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SC’s no to reducing sentence for rape
DSGMC to send
relief to J&K, Pak
Obituary |
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Sahara plane skids, flights from Mumbai delayed
NCP regrets dissolution of Bihar Assembly
Sonia, Lalu to address joint rally
Rare lunar eclipse on October 17
Kalam’s greetings on Durga Puja
Five dismissed MLAs back Mulayam’s party
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SC’s no to reducing sentence for rape
New Delhi, October 10 Referring back at least five rape case judgement delivered by the MP High Court for reconsideration, as the sentence awarded by the trial court in those was drastically reduced without citing any reason, a Bench of Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, Mr Justice G.P. Mathur and Mr Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan said the cases were not “in accordance with the law”. The Bench quoting the provisions of various Sub-Sections of Section 376, dealing with offence of rape and punishment prescribed thereunder, Mr Justice Mathur writing the order for the Bench, said it had been clearly laid down that the minimum punishment for rape was seven years, which may extend to 10 years and life sentence depending upon the gravity of the crime, besides, fine. But in all four cases, the punishment was “reduced grossly” to a very low level ranging from the minimum of seven months and a maximum of one year seven months that too by accounting only the period undergone by the accused in judicial custody during the trial by the High Court. In all these cases “the High Court has not assigned any satisfactory reason much less adequate and special reasons for reducing the sentence to a term that is far below the prescribed minimum, and therefore, the sentence awarded is clearly illegal”, the apex court observed. “That apart, the High Court has written a very short and cryptic judgement. To say the least, the appeal has been disposed of in a most unsatisfactory manner exhibiting complete non-application of mind. There is absolutely no consideration of the evidence adduced by the parties,” the apex court observed. The Madhya Pradesh Government had to approach the apex court last year in a series of appeals against High Court’s, almost identical orders in these cases, contending that the discretionary powers under Section 384 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had not been properly applied by the High Court in these matters. |
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Cong goes all out to mobilise relief
New Delhi, October 10 Although the earthquake has left behind a trail of death and destruction, Congress leaders did see some encouraging signs which has led them to believe there is a perceptible shift in the mood of the Kashmiri people. For instance, when Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited the quake-hit areas of Uri and Tangdhar on Sunday, a number of affected persons especially requested that the relief operations be entrusted to Army personnel. In a state, where the Army is
associated with killings and human rights violations, this appeal came as a surprise to Mrs Gandhi, who was accompanied by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and AICC general secretary Ambika Soni. The Army had swung into action
immediately after the quake as it helped in the rescue operations, rushed tents to the worst-hit areas and also set up camp hospitals to treat the injured. Having been looked upon with suspicion by the people for years, the Congress hopes to re-establish its credibility in the state and use this opportunity to bring the Kashmiri people into the national
mainstream. Realising that the situation could also be reversed if people find the relief efforts wanting, both the Centre and the Congress are drawing up exhaustive plans to provide succour to the affected families. As a follow-up to Mrs Gandhi’s visit, where she assured all help to the affected
families, the Congress party’s relief and rehabilitation committee met today where it was decided to send blankets and tents to the worst-hit areas. States like Punjab, Haryana and
Himachal Pradesh, which are closeby, have been asked to rush this material while other Congress-ruled states have pledged monetary assistance. At the same time, Congress MPs have said they would like to contribute liberally from their MPLADs funds for the reconstruction work, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said here today. At the same time, an AICC team headed by Mr Harcharan Josh and Mr Duru Mian and comprising
representatives of frontal organisations like the Youth Congress and the Seva Dal, will be sent to assist the especially constituted coordination panels chaired by local leaders. |
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DSGMC to send
relief to J&K, Pak
New Delhi, October 10 “We will be sending food and other material required by the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) for the affected people. We also plan to start langar for the victims at the earliest,” DSGMC President Paramjit Singh Sarna told newspersons here today. He said the relief material will be offloaded at the historic Panja Sahib Gurdwara and DSGMC would also make donations to the President’s Relief Fund set up by Pakistan to deal with the catastrophe. He said relief material including blanket, rice, wheat and oil is being sent to Islamabad. For the people of Jammu and Kashmir, they are sending blankets, tents and milk products. Mr Sarna said a team of DSGMC members would go to Pakistan and J&K to look at the situation and discuss with the people there, about the kind of help the Sikh community in the Capital could offer to them. He, however, clarified that the religious procession by DSGMC from Delhi to Nankana Sahib will go ahead as scheduled on October 23-24. This will be the first occasion since Independence that such a Nagar Kirtan from Delhi or any other city will go to Gurdwara Nankana Sahib.
