13 | January | 2009 | Advocate Kamal Kumar Pandey

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Surinder Mittal produced before judicial magistrate Phagwara
http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/14795/

SAMEER KAURA
Monday, 12 January 2009
PHAGWARA: District consumer disputes redressal forum Jalandhar member Surinder Mittal who was arrested by Phagwara police friday night on the complaint of his wife for allegedly harassing and hurting her, and was on police remand till on sunday was again produced before judicial magistrate Phagwara.
Harish Anand on sunday afternoon, who heared the police version and counsel’s plea patiently.While Police told the court that police had recovered a Laptop from his Jalandhar residence today,but could not succeeded to recover gold ornaments which must be kept in bank locker which could only be operated in working days.On the other hand Mittal’s Counsel Vijay Sharma told the court that there was no connection with Laptop with this matrimonial dispute case. Magistrate however gave one day more police remand and sent Mittal in police custody till Monday. Mittal’s counsel Vijay Sharma said the couple had got married 17 years ago. He claimed that Pooja had taken all her articles from Mittal’s house last year, and a false case had been registered.
The counsel added that Mittal had filed an application with Jalandhar Range DIG Narinderpal Singh in December regarding the transfer of his case to another official.
It may be mentioned here that Pooja wife of Mittal had lodged a complaint with the police that that she was beaten by her husband, and her dowry including 50 tola gold was misappropriated. The enquiry was marked to the Women’s Cell.
On the other hand Mittal’s counsel Vijay Sharma on behalf of Mittal told the court that claimed Mittal’s estranged wife had moved all household articles and valuables on September 7 last year from their house. Case registered against Mittal under section 294/509/500/506 IPC Judge has allowed Mittal to apply for bail of Rs Twenty Thousands.

SC: Peaceful rest an omportant human righthttp://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?5e6de546-dd71-405d-a0a9-747b9d1d9eb1
1/12/2009
In an important ruling, the Supreme Court has held that peaceful rest is a biological necessity and essential for health and therefore, noise pollution cannot be allowed to interfere with this human right.A bench, comprising Justices S B Sinha and Cyriac Joseph, while dismissing a petition seeking permission to hold a cultural function in Rang Bhawan, Mumbai, held ‘interference by the court in respect of noise pollution is premised on the basis that a citizen has certain rights being necessity of silence, necessity of sleep, process during sleep and rest, which are biological necessities and essential for health.Silence is considered to be golden. It is considered to be one of the human rights, as noise is injurious to human health which is required to be preserved at any cost.’ The apex court also made clear that musical functions in an open theatre like Rang Bhawan cannot be allowed, as it was situated within 100 m of an educational institution and a hospital.Rang Bhawan is run and owned by the state of Maharashtra and has a capacity of 4,000 people and world’s greatest artistes both western and Indian have performed therein.This is the only open theatre in Mumbai.Dismissing the petition of Farhd K Wadia, the apex court also clarified that ‘state government is also bound by the order of this court besides the order passed by the High Court.‘If any order of any relaxation and/or modification is required to be passed, it is to be by this court only and the Bombay High Court in the aforementioned two writ petitions. A separate writ petition in our opinion, thus was not maintainable,’ the court underlined.The Supreme Court has laid down some guidelines to check and control noise pollution in 2005.UNI

Surinder Mittal produced before judicial magistrate Phagwara
http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/14795/38/

Two more judges involved?

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=Cricket&id=f4617834-4a71-45b6-9e3c-4c56e4feb769&&Headline=Two+more+judges+involved%3f
Nagendar Sharma and Satya Prakash, Hindustan Times
Email Author
New Delhi, January 13, 2009
First Published: 00:02 IST(13/1/2009)
Last Updated: 00:11 IST(13/1/2009)

In a fresh embarrassment to the judiciary, doubts have been raised over the alleged roles of a sitting Supreme Court judge and a high court judge in the cash-at-judge’s-door scam, in which a lady judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court is already facing a probe.
Advocate Anupam Gupta, who was appointed as special public prosecutor in the case by the Chandigarh Administration, has demanded that the ambit of the probe should be expanded to inquire into the role of all the judges allegedly linked to the scam.
Gupta confirmed to HT that he had given a comprehensive presentation before the three-judge in-house committee, appointed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to probe the scam.
Gupta confirmed to HT that he had given a comprehensive presentation before the three-judge in-house committee, appointed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to probe the scam.

“While Justice (Nirmal) Yadav has been rightly indicted by the committee, the nexus between lawyers, judges and businessmen which this scam has brought to light, remains to be unraveled,” he demanded.
“A senior judge of the high court had attempted to influence the preliminary inquiry by the Chandigarh police, and both this judge and a Supreme Court judge were present at Justice Nirmaljit Kaur’s residence on 13th August when the cash was delivered,” Gupta said.
He said this high court judge was also in continuous contact with the accused, who had sent the money, throughout the three days of preliminary inquiry by the police. “The number and duration of phone calls between them is alarming,” he said.
In her letter to the CJI, a defiant Justice Nirmal Yadav questioned the findings of the in-house committee.
“The committee records that a judge of the Supreme Court and a senior judge of the high court may have been present in the house (at the time of delivery of the cash),” Justice Yadav said in her letter demanding evidence against her.
Justice Yadav, who has been asked to explain her conduct by the CJI, said she was being made a “scapegoat” since the probe had been directed only against her. She said the committee reached a “wrong conclusion” because a judge of the apex court and a high court judge were “found to be interfering in the investigation.”

Keep deals transparent: HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chandigarh/Keep_deals_transparent_HC_/articleshow/3970723.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0443 hrs IST, TNN
CHANDIGARH: Accountability, audit and monitoring mechanisms were the transparency tools that chief justice Tirath Singh Thakur emphasized upon while talking about the sorry state of affairs at various Red Cross societies in Punjab and Haryana. While hearing a PIL filed by Resurgence India, a Ludhiana based NGO, the division bench comprising the CJ and justice K Kannan, wondered if deputy commissioners were acting as monarchs given the fact they had no qualms in diverting Red Cross funds even for personal use. The judges also questioned the Punjab counsel over existence of any constitution or guidelines regarding the working of these societies . The bench was particularly angry that there were no regular meetings of the societies’ office-bearers as mandated under the law. ” If there are no regular meetings , then how can one expect accountability and audit of expenses ,” the CJ wondered. Interestingly , Punjab counsel remarked though audit was done annually, it ” may not be done as diligently as required.” The bench also deliberated over appointing an authority to oversee the functioning of societies and report the matter to HC. They sought the report submitted by former IAS officer Rajan Kashyap, as disclosed by the Punjab counsel, on the functioning of Red Cross societies to Punjab government. The division bench sounded the Punjab counsel that misuse of Red Cross funds would lead to erosion of public faith in a noble institution . The judges also enquired about salaries being paid to Red Cross employees and the manner of their appointments. The state of Haryana also came under criticism as the CJ took a serious note of Red Cross funds being used on tailoring projects, computerization projects for SDM office, air conditioners and stabilizers. The bench sought audit reports from Haryana counsel, who informed the judges that audit was being done by the state AG office. Importantly, the NGO filed a counter affidavit during the previous hearing that severely criticized and doubted the bonafides of Punjab DCs’ reports on alleged misuse of Red Cross funds. The NGO counsel had told the division bench comprising CJ Tirath Singh Thakur and justice Hemant Gupta that he had got the said reports under RTI and asserted that not all funds had been deposited with the PM Relief Fund as claimed in the reports . In its petition against the Union government, the CBI director and secretary-general of Indian Red Cross Society, the NGO had sought necessary action for ensuring punishment to all involved in the case. Importantly , as many as three DCs of Patiala division who were accused of misappropriation of funds deposited Rs 44 lakh in PMs’ Relief Fund following HC directions.

HC order up in smoke in Maidan
Mohana Dam
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/hc-order-up-in-smoke-in-maidan/410138/
Posted: Jan 13, 2009 at 0604 hrs IST
Kolkata Despite ban, Gangasagar pilgrims camping near Victoria Memorial continue to burn firewood
Despite a 2007 Calcutta High Court order that prohibits the use of open ovens and burning of leaves and branches within a three-kilometre radius of Victoria Memorial, pilgrims on their way to Gangasagar seem to be unmindful of it.
As hundreds of them have pitched in around 40 camps in the Maidan near Babughat en route the Gangasagar mela, which commenced today, they could be seen huddled around bonfires, burning leaves and branches to cook food.
“This area is within the three-kilometre radius of Victoria Memorial. I visited the place and saw them burning wood. Only some of them were using LPG ovens. I have brought the issue to the notice of the Army, which is the custodian of the Maidan, and I have been assured of action. The Army and the police are responsible for ensuring that the court order is not flouted, said Subhas Datta, the environmentalist who had filed the PIL against environmental degradation in the Maidan area.
In his petition, Datta had said only one per cent of the total area in the congested city is open space, with the Maidan constituting 55 per cent of this open space.
Policemen posted at the Maidan said though they are not allowing wood inside the premises now. Though there is no large-scale cooking, many of the pilgrims use firewood to make tea and to perform rituals.
“Use if firewood is limited now as several NGOs are providing food,” said P K Munshi, additional officer in-charge of the Maidan police station.
While the HC said people should not litter in the Maidan, police said is was not always possible to interfere into religious customs.
“There are many who are still using open fire for cooking and religious purposes. Sometimes, it becomes almost impossible for us to not allow this for religious rituals,” said a police official posted who did not wish to be named.

HC imposes cost on UT for delay in filing reply
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chandigarh/HC_imposes_cost_on_UT_for_delay_in_filing_reply/articleshow/3970232.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0021 hrs IST, TNN
CHANDIGARH: The UT administration was on Monday slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 for its slackness in filing reply to a PIL before the high court here. A miffed division bench, comprising chief justice Tirath Singh Thakur and justice K Kannan, also raised important issues of as to how certain UT police officials, found guilty of corruption in departmental inquiries, were reinstated in service. The PIL, filed by advocate HC Arora, also referred to the conduct of UT engineering department in reinstating 13 of its employees during the pendency of criminal proceedings against them. The division bench ordered that the costs be recovered from the officer who was accountable for delay in filing the reply as the UT administration was given four opportunities to file the reply. The hearing has now been adjourned to March 18, 2009. The senior standing counsel for the administration had sought adjournment to enable him to examine the original records in respect of such employees of police and engineering departments of UT.

HC stays transfer of ‘victimised’ railway booking clerk
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/HC_stays_transfer_of_victimised_railway_booking_clerk/articleshow/3970118.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0251 hrs IST, TNN
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday stayed the transfer order of Central Railway booking clerk Ajay Bose while admitting his petition. Bose had alleged that he was being victimised for being a whistleblower, when the railway administration transferred him from the CST to Nagothane in Raigad district, 150 km away. Three months back, Bose had got three of his superiors arrested by the CBI for demanding bribe. The trio has resumed office. TOI had first reported the case in its January 4 edition. “Bose had made an application to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), after learning of his abrupt transfer. When the CAT refused to stay the transfer, he approached the Bombay high court,” Bose’s advocate Sandeep Marne said. “The high court has admitted his petition and filed an interim order. During the pendency of the writ petition, the transfer order has been stayed by the court and Bose has been allowed to continue as booking clerk at the CST ticket booking office.” Judges SB Mhase and Dilip Bhosle passed the interim order. The hearing of Bose’s case will now continue with the CAT.

HC issues notice to LNMU VC, registrar
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Patna/HC_issues_notice_to_LNMU_VC_registrar/articleshow/3969809.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0045 hrs IST, TNN
PATNA: The Patna High Court on Monday issued show cause notice to the vice-chancellor and registrar of L N Mithila University (LNMU) to state why contempt proceedings be not initiated against them for not complying with the court order to pay retirement dues and benefits to university’s retired teachers and employees. A single bench presided over by Justice J N Singh issued the directive on a large number of contempt petitions filed by L N Mithila University retired teachers and employees. The order was passed on contempt petitions of Sabita Devi and others. The court fixed February 24 as the next date of hearing of the petitions when the VC and registrar have to reply to the show cause notice. Directive to health secy: The same bench on Monday directed the health secretary to appear before the court in person to assist the court in hearing of a contempt petition. The court sought the appearance of the health secretary as well as his assistance for disposing of a contempt petition “as the state government counsel concerned had failed to co-operate.”

HC issues showcause to PMC chief
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/HC_issues_showcause_to_PMC_chief/articleshow/3970219.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0018 hrs IST, Ravi Dayal , TNN
PATNA: The Patna High Court on Monday issued a showcause to the Patna Municipal Commissioner (PMC) by which it asked why he should not be punished for contempt of court for not complying with a court order regarding arrangement of land for disposal of solid waste in Patna. A division bench comprising Justice Shivakirti Singh and Justice Shyam Kishore Sharma issued the directive while hearing the PIL of Jan Chowkidar and fixed January 20 as the next date of hearing. The court issued a directive to the PMC commissioner and Patna DM to be present in the court on the next date. The court took a dim view of the non-compliance of its order by December 31, 2008, which was the deadline set by a division bench earlier, although the entire provisions of the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, framed by the Union government under the Environment Protection Act, had to be implemented by 2003. The petitioner’s counsel Arvind Kumar submitted that the court had earlier fixed January 3, 2009 as the date for submission of report by the PMC commissioner about compliance of its order passed in August 2008, but the municipal corporation failed to do that.

HC judges furious over Gowda’s letter
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/HC_judges_furious_over_Gowdas_letter/articleshow/3970002.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0044 hrs IST, TNN
BANGALORE: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s obsession with the alleged irregularities in the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project reached a new high on Monday when he sent a controversial letter to Karnataka High Court judges airing his views on the issue. It was high drama behind the scenes as the judges, taken aback by the brazen action of the former PM, discussed it for about 45 minutes. The court, which was supposed to commence at 10.30 am, met at 11.15 am. “When these matters were listed today, we received a letter dated January 8 written by the former PM. The letter was enclosed with a booklet `BMIC project – A case study in fraud collision – collusion to defeat the ends of justice and defraud the courts’. I enquired with judges V G Sabhahit, Ram Mohan Reddy and N K Patil. Almost all judges said they had also received the same letter. We were embarrassed. In my 12-13 years experience, I have not encountered such a situation. Thereafter, we held a meeting to decide on how to proceed with this. We had two options: one to issue a contempt notice and the other to ignore it. We have decided to treat it as a PIL. If we had ignored it, then there was chance that people would point fingers at us. We decided to take it positively and deal with it legally. We stand as a family; We don’t allow courts to become platform for politics,” Chief Justice P D Dinakaran said while adjourning the BMIC case hearing pertaining to the Gottigeri land issue to February 2. The CJ also expressed his anguish on the increasing attack and criticism of the judiciary. “Let him (Gowda) come and explain himself,” he said. Dushyant Dave, counsel for Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise, promoters of BMIC, taking exception to the letter, pressed for initiating contempt proceedings. “If an ordinary man had written such a letter, could the judiciary have taken it lightly? This is nothing but interference in the administration of justice. Nobody is special and above law,” he said. Amid all this, advocate-general Udaya Holla told the court he would not represent the state in the BMIC case anymore. “The MD of NICE has made certain allegations against me in the media. I have decided not to represent the state in the case and Ashok Haranahalli will be officiating as special counsel in the case,” he said. The CJ asked Holla to render assistance to court whenever necessary. Meanwhile, mystery shrouds on who hand-delivered the letter and the booklet to the CJ and the judges. A separate inquiry on the carrier of the letter was held by the court. Advocates’ Association of Bangalore president D L Jagadish appeared before the court and said he had not authorized anybody to deliver the letter and booklets to the judges. The staff had said somebody claiming to be Jagadish’s assistant had delivered the letter. State JD(S) spokesperson Y S V Datta admitted Gowda had sent copies of the letter and the booklet. While acknowledging having sent it, Gowda declined to comment: “I will wait for the court’s notice.”

Reservation benefits state-specific: HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Reservation_benefits_state-specific_HC/articleshow/3970062.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
CHENNAI: A migrant can claim reservation benefits under a particular category only if his caste fell within the reserved category in his home state as well as in the state to which he migrates, the Madras High Court has ruled. A division bench comprising justice Elipe Dharma Rao and justice S Tamilvanan, passing orders on a writ petition recently, said that even if the name of the caste was one and the same in both the states, the beneficiary could claim benefits only if the caste was declared as OBC or SC/ST in both the states. “Even if the nomenclature of the caste is the same in both the states, only if the caste to which the beneficiary belongs to in that particular state is declared as SC/ST and the same is declared as SC/ST in the state to which he migrates also, can a person claim the status of SC/ST in the migrated state,” the judges observed. The petitioner R Venu, opposing denial of ST certificate to his son, contended that the community Ganaka, known as Kani or Kaniyan, is a notified OBC community in Kerala. But Kaniyan community is included in the ST list in Tamil Nadu. Noting that place of birth is immaterial for the purpose of determination of caste, he said the place where the parents of the applicant ordinarily reside’ should alone be the criterion. Rejecting the submission, the judges said Venu, who had migrated from Kerala, should make way for the disadvantaged and disabled communities in Tamil Nadu. Pointing out that the Supreme Court ruling on a similar matter passed on distinguishable set of facts, they said the principle applicable for declaration of SC/ST depends on the nature and extent of disadvantages and social hardships suffered by that group in that state, and not on the ground of having ordinary residence or domicile.

