selecting their spouse," the study added.
The study found that early marriage is followed by early pregnancy and almost 47 percent of young women had their first pregnancy before they turned 18.
"Married adolescent girls have unique healthcare needs and many of these become mothers before they are physically and mentally ready for this role. We need to set up exclusive forums for adolescent girls in villages to ensure their multi-dimensional development needs are addressed," said Azad.
The study was carried out by the Population Council, Delhi and International Institute of Population Sciences, Mumbai.
"Marriage happens very early for most of the women in most states - one fifth were married below the age of 15 years and 49 percent were married before turning 18," said the study.
The study was conducted in six states - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu - between 2006 and 2008, involving over 58,000 youths in the age group of 15-29 years.
Findings show that the situation was worst in Bihar -- 77 percent of women were married before the age of 18.
"Not only did marriage occur at young age but it was also often arranged without the participation of young people themselves, particularly young women. Majority of them said that their parents did not seek their approval while selecting their spouse," the study added.
The study found that early marriage is followed by early pregnancy and almost 47 percent of young women had their first pregnancy before they turned 18.
"Married adolescent girls have unique healthcare needs and many of these become mothers before they are physically and mentally ready for this role. We need to set up exclusive forums for adolescent girls in villages to ensure their multi-dimensional development needs are addressed," said Azad.
The study was carried out by the Population Council, Delhi and International Institute of Population Sciences, Mumbai.
Dutch government collapses over Afghan mission
The Dutch coalition government collapsed on Saturday over whether to extend the country's military mission in Afghanistan, leaving uncertain the future of its 1,600 soldiers fighting there.
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced that the second largest party in his three-party alliance is quitting, in a breakdown of trust in what had always been an uneasy partnership.
Balkenende made no mention of elections as he spoke to reporters after a 16-hour cabinet meeting in The Hague that ended close to dawn. However, the resignation of the Labor Party - which has demanded the country stick to a scheduled withdrawal from southern Afghanistan - would leave his government in the minority, and political analysts said early elections appeared inevitable.
Balkenende said his center-right Christian Democratic Alliance would continue in office together with the small Christian Union, and would "make available" Labor's cabinet seats. But he did not spell out his intentions.
The coalition, elected to a four-year term, marks its third year in office on Monday.
"Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together. There is no road along which this cabinet can go further," Balkenende said.
The Dutch debate comes as opinion polls in many troop-providing European countries indicate growing public opposition to sending more soldiers to Afghanistan amid a global financial crisis and shrinking defense budgets.
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced that the second largest party in his three-party alliance is quitting, in a breakdown of trust in what had always been an uneasy partnership.
Balkenende made no mention of elections as he spoke to reporters after a 16-hour cabinet meeting in The Hague that ended close to dawn. However, the resignation of the Labor Party - which has demanded the country stick to a scheduled withdrawal from southern Afghanistan - would leave his government in the minority, and political analysts said early elections appeared inevitable.
Balkenende said his center-right Christian Democratic Alliance would continue in office together with the small Christian Union, and would "make available" Labor's cabinet seats. But he did not spell out his intentions.
The coalition, elected to a four-year term, marks its third year in office on Monday.
"Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together. There is no road along which this cabinet can go further," Balkenende said.
The Dutch debate comes as opinion polls in many troop-providing European countries indicate growing public opposition to sending more soldiers to Afghanistan amid a global financial crisis and shrinking defense budgets.
Why should a Muslim have to wear his nationalism on his sleeve?
We owe the young Muslim our trust, due process and the benefit of the doubt — so that when the horror of something like Pune happens, he can spontaneously share the revulsion of his fellow citizens without the insidious taint of guilt by association, writes Najeeb Jung.
Sixty-three years ago as Nehru spoke of India's tryst with destiny, millions of Muslims rejected the Two-Nation theory and made their choice to stay in the motherland. India was their "madare watan" and India it was where they would live and die. When people questioned their integrity and commitment to the nation and suggested they were fifth columnists, they bore the calumny patiently.
The '50s and '60s were difficult years marred by a sequence of riots where often enough Muslims were at the receiving end. Even the pluralist Nehru's commitment to a secular politics wasn't enough to curb the police's tendency to visit retribution disproportionately on Muslims in the wake of a riot. Misled by the platitudes and promises of the political elite, Muslims remained a community bereft of leaders. But a quarter of a century after partition, attitudes changed. Young Muslim boys and girls left behind the sense of alienation and exclusion that had beleaguered their parents. The partition of Pakistan in 1971 and the foundation of Bangladesh was a landmark event that gave this new generation of Muslims the strength to speak in a more modern, secular voice and to stand up for their rights, their place in the Indian republic.
Today, despite sectarian tragedies like the razing of the Babri Masjid or the Gujarat pogrom, the young Muslim is very much part of the system. He has a confident sense of shared citizenship and wants to exercise his rights. What upsets him is the tired rhetoric of "Muslim alienation", the condescending op-eds encouraging him to merge himself into "mainstream" society, to contribute to Indian's burgeoning economy which seem to assume that he has spent his life in a backwater or another planet. He is tired of being stereotyped. He is a regular guy, who works for a living, thinks the same thoughts and nurses the same ambitions as the great Indian middle class that the world is justly celebrating. And so like Faiz he wonders: "Iss raah pe jo sab pe guzarti hai who guzri Tanhan pase zindaan kabhi ruswa sare bazaar Garje hain bahut sheikh sar-egosha-e-mimbar Kadke hain bahut ahle hakam bar sare darbar" (I go through all that one goes through while on this path At times alone in jail, sometime defamed in the bazaar The sheikh denounces me from the pulpit And the ruler lashes out at me in his durbar).
I work at a remarkable university where young boys and girls and grown men and women who truly represent India's diversity, give the lie to these divisive stereotypes. They hang out together, eat and drink together, see movies together and party together. Their thought processes, their aspirations are shared. They dress alike, they want similar jobs, they look for love and laughter, new friends, wider horizons. Like young people everywhere,they want to move on.
So when the horrors of Mumbai and Pune occur, and he hears the same cliches - Muslim alienation, local Muslims supporting Pakistani terrorists, the disgruntlement in Muslim youth after 9/11 and so on - he's gripped by that depressing deja vu. Once again Muslim men and women will be asked to wear their nationalism on their sleeves, be more vehement in their criticism of Pakistan than their non-Muslim fellows, to demonstrate their credentials as citizens.
If this patriotic Muslim citizen were to point out that in the aftermath of the Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad, scores of young Muslim boys were yanked out of their homes, then either to be released after weeks of torture when there was no evidence to hold them or to disappear without trace, some columnist or pundit would comment on the defensiveness of the Muslim middle-class, or muse that educated Muslims were in denial. A single' encounter' in Batla House, New Delhi, located in a Muslim majority area is enough to put 'Muslim society' on notice and a sophisticated modern central university, with an unmatched nationalist lineage under a cloud. The alleged complicity of a serving army officer in a terrorist plot didn't lead people to conclude that the army or 'Hindu society' was violent or disaffected; it would be useful if the same benefit of the doubt were extended to those of this republic's citizens who happen to be Muslim.
