 |
|
Amarinder moves SC against wealth tax penalty
Counselling sessions for parents
Rabri regime failed on school scheme: SC
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mamta refuses to surrender before court
Five of family burnt to death
Patna Saheb to be in religious tourist circuit
Ship issue: French company keen to testify before panel
Kalam for focus on tech for rural development
FIR filed against Karunanidhi
Phone-tapping issue: Lalu supports Sonia
Sanjay Dutt received weapon, alleges Salem’s aide
NRI model identifies rapists
Pak-Iran ties under cloud
19 EC observers for roll revision in West Bengal
|
|
Amarinder moves SC against wealth tax penalty
New Delhi, January 5 He raised an important question of law whether delay in filing of wealth tax returns after the assessment had already been made, could still result in imposition of heavy fine on the assessee, contending that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had upheld the penalty “without deciding this question of law”. Taking cognizance of the Special Leave Petition (SLP) of Amarinder Singh, the scion of Patiala Royal family and controller of its wealth as the head of Hindu “Undivided Family (HUF), against the high court’s August 24, 2004 order, the apex court issued notices to the Commissioner of Wealth Tax, Patiala, seeking his reply. A Bench of Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Mr Justice C.K. Thakker and Mr Justice R.V. Raveendran took note of the contention of Chief Minister’s counsel Bhargava V. Desai that the high court had decided the matter “without settling the question of law” whether a fine could be imposed on late filing of wealth tax returns after assessment has been “framed” by the tax authorities. Before the matter reached the high court, the Commissioner of Wealth Tax in an order of April 20, 1992 had imposed a penalty of 6.22 lakh on assessed wealth of Rs 84 lakh of Amarinder Singh for the financial year 1992-93 by accounting the delayed period of 56 months for filing of the returns, while he had contended that it was only 18 months. Commissioner Wealth Tax (Appeals) had deleted the fine when Amarinder Singh filed an appeal against the “wrong” calculation of delayed period. However, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) reversed it and directed the IT Department to recalculate the penalty for a delayed period of 18 months only. When the IT Department challenged the ITAT order on the question of delayed period before the high court, it upheld the imposition of the penalty of Rs 6.22 lakh by taking into account 56 months period for late filing of returns. Similarly, a dispute arose on the imposition of Rs 26,620 as penalty on Amarinder Singh by the Wealth Tax Commissioner for 4 months delay in filing of returns for 1993-94 after he declared his assessed wealth of Rs 74.87 lakh, which was also upheld by the high court. His counsel contended that under Section 18(1)(a) no penalty was liable once the assessment had been “framed” by the Wealth Tax Commissioner. The high court had said that delay in filing of the income tax return “can constitute a reasonable cause for late filing of the wealth tax returns for the purpose of imposition of penalty under Section 18(1)(a).” |
|
Counselling sessions for parents
Kanpur, January 5 While talking to The Tribune, Prof Sinha claimed that there was not much pressure from the teachers rather pressure from their homes forced the students to think of committing suicide. Quoting the recent example of Swapnil Chandrakant
Dharaskar, the second year IIT Kanpur student of mechanical engineering, who committed suicide on the campus on November 29 last, Prof Sinha said it seemed to be clear evidence of some sort of pressure from the family end. “He was an above average student and had no trouble with the teachers. According to Prof Sinha, all students who enter the IITs have been toppers in their lives from school onwards. However, here in IIT every student cannot possibly come first. Though we follow a grading system to avoid this, yet certain students and parents find it difficult to digest not always being at the top”. Parents often contact Prof Sinha complaining against ragging. But, they never talk of the stress that their wards might be facing due to pressure mounted by them. “Probably, they do not even recognise it. They need to understand the importance of overall growth of personality”. Agreeing completely with Prof Sinha is Neeraj Kumar a final year student and president of the Students Gymkhana at Kanpur IIT. He narrated a recent incident of a student who had failed and had been terminated. The poor fellow was too scared to inform his father about it and continued to live under tremendous stress. “It was only after Swapnil’s death that I decided to let his father know as I did not want him to meet the same fate. Prof Sinha pointed out a well-structured institutional counselling service at the campus involving 80 students and 30-35 faculty members. Each of these 80 students is assigned six juniors for whom they become the student guide. “They help them settle down on the campus, listen to their problems, help them interact with the faculty and sort out problems, both academic and personal that may have been causing them stress. There is also a visiting psychiatrist who visits the campus once in a while. |
