New Delhi, January 18
The last ditch effort of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, seeking reconsideration of the Supreme Court order transferring her two disproportionate assets (DA) cases for trial to Bangalore, failed today with a Constitution Bench dismissing her plea.

A five-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, said in a unanimous decision said that after perusing the contents of her petition, the court was of the opinion that ‘no case was made out’ for reconsidering its November 18, 2003, judgement about shifting the trial to Bangalore.

A petition filed by Jayalalithaa in August last year for reconsidering of the order was referred to the Constitution Bench for its opinion by the court after her two petition for modification and review were rejected by a two-judge Bench, which had passed the original judgement for transfer of the case.

In her petition, she had cited alleged ‘anti-Tamilan’ sentiments in Karnataka as the main ground for her apprehension of not getting fair trial in that state.

The Bench of Mr Justice S.N. Variava and Mr Justice H.K. Sema had earlier rejected her petitions on February 17 and April 28, 2004, respectively, saying there was no reasonable ground for reviewing the order.

She has been chargesheeted in two DA cases for allegedly acquiring assets worth over Rs 66 crore during her previous tenure as the Chief Minister.

The other accused are her close friends, Sasikala and J. Elvarasi, her estranged foster son, V.N. Sudhakaran and T.T. Dinakar. The trial was shifted by the court after it found that prosecution had changed four of its advocates and sought to examine those witnesses afresh who had already deposed against her, including some senior police officers, and 64 witnesses turning hostile after she retuned to power.

Trial in the case has not yet commenced in Bangalore, where the Karnataka High Court was directed by the Supreme Court to appoint a Special Judge to expedite the trial.

New Delhi, January 18
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee today reiterated that the government decision to reduce troops in Jammu and Kashmir was open to review ‘as and when’ the situation demanded.

Talking to reporters after Investiture Ceremony of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) at their Republic Day camp here, the Defence Minister said, “If the number of infiltrators increases or the situation deteriorates, of course there will be a review of the decision.” The decision was taken in the context of a particular situation and it was always subject to review, he added.

When asked whether the recent terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir could lead to review of the decision, he said these attacks ‘were not enough reason. They are also not due to troop reduction’.

He said India had been consistently emphasising that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf ‘should stick to his commitment’ that Pakistani soil would not be allowed to be used for terrorism and anti-India activities.

To a question on the confidence-building measures (CBMs) with Pakistan, Mr Mukherjee said it was unfortunate that ‘continuous and unabated support’ was still being given to militants by that country.

He pointed out that India was striving to build good relations with Pakistan and talks were going on at various levels under the composite dialogue process.

Earlier, addressing the NCC cadets after awarding the Raksha Mantri medals and commendation certificates to some of them, he said the NCC had played an important role in inculcating qualities of discipline, leadership, camaraderie, team spirit, adventure and national integration among the students and youth of the country.

He also commended the cadets who won awards for their acts of bravery and presence of mind in saving human lives.

Those honoured today were cadet Arshad Jamal (Uttar Pradesh), Senior Under Officer Manti Stephen Vaidhya (Andhra Pradesh), cadets Ajith Mohanan and Sreejith Mohanan (Kerala).

New Delhi, January 16
The Supreme Court today dismissed the bail petition of RJD’s MP Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, in CPM leader Ajit Sarkar murder case taking into account his “misconduct” in the prison and sought his response on the shifting of the trial in all 10 cases against him outside Bihar.

Holding that the prosecution has established a prima facie case against him, a Bench of Mr Justice N. Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice S. B. Sinha said :” We are of the opinion that the conduct of the accused as brought on record clearly indicates that enlarging him on bail would impede the process of the trial.”

Setting aside the Patna High Court’s September 21, 2004, order granting him bail on his eighth petition since his arrest in the murder case of 1999, the Bench said:” we have the considered opinion that the high court totally erred in allowing his bail application.”

The high court had granted him bail by taking into account the same facts which it had dealt with while rejecting his bail petitions four times earlier and there was no new ground raised and change in the circumstances, the apex court said adding that it had to be kept in mind that 44 witnesses were yet to be examined by the CBI in the case whereas 32 had earlier turned hostile, mostly because of the alleged threat to them.

