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| Tuesday, September 19, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Anti-Sikh riots: even President was helpless NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — The Election Commission’s model code of conduct got near unanimous support today with five more political parties agreeing that the code be implemented from the date of announcement of the poll schedule.
Order reserved on CBI’s plea India, Russia to sign pact 342 in jail despite being allowed bail
Match-fixing: SA officials hold talks |
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Hrishikesh gets standing ovation Synthetic milk:
Centre, Delhi pass buck Notice to Brig: Army refuses
comment
Gowda arrested,
released Reply sought on use of
VIP aircraft fleet Meerut
university VC restrained Sex-selection tests:
court moved Baba:
references in Gurbani not mythological Chautala, Dandvate
release books 31 gangsters
arrested
Don’t use court for political battle: SC Passport staff go on strike Minister gets bail Rain likely in
UP areas 167 blasts
accused produced in court
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Anti-Sikh riots: even President was helpless NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — During the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the Capital, even the powerful felt helpless, including the then President, Giani Zail Singh, indicated the affidavit filed by the former Delhi Chief Minister, Mr Madan Lal Khurana, before the G T Nanavati Commission. “Giani Zail Singh, the then President of India called me. He stated that it was not the President of India who was calling Khurana, but it was Khurana’s friend Zail Singh speaking,” the former Delhi Chief Minister, who was recently appointed the Vice President of the BJP, said. “Giani Zail Singh told me that one of his relatives Mr Virdi had been killed in Patel Nagar and requested that I should help the family in getting the body of Mr Virdi to perform his last rites,” the affidavit, a copy of which is available with The Tribune, said. Narrating the incident, Mr Khurana said on November 3, 1984, I received a call from the wife of Mr N.S. Vasant, then Chairman of PSEB that her son-in-law Mr Virdi had been killed by a mob in Patel Nagar and she requested me to get the body of Mr Virdi from the Police. Soon after that call I received a call from the then President. “I met Mr Ram Murthy, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Patel Nagar Police Station. He told me that he could not hand over the body to the family as he had the order not to hand over the body to relatives. However, Mr Ram Murthy told the time and place of cremation of the body and said that the family members could come to the electric crematorium at the time of cremation,” the affidavit said. In the evening of that day, three days after the killings started, the then Lt-Governor of Delhi, called a meeting of leaders of all political parties for the first time. While I was going to the Lt-Governor’s house I saw three trucks loaded with the dead bodies standing at Subzi Mandi mortuary, he said. The former Delhi Chief Minister said the party asked him to conduct a survey as to how many people were killed in Delhi during the riots. A provisional list prepared by the party workers by contacting people in their houses and relief camps indicated that about 2800 persons were killed in the Capital. Narrating the long drawn process of registering criminal cases, Mr Khurana said he constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of Justice R.S. Narula, former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, soon after becoming the Chief Minister in 1993. The Narula committee had to advise on the steps to be taken to bring the guilty to book and ensure merited punishment to them in accordance with the law. The Narula Committee in its report stated that based on the affidavits of 21 persons, The Jain Aggarwal Committee had earlier recommended registration of criminal cases against Sajjan Kumar and HKL Bhagat. The then Lt-Governor Markande Singh had accepted the recommendations of the Jain Aggarwal committee and ordered that the cases be registered in 191. The Delhi government sent these cases to the CBI for registration of cases. However, the CBI returned these cases to Delhi Government on the ground that the CBI had no time. Since 1991, till the begining of 1994 when the Narula Committee submitted the report, Mr Khurana said these affidavits had been lying with the Home Department of Delhi government and no case was registered. “When I took over as Chief Minister, the Union Home Ministry called these affidavits to take them out of my reach,” Mr Khurana alleged. On receiving the Narula Committee report, Mr Khurana requested the Union Home Ministry to send these affidavits back so that cases could be registered. Mr Khurana said the Union Home Ministry did not return those affidavits despite repeated requests. However, when I threatened to move the National Human Rights Commission as a Chief Minister of Delhi alleging that the Centre was violating the human rights by protecting the guilty and not permitting the registration of criminal cases against them. “After this threat, these affidavits were sent back to Delhi Government,” Mr Khurana said, adding that he had pursued vigorously with the then Lt-Governor to register the case and it was finally registered with a lot of persuasion. The Centre has appointed the Nanavati Commission to investigate the cause of the riots and recommend measures that may be adopted to dispense justice. |