HC no to stay on allotment
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/HC_no_to_stay_on_allotment_/articleshow/3969683.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: Delhi HC on Monday refused to stay the process of allotment of flats under DDA’s housing draw. HC’s refusal to intervene in this manner came while hearing a petition which sought quashing of the process due to alleged irregularities. Justice Hima Kohli however, sought DDA’s response by March 16 on the petition filed by Prem Chand alleging the DDA had illegally allowed applicants under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category from other states to participate in the draw and the scheme should have been restricted only to Delhiites. Issuing a notice to DDA, HC directed it to file its response by March 16. As per the petitioner, under the DDA Act the housing body is not entitled to accept the applications filed by residents of states other than Delhi. Seeking an immediate direction staying the recently held draw, the petitioner’s counsel submitted before the court that the forms from outside Delhi specially from state of Rajasthan were accepted with an ulterior motive.

Delhi HC declines stay on Sasan power project
http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/01/12/NzgxNDk%3D/Delhi_HC_declines_stay_on_Sasan_power_project.html

TOI reported that Delhi High Court on Friday declined to put an interim stay on the Sasan ultra-mega power project, being executed by Anil Ambani’s Reliance Power, after the government pointed out that TATA Power has suppressed information while challenging the Centre’s decision to allow surplus coal from this project to be used by the company’s other plants.A division Bench consisting of Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Siddharth Mridul said that “There does not seem any reason to grant an interim stay at this stage and did not issue any notice to the government or RPower. The court said it will continue the hearing on February 24.TATA Power had filed the petition challenging a ministerial panel’s decision allowing Reliance Power to use surplus coal from the mines designated for the 4,000 mw Sasan project to its other coal-fired power plants.Representing the government, solicitor-general G A Vahanvati told the court, “There has been serious suppression of facts by TATA Power. It’s a serious issue and the TATAs should not have approached the court on this.”Explaining the petition, TATA Power’s cousel L Nageshwar Rao told the court, “Apart from the project, we are asking for level playing field and if the status quo is granted then it would not affect the project.” This was opposed by counsels of both Reliance Power and the government.On the issue of whether TATA Power was the bidder for the project, counsel for Reliance Power Mukul Rohatgi pointed out that it was an admitted fact that the TATAs walked out of bidding process so there was no question of their being disqualified’.Mr Rohatgi also said no notice was needed at his stage and Reliance Power will file its affidavit. He told the court that Sasan is INR 24,000 crore project and a lot of international funding has been tied up for it. “If the notice/stay is granted then it would affect the project,” he said adding that Reliance is executing a similar project at an investment of INR 20,000 crore in Chitrangi in Madhya Pradesh.

Trial judge in Mumbai terror attacks case named
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Trial_judge_in_Mumbai_terror_attacks_case_named/articleshow/3971334.cms
13 Jan 2009, 1038 hrs IST, PTI
MUMBAI: M L Tahiliyani has been appointed as a Special Judge to conduct the trial in the November 26 terror attacks in the metropolis in which over 180 persons were killed.
Tahiliyani will preside over the trial of Mohammed Ajmal Amir, a Pakistani national and the lone arrested terrorist in the group of ten who carried out the attack, in 12 cases registered against them, city Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor said last night. Tahiliyani, a former CBI court judge, is currently Registrar (Inspection) at the Bombay High Court. Ujjwal Nikam, who was the state counsel in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, has already been appointed Public Prosecutor in the case. Police are expected to file a chargesheet before January 24. Ajmal, whose Pakistani identity has been acknowledged by Islamabad, will face charges ranging from murder, attempt to murder and waging a war against the country, officials said. The chargesheet will cover mainly Ajmal’s conversation with his handlers in Pakistan, his interrogation report besides eyewitnesses who saw him spraying bullets on the night of November 26. Police have decided to club all the 12 cases filed on the intervening night of November 26-27. Sources in Maharashtra government have said the trial is likely to be held inside the high-security Arthur Road jail, where the trial and sentencing of nearly 100 accused took place in the 1993 blasts.

CVC probes RBI deputy governor candidate for bungling funds
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/CVC_probes_RBI_deputy_governor_candidate_for_bungling_funds/articleshow/3970661.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0421 hrs IST, Pradeep Thakur, TNN
NEW DELHI: In what could seriously jeopardise the government’s effort to select a candidate for the post of deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has launched a probe against one of the four contenders for the post. Even before a government-appointed search committee could send its recommendation for the post of RBI deputy governor to the prime minister’s office, the CVC initiated an investigation against Bank of India chairman and managing director (CMD) T S Narayanasami on a complaint of alleged misappropriation of funds, CVC sources said. Narayanasami is considered the frontrunner in the race. The government had appointed a search panel headed by RBI governor D Subbarao to recommend a name for one of the four posts of RBI deputy governor which fell vacant last month on the superannuation of V Leeladhar. Narayanasami is one of the four names before the search committee. Others include CMD of IDBI Bank Yogesh Agrawal, Punjab National Bank CMD K C Chakrabarty and Union Bank of India CMD M V Nair. Sources said the CVC has sent a notice to finance ministry seeking a response on the allegations made against Narayanasami. It is believed that CVC is acting on a complaint of alleged misappropriation of funds used for renovation of the CMD’s residence. The inquiry is likely to go into some of the other controversial decisions of Narayanasami during his previous tenures with other public sector banks. The search committee had earlier faced a setback when former independent director on the board of Satyam, M Rammohan Rao, resigned from the selection committee after the scam was unearthed at the IT major. Rao, also former dean of the Indian School of Business, was part of the selection panel headed by Subbarao. The search panel was supposed to recommend a name to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the appointment had to be filled by this month end. However, with the CVC launching a probe, the process is likely to be delayed further.

Siphoned PF funded high life for judges
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Siphoned_PF_funded_high_life_for_judges/articleshow/3970289.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0045 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN
NEW DELHI: The CBI has unearthed shocking details of how hard-earned provident fund savings of class III and IV employees of Ghaziabad courts were illegally spent on furniture, crockery, mobiles, gadgets, laptops, rail tickets, taxi fares and other luxury items for judges. These details figure in CBI’s just-readied status report
compiled after preliminary investigations into the Rs 23-crore PF scam, which involved questioning of a Supreme Court judge named by the prime accused, Ashutosh Asthana, along with 11 high court judges and 23 district court judges. The report shows that the district judges, who were heading the Ghaziabad judiciary during the scam period, not only made expensive purchases from the scam money, they also spent it on photography and video-recording of family functions and marriages. “About 500 strips of negatives of the photographs, one CD and two mini-video cassettes said to be related to functions of various members of the judiciary were recovered,” CBI sources told TOI quoting from the status report, which is being compiled on the basis of the SC’s September 23, 2008, order. It is not that these judges could not have afforded a mobile phone. But, as it came free, seldom did they flinch in accepting freebies provided by Asthana, courtesy the PF money of unsuspecting employees, the CBI found. “As per Asthana, he had provided about 60-70 mobile handsets to various members of judiciary,” the agency said. The prime accused, who as the treasury officer was responsible for safeguarding the PF funds of employees, allegedly did not think twice about using that money to procure expensive furniture, crockery and utensils. Asthana also used the money to pay for transporting these goods to the residences of the judges. “Several invoices containing entries on trucks/vehicles provided in the last six years have about 35 entries related to Asthana, in which goods were sent to various judges of higher and subordinate judiciary,” the CBI claimed. The trucks had an unbelievably smooth passage through states before reaching their destinations mainly because they carried judicial certificates. “Four original certificates, said to be issued by the chief judicial magistrate, Ghaziabad, certifying that the truck numbers mentioned in the certificate were carrying articles of members of judiciary, which were given to the truck driver for smooth passage of goods through several states, have also been recovered,” it said. CBI also claimed to have recovered 28 bills of sale of crockery to Asthana and monogram of the District Judge, Ghaziabad, for the year 2006-07. It has also found that Asthana allegedly picked up 43 taxi bills of judges and paid it from the PF money. “About 540 assorted slips, bills, pieces of papers, sketches etc have been recovered from a carpenter. These relate to purchase of various raw materials for furniture items during last seven years,” CBI said. The carpenter who made the furniture appears to have impressed the judges with his skill, for he was called to residences of judges with fresh orders and he answered these calls travelling with rail tickets purchased from the PF money. The agency suspects this carpenter was summoned to judges’ residences far away from Ghaziabad —in Lucknow and Allahabad — as many as 17 times and his train tickets were allegedly bought from the PF money. The preliminary findings reflect the judges’ weakness for electronic goods, especially mobile phones. “As many as 45 original bills have been seized from a Ghaziabad showroom denoting sale of many expensive electronic gadgets and appliances to various members of judiciary,” the status report reveals. After a preliminary probe that tracked Asthana’s mobile call details, the CBI chanced upon purchase of four laptops, miscellaneous computer peripherals including monitors, CPUs, cameras and printers. The probe was entrusted to CBI by the apex court after the UP police, which first investigated the matter, chickened out terming the task of investigating 35 judges as daunting. dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com

Chargesheet against Goa minister’s son
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Chargesheet_against_Goa_ministers_son/articleshow/3969633.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0351 hrs IST, TNN
PANAJI: Calangute police on Monday filed a chargesheet against Rohit Monserrate, the son of Goa education minister Atanasio Monserrate, in the alleged rape of a minor German girl. The chargesheet says in the last week of September 2008, Rohit under the pretext of going to Miramar took the victim in an Audi car to Bambolim. He then molested the girl and had intercourse with her. Rohit has been charged under section 354 (outraging modesty), section 376 (rape) section 293 and section 8 (2) of the Goa Childrens’ Act. The police said Rohit sent text messages to the victim on her mobile. The police, however, pointed out that there was no medical opinion given as a recent forcible intercourse. The Goa bench of Bombay high court had taken cognizance of the case and treated it as a public interest litigation on October 24, 2008. During the last hearing, the police had told the court that a chargesheet would be filed against the accused. Subsequently, the court had directed the police to do so within a week on January 6. The chargesheet further states that there is no material on record against the other accused —Atanasio Monserrate, Jennifer Monserrate and Warren Alemao.

Govt nod for CISF cover to private firms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Govt_nod_for_CISF_cover_to_private_firms/articleshow/3969562.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0344 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: A legislation allowing the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide security to private and joint venture companies has come into force with the government on Saturday notifying the ordinance. Currently, CISF provides security only to public sector undertakings, 54 airports and other government installations across the country. The ordinance, which was promulgated last week to amend the CISF Act, will also facilitate deputation of the paramilitary force personnel on UN peacekeeping missions abroad wherever required — the way it is being done by the ITBP and the CRPF. A number of private companies including Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Infosys and Oberoi have already approached the home ministry. “These requests have been forwarded to CISF to analyse the actual threat perception before extending the necessary cover to them,” a senior home ministry official said. The private companies will avail this facility on payment basis — depending upon the number of personnel and the logistics involved. The government took the ordinance route as the bill could not be passed in Parliament due to lack of time. It was introduced in Rajya Sabha on December 18 last year. “Since vital private installations — particularly oil and natural gas units — are also on terrorists’ radar, it is urgently needed to provide them CISF cover on priority basis. Besides, naxalites have also been targeting private telecom installations and oil refineries in some states,” the official said.

Gujarat riot cases: SC judges spar over DGP’s influence on case
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Gujarat_riot_cases_SC_judges_spar_over_DGPs_influence_on_case/articleshow/3969529.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0338 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: Seldom do judges of the Supreme Court, sitting to form a Bench, express diametrically opposite views on a matter. And when it happens to be the post-Godhra riot cases, it assumes significance. Much after review of over 2,000 riot cases, which were earlier closed, and filing of fresh charges, a PIL by NGO `Citizen for Justice and Peace’ had sought transfer of DGP P C Pandey outside the state accusing him of interfering in the investigations. The Bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and V S Sirpurkar wondered as to how Pandey, who is due to retire on March 15, could possibly interfere with the case as feared by the petitioner NGO. Reserving its order till Tuesday, the Bench agreed to close the case with liberty to the petitioner to approach the court if Pandey’s intervention was found to have an adverse impact on the investigation of any case. Given the nature of the cases and the nationwide uproar and condemnation it had got seven years back and the apex court’s earlier scorching orders against the Narendra Modi government, Justice Katju wasted little time in giving his reaction. Terming the Gujarat carnage as a disgrace to the country, Justice Katju said: “We know what terrible things have been done to minorities in Gujarat. It was a disgrace to our country the way treatment was given to minorities in Gujarat.” But, Justice Sirpurkar clarified that Justice Katju’s observations were unilateral and that he did not agree with it. Undeterred, Justice Katju went on to say not all the accused in the riot cases have been prosecuted. Distancing himself from these observations, Justice Sirpurkar said: “I do not subscribe to these comments.” Justice Katju then turned his attention to the relief sought by the NGO petitioner. He said the judiciary as a matter of policy ought not to interfere with transfers and promotions effected by the executive. Pointing to the danger of entertaining such petitions, Justice Katju said: “Such relief, if granted, could cut both ways. Then, the executive should also say that let this person not be made a judge. We must respect each other.”

26/11 witness who saw terrorists land is missing
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai_attack_witness_missing/articleshow/3971778.cms
13 Jan 2009, 1219 hrs IST, PTI
MUMBAI: One of the witnesses in the Mumbai terror attacks case, who saw the terrorists land on the city’s shores, has gone missing, police said on Tuesday. Anita Uddaiya, who saw the ten terrorists arrive at the Fisherman’s Colony in Cuffe Parade on November 26, has been missing since January 11. Police said they have launched a manhunt for the missing witness, who had been taken to the J J Hospital earlier to identify the bodies of the nine killed terrorists. The missing persons complaint was lodged by Uddaiya’s daughter after she went missing from her house in the Cuffe Parade’s Fisherman’s Colony. The Crime Branch of the city police, which is the investigating agency in the November 26 terror attacks, has also launched a probe into the incident. “We are also probing the disappearance of the lady since she is a witness in the case,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said. However, Uddaiya was not a key witness in the trial of arrested terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, he said.

Judge Tahaliyani picked for Kasab’s trial
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Judge_Tahaliyani_picked_for_Kasabs_trial/articleshow/3970699.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0235 hrs IST, Swati Deshpande, TNN
MUMBAI: Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Kasab may not have a defence lawyer yet but he is all set to get a trial judge. Sessions judge M L Tahaliyani is learnt to be the chosen one to conduct Kasab’s trial for the 26/11 Mumbai attack. A police official said he was sounded out over the weekend. Tahaliyani, who was a judge at the city’s civil and sessions court prior to his move to the high court as a registrar (inspection), has a reputation for being a very strict but fair judge. He was promoted as a sessions judge in early 2000 and was also posted as a special judge to handle CBI cases. He conducted a number of high-profile trials, including the Gulshan Kumar murder for which he convicted Abdul Rauf Merchant and sentenced him to life and the killing of trade union leader Datta Samant, who was gunned down in 1997 by members of the Chhota Rajan gang.

Bureaucrats allotted flats violating rules
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/Bureaucrats_allotted_flats_violating_rules/articleshow/3970152.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0058 hrs IST, Prafulla Marpakwar, TNN
MUMBAI: A section of senior bureaucrats exercised the powers of not only the state housing minister, but also those of the chief minister, while allotting flats on Mhada plots. This was done without the permission or knowledge of the ministers. A senior Mhada official on Monday confirmed that between June 2004 and June 2007, the bureaucrats allotted 36 flats to individuals in blatant violation of the rules. “We are investigating the allotments. Once the probe is over, we will submit the report to chief minister Ashok Chavan,” the official said. Under the rules, Mhada is empowered to allot its plots to certain categories of cooperative societies without inviting tenders. It is mandatory for the housing society to surrender 10% of the flats built on Mhada land to the government. “The Mhada rules are very clear. The government allots the surrendered flats to individuals of its choice,” the official said. However, between June 2004 and June 207, it was found that the surrendered flats were allotted by successive housing secretaries despite the fact that they had no such powers. Only a cabinet minister can allot such flats, the rules say. As CM Vilasrao Deshmukh was holding the housing portfolio then, it was the responsibility of the secretaries concerned to bring the proposals to his notice. It appears from the records that some senior bureaucrats exercised the powers of the housing minister. According to records, N Ramarao and S K Kshatriya were the housing secretaries in the said period. A senior official said while two flats were allotted by Kshatriya, the remaining were allotted during the tenure of Ramarao. After Sitaram Kunte took over the reins of the housing department, only one flat was allotted, but it had the CM’s nod. While there was no response from Ramarao and Kshatriya, a former bureaucrat said, “For years, flats have been allotted by the housing secretary.

Halbe appeals against removal as Lilavati Hosp administrator
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/Halbe_appeals_against_removal_as_Lilavati_Hosp_administrator/articleshow/3970125.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0236 hrs IST, TNN
MUMBAI: Retired Bombay high court judge A A Halbe has filed an appeal against the order passed in December 2008 by Justice D Y Chandrachud, directing his removal as the joint administrator of the Rs 800-crore super-speciality Lilavati Hospital at Bandra Reclamation. While removing Halbe, the high court said: “It is the conscience that a judge answers to. Cease to be fair and honest and you cease to have a conscience.” Falling standards in the world outside was no justification for a judge to seek recourse to expediency, Chandrachud said, noting that “society was entitled to demand from judges a standard of absolute integrity”. But, in his appeal, Halbe said Justice Chandrachud had “committed a serious error” in not permitting him to place an affidavit on record after he questioned the maintainability of the plea made by the hospital’s board of trustees seeking his removal. “When important law issues are raised, the court should accept the affidavit to avoid multiplicity of litigation and to arrive at a fair conclusion on the matter as a whole,” said Halbe in his appeal, adding there was no material before the court to show how he had exceeded his role and tried to usurp that of the trustees.

