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‘Nexus between corporates and politicians’
Pharma units being probed for diverting chemicals to traffickers
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Telangana turmoil
India, Hungary sign 6 pacts; Delhi seeks support for NSG membership
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his Hungarian counterpart
Viktor Mihály Orbán in New Delhi on Thursday. — PTI
Cabinet defers decision on easing visa norms for Chinese
Foreign training for NSG to improve preparedness
JUDICIAL CORRUPTION
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik
Book PM, says PIL filed in SC
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addresses a rally in Gwalior on Thursday. — PTI
Chandigarh to get tax tribunal Bench
Assam power project: NHPC told to modify dam design
‘No health hazard’ from mobile phone emissions
NSG to be trained abroad to improve preparedness Centre gets SC notice on plea for allowing news
on pvt FM radio
CBI arrests BJP MLA in iron ore export scam
Yet to ascertain if US ship was within Indian waters: Deputy NSA
Sugar industry seeks hike in import duty
Maoists kill 3 commandos
in Maharashtra
Hate speech case: Court summons Varun Aarushi case: CBI closes arguments
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‘Nexus between corporates and politicians’ Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, October 17 A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and C Nagappan passed the order, observing that the conversations had prima facie exposed the deep-rooted malice relating to private enterprises getting favours from government authorities, including telecom licenses bundled with second generation (2G) spectrum. The Bench directed the CBI to complete the probe within two months and file a status report to the SC and posted the case for further hearing on December 16. While reading out the order, the Bench did not specify the criminal aspects or those involved in these. Radia's conversations had been recorded following a complaint received by the Finance Ministry on November 16, 2007 on the exponential growth of her business to the tune of Rs 300 crore. The recordings pertained to three 60-day periods - first from August 20, 2008, then from October 19 and from May 11, 2009. The SC had already noted that the conversations had covered several aspects, including national security, in addition to 2G. The Bench referred another criminal aspect involving a retired judge to the Chief Justice of India and yet another to the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Mines Department. Speedy action
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Pharma units being probed for diverting chemicals to traffickers
New Delhi, October 17 The NCB is investigating the role of at least 10 pharmaceutical manufacturing units in India for possibly diverting ephedrine and pseudoephedrine to drug traffickers. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are two precursor chemicals that are used to legitimately manufacture anti-cold and anti-allergy medicines and can also be used to illegally produce synthetic drugs such as Amphetamine Type Stimulants
(ATS). The ATS are 'party drugs' that induce euphoria and hallucinations and are sold by common names like Speed and
Meth. These drugs which are common in South East Asia and North America have now made their presence felt in India. ATS drugs such as
Meth, Ice and Ecstasy are replacing natural drugs like heroin and cannabis in India, said sources. Some of the manufacturing units of the two precursors which are under the scanner of the NCB are located at
Dehradun, Haridwar and Rishkesh in Uttarakhand and Solan in Himachal Pradesh. In a case being investigated by the
NCB, a manufacturing unit located near Dehradun has claimed to have made 1,800 kg of medicines containing pseudoephedrine and sold it to 17 wholesalers. One of the wholesalers, however, told the agency that it didn’t receive those medicines. “We inquired about this from the manufacturing unit, who showed us an invoice which read that the particular medicine containing pseudoephedrine had been sold to the wholesaler. On the other hand, the wholesaler showed his invoice and it read that the medicine was not part of the list of items sold to him by the manufacturing unit,” explained the sources. The agency is now trying to trace the missing medicines. “The manufacturing unit has committed a forgery. They must have added the medicine to their invoice when they learnt that we are probing them,” said the sources. While explaining the mechanism of the drug trade, sources said manufacturing units allegedly provide pseudoephedrine and ephedrine to “clandestine units”. “A clandestine unit then contacts a drug trafficker and instructs him to search for a buyer. The trafficker also finds a courier who will transport the precursors to a buyer for a handsome sum of money,” said the sources. On October 4, a woman from
Mizoram, who is allegedly a courier, was caught at the Guwahati airport for allegedly carrying 12.3 kg of pseudoephedrine in her luggage, according to the sources. Her luggage had been seized at the Delhi airport from where she boarded a flight. Two more couriers, a 17-year-old boy and a woman, who also belong to
Mizoram, were caught at the Guwahati airport on the same day. They were also allegedly carrying two consignments of 12.3 kg of pseudoephedrine tablets each in their luggage.