This was for the second time that the order of the High Court was set aside in his bail matter, while his plea before the apex court was ninth in the series of his efforts to get out of the Beur jail, where he allegedly had violated the prison norms at least on three occasions.

The court also rejected the contention of Pappu’s lawyer R. K. Jain that his case for bail was on stronger footing than that of the Kanchi Shankaracharya, saying the two cases were “distinguished” on facts.

Immediately after pronouncing its judgement, the court commenced hearing on its suo motu notice to Pappu Yadav on his various illegal acts inside the jail and asked for the comments of his counsel why cases against him should not be transferred outside Bihar.

His counsel opposed the move to shift the RJD MP to a jail in any other state, claiming that it would not be in the interest of justice.

New Delhi, January 18
In an apparent bid to discredit the findings of the U.C. Banerjee Committee on Godhra train carnage, the BJP today fired 10 posers to the committee and accused the Centre of trying to “usurp” the powers of the Gujarat Government.

“This report has no legal basis, no statutory status,” BJP general secretary and spokesman Arun Jaitley told newspersons here, and insisted that it was “only an instrument for political propaganda” and “campaign material” for RJD chief and Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav in the coming Bihar elections.

Though the BJP insisted that the report had no legal basis, it said it did not think there was any need to legally challenge the “legally unenforceable document”.

Stating that policing was a state subject, he said “the Centre cannot intervene by setting up a committee, particularly under the Railway Act... A railway committee cannot usurp powers of a state government.”

Stating that the party was posing the questions to Justice Banerjee so that a proper discussion on a matter of public importance could be carried on, Mr Jaitley asked “why did you (Mr Banerjee) give an interim report during the election period even though your term is extended till March 3, 2005?”

“Why did you address a press conference to release your report, particularly when a judge only submits his report and it is up to the government to release it at an appropriate time?,” Mr Jaitley said, asking “how did Mr Prasad get an advance copy of your report since a translated copy of the summary of your report in Hindi was released by him simultaneously from his residence in Patna?”

“Do you expect anyone to believe (as you told a TV channel) that you are unaware of the fact that elections to some state assemblies are being currently held?,” Mr Jaitley asked.

“The interim report has less connection with the reality of the case and more with the upcoming elections,” Mr Jaitley alleged, insisting that Godhra was not an accident, as suggested by the Banerjee Committee, but the result of a “conspiracy”.

“Did you realise that the Accident theory propounded by you is not an original thought? This was propounded by the accused in the case and repeated by Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, the Railway Minister while announcing your appointment. You have merely stamped the ‘Laloo theory’.

“If there was a minor fire under a seat due to ‘accidental fire’, why did the passengers not get out of the bogey and save their lives. Obviously they could not do so since there was an armed mob outside the bogey attacking them,” he said asking “Do you accept that your ‘accident theory’ discounts the presence of the armed mob on the platform?”

Raising doubts over the timing of the report, senior BJP leader V.K. Malhotra said “it clearly shows that Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav is trying to woo the minorities in view of the elections in Bihar.”

Casting aspersions over the procedures adopted by the committee, he alleged that it had not examined the police officer investigating the case, supervisory officers or doctors who treat patients and had not taken into consideration the reports of the Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) or the RDSO (a subsidiary of the Railways).

“All case records are in Gujarati, but no translation has been done so far,” the former Union Law Minister claimed.

“The more serious issue is that senior Gujarat police officers have been invited for examination today, a day after the interim report was made public,” he said.

In the questionnaire, the BJP wondered whether the committee had considered “evidences” like meetings between the accused in a guest house in Godhra prior to the incident, purchase of 140 litres of petrol, and “conspirators” seeking information about the movement of ill-fated Sabarmati Express.

New Delhi, January 18
The Railway Ministry will place the interim report of the Justice U.C. Banerjee Committee on Godhra train blaze before the Union Cabinet in consultation with the Ministries of Home and Law.

A Railway spokesman said that the government would decide on suitable action and fix responsibility after studying the report.