But here's the thing: young Muslims understand the piquant situation they are in. After all, there is truth to the charge that an earlier generation of Muslims asked for a separate homeland and got it. They know they belong to a proselytising religion; they are aware of the flourishing myth that Islam gives no quarter to 'kafirs'. They know that Islam is misunderstood by non-Muslims and often misinterpreted by their co-religionists. They're self-conscious about the controversy regarding Muslim polygamy, the stereotypes about jihad, the promised hooris in heaven, the hideous penal practices of certain 'Muslim' states, the barbaric instances of inhuman behaviour by the likes of Mullah Omar in Afghanistan, the blasphemous justification of such behaviour by invoking the Nizam-i-Mustafa.
He knows that the violence practised by extremists makes the task of explaining Muslim belief and practice hard. With suicide bombers in the headlines, who cares to know that suicide is forbidden in Islam? Verse 195, The Cow, and verses 29-30,the Women, clearly state: "And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your own hands contribute to your destruction; But do good." Every Muslim theologian will tell you that suicides are haram. Who wants to know that in practice having more than one wife is impossible because the conditions laid down for marrying again are so exacting, when people see manifestly imperfect Muslim men marrying again. Which non-Muslim will feel the resonance of Islam's assertion that all men are equal, when he or she can see Muslim states where Muslims are more equal than others, and Muslim men more equal than women?
The young Muslim in India is aware of all this. He struggles with regressive interpretations of his faith in his own life and he is completely integrated into the socio-economic fabric of India. Years ago, a friend in the IPS, Rashid Khan produced a film called the Seventh Man. His hypothesis was that every seventh man in Calcutta was a Muslim. But he was so integrated into Calcutta that his efforts and energy moved the economic wheels of the great city.While he was not rich, he worked at jobs without which the city would be dysfunctional : as a baker, a weaver, a barber, a butcher. Today's young Muslim has greater ambitions than that. He wants to start a business, be an engineer, do an MBA. He anxiously awaits campus recruitment, he crams for the UPSC exams and dreams of the civil services. Others want to be judges, lawyers, dentists and doctors, some want to be active politicians.
Each one of them is aware of the numerous handicaps he faces, the hurdles, the prejudices he is likely to encounter, the shortcomings in his own community, its inherent backwardness, poverty, lack of modern education, lack of a youthful leadership. And yet he wants to overcome all this and be part of this great nation that his parents chose to stay behind in, to be share in the promise Nehru held out on the midnight of 15 August 1947: he wants to be part of this nation's tryst with destiny. What we owe him is trust, due process and the benefit of the doubt: so that when the horror of something like Pune happens, he can spontaneously share the revulsion of his fellow citizens without the insidious taint of guilt by association.
Sixty-three years ago as Nehru spoke of India's tryst with destiny, millions of Muslims rejected the Two-Nation theory and made their choice to stay in the motherland. India was their "madare watan" and India it was where they would live and die. When people questioned their integrity and commitment to the nation and suggested they were fifth columnists, they bore the calumny patiently.
The '50s and '60s were difficult years marred by a sequence of riots where often enough Muslims were at the receiving end. Even the pluralist Nehru's commitment to a secular politics wasn't enough to curb the police's tendency to visit retribution disproportionately on Muslims in the wake of a riot. Misled by the platitudes and promises of the political elite, Muslims remained a community bereft of leaders. But a quarter of a century after partition, attitudes changed. Young Muslim boys and girls left behind the sense of alienation and exclusion that had beleaguered their parents. The partition of Pakistan in 1971 and the foundation of Bangladesh was a landmark event that gave this new generation of Muslims the strength to speak in a more modern, secular voice and to stand up for their rights, their place in the Indian republic.
Today, despite sectarian tragedies like the razing of the Babri Masjid or the Gujarat pogrom, the young Muslim is very much part of the system. He has a confident sense of shared citizenship and wants to exercise his rights. What upsets him is the tired rhetoric of "Muslim alienation", the condescending op-eds encouraging him to merge himself into "mainstream" society, to contribute to Indian's burgeoning economy which seem to assume that he has spent his life in a backwater or another planet. He is tired of being stereotyped. He is a regular guy, who works for a living, thinks the same thoughts and nurses the same ambitions as the great Indian middle class that the world is justly celebrating. And so like Faiz he wonders: "Iss raah pe jo sab pe guzarti hai who guzri Tanhan pase zindaan kabhi ruswa sare bazaar Garje hain bahut sheikh sar-egosha-e-mimbar Kadke hain bahut ahle hakam bar sare darbar" (I go through all that one goes through while on this path At times alone in jail, sometime defamed in the bazaar The sheikh denounces me from the pulpit And the ruler lashes out at me in his durbar).
I work at a remarkable university where young boys and girls and grown men and women who truly represent India's diversity, give the lie to these divisive stereotypes. They hang out together, eat and drink together, see movies together and party together. Their thought processes, their aspirations are shared. They dress alike, they want similar jobs, they look for love and laughter, new friends, wider horizons. Like young people everywhere,they want to move on.
So when the horrors of Mumbai and Pune occur, and he hears the same cliches - Muslim alienation, local Muslims supporting Pakistani terrorists, the disgruntlement in Muslim youth after 9/11 and so on - he's gripped by that depressing deja vu. Once again Muslim men and women will be asked to wear their nationalism on their sleeves, be more vehement in their criticism of Pakistan than their non-Muslim fellows, to demonstrate their credentials as citizens.
If this patriotic Muslim citizen were to point out that in the aftermath of the Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad, scores of young Muslim boys were yanked out of their homes, then either to be released after weeks of torture when there was no evidence to hold them or to disappear without trace, some columnist or pundit would comment on the defensiveness of the Muslim middle-class, or muse that educated Muslims were in denial. A single' encounter' in Batla House, New Delhi, located in a Muslim majority area is enough to put 'Muslim society' on notice and a sophisticated modern central university, with an unmatched nationalist lineage under a cloud. The alleged complicity of a serving army officer in a terrorist plot didn't lead people to conclude that the army or 'Hindu society' was violent or disaffected; it would be useful if the same benefit of the doubt were extended to those of this republic's citizens who happen to be Muslim.