HC stays transfer of ‘victimised’ railway booking clerk
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/HC_stays_transfer_of_victimised_railway_booking_clerk/articleshow/3970118.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0251 hrs IST, TNN
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday stayed the transfer order of Central Railway booking clerk Ajay Bose while admitting his petition. Bose had alleged that he was being victimised for being a whistleblower, when the railway administration transferred him from the CST to Nagothane in Raigad district, 150 km away. Three months back, Bose had got three of his superiors arrested by the CBI for demanding bribe. The trio has resumed office. TOI had first reported the case in its January 4 edition. “Bose had made an application to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), after learning of his abrupt transfer. When the CAT refused to stay the transfer, he approached the Bombay high court,” Bose’s advocate Sandeep Marne said. “The high court has admitted his petition and filed an interim order. During the pendency of the writ petition, the transfer order has been stayed by the court and Bose has been allowed to continue as booking clerk at the CST ticket booking office.” Judges SB Mhase and Dilip Bhosle passed the interim order. The hearing of Bose’s case will now continue with the CAT.

Court pulls up Railways
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/Court_pulls_up_Railways/articleshow/3965011.cms
12 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, Shibu Thomas, TNN
MUMBAI: Get real. That was the blunt message of the Bombay High Court to the authorities regarding railway accident compensation cases. In two separate instances involving deaths in 2001 and 2002, Justice A B Chaudhari asked the railways to be alive to the reality of how railway passengers commute daily. The judge was not impressed with attempts to stymie compensation claims on the grounds that the victims were allegedly negligent for running and boarding trains or getting into crowded coaches. He said that such reasons for denying compensation were “ridiculous” and did not show any regard for the fact that “in the local railway trains in Mumbai, people are required to travel and board the train despite (the) heavy rush”. The judge asked the railways to shell out Rs 4 lakh as `no fault liability’ to each of the two victims’ families. The compensation rules specify that the railways have to pay Rs 4 lakh as ‘no fault liability’ to families of victims of rail accidents subject to the condition that they were bona fide passengers. In the Mumbai region alone, over 8,000 people met with accidents on the Central and Western railways in 2007, with 3,937 being fatalities. Around 20% of the victims died while crossing tracks, but the remaining 80% comprised commuters who slipped into the gaps between trains and platforms or fell from packed coaches. Though the carrying capacity of a nine-car rake is 1,700, more than 4,700 people travel in a train during peak hours. While 1,101 claims were filed before the Mumbai railway claims tribunal in 2007-08, only 215 have been decided so far and 57 have been dismissed. The two cases that came up before the court had actually been decided by the Nagpur railway claims tribunal. The first case related to the death of Gokul Jadhav on March 29, 2002. He fell from a moving train near Diva railway station. The tribunal refused compensation on the grounds that since no railway ticket was found on Jadhav, he was not a bona fide passenger.
More importantly, it held that Jadhav was standing at the door of the local train, thereby indulging in a rash and negligent act, which supposedly disallowed his family from making any claim for compensation. The tribunal further said that the railways prominently display the maximum number of passengers a coach can carry, and Jadhav did not bother to check this when he boarded the crowded coach during rush hour. In response, the high court remarked that the railway claims tribunal comprised judicial and technical members and its conclusion was “ridiculous”. The second case involved a claim for compensation by the family of Abdul Kadir, who died after he fell while trying to board a running train. In this case, the tribunal awarded the Rs 4 lakh, but the railways challenged the decision in the HC, saying it was a self-inflicted injury because Kadir had attempted to board a running train.
Again, the high court did not agree and referred to a Supreme Court judgment which said that applying such a restrictive and narrow meaning would deprive a large number of people, particularly from the poor and middle class, from getting compensation. The apex court had ruled that the expression “accidental falling of a passenger from a train carrying passengers”-which entitled a victim’s family to `no fault liability’ compensation-included “accidents when a bona fide passenger is trying to enter a railway train and falls down during the process”. The HC also held that it could not be concluded that a person was not a bona fide passenger merely because a ticket or railway pass was not found on the body of the victim. The court accepted the evidence of fellow passengers who had seen the two victims buying tickets and asked the railways to shell out the compensation. Activist Samir Jhaveri, who met with an accident 20 years ago and lost both legs, said the railways habitually make it difficult for victims to get compensation. “My family didn’t even know there was a provision for compensation,” he said. Today, he devotes considerable time as an activist raising the issue of passenger safety and has also filed a public interest litigation on the issue of deaths on the railway tracks. “The railways are not passenger friendly, which results in victims and their families having to go from pillar to post for the purpose of compensation,” he said.
According to Jhaveri, a solution could be that every station prominently displays the location of the nearest railway claims tribunal.

HC flooded with petitions challenging allotment of DDA flats
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/HC_flooded_with_petitions_challenging_allotment_of_DDA_flats/articleshow/3973239.cms
13 Jan 2009, 1717 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: Unsuccessful DDA flat applicants seem to be rushing to the Delhi High Court in hordes with petitions seeking a stay on allotment of 5,000 houses and holding of a fresh draw of lots. The Delhi Development Authority had, on December 16, held a draw to allot over 5,000 flats. Over 5.67 lakh applications

were considered in the draw. More and more flat aspirants, who failed to make it to the final list, are approaching the court almost everyday with the allegation that the DDA had illegally and arbitrarily allotted the flats in a draw that suffered from gross malpractices. Justice Hima Kohli, while hearing one such petition today asked the DDA to place before it a status report. The court’s direction came on a petition filed by S C Jain who pleaded that the matter should be investigated by a retired judge of the High Court. Another related matter is slated to come up before the court on Wednesday. In a similar matter taken up by Justice Kohli on Monday, she had refused to stay the allotment of flats but issued notices to DDA directing it to file its response by March 16. Petitioner Prem Chand had alleged that the DDA had illegally allowed applicants under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category from other states to participate in the draw. A defence personnel Rajesh Kumar has also filed a petition pleading that the draw should be cancelled. “The draw of lots made by DDA is illegal, arbitrary and grossly against the public policy and there are sufficient proofs to show that the draw suffers from malpractices coupled with the irregular and irresponsible conduct of DDA,” Kumar who is working in Indian Air Force, said in his petition.

Uphaar fire tragedy: Ansal brothers file appeal in SC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/Uphaar_fire_tragedy_Ansal_brothers_file_appeal_in_SC/articleshow/3972452.cms
13 Jan 2009, 1440 hrs IST, TIMESOFINDIA.COM
NEW DELHI: The Ansal brothers – Sushil and Gopal – on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court verdict upholding their conviction in the Uphaar tragedy case, which claimed 59 lives in 1997. The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan posted the case for hearing on January 23. In December, the Delhi High Court had upheld the conviction of real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case. Sushil and Gopal Ansal, owners of Uphaar cinema, and other convicts were challenging their conviction in a trial court for a fire tragedy in the theatre. The trial court in November 1997 had held the Ansal brothers guilty, along with three others, under Section 304-A IPC (causing death due to rash and negligent act) and had sentenced them to two years imprisonment.

DDA scam: Whistleblower in the dock
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/DDA_scam_Whistleblower_in_the_dock/articleshow/3970008.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, Manoj Mitta, TNN
NEW DELHI: The transformation of Deepak Kumar in the DDA scam from the complainant to an accused has exposed popular misconceptions about a whistleblower. By remanding him on Monday to eight days of police custody, the court showed no latitude to Kumar for having exposed the scam. This is broadly for two reasons. One, as magistrate Digvinay Singh said, “the accused cannot claim amnesty merely because he made complaints.” The law recognizes the possibility of somebody trying to escape the consequences of his own complicity in a crime by turning into a complainant. There are indeed several cases in which somebody who had been questioned as a witness was subsequently made an accused. In order to be treated even as an approver, Kumar would first have to be listed as an accused. Another major reason why Kumar finds himself behind bars is that, for all his claims to have snitched on his accomplices in public interest, he does not qualify as a whistleblower. This concept, which originated in the UK, applies essentially to an employee and not to an outsider. Therefore, if the fake allotments had been made with the complicity of DDA officials, one of them could have blown the whistle and then got the protection of law. The rationale behind it is that a conscientious objector within a department is in danger of being persecuted. The protection that is given to such an insider is meant to serve the larger interest of exposing wrongdoing or corruption. Though Kumar too claims to have exposed a wrongdoing, he is not entitled to that protection because he is self-employed and there is little that DDA officials, if any, can do to harass him. Similarly, journalists, lawyers, social activists or aggrieved applicants cannot claim to be whistleblowers simply because they happened to have a hand in exposing malfeasance. In any event, the whistleblower protection that is given to an employee does not extend to criminal immunity. All it means is that his identity would be kept confidential even as some authority pursues delinquents on the basis of his disclosures. But, if in the course of the investigation, the police discover evidence against the whistleblower, he too could land in the dock. The whistleblower law is most advanced in the US where it applies not only to government servants but also to corporate employees in publicly traded companies. The importance of whistleblowers in the private sector became evident in 2002 when the US was rocked by two Satyam-like scandals, Enron and WorldCom, thanks to the revelations made by an employee in each of those companies. This led to a major legal reform, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which put in place a framework to protect corporate whistleblowers. Though India adopted the whistleblower concept two years later, the protection, such as it is, has been limited to public servants, and that too those working for or connected with the central government. Even this, the government did rather reluctantly because of a PIL filed before the Supreme Court following the murder of IIT graduate Satyendra Dubey, who as an engineer employed with National Highway Authority of India, had in a letter to the PMO blown the whistle on bribes paid by contractors to get away with shoddy construction in the Golden Quadrilateral project. The Central Vigilance Commission administers what is known as “resolution on public interest disclosures and protection of informer”. Much as he is an informer in the DDA case, Kumar cannot avail himself of this rather limited protection.

Whistleblower can be approver: Cops
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/Whistleblower_can_be_approver_Cops/articleshow/3970007.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, Rahul Tripathi , TNN
NEW DELHI: The EOW may make Deepak Kumar, the 30-year-old whistleblower who has now been made an accused, an approver. The cops say Deepak had a clear role in planning and executing the alleged scam in ST allotments and that they have collected evidence against him. “He can definitely be made an approver at a later stage,” said an officer. Kumar has allegedly told the police that besides Laxmi Narayan, more people from Rajasthan, including some “politically connected and influential” people are involved in the scam. Hence, the cops are planning raids in the state. They have not ruled out the involvement of DDA officials. In fact, the computer used for the draw of lots has been sent for forensic examination to Hyderabad. “We have also got another witness in the case after a raid was conducted at Janakpuri. This man’s office premises were used by Kumar and his associates to forge documents for applying in the housing scheme,” said a police source. During the raid conducted on Monday at Jaina Towers in Janakpuri, the police seized a list of 380 applicants of ST category running into 20 sheets and 30 pay-in-slips of a multinational bank. It also came across details of 80 people filled up on photocopies of the same number of application forms bearing. The police also claimed to have found two forged PAN cards from Kumar’s house. (some of the documents seized by the cops were given to media and police by Udit Raj before the arrest) Sources said Deepak and Suresh Kumar Meena, who is absconding, used the office of Vijay Kumar at Jaina Towers to fill the application forms. Deepak’s brother too owns a office at Janakpuri which was searched. Raids were also conducted at Shalimar Bagh, Dwarka and Khanpur to collect more evidence. Police said Kumar has named three builders during his interrogation. Additional commissioner of police (EOW) SBK Singh said ” Deepak didn’t inform us about any possible irregularities and his name was not even revealed by Udit Raj when he sent a letter to the crime branch. For us, he is an accused and we will go as per law.” Asked why Deepak fell out with his associates if he had indeed planned and executed the scam, Singh replied, “We are still investigating and this will be clear only after a thorough probe.” Udit Raj told Times City that it was Deepak who had first informed him about the scam and he had in turn alerted the police. “In his letter dated November 10, 2008, Deepak informed Paschim Vihar police station that five-six persons are involved in cheating and fraud on members of schedule castes and scheduled tribes. The letter was received by the Paschim Vihar police station and recorded in daily diary entry no. 58 B.”

Gangrape case: 11 remanded
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/Gangrape_case_11_remanded/articleshow/3970004.cms
12 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
NOIDA: All the 11 accused in the grisly case of abduction and gang rape of an MBA student from Delhi were on Monday evening remanded to 24 hours in police custody. The police remand, granted by a Noida judicial magistrate, becomes effective from 11 am on Tuesday, with the accused, meanwhile, remaining in jail. A Noida police official said, “The fingerprints of all the 11 accused in the case of the gang rape will also be taken before the court, on Tuesday. Additionally, the accused have now been booked under the Gangster Act, apart from rape charge.” It is understood that the 11 may also be slapped with the National Security Act.

Four customs men get 3-yr RI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/Four_customs_men_get_3-yr_RI/articleshow/3969994.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: A trial court sentenced three years RI to four custom officers, who incurred a loss of Rs 13 lakh to the government in a duty-related matter, more than two decades ago. Special CBI judge VK Maheshwari also awarded five years rigorous jail term to businessman Ajay Chopra, who was part of the conspiracy. The court slapped a fine of Rs four lakh on Chopra after holding him guilty for cheating, forgery among other offences under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. “It has been proved that convict Chopra during 1986-87 illegally obtained duty drawback of Rs 13.14 lakh…upto now he has not returned even a single penny. He is using this amount for more than 21 years. According to bank interest rates, an amount becomes double in seven years, thus by now the amount would have exceeded than one crore,” the judge said. The court held the customs officers HRK Bhatnagar, Gorakh Pal, Rajiv Kapoor and KD Shah guilty for cheating, criminal conspiracy, forgery along with other offences. It imposed a fine of Rs one lakh each on convicts Bhatnagar, Pal and Kapoor, whose name was recommended for the President Award in 2007, and Rs 60,000 on Shah. The CBI alleged that the accused in 1986-87 facilitated export of the goods having no functional utility for Rs 76.24 lakh and put the government to loss of Rs 13.14 lakh by claiming duty drawback for the said fraudulent exports.

Trigger-happy gang involved in over 50 cases
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/Trigger-happy_gang_involved_in_over_50_cases/articleshow/3969991.cms
12 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN
NOIDA/NEW DELHI: The arrests of Amit Gujjar and his accomplices have come as a relief for the police in NCR. The gang, over a period of four months, unleashed terror with its involvement in more than 50 incidents of car-jacking, robbery, dacoity and contract killings in Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Ballabgarh, leaving the UP Police floundering for clues. According to Noida and Delhi police officials, the gang was responsible for the murder of at least five people since October, sometimes for even a paltry amount as Rs 15,000. The gang members, residents of Dadri in Ghaziabad and Ballabgarh, began their life of crimes as petty thieves and already had some cases registered against them. “They then graduated to supplying weapons to other gangs. After sometime, they began using the guns themselves, letting loose a wave of terror in the NCR,” said DCP (crime and railways) Neeraj Thakur. The ruthlessness of the gang can be gauged in the manner in which they murdered a transporter, Ajay, near Tusayana in Greater Noida on November 15 last year. “They shot the transporter after following his car. Details about his movements were fed to them by Ajay’s driver. In the end, the loot was just Rs 15,000,” said the DCP. Noida police said the same gang shot dead another person near the same spot in broad daylight on December 30 after three people emerged from an ATM in Surajpur with Rs 2 lakh. “Killing was second nature for them. They indulged in contract killings to settle petty personal scores. A month ago, Amit’s maternal aunt asked him to eliminate his maternal uncle as they were not compatible. Anil took his uncle from Meerut to Loni, shot him and dumped his body near the Yamuna bank,” said a sleuth investigating the case. DCP Thakur said the gang members’ audacity was obvious from the way they kidnapped a DU student from Noida’s Sector-55 market recently. “They assaulted her and dumped her at Bhopura. They even fired at several bystanders while escaping after a bank dacoity at Ghori village,” said a Noida officer. Sources said a fifth member of the gang had been arrested in a joint raid by the Ghaziabad, Noida and Delhi Police. Sources said at least six other members of the gang could be on the run.

HC no to stay on allotment
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/HC_no_to_stay_on_allotment_/articleshow/3969683.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: Delhi HC on Monday refused to stay the process of allotment of flats under DDA’s housing draw. HC’s refusal to intervene in this manner came while hearing a petition which sought quashing of the process due to alleged irregularities. Justice Hima Kohli however, sought DDA’s response by March 16 on the petition filed by Prem Chand alleging the DDA had illegally allowed applicants under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category from other states to participate in the draw and the scheme should have been restricted only to Delhiites. Issuing a notice to DDA, HC directed it to file its response by March 16. As per the petitioner, under the DDA Act the housing body is not entitled to accept the applications filed by residents of states other than Delhi. Seeking an immediate direction staying the recently held draw, the petitioner’s counsel submitted before the court that the forms from outside Delhi specially from state of Rajasthan were accepted with an ulterior motive.