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5 more parties agree to EC code NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (UNI) — The Election Commission’s model code of conduct got near unanimous support today with five more political parties agreeing that the code be implemented from the date of announcement of the poll schedule. Leaders of the DMK, the MDMK, the PMK, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress and Mizo National Front (MNF) spoke to Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill and backed the commission’s stand. Dmk leader Murasoli Maran, MDMK’s Vaiko, PMK’s Ramdoss and Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga were among those who conveyed their parties’ decision to the Election Commission. They also conveyed that the gap between the date of notification and announcement should be less than a month. The Election Commission had called an all-party meeting on Saturday to evolve a consensus on the contentious issue which has been pending in the Supreme Court since 1997. During the meeting, the majority of the 40-odd political parties had sided with the Election Commission. Bjp leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who represented the party at the meeting, had said that his party would reconsider its stand, that the code be in force from the date of notification, if the gap between the announcement of the poll schedule and the notification was reduced from the current four weeks to two weeks. Only a handful of parties had said that they favoured the code’s implementation from the date of notification. All other parties, including major NDA constituents like the Trinamool Congress, the Samata Party, the Shiv Sena, the National Conference, the Biju Janata Dal, the Akali Dal and the Telugu Desam, have favoured the code’s implementation from the announcement of the poll schedule. The Congress, the CPI, the CPM, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the AIADMK, the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal (Secular and United) have also agreed to the EC formula. PTI: Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill would undertake from Wednesday a two-day trip to Kerala, where Assembly polls are due early next year, to review the progress of the identity cards in the state. Mr Gill would hold discussions with various political party leaders, Chief Electoral officer and others during his stay in the state, commission sources said. The CEC would also review the electoral rolls and other election-related works, the sources said. |
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Urea scam case NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (PTI) — A CBI designated court hearing the Rs 133 crore urea scam case today reserved its order on the CBI’s plea seeking to club the trial of Brazilian businessman A.E. Pinto with the rest of the accused. After hearing arguments from the prosecution and defence counsel, Special Judge V.B. Gupta said he would pronounce his order on the CBI’s plea on September 30. The court also said it would hear arguments on the plea of Karsan executives Cihan Karani and Tunkey Alankus, two key accused in the case, seeking permission to negotiate with National Fertiliser Ltd (NFL) for an amicable settlement on September 22. The CBI had alleged that Pinto and NFL Executive Director D.S. Kanwar had in July 1995 unauthorisedly signed a contract on behalf of NFL with with the Turkish firm Karsan for the supply of two lakh tonnes of urea. This contract was, however, replaced by another contract in October that year envisaging total advance payment by NFL counter guaranteed by Llyods Insurance policy covering risks of non-performance and non-delivery. Even after the advance payment of total money amounting to Rs 133 crore, not even a single grain of urea was supplied by Karsan, the agency alleged. CBI counsel B.N. Ojha said, clubbing the trial of Pinto, who was extradited from London last month, with the rest of the accused was required as “he is a party to same offence, same transaction and same criminal conspiracy”. CBI’s plea was opposed by Pinto on the ground that it would cause delay in the trial and that the agency had not clearly stated under what charges he would be facing the trial. Counsel for the two Karsan executives, Harjinder Singh while opposing the CBI plea, said there was no provision under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to club the trial at a time when 41 witnesses had already been examined. |
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India,