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Anti-bifurcation stir in AP shows signs of fizzling out
Suresh Dharur/TNS
Hyderabad, October 17 A sense of fatigue appears to have crept into the movement against the bifurcation in the face of clear signals from the UPA government that it would not go back on the decision to carve out separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as common capital for a period of 10 years. Despite the initial bravado and resignations, the Union Ministers and Congress MPs from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions, jointly referred to as Seemandhra, now appear to have come to accept the reality. They have recognised the need to bargain for a fair deal for the region in terms of sharing of resources after the bifurcation. They are now readying to negotiate for an attractive financial package for the region and to ensure that issues like river-water and revenue sharing, government jobs and education are sorted out amicably. Already, the employees of the power and transport departments have called off their stir. Union Ministers D Purandeshwari and K Kruparani said it was better for the elected representatives of the region to accept the new reality and work towards a better financial package for the region. Even a staunch integrationist like K Sambasiva Rao chose not to resign from the Union Cabinet. Meanwhile, the APNGOs called off their strike after holding talks with Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy at Secretariat here. “We have decided to withdraw our agitation till the day the Assembly takes up the Telangana draft bill. If the politicians fail to stop that, then we will go on flash strike,” the Association President Ashok Babu said. While urging the government employees of 13 districts of Seemandhra and also in Hyderabad, to join duties immediately, he said a decision to withdraw the strike was taken after the Chief Minister assured them that a draft Telangana bill or a resolution would be defeated whenever it comes up before the Assembly. However, the Chief Minister expressed his helplessness on the demand for a rollback of the UPA’s decision to divide the state.
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India, Hungary sign 6 pacts; Delhi seeks support for NSG membership
New Delhi, October 17 The agreements were signed after wide-ranging talks between Manmohan Singh and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban, who is here on a four-day visit to India. Under the MoU between the defence ministries of the two countries, Hungary will facilitate transfer of knowhow, experience and technical information in the areas of biological, radiological and chemical warfare to India. "Hungary possesses advanced technology in niche areas of defence industry and can become a reliable partner in our efforts for defence
modernisation, "the Indian PM told the Hungarian leader. The other five agreements are for cooperation in science and technology, culture, traditional systems of medicine, civil aviation and youth affairs and sports. Thanking Hungary for supporting India's candidature for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, the PM also sought Budapest's support for an early conclusion of the India-EU broad-based trade and investment agreement which would enhance trade and investment flows between the two countries. Earlier in the day, the Hungarian PM called on President Pranab Mukherjee. During the meeting, Orban said there were good prospects for greater cooperation between India and the whole of Central Europe. India, with its sound economy, large population and its highly respected leadership should think of itself as a global power and not merely as a regional power, he said. Orban praised India's 'traditional value system' which had prevented the country from falling into the economic quagmire that the West was finding itself
in.
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Cabinet defers decision on easing visa norms for Chinese
New Delhi, October 17 Sources said the Cabinet today deferred a decision on easing visa norms for Chinese nationals, especially those travelling for business purposes. The Cabinet proposal sought to liberalise the policy due to expansion in trade between the two countries and subsequent increase in visits by Chinese businessmen. These visitors belong mainly to the Information Technology (IT) and infrastructure sectors. The government intends to revisit the 2003 protocol in the wake of a substantial increase in visits by Chinese nationals, which has led to jump in FDI inflows and involvement of that country in infrastructure projects here. Manmohan Singh will reach Beijing on October 22 and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China on this issue was supposed to be on his agenda. The Cabinet was expected to consider this proposal in the meeting today. The present policy requires a mandatory two-month gap between exit and re-entry for tourist visas. Government had plans to change this rule as well. However, the long term business visa will be available to regular visitors for only a three month stay in the first instance.