Bail denied to 6 held for truckers’ strike
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/Bail_denied_to_6_held_for_truckers_strike/articleshow/3969682.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: A trial court on Monday denied bail to the president of All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) and five others. Metropolitan magistrate Deepak Dabas rejected the bail plea of president Charan Singh Lohara, along with AIMTC secretary S Venugopal, the Association’s former president O P Aggarwal and three other members who were arrested under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), on Friday by a special team of the Delhi Police. The police had later detained the accused under the National Securities Act. Seeking the bail, the defence counsel contended that all the accused had been falsely implicated by the police. “There is no evidence to suggest that those arrested were participating in the strike. They were detained just for being office bearers of the AIMTC,” the counsel said. The defence also told the court that the accused had been in custody since Saturday and were not required for any further investigation. The defence further submitted that since the accused were not government employees, the conditions of ESMA or HESMA were not applicable in the case. Rejecting the argument however, MM Deepak Dabas denied bail to all the accused. “The accused are instrumental in organizing the strike and hence, disrupting the movement of essential services to the public,” he observed in the order. The accused have been sent to remand till January 24. The AIMTC had called a nationwide strike on January 4. The truckers have been demanding putting diesel in the declared goods category, unrestricted imports of tyres and a single national permit, among others. The strike has reportedly led to a rise in the prices of essential commodities up to 10% to 15% in various parts of the country since the truckers’ agitation began.

Court notice to DDA over flat allotment quota
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/Court_notice_to_DDA_over_flat_allotment_quota/articleshow/3969383.cms
12 Jan 2009, 1949 hrs IST, IANS
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on a petition challenging the policy of reserving flats for Scheduled Caste applicants from across the country. Justice Hima Kohli asked DDA to file its reply within four weeks and slated the matter for March 23. The DDA had invited applications for 5,238 flats in August-September under the DDA Housing Scheme 2008. Of the available number of flats, 17.5 percent were reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the applicants did not need to be a Delhi resident. Prem Chand, a 42-year-old resident of Dilshad Garden, has questioned the legality of this provision and sought the court’s intervention. Giving prima facie observation on the petitioner’s plea, the judge noted: “DDA is not a local authority and cannot stick to one particular state.” The petition says the government agency had surpassed its jurisdiction by inviting applications from Scheduled Caste applicants outside the National Capital Territory, without a thought for members of the same category living in Delhi. Rajeev Bansal, appearing for DDA, said the petition was not maintainable and should be dismissed. “The procedure of allotment of flats had begun in August. If the petitioner had any problems, he should have challenged the process then. But he participated in the draw and his name did not figure in the list, and now he has challenged the procedure. That’s not relevant,” he said.

Voting should be compulsory, feels CEC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/Voting_should_be_compulsory_feels_CEC/articleshow/3969977.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
BANGALORE: If Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami could have his way, he’d like to make voting compulsory for all like it is in Australia, hold general and state elections at the same time and ensure that a candidate must get at least 50% plus one vote to be able to represent any constituency. Speaking to students of Christ University on Monday, Gopalaswami illustrated the functions of the Election Commission as enshrined in the Constitution as part of the talk on elections and democracy. On making voting mandatory, he said it was easier said than done. “It would be difficult to implement it in India given the scale of the elections. Making a law is not difficult, enforcing it is,” said Gopalaswami adding that it should be made compulsory. Predictably, the CEC was asked on coalition parties and if they were illegal or ethical. “It’s not illegal, but if you’re conscientious, you’ll find it may be unethical. It should be made mandatory that candidates should get 50% + 1 of the votes to win,” he said. One point he impressed upon the students was that while it is important to vote, one can choose not to. “Even if you do not choose to vote, tell the presiding officer and he will register your name and you can hit the last button in the EVM which is for those not willing to vote.” He was also very emphatic on how it has become so easy for a candidate to win on account of fragmentation of polity. “Now, a candidates needs just 25% of the votes to win,” he said. Gopalaswami also said how politicians trick and coerce voters to vote for them. “The problem is more rampant in Northern India,” he added. The stark reality of huge amounts of money donated to political parties was not missed by the CEC. According to him, after an amendment in 2003, both donors and receivers were exempted from income tax. “After that, there was a proliferation of people who set up political parties just to donate money to themselves,” said Gopalaswami. toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com

Gowda courts trouble again
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/Gowda_courts_trouble_again/articleshow/3969973.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
BANGALORE: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his family’s tryst with courts seems to be never-ending. Observations made by the Karnataka High Court on Monday, while converting Gowda’s missive as a PIL, should brace him for yet another encounter with the judiciary. Gowda’s letter was written to most of the judges, including Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, with regard to the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (BMIC) project. Over the last five years, the Karnataka government has been rapped on five occasions by the Supreme Court and Karnataka High Court for creating hurdles for Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), promoters of BMIC. The last was in March 2008, when the SC issued notice to the state government asking it to reply on the contempt petition filed by NICE. * The first reprimand was in May 2005 when the Karnataka HC, in its judgment, allowed NICE to go ahead with the BMIC project. * Next came the severe censure when the same order was upheld by the SC on April 20, 2006. Here, it should be noted that SC imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the state for bringing before it frivolous arguments on an appeal against the Karnataka HC verdict upholding the BMIC project. Clearing the Rs 2,250-crore four-lane expressway, it further said: “The entire appeal was with malafide intention.” * The apex court also imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on former JD(U) MLA J C Madhuswamy and CPM’s G V Srirama Reddy, who had appealed against the HC verdict. * The most severe censure came when the SC dismissed the state government’s review petition seeking review of its April 20 order on BMIC project, and rehearing of the matter. The Kumaraswamy government had contended that NICE had secured 2,150 acres excess land around Bangalore worth over Rs 30,000 crore, which would affect future generations and also result in a loss to the exchequer. However, it was dismissed without being heard in November 2006. * Having been rapped by the courts on several occasions, the Kumaraswamy government took a different route to stall the BMIC project in October 2007. This time, the cabinet decided to drop NICE and invite global tenders to complete the project. The government also short-listed Global Infrastructure Consortium (GIC) to take up the project. However, the plan remained only on paper as even this idea was struck down by the SC in November 2007. * The SC also issued contempt notices against seven bureaucrats for non-compliance of its April 2006 order: former chief secretary P B Mahishi, former PWD principal secretary Sudhir Krishna, former revenue secretary S M Jaamdar, former urban development department secretary Subash Chandra and bureaucrats Rame Gowda, Shashidhar and Mukunda Hemmige.

Before You Buy a New Credit Card Read the Fine Print
http://personal-finance-credit-card-debt.blogspot.com/2009/01/before-you-buy-new-credit-card-read.html
Monday, January 12, 2009
While selecting a credit card, a user may want to take into consideration various elements like annual fee, transaction charges, late fee charges, over-limit (amount withdrawn over and above the limit of approved credit card limit) charges etc. While credit cards have their own benefit, they warrant greater responsibility also. At the time of issuing a credit card, the credit card issuing banks, or their agents (who are sometimes commission based and out-sourced) seem to be very sweet. At this time they are even ready to ignore some of their conditions in a hurry to grab the customer and to issue the credit card. They even ignore prospective customers’ financial standingYou have got a credit card and you are happy. But this happiness is likely to turn soon into nightmare once you find it difficult to either in repaying in whole or in making regular minimum payment. Indian consumers are not at all happy the way banks authorized third party debt collectors and settlement agencies are working.Credit card interest rates add up to more than 30 percent and in many cases, goes up to 50 percent where late payment and interest is added up. Although Reserve Bank has from time to time issued notifications for fair practice, banks swear by them but practically they do not seem to following up the RBI directions in letter and spirit. Mr. C. V. Giddappa, general secretary of the Credit Card Holders’ Association of India (a very important organization which looks into the interests of credit card holders in Bangalore), pointed out that “These banks are cheating the public”. Mr. Giddappa’s organization estimates that Indian consumers are paying 16.4 million rupees a day (more than $406,000) in unfair charges, and is agitating for a debt-free India by 2020. Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTP), Government of India has started an investigation of card-selling practices of banks including Citigroup, HSBC and the local banks ICICI and HDFC. It is very important that before getting into the world of credit card full understand its terms and conditions, hidden and open. You may want to understand your needs. Do you really need a credit card or you are just buying it to boost social status.Reserve Bank of India keeps an eye on the credit card issuing banks that they strictly follow best practices in issuing the credit cards, debt collection and other related services. To protect consumers rights, Reserve Bank of India issues Notifications from time to time and oversees its implementation. You can click this for more information.At the end of the day, the mantra is buy a credit card only when you feel it absolutely necessary to have it. Otherwise, debit cards are good enough. If you keep your needs and wants within limit, there will never be any need for a credit card. Avoid as far as possible.
Posted by IndiaInfo at 10:02 AM

Appointment of dean stayed
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore/Appointment_of_dean_stayed/articleshow/3969967.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
BANGALORE: The high court has stayed the December 26 order appointing Puttaraju, professor of communications, as in-charge dean of science faculty at Bangalore University. The court has issued notice to the chancellor of universities and BU. B A Shridhar, who also belongs to the communications department, has claimed his seniority was overlooked. Doctor’s medical records sought The high court has asked Naganna, a 74-year-old medical practitioner from Andhra Pradesh, to produce medical records for considering his anticipatory bail plea. The petitioner has stated he suffers from various ailments. The doctor is facing charges of bobbitising an 18-year-old boy. Plea against UDF Advocate G R Mohan has moved a memo before the high court, seeking posting of his plea challenging BIAL’s decision to collect Rs 260 as User Development Fee from domestic passengers.

25 Congmen get lifer in murder case
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Hyderabad/25_Congmen_get_lifer_in_murder_case/articleshow/3969862.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
KADAPA: Twenty-five Congress workers were given life sentence for the murder of a TDP leader in Kadapa district.
Delivering the verdict here on Monday, fourth additional district judge Justice Prakash Kumar said all the 25 Congressmen were found guilty in the murder case. The TDP leader Chandrasekhar Reddy, who hailed from Kondreddypalle of Vemula mandal in Kadapa, was attacked by a gang of 32 Congress workers on February 16, 2003, when he was coming along with his party worker Ramana Reddy. Both were murdered in that dastardly attack. While 25 were convicted, seven other accused were let off for lack of evidence against them. While the verdict has come as a shocker to the local Congress leaders, there was jubilation in the TDP camp, who burst crackers upon coming to know about the judge’s ruling.

Law student wins moot court contest
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Law_student_wins_moot_court_contest/articleshow/3970084.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
Second year law student in LA Shah Law College, Urshit Oza, stood first in the Inter-College Moot Court competition held by the Gujarat University.
With this, he has qualified for the national round. Earlier, Oza represented university at the 25th Bar council of India’s moot court competition held at Lucknow in December.
In this event, he got Best Speaker Award’ from among 60 participants and secured a scholarship too.

Brother judge disagrees with Justice Katju’s view
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Brother_judge_disagrees_with_Justice_Katjus_view/articleshow/3970080.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0026 hrs IST, TNN
New Delhi : Seldom do judges of Supreme Court, sitting to form a bench, express diametrically opposite views on a matter. And when it happens to be post-Godhra riot cases, it assumes significance. The issue was Gujarat carnage. Terming it as a disgrace to country, Justice Katju said, “We know what terrible things have been done to minorities in Gujarat.” But, Justice Sirpurkar clarified that Justice Katju’s observations were unilateral and that he did not agree with them. Undeterred, Justice Katju went on to say not all riot accused have been prosecuted. Distancing himself from these observations, Justice Sirpurkar said, “I do not subscribe to these comments.” Much after review of over 2,000 riot cases, which were earlier closed, and filing of fresh charges, a PIL by NGO Citizen for Justice and Peace’ had sought transfer of DGP PC Pande outside state accusing him of interfering in investigations. The Bench comprising both justices on Monday wondered as to how Pande, who is due to retire on March 15, could possibly interfere with the case. Reserving its order till Tuesday, Bench agreed to close the case with liberty to petitioner to approach court if Pande’s intervention was found to have an adverse impact on the investigation of any case.

Bangladeshi don gets bail
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Kolkata_/Bangladeshi_don_gets_bail/articleshow/3970536.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0312 hrs IST, Caesar Mandal, TNN
KOLKATA: Dreaded Bangladeshi don Subrata Bayen’s getting bail has caused a flutter in the city. Bayen was arrested by Kolkata Police’s Special Task Force on October 13, and booked under the Foreigners Act and Arms Act. A few days after his arrest, police nailed him in a case pertaining to possession of illegal arms and a snatching case. Bayen, however, got bail because investigators could not submit a chargesheet. The detective department then linked him in a note-forgery case and had him in custody once again. Insiders saw in this move a strange ‘inefficiency’ on the part of investigators, which came in handy for Bayen’s lawyers to obtain bail. Sources said a central intelligence agency had instructed Kolkata Police not to go overboard with Bayen. Central intelligence agencies are reportedly unhappy with state agencies on the way they are handling Bayen and other Bangladeshi criminals. Bayen is a valuable catch for India to put diplomatic pressure on Bangladesh to get wanted criminals like Anup Chetia, Paresh Barua or Jiban Singh, who are rumoured to have taken shelter in Bangladesh. Intelligence sources said that Bayen can help India trace other notorious Bangladeshi criminals and political criminals crossing the borders soon after the Sheikh Hasina government took over. “Bayen could be our key source to trace them. But our efforts may fail, given the way Kolkata Police is handling him,” said an intelligence officer. The central agency wants the criminal in police custody, but not behind bars. Bayen has shown his reluctance to cooperate with Kolkata Police. It was evident when he refused to help STF officers after they interrogated a Gujarati trader of Burrabazar, who had allegedly laundered Bayen’s money in the market. During interrogation, the trader died on way to hospital. Sensing trouble, Kolkata Police is not ready to take the risk any more. The sudden disappearance of Tanvirul Islam Joy, another Bangladeshi criminal currently on bail after being picked up by CID, is cause of worry for central agencies. They suspect police have kept him under watch to keep him away from central agencies. Joy’s wife complained to the human rights commission that he was picked up by some agencies and taken to some unknown destination. The CID and state intelligence agency, however, told the commission that Joy is not in their custody.

CBI slapped Rs 500 fine for missing papers
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/CBI_slapped_Rs_500_fine_for_missing_papers/articleshow/3970088.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, Saeed Khan, TNN
Ahmedabad : Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been slapped a fine of Rs 500 by a special court for not producing important documents on time for a two decade-old case. And when investigating agency proposed to submit the document, court refused to accept them without payment of fine imposed. Against this fine of Rs 500, CBI moved Gujarat High Court and urged judge to direct special court to cancel cost as well as accept the document. But it failed here too, as Justice DH Waghela in High Court on Monday refused to buy investigating agency’s arguments and ordered CBI to deposit amount of fine before January 30. The case dates back to 1988, when CBI booked four persons, including a Bank of Baroda’s Bhavnagar branch manager for illegal sanctions of loans to some non-existent firms. CBI filed two chargesheets, and the case was committed to the special court in 1990. Significantly, when trial began in this case 18 years later, some important documents related to one of the four accused, Bhavesh Radio, were found missing during making an opening statement for the trial. However, CBI officials sought permission to place these documents on record, and the special court in Mirzapur permitted to do so. But there was a hitch. Special judge imposed a fine of Rs 500 for making delay of about two decades in placing such important documents against the accused. Because, during this period, one of the accused, the bank manager, had passed away and his name had to be deleted from the case. Fine was imposed on last October 13. Reluctant to pay the amount, CBI proposed to submit papers on October 22. Special judge refused to admit the documents and passed another order that without payment by CBI, the court would not accept any document. In order to remove this impediment, CBI moved High Court claiming that lower court imposed fine without any jurisdiction. However, judge upheld the defence lawyer Ejaz Qureshi’s contention that special court’s decision was well according to criminal jurisprudence.

Hussain remanded to judicial custody till Jan 23
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Pune/Hussain_remanded_to_judicial_custody_till_Jan_23/articleshow/3969920.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0341 hrs IST, TNN
PUNE: Hussain Shabbir Mohinuddin Gangavali, (29), arrested last month by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS), Pune, in connection with a fake currency charge, was produced before a special court on Monday. The ATS submitted that moulana Hussain, along with other suspects of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), had provided fake currency notes to terrorist organisations in the country. Hussain was arrested in Janwadi on December 30. The ATS had recovered 250 fake notes of Rs 100 denomination from him. He was later remanded to police custody till January 12 by a special court. Assistant police inspector Atul Sabnis and assistant sub-inspector Rajendra Thorve of the ATS, produced Hussain before the special court. The ATS sought an extension in Hussain’s custody, saying that he along with Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal and Ahmed Yasin, key persons of the IM were involved in supplying fake currency notes to terrorist organisations in the country. The ATS also submitted that they were probing links between the fake currency notes racket and several bomb blasts in the country. The ATS wanted to take Hussain to other states as part of the investigation. According to the Pune ATS, Hussain earned a Fazilat degree after a detailed study of Islam and the Quran at madrasas in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Then, under instructions from the Bhatkal brothers, he became a maulvi and started brainwashing youths coming to various mosques. He visited Pune several times to give provoking lectures on Jehad to IM members in the city. During interrogation it was revealed that Hussain was also wanted in a case registered with the Ullal police station in Mangalore, in which he was booked under sections of the Explosives Material Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. A team from the Bangalore police had earlier came to Pune to interrogate Hussain. Judicial Magistrate first class G G Itkalkar of the special court remanded Hussain to magisterial custody till January 23, saying that the state ATS didn’t maintain proper records of the case diary in this case. He also mentioned that the reasons for seeking remand were similar to those provided in an earlier remand report.