Russia to sign pact NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov is arriving here on Wednesday for giving final touches to over 15 bilateral agreements including “the Declaration of Strategic Partnership” which are to be signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s four-day visit commencing from October 2. While Mr Klebanov, who is the co-chairman of the Indo-Russian Joint Commission, will hold intensive discussions with his counterpart, the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, officials of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of External Affairs for imparting strong economic content to the mutual ties, the Strategic Partnership agreement is going to set the tone for the future. Speaking at a seminar on “Indo-Russian Togetherness in the New Millennium” here today, Russian Ambassador to India, Mr Alexander Kadakin, said the declaration would provide for intensified strategic dialogue between the two countries in the international arena. The seminar was organised by the Foreign Policy Research Institute and attended by former Prime Minister, I.K. Gujral, and other leading career diplomats and political figures. Mr Gujral said it was important for the two countries to identify common threads. Mr Gujral also advocated a strong Sino-Indian-Russian triangular partnership. “China is our neighbour. Both (India and China) are strong nations... Population-wise also, we are perhaps unmatched. So we must come together”, he said, adding that “commonality of interests says we must cooperate”. Underlining India’s keenness to forge friendship with all nations and warning of ganging up against a particular nation, Mr Gujral said, “We must remember that the Cold War is over... We should not make friends against somebody”. Earlier, the Ambassador said the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, which the two countries signed in 1993, had served as a strong legal foundation for bilateral relations. It was in pursuance of this treaty and “in order to improve the mechanism of interaction that the Declaration of the Strategic Partnership is being signed by the two nations”. The Ambassador supported India’s candidature for the permanent membership of the UN Security Council. “We consider India the rightful and correct choice for the enlarged UN Security Council”. |
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342 in jail despite being allowed bail NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (UNI) — More than 300 under-trial prisoners are languishing in Asia’s biggest prison, Tihar Jail in the Capital, despite judicial orders to release them on bail. The Additional Director-General-cum-Inspector General of Prisons, has informed the Delhi High Court that 342 prisoners, who had been granted bail by different Delhi courts had not been released as they could not furnish requisite bail bonds. Mr Justice R.S. Sodhi of the High Court has observed that ‘‘the court must, on its own protect the interests of the accused so that the underprivileged do not feel left out nor be forgotten or feel that they are children of the lesser gods.’’ ‘‘If an order of the court admitting an accused to bail cannot be availed of, it certainly reflects poorly on the administration of justice,’’ the judge said. The High Court directed the trial courts which have admitted that under trial prisoners to bail to reconsider their orders so as to make the conditions of bail such as are within the means of undertrial to enable him to avail of the benefits of the order admitting him/her to bail. Once the court has found the undertrial prisoner fit to be admitted to bail, it must follow that the court would look into the reasons why the accused has not been able to enjoy the benefits of the order of bail, the judge said. ‘‘On going through the list supplied (by prison authorities), it appears that a large number of prisoners have been languishing in jail for many months inspite of bail orders. This, I find, most disturbing,’’ Mr Justice Sodhi observed. He said the Supreme Court in various decisions has emphasised the necessity of ensuring that the provisions of bail are not made illusory by attaching such conditions that make the benefit extended to prisoner beyond his means. Mr Justice Sodhi directed the Inspector-General of Prisons to move an appropriate applicaton before the courts concerned to bring to their notice that the bail order admitting the prisoners to bail has not been availed of for reasons whatever. And, where the bail has been granted by the High Court, appropritate application be moved giving the reasons why the bail has not been availed of. |