|
|
Rabri regime failed on school scheme: SC
New Delhi, January 5 In a strong indictment of the Bihar Government for the manner the project was handled during the past 15 years, a Bench of Mr Justice S B Sinha and Mr Justice P P Naolekar directed the new Nitish Kumar administration to set up a committee comprising two senior officers, a reputed educationist and a retired judicial officer to formulate rules and guidelines for implementing the scheme in letter and in spirit for which funds were provided by the Centre.. The court directed that all Regional Deputy Directors of Education in the state would submit status report on the functioning of the schools in their region to the committee with complete data within four weeks, while raising doubt over the submission of the state government earlier that 300 such institutions were functional. The court was not satisfied with the submission of the state government and directed the Chief Secretary to consider the terms of its policy afresh and deal with the cases of teachers and other staff, who had not been paid salary. “We have doubts as to whether all correct facts have been placed before the Cabinet or nor particularly in view of the fact that many of the schools which were established… are now in Jharkhand,” the court said, noting that “deviation from the prescribed policy started in the year 1982… and it was explicit.” It also noted that the state government during this period had even recognised those schools which were yet to be established under the project. Taking note of the “shifting stand” of the Bihar Government during the hearing of the matter, the court said, “the paradigm shift on the part of the state in the matter of the implementation of the scheme did not end there.” “Only after establishing 75 schools, appointing teaching and non-teaching staff, it intended to give recognition to the private schools,” it said adding that the project schools were completely “neglected” , virtually rendering the project as ineffective. |
|
|
Mamta refuses to surrender before court
Kolkata, January 5 Ms Banerjee declared that she would not surrender before the court in seeking bail since she was being punished motivatedly at the instance of the CPI(M) leadership in an old incident while launching a political agitation on a demand of making photo identity cards compulsory in all elections in the state. The TMC supremo, now touring in north Bengal, had been already given an ultimatum by the court asking her either to surrender before the court on January 7 or face criminal punishments as per law for ignoring the court’s order. The police was directed to immediately arrest her and produce her before the Chief Judicial Magistrate at Barast, North 24-Parganas, Mr Siddhartha Roy Chowdhury, on the next date of hearing of the case on Saturday. After the recent arresting drama of the Congress MP, Mr Adhir Chowdhury, the issuing of warrant of arrest to Ms Banerjee and seven other MLAs by the court caused a stir in the political fields in West Bengal. The Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee refused to comment on the court’s order on Ms Banerjee’s arrest. The CPI(M) state unit secretary, Mr Anil Biswas, who declared earlier that the police would not arrest any political leader, however, said today that it was a judicial matter concerning the TMC leader and the police administration in which the party would not interfere.
|
|
Five of family burnt to death
Lucknow, January 5 The gruesome incident took place around 2 a.m., in which 42-year-old Manoj Nishat, alias Balle, his wife, 45-year-old Pushpa, and three minor children, Shalu (7), Raja (5) and Suhani (15 months) were charred to death inside their house. According to Home Secretary Alok Sinha, senior police officials including the DIG, had visited the spot and found that the house was latched and locked from the outside so that the victims could not run for safety. A special team had been constituted to ensure the arrest of the accused. Nanu survived as she was sleeping in an adjoining room. A hysterical Nanu told the police that the sons of her uncle Vishambar Nishad — Mahendra Nishad and Bhaiya Lal — were behind the incident. She saw them throwing petrol inside the house from a window. The families of the two brothers had fought recently over Mahendra’s reported relationship with a girl that Balle did not approve of. According to Nanu, she noticed the brothers bringing petrol in 10-litre cans twice. When she complained to her aunt, she advised her not to interfere in their matters.