— PTI
Business visitors
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Foreign training for NSG to improve preparedness
New Delhi, October 17 The developments were shared on the sidelines of the NSG’s 29th Raising Day yesterday. Force’s Director-General, Arvind Ranjan, also said that in view of the increasing number of IED blasts occurring across the country, the NSG’s experts are guiding and advising the instructors of the bomb disposal squads of different states in IED management. These instructors would then further train their own bomb squads. The NSG, also known as ‘The Black Cats’, is a federal contingency force raised in 1985 to tackle terrorist attacks in the country. Enhancing the skills of its commandos, the NSG sent 17 of them to train with the Special Forces of different countries, including the United States, France and Israel, according to the DG. The force will also conduct ‘personality profiling tests’ of its commandos. “In this test we will study the profiles of each commando. We will see what they are good at. Some may be good at firing, while others will be skilled in efficiently rappelling down from a hovering chopper. And using the test we will place commandos having varied skills in all our hits (teams of commandos). So that the hits are balanced,” said Arvind Ranjan. A hit comprises six commandos. The NSG is also in the process of procuring high-tech surveillance and communication equipments. The force will also have ‘tactical extraction platforms’, which are nets hanging from the rear end of helicopters. At a time, 10 commandos can hang on such a net and be evacuated from high-rise buildings and hostile environments, according to Ranjan. “We are focusing on improving the operational preparedness of our commandos. We are not just procuring the latest equipments and gadgets. But we are also training our commandos,” said the DG.
Modernising force
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PIL questions Centre’s clean chit to
ex-CJI
R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, October 17 Arguing before a Bench of Justices BS Chauhan and SA Bobde, the PIL petitioner’s advocate Prashant Bhushan said removal proceedings could be initiated against Justice Balakrishnan for allegedly committing impropriety as the NHRC Chairman, the CJI and a Judge of the SC. The Bench was hearing the PIL filed by Common Cause. Last week, the Centre filed an affidavit stating a probe conducted by the Income Tax Department showed he had not acquired any “benami” property while being the CJI (January 14, 2007, to May 12, 2010) or a Judge of the Supreme Court (June 8, 2000, to January 14, 2007) and as such there was no need to initiate any proceedings for his removal from his present position. Further, even if the allegations had any substance, there was no provision in law to initiate proceedings for his removal as the NHRC Chairman. He could be removed only if there was any proven “misbehaviour” or “incapacity” relating to his functioning as the NHRC chief, the Centre said. Bhushan, however, contended that under the law corruption charges could be ascertained only if the government referred the issue to the SC through a Presidential reference. He said Justice Balakrishnan had committed impropriety in his capacity as the NHRC Chairman by issuing a denial in December 2010 to SC Judge HL Gokhale’s assertion that as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court he had written a letter to CJI Balakrishnan on August 8, 2009, complaining that the then Union Telecom Minister A Raja had tried to influence him. Justice Balakrishnan had maintained that Justice Gokhale had not identified Raja as the culprit who had tried to influence him (Gokhale) for getting a favourable order in a criminal case in which Raja’s acquaintance was an accused. Bhushan also argued that since only former CJI’s could head NHRC, the post of NHRC Chairman could be treated as “elongation” of the office of CJI and as such the commission chief could be held accountable to his conduct as the CJI.
