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Establish holder
of assets in graft cases: SC
Plea challenging HVC merger with Cong rejected
Professionals should join politics: PM
Uma asks Atal, Advani to cleanse BJP
Monica sent back to Hyderabad
Sharmila is UNICEF Ambassador
5 million farmers submit signatures
to Kamal Nath |
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Establish holder
of assets in graft cases: SC
New Delhi, December 8 “In case of joint possession, it is very difficult when one of the persons accepted the entire responsibility…. It is very difficult to segregate that how much wealth belonged to the husband and how much to the wife,” a Bench of Mr Justice B.N. Agrawal and Mr Justice A.K. Mathur said while upholding the acquittal of former Tamil Nadu Heath Secretary K. Inbasagaran in a corruption case. He was sentenced to one year’s rigorous imprisonment by the trial court after finding him guilty of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income as police and Income Tax authorities had seized Rs 30 lakh in cash, 819 gm of gold and $ 1,118, documents about purchase of immovable properties and fixed deposits from his premises, apart from Rs 19 lakh in bank account in a raid in 1993. The Income Tax Department had declared the entire cash recovery as “black money” but his wife had come forward to his rescue stating that she had earned it in her business of selling cycle rims and during her stay in the US, where she had worked for sometime. He was acquitted by the Madras High Court on the ground that the prosecution had failed to establish that the assets seized belonged exclusively to Inbasagaran even if it was declared “black money” by the tax authorities. Taking note of the fact that the tax authorities had only assessed Inbasagarn’s wife for the recoveries, the apex court said in such a situation it was difficult to establish as to who the real owner of the assets in the family property was. “It is true that when there is joint possession between the wife and husband, or father and son and if some of the members of the family are involved in amassing illegal wealth, then unless there is categorical evidence to believe that this can be read in the hands of the husband or as the case may be, it cannot be fastened on the husband or head of the family,” the apex court ruled. “The entire money has been treated in the hands of the wife and she has owned it and she has been assessed by the Income Tax Department. It will not be proper to hold the accused guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act as his explanation appears to be plausible and justified,” the court said. |
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Plea challenging HVC merger with Cong rejected
New Delhi, December 8 The merger was challenged by Sukh Ram’s former party colleagues Desh Raj Sharma and Karam Chand on the ground that he had taken the decision regarding it “unilaterally and arbitrarily” without the approval of party’s general council and its workers. The March 31 order of the Election Commission (EC), approving the merger, was challenged by Sharma and Chand in the High Court on May 12 on the ground that the matter was decided by the Deputy Election Commissioner, who had no jurisdiction to hear such petitions. They also alleged that the poll panel had not given them enough opportunity to place all facts relating to the case before it. Dismissing their petition, Mr Justice Vikramjit Sen accepted the contention of Sukh Ram’s counsel Anil Nag that Sharma himself was not even a primary member of the HVC, as he had resigned from the party in 1999. He had even contested the 2003 elections to state Assembly from Shimla constituency as an Independent candidate and lost it badly, polling merely 323 votes, Nag told the court. Sharma had claimed that he was elected working president of the party on April 16, 2004 and, therefore, the HVC remained as separate entity even after Sukh Ram had joined the Congress with his followers. He had claimed that the party apparatus was still intact in every district of Himachal Pradesh and party symbol “telephone” had not been frozen by the EC at the time of last Lok Sabha election and the byelections held in the state earlier this year prior to the filing of the writ petition. The court, however, rejected his contentions, saying that since he had resigned from the party in 1999, he had no “locus standi” to challenge the merger. |
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Professionals should join politics: PM
New Delhi, December 8 While asserting the necessity for making the government more transparent and accountable the Prime Minister said here the media had a very important role to play. “It has long been said that eternal vigilance is the price of democracy.” In his inaugural address at the “Conference on Democracy, Development and Social Inclusion”, organised by the daily “Dainik Jagran”, the Prime Minister cautioned against basing politics on exploitation of religious and caste differences saying that the end result could be a low-level equilibrium characterised by social strife and an uncertain environment for the growth of enterprise. “More and more professionals in our country must join those who participate in the process of political management. We need professionals in our legislatures who recognise the dangers of dividing people on the basis of religion and caste.” He said we need people whom our people could respect and not merely because they belong to their own subsect, but because they have personal attributes that are relevant to the task of nation building. “They must therefore represent the best that we wish to see in our society”, he said, adding that he believed more and more professionals in our country must join the ranks of those who participate in the processes of political management. In an obvious snub to the countries which criticised India’s experiment with democracy at one point of time or another, the Prime Minister said it had become fashionable in the seventies and eighties to speak of India paying a heavy developmental price for choosing democratic governance. This debate was set to rest in the nineties when India’s growth momentum was regained. The goal of developmental process must be to include every member of the society which would broaden the support base for development and strengthen the government’s ability to perform its core developmental role, he said. |
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Uma asks Atal, Advani to cleanse BJP
New Delhi, December 8 In a letter sent to Mr Advani yesterday, she said the time had come for them to take “bold” decisions to reorganise the party as the Volcker report had thoroughly exposed Congress president Sonia Gandhi and people had started looking at the BJP as the only alternative at the Centre. “In this exercise, even if some people, who do not have mass base, may leave the party, lakhs of party workers and the whole country will be with you,” the former BJP leader said. Branding Ms Gandhi as a “foreigner”, she said the people had now realised that the country was not safe in her (Sonia’s) hands. Pouring out her anger against BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley for his remark that Ms Bharti could hardly get a crowd of 200 persons, she said he would have realised his mistake after seeing the thronging crowd on TV after her expulsion. In her letter, she also pointed out to the statement of Madhya Pradesh organising secretary Kaptan Singh Solanki, who had said that “even Monica Bedi gets bigger crowd”. “Am I Monica Bedi? Is it proper for them to compare me with her?” she asked. She recalled how both Mr Advani and Mr Vajpayee were forced to express their regret at the remarks of BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan when he compared Ms Gandhi with Monica Lewinsky, linked with former US President Bill Clinton. It was only after they expressed their regret that the issue came to an end, she said.
