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2G Spectrum case: Charges framed against Raja, 16 others

New Delhi: The 2G Spectrum case on Saturday reached an important milestone with a Delhi court framing charges against all the 17 accused, including former Telecom Minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi and corporate honchos.

Special CBI judge O P Saini also ordered that trial in the case will commence from November 11 with all the accused refusing to plead guilty to various offences.

"....Thereby, you all committed an offence punishable under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) 468 and 471 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 7 or in alternative Section 11 read with Section 12 and 13(2) read with 13 (1b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and within my cognisance," the judge said in his 700-page order.

While framing charges, the judge observed that there is evidence against Raja, his former Private Secretary R K Chandolia and former Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura.

With Saturday's development, accused can now now move for bail as observed by the Supreme Court during the hearing of bail petition by Kanimozhi earlier.

The Judge said evidence is there for framing of charges against telecom firms Reliance Telecom Ltd, Swan Telecom and Unitech (Tamil Nadu) Wireless Ltd.

He also said CBI has also brought evidence to frame charges against corporate executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group's Managing Director Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara, Group's president and Hari Nair, senior vice-president.

Others against whom charges have been framed are Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, his cousin Asif Balwa, their colleague Rajeev Agarwal, Unitech Ltd's MD Sanjay Chandra and DB Realty MD Vinod Goenka. The judge said there was prima facie evidence for framing charges also against Kalaignar TV's MD Sharad Kumar and Bollywood filmmaker Karim Morani.

UN human rights agency calls for probe into Gaddafi's death

United Nations: The UN human rights body has sought a probe into Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi's death to determine whether he was killed during fighting or after his capture, saying that thousands of victims of the eight-month conflict have the right to know the truth. The circumstances surrounding the former Libyan leader's death in his hometown of Sirte are unclear, with four or five different versions surfacing of how he died, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.

"There are at least two cell-phone videos, one showing him alive and one showing him dead. Taken together, these videos are very disturbing," Rupert Colville, OHCHR's spokesperson, said in Geneva.

Colville said there is need for an investigation and more details are needed to ascertain whether Gaddafi was killed in the fighting or after his capture.

He said that thousands of victims who suffered loss of life and several others who were subjected to torture and other human rights violations over the past eight months have the right "to know the truth, to see the culture of impunity brought to an end, and to receive reparations." "It will be essential for alleged perpetrators to be brought before trials, which adhere to international standards for fair trial, and for victims to see that accountability has been achieved," Colville stated.

Yeddyurappa's judicial custody extended till Nov 3

Bangalore: The Lokayukta Court on Saturday extended till November 3 the judicial custody of former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa in alleged land scam cases. Judge N K Sudhindra Rao also extended the judicial custody of former minister and sitting MLA Krishnaiah Settty, another accused in the case relating to alleged irregularities in denotification of government lands.

The court had on October 15 remanded Yeddyurappa and Setty, to judicial custody till Saturday after rejecting their bail pleas.

Except Yeddyurappa, all the other accused, including his sons B Y Raghavendra, a Lok Sabha member and B Y Vijayendra, who are on conditional bail, were present in the court. Jail authorities in their warrant said Yeddyurappa was not being produced in the court due to his ill health.

Counsels for the other accused surrendered their passports to the court, which then directed the court office to keep them in sealed covers in safe custody.

The Lokayukta Court had issued summons to the accused in August on two of the five private complaints filed by advocate Sirajin Basha, regarding illegal denotification of government land for pecuniary gain. In both complaints, Yeddyurappa is the main accused.

Mamata's deadline to Maoists ends today, security strengthened

CBI opposes permanent personal exemption
of Justice Nirmal Yadav

Chandigarh: The CBI on Saturday strongly opposed permanent personal exemption sought by former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Nirmal Yadav in the cash-at-judge's door case, asserting she cannot be placed on a pedestal higher than any other accused.

"I speak with pain and anguish that a person in her position should be moving such applications repeatedly as if appearance in the court is some kind of monstrous thing," Anupam Gupta, Special Public Prosecutor of the CBI, told the Court of Special CBI Judge Ritu Tagore, where the case is being heard.

While other accused in the case were present, Justice Yadav has appeared in the case only once and was not present on Saturday as she had sought exemption on medical grounds as she suffers from "lumbosacral spondilitis (back problem) and other ailments.