Court convicts one for rape of 10-yr-old
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Goa/Court_convicts_one_for_rape_of_10-yr-old/articleshow/3970100.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, TNN
PANAJI: The children’s court on Monday convicted Hanumanta Harijan from Vasco for raping a 10-year-old girl in 2007. According to the prosecution, the accused committed the offence while the victim was sleeping outside her house on the night of November 6, 2007. He was charged with rape and sexual assault. During the hearing of the case, public prosecutor P Bharne argued that the evidence of the victim girl is corroborated by her mother and by medical evidence. The girl is a reliable and trustworthy witness, she pointed out. The defence said that evidence is full of discrepancies. “The victim had not shouted for help during the incident. She had not immediately told her mother about it,” the defence contended. “Being a young girl, she might have been shocked by what the accused had done to her and as deposed by her, due to threats of assault by the accused, she may not have had the courage to mention it to her mother on the very night,” president of the court, Desmond D’Costa observed . The court further held that there was evidence of forcible sexual contact.

Fresh chargesheet is act of vendetta: Virk
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Chandigarh/Fresh_chargesheet_is_act_of_vendetta_Virk_/articleshow/3970721.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0443 hrs IST, S Balakrishnan , TNN
MUMBAI: SS Virk, a senior IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre, has accused the Badal government in Punjab of engaging in “vendetta” by slapping him with a fresh chargesheet. He told TOI on Monday that since the Punjab government lost all cases that were filed against him, it decided to file a fresh chargesheet. “I have not yet received a copy of the chargesheet, but I am certain it will contain trumped up charges. I will fight for justice till the end,” Virk said. “One of the main reasons of growing militancy in Punjab was politicization of the administration and police forces. However , after Punjab became peaceful the political leadership became more assertive and old practices started once again,” he said. “I refused to yield to pressure from politicians,” Virk said. “Just before the assembly polls in 2007, an emissary of the Akali Dal told me that top leadership of the party had liked my performance and they would like me to continue as the DGP, provided I reported the Congress election campaign strategy to them. When I rejected the suggestion, I was told that I would have to pay a heavy price,” Virk said. “Soon polls were announced and all hell broke loose. First, the SAD told the Election Commission that I would get the polls rigged with the help of rehabilitated militants. When the EC rejected the charge, the SAD came up with another charge which stated that I had received benefits to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore from the Congress. Subsequently , the EC transferred me without any verification,” he stated. “The Centre ordered my repatriation to Maharashtra on April 10, 2007. But the Punjab government ordered my suspension. Also, to avoid a situation where the suspension was quashed by the Centre, a criminal case was registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau,” he said. Later, the Central Administrative Tribunal, Chandigarh bench, quashed the order of suspension and also upheld the order of his repatriation to Maharashtra . Later, when the Punjab government obtained a stay against the CAT order from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Virk moved a petition in the Supreme Court. which ruled, on May 16, 2008, that the high court should not havegranted a stay on CAT’s verdict. “The SC also directed the Maharashtra government to depute me as DGP and also upheld my repatriation order,” he said. “I will not let anyone play with the dignity of the uniform,” Virk asserted. No neutrality? Political advisor to the chief minister Daljeet Cheema said that it seemed Virk was now admitting that he was part of the election strategy of the then chief minister Amarinder Singh while he was expected to be neutral as an officer. Saying that he was removed by the Election Commission of India, Cheema said the senior officer should refrain from making a comment on the functioning of a constitutional authority just to hide his “misdeeds” .

Keep deals transparent: HC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Chandigarh/Keep_deals_transparent_HC_/articleshow/3970723.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0443 hrs IST, TNN
CHANDIGARH: Accountability, audit and monitoring mechanisms were the transparency tools that chief justice Tirath Singh Thakur emphasized upon while talking about the sorry state of affairs at various Red Cross societies in Punjab and Haryana. While hearing a PIL filed by Resurgence India, a Ludhianabased NGO, the division bench comprising the CJ and justice K Kannan, wondered if deputy commissioners were acting as monarchs given the fact they had no qualms in diverting Red Cross funds even for personal use. The judges also questioned the Punjab counsel over existence of any constitution or guidelines regarding the working of these societies . The bench was particularly angry that there were no regular meetings of the societies’ office-bearers as mandated under the law. ” If there are no regular meetings , then how can one expect accountability and audit of expenses ,” the CJ wondered. Interestingly , Punjab counsel remarked though audit was done annually, it ” may not be done as diligently as required.” The bench also deliberated over appointing an authority to oversee the functioning of societies and report the matter to HC. They sought the report submitted by former IAS officer Rajan Kashyap, as disclosed by the Punjab counsel, on the functioning of Red Cross societies to Punjab government. The division bench sounded the Punjab counsel that misuse of Red Cross funds would lead to erosion of public faith in a noble institution . The judges also enquired about salaries being paid to Red Cross employees and the manner of their appointments. The state of Haryana also came under criticism as the CJ took a serious note of Red Cross funds being used on tailoring projects, computerization projects for SDM office, air conditioners and stabilizers. The bench sought audit reports from Haryana counsel, who informed the judges that audit was being done by the state AG office. Importantly, the NGO filed a counter affidavit during the previous hearing that severely criticized and doubted the bonafides of Punjab DCs’ reports on alleged misuse of Red Cross funds. The NGO counsel had told the division bench comprising CJ Tirath Singh Thakur and justice Hemant Gupta that he had got the said reports under RTI and asserted that not all funds had been deposited with the PM Relief Fund as claimed in the reports . In its petition against the Union government, the CBI director and secretary-general of Indian Red Cross Society, the NGO had sought necessary action for ensuring punishment to all involved in the case. Importantly , as many as three DCs of Patiala division who were accused of misappropriation of funds deposited Rs 44 lakh in PMs’ Relief Fund following HC directions.

UT to host northern region workshop on Tobacco Control Act
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Chandigarh/UT_to_host_northern_region_workshop_on_Tobacco_Control_Act/articleshow/3970254.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0027 hrs IST, TNN
CHANDIGARH: Concerned at the very low level of awareness about the various provisions of the Tobacco Control Act amongst law enforcers as well as general public, the Union ministry of health and family welfare is holding a series of workwhops, including one national and five regional, to sensitize various stakeholders on tobacco control laws and related issues in the country. The national and three regional workshops (for western, central and southern regions) are being held respectively at New Delhi, Goa, Bhopal and Chennai, while the regional level workshop for northern region will be organized at Hotel Parkview here on January 16-17. The workshop here will be attended by almost 100 officials of state government departments like health, police, education, road transport, municipal authorities, rural development, food and drug administration, labour, agriculture, etc. Similarly, officials from from Central government departments like customs and excise, railways, I&B, Airports Authority of India, etc., and representatives from academic institutions like universities and medical/dental/nursing colleges

from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh will attend the workshop. The ministry of health and family Welfare is also holding the regional advocacy workshop (northern region) at PGI on January 16 and 17. The workshop aims to build awareness about tobacco control laws and related issues to improve enforcement of various provisions of Tobacco Control Act, 2003 including highlighting of respective roles of various stakeholders, including concerned ministries/departments.

Telephone company told to pay Rs 20K as damages
13 Jan 2009, 0026 hrs IST, TNN

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CHANDIGARH: When her telephone connection was stripped of most of its facilities despite her paying the bill on time, Suchita Verma approached the consumer court claiming deficiency in services. In its ruling, UT consumer forum ordered Bharti Airtel to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as cost of litigation to Verma. It also told the telecom service to not charge Rs 25 per month for the caller identification facility provided to her. A Sector-11 resident, Verma stated she had gone in for the service as it offered facilities like internet, caller identification, etc. Her complaint mentioned that she had deposited Rs 1,940 for the connection for the period of September to October 2007. However, the next bill showed the amount as outstanding. She stated that Airtel stopped the outgoing call, internet, STD, ISD and caller identification facilities to her connection in December 2007 in spite of her having paid the bill. The telecom service provider also told her that the she would have to pay Rs 25 for the caller identification facility. Her requests for restoration of the facility were not heard and Verma complained in the Consumer Protection Act. A notice was issued to the company. In reply it said that a technical error had led to the amount being mentioned as outstanding and the facilities were pulled as a consequence. The company submitted that the caller identification facility was to be free for the first six months, after which Rs 25 were to be charged for it as per the norms of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The forum, headed by Jagroop Singh Mahal, held, This much is admitted that when the complainant took the telephone connection, the caller identification facility of was given to free for her. There is no mention anywhere if the complainant was ever informed that Rs 25 would be charged from her in the future, which made it contrary to the agreement. Firm directed to honour discount The UT consumer forum on Monday directed New Ambition Marketing to refund Rs 50 charged in excess from Sector 30 resident Shanti Sagar and give him a discount of 55% on a DVD player worth Rs 4,000. The forum also said if the company was unable to give the DVD player, it would have to pay Rs 2,200 which was 55% of the players cost along with Rs 1,100 as compensation to Sagar. The complainant said an agent of New Ambition Marketing sold him a coupon for Rs 300 and asked him to break a coconut-shaped toy. Sagar said he found a plastic token wherein the agent informed him that he had won a DVD worth Rs 4,000. However, the price printed on the coupon was Rs 250. Later, Sagar approached New Ambition Marketing to avail the offer but the company officials refused to entertain the same. Following this, he filed a complaint in the consumer forum alleging deficiency in service stating he was not given the prize money. A notice was served to the company but as no official turned up on its behalf, it was proceeded ex parte. Holding the seller guilty, the forum, headed by Jagroop Singh Mahal, stated, It is due to the callous attitude of the seller that the complainant suffered harassment. Despite approaching them for discount on the DVD player, the company did not bother and forced the complainant to this litigation.

HC imposes cost on UT for delay in filing reply
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Chandigarh/HC_imposes_cost_on_UT_for_delay_in_filing_reply/articleshow/3970232.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0021 hrs IST, TNN
CHANDIGARH: The UT administration was on Monday slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 for its slackness in filing reply to a PIL before the high court here. A miffed division bench, comprising chief justice Tirath Singh Thakur and justice K Kannan, also raised important issues of as to how certain UT police officials, found guilty of corruption in departmental inquiries, were reinstated in service. The PIL, filed by advocate HC Arora, also referred to the conduct of UT engineering department in reinstating 13 of its employees during the pendency of criminal proceedings against them. The division bench ordered that the costs be recovered from the officer who was accountable for delay in filing the reply as the UT administration was given four opportunities to file the reply. The hearing has now been adjourned to March 18, 2009. The senior standing counsel for the administration had sought adjournment to enable him to examine the original records in respect of such employees of police and engineering departments of UT.

UT court records trial in a day
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Chandigarh/UT_court_records_trial_in_a_day/articleshow/3970203.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0014 hrs IST, Supriya Bhardwaj, TNN
CHANDIGARH: Aghast at the cold-blooded murder of 19-year-old Promila, who was killed for honour, the prosecution agency on Monday ended up doing unthinkable in a local court. Sending the message loud and clear, history was created on Monday when the court of additional district and sessions judge Raj Rahul Garg recorded the entire trial?s evidence in just a day. The girl, a Khajeri resident, was five-month pregnant when allegedly her father Jaswant Singh (45) and brother Sunil (21) murdered her. The duo, as per prosecution?s story, first strangulated Promila and then bludgeoned her with a stone. Not stopping at this the duo allegedly poured acid on her face and tore off her clothes to suggest rape. However, the medical reports rejected the rape theory. The duo allegedly had committed the atrocious crime just to save their family?s honour, prosecution claimed. Public prosecutor Manu Kakkar and investigating officer, inspector Davinder Sharma discussed the case at length and decided to weed out unnecessary steps. For instance: The chargesheet mentioned 16 witnesses, the prosecution zeroed in on just seven. Result: the court not just recorded key witnesses? statement, also but penned accuseds? account under Sector 313 of CrPC by Monday evening. The need to record the evidence quickly was felt by the prosecution as the accused and the key witnesses hailed from the same village and the threat of witnesses turning hostile loomed large. Asked as to how they achieved such a momentous task, Kakkar replied, ?Keeping the sensitivity of case in mind, we decided to finish the trial at the earliest. Owing to pressure, there was a possibility of witnesses turning hostile. Our aim was not to prolong the trial.? Explaining further, inspector Sharma, who heads operation cell, added, ?The summons were served in advance and the witnesses were produced at 9.30 am sharp in the court. There was no need to stretch the trial as witnesses were present in city. The only thing required was to produce them in the court.? The defense too backed this move. ?We cooperated with prosecution to finish evidence at the earliest and now the final order is awaited,? said defense counsel Devinder Singh. The court has fixed January 15 to hear final argument and pronounce order. Terming it to be a rarest of rare incident, advocate Rabindra Pandit said, ?I n my entire career spanning 26 years, I haven?t noticed such a speedy trial.? Timeline July 20, 2008: A murder case was registered after 19-year-old Promila was found murdered November 28, 2008: Court framed murder charges against her father and brother January 12, 2009: The entire trial evidence was recorded in just a day Fastest trial It was a Chennai-based court that on December 16, 2004 made history after it convicted and handed down seven-year imprisonment to four for killing a man in a drunken brawl case within 44 days from the date of incident.

Lawyers to boycott work
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Lucknow/Lawyers_to_boycott_work_/articleshow/3970836.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0502 hrs IST, TNN
LUCKNOW: The district and sessions court lawyers on Monday resolved to abstain from judicial work on January 13 in protest against the recent amendments in section 309 of the CrPC. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Lucknow Bar Association (LBA) presided by its president CL Dixit. In a press note, secretary, GN Shukla said the lawyers would also stage a march from the high court crossing at 1 pm to the governor’s house. The lawyers would also hand over a memorandum to the governor against the said amendments. The Bar Council of UP would observe protest on January 19 on the same issue. The council has also urged for a nationwide protest from the BCI. Ajai Kumar Shukla, member of the UP Bar Council, stated that the council unanimously resolved on January 10 to protest against the said amendments. Demanded: The Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh has passed a resolution demanding the Central government, state government and the high court to make it necessary that presiding officers like DM, commissioner, SDM, members of board of revenue and co-operative tribunals conducting cases, wherein detailed evidence is required, must be a law degree holder. In a press note, the council’s member, Ajai Kumar Shukla said that often these officers are not aware of law and, therefore, fail to pass the appropriate judgments and orders in the cases.

CJM orders narco test for murder accused
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Lucknow/CJM_orders_narco_test_for_murder_accused_/articleshow/3970837.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0502 hrs IST, TNN
LUCKNOW: Chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Suresh Chandra on Monday ordered for narco test of Abhai Singh, the accused in a double murder case. An application was moved by station officer (SO), Bazaarkhala seeking custody of Singh for conducting narco-analysis brain mapping test in the murder case. The judge, however, said that Singh should not be subjected to any physical and mental harassment during the test. The counsel of Abhay may remain present at the time of test. The court also clarified that before the narco test, the chief medical officer, Lucknow would constitute a board for medical check-up of Singh. Shatrughan Singh and Jitendra Tripathi were murdered on March 31,2007.

Displeased OBA seeks transfer of judges
Displeased OBA seeks transfer of judges
13 Jan 2009, 0500 hrs IST, TNN
LUCKNOW: The Oudh Bar Association (OBA) on Monday asked the Chief Justice of the Allahabad high court to transfer two judges from Lucknow. In a meeting of the OBA, presided by its president, Raghvendra Singh, it was stated that since there was resentment among the members of the Bar against Justices VD Chaturvedi and SC Chaurasia, the duo be transferred from Lucknow. The resolution passed stated that if this was not carried out then the members of the OBA will abstain from judicial work on January 6. OBA secretary RP Mishra in his letter addressed to the chief justice stated that there was resentment in the Bar.

Complaints piling up against ICs
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Lucknow/Complaints_piling_up_against_ICs/articleshow/3970315.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0056 hrs IST, Neha Shukla, TNN
LUCKNOW: The growing dissatisfaction over the implementation of the Right To Information (RTI) Act has now extended to the information commissioners (ICs) responsible for attending to the complaints. The two and a half year long ineffective existence of the Act in the state has now led to fingers being pointed at them. The governor office has received 67 complaints till September 2008 against the ICs. This has been revealed by the public information officer (PIO) of the governor office in response to a RTI query by Ram Sharan Sharma in October 2008. In case of complaints received against ICs, the governor under section 17(1) of the RTI Act can make a reference to the supreme court for an inquiry into the complaint. Once the SC allows the inquiry, governor can prohibit the IC from attending the office under section 17(2) of the Act. But, in this matter, the PIO added that not even a single complaint deserved action. “It is ridiculous that not even a single complaint was found worthy of action,” said Sharma, a retired engineer and a member of right to information awareness forum. If this is the case why the PIO did not reveal the details about the nature of complaints which I had asked for, he said. He had asked for the list of complainants, nature of complaints and action taken on them. Sharma had submitted a 9-points application which asked for a set of information regarding the academic and professional background of the commissioners, their appointment, salary, age etc. But, he was denied this information on the ground that it is `personal’ and hence, can not be disclosed. In fact, such an information about ICs is a part of pro-active disclosure under the RTI Act and should have been displayed on the website of the commission much on the lines of Central Information Commission in New Delhi. In particular, his query related to all the ICs, who have served or are still serving at the commission, including the chief information commissioners (CICs). Currently, Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission (UPSIC) has nine ICs including the officiating CIC. “I only wanted to know if the CIC and the ICs confirm to the criteria specified in section 15(5) of RTI Act which says that they should be persons of eminence in public life,” said Sharma. He has written again to the PIO of the governor’s office and is hopeful he will get the right information this time. “If not I will meet the governor and bring the issue to his notice,” he said.