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Affidavit sought on tigers’ welfare NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — The Supreme Court today directed the Union Government to state on affidavit within two weeks about the steps taken by the Centre and the states to remedy the distressing situation regarding the welfare of the tiger population, both in captivity as well as in the wild. A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice A.S. Anand, Mr Justice Santosh N. Hegde and Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan issued the direction during resumed hearing of a public interest litigation filed by Mr Navin M. Raheja seeking directions for protection of the dwindling tiger population and strict implementation of the Forest Protection Act. The judge told Solicitor-General Harish Salve that the affidavit should be filed after considering the suggestions made submitted to the court by the petitioner and the report of the Expert Committee which went into the causes of the death of the 14 tigers, including the white ones, at the Nandankanan zoo. The judges stated that a cursory glance at the report of the committee revealed that the situation was really very distressing and much was required to be done for the welfare of the tigers both in captivity and the reserves. Apprising the judges of the report of the committee, Mr Salve submitted that the African disease was responsible for the death of tigers in the zoo and how the tigers got afflicted remained a mystery, highlighting the mismanagement of the zoo. Mr Salve contended that the core problem was the management of forests and zoos which required much more to be done and the implementation of the forest Act. The difficulty in implementation of the Act arose from the fact that whereas the Act was central, its implementation was to be done by the states. Pointing out that both determination and inclination for the protection of tigers was missing, Mr Salve suggested setting up of a nodal agency for supervising zoo guidelines which were seldom cared for. The zoos were overcrowded and necessary facilities were lacking as a result of which they were prone to all kinds of diseases, he added. |
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Not my job to satisfy Advani: Basu CALCUTTA, Sept 18 (UNI, PTI) — Veteran Communist leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu has said that his party had lost a “great chance” to spread its base in other parts of the country by not joining the central government in 1996. “I feel sad when I find that except in three states we have got a very weak base in the rest of the country. We have failed to build our party organisation as per the demands of the situation,” Mr Basu told a private TV channel. He, however, said his party had changed its stand and incorporated in the party programme the issue of joining the central government. “A Communist cannot be frustrated. He or she has to march forward and work for the betterment of the people,” he pointed out and urged the party workers to take the people into confidence by ensuring close contact. Mr Basu also urged the Left Parties to take the lead role in developing the third front as an alternative to both the BJP and the Congress with help of the strong regional parties, particularly those in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and South India. To a question on imposition of President’s rule in the state, the Chief Minister said the Trinamool Congress and the BJP had been demanding promulgation of Article 356 in the state because they were unable to come to power in the state by winning elections. “We have been ruling the state for the past 23 years and we are still ahead of our rivals in the panchayat and municipal elections. That’s why the Trinamool Congress and the BJP have been demanding President’s rule,” he said. Mr Basu said he would reply tomorrow to Union Home Minister L.K. Advani’s letter accusing the state government of failing to “satisfactorily deal” with the political violence, and asserted that it was not his purpose to satisfy Mr Advani. Mr Basu, who had already written a letter to the Union Home Minister earlier, told reporters at the Writer’s Building “I have spoken the truth. One may or may not like it. It is not my purpose to satisfy Mr Advani”. In his letter on Friday, Mr Advani had asked the state government to take firm steps to check violence and restore the people’s confidence in its effectiveness and neutrality. |
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Arpana Caur ‘insulted’ at Kali Temple CALCUTTA, Sept 18 — Arpana Caur, a Delhi-based artist was allegedly insulted and manhandled by the pandas during her visit to the famous Kali Temple at Kalighat in south Calcutta for offering prayers. She was not only denied of a ‘darshan’ of Goddess Kali for refusing to pay extra money to the pandas but also forcibly dragged out of the large queue she was standing in, on to the streets outside the temple gate. Incidentally, the Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, resides near the Kali Temple and the Trinamool Congress’ main office is located there. After the incident, the ‘disgraced and disappointed’ artist walked down to the nearby Bhowanipore police station and formally lodged complaint against two pandas who had ‘insulted and assaulted’ her. The incident occurred yesterday in the presence of a large number of devotees who went to the temple for Janmashtami puja. Some devotees present protested but this had little effect on the pandas. The officer-in-charge of Kalighat Than, Tapan Bose, admitted that such a complaint had been lodged. He said the complaint was serious and ordered an inquiry. He said proper action would be taken after receiving the inquiry report. He, however, disclosed that the investigating officer. (IO) contacted the temple management and they denied any such incident. “We had heard of a minor incident of verbal altercation between a panda and a woman devotee over lining up in the queue but it was nothing serious as such”, the temple authorities informed the police. “But we are making a further probe and action will be taken accordingly”, they said. Caur hails from Punjab and is now a resident of New Delhi. She is a professional painter. |