But here's the thing: young Muslims understand the piquant situation they are in. After all, there is truth to the charge that an earlier generation of Muslims asked for a separate homeland and got it. They know they belong to a proselytising religion; they are aware of the flourishing myth that Islam gives no quarter to 'kafirs'. They know that Islam is misunderstood by non-Muslims and often misinterpreted by their co-religionists. They're self-conscious about the controversy regarding Muslim polygamy, the stereotypes about jihad, the promised hooris in heaven, the hideous penal practices of certain 'Muslim' states, the barbaric instances of inhuman behaviour by the likes of Mullah Omar in Afghanistan, the blasphemous justification of such behaviour by invoking the Nizam-i-Mustafa.
He knows that the violence practised by extremists makes the task of explaining Muslim belief and practice hard. With suicide bombers in the headlines, who cares to know that suicide is forbidden in Islam? Verse 195, The Cow, and verses 29-30,the Women, clearly state: "And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your own hands contribute to your destruction; But do good." Every Muslim theologian will tell you that suicides are haram. Who wants to know that in practice having more than one wife is impossible because the conditions laid down for marrying again are so exacting, when people see manifestly imperfect Muslim men marrying again. Which non-Muslim will feel the resonance of Islam's assertion that all men are equal, when he or she can see Muslim states where Muslims are more equal than others, and Muslim men more equal than women?
The young Muslim in India is aware of all this. He struggles with regressive interpretations of his faith in his own life and he is completely integrated into the socio-economic fabric of India. Years ago, a friend in the IPS, Rashid Khan produced a film called the Seventh Man. His hypothesis was that every seventh man in Calcutta was a Muslim. But he was so integrated into Calcutta that his efforts and energy moved the economic wheels of the great city.While he was not rich, he worked at jobs without which the city would be dysfunctional : as a baker, a weaver, a barber, a butcher. Today's young Muslim has greater ambitions than that. He wants to start a business, be an engineer, do an MBA. He anxiously awaits campus recruitment, he crams for the UPSC exams and dreams of the civil services. Others want to be judges, lawyers, dentists and doctors, some want to be active politicians.
Each one of them is aware of the numerous handicaps he faces, the hurdles, the prejudices he is likely to encounter, the shortcomings in his own community, its inherent backwardness, poverty, lack of modern education, lack of a youthful leadership. And yet he wants to overcome all this and be part of this great nation that his parents chose to stay behind in, to be share in the promise Nehru held out on the midnight of 15 August 1947: he wants to be part of this nation's tryst with destiny. What we owe him is trust, due process and the benefit of the doubt: so that when the horror of something like Pune happens, he can spontaneously share the revulsion of his fellow citizens without the insidious taint of guilt by association.
CJI in cash-in-bag storm
K.G. Balakrishnan, the Chief Justice of India is in the eye of yet another storm. The Bar Association of the Punjab & Haryana High Court passed a resolution yesterday, condemning him and former Attorney General, Milon Banerjee for having given a clean chit to Justice Nirmal Yadav, in the ‘cash-in-bag’ scam. The scam broke out in August 2008, when a bag containing Rs. 15 lakh ($32,500) to the then Additional Attorney General, Justice Nirmaljit Kaur. It was discovered later that the money was meant for Justice Nirmal Yadav. Soon after the scam came to light, the CJI appointed a three-judge committee to inquire into the matter. The Central Bureau of Investigation had registered a case under the Indian Penal Code and obtained permission from the CJI to examine Justices Kaur and Yadav and sent the preliminary report to former Attorney General, Milon Banerjee for his opinion. Mr. Banerjee concluded that there was insufficient evidence to initiate prosecution against Justice Yadav and the Ministry for Law, concurring with the opinion, dropped the prosecution for lack of evidence. The three-member collegium headed by the CJI accepted the Ministry’s report. The Bar Association that met yesterday rejected the report of the CBI, as a ‘grave and flagrant miscarriage of justice’. Anupam Gupta, has been appointed to lead the counsels to represent the Bar Association before the Special Judge of the CBI. The Association is expected to nominate a committee to lobby with the concerned. President of the Punjab & Haryana Bar Association and Anupam Gupta were not available for comment.
PC invites CMs of Bihar, J'khand, WB to discuss anti-Naxal plan
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram
has asked the Chief Ministers of Bihar, Jharkhand and West
Bengal to come to Delhi for a meeting to discuss a
''tentative'' anti-Naxal plan drawn by the Centre before
the commencement of the inter-state operations.
has asked the Chief Ministers of Bihar, Jharkhand and West
Bengal to come to Delhi for a meeting to discuss a
''tentative'' anti-Naxal plan drawn by the Centre before
the commencement of the inter-state operations.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Bill cleared to curb malpractices in professional education
The Group of Ministers (GoM) on Wednesday cleared ‘The Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill’ drafted by the Human Resource Development Ministry to provide for a Central law to curb malpractices.
The draft legislation had been referred to the GoM by the Cabinet after concerns were expressed at certain provisions. In particular, some Cabinet members were apprehensive of the Bill being challenged, especially as the Supreme Court, in the T.M.A. Pai case, held that establishment of private unaided educational institutions was in the exercise of the Fundamental Right to Occupation under Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution.
While pointing out that the Bill was not aimed at dissuading private participation, the Ministry said that so far there was no Central law to curb a range of malpractices that crept into the professional education system. These include capitation fee, donations, overcharging for sale of prospectus, opacity in admission procedures, misleading advertisements, recruitment of unqualified persons and underpayment of teachers.
The Bill provides for a punishment of up to three years in jail and Rs. 50 lakh as fine. According to the Ministry, the draft legislation has built-in safeguards against any misuse of authority or interference with the autonomy of institutions.
The draft legislation had been referred to the GoM by the Cabinet after concerns were expressed at certain provisions. In particular, some Cabinet members were apprehensive of the Bill being challenged, especially as the Supreme Court, in the T.M.A. Pai case, held that establishment of private unaided educational institutions was in the exercise of the Fundamental Right to Occupation under Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution.
While pointing out that the Bill was not aimed at dissuading private participation, the Ministry said that so far there was no Central law to curb a range of malpractices that crept into the professional education system. These include capitation fee, donations, overcharging for sale of prospectus, opacity in admission procedures, misleading advertisements, recruitment of unqualified persons and underpayment of teachers.
The Bill provides for a punishment of up to three years in jail and Rs. 50 lakh as fine. According to the Ministry, the draft legislation has built-in safeguards against any misuse of authority or interference with the autonomy of institutions.
Court directs Chhattisgarh to appoint SPOs as per law
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Chhattisgarh Government to appoint Special Police Officers (SPOs), who are supporting the State Police in tackling the naxal problem, in accordance with the law.
A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan Justices S.H. Kapadia and Aftab Alam gave this direction on a petition filed by Nandini Sundar, Ramachandra Guha and E.A.S. Sarma against the activities of Salwa judum in the State.
Senior counsel Ashok Desai, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that apart from the regular police, private citizens including minors were given arms and appointed as SPOs. He said the National Human Rights Commission had filed a report giving out the state of affairs prevailing in Chhattisgarh. Its recommendations and suggestions, he added, were not fully implemented.
