Bus routes: HC quashes notification
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 25 — The Delhi Government's notification on the nationalisation of bus routes in the Capital was quashed by the high court today.

The state government through this notification had asked the Blueline bus operators to ply their vehicles under the kilometre scheme of the Delhi Transport Corporation.

Over 3500 Blueline operators went off the road in mid-June, protesting against the scheme.

A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice R.C. Lahoti and Mr Justice C.K. Mahajan, quashing the notification, termed it as "illegal."

Blueline bus operators' body like the STA Nyay Panchayat, the Ex-servicemen and Graduate scheme, moved the court terming the notification as "arbitrary".

Following the quashing of the notification by the Delhi High Court, the president of the STA Nyay Panchayat, Mr Ramesh Dalal, demanded the resignation of the Delhi Transport Minister, Mr Rajendra Gupta.

When contacted by The Tribune, Mr Rajendra Gupta refrained from commenting on the court verdict. "I have not yet seen the court order. It would take a few days to study the order before deciding the future course of action."

In the 74-page order, the Bench, however, allowed the state government to formulate fresh schemes and implement them.

The tussle between the bus operators and the Delhi Government had caused considerable hardship to the commuters.

UNI adds: The High Court said the scheme of the Delhi Transport Corporation suffers from non-application of mind.

The Bench completely rejected the government stand that the notifications were issued keeping in mind the ‘public interest’.

"The scheme suffers from the sin of non-application of mind to the issue of singular significance — whether it would successfully achieve the purpose of providing an efficient, adequate economical and properly co-ordinated road transport service,’’ the Bench observed.

"Without a serious application of mind to the issues of vital significance, we do not think that the four-pronged purpose of ‘necessary in public interest’ based on foundation stones of efficiency, adequacy, economy and proper co-ordination can be achieved by the scheme,’’ the judges said.

Instead, "permitting the scheme to hold the ground would amount to joyful gaming with the public interest,’’ the order said pointing out how about six years ago switching to privatisation was considered in public interest.

However, the court made it clear that the quashing of the scheme does not take away the jurisdiction of the government to frame a fresh scheme and approve and implement it, but only on satisfying the requirements of Sections 99 and 100 of the Act, consistently with the observations made in the court order.

Ministers' kin face probe in fraud case
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 25 – The Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered a C.B.I. probe into a Rs 2.60-crore fraud allegedly committed by Mr Sanjiv Kumar, in tandem with his father, Mr Kewal Krishan, close relatives of two Haryana Ministers, Mr Charan Dass Shorewala and Seth Siri Kishan Dass, Finance and Town and Country Planning Ministers, respectively.

This order was handed down by a Division Bench consisting of Mr Justice Jawahar Lal Gupta and Mr Justice N.C. Khichi on a public interest litigation filed by Mr Balbir Singh Nehra.

In his petition Mr Nehra stated that Mr Sanjiv Kumar, his father, Mr Kewal Krishan and Mr Narinder Chander had floated two firms, Anmol Agro India Ltd and Mahaluxmi Rice and General Mills Ltd.

Anmol Agro had credit limit of Rs 50 lakh with the State Bank of India at Kaithal. Mahaluxmi Rice and General Mills had its account with the Central Bank of India also at Kaithal.

Mr Sanjiv Kumar presented three cheques of Rs 2.60 crore to the State Bank on March 2, 1998. These cheques were drawn on the Central Bank of India from the account of Mahaluxmi Rice and General Mills. The amount was to be drawn in favour of Anmol Agro.

Mr Sanjiv Kumar withdrew the payment of Rs 2.60 crore from the State Bank on March 2, 1998, itself, without getting the cheques cleared from the Central Bank. When the State Bank presented these cheques to the Central Bank, these bounced owing to want of funds. The total amount in the account of Mahaluxmi Rice and General Mills was only Rs 4102.

The State Bank lodged an FIR against Mr Sanjiv Kumar, his father, and Mr Narinder Chander on March 10. All the three named in the FIR sought anticipatory bail from the court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Mr S. P. Singh, on March 20, 1998.

The petitioner stated that the state government did not move an application for seeking the cancellation of these suspects in the court. The petitioner also alleged that the police did not take any step to sincerely investigate the matter, obviously because of the political pressure of the two ministers on the state police.