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Match-fixing: SA
officials hold talks NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (PTI) — Indian and South African authorities today held intensive discussions on the investigations into the match-fixing scandal and sharing of evidence gathered by both sides. South Africa’s Chief Prosecutor for the Edwin King Commission of Inquiry into corruption in cricket Shamila Batohi met Delhi Police Commissioner Ajai Raj Sharma and discussed the status of investigations being conducted by the Delhi police and evidence gathered by the commission. Emerging out of an hour-long meeting with top officers at the police headquarters, Ms Batohi termed the meeting as “very positive, very good and very encouraging.” Ms Batohi, who was accompanied by South African Deputy High Commissioner here and Captain Geoff Edwards of South African police, told reporters “the meeting would go a long way.” Asked whether she had requested Delhi police to hand over the taped conversation between disgraced former South African captain Hansie Cronje and book-maker Sanjeev Chawla, Ms Batohi said: “We are looking into the legality. We are sure it will be sorted out.” Later, briefing reporters, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) K.K. Paul said the request of voiced tapes available with the Delhi police for use by the King Commission was being examined “as there were legal hurdles”. |
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Hrishikesh gets standing ovation NEW DELHI, Sept 18 The President today presented the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award for 1999 to veteran director, Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The awards for excellence in cinema were presented to several film-makers, producers, playback singers, cinematographers, actors and actresses at a function at Vigyan Bhavan here today. The evening clearly belonged to ‘Hrishida’ not merely for the honour conferred on him but also the endless cheers he got from the audience. As ‘Hrishida’ walked up to the stage to receive the award, the audience gave him a standing ovation. The applause for years of meaningful cinema was impromptu and unanimous. A total of over 50 awards for feature and non-features and for writing on cinema were given away in the presence of the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Mr Arun Jaitley, at a colourful function at Vigyan Bhavan that lasted almost two hours. The others present included the I and B Secretary, Mr Y.N. Chaturvedi, the Director of Film Festivals, Ms Malati Sahai, the Jury chairmen Goutam Ghose (feature), Dr Jabbar Patel (non-feature) and senior scribe K. Satchidanandan (critics) and senior film personalities. The function was telecast live on Doordarshan. Renowned director-cameraman Shaji N. Karun received the best film award for Malayalam feature film ‘Vanaprastham’ while eminent filmmaker Buddhadeb Das Gupta received the best director award for the Bengali ‘Uttara’, (Mr Das Gupta won the same award at the recent Venice International Film Festival). ‘Vanaprastham’ producer and popular star Mohanlal got the best actor award while actress Kiron Kher bagged the best actress award for the film ‘Bariwali’, directed by Rituparno Ghosh and produced by her husband producer, Anupam Kher. The Punjabi historical feature film ‘Shaheed Udham Singh’ directed by Chitraarth and starring actor-member of Parliament Raj Babbar, got the Nargis Dutt Award for National Integration, while the Indira Gandhi award for the first film of a director was shared by two films - the English feature ‘Dollar Dreams’ (Sekhar Kammula) and the Haryanvi ‘Laado’ (Ashwini Chaudhary). The Union Health Ministry-produced Hindi feature films ‘Hari Bhari’ and ‘Kairee’, directed by renowned directors Shyam Benegal and Amol Palekar, respectively, received awards for family welfare and social issues. Atul Kulkarni got the best supporting actor award in ‘Hey Ram’ for which former actress Sarika Kamal Hassan won the award for costume design and Messrs Mantra got the special effects award. Two young actresses Sudipta Chakraborty and Sohini Haldar won the supporting artiste awards for ‘Bariwali’ and ‘Paromitar Ek Din’ respectively. ‘Paromitar Ek Din’ has also won awards for singer Jayshree Dasgupta for her song “Hriday Ammar Prokash Holo’ and as best Bengali language film.