He said tribals had become aliens in their own villages as their houses, hospitals and anganwadis were occupied by the police. He said compensation should be paid to those who lost their houses in the violent incidents.
On behalf of the State, senior counsel K.K. Venugopal submitted that about 3,000 SPOs had been appointed in addition to the regular police force to take care of the law and order situation. He denied that private citizens (Salwa judum) were being given arms to deal with the naxal problem.
A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan Justices S.H. Kapadia and Aftab Alam gave this direction on a petition filed by Nandini Sundar, Ramachandra Guha and E.A.S. Sarma against the activities of Salwa judum in the State.
Senior counsel Ashok Desai, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that apart from the regular police, private citizens including minors were given arms and appointed as SPOs. He said the National Human Rights Commission had filed a report giving out the state of affairs prevailing in Chhattisgarh. Its recommendations and suggestions, he added, were not fully implemented.
He said tribals had become aliens in their own villages as their houses, hospitals and anganwadis were occupied by the police. He said compensation should be paid to those who lost their houses in the violent incidents.
On behalf of the State, senior counsel K.K. Venugopal submitted that about 3,000 SPOs had been appointed in addition to the regular police force to take care of the law and order situation. He denied that private citizens (Salwa judum) were being given arms to deal with the naxal problem.
Divorced woman can't use ex's name, rules HC
``What's in a name...'' The famous Shakespearean line from Romeo and Juliet popped up during an acrimonious divorce case on Wednesday. ``A lot,'' said an aggrieved man, ``especially when my ex-wife is misusing it''. The Bombay high court concurred and in a rare order that might make divorced men smile, directed the divorced woman to stop using her former husband's name and surname.
The HC further clarified: ``ex-wife cannot use the husband's name anywhere, including in her bank account''. The landmark judgment was passed by Justice Roshan Dalvi as she dismissed a petition filed by a woman challenging an interim order of the family court in Bandra...
The HC further clarified: ``ex-wife cannot use the husband's name anywhere, including in her bank account''. The landmark judgment was passed by Justice Roshan Dalvi as she dismissed a petition filed by a woman challenging an interim order of the family court in Bandra...
Law Minister cautions police against short circuiting law
Citing omissions in developing ‘a new police system’ for an independent India, Law and Justice Minister M Veerappa Moily stressed reforms that he said ‘are still continuing.’ ‘At the dawn of independence there was no demand for a new police system for the country,’ Dr Moily told a conference on quality in governance. ‘The reason for not insisting on a new police for a new society are not yet known.’ ‘No serious search has been made as to why the police and their functions are usually relegated,’ the Law Minister acknowledged at the 5th National Conclave on Leveraging Quality for Good Governance.
Its significance was clear, he pointed out, ‘when it is widely accepted that no development is possible without order and the fruits of development would not reach the intended beneficiaries in the absence of order.’ ‘It would appear the founding fathers laid emphasis on continuity and change rather than on any violent departure from the past and demolishing the existing administrative structure... When the five year plans were introduced the police was not made a plan subject.’ The conference sponsored by Quality Council of India is to discuss issues and ideas aimed at improving ‘the quality of life of the average Indian.’ Experts say sooner or later it all boils down to the quality of governance at work. The event attended among others by former Chief Justice of India J S Verma centred on Effective Governance - Judiciary and Policing.
But as Dr Moily put it, India in its long history saw governance of all kinds, proportions and dimensions and survived through them.
‘It saw the worst and the best in its 2500 years of recorded history. The governance in India now is based on this long experience. It is the collective will for good governance that is lacking in India.’ The Law Minister renewed pledges to bring in reforms in electoral laws as well as in judiciary, which he called the ‘best in the world.’ ‘In addition to the judiciary, another institution which plays an equally or perhaps an even more important role in implementation of good governance standards is the police,’ Dr Moily remarked.
‘However, it has been seen that when discussing the inputs for good governance in any society, the police is not generally prominent or even important.’ In contrast, Dr Moily cited the handling in Britain where police ‘are the instrument for enforcing the rule of law. They are the means by which civilised society maintains order that people may live safely in their homes and go freely about their lawful business.’ Quoting from the 1962 Royal Commission on the Police, Dr Moily said ‘policemen, like everybody else, are accountable to the law.
They are also the laws agents. And the uniformed policemen have for many years been recognised and accepted as the embodiment of the laws authority.’ Dr Moily quoted Anglo-Saxon police historian Charles Reith to assert that the ‘British love for order and respect for law is the result of model behaviour on the part of the British police.’ ‘The point,’ he said, ‘is that good policing plays as equally an important role as the judiciary for the attainment of the objectives of good governance.’ In India, it was not until January 1959 that the States began police reform.
As the Kerala Police Reorganisation Committee observed, the people of independent India ‘expect a different approach by the police towards the maintenance of law and order and want them to play a new role in a progressive and enlightened democracy.’ Dr Moily counted an honest and efficient judicial and police service-- not one that ‘short circuits’ law-- among the imperatives of good governance.
‘It is quite obvious and self-evident that the foundations of good governance can be laid only on a well disciplined, accountable, efficient, honest judicial and police service.
He said ‘it is futile to expect’ good governance with a police or judicial system that does not respect human rights, violates and short circuits the law, is not accountable, lacks professionalism, is high handed, corrupt and poorly trained.
‘It is thus essential that all the institutions of the government-- and the judiciary and police most prominent among them-- must pool their energies to force a good governance for the country. Only such a collective will can devolve truly good governance for the country.’
Its significance was clear, he pointed out, ‘when it is widely accepted that no development is possible without order and the fruits of development would not reach the intended beneficiaries in the absence of order.’ ‘It would appear the founding fathers laid emphasis on continuity and change rather than on any violent departure from the past and demolishing the existing administrative structure... When the five year plans were introduced the police was not made a plan subject.’ The conference sponsored by Quality Council of India is to discuss issues and ideas aimed at improving ‘the quality of life of the average Indian.’ Experts say sooner or later it all boils down to the quality of governance at work. The event attended among others by former Chief Justice of India J S Verma centred on Effective Governance - Judiciary and Policing.
But as Dr Moily put it, India in its long history saw governance of all kinds, proportions and dimensions and survived through them.
‘It saw the worst and the best in its 2500 years of recorded history. The governance in India now is based on this long experience. It is the collective will for good governance that is lacking in India.’ The Law Minister renewed pledges to bring in reforms in electoral laws as well as in judiciary, which he called the ‘best in the world.’ ‘In addition to the judiciary, another institution which plays an equally or perhaps an even more important role in implementation of good governance standards is the police,’ Dr Moily remarked.
