|
 |
| L
A T E S T N E W S |
Supreme Court bars Italian envoy from leaving India
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up Italy’s Ambassador Daniele Mancini for reneging on the undertaking given to it on the Italian marines row and extended its order restraining him from leaving the country, asserting he cannot claim diplomatic immunity.
“You went to Italy after giving an undertaking. We never expected and we never believed that the Italian Ambassador will renege like this,” the
Bench observed.
As senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for Mancini and Republic of Italy pressed on the issue of immunity after the order extending the March 14 direction was passed, a
Bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir reminded him again about the undertaking given by the Italian envoy.
The order barring the envoy from leaving the country was extended to April 2, when the case will again come up for hearing.
Rohatgi’s submission was taken exception to by the bench which said, “We don’t go by anything. He has given the undertaking. We are not so naive. We don’t accept his statement. We don’t believe his statement. He has lost (our) trust.”
The court said, “The person who has come to this court as petitioner, we don’t think he has any immunity.”
“He has no immunity. What do you think of our judicial system,” an anguished bench said and added that so many things are being written about the incident.
After Rohatgi said he was appearing for Republic of Italy and the Ambassador, the bench told him, “We are concerned with Daniele Mancini. What is your intention
Daniele Mancini?
“We are concerned with the intention. Are you going to comply with this order? We are not concerned with anything else,” the
Bench said.
The apex court had on March 14, asked Mancini not to leave the country without its permission, taking exception to his government’s refusal to send back the two marines, Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone to face trial in India in the killing of two Indian fishermen last year.
Before passing the order today, the bench said the period of four weeks for which the marines were allowed to go to Italy to cast their vote was yet to be over and still they have time to return.
“We respected the undertaking (given by the Ambassador) and we allowed them (marines) to go for four weeks which will end on March 22. There is still time for them to come. Strictly speaking they have not still violated our order,” it said. — PTI
Mohali
Test: India beat Australia by 6 wickets to seal series
MOHALI: India clinched the Test series against a spirited Australia with their biggest-ever margin after recording a nerve-wracking six-wicket victory in the third cricket Test to take a 3-0 lead in the four-match series on Monday.
Never in their 81-year-old Test history have India won more than two matches against Australia in a single series.
After bowling out Australia for 223 in their second innings, India chased down the target of 133 with 15 balls remaining before close of play in a match which saw a nail-biting finish.
The hosts encountered some tense moments in their run chase before skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed three fours off Mitchell Clarke in a row to seal the match in India's favour much to the delight of the home crowd.
Earlier, it was a defiant 65-minute last-wicket stand between Starc and Xavier Doherty, during which they consumed 18.1 overs for 44 runs to ensure the Indians, at least, don't run away with the game before the start of the 15 mandatory overs.
When the final hour started, India required 45 runs from a minimum of 15 overs. They completed the chase losing the wickets of Murali Vijay (26), Cheteshwar Pujara (28), Virat Kohli (34) and Sachin Tendulkar (21).
Dhoni (18) and Ravindra Jadeja (8) were at the crease when the winning runs were scored.
In the process, India reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar trophy, which they relinquished after a 0-4 drubbing in Australia last year.
The victory was achieved on the back of some fine batting by debutant Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay, both of them scoring big centuries in India's first innings.
Dhawan smashed 187, his 100 coming off a mere 85 balls making him the quickest-ever debutant to reach the three-figure mark.
India will now push for a clean sweep when the fourth and final Test starts in New Delhi from Friday.
Not to be left behind were the host spinners, who accounted for 14 of the 20 Australians wickets to have fallen in the match.
And leading the show with the ball was all-rounder Jadeja, who bagged six wickets in the match, including that of Australia skipper Michael Clarke, in both the innings.
With Australia resuming on 75 for three, the Indian spinners once again worked their magic as they bundled out the visitors for 223 in their second innings, setting India an achievable target to win in a minimum of 27 overs (+15 mandatory overs) at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium.
During his knock, Pujara, who opened the innings in place of Dhawan, who could not take to the field on the final day due to an injury on his left knuckle, completed 1000 runs in the country to become the 34th Indian to achieve the landmark.
Excluding the one-off Test victory way back in 1996, this was the fifth time India have won the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
After the damage was inflicted on Australia by the spinners, India started the chase on a confident note, with both Vijay and Pujara playing some delightful shots before getting out to Doherty and Lyon. Kohli made 34 before being dismissed by Peter Siddle.
Earlier, Doherty and Starc's spirited effort could only delay the inevitable, as there was just enough time for the hosts to fashion a comfortable win.
Left-arm spinner Jadeja was once again the most effective bowler for the hosts, returning with impressive figures of three for 35 - his all three wickets, including that of Australian skipper Michael Clarke, coming on the final day.
There were two wickets apiece for fellow left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and off-break bowler Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ashwin leads the wickets tally in the series with 22 scalps, followed by Jadeja who has 17 to his name, reflecting the Indian spinners' dominance. — PTI
'Paan Singh Tomar' wins National Award
NEW DELHI: Critically acclaimed " Paan Singh Tomar" was named the best feature film of 2012 in the 60th National Film Awards announced here Monday.
The Tigmanshu Dhulia-directorial even won the best actor's trophy for Irrfan, who essayed the role of a national level athlete who went on to become one of the most dreaded dacoits of Chambal Valley.
The best actor's trophy is shared by Vikram Gokhale for Marathi film "Anumati", while the best actress honour went to Usha Jadhav for her performance in "Dhag", also in Marathi.