|
|
Patna Saheb to be in religious tourist circuit
Patna, January 5 Over 30,000 Sikh devotees, from different parts of India and 15 countries, thronged the Takht to take part in the three-day-long 339th birth centenary celebration of Guru Gobind Singh, which began here yesterday. Guru Gobind Singh was born at Gaighat, near Patna Saheb, in 1675. A massive religious procession was taken out from Gaighat, covering a stretch of 8 km before reaching Patna Saheb this afternoon. About 20,000 pilgrims, some of them from the USA, UK as well as from neighbouring Nepal, took part in the procession in traditional attire to commemorate the birth anniversary. The general secretary of the Takht, Mr Mahendra Pal Singh Dhillon, said the centenary celebration would conclude tomorrow. The Governor, Mr Buta Singh, was expected to be present tomorrow at the Takht. Mr S.S. Alhuwalia, MP, and Sant Baba Karamjeet Singh were among others who took part in the “prabhat pheri”, which was taken out in the city yesterday. According to Mr Dhillon, Sikh devotees expect special train services between Amritsar and Patna Saheb on this holy occasion every year. Sikh devotees, also expect from the new NDA government to make better arrangements from the next year. The Takht as well as other parts of the city were illuminated to mark the occasion. One Sukhbeer Singh from Nepal has
been taking part in the occasion at Patna Saheb for the past 21 years. Another Shyam Batra came all the way from the USA. For Rupinder Singh and his family who were from Chandigarh now residing in Kolkata, it was their first trip to Patna Saheb to pay homage to Guru Gobind Singh, who had fought for religious freedom and sovereignty by mooting the concept of “Khalsa” and introducing “Panchkar” which gave a distinct socio-religious identity to the Sikhs. Sources in the state Tourism Department disclosed that apart from an upgraded airport at Gaya to receive international flights and improving the facilities of Patna Airport, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was contemplating golf courses, resorts and other facilities to attract foreign tourists for the proposed religious circuit. The NDA government has already issued instructions to complete the ongoing work on national
highways, including East-West Corridor, within next 18 months. |
|
|
Ship issue: French company keen to testify before panel
New Delhi, January 5 In a statement issued here today, the company said that the SDI had been commissioned by the French Government to carry out the depollution and dismantling of the former aircraft carrier. Its CEO Brig Beilvert is keen to testify before the Supreme Court’s Monitoring Committee on hazardous waste to provide the members all appropriate documents relevant to the depollution and dismantling of the vessel according to high level safety for workers and environment,” it said. As per the statement, “aware that the arrival of Clemenceau in India is at the heart of controversial issues, Mr Beilvert understands the importance of explaining the essence of the project to dismiss any false allegation,” adding that he had offered to come to India and testify before the SCMC in a letter mailed on January 3,2006, and was awaiting a reply. It may be mentioned that the issue is part of the SCMC agenda, which will be up for discussion tomorrow. Talking to The Tribune yesterday, SCMC member Claude Elvares had pointed out that considering that the Supreme Court had set certain directions for ship-breaking in India, the French Government should have respected these and got in touch with the Indian Government before allowing the aging warship to sail for Indian shores. The French aircraft carrier
Clemenceau, containing hazardous waste like asbestos, set course for the ship-breaking yard at
Alang, off the Gujarat shore, for dismantling on December 31, 2005, after the French Government received a clearance from a high court there. In February, the SCMC had sought several documents, which it has not received till date. These included a report of the decontamination in Toulon, France, which would provide details of actual quantities of asbestos and other hazardous materials removed from the ship, an independent third-party audit verifying the report and a certificate from the French authorities that the ship had been decontaminated and a documentary proof from the French Government that it was not violating the provisions of the Basel Convention. |
|
|
Kalam for focus on tech for rural development
Hyderabad, January 5 Addressing the 93rd Indian Science Congress here, Dr Kalam discussed in detail the dynamics of rural development through his experiences with PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas). Recalling his visits to Periyar PURA (Tamil Nadu), Loni PURA (Maharashtra), Chitrakoot PURA (Madhya Pradesh), where rural rejuvenation through sustainable development was carried out, the President said all three experiments were driven by technology and academy institutions. “In all three operational PURAs what I have observed is that technology and application of scientific methods of working play a very important role,” he said. Calling for establishing 100 rural development clusters across the country within one year at a cost of Rs 500 crore, he wanted the scientists to discuss the results of the experiment in their next gathering. “Institutions like the Indian Science Congress can become an integrating agency for multiple schemes and give a scientific, technological and management leadership to the programme,” he said. Dr Kalam said around 7,000 PURA clusters should be set up across the country as they help in improving the living standards of rural masses.
|
|
|
FIR filed against Karunanidhi
Chennai, January 5 The FIR was filed in the last week of December, 2005, the police said today, adding that it was filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Karur, about 350 kms from here. The New Aamravati bridge was practically washed away in November. The FIR also names former Chief Secretary C.S. Nambiar, former Municipal Administration secretary Malathi and Abdul Rahman, Managing Director of city-based East Coast Consultant and Infrastructure Limited. The Crime Branch-CID police, handling the case, raided premises of some of those allegedly involved in the case and seized some documents.