‘However, it has been seen that when discussing the inputs for good governance in any society, the police is not generally prominent or even important.’ In contrast, Dr Moily cited the handling in Britain where police ‘are the instrument for enforcing the rule of law. They are the means by which civilised society maintains order that people may live safely in their homes and go freely about their lawful business.’ Quoting from the 1962 Royal Commission on the Police, Dr Moily said ‘policemen, like everybody else, are accountable to the law.
They are also the laws agents. And the uniformed policemen have for many years been recognised and accepted as the embodiment of the laws authority.’ Dr Moily quoted Anglo-Saxon police historian Charles Reith to assert that the ‘British love for order and respect for law is the result of model behaviour on the part of the British police.’ ‘The point,’ he said, ‘is that good policing plays as equally an important role as the judiciary for the attainment of the objectives of good governance.’ In India, it was not until January 1959 that the States began police reform.
As the Kerala Police Reorganisation Committee observed, the people of independent India ‘expect a different approach by the police towards the maintenance of law and order and want them to play a new role in a progressive and enlightened democracy.’ Dr Moily counted an honest and efficient judicial and police service-- not one that ‘short circuits’ law-- among the imperatives of good governance.
‘It is quite obvious and self-evident that the foundations of good governance can be laid only on a well disciplined, accountable, efficient, honest judicial and police service.
He said ‘it is futile to expect’ good governance with a police or judicial system that does not respect human rights, violates and short circuits the law, is not accountable, lacks professionalism, is high handed, corrupt and poorly trained.
‘It is thus essential that all the institutions of the government-- and the judiciary and police most prominent among them-- must pool their energies to force a good governance for the country. Only such a collective will can devolve truly good governance for the country.’
IOC, ONGC, SAIL, NTPC to be country’s first Maharatna companies
Four public sector behemoths--Indian Oil Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Steel Authority of India Limited and National Thermal Power Corporation-- are likely to become the country’s first Maharatna companies by April-May this year.
‘My department is in possession of applications from IOL, ONGC, SAIL and NTPC for Maharatna status. The papers are being scrutinised at present. The status is expected to be conferred on them in the next 60 to 90 days,’ Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Secretary Bhaskar Chatterjee today said.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme here, Mr Chatterjee said the four PSEs who had so far been in the category of Navaratna were the only eligible companies right now to be in the exclusive club of elites.
Coal India, another public sector leader going neck to neck with the four others, would become the fifth Maharatna only after getting listed in the stock exchange, he said.
The Government had earlier decided to award the status to top state-owned companies to give them more freedom to negotiate joint ventures, investments and grow capacity.
The eligibility criteria set for Maharatna status call for a turnover of at least Rs 25,000 crore, net worth of Rs 15,000 crore and net profit of Rs. 5,000 crore for consecutive three years. A Maharatna aspirant must also be listed on the stock exchange.
‘My department is in possession of applications from IOL, ONGC, SAIL and NTPC for Maharatna status. The papers are being scrutinised at present. The status is expected to be conferred on them in the next 60 to 90 days,’ Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Secretary Bhaskar Chatterjee today said.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme here, Mr Chatterjee said the four PSEs who had so far been in the category of Navaratna were the only eligible companies right now to be in the exclusive club of elites.
Coal India, another public sector leader going neck to neck with the four others, would become the fifth Maharatna only after getting listed in the stock exchange, he said.
The Government had earlier decided to award the status to top state-owned companies to give them more freedom to negotiate joint ventures, investments and grow capacity.
The eligibility criteria set for Maharatna status call for a turnover of at least Rs 25,000 crore, net worth of Rs 15,000 crore and net profit of Rs. 5,000 crore for consecutive three years. A Maharatna aspirant must also be listed on the stock exchange.
Allahabad HC raps CBI in Ayodhya title suit case
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, hearing the Ayodhya title suit, today rapped the CBI over its probe into the missing files of the Ayodhya case and disposed of the application on the matter.
A special full bench expressed its annoyance on the CBI being unable to locate all the missing files in the Ayodhya case and pointed out that it proved their inefficiency.
The court, however, maintained that the evidence, which had come up till now was enough in the case.
The bench comprising Justices S U Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and D V Sharma gave the observation on an application filed by Sunni Central Waqf Board.
The petition demanded that seven documents of the year 1949, which were in the government custody, be produced in the court for the hearing into the title suit of Ayodhya.
The court, earlier, had ordered the CBI to find the missing files after the state government said the files concerned were missing.
Later, during the investigation the agency had found some missing files.
The bench had reserved its judgement way back and today it disposed of the plea by saying that there was enough evidence in the case.
A special full bench expressed its annoyance on the CBI being unable to locate all the missing files in the Ayodhya case and pointed out that it proved their inefficiency.
The court, however, maintained that the evidence, which had come up till now was enough in the case.
The bench comprising Justices S U Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and D V Sharma gave the observation on an application filed by Sunni Central Waqf Board.
The petition demanded that seven documents of the year 1949, which were in the government custody, be produced in the court for the hearing into the title suit of Ayodhya.
The court, earlier, had ordered the CBI to find the missing files after the state government said the files concerned were missing.
Later, during the investigation the agency had found some missing files.
The bench had reserved its judgement way back and today it disposed of the plea by saying that there was enough evidence in the case.
Special court likely to fix date for argument in 26/11 case
Special Court Judge M L Tahaliyani is likely to fix the date tomorrow for argument on the evidence recorded during the trial against lone Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab and two other co-accused in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
The court would resume tomorrow, nearly a month after it concluded recording of evidence.
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam and Kasab's lawyer K P Pawar have stated that they were ready to put forth their arguments.
However, co-accused Faheem Ansari is likely to seek time to engage another lawyer following the gunning down of his counsel Shahid Azmi recently.
During the trial proceeding 610 witnesses deposed before the court and at least 40 eyewitnesses, including the injured, had identified Kasab in the court.
In the blast, more than 160 people were killed and over 250 injured on November 26, 2008 by 10 terrorists.
The court would resume tomorrow, nearly a month after it concluded recording of evidence.
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam and Kasab's lawyer K P Pawar have stated that they were ready to put forth their arguments.
However, co-accused Faheem Ansari is likely to seek time to engage another lawyer following the gunning down of his counsel Shahid Azmi recently.
During the trial proceeding 610 witnesses deposed before the court and at least 40 eyewitnesses, including the injured, had identified Kasab in the court.
In the blast, more than 160 people were killed and over 250 injured on November 26, 2008 by 10 terrorists.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Telgi sentenced to 10 years RI
The Special Court hearing the multi-crore stamp paper racket cases on Wednesday ordered Abdul Kareem Telgi to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and pay a fine of Rs. 2 lakh. The remaining 19 persons have been ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and pay fine of Rs. 40,000.