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Synthetic milk:
Centre, Delhi pass buck NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (PTI) — The Centre and the Delhi Government today tried to pass the buck to each other regarding their responsibility to check the supply of adulterated milk to the city during the hearing of a petition on the synthetic milk menace. While the Union Government standing counsel H.S. Phoolka told the court that powers to deal with dairies having a capacity of 7,500 litres had been delegated to the state, the Delhi Government counsel stated it was the Union Agriculture Ministry’s responsibility to ensure that its registration number was not misused by dairy owners. Mr Phoolka said the ministry had already issued show cause notice to Paras Dairy for displaying its registration on its poly packs in a manner that gave an impression that it was a government product. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arijit Passayat and Mr Justice D.K. Jain, however, asked Mr Phoolka to file an affidavit regarding the action initiated against the dairies. |
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Notice to Brig: Army refuses
comment NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (PTI) — The Army headquarters today declined to comment on a press report that Brigadier Surinder Singh, former Commander of the Kargil Brigade, has been served with a show-cause notice for dismissal by it for alleged lapses during the Kargil incursions last year. Senior Army officials neither denied nor confirmed the report which said that Brigadier Surinder Singh had been given the termination notice for various acts of “omission and commission”. The report said the show-cause notice has mentioned four counts on which the Brigadier had been blamed for the Pakistani intrusions in the kargil sector last year. Meanwhile, the Brigadier lawyer said in Chandigarh that his client had been served with “some” notice by the Army headquarters regarding his alleged lapses during his posting in Kargil. Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyer Ranjit Singh Randhawa told PTI that he was not aware of the exact details of the notice as the Brigadier was busy attending an ailing relative. Mr Randhawa said the Brigadier was to reply to the notice by September 28. Maintaining that there were no immediate plans to take the notice matter to the court, he said the brigadier would reply on his own after consulting
him. |
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Gowda arrested,
released UDHAGAMANDALAM, Sept 18 (PTI) — Former Prime Minister,
H.D. Deve Gowda was today arrested here for picketing outside a branch of a nationalised bank to protest against an alleged police attack on tea growers last month. Mr
Gowda, who refused to move after symbolically picketing a branch of United Commercial Bank, was arrested under IPC Sections 143
(unlawfull assembly), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 188 (violating a promulgated order), the police said. He was, however, released a short while later. All business establishments in the area downed shutters for some time in view of the prevailing tension. |
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Reply sought on use of
VIP aircraft fleet NEW DELHI, Sept 18 (UNI) — The Delhi High Court today asked the Defence and Finance Ministries to reply on a public interest litigation, seeking appropriate utilisation of an aircraft fleet provided by the Air Force communication squadron. Chief Justice Arijit Pasayat and Mr Justice D.K. Jain said the replies must be filed by November 11. Other respondents were the Cabinet Secretary, the Chief of Air Staff and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The court had earlier asked for their responses on March 13 but none poured in. The judges told Additional Solicitor-General K.K. Sud to hurry up the matter. According to petitioner B.L. Wadehra, the Defence Ministry maintained a fleet of aircraft to provide air transport within the country to VVIPs. A squadron operated three Boeing 737s, seven avros and six MI-8 helicopters. The orders regulating the use of special VIP flights stipulated that except the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister and heads of foreign governments who were categorised as VVIPs other entitled persons like the Defence Minister, the Home Minister, the Cabinet Secretary, other ministers of the Central Government, the Minister of State in Defence Ministry, Chiefs of Defence Services, the Defence Secretary and senior service and civilian officers connected with defence organisations could also avail of the special flight facility. Mr Wadehra said the scrutiny of the 1992-97 records showed that only 20 per cent of the total flight hours were utilised for VVIP role. ‘‘An analysis of the utilisation of special flights, including unsubstantiated requirements and overall low utilisation of flight hours per aircraft per month give an unmistakable impression of over-provision in the fleet of VIPs which needs to be reduced and
controlled.’’ |
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Meerut
university VC restrained LUCKNOW, Sept 18
(UNI) — Pror Ramesh Chandra, Vice-Chancellor of Ch Charan Singh
University of Meerut, who is facing two inquiries, was today
restrained from performing the functions of his office and the
Commissioner of Meerut division asked to take over from him.