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NHRC to monitor quake relief
New Delhi, October 10 A team of senior officials from the commission, comprising Dr G. S. Rajagopal, Director-General (Investigation), Mr Ajit Bharihoke, Registrar (Law) and Mr A K Parashar, Deputy Registrar (Law), will visit the affected areas in Kashmir. They will report on the relief and rehabilitation measures being taken to enable the commission to take steps, if necessary, for issuing proper directions and guidelines to the authorities concerned. |
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A journalist’s journalist
He was, perhaps, independent India’s first ‘activist’ in journalism, a ‘media partisan’. Dedicated to the Press, its development and the ideals, values and content that should be its preoccupation. He was very different from the activists of advocacy journalism, who are confined to sectors of ‘development’. Chanchal Sarkar’s distinction was that he could see the big picture, pick a detail and lead you through a lane to the large vista of life. Journalism was his world and what journalism could do for the world — to make life better, to create a sustainable future - was his unfailing concern at all times. His writings reflected this ceaseless pursuit, be it in his prime when he worked for The Statesman; in his later years as Director of the Press Institute of India; or in the last two decades when he wrote columns for leading newspapers, including The Tribune. His writings were distinctive for both their style and content. Sarkar’s prose was lively and sharp without being shrill; words and phrases clipped and polished like scalpels that would cut neatly to the point. During the dark days of the Emergency, I was drawn — by Sarkar and C. G. K. Reddy — into doing a stint at the Press Institute in Delhi. I discovered that there were ways in which the ‘unprintable’ could be made to get past the censors; the trick was in the way a report or feature was composed, the choice of words that would not attract the censor’s attention and yet convey the sense of the subject to the reader. Many journalists and editors could do this. Sarkar not only did this with much more finesse, but could educate and coach those less skilled to do it with confidence. His earliest column, ‘Speaking Generally’ under the pseudonym ‘Waqnis’ in The Statesman, where he worked as an Assistant Editor, was immensely popular and recalled long after it stopped appearing. For an editor, he had an exceptionally developed reporter’s instinct and his eye often caught what the seasoned ones of the tribe missed on the beat. In fact, almost all his columns, especially in the last 20 years, were from the field and not the cloister of a cabin; each of them was a masterly mix of information, images and insights that his unerring eye brought to the issue. In general terms, issues of survival, development and human rights, the hits and misses of the media, where society is, what changes it is undergoing and where it is going or being led were the staple of his writings. Yet, he never generalised in the tone of media pundits; he focused on specifics and drew the larger picture; the words never deceived or deluded the reader but drew her to understanding the importance of the issue. Sarkar came to the scene with impressive credentials — Presidency College of Kolkata, Cambridge University and a call to the bar from Lincoln’s Inn, London. In the course of his time in journalism, he gathered even more. A Nieman Fellowship at Harvard was just one of the many institutional recognitions. He was a consultant to UNICEF and UNEP and a visiting lecturer at the University of Texas, Austin and a contributor to The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Straits Times. The greater, but for that reason the less quantifiable, recognition he won was from his wide, admiring readership that included a legion of journalists too. To whichever world Chanchal Sarkar went on Monday, one can be sure he will contribute to making it a better one. — Shastri Ramachandaran
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Sahara plane skids, flights from Mumbai delayed
Mumbai, October 10 The main runway of the Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has been closed for landing so incoming flights have to make use of a secondary runway, officials said. The main runway is now being used only for take-offs. Officials said here the bunching of flights following the delays has caused overcrowding at the lone terminal currently under use in Mumbai airport. According to a complaint filed with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Air Sahara Boeing 737 from Kolkatta overshot the runway last evening. The co-pilot who was handling the flight narrowly missed crashing into the periphery wall near the runway, according to airport officials. Three of the 120 passengers on board received minor injuries, officials said. The DGCA is probing into reasons that prevented the pilots from bringing the aircraft to complete halt as per routine procedure. The aircraft was commanded by V Eric, reportedly an East European national. The name of the co-pilot has been given as Captain Arora. Further controversy erupted after it was found that Eric did not have security clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security to enter the airport. He is said to be operating on the basis of boarding cards usually issued to passengers. Air Sahara is among several airlines that have resorted to hiring foreign pilots due to the shortage of airline personnel in the wake of new airlines opening up. The investigators will shortly open the Flight Data Recorders to determine the cause of the mishap.