The court on February 10 convicted Telgi and 19 others for printing and selling fake stamp papers. They were found to have indulged in counterfeiting government stamps by designing, printing, possessing, and selling such stamps as genuine stamps in Bangalore and other parts of the State.
Bangalore’s Upparpet police arrested Badruddin and Vittal Maruthi in August 2000 and recovered Rs. 53.12 lakh worth fake stamp papers from them.
The court on February 10 convicted Telgi and 19 others for printing and selling fake stamp papers. They were found to have indulged in counterfeiting government stamps by designing, printing, possessing, and selling such stamps as genuine stamps in Bangalore and other parts of the State.
Bangalore’s Upparpet police arrested Badruddin and Vittal Maruthi in August 2000 and recovered Rs. 53.12 lakh worth fake stamp papers from them.
23 prisoners escape from Chittorgarh jail
As many as 23 prisoners escaped from the district jail after snatching the service rifles of two jailers here this morning, police sources said.
The inmates fled from the jail after over powering the two jailers, who had gone in the prisoners barrack to distribute breakfast.
The prisoners beat up the two jailers and ran away after snatching their service rifles.
The inmates fled from the jail after over powering the two jailers, who had gone in the prisoners barrack to distribute breakfast.
The prisoners beat up the two jailers and ran away after snatching their service rifles.
HC declines interim relief to Sajjan Kumar in 1984 riot cases
The Delhi High Court today refused to give interim relief to former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar who is facing threat of arrest by the CBI in 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases.
It deferred the anticipatory bail application of Sajjan Kumar till Monday.
Justice A K Pathak, hearing Kumar's anticipatory bail plea, refused to restrain the CBI from arresting him till Monday.s The former MP's lawyer Amrender Sharan said Kumar was accused of the same offence earlier but was never arrested for the last 25 years.
He has faced trial in the case and was acquitted. Filing an FIR of the same offence is bad in law and should be quashed, he said.
''My client's right to life cannot be taken away by a procedure which is not sanctioned by law,'' Mr Sharan argued.
It is the violation of Article 21 of the constitution as his fundamental rights are being infringed and his liberty to life is being taken away by a procedure which is not sanctioned by law, Mr Sharan stated.
He was not arrested for the last 25 years as there was nothing against him, he added.
A battery of lawyers appearing for Kumar have filed a writ petition in the court to quash the FIR filed against him as he has already faced trial in the cases for 25 long years. A person cannot be charged twice for the same offence, Advocate I U Khan, appearing for Kumar said.
Mr Khan pleaded that the court should restrain the CBI from arresting Kumar as he has never violated any legal condition laid down in the earlier bail applications and had participated in the trial without influencing any witnesses or tampering with any evidence whatsoever, Mr Khan said.
The court, however , refused to grant any interim relief and posted the matter, of hearing the anticipatory bail application, till Monday.
It deferred the anticipatory bail application of Sajjan Kumar till Monday.
Justice A K Pathak, hearing Kumar's anticipatory bail plea, refused to restrain the CBI from arresting him till Monday.s The former MP's lawyer Amrender Sharan said Kumar was accused of the same offence earlier but was never arrested for the last 25 years.
He has faced trial in the case and was acquitted. Filing an FIR of the same offence is bad in law and should be quashed, he said.
''My client's right to life cannot be taken away by a procedure which is not sanctioned by law,'' Mr Sharan argued.
It is the violation of Article 21 of the constitution as his fundamental rights are being infringed and his liberty to life is being taken away by a procedure which is not sanctioned by law, Mr Sharan stated.
He was not arrested for the last 25 years as there was nothing against him, he added.
A battery of lawyers appearing for Kumar have filed a writ petition in the court to quash the FIR filed against him as he has already faced trial in the cases for 25 long years. A person cannot be charged twice for the same offence, Advocate I U Khan, appearing for Kumar said.
Mr Khan pleaded that the court should restrain the CBI from arresting Kumar as he has never violated any legal condition laid down in the earlier bail applications and had participated in the trial without influencing any witnesses or tampering with any evidence whatsoever, Mr Khan said.
The court, however , refused to grant any interim relief and posted the matter, of hearing the anticipatory bail application, till Monday.
Defence Ministry expects 15-20% rise in budget allocation
Defence Ministry is expecting a 15 to 20 per cent increase in its budget allocation for the next fiscal due to rise in expenditure on its modernisation drive and commitments following pay review.
Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said he expects an increase in the budgetary allocation this fiscal from 2009-10 figure of Rs Rs 1,41,703 crore.
"Certainly we are expecting an increase because of the increase in revenue expenditure, implementation of 6th Pay Commission Report. Apart from that, there is an emphasis on modernisation and new acquisitions," he said.
Keeping this in mind, Raju said, the Ministry expects an increase in the budget, which "might be 10-15 per cent or 15-20 per cent".
Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said he expects an increase in the budgetary allocation this fiscal from 2009-10 figure of Rs Rs 1,41,703 crore.
"Certainly we are expecting an increase because of the increase in revenue expenditure, implementation of 6th Pay Commission Report. Apart from that, there is an emphasis on modernisation and new acquisitions," he said.
Keeping this in mind, Raju said, the Ministry expects an increase in the budget, which "might be 10-15 per cent or 15-20 per cent".
No extra time in jail for teens who attacked Indians: Oz court
Two teenage brothers, who spent less than a year in youth detention for a brutal racial attack on a group of Indians which left one of the victims with permanent brain injuries, will not spend any further time in custody, an Australian court ruled on Wednesday.
Victorian county court judge Christine Thornton said the 12-month detention order for the brothers, now aged 17 and 18 respectively, by the Children's Court last year over the 2008 incident, was lenient but should stand because of the delay in bringing an appeal against the sentence, AAP reported.
Victorian county court judge Christine Thornton said the 12-month detention order for the brothers, now aged 17 and 18 respectively, by the Children's Court last year over the 2008 incident, was lenient but should stand because of the delay in bringing an appeal against the sentence, AAP reported.
IMF to start sales of 191.3 tonnes of gold soon
The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said it will shortly begin selling 191.3 tonnes of gold in the open market under a program approved last year to boost its resources for lending.
To avoid disruptions of the gold market, the IMF said the sales "will be conducted in a phased manner over time." The fund left the door open for central banks to keep buying the gold directly from the IMF.
The IMF announced last year it would sell a total of 403.3 tonnes of gold, about one-eighth of its total stock, to diversify its sources of income and increase low-cost lending to poor countries.
To avoid disruptions of the gold market, the IMF said the sales "will be conducted in a phased manner over time." The fund left the door open for central banks to keep buying the gold directly from the IMF.
The IMF announced last year it would sell a total of 403.3 tonnes of gold, about one-eighth of its total stock, to diversify its sources of income and increase low-cost lending to poor countries.