Commissioner Deepak Singhal has been asked to discharge the duties of
VC of the university till further orders. UP Governor and Chancellor
Suraj Bhan today issued such orders under the provisions of sections
12 and 13 A of U.P. Universities Act, 1973. Mr Suraj Bhan said the
action was taken as an inquiry in connection with various
administrative and financial irregularities was pending against the
VC. Besides, a CBI inquiry into a separate matter was also in progress
and an FIR had already been lodged against him, he pointed
out. Meanwhile, a report from Meerut said Prof Chandra proceeded on
two months leave immediately after Mr Singhal took over. |
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Minister gets bail NAWADA (Bihar), Sept 18 (PTI) — Bihar Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Aditya Singh, and his son, Pappu, were today granted bail by Nawada Subdivisional Magistrate Shiv Sharan Mishra in connection with a case arising out of an alleged attack on a Dalit youth in 1994. Mishra, who had on September 7 issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Aditya Singh and his son in this case for non-appearance for commencement of trial, allowed their prayers for bail when they appeared before the court. |
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Rain likely in
UP areas NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — Rainfall:- Rain or thundershowers have occurred at a few places in east Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh. Weather was dry in the rest of the region. The chief amounts of rainfall in cm are: Himachal Pradesh: Pandoh 1; and Uttar Pradesh: Gorakhpur 7, Birdghat 5, Chandradeepghat and Kakrahi 4 each, Basti and Bansi 3 each, Ballia and Regoli 2 each and Chhatnag 1. Forecast valid until the morning of Sept 20: Rain or thundershowers are likely at a few places in east Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh and the hills of west Uttar Pradesh. Weather will be mainly dry in the rest of the region. Forecast for Delhi and the Neighbourhood valid until the morning of Sept 20: Mainly clear sky. Farmers’ weather bulletin for Delhi forecast valid until the morning of Sept 20: Sky will be mainly clear. Outlook for the subsequent two days: No large change. Earthquake report: An earthquake of slight intensity having a magnitude of 3.5 on the richter scale occurred at 1 hour 17 minutes (IST) on September 18, 2000, with its epicentre about 60 km from the Seismological Observatory,
Shillong.
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Sex-selection tests:
court moved NEW DELHI, Sept 17 — A public interest litigation seeking implementation of the provisions of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994, is under the consideration of the Supreme Court. The petition has been filed by the Centre for Enquiry Health and Allied Themes, the Mahilla Sarvangeen Mandal, Maharashtra and Mr Sabu M George, a public health professional, who has been writing on female infanticide and foeticide. The petition filed through Lawyer’s Collective, an NGO through its Secretary, Indira Jaising seeks to obtain a declaration that pre-natal (including pre-pregnancy) sex selection falls within the purview of the PNDT Act, 1994. A Bench comprising Mr Justice V N Khare and Justice R. C. Lahoti have issued notices to all State governments and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the nodal ministry responsible for the effective implementation and monitoring of the Act. The petitioners have prayed for a declaration that the Pre-Natal Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) technique contravens the provisions of the PNDT Act and the performance of such a procedure violates the Act. The petitioners have prayed for directives to state governments and the central government to implement the provisions of the PNDT Act by appointing appropriate authorities (state and district level) and advisory committees. It has further prayed that the central government be directed to ensure that the Central Advisory Board under the PNDT Act meet every six months as stipulated under the Act. The petition has also sought quashing of a letter issued by the Union Ministry of Health on February 9, 1999, to the Director, Health Services, Punjab. A copy of the aforesaid letter is annexed with the petition. According to the letter, the PNDT Act, 1994, clearly states that the Act is provided for prevention of pre-natal sex determination. It further says that the question of pre-conceptual sex planning is not covered under the Act. |