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NCP regrets dissolution of Bihar Assembly
New Delhi, October 10 “It is a mistake and one should accept it. The government should see to it that such mistakes do not recur in future. However, the highest court, by allowing the election process to go ahead in Bihar, has upheld the Union Cabinet’s decision substantially to have a fresh mandate from people,” NCP general secretary and chief spokesperson Devi Prasad Tripathi told The Tribune here. Asked whether his party was also for the recall of state Governor Buta Singh, as demanded by the Opposition, he said Home Minister Shivraj Patil was holding talks with UPA constituents and a detailed judgement of the Supreme Court in the case was awaited. Buta’s fate was dependent on the judgement. The NCP’s comment today is being seen in the background of efforts to float a third front, which can replace the UPA, observers said. The NCP, sources said, was in constant touch with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Telugu Desam Party supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu, both Tamil Nadu parties and the Left front. |
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Rare lunar eclipse on October 17
New Delhi, October 10 The eclipse would begin at 17:04 pm (IST) as the earth’s shadow will creep over the rising moon and end at 18:03 pm (IST). The rather shallow eclipse will just about cover the moon, when its southern limb dips 2.2 arc minutes into the earth’s dark umbra shadow. It can be seen at 17.04 pm from Agartala, Aizawal, Darjeeling, Gangtok, Guwahati, Imphal, Itanagar, Kohima, Kolkota, Port Blair and Shillong. The ending of the phase will be visible from all over India, except the western parts where the moon rises after the eclipse ends. |
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Sonia, Lalu to address joint rally
Patna, October 10 BPCC president Sadanand Singh said Ms Gandhi was expected to visit the state again for the joint election campaign in November. The October 15 election rally by Ms Gandhi would be her first joint public appearance with Mr Lalu Prasad after the rift between the RJD and the Congress on seat sharing in the recently held Assembly poll. At that time, Ms Gandhi had campaigned for neither Mr Lalu Prasad nor LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan. During her one-day tour of Bihar, she would address three other rallies for her party candidates, including one at Kahalgaon from where Sadanand Singh is trying his luck. |
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Kalam’s greetings on Durga Puja
New Delhi, October 10 “I extend greetings to all my people and wish them happiness and prosperity. Durga Puja is the celebration of the triumph of truth, righteousness and virtue over evil. This festival teaches us to inculcate the habit of overcoming odds and problems in our daily lives,” Dr Kalam said in a message. “May this festival inspire us to tread the path of moral rectitude and build a society in which women are empowered and are equal partners in the mission for the overall development of the nation,” he added. |
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Five dismissed MLAs back Mulayam’s party
Lucknow, October 10 In a letter to Governor T.V. Rajeswar the five dismissed MLAs said that they wished to support the ruling alliance “for the sake of development of their constituencies and the state”. The MLAs — Anil Kumar Verma, Kovid Kumar, Dayashankar Verma, Narendra Kumar Verma and Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh — have also declared to form an independent party tentatively named Uttar Pradesh Kranti Dal. Speaking to Tribune, Mr Anil Kumar Verma said for the past one year they were virtually outside the BJP. |
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UK delegation calls on Kalam
New Delhi, October 10 During the 40-minute meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Dr Kalam explained to the delegation how India planned to become a developed country by 2020 and the measures being taken for energy security. |
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In video: Sand
artist pays homage to quake victims. 
He was, perhaps, independent India’s first ‘activist’ in journalism, a ‘media partisan’. Dedicated to the Press, its development and the ideals, values and content that should be its preoccupation. He was very different from the activists of advocacy journalism, who are confined to sectors of ‘development’.