Bar council to protest against amendments in CrPC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Lucknow/Bar_council_to_protest_against_amendments_in_CrPC/articleshow/3969935.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0408 hrs IST, TNN
LUCKNOW: The Bar Council of UP has decided to observe protest on January 19 against the recent amendments in section 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The council has also urged for a nationwide protest from the Bar Council of India (BCI). In a press brief, Ajai Kumar Shukla, member of the UP Bar Council, stated that the council unanimously resolved in a meeting held at Allahabad on January 10 to protest against the said amendments. The bar’s resolution stated that the amendments would cause fear among the lawyers and were against the interest of the litigants. It may be noted that the said amendments have empowered the trial courts not to adjourn the trial of a rape case on the grounds that the lawyer concerned was engaged in other courts or was unable to attend the hearing on account of ill health. The council stated the amendments would incur unnecessary financial burden on the litigants as they would have to engage another lawyer. It is against public and due to the said amendments a large section of people would be deprived of justice, the resolution stated. The council also extended thanks to the senior lawyer and Samajwadi Party MP, Virendra Bhatia as he intimated the council on the amendments through a letter. The council directed its chairman to extend a memorandum of thanks to Bhatia.

Bathe case trial
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/Bathe_case_trial/articleshow/3970209.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0015 hrs IST, TNN
PATNA: The additional district and sessions judge-3, Patna, on Monday recorded the deposition of prosecution witness number 6, Motur Rajvanshi, in the Bathe massacre case. Rajvanshi said that he would identify three persons if they are presented before the court. Rajvanshi said that on the fateful day in December 1997, about 20 marauders had fired at his house, killing six of his family members. He said that in torchlight he identified Girija Singh, Baleshwar Singh and Surendra Singh among the killers

HC issues notice to LNMU VC, registrar
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/HC_issues_notice_to_LNMU_VC_registrar/articleshow/3969809.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0045 hrs IST, TNN
PATNA: The Patna High Court on Monday issued show cause notice to the vice-chancellor and registrar of L N Mithila University (LNMU) to state why contempt proceedings be not initiated against them for not complying with the court order to pay retirement dues and benefits to university’s retired teachers and employees. A single bench presided over by Justice J N Singh issued the directive on a large number of contempt petitions filed by L N Mithila University retired teachers and employees. The order was passed on contempt petitions of Sabita Devi and others. The court fixed February 24 as the next date of hearing of the petitions when the VC and registrar have to reply to the show cause notice. Directive to health secy: The same bench on Monday directed the health secretary to appear before the court in person to assist the court in hearing of a contempt petition. The court sought the appearance of the health secretary as well as his assistance for disposing of a contempt petition “as the state government counsel concerned had failed to co-operate.”

Govt seeks changes in MCI’s proposed amendments
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Nagpur/Govt_seeks_changes_in_MCIs_proposed_amendments/articleshow/3971135.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0921 hrs IST, TNN
NAGPUR: With the Indian Medical Council Act (1956) likely to be amended soon, medical education in India may soon witness some major changes, including opening up of the sector for private firms as well as diluting the existing norms for a college with 100 MBBS seats. Private firms and companies, registered under the Companies Act, will be allowed to start medical colleges according to a notification on the Medical Council of India (MCI) website posted on December 1, 2008. The new regulations, which are a modification of the last amended act of 1999, is being termed as ‘minimum requirements for 100 MBBS admissions annually regulations (amendment), 2008-Part II’. It clearly states that the MCI amended the act with the sanction of the union government. Confusion has reigned in medical circles that the government has asked the MCI to withdraw the amendment. However, Dr P C Kesavankutty Nair, the acting MCI president, said, “The question of withdrawing does not arise at all as it was the government which had asked the MCI to make the amendments. Its executive committee members too were consulted. The government, however, is apparently not satisfied with the changes in toto. But we have requested it to reconsider the amendment.” KVS Rao, the deputy secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare and also the director of medical education, said it was true that the MCI had made the amendments on union government’s direction. “But we are not fully satisfied with the changes as it has not incorporated all our suggestions,” he said. “The government will be holding a meeting with the MCI soon and the issue will be resolved in about 2-3 weeks.” The teachers’ community as well as medical students in the state are objecting to these changes. They claim that the amendments will “dilute” the quality of medical education. However, Rao sees no harm in the changes. “The new changes are being made taking into consideration the Supreme Court’s directives on misuse of these norms by private colleges or any institutions in their favour. Government is not easing the norms to suit the private colleges at all. The amendments are being made taking into consideration all the checks and balances as per the court’s direction,” he said. Rao said that the regulations were being changed to create conditions for producing more and better doctors. “As of now there is a shortage of medical teachers. We already need to switch to modern technology like distance education or video lectures to keep the medical education going,” Rao said. SUGGESTED CHANGES The amended IMC Act for 100 MBBS seats with additions/modifications/deletions/substitutions includes the following: The existing act allows only the institutions registered with the charity commissioner or under the societies registration act to open medical colleges. But now firms registered under companies act can also start medical colleges The earlier act includes 21 subjects including clinical and non clinical subjects with specified staff requirements along with norms for campus area, hospital structure and staff etc, library and other mandatory requirements for 100 MBBS seats. The new regulation has cut down the teaching and non teaching staff requirements for non clinical subjects to almost half Under schedule I clause A 1.1 for campus area, the new amendment demands at least 25 acres of land for medical college housed in an unitary campus and this may be relaxed in cases of metros or cities with populations above 25 lakhs, hilly areas and notified tribal areas where land should not be in more than two pieces and the distance between the two should not exceed 10 kms. The hospital, college building including library and hostels for students, interns, residents and nurses should be in one piece of land which should not be less than the 10 acres. However the new act comes with a rider that permission will be withdrawn if the colleges resort to commercialization.

HC tells Lila Kunj residents to vacate within 48 hours
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Allahabad/HC_tells_Lila_Kunj_residents_to_vacate_within_48_hours/articleshow/3970462.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0207 hrs IST, TNN
ALLAHABAD: Taking strong action in the demolition case of illegal construction of the Lila Kunj apartment, located at Beli Road in city, the Allahabad high court directed the Allahabad DM and SSP to cordon off to prohibit the entry of outsiders. The court, on the request of the residents, granted 48 hours to vacate the premises and inform of the same by Friday. The bench comprising Justices Amitava Lala and Arun Tandon passed the order, when it was informed by the builders that despite high court’s order passed on October 22, 2008, the allottees of the building had failed to vacate their flats on one pretext or the other, and on the contrary they were trying that some other persons may occupy it. The judges passed the order on a writ petition filed by one Anand Kumar Pandey and many residents of the building, who had given an undertaking in the court that the residents of the building would vacate their flats by December 31, 2008. It was pointed out that the petitioners had failed to do so. Passing the order, the judges said that the DM and SSP will make all arrangements so that no unauthorized person could enter the building in question. The court also directed the officials not to extend any relaxation to any outsider occupant and ordered that the building be cordoned off. The court in its order also clarified that cordoning of the building was to be done with immediate effect. The court fixed next hearing for January 16.

AMC not providing proper information under RTI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Allahabad/AMC_not_providing_proper_information_under_RTI/articleshow/3970456.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0206 hrs IST, Ashraf Jamal, TNN
ALLAHABAD: The Right to Information Act (RTI) is a tool to find the shortcomings and corrupt practices in various public organizations. However, the authorities of Allahabad Municipal Corporation seem to be least bothered to provide information to the public under RTI. Ironically, even the corporators are kept in the dark and the reply is given in ambiguous and confusing language. When this is the response towards the corporators, the information provided to the commoners can be well imagined. Anand Agarwal, a corporator, has sought information from the AMC, regarding the number of applications received under the RTI from July 2007 to May 2008 and the action taken by the AMC in two pages. But the AMC gave him reply in just one line. The corporator has asked for comprehensive information under various points. He has sought detailed information of the total number of applications being received by different departments and the information being provided by the public information officer. He has not merely asked for the number of applications received but also the information regarding the name of the information-seeker, date of the application and also the date on which the information was provided to the information-seeker. Agarwal complained that people are facing lots of problems due to the non-cooperative attitude of the officers of Allahabad Municipal Corporation while seeking information. Most of the times, information is not being given within the prescribed period. The corporator has demanded action against the officers concerned for infringing the rights of the citizens.

Centre mulls Sexual Assault Bill to counter crime against women
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Allahabad/Centre_mulls_Sexual_Assault_Bill_to_counter_crime_against_women/articleshow/3961063.cms
11 Jan 2009, 2016 hrs IST, TNN
ALLAHABAD: The Central government is planning to introduce the `Sexual Assault Bill’ in the Parliament soon to counter the rising cases of crime against women. The bill would have all types of sexual harassment cases, including rape and eve-teasing, in its ambit, chairperson of National Women’s Commission (NWC) Girija Vyas told newspersons. She also expressed concern over the fact that there has been a rise of 33 per cent cases of crime against women and 7 per cent rise in incidents of child abuse. In majority of the cases, the age group of rape victims is between 18 and 30 years. Vyas added that the maximum number of complaints related to crime against women have been reported from Uttar Pradesh which is a matter of concern and points to the insensitivity of the state government and administrative machinery. Out of 7,000 complaints in Uttar Pradesh last year, 429 were related to rape. The commission has written a strongly worded letter to the chief minister in this regard. Recalling the recent incident of rape of a student in Noida, she said that the national capital region (NCR) has become a hub of such crimes and all political parties should stop politicizing such incidents and fight against the menace. The Sexual Assault Bill would advocate strict punishment for those involved in molestation and assault on women. It would also take note of cases of rape in police custody, hospitals and mass rape. The Bill also contains provisions for rehabilitation of rape victims by the respective state governments. Moreover, the Bill would also ensure that rape victims are not traumatized by repeated questioning and interrogation during trial. Regarding the some initiatives being taken by the commission, Vyas said that it is laying stress on three important programmes: Chalo Gaon Ki Ore, Save the Home, Save the Family and Jago Campaign, which are essentially a wake up call in the aftermath of Mumbai incident where the people came out in the streets to condemn the incidents of terrorism.

Lawyers thrash litigant
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Kanpur/Lawyers_thrash_litigant/articleshow/3970433.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0200 hrs IST, TNN
KANPUR: A group of half-a-dozen lawyers thrashed a litigant on the fourth floor of the new building of Kanpur Nagar Court on Monday. The lawyers were demanding money from the victim. They continued to thrash him for five minutes and left only after the intervention of other senior lawyers. According to eyewitnesses, the victim was a clerk of irrigation department and he had been allegedly fabricated in a case by a lawyer. The lawyers caught him around 4 pm when he was going out of court after participating in legal proceedings. The victim’s counsel tried to protect his client. The victim lost his wallet, spectacles, pen and mobile phone.

Serious Fraud Investigation Office probe into Satyam scam
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Serious_Fraud_Investigation_Office_probe_into_Satyam_scam/articleshow/3972278.cms
13 Jan 2009, 1347 hrs IST, TIMESOFINDIA.COM

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday ordered the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), an entity that probes cases of economic offences of
grave nature, to probe the Satyam case after receiving a preliminary report from the Registrar of Companies. ( Watch ) “The SFIO will look into the entire gambit of the scam and will submit its report within three months,” said minister of corporate affairs Prem Chand Gupta. “Action will also be taken on auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers if they are found guilty,” said Gupta. Last night, the Registrar of Companies, Hyderabad, submitted its report to the Centre on its preliminary probe into the Satyam scam. The RoC inspected the books of accounts of Satyam Computer and eight other companies belonging to the kin of the former chairman B Ramalinga Raju. The SFIO was already assisting the RoC in the probe, but has now being formally handed over the investigations. Earlier on Friday, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) had dispatched the SFIO team, consisting advisers and inspectors, to Hyderabad to assist RoC in the Satyam probe.

NHRC seeks report on man beaten up by public in UP

http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/476841/National/1/20/1
Published: January 13,2009

New Delhi, Jan 13 Terming it as a violation of human rights, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a report from the police in Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh on the alleged beating up of a man by the public for stealing a motorcycle.
Taking suo motu cognizance, the Commission has issued a notice to SP, Farrukhabad, for sending a factual report in the matter within two weeks.
“The Commission considers it a serious issue of violation of human rights of the victim Gulab,”the NHRC said.
The report inter-alia alleged that Gulab was picked up by the people while stealing a bike and severely beaten up, chained and paraded in the market. But the police did not take any action.
Source: PTI

There’s no excuse for use of torture
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sunday_TOI/Theres_no_excuse_for_use_of_torture/articleshow/3961937.cms
11 Jan 2009, 0125 hrs IST, Shreya Roy Chowdhury, TNN
The incident caused shock even in the badlands of west-central UP. On December 24, 2007, when state PWD engineer M K Gupta refused to pay the money demanded by a bunch of goons allegedly led by BSP legislator Shekhar Tiwari, he was beaten with a baton, subjected to electric shocks and eventually died as a result of his ordeal. In Mumbai, the bodies of Israeli hostages, killed by terrorists at Chabad House during the 26/11 attacks, bore visible signs of torture, according to post-mortem reports. As a tool to extract information, issue a warning or exact revenge, torture is increasing being used by state actors and non-state actors. Officially, there’s hardly any data on state’s use of torture. Perhaps that’s because “a tacit acceptance of torture as part of criminal investigations remains prominent” as Amnesty International notes in its India’s handbook on torture. Using National Human Rights Commission statistics, the Asian Centre for Human Rights recorded in its June 2008 report that “In the last five years (from 2003) 7,468 persons, at an average of 1,494 persons per year or four persons in a day, died in police custody and in prison in India”. But the figures it used do not include custodial torture not leading to death. These are not recorded. There are multiple conventions against torture but fewer takers for them. India, yet to ratify the UN Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, has refused to allow the UN special rapporteur on torture to conduct in-country missions. “Reports and documents received by us indicate that torture is endemic in India,” says Ravi Nair, executive director of the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre. The country witnessed an example of blatant cruelty on national television in August 2007, when Bihar police in Bhagalpur tied a young man accused of stealing a gold chain to their bike and dragged him behind the moving vehicle. Methods of torture are limited only by the imagination of the one who tortures. An NHRC guideline titled, “Instructions to be followed carefully for detention or torture,” circulated to states in 1993, indicated that the following kinds of torture could have been in use: beating of the soles of the feet; near-suffocation by tying a plastic bag over the head; sexual abuse; electric shocks and heated metal skewers inserted into the anus. Torture is endemic across the globe. The images, circulated worldwide, of US army officers abusing and torturing prisoners in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, are still fresh in memory. If conventions and guidelines have little influence on police and other state agencies, they can hardly be expected to mean anything to terrorists. In 2007, US troops found an al-Qaeda torture manual in Baghdad, containing instructions on the use of hot irons, electric drills, meat cleavers and other devices to extract information. In some countries there is public torture and executions. Clinical psychologist Rajat Mitra says these are meant as a warning to spectators and “they are almost equally affected.” One example is the public stoning to death of adulterers by the Taliban. Experts familiar with the process of interrogation say torture is not necessary. Former police commissioner Ved Marwah says, “We need a strong criminal justice system. Certainty of conviction within a short time is a far more powerful pressure.” But is anyone listening?

NHRC writes to DGP on action against Gorkhaland activists: GJM

http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/474971/National/1/20/1
Published: January 10,2009

Siliguri , Jan 10 The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) today claimed that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Director General of Police (DGP) to explain the police action on GJM activists.
GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told PTI over phone that Morcha&aposs president Bimal Gurung had received a copy of the NHRC letter asking the DGP for an explanation to the GJM complaint within four weeks.
Giri said the GJM on December 15 had filed a complaint to the NHRC alleging that CPI(M), RSP and Jana-Jagaran activists had attacked a GJM procession at Hamiltanganj in Dooars on January 10.
Many GJM members were injured and the police instead of taking action against the attackers had lathicharged the GJM supporters injuring 49 persons, the GJM complaint alleged.
The GJM had also alleged in the complaint letter that the Inspector General of Police ( North Bengal) K L Tamta had played a partisan role against GJM.
Giri said the GJM hoped it will get justice from the NHRC.
Source: PTI

Should a state control a person’s choice of sexuality? http://www.indlawnews.com/display.aspx?4473
Devina Awasthi
The present article “Should a state control a person’s choice of sexuality?” deals with section 377 of the IPC, which makes anything apart from heterosexuality a crime in India. The question is how much a state can interfere in men’s choices, his sexuality. Why can’t India like other western countries accept this trend, and give homosexuals that respect which they deserve?