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Monica sent back to Hyderabad
Bhopal, December 8 Superintendent of Police Anant Kumar Singh said the actress was sent amid tight security at about 0330 hrs by the Andhra Pradesh Express in a special bogie. On December 4, Monica was brought here from Hyderabad and lodged at the Mahila Police Station. NEW DELHI:
The government on Thursday said underworld don Abu Salem Ansari would not be punished with the death penalty or with a prison term exceeding 25 years as per the solemn guarantees given to the Portuguese Government. This was stated in the Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed in a written reply. “The Government of India provided solemn guarantees to the Portuguese Government according to which Abu Salem Ansari extradited to India would not be punished with the death penalty or with a prison term exceeding 25 years. According to the Portuguese Constitution these guarantees were required before his extradition could be processed,” he said.
— UNI |
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Sharmila is UNICEF Ambassador
New Delhi, December 8 She signed on as Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF India at a ceremony attended by the agency’s Executive Director Ann M. Vebeman. “It is rewarding to know that I join such a great list of stars supporting UNICEF and can personally contribute to improving the lives and future of children. Let us dedicate to the survival, protection and development of the children of the world. There cannot be a greater mission,” she said. Ms Tagore joins a roster of celebrities who have embraced UNICEF for more than half a century, beginning with Danny Kaye and including Audrey Hepburn, Amitabh Bachchan, Harry Belanfonte, Roger Moore, Jessica Lange and Shakira. More than 100 celebrities in film, music, sports and literature around the world work as UNICEF ambassadors, Ms Ann said. She said UNICEF was now focusing on children affected with HIV/AIDS.
— UNI
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5 million farmers submit signatures to Kamal Nath
New Delhi, December 8 Farmers and civil society group representatives handed over the signatures to the Minister, as part of a global public petition, an Oxfam-initiated ‘Big Noise’ signature campaign, urging the decision-makers at Hong Kong to change unfair global trade rules so that poor producers in developing nations are able to share the benefits of trade. The ‘Big Noise’ petition is currently being presented around the world at the country-level to the heads of country trade delegations as they prepare for the WTO ministerial. Last week, world renowned actor Colin Firth handed over 10 million signatures to EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson. While 80 per cent of these signatures are from poor farmers in developing countries, the rest are from individuals in developed nations. India tops the list.
— PTI
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India
takes up Naushad’s case with Saudi Govt
New Delhi, December 8 A Shariat court in Saudi Arabia has ordered that an eye of Naushad, 33, who hails from Anchal in Kollam district, be gouged out as punishment for causing a Saudi to lose an eye during a scuffle. Saudi Ambassador to India Saleh Mohd. Al-Ghamdi said he would convey to Riyadh the Indian Government’s views and make all efforts to resolve the issue.
— PTI
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Sonia to spend birthday with quake-hit New Delhi, December 8 During her two-day visit to the state beginning tomorrow, Mrs Gandhi will visit earthquake-affected areas of Uri, Poonch, Tangdhar and spend time with the affected families. The Congress President will review the progress of relief and rehabilitation works which were started by the state government immediately after the earthquake. She will be accompanied by state Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and AICC General Secretary Ambika Soni.
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‘Black day’ on Raje govt’s anniversary
Jaipur, December 8 Led by the PCC chief and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Dr B.D. Kalla, a large number of Congress workers staged a dharna outside the District Collector’s office here today. Addressing the workers, Dr Kalla condemned the BJP government for its alleged failure on all fronts. He said the Raje
government had put an additional burden of Rs 17,000 crore on the state exchequer and also imposed tax load of over Rs 3,500 crore on the common man. |
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