— PTI
|
|
|
Phone-tapping issue: Lalu supports Sonia
New Delhi, January 5 RJD supremo and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, who is not on the best of terms with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, told reporters that Ms Gandhi was being wrongly blamed for the tappings. Besides, he said the nation should know what was in the tapes and so there should be “public demonstration” of its contents within a week. The RJD leader’s comments came a day after AICC general secretary Ambika Soni felt that there was “something very serious in the tapes which will cause them (SP leaders) dear in public”. “The honourable Chief Minister and his fund manager Amar Singh are very tense and very agitated over what they are apprehending has been recorded ... Is it like Operation Majnu,” Ms Soni had said yesterday. Mr Amar Singh had alleged that his phone was tapped at Mr Gandhi’s direction, a charge denied by the Congress.
— PTI |
|
Sanjay Dutt received weapon, alleges Salem’s aide
Mumbai, January 5 Riyaz, arrested yesterday, reportedly told the CBI that Anees Ibrahim asked him to go to Gujarat in January 1993 to collect an arms consignment. At a place in Gujarat, he met Salem who was already present there, and the duo drove back to Mumbai in separate vehicles laden with arms and ammunition, which later reached the blasts accused, including Sanjay. The CBI, while seeking the custody of Salem today, told the designated TADA court about Siddiqui’s visit to Gujarat and how the arms reached the conspirators. CBI special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court that Siddiqui revealed that he received a phone call from Anees in January 1993, asking him to reach Gujarat. “Siddiqui went to a place in Gujarat where he met Salem. The duo returned with arms and ammunition,” Nikam said. — PTI
|
|
|
NRI model identifies rapists
Mumbai, January 5 Police officials said here the victim was called to the Arthur Road Central Jail where she identified the two men who allegedly doped her drink at a Mumbai disco and raped her for two days. The accused, Sunil, alias Aditya Morpani, and Rahul Krishnani, who were arrested earlier, are now in judicial custody. In her complaint, the woman alleged that the two men mixed some drug in her drink after which they led her away to hotels in Mumbai’s outskirts and raped
her. She also felt that her attackers may have recorded the assault on camera and posted it on the Internet. The police has so far questioned the owner of the disco and several of its employees and several eyewitnesses. |
|
Pak-Iran ties under cloud
New Delhi, January 5 Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite channel broadcast a videotape yesterday showing a group of soldiers lined up against a background of rubble, allegedly appealing for their government to respond to the demands of the Iranian group Jundallah (soldiers of God) so that they could ‘go back home safely’, the newscaster said. Jundallah yesterday threatened to kill the Iranian soldiers if Iran
refused to release their 16 comrades. Iran confirmed on January 1 that nine of its soldiers had gone missing from their post close to Iran’s border with Pakistan. On January 3, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said they were thought to have been taken to Pakistan. Pakistan’s daily Dawn today quoted Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi as saying that Tehran had made every effort to resolve the kidnapping peacefully. The spokesman said members of a border patrol abducted in the southeast of the country were in Pakistan and Tehran was negotiating with Islamabad for their release. On January 3, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said there was no evidence of any kidnapped Iranian border security personnel on Pakistan’s side of the border, but was ready to help Iran find the missing men. Pakistan came up with a counter-charge that the Iranian security forces had arrested 81 Pakistanis for illegally entering Iran via Pakistan-Iran border. Pakistani daily, The Frontier Post, reported yesterday that the arrested Pakistanis hailed from the various areas of Punjab and were trying to cross the border illegally for employment. |
|
19 EC observers for roll revision in West Bengal
New Delhi, January 5 The observers, one for each district, would reach their respective district headquarters on January 9 and hold meetings with political parties on January 10. They would undertake field visits between January 11 and 16. Mr Rao would visit Nadiad district. The observers would submit a report to the commission on January 18, EC sources said today. The commission had recently hauled up poll officials in the state for major lapses in the issue of voter I-cards. During their stay in the districts, the observers would focus on the correctness of the electoral rolls through random field visits to verify the correctness of the revision process and the issue of voter I-cards. The commission had earlier instructed all states to set up by December 31, 2005, permanent centres for issue of voter I-cards. The West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer had confirmed to the commission that such centres had become operational in the state, the sources said. About a week ago, the commission had asked election officials in the state to ensure that voter I-cards were delivered to each voter personally. The directive had been issued following the detection of cases involving bulk distribution of cards to certain individuals. |
|
Shekhawat, Ahamed leave
for Dubai
New Delhi, January 5 |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
An anti-tobacco group has served a legal notice on actor Amitabh Bachchan for
allegedly violating the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, by appearing in an advertisement which shows him smoking a cigar.
“The legal notice is served (by the National Organisation for Tobacco Organisation) giving eight days time to Bachchan to reply,”
NOTO India secretary Shekhar Salkar said.
— PTI
Mumbai, January 5
Videos