By presumptively treating as criminals those who love people of the same sex, Section 377 violates fundamental human rights, particularly the rights to equality and privacy.[1]
Introduction
The coming out of sexuality is a significant development of post-liberalization India. Provoking outrage in some and getting approval from others, sexuality today is bitterly contested domain.[2]. It is the power of a government to define what is legal and illegal. If you look at section 377 of the IPC it makes a law that is unacceptable to almost 2.5 million [3] Indians. The relevant section reads:
Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
It makes anything other than heterosexuality a crime. These 2.5 million people referred above are homosexuals. The question is whether a state can question a persons sexuality and why define it illegal, because it is unnatural? What defines the order of nature? And why do we, the society shy away from it? There is increasing demand from activists to decriminalize homosexual relationships. On September 2006, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and acclaimed writer Vikram Seth came together with scores of other prominent Indians in public life to publicly demand this change in the legal regime.[4] The open letter demands that In the name of humanity and of our Constitution, this cruel and discriminatory law should be struck down.
Privacy of a persons sexuality justified
Sexual acts against the order of nature remain illegal in India, though the government no longer seeks to prosecute adults engaging in private consensual homosexual acts. In recent years, the campaign to decriminalize homosexuality has strengthened. Campaigners emphasize both human rights and health issues, particularly the need to disseminate information about HIV/AIDS.
The Indian Penal Code is a British production done by lord maccauly in 1860. the reason for codifing this law was that the British found such relationships a behaviour not acceptable to the church. But now after 150 years to the law and almost 60 year to independence, the law still stands there, and the reasons given are that our Indian culture forbids such an act. The country which made it a law has itself decriminilize it. In England, homosexual behaviour between consenting adults, in private, was decriminalized in 1967 pursuant to the Wolfenden Committee report. It is ironic that a piece of colonial legislation should come to the rescue Indian culture and values.
A persons private space should not be encroached, unless and until it harms the society. How do these homosexuals harm the society? In fact the state has time to frame laws which would induce vote bank, but not work on that section of the population which has been targeted by so many social obligations. Homosexuality is not something which has erupted suddenly in our Indian shore or a product of western thoughts. It has been in the country since centuries. The Manusmriti, which lists the oldest codes of conduct that were proposed to be followed by a Hindu, does include mention of homosexual practices, but only as something to be regulated. The fact that Ancient Hindu scriptures, such as Rig Veda mentions sexual acts between women or the carvings and depictions in the famous temples of Khajuraho, Konark, Puri are proof that homosexuality is not a western trend picked up by few Indians.
Such a forced control over a mans sexuality is totally uncalled for. Its a mans personnel choice and one should not interfere in it. Interference should only be entertained when force is present. But this seems not too accepted as well. India must march in step with other democracies in removing legal restrictions on sexual orientation.
Is Homosexuality a crime?
Section 377 poses before us certain questions like what is natural and what one means by the order of nature? Section 377 does not define either of the above terms. It has left it to the discretion of the courts to define what they understand by it. Further, this section does not differentiate between sex with consent and with force. In the case of Fazal Rab Choudhary vs State of Bihar [5], two men were engaged in a consensual relationship. The Supreme Court observed that:
The offence is one under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which implies sexual perversity. No force appears to have been used neither omissions of permissive society nor the fact that in some countries homosexuality ceases to be an offence has influenced our thinking.
The Supreme Court sentenced the men to six months rigorous imprisonment. The sheer fact that the court did not take into account was that what the adults in question did was with a mutual consent. It infringes a persons right to life and liberty as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
In 2008 Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra said: Homosexuality is a social vice and the state has the power to contain it. [Decrimilazing homosexuality] may create breach of peace. If it is allowed then [the] evil of AIDS and HIV would further spread and harm the people. It would lead to a big health hazard and degrade moral values of society.[6]
Over here Mr. P P Malhotra stated that homosexuality is a social vice. Why? Because it is unnatural? By natural one means a power to procreate, as explained in one judgement the natural object of sexual intercourse is that there should be the possibility of conception of human beings [7] . But is procreation always necessary? He further states that it would result in breach of peace. Infact the only reason why so many homosexuals remain quite about their sexuality is that they fear of being shunned away by the society and also being traumatized. So many homosexuals are harassed.
And as far as the fear of AIDS is prevalent, Sujatha Rao, the Director General of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), a Central Government agency, at a recently held international conference is reported to have said that the section in question puts out a huge constraint on the governments exercise against the spread of HIV/AIDS. She further stated that when a particular behaviour is criminalized, the said behaviour goes underground. The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorder in 1973 and the American Psychological Association followed suit in 1975. The World Health Organization also removed it from its list of mental illnesses in 1981.
The state seems to terrorize the sexual minority population, and propagate that anything outside heterosexuality is fundamentally unethical and the country will never be tolerant towards it.
Where do human rights stand?
Before being a man or a woman we all are humans. Section 377 is against the basic principles of human rights. The Human Right of the homosexuals are routinely violated by police, families and other state/non-state bodies and access to redressal mechanisms are hindered by their criminal status. As our laws recognize only heterosexual marriages, the right to marriage and family is denied to same-sex couples and transsexuals. The universal law of Human Rights states that social norms, tradition, custom or culture cannot be used to curb a person from asserting his fundamental and constitutional rights.
Section 377 violates human rights standard including the provisions of the Indian Constitution on equality and non-discrimination. It is necessary to raise awareness that the anti sodomy law came intoexistence during British rule in India .The Human Rights of homosexuals, as recognized in other jurisdictions, will help the Indian citizen to arrive at an informed judgment and de-stigmatize a significant segment of our population.
The American Psychological Association has opined that despite historical views of homosexuality, it is no longer viewed by mental health professionals as a `disease or `disorder. But obviously, it is simply a matter of deliberate personal selection. Homosexual orientation may well form part of the very fiber of an individuals personality. And the European Court of Human Rights, while deciding a case from Ireland, noticed that exclusive homosexuality can be congenital or acquired.[8] Every one is different from each other.
Indias National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chief S. Rajendra Babu has made the following observation with regard to the apropos subject. If two adults want to be together, then why should anyone have a problem? The commission, in this regard, has a broad outlook. The commission inquires into violations of human rights. The right to liberty of expression is one of them, The Vatican published an article in 1975 called Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics. It said, for some individuals homosexuality is an innate instinct. Homosexuality is their natural preference and that is how God has created them.
Modified, scrapped? A government perspective
The controversy over legalizing homosexuality became the subject of a petition in court for the first time in 2001. An NGO Naz Foundation went to the Delhi High Court demanding the striking down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Under this law, homosexuality can invite punishment, even life imprisonment. Although the Delhi high court dismissed the appeal, the organization won an appeal in the Supreme Court. On account of which a trial is going on in the Delhi high court to read down the section in question.
The Government felt that Section 377 could not be read down as law does not run separately from society; it only reflects perception of the society. Public tolerance of different activities changes and legal categories get influenced by those changes. The public notably in the United Kingdom and the Unites States of America have shown tolerance of new sexual behaviours and preferences but it is not the universally accepted behaviour. Secondly the purpose of Section 377 is to provide a healthy environment in the society by criminalizing unnatural sexual activities against the order of nature. According to the Home Ministrys affidavit, interference by public authority in the interest of public safety and protection of health and morals is permissible. It also says that theres no such tolerance to practice of homosexuality/lesbianism in the Indian society.
We do not have a direct law which protects children from sexual abuses, mostly boys. Section 377 is used in such cases as well. The article should be made clearer and should remove prejudices against the homosexuals. At the moment, the government is divided on the issue. The Home Ministry has told the court that by treating homosexuality as a criminal offence, the government is protecting public health and morals. But the National Aids Control Organization (NACO), which comes under the Ministry of Health, says that the law has to go.
Conclusion
Homosexuality is viewed as a heinous crime in this country, to accept the same and give two gay people the status of being married is perceived to be profane. None of the major Indian political parties have endorsed gay rights concerns into their official party manifesto or platform. However, one of the Politburo members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Brinda Karat, did write an open letter in 2003 to the then Minister of Law and Justice, Arun Jaitley, demanding repeal of section 377, IPC.[9] It is always said by the forerunners of the state that legalising homosexuality would be against the basic culture and tradition of India. In the words of shiv sena supremo Bal Thakrey homosexuality is a social AIDS. The state should not only decriminalize homosexuality but also give legality to such relationships which enter into marriage. Our Countrys acceptance of certain norms of the west and eschew the others is quite two-faced. While the whole world has started recognizing and respecting homosexuals and granting them all legal rights our Country treats consensual adult love between people of the same sex unacceptable, and refuses to grant same sex relationships the sanctity that is due to them.
Already the Law Commission of India in its 172nd report (on reviewing rape laws) and recently the Planning Commission of India have recommended the repeal of IPC 377. Does our culture and tradition teach us to become inhuman to that section of people who bear a will to be in a relationship with people of the same sex. In addition to all of this our laws do not recognize even sex-change.
The government saying that Indians are not tolerant regarding homosexuality is not a just excuse. If it is legalised, public awareness would follow. The India Today-AC Neilsen Org Marg survey 2008 consisting of 5,353 men and women, might put the government in a jeopardy regarding the arguments over section 377. 16% of the men and 6% of the women surveyed were homosexuals. Plus one out of five men and one out of ten women approve of homosexuality [10].
Slowly but surely homosexuality would be accepted. A states major job is to work for the people, so dont these homosexuals deserve a chance? Laws and its governance is made for the society and section 377 is against the basic fundamental Right to life. As a whole, States right to interfere in a persons choice of sexuality is encroachment of a persons privacy, when there is not been a case to highlight if the very existence of homosexuality is lethal to the Indian society people What people, whether men or woman; people inside the parliament or outside; should think about, is the words of justice nazki:
There are lots of changes taking place in the social milieu and many people have different sexual preferences, which are even not considered to be unnatural.
(Author is a 3rd year student of Unison School of Law, Dehradun)
[1] vikram seth
[2] India today- straight from the heart December 1st 2008
[3] National Aids Control Organization (NACO) estimation
[4] The Guardian, Indias Literary Elite Call for Anti-Gay Law to be Scrapped
[5] 1983 cr. L.J 632 (S.C.)
[6] Delhi Court Pulls up Centre for Doublepseak. Gay sex immoral, govt tells HC. Times of India, September 27, 2008
[7] Khanu vs emperor AIR 1925 Sind 286
[8] http://binaryday.com/2008/07/25/do-we-need-to-change-section-377-of-ipc-dealing-with-homosexuality-law/
[9] A battle for sexual rights Frontline, Volume 22 – Issue 10, May 07 – 20, 2005
[10] India today- Straight from the heart-December 1st 2008

Surrogacy agreements: its validity & the dilemma of surrogate mothers http://www.indlawnews.com/display.aspx?4472
Shivani Verma, Adyarachna Dash & Patanjali Rishi
Surrogacy Agreements and their validity is a topic involving great debate. This article, aims to bring to the fore the situation and condition of the surrogate mothers when they enter into the surrogacy agreement, its after – affects on her and the impact of these surrogacy agreements on the Surrogate mother as well as on the society at large. The authors, through this article also try to put forth some suggestions to tackle this newly emerged area. This area is not governed by any legislation in India and there is a need to regulate this emerging trend keeping in view the present societal needs and demands.