New Blog for Indian Legal Research
I would like to highlight the Legal Research India blog recently started by Arjun Sheoran, student at the National Law School of India University. Essentially, the blog allows readers/users to search the web for relevant legal materials. The search is a Google custom search; with the advantage that it is restricted to some selected websites, listed here – so the results are likely to be more relevant for those engaged in Indian legal research than a general Google search. According to the homepage of the blog, “Legal Research India provides customized search engines for legal research for Indian and foreign law as it searches relevant websites only. It can be used searching for judgments, legislations, articles, journals, reports or any other legal information/material from India, UK, USA or any other jurisdiction…” I have not used it too much yet; but in the couple of instances when I did use it, I found it extremely helpful. I hope the readers of this blog find it useful too.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Court-martial Proceedings and Article 33 of the Constitution
With reports that Lt.-Gen. Avadesh Prakash will be court-martialled; it might be an appropriate time to visit some of the legal provisions in this connection. The allegations against the officer are (going by a recent NDTV report) that “Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash was indicted by an army inquiry of using his position to help a businessman in Siliguri in West Bengal . The internal investigation found that Prakash influenced officers to permit a real estate developer to acquire 71 acres next to the Army's 33 Corps Headquarters in Siliguri in West Bengal . The Army, which had earlier told the government that this land could not be sold to any commercial developer for security reasons, okayed the transfer of the land to Agarwal.”
”45. Unbecoming conduct. Any officer, junior commissioned officer or warrant officer who behaves in a manner unbecoming his position and the character expected of him shall, on conviction by court-martial, if he is an officer, be liable to be cashiered or to suffer such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned; and, if he is a junior commissioned officer or a warrant officer, be liable to be dismissed or to suffer such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned.”
This Section was recently considered by the Supreme Court in M.M. Malhotra v. Union of India, AIR 2006 SC 80; and the words “manner unbecoming his position and the character expected of him” appear to be of very wide import. The scheme of the Act and the procedure to be followed in a court-martial has been explained in Lt.-Col. P.P.S. Bedi v. Union of India,AIR 1982 SC 1413. Other Sections which might have a possible application include Sections 52, 53 etc. The procedure in relation to a court-martial is found in Chapter X of the Army Act. The power to convene a general court-martial may be exercised by the chief of army staff under Section 109. The question of to what extent these (and other) provisions of the Act are consistent with Part III of the Constitution of India, 1950 has also been considered by the Courts. A challenge to provisions of the Act will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, due to Article 33 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court explained the position thus in Lt.-Col. P.P.S. Bedi v. Union of India, AIR 1982 SC 1413:
“… Article 33 confers power on the Parliament to determine to what extent any of the rights conferred by Part III shall, in their application to the members of the Armed Forces, be restricted or abrogated so as to ensure the proper discharge of duties and maintenance of discipline amongst them. Article 33 does not obligate that Parliament must specifically adumbrate each fundamental right enshrined in Part III and to specify in the law enacted in exercise of the power conferred by Article 33 the degree of restriction or total abrogation of each right. That would be reading into Article 33 a requirement which it does not enjoin. In fact, after the Constitution came into force, the power to legislate in respect of any item must be referrable to an entry in the relevant list. Entry 2 in list I: Naval, Military and Air Force and any other Armed Forces of the Union, would enable Parliament to enact the Army Act and armed with this power the Act was enacted in July, 1950. It has to be enacted by the Parliament subject to the requirements of Part III of the Constitution read with Article 33 which itself forms part of Part III . Therefore, every provision of the Army Act enacted by the Parliament, if in conflict with the fundamental rights conferred by Part III , shall have to be read subject to Article 33 as being enacted with a view to either restricting or abrogating other fundamental rights to the extent of inconsistency or repugnancy between Part III of the Constitution and the Army Act…”
All 13 chargesheeted in Shopian case granted bail in Kashmir
All the 13 people, including doctors and lawyers, who were chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Shopian double rape and murder case, were granted bail by a local court here today.
Hearing the case, the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar, granted bail to all the accused on a surety of Rs 10,000 each.
The next date of hearing has been fixed for April 17.
The CBI in its chargesheet has alleged that the accused, including former public prosecutor in the Shopian case, had threatened and forced the witnesses to make false statement against the police.
It said doctors were accused of having fudged the reports in the case.
People of the area alleged that both the women Neelofar and Asiya were murdered after their rape.
However, the CBI in its report has said that the women had died due to drowning in the river.
The recovery of bodies had evoked massive protests in the Kashmir valley for about a week. However, Shopian observed about 45 day-strike which was called off following assurance by Justice Gosh that culprits would not be spared.
Hearing the case, the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar, granted bail to all the accused on a surety of Rs 10,000 each.
The next date of hearing has been fixed for April 17.
The CBI in its chargesheet has alleged that the accused, including former public prosecutor in the Shopian case, had threatened and forced the witnesses to make false statement against the police.
It said doctors were accused of having fudged the reports in the case.
People of the area alleged that both the women Neelofar and Asiya were murdered after their rape.
However, the CBI in its report has said that the women had died due to drowning in the river.
The recovery of bodies had evoked massive protests in the Kashmir valley for about a week. However, Shopian observed about 45 day-strike which was called off following assurance by Justice Gosh that culprits would not be spared.
Life sentence to 1993 blast convicts means 60 yrs in jail: Maharashtra govt
The 1993 serial bomb blasts convicts, who have been awarded life imprisonment by the designated TADA court, will have to serve at least 60 years in jail and they cannot get the same concession as the other TADA convicts undergoing life sentence, the Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court recently.
Four convicts in the 1993 blasts case - Niyaz Mohammad, Moin Qureshi, Ali Shaikh Umar and Salim Mira Shaikh alias Salim Kutta - had moved the High Court, seeking release. All of them have served the mandatory 14 years of their life sentence.
Advocate N N Gawankar, their lawyer, argued that according to the 1992 prison guidelines, they should be released after serving 30 years. But the government recently issued a notification saying that they would have to serve at least 60 years in jail.
Four convicts in the 1993 blasts case - Niyaz Mohammad, Moin Qureshi, Ali Shaikh Umar and Salim Mira Shaikh alias Salim Kutta - had moved the High Court, seeking release. All of them have served the mandatory 14 years of their life sentence.
Advocate N N Gawankar, their lawyer, argued that according to the 1992 prison guidelines, they should be released after serving 30 years. But the government recently issued a notification saying that they would have to serve at least 60 years in jail.
Jharkhand HC directs ED to file affidavit against Madu Koda and associates
The Jharkhand High Court directed the Enforcement Director (ED) to file an affidavit by February 23 mentioning the action taken against former chief minister Madhu Koda and three other former ministers’ chargesheeted in connection with the Disproportionate Assets case.
A division bench of Chief Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra and Justice R R Prasad passed the order while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by one Durga Oraon.