Filing its reply on Yadav's plea seeking exemption from personal appearance during pendency of the trial, Gupta submitted that the plea is "wholly and manifestly misconceived and unwarranted".

"Whether factually or legally, there is not a shred of justification for acceding to (Justice Yadav's) application.

She cannot be granted any privilege or exemption merely because she is a former High Court Judge. She cannot be placed on a pedestal higher than any of the other accused and has to be treated like all other accused persons in strict conformity with constitutional principle of equality before the law," Gupta submitted.

Yadav's counsel, S K Garg Narwana, also moved another application before the CBI Court on Saturday seeking her exemption from appearance for Saturday on medical grounds.

The Judge, while granting her exemption for Saturday, adjourned the case till November 18, the day when Justice Yadav has been directed to remain present when the arguments on her plea for permanent exemption will be heard.

The CBI in its reply filed on Saturday also opposed Yadav's plea from permanent exemption on the grounds that she was suffering from hypertension and being a diabetic.

"The pleas that the applicant has crossed the age of 62 years or that she is a lady and a former Judge of the High Court or that she is a resident of Gurgaon are also equally immaterial and untenable for the purpose of claiming personal exemption," the CBI maintained.

Saudi crown prince dies abroad

Dubai: Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, deputy premier and minister of defence and aviation, died on Saturday abroad, a statement from the Saudi Arabian Royal Court announced.

Crown Prince Sultan, who was around 86, had been in the US for medical treatment since June. His death has thrown his brother Prince Nayef into line to succeed King Abdullah as leader of the key oil producer country.

"With deep sorrow and sadness the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz mourns the death of his brother and his Crown Prince Sultan... who died at dawn this morning outside the kingdom following an illness," said the statement carried by state-run news agency SPA.

Saudi state television broadcast Quranic verses alongwith footage of the Kaaba in Mecca, Islam's holiest site. The Saudi agency said funeral services will be held in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday after the arrival of Sultan's body.

He was one of the Sudairi Seven, a powerful alliance of seven full brothers and their descendants within the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Late King Fahd was the eldest brother.

A half brother of King Abdullah, Sultan had spent long periods abroad for health reasons. He was operated on in July but no information was released on his health conditions or ailment. However, the reports in recent years have indicated that Sultan was battling cancer.

He died while the 87-year-old king remains in hospital in Riyadh, a week after he had an operation on his back. The king has been pictured since then in apparently good health.

The second in line to the succession, 78-year-old Prince Nayef, another half-brother of King Abdullah and one of the Sudairi Seven, becomes the crown prince.

Tri-Valley case: US approves transfer of 435 Indian students

Washington: US authorities have "examined individually" cases of over 1,000 Indian students who had enrolled at California-based "sham" Tri-Valley University, approving transfer of 435 of them to other institutions.

Officials of Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Citizenship and Immigration Services met representatives of Indian embassy here on Friday and discussed several issues relating to Indian students at the Tri-Valley University, which was raided and shut down by authorities earlier this year on charges of a massive immigration fraud.

The US officials informed that out of more than 1000 students, who were being considered for transfer to other universities, 435 transfers were approved, 145 were denied and about an equal number were issued Notices of Intention to Deny, the Indian embassy said in a statement. The remaining transfer cases are still under examination.

Lanka to release 400 ex-LTTE militants on eve of Diwali

Colombo: Sri Lanka will release a big batch of nearly 400 ex-LTTE militants on the eve of Diwali next week as part of moves to rehabilitate the former combatants.

"We will be releasing them to mark the Diwali festival", Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reform Chandrasiri Gajadeera said on Saturday. "We have by now released most of the 11,000 former LTTE members after rehabilitation," Gajadeera stressed.

Lankan officials said the process of rehabilitation had been quicker than expected with the programme coming to a conclusion before the originally set December 31 deadline.

The LTTE members, who had surrendered to the government troops at the end of the 30-year conflict in May, 2009, were put through rehabilitation by providing them vocational training, counselling and language skills. All of them recruited by the LTTE during the height of the conflict had not come in contact with the majority Sinhala population, officials said.

The government provides loans for self employment to these rehabilitated youth to restart their lives, they added.