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CBI may quiz Odisha CM in coal scam
New Delhi, October 17 CBI sources said as its officials were scrutinising the documents they found a letter written by Patnaik requesting for a relook and reverse rejection of Hindalco's application for Talabira II block in Odisha. The CBI said while no final decision has been taken as to who all would be questioned, the sources said the Chief Minister would be questioned only if need was felt to seek his views on the reasons for recommending coal blocks to Hindalco. CBI sources said 46-year-old Kumar Manglam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group, had written a letter to the Prime Minister's Office which had forwarded the letter to the Coal Ministry. The CBI has alleged in its FIR after rejection of Hindalco's plea in 2005, Birla wrote two letters and held a "personal meeting" with then Coal Secretary PC Parakh, after which a decision was reversed and Hindalco was given the block which was meant for two PSUs — Mahanadi Coal Fields and Neyveli Lignite. "Pursuant to these letters and personal meeting between Parakh and Birla, Parakh, by abusing his official position, recommended the allocation of Talabira II along with Talabira III coal block to Hindalco Industries Ltd, along with other two companies with the sole intention of favouring Hindalco," the agency alleged in its FIR.
— PTI
Letter trouble
Ministers defend PM
Three Union ministers on Thursday came out in defence of the PM, saying he needs no certificate of honesty and that the allotments were made on recommendations of state governments. "The PM does not need any certificate from any quarter to prove his honesty," said Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal. Similarly, MoS PMO V Narayanasamy and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma backed the PM.
— PTI
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Book PM, says PIL filed in SC
New Delhi, October 17 Citing the statement of former Union Coal Secretary Prakash Chandra Parakh that Singh, Sharma apprehended that the Prime Minister had “directed the CBI” to leave him out and his ministerial colleagues in the FIRs. The PIL petitioner has submitted copies of letters purportedly written by some Union ministers recommending allocation of coal blocks to private companies. The next hearing in the case is slated for October 29.
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Mother was in tears as she could not vote on food Bill, says Rahul
Shahdol (MP), October 17 "I will not leave until the Bill is passed. I have fought for years for the Bill and will not leave until I press that button," Rahul said, giving a blow-by-blow account at an election rally of his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi's illness the day the epoch-making legislation was passed. "When I took her to hospital, she could hardly breathe and tears welled up in her eyes. She said Rahul, I fought for the bill for years, I wanted to press the button (to register her vote) but could not," Rahul said recounting his mother's frustration at not being able to cast her vote. "Now the Bill has been passed. For the first time in India nobody will go hungry. Your children will not go to sleep hungry. Dalits, adivasis, people of any caste or religion will not go hungry," he said, hardselling the Food Security Act, a measure Congress expects would shield it from anti-incumbency factor in next year's General Election. The Bill seeking to provide cheap foodgrains to 82 crore people in the country, arguably the biggest programme in the world to fight hunger, was passed on August 26 after much delay. Seeking to unseat BJP in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh after a decade, the Congress leader also attacked the state government for its "hollow" claims about development while lauding Congress-led UPA government for bringing crucial legislations for providing food security and land acquisition, a sensitive issue in mineral-rich Shahdol district which has a large tribal population. "The BJP can make as many claims as it wants about development but the truth is that under its rule, nothing has been done for the youth, farmers, women and the unemployed," Rahul said addressing the rally at Lalpur, about 18 kms from here.
— PTI
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Chandigarh to get tax tribunal Bench
New Delhi, October 17 In another decision, the cabinet also approved the setting up of a three-member supervisory committee on the Babhali Barrage to implement the directions of the Supreme Court of February 28. The committee will comprise one representative from the Central Water Commission who will be the chairman of the Supervisory Committee and one representative each from the state governments of Andhra Pradesh and
Maharashtra, respectively. The government said besides the new CESTAT benches at Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Allahabad, three additional benches will come up at the existing locations of New Delhi, Mumbai and
Chennai. “With the creation of six additional benches of CESTAT, disposal of cases will increase and pendency will decrease benefiting government and tax payers,” an official statement said. The proposal, it added, would facilitate the cause of the government as well as litigants, by reducing travel time and expenditure and also the timely disposal of cases. The creation of additional/new Benches of the CESTAT would amount to a one time expenditure of Rs. 3.45 crore while the recurring expenditure would be Rs 10 crore per annum, the statement further said. The statement added that additional/new Benches would require the creation of 12 posts of Members of the Tribunal (6 Technical and 6 Judicial Members) in the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG+) in addition to 98 posts of supporting staff, including deputy registrar or assistant registrar.