The report has indicted officials of Western Railway for prejudging the issue and not conducting even a preliminary inquiry into the incident which claimed 59 lives. The role of former Railway Minister Nitish Kumar, during whose tenure the train blaze occurred, is also likely to come under the scanner.

The spokesman said that since the high-powered committee was set up after a Cabinet decision, the report would be placed before it.

The Justice Banerjee Committee was set up on September 4 last year to inquire into certain aspects of the blaze in the Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002. Its term was extended in December.

While ruling out fire in S-6 coach of the train due to inflammable liquid thrown from outside the coach, the interim report said there had been failure on part of the Commission of Railway Safety to conduct a statutory inquiry into the incident.

The Railway Ministry will seriously look into the observations made in the report with regard to railway officers, the spokesman said. 

New Delhi, January 18
The inter-state cell of the Delhi Police crime branch, in cooperation with the Madhya Pradesh police, has rescued a 65-year-old Maruti dealer and solved a kidnapped-cum-ransom case in which the abductors had demanded a ransom of Rs 5 crore from family members of the victim.

Four members of the Ajay Singh gang, who were arrested from Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, have been identified as Balinder (35), Santosh (28), Khalid (35), residents of Bihar, and Shalinder (35), a resident of Maharashtra.

The businessman, Mr Kailash Chand Behati, of Indore was kidnapped on December 16, while he was on his morning walk. After a month, the police has rescued him from Wardha in Maharashtra.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ranjit Narayan said sleuths, along with the police of other states, maintained complete secrecy and patience in solving the one-month-old incident.

Since the suspects were constantly shifting their bases and making calls from eight states, there was excellent coordination between the police of these states.

New Delhi, January 18
A two-Judge Bench of Supreme Court today gave a split judgement whether a police officer should be included in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) while considering a petition against the appointment of former CBI Director P.C. Sharma as its member.

Since Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari disagreed with each other on the issue, the matter was referred to a larger Bench for decision.

Mr Sharma’s appointment to the rights panel by previous NDA Government after his retirement, was challenged by the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) on the ground that as agency’s director he had probed many cases where human rights were violated by the police personnel.

While Justice Sabharwal said a police officer could not be appointed as NHRC member, Justice Dharmadhikari held that it was purely a matter of government’s “wisdom”. The only question was whether any NHRC Act provision had been violated or not while appointing a person to the post, including a police officer.

Since in Mr Sharma’s case all procedural requirements were fully met by the government, there was nothing wrong in his inclusing in the panel, he said.

PUCL had claimed that even the chairman of the NHRC had written a letter to the then government taking objection on appointment of Mr Sharma for his being a police officer. It had cited several cases probed by Mr Sharma against alleged human rights violation by the police officials, in which they were exonerated.

New Delhi, January 18
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today said the role of the right to know and the right to information was crucial to a successful democratic system.

An informed parliamentarian can be of immense help in the emergence of "an informed democracy" and an informed electorate can strengthen the edifice of democracy, the Speaker asserted while inaugurating the eighth biennial conference of the Association of Parliamentary Librarians of Asia and the Pacific (APLAP) here.

Mr Chatterjee observed that the emergence of democracy as the most preferred and accepted system of governance across the world and the revolutionary growth in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) were the most remarkable developments of the last quarter of the previous century.

He said being the repositories of knowledge and wisdom, libraries, especially Parliament libraries, have to become an integral parts of democratic societies. If properly utilised, they can be turned into great assets to the citizens by helping their representatives to participate more effectively in the democratic processes and in making of informed decisions on matters of policy and administration, he observed.

The focus should be on the networking of the library and the professional excellence of the information managers and access to information rather than on the traditional method of acquisition and collection of the sources which contained such information, he said.

The inaugural session of the five-day conference was also addressed by Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal and Lok Sabha Secretary-General G.C. Malhotra.

Three theme sessions on "Changing dimensions of parliamentary library and information services in the third millennium", "Research and reference services for members" and "Library services for members" form part of the conference in which nearly 40 delegates and 30 observers from 16 member countries of the APLAP and various state legislative bodies of the country are taking part.