During the course of argument the court also directed the vigilance department to file an affidavit stating the grounds on which the former ministers and Koda were chargesheeted.
Koda and the former ministers Kamlesh Singh, Anosh Ekka and Harinarayan Rai, facing charges in the DA case, are at present lodged in the Birsa Munda jail.
A division bench of Chief Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra and Justice R R Prasad passed the order while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by one Durga Oraon.
During the course of argument the court also directed the vigilance department to file an affidavit stating the grounds on which the former ministers and Koda were chargesheeted.
Koda and the former ministers Kamlesh Singh, Anosh Ekka and Harinarayan Rai, facing charges in the DA case, are at present lodged in the Birsa Munda jail.
SC Directs to file amended petition in Bofors gun case
The Supreme Court directed the petitioner in Bofors Guns scandal case to file within two weeks the amended petition.
A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan adjourned the hearing of the case till March 23.
The petitioner, Ajay Kumar Agarwal had sought directions to the Union Government not to permit the release of Ottavio Quattrocchi, a family friend of Gandhi family who is the main suspect in Rs 64 crore Bofors Gun scandal.
The apex court directed the petitioner to amend the prayer as Quattrocchi has already been released.
The Union Government has already decide to close the case against Quattrocchi, and the CBI has filed an application for closure of the case in the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Delhi as there was no evidence against Quattrocchi.
A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan adjourned the hearing of the case till March 23.
The petitioner, Ajay Kumar Agarwal had sought directions to the Union Government not to permit the release of Ottavio Quattrocchi, a family friend of Gandhi family who is the main suspect in Rs 64 crore Bofors Gun scandal.
The apex court directed the petitioner to amend the prayer as Quattrocchi has already been released.
The Union Government has already decide to close the case against Quattrocchi, and the CBI has filed an application for closure of the case in the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Delhi as there was no evidence against Quattrocchi.
Delhi HC granted one day anticipatory bail to Sajjan Kumar
The Delhi High Court granted one day anticipatory bail to Congress leader and former MP Sajjan Kumar in two 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases.
Justice SL Bhayana granted the bail till tomorrow when the case will come up for hearing before the regular bench.
The Congress leader, who was facing arrest following the lower court denying him bail, had moved the High Court yesterday for the anticipatory bail.
His petition mentioned him pleading how the lower court had wrongly rejected his plea on the ground that only the court, which had issued summons, can grant him bail.
The CBI had chargesheeted 13 people, including Kumar, on January 13 in two separate 84 riots cases for allegedly making provocative speeches, leading to the killing of 12 people in the riots in the aftermath of assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Justice SL Bhayana granted the bail till tomorrow when the case will come up for hearing before the regular bench.
The Congress leader, who was facing arrest following the lower court denying him bail, had moved the High Court yesterday for the anticipatory bail.
His petition mentioned him pleading how the lower court had wrongly rejected his plea on the ground that only the court, which had issued summons, can grant him bail.
The CBI had chargesheeted 13 people, including Kumar, on January 13 in two separate 84 riots cases for allegedly making provocative speeches, leading to the killing of 12 people in the riots in the aftermath of assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
SC adjourns disproportionate assets case against Lalu, Rabri
The Supreme Court adjourned till February 25 the hearing of the disproportionate assets case against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi, a former Chief Minister of Bihar.
Mr Yadav, his wife and the CBI have challenged the decision of the Patna High Court to entertain the petition filed by the Bihar government against the order of the trial court discharging both RJD leaders in the case. According to the petitioner, since the cbi was a prosecuting agency, the state government had no locus standi to challenge the order of the trial court. Only the CBI could challenge it.
The State government went in appeal to the High Court when the CBI decided not to challenge the acquittal orders. Mr Yadav was Railway Minister in the UPA government at that time.
Mr Yadav, his wife and the CBI have challenged the decision of the Patna High Court to entertain the petition filed by the Bihar government against the order of the trial court discharging both RJD leaders in the case. According to the petitioner, since the cbi was a prosecuting agency, the state government had no locus standi to challenge the order of the trial court. Only the CBI could challenge it.
The State government went in appeal to the High Court when the CBI decided not to challenge the acquittal orders. Mr Yadav was Railway Minister in the UPA government at that time.
SC, HC’s can order CBI probe without centre’s consent
The Supreme Court held that it and the High Courts can order CBI investigation even without prior consent of the Centre or the concerned state governments.
A constitution bench comprising Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan , Justices R V Raveendran, D K Jain, P Sathasivam and J M Panchal delivered the judgement.
The main contention of the petition was that court cannot order CBI investigation in a case unless and until the concerned state government agreed to hand over the probe to the agency.
The apex court, rejecting the contention, noted that the High Courts and the Supreme Court are custodians and protectors of fundamental rights of the citizens. As every citizen is entitled to free and fair investigation, the State cannot be permitted to deprive the victims of a crime or malicious prosecution of their rights to get justice through such a probe.
The operative portion of the judgement was read out by Justice Jain.
A constitution bench comprising Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan , Justices R V Raveendran, D K Jain, P Sathasivam and J M Panchal delivered the judgement.
The main contention of the petition was that court cannot order CBI investigation in a case unless and until the concerned state government agreed to hand over the probe to the agency.
The apex court, rejecting the contention, noted that the High Courts and the Supreme Court are custodians and protectors of fundamental rights of the citizens. As every citizen is entitled to free and fair investigation, the State cannot be permitted to deprive the victims of a crime or malicious prosecution of their rights to get justice through such a probe.
The operative portion of the judgement was read out by Justice Jain.
Cabinet Secretary for benchmarking of public services in SAARC region
Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar called for benchmarking of public services in the SAARC region and to make them user-friendly by adopting e-governance.
Inaugurating the SAARC Workshop on e-Governance here, Mr Chandrashekhar said because of commonality of culture, administrative experience and other features, joint efforts should be made to identify the services to be delivered and third party evaluating mechanism should be adopted.
The Cabinet Secretary stressed on pooling of experiences in the field of ICT enabled service delivery. He said this would definitely bring about sea changes in the administration and service delivery mechanism.
He said that there is a vast area of cooperation among the countries in the region.
‘Attempts should, therefore, be made to maximise success in government programmes and to overcome areas of weakness,’ the Cabinet Secretary said.
Inaugurating the SAARC Workshop on e-Governance here, Mr Chandrashekhar said because of commonality of culture, administrative experience and other features, joint efforts should be made to identify the services to be delivered and third party evaluating mechanism should be adopted.
The Cabinet Secretary stressed on pooling of experiences in the field of ICT enabled service delivery. He said this would definitely bring about sea changes in the administration and service delivery mechanism.
He said that there is a vast area of cooperation among the countries in the region.
‘Attempts should, therefore, be made to maximise success in government programmes and to overcome areas of weakness,’ the Cabinet Secretary said.
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