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Assam power project: NHPC told to modify dam design
Guwahati, October 17 Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the Centre’s decision was conveyed to the Assam government in a letter by Union Minister of State for Power Jyotiraditya Scindia earlier this week. The construction work of the project on the Subansiri river has been stalled due to sustained protest by many Assam-based organisations, mainly by RTI activist Akhil Gogoi-led Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), because of the apprehension of its downstream impact. Gogoi today said: “As per the recommendation of the Thatte Committee, an independent dam design review panel (DDRP) was formed. It has proposed some additional safety measures in the construction of the dam. Now, NHPC has been asked to modify the design of the dam.” The DDRP looked into foundation competency, seismic aspect, dam design and existing ground conditions. He said the Power Ministry had accepted the recommendations and asked NHPC to proceed accordingly. The NHPC would implement recommendations of the Joint Steering Committee to mitigate the downstream impact, which will cost about Rs 470 crore.
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‘No health hazard’ from mobile phone emissions
New Delhi, October 17 The COAI said WHO in its advisory has said: “Studies to date provide no indication that environmental exposure to RF (radio frequency) fields, such as from base stations, increases the risk of cancer or any other disease. Scientists have reported other health effects of using mobile phones including changes in brain activity, reaction times, and sleep patterns. These effects are minor and have no apparent health significance”. The latest WHO advisory came out on September 20, the COAI claimed. It said that in another related development the French government agency, ANSES, in its recommendation yesterday said: ”Biological effects corresponding to generally reversible changes in the inner functioning of the body can thus be observed, as is also found in the case of exposure to different stimuli of everyday life. However, the agency’s experts were unable to establish any causal link between the biological effects described in cell models, animals or humans, and any possible resulting health effects. Given this evidence, proposing new exposure limits for the general population on health grounds does not seem justified”.
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NSG to be trained abroad to improve preparedness New Delhi, October 17 The developments were shared on the sidelines of the NSG’s 29th Raising Day yesterday. Force’s Director-General, Arvind Ranjan, also said that in view of the increasing number of IED blasts occurring across the country, the NSG’s experts are guiding and advising the instructors of the bomb disposal squads of different states in IED management. These instructors would then further train their own bomb squads. The NSG, also known as ‘The Black Cats’, is a federal contingency force raised in 1985 to tackle terrorist attacks in the country. Enhancing the skills of its commandos, the NSG sent 17 of them to train with the Special Forces of different countries, including the United States, France and Israel, according to the DG. The force will also conduct ‘personality profiling tests’ of its commandos. “In this test we will study the profiles of each commando. We will see what they are good at. Some may be good at firing, while others will be skilled in efficiently rappelling down from a hovering chopper. And using the test we will place commandos having varied skills in all our hits (teams of commandos). So that the hits are balanced,” said Arvind Ranjan. A hit comprises six commandos. The NSG is also in the process of procuring high-tech surveillance and communication equipments. The force will also have ‘tactical extraction platforms’, which are nets hanging from the rear end of helicopters. At a time, 10 commandos can hang on such a net and be evacuated from high-rise buildings and hostile environments, according to Ranjan. “We are focusing on improving the operational preparedness of our commandos. We are not just procuring the latest equipments and gadgets. But we are also training our commandos,” said the DG. Modernising force
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Centre gets SC notice on plea for allowing news
on pvt FM radio New Delhi, October 17 Acknowledging that radio was easily accessible to all, a Bench comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it would examine the PIL filed by an NGO, Common Cause. Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Prashant Bhushan pleaded for allowing news broadcast by private radio stations, contending that this would promote community radio as everyone could not afford to open a television channel. At present, there are 245 FM and 145 community radio channels which are only allowed to air news pertaining to sports, traffic, weather, cultural events, examinations or results, admissions, employment and announcements pertaining to civic amenities like electricity and water, natural calamities and health alerts. Effectively, there is a ban on political news. According to the PIL, the ban goes against the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. It also cited a 1995 SC ruling in a case (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting vs Cricket Association of Bengal) to point out that airwaves were public property to be used to promote public good by expressing a plurality of views. The verdict was critical of the government monopoly over
broadcasting.