MEANING AND TYPES:
To begin with, Surrogacy defined in the dictionary means a substitute. A surrogate mother is someone who gestates and then gives birth to a child for another person, with the full intention of handing the child over to that person after the birth.
A surrogate parenting agreement is an agreement in which a surrogate agrees for a fee to be impregnated through artificial insemination, to carry the child to term, and, after birth, to deliver the newborn baby to the biological father and to surrender all the parental rights she would otherwise have.[1]
Surrogacy can be categorized under the following types:
Traditional Surrogacy: This method uses the egg of the Surrogate Mother and the sperm of the Intended Father. This can be performed in an IVF clinic, but more often the technique of Artificial Insemination happens at home. In this situation the baby is biologically related to the Intended Father and the Surrogate Mother. Although it is the simpler of the two types of surrogacy in as much as conceiving is less complicated, mentally it can be the hardest to accept. Not only for the Surrogate Mother to give up her own biological child, but also for the wife to accept a child which her husband has fathered with another woman.
Gestational Surrogacy: This method uses the egg of the Intended Mother combined with the sperm of her husband or donor sperm. In this case an IVF clinic is always required. The Intended Fathers sperm has to be frozen for some time. A baby conceived by this method has no biological connection to the Surrogate.
Altruistic surrogacy: It is a situation where the surrogate receives no financial reward for her pregnancy or the relinquishment of the child (although usually all expenses related to the pregnancy and birth are paid by the intended parents such as medical expenses, maternity clothing, and other related expenses).
Commercial surrogacy: This is a form of surrogacy in which a gestational carrier is paid to carry a child to maturity in her womb and is usually resorted to by well off infertile couples who can afford the cost involved or people who save and borrow in order to complete their dream of being parents. This procedure is legal in several countries including in India where due to excellent medical infrastructure, high international demand and ready availability of poor surrogates it is reaching industry proportions. Commercial surrogacy is sometimes referred to by the emotionally charged and potentially offensive terms wombs for rent, outsourced pregnancies or baby farms.
Thus, the main intention of any surrogacy agreements is to provide the intended parents with a child. The emotion of the surrogate is not given consideration, neither before entering into the agreement nor after the agreement. The surrogate has to hand over the child to its intended parents after the birth of the child without caring for her own emotions for the child. It would not be wrong to say that, it is illogical to believe that the child will find more affection from the mother who has felt no physical pain in bearing the child for the mere reason that the child is genetically hers.
SURROGACY AGREEMENTS: QUESTION OF VALIDITY
For any agreement to be enforceable the conditions mentioned under Section 10[2] of the Contract Act, 1872 must be satisfied. It provides that for an agreement to be contract, it has to be made by free consent of the parties competent to contract[3], for a lawful consideration[4] and with a lawful object[5]. The contracts should not have been declared to be void under the Act.[6]
Section 23 provides that unlawful consideration is that which is forbidden by law or is of such nature that it would defeat the provisions of any law or is fraudulent or involves or implies injury to the person or property of another or it is regarded by the court as immoral or opposed to public policy.[7]
The agreement of surrogacy cannot be an enforceable contract since it suffers from various infirmities as opposed to the conditions required to be satisfied. The surrogacy contract is entered into by the parties where the surrogate is unduly influenced because of her economic incapacities. As has been argued,[8]
Surrogate mother contracts may also violate public policy against exploiting financially needy women. Professor Martha Field recognizes that surrogate mothers are either unfairly tempted by the generous payment offered or else they are oppressed by being paid little or nothing for womans work The offer of financial payment may induce poor women to use their reproductive abilities to become professional baby makers[9]
Therefore, such contracts which involve unduly influence should not be recognised. Such agreements do infringe upon the free consent of the parties and hence are violative of this section.
[e]ven when they are not in direct violation of baby selling laws, courts may find surrogate mother contracts invalid because they are contrary to a states public policy prohibiting the sale of human beings. The basis for this argument is that public policy and private morality view the treatment of human infants as chattels as an abhorrent and morally distasteful notion.
The law relating to undue influence was aptly laid down in the case of Central Inland Water Transfer Corporation Ltd vs Brojo Nath Ganguly[10] where the facts were such that two companies had merged and the terms contained such that the employment of the employees of the merging company was unusually drafted. The Court held that:
the courts will not enforce and will, when called upon to do so, strike down an unfair and unreasonable contract, or an unfair and unreasonable clause in a contract, entered into between parties who are not equal in bargaining power.[11]
This principle applies as laid down by the Court:
the above principle will apply where the inequality of bargaining power is the result of the great disparity in the economic strength of the contracting parties, where the inequality is the result of circumstances, whether of the creation of the parties or not. It will apply to situations in which the weaker party is in a position in which he can obtain goods or services or means of livelihood only upon the terms imposed by the stronger party or go without them. It will also apply where the man has no choice, or rather no meaningful choice, but to give his assent to a contract or to sign on the dotted line in a prescribed or standard form or to accept a set of rules as part of the contract, however unfair, unreasonable and unconscionable a clause in that contract or form or rules may be. This principle, however, will not apply where both parties are businessmen and the contract is a commercial transaction.[12]
In matters involving Surrogacy agreements, the surrogate is generally in lower bargaining position as compared to the intended parents and because of her economic backwardness; she is forced to sign such an agreement.
Also, the consideration of the agreement is opposed to public policy as required under section 23. Public policy comprehends the protection and promotion of public welfare. It is a principle of law, under which freedom for contract of private dealings is restricted by the law for the good of the community.[13] Reference to public policy requires taking into account the interest of persons other than the parties.[14]
With the growing tendencies of affluent foreigners coming in the nation and thereafter luring the poor women with money so as to rent their womb and get a child, it needs to be curbed and till the state comes up with any specific guidelines in this regard, such practices should be curtailed by the Court in the interest of protection of public policy.
It is of relevance to refer to the observations in the case of In re Baby M [15]. The Court invalidating the contract observed:
We invalidate the surrogacy contract because it conflicts with the law and public policy of this State. While we recognize the depth of the yearning of infertile couples to have their own children, we find the payment of money to a surrogate mother illegal, perhaps criminal, and potentially degrading to women. Although in this case we grant custody to the natural father, the evidence having clearly proved such custody to be in the best interests of the infant, we void both the termination of the surrogate mothers parental rights and the adoption of the child by the wife/stepparent. We thus restore the surrogate as the mother of the child. We remand the issue of the natural mothers visitation rights to the trial court, since that issue was not reached below and the record before us is not sufficient to permit us to decide it de novo.
Baby-selling potentially results in the exploitation of all parties involved. Conversely, adoption statutes seek to further humanitarian goals, foremost among them the best interests of the child. The contracts basic premise, that the natural parents can decide in advance of birth which one is to have custody of the child, bears no relationship to the settled law that the childs best interests shall determine custody.[16]
Therefore these contracts should be declared to be void on the grounds of not been entered into by the parties with free consent, the consideration being forbidden by law of the land in force and the same being against the prevalent public policy of the State.
In re Baby, it was found that the payment of money to a surrogate mother is illegal, perhaps criminal, and potentially degrading to women. The case also suggested that the surrogate mother is being exploited because she never makes a totally voluntary, informed decision, for quite clearly any decision prior to the babys birth is, in the most important sense, uninformed, and any decision after that, compelled by a pre-existing contractual commitment, the threat of a lawsuit, and the inducement of a $10,000 payment, is less than totally voluntary. Her interests are of little concern to those who controlled this transactionthus, it is unlikely that surrogate mothers will be as proportionately numerous among those women in the top 20 percent income bracket as among those in the bottom 20 percent.
Also, it is a well established law in India that adoption before birth of a child is illegal. This observation clearly indicates that the biological parents should have sufficient time to understand the implications of the adoption. In light of this observation, it can clearly be stated that the surrogacy contract could not be held to be valid in this country since it determines the adoption of the child before its birth. In India there is no specific legislative mandate that requires to be followed by the state agencies in regard to fate of the child born out of surrogacy treatment. We have only some guidelines related to Surrogacy and IVF treatment issued by Indian Council of Medical Research. Thus keeping in view the above-mentioned points, surrogacy agreements should be invalidated and termed as void.
AFFECT OF SURROGACY CONTRACTS ON SURROGATE MOTHERS
The most adversely affected in this whole dealing is the Surrogate mother who signs a contract either for want of money or unawares of the consequences of this act. Asking a mother to give up her child is against public policy. A surrogate mothers promise to give up the child alienates a substantial proportion of her procreative rights, some of which the law already permits her to alienate.[17]
A surrogate mothers procreative rights, rest on more than genes. Even if she contributed no ovum,[18] she would have a strong claim as a biological mother. During the nine months of her pregnancy, physical and emotional bonds form between mother and child. These bonds, which perhaps influence her decision to keep the child, may contribute to her self image as a mother. Many people view their emotional bonds with their children as parts of their existence. Furthermore, the decision to give up a child with whom one has an emotional bond seems precisely the sort of decision that, if ones values later change, would seem an irrational self-betrayal [19]. This would prove to be derogatory to the surrogate mothers life if the child is snatched away from her just when she had developed close emotional ties with the child she has carried for nine months.
The competing claims of the intended parents and the surrogate do not justify alienation. The law never enforces a pregnant womans promise to consent to adoption after the child is born.[20] Similarly, the law should not seek surrender of a child from a surrogate who had promised to consent to adoption after the child is born under emotional or economic duress. The surrogate mothers situation lies somewhere between two cases. Like parents who consent to adoption after birth, she promised to give up the child unless less stressful conditions than those of a pregnant woman who needs money. But like the pregnant woman, she promises to give up the child before she knows how she might change during the pregnancy. The inalienability of parental rights in the second case, however, cannot rest on the mere possibility of regret; any parent who consents to adoption might change her mind. The threat to personal identity from giving up ones child and then regretting the decision seems equally severe irrespective of when the promise is made.
Further, such a contract is specifically forbidden under the law of land as declared by the Apex Court in the Laxmi Kants Case [21] wherein it was specifically prohibited to agree to give the child in adoption before the child was born. However, in these cases, the parties agree to give the child in adoption to the Intended parents, who generally are foreigners even before the mother was pregnant. Hence, the contract can also be declared to be invalid on the ground of being forbidden by law.
The recent decision by the Supreme Judicial Court in the moot case of R.R. v. M.H.[22] must be cited in this parlance. In this case, the court created some guidelines under which those arrangements might be given effect. The criteria the court felt were important included (1) that the surrogate be an adult who had had at least one successful pregnancy, (2) that her husband give his informed consent to the surrogacy agreement in advance, (3) that the mother, her husband and the intended parents be evaluated in advance for the soundness of their judgment and for their capacity to carry out the agreement, and (4) that the intended parents be suitable persons to assume custody of the child and all parties have the advice of counsel.
Proponents of the practice must respond to the communitarian concern that surrogacy commercializes childbearing and family relationships generally.[23] As Professor Field recognizes, the rhetoric of free choice can be misleading when the range of choice is limited and social conditions are coercive.[24] India has today become a hub of surrogate mothers whose services are hired by foreign couples to have child. The state of Gujarat tops this list as maximum surrogates are from this state. The reason for India being chosen by foreign couples is its backwardness and economic incapacity of the surrogates.
Field argues that surrogacy contracts, if legal, not be enforceable over the surrogate mothers objection. Legalizing surrogacy contracts while protecting the surrogate mothers right to rescind the agreement would both respect a surrogate mothers right to choose and offer some protection against exploitation.[25]
India, in lack of any specific legislation on this point does not safeguard the interest of the Surrogate Mother. There is no remedy given in the ICMR guidelines in case of the contract not being adhered to. Thus, in case the surrogate refuses to hand over the baby, she should not be forced to do so in the present scenario (in absence of any legislation to that effect).
The relinquishment of parental rights before the birth of a child is not binding in adoption law; clearly, relinquishing such rights prior to conception should not be binding either. Thus the contract signed by the surrogate before conception of the child or without even giving her the chance to reflect upon the issue of handing over her child should not be made binding on her.
Noting that the constitutional right to choose an abortion cannot be contractually waived, Field makes a compelling analogous case against specific enforcement of surrogacy contracts over the wishes of the mother. Moreover, even if surrogacy is, as some proponents contend, merely a contract for services, personal service contracts are generally not specifically enforceable.[26]
Higher fees also exploit women by making surrogacy arrangements harder to resist for women who have no other means of livelihood. Without a concrete proposal such as Fields, it would be hard to limit the range of legal claims that an open ended notion of exploitation might support, given that economic necessity coerces people into accepting a wide range of dangerous or unpleasant jobs.[27]
To date, only a few state courts and state attorneys general have considered the legal implications of surrogate mothering. Perhaps because there are no state statutes addressing this issue directly, the courts that have dealt with surrogate mothering contracts have applied existing paternity acts [28] or adoption statutes, which typically prohibit prospective parents from paying for adoptions.[29] Most of these courts have held the contracts void.[30]
CONCLUSION
In light of the above points, it would not be wrong to say that Surrogacy Agreements, in the name of Technological advancements is defeating real human emotions. While trying to bring happiness in one family, these agreements may cause irreparable harm to someone elses life. Surrogacy for pay is thus a contract of personal service and must be prohibited. These agreements conflict with public policy and thus are unenforceable. Instead of begetting children through hiring of a surrogate or other similar means, childless parents should adopt homeless kids and orphans who need proper parenting and who are in want of better needs. Medical Science has given a ray of hope to childless parents but this means of surrogacy should be only adopted in case of lending of ones womb for Altruistic surrogacy (as discussed in the beginning of the article) where there is no involvement of money. In addition, some mechanism must be established for investigating the adopting couples fitness as parents before handing over the child to them so as to ensure the childs future. Thus a surrogacy agreement should never determine the fate of a child. Finally, surrogate parenting agreements should give the surrogate mother a period of time after the child is born to decide whether she wants to surrender the child. Otherwise, the surrogate parenting agreement would be voidable at her option. If she decides not to surrender the child, a custody decision must be made based on the best interest of the child without regard to the surrogate agreement.
Surrogacy arrangements are also in conflict with principles of international jurisprudence, in particular the UN Conventions on the Right of the Child. All surrogacy arrangements present enormous complications for the legal status of children especially in the face of the reform movement which has taken effect in the States. A child born out of Surrogacy agreement may face identity crisis in future leading to unending frustration in life. Their legal status becomes a big question.
Thus, despite the fact that surrogate parenting agreements can be made to conform to adoption statutes, society would be better served if infertile couples would provide a home for some of the thousands of children currently awaiting adoption.
(Author Shivani Verma is a 3rd year student of Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar.)
(Author Adyarachna Dash is a 2nd year student of Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar.)
(Author Patanjali Rishi is a 4th year student of Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar.)
[1] Brophy, A Surrogate Mother Contract to Bear a Child, 20 J. FAM. L. 263 (1982). Typically, the parties to a surrogate parenting agreement are the surrogate, the biological father, and (where appropriate) the surrogates husband. In an effort to circumvent baby-selling statutes, the wife of the biological father is generally not a party to the contract. Surrogate Parenting Associates, Inc. vs Commonwealth ex rel. Armstrong, 704 S.W.2d 209, 210 (Ky. 1986). The biological father and his wife will generally be referred to herein as the adopting couple. Under this form of surrogate parenting agreement, the surrogate is both a genetic and gestational surrogate. She is a genetic surrogate because it is her egg that is fertilized and she therefore has a genetic link to the child. She is a gestational surrogate because she carries the child to term. In addition to surrogate parenting, there are several other relatively recent advances in reproductive technology. For example, with artificial insemination by donor (AID) a woman may become impregnated without intercourse. In fact, it is through artificial insemination that a surrogate is impregnated. In the more typical non-surrogate AID situation, though, a woman who has been impregnated would keep the child upon birth. Another of the modern reproductive technologies is in vitro fertilization (IVF). This form of reproduction involves fertilizing a womans egg in a laboratory and subsequently re-implanting the egg in her body. Surrogate arrangements differ from AID and IVF in that they require the rental of the womans body over a prolonged period of time.
[2] Section 10: What agreement are contracts: – All agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and are not hereby expressly declared to be void.
Nothing herein contained shall affect any law in force in India, and not hereby expressly repealed, by which any contract is required to be made in writing or in the presence of witnesses, or any law relating to the registration of documents.
[3] Section 11 of the Act provides that a major person who is of sound mind and not disqualified by any law to enter into contract is competent to contract. Section 12 further specifies that a sound mind for the purposes of entering into a contract is the soundness of mind at the time of entering into such contract.
[4] As defined in section 23
[5] Id.
[6] Sections 24-30 provide for void agreements.
[7] Section 23:- What consideration and objects are lawful, and what are not The consideration or object of an agreement is lawful, unless
It is forbidden by law; or is of such a nature that, if permitted, it would defeat the provisions of any law, or is fraudulent; or involves or implies injury to the person or property of another; or the court regards it as immoral, or opposed to public policy.
In each of these cases, the consideration or objects of an agreement is said to be unlawful. Every agreement of which the object or consideration is unlawful is void.
[8] Field, Martha A., Selling Ones Birthrights, Harvard Law Review [Vol. 102: 1074]
[9] Id.
[10] 1986 INDLAW SC 645
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Bhadbhade; Nilima; Pollock & Mulla, Indian Contract and Specific Relief Acts at 693 (13th ed. 2006)
[14] Id.
[15] 537 A.2d 1227, 109 N.J. 396 (N.J. 02/03/1988). In this matter the Court is asked to determine the validity of a contract that purports to provide a new way of bringing children into a family. For a fee of $10,000, a woman agrees to be artificially inseminated with the semen of another womans husband; she is to conceive a child, carry it to term, and after its birth surrender it to the natural father and his wife. The intent of the contract is that the childs natural mother will thereafter be forever separated from her child. The wife is to adopt the child, and she and the natural father are to be regarded as its parents for all purposes. The contract providing for this is called a surrogacy contract, the natural mother inappropriately called the surrogate mother.
[16] In re Baby M, 537 A.2d 1227, 109 N.J. 396 (N.J. 02/03/1988)
[17] The guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research do recognise the rights of a surrogate to choose to procreate a child for any other person. However, such right is not absolute and need to be protected by the Court of Law.
[18] A surrogate carrier, unlike a surrogate mother, contributes no genetic material of her own. She is implanted with another womans ovum that has already been fertilized in vitro. See Annias & Elias, In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo transfer: Medico legal Aspects of a new Technique to create a Family, 17 FAM. L.Q. 199, 216-17 (1983).
[19] Surrogacy contracts, Harvard law review, Vol. 99:1936
[20] Courts usually explain that her promise should not be enforced because she was probably vulnerable to coercion or under financial or emotional stress. See, e.g., Sullivan vs Mooney, 407 So. 2d 559 (Ala. 1981).
[21] Supra.
[22] The legality of a surrogacy agreement was under consideration. The court declared it to be unenforceable. The court had two principal reasons for finding the agreement unenforceable. First, the agreement used money to coerce a less socio-economically advantaged surrogate to give up a child, much like baby selling. The second concern of the court is that the parties not make a binding best-interests-of-the-child-determination by private agreement. The court noted that even agreements entered into by married couples as to the custody of the children in the event of a divorce was still subject to a judicial determination of custody based on the best interest of the child.
[23] See, e.g., Radin, Market inalienability, 100 HARV.L.REV.1849, 1928- 36 (1987) (describing surrogacy as oppressive commodification either of babies or of womens reproductive services and arguing for its removal from the market).
[24] At one point Field argues that [I]f society has created circumstances that coerce poor women to give away or sell their children, then rather than honor their choice as one of free will, it would be better to preserve for the poor the dignity- the basic right- of raising their own children
[25] Surrogacy contracts, Harvard law review, Vol. 99:1936
[26]CORBIN, contracts & restatement (second) of contracts. Refusal to abrogate the surrogate mothers parental rights does not necessarily imply that the natural father loses any of his rights as a parent.
[27] Id
[28] Syrkowski vs Appleyard, No. 71057 (Mich. Jan. 17, 1985).
[29] See, e.g., MICH, COMP. LAWS 710. 54 (I) (1979) ([Except with court approval,] a person shall not offer, give, or receive any money or other consideration or thing of value in connection with [an adoption or related practices].)
[30] Reproductive Technology and the procreative rights of the Unmarried, Harvard Law Review, Vol. 98:65 at p. 673

No bail in sight, Raju seeks solace in Buddha
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/No_bail_in_sight_Raju_seeks_solace_in_Buddha/articleshow/3970300.cms
13 Jan 2009, 0051 hrs IST, TNN
HYDERABAD: A depressed Ramalinga Raju has turned spiritual in jail. On the third day of his jail life on Monday, when he managed to get a change of clothes, Raju started reading books on Gautam Buddha. The books were brought to him by his son Teja Raju, who accompanied lawyer Bharat Kumar to the jail. The son spent half an hour with his father and also gave him some fruits. “He (Ramalinga) is not mingling with anyone. He is spending time by himself. Since he seems to prefer solitude, the other inmates are also not taking the initiative to strike a conversation with him,” a jail official said. “He is really very downcast,” said another jail official. For company on Monday, Ramalinga Raju had his brother Rama Raju, CFO V Srinivas and two bootleggers. Though as per procedure during a “mulaqat”, a visitor can to talk to the inmates from behind grills, Teja Raju, who heads Satyam group company Maytas, was permitted entry into the jail though not into the barracks where Ramalinga is lodged. This was the first visit of a family member to Ramalinga Raju. However, his advocate spent more time with the erstwhile CEO. “We discussed the case,” Bharat Kumar said after a three-hour meeting with Raju. The advocate had earlier filed a bail plea for Raju in the Nampally criminal court. Since Raju was expecting bail, he had to be counselled about the circumstances in which the application could not be immediately taken up. Vadlamani Srinivas’ wife also visited the jailed ex-Satyam CFO. Ramalinga Raju had other visitors too but they could not meet him as the authorities kept them waiting. A visitor handed over some books and some greeting cards to the sentry at the jail, requesting that they be handed over to Ramalinga Raju.

NCW submits proposal to govt to redefine rape through bill http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2009-01-13/498231news.html
Varanasi, Jan 12: The National Commission For Women (NCW) has asked the UPA government at the centre to frame a legislation to treat incidents of eve-teasing and molestation on par with rape cases.
A proposal in this regard has been submitted to the Union government, NCW chairperson Girija Vyas said here today. “A proposal has been made to redefine rape and to treat cases of eve-teasing and molestation with equal sensitivity,” Vyas told reporters here. Flaying the state machinery for being apathetic towards complaints from women, Vyas said that she was shocked to find that despite having a woman chief minister, Uttar Pradesh was ahead of other states in instances of crime against women. “We received 7,000 complaints from the women of UP only in 2007-08, out of them 430 were cases of rape, which should have been dealt with strictly as per the provisions of the IPC,” Vyas said. “Recurrence of rape cases like the sensational gang-rape with an MBA student in Noida is the result of the same apathy,” she claimed. Vyas asked Mayawati to apply the rules as proposed in the bill submitted by the commission in the state. “Regular training of police, recording of statement under section 164 and medical examination of victim within 24 hours, immediate registration of case, forwarding acute cases like rape with child girl or old age women to fast track courts and rehabilitation home for victims have also been proposed in this bill,” Vyas said. Alleging that the UP police usually avoided lodging of FIRs in matter of rape cases, Vyas said the delay in sending the victim for medical examination and recording a statement helped in weakening the case. She pointed out that instead of appointing officers to deal with cases lodged under the act, the UP government authorised the district probation officers to handle such cases. Vyas also alleged that facilities like short stay homes for domestic violence victims, identification of hospitals for their mental and physical treatment and appointment of counsellors were also not provided in UP. Vyas also expressed concern over the implementation of Domestic Violence Act in the state, saying, “It’s also unfortunate that some states- like UP- have been unable to know the exact purpose of the Domestic Violence Act.” Bureau Report

Wake Up’ call to check crime against women
http://www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/50127.htm
Jan 12th, 2009 By Sindh Today
New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) Shocked over the rape of a management student in Noida, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has decided to a launch a campaign called ‘Wake Up’ to sensitise people about crimes against women in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The campaign will spread awareness about increasing incidents of rape, harassment and other crimes against women.
‘It was shocking to hear about the Noida rape case. I think we need to sensitise people about violence against women,’ NCW member Neeva Knowar told IANS.
Gursharan Kaur, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife, is likely to launch the campaign from the lawns of India Gate Jan 16.
‘We have tied up with several schools, NGOs and other organisations to spread awareness about violence against women,’ Konwar said.
A team of the NCW visited Noida last week to enquire into the incident.
The victim, a management student from south Delhi, had gone with her friend Amit Pawar to the Great Indian Place Mall in Sector 18 market Jan 5.
According to the police, the girl and her friend in their WagonR car were returning to their homes in Delhi when around 10 men intercepted them. They raped the girl after thrashing Pawar.

Advocate Kamal Kumar Pandey

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