The prestigious awards for 2012 were announced by filmmakers Basu Chatterjee, Aruna Raje and Swapan Mullick.
In the feature film category, a total of 38 films from 14 languages have been selected for the awards.
Hindi film "Chittagong" and Malayalam movie "101 Chodiyangal" have shared the Indira Gandhi Award for the best debut film of a director. The award for the best popular film for providing wholesome entertainment has been shared by Bollywood movie " Vicky Donor" and Malayalam project "Ustad Hotel".
The best director accolades are for Shivaji Lotan Patil for Marathi film "Dhag".
The award for the best supporting actor has been conferred on Annu Kapoor for the film "Vicky Donor", and Dolly Ahluwalia has won the best supporting actress for the same film. She shares the award with Kalpana for Malayalam film "Thanichallanjan".
In the best child artist category, there is a tie between Virendra Pratap for Hindi film "Dekh Indian Circus" and Minon for "101 Chodiyangal".
The music category saw ace composer Shankar Mahadevan gets the best male playback singer award for the song "Bolo na" from the film "Chittagong". The award for the best female playback singer was conferred on Samhita for the song "Palakein naa moon don" from the Marathi film "Aarti Anklekartikekar".
The award for the best screenplay writer (original) has gone to Sujoy Ghosh for "Kahaani", while in the adapted screenplay the honour has been given to Bhavesh Mandalia and Shri Umesh Shukla for the film "OMG: Oh My God!".
Anjali Menon's dialogues in Malayalam film "Ustad Hotel" have won her a National Award, and the best lyrics award has gone to Prasoon Joshi for the song "Bolo na" from the film "Chittagong".
A special jury award has been conferred on Rituparno Ghosh for Bengali film "Chitrangadha" and to Nawazuddin Siddiqui for the films "Kahaani", "Gangs of Wasseypur", "Dekh Indian Circus" and "Talaash".
The award for the best choreography has been conferred on Birju Maharaj for the Tamil film "Vishwaroopam".
Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra won a special mention for her performance in "Ishaqzaade" for her convincing delineation of a daredevil girl, and so did Tannishtha Chatterjee for "Dekh Indian Circus". — IANS
SP disrupts Lok Sabha over Beni Prasad Verma's remarks
NEW DELHI: Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma found himself in the midst of a fresh controversy over his remarks that Mulayam Singh Yadav allegedly has "terrorist links", with Samajwadi Party members disrupting the Lok Sabha on Monday demanding his removal from the Cabinet.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for nearly two hours following the uproar with SP members storming the Well demanding an apology by the
minister and his removal from the Cabinet.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Shailendra Kumar (SP) demanded that Verma should immediately tender an apology for his alleged remark that all Muslims were terrorists.
Verma immediately clarified that he had not made any such statement and so there was no question of an apology. "Where is the proof that I have said such thing? I did not link terrorism to any religion."
But SP members remained adamant as Mulayam Singh Yadav himself rose to speak attacking Verma.
He said Verma's comments followed a Muslim convention he had addressed in Lucknow, where several Muslim religious leaders spoke about the contributions of the community in the service of the nation.
The leaders, Yadav said, also spoke on the problems faced by the community. The SP chief said he would continue to fight for the cause of minorities, as the Sachhar Commission itself has pointed out their socio-economic backwardness.
"How can we forget (1965 war hero) Abdul Hamid and our former President Abdul Kalam? How can we forget their contributions in national development, as also in securing our borders? How can he (Verma) say that Muslims are terrorists? He should apologise," said an angry Yadav.
As SP members continued to raise slogans from the Well, Verma said, "For me, terrorism has no religion, no colour. The demolition of Babri Masjid and the post-Godhra riots are also terrorist incidents.
"But he (Mulayam) joined hands with those who demolished Babri Masjid, like Kalyan Singh. His party also helped BJP to win in Gujarat," the Minister said.
Amid din, Speaker Meira Kumar directed other members to raise their issues but later adjourned the House till 2 pm.
Congress pulls up Beni for remarks against Mulayam
Amid demands by the Samajwadi Party (SP) for his dismissal from the government, Congress on Monday pulled up Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma for his remarks against Mulayam Singh Yadav.
“In politics everyone should observe restraint in use of language. Mulayam Singh Yadav is the head of the supporting party to the government. Verma is a minister in that government,” Congress General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters here.
He said the party has taken the matter seriously.
Later talking to reporters outside Parliament House, Verma said he stood by his statement against the SP leader.
He also ruled out stepping down following Mulayam’s demand, asking “Has he made me the
minister?” — PTI
Swiss national to stay in India to help gang-rape probe
NEW DELHI: The Swiss national, who was gang -raped in Madhya Pradesh last week, along with her husband has said they will continue to stay in the country for the moment while expressing readiness to fully cooperate in the ongoing investigation and identification process.
"The embassy confirms that the victims reached New Delhi in the early hours of March 17, 2013. They were provided medical assistance on their arrival and are currently recovering.
"While speaking to Ambassador Linus von Castelmur the couple expressed their readiness to fully cooperate in the ongoing investigation and identification process. They will continue to stay in India for the moment," a Swiss embassy release said here.
The embassy also thanked the Madhya Pradesh police for its cooperation.
The Swiss tourist, on a cycling trip along with her husband in Madhya Pradesh, was allegedly gang-raped at a forest area in Datia district, on the night of March 15. — PTI
|