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CBI arrests BJP MLA in iron ore export scam
Bangalore, October 17 He was produced before Special CBI Court Judge Somaraju who remanded him to CBI custody till October 26, agency officials told PTI here. Singh was in Singapore and had later flown to London last month, sources close to the MLA said. Singh is the fourth MLA to be arrested by the CBI in the case after B Nagendra and Satish Sail, both independents, and Suresh Babu of BSR Congress headed by former minister B
Sriramulu, a close aide of mining baron and former minister G Janardhana Reddy, now in jail in an illegal mining case. The central agency had summoned Singh for questioning in September but he failed to turn up and fled reportedly to Singapore from where he filed anticipatory bail plea before the CBI court on medical grounds, fearing his arrest. Thereafter, CBI arrested Singh’s aide Muthiyala Shivakumar on September 23. Illegal export of iron ore from Belekeri port in Uttara Kannada district was exposed by former Lokayukta N Santosh
Hegde, who said 7.74 million tonnes of iron ore were illegally exported between 2006-2007 and 2010-11. — PTI
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Yet to ascertain if US ship was within Indian waters: Deputy NSA
"You have to understand that our territorial waters extend upto 12 nautical miles. Anything that happens beyond that is not within the realm of our control," Deputy National Security Advisor Nehchal Sandhu told reporters on the sidelines of a function here. "So, if there is a ship beyond that and doing whatever it is doing, then what can anybody do in terms of law. You cannot concoct law," he said. The vessel, MV Seaman Guard Ohio, whose crew included eight Indians, was intercepted and detained by the Indian Coast Guard east of Tuticorin. An FIR has been registered against 10 crew members and 25 guards of the detained ship by the Tamil Nadu Marine Police for illegally carrying arms and ammunition. Another case under the Essential Commodities Act has been registered against the crew for buying 1,500 litres of diesel illegally with the help of a local shipping agent.
— PTI
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Sugar industry seeks hike in import duty
New Delhi, October 17 Indian Sugar Mills Association
(ISMA) Director-General Abinash Verma called for immediate increase in import duty from the current 15% to at least 40% on both white and raw sugar. He said that sugar mills were sitting on a huge opening stock of about 90 lakh tonnes and the government should 'assist the sugar industry in exporting 30-40 lakh tonnes in the next 8-10 months'. However, continued imports were happening due to low import duties despite the surplus. Another problem that the industry was facing was high sugarcane prices influenced by respective states, he said. Sugar production of India, the world's second largest producer and biggest consumer, is estimated at 250 lakh tonnes in the 2013-14 season (October-September) as against 251 lakh tonnes in the previous year. This would be the fourth successive season when sugar production is higher than domestic demand.
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Maoists kill 3 commandos
in Maharashtra
Mumbai, October
17 A team of C-60 commandos, specially raised to take on Maoists, was reportedly sent on a combing mission to the Bada Zariya forest area of Dhanora taluka on Maharashtra’s border with Chhattisgarh following a tip-off. Officials said the commandos might have walked into a trap. A team has been sent to retrieve bodies of the deceased commandos. 7 dead in Bihar Bihar: Maoists on Thursday blew up a vehicle killing all its seven occupants at Pathara village in the Naxal-infested Aurangabad district. — PTI
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New Delhi, October 17
India’s leading drug enforcement agency, the Narcotics Control Bureau, has unearthed a new racket. Chemicals are being diverted from pharmaceutical manufacturing units for the production of party drugs, which are in demand in elite party circles.
agreements for cooperation in defence and other fields as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought Budapest's support for India's full membership of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group
(NSG) and other multilateral export control regimes. The agreements were signed after wide-ranging talks between Manmohan Singh and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor
Orban, who is here on a four-day visit to India.
New Delhi, October 17