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Don’t use court for political battle: SC NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — The Supreme Court today dismissed a PIL by two former Haryana MLAs seeking cancellation of the allotment of 20 acres in the Gurgaon industrial estate to Arbit Resorts in 1998 by the then Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Devi Lal. The petitioners, Mr Karam Singh Dalal and Mr Pratap Singh had complained that the said allotment had been made at a throwaway price by Mr Devi Lal under the alleged political influence of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The Bench comprising Mr Justice
B.N. Kirpal and Justice Ruma Pal while dismissing the petition said: “It appears to be a family dispute because Pratap Singh happens to be the son of Mr Devi Lal. Fight your political battles elsewhere. Do not use this court for this purpose.” The petitioners alleged in their petition that Mr Devi Lal had allotted the land to Arbit Resorts to help Mr Surinder Singh, son of his political friend, Mr Parkash Singh
Badal. Surinder Singh is the Managing Director of Arbit Resorts. |
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Baba: references in Gurbani not
mythological NEW DELHI, SEPT 18 —Baba Virsa Singh, founder of the Gobind Sadan Insitute for Advanced Studies in Comparative Religion, has said that references in the Guru Granth Sahib cannot be called 'mythological'. Talking to media persons here, he said that a booklet from an anonymous press was being circulated among Sikhs, which described ancient Indian scriptures as ' mythological ' and Lord Rama and Lord Krishna as 'not being incarnations of God'. Baba Virsa said that a copy of the booklet had also been sent to him at the Gobind Sadan here. Describing Gurbani as the ' voice of God', he quoted Guru Nanak, 'Believe in Bani as truth, for God the Creator is Himself causing it to be uttered '. He referred to the words of the Fifth Guru Arjan Dev, "The Bani is direct from God and it removes all worries". He also gave a tabulation of the incarnations and names of God included in the Guru Granth Sahib. The name 'Hari' appears 8,344 times,'Ram' 2,533 times, 'Prabhu' 1,371 times, 'Gopal' 491 times, 'Gobind' 475 times,'Parmeshwar' 139 times, 'Narain' 85 times, 'Murari' 97 times,'Allah' 46 times, `Bhagwan’ 30 times, 'Madhav' 27 times, 'Krishna' 22 times,'Rab' 17 times, 'Banwari' 15 times, 'Narsing' 15 times, 'Damodar' 15 times,'Wahe Guru' 13 times and 'Madhusadan' nine times. Baba Virsa Singh said that Guru Nanak has written:"These four Vedas are that by which we can attain truth". Bhagat Kabir wrote, " The Vedas and other revealed scriptures are not false, false is the person who is not pondering over them.’’ |
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Chautala, Dandvate
release books NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala has said there is a lack of will among some political leaders to solve major national issues as the present generation of politicians want to enjoy the fruits of power without any struggle. He said they should take inspiration from the life and deeds of freedom fighters and change their attitude for the welfare of the masses. The Chief Minister was speaking after releasing a book, ‘Prof Tilak Raj Chadha: His Life and Vision’ by Dr K.L. Johar and Dr Raj Pal Singh here last evening. He said Prof Chadha was a great social reformer. Earlier, former Union Minister Madhu Dandvate released a book titled ‘Democratic Socialism: Profiles in Courage and Conviction’ by Mr Prem Bhasin. The book has been edited by Dr K.L. Johar and late Dr Hari Dev Sharma. |
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31 gangsters
arrested NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — The Delhi Police claimed to have busted six gangs of criminals operating in South district of the capital. A total of 31 members of these gangs have been arrested. The gangs were identified as Yunus alias Chhotu Bihari, Yaqoob, Shamshad, Kaluwa, Prabhu Lal and Yunus Mustafa gangs. The gang members were involved in murder, rape, robbery and pick-pocketing cases, the police said. Their modus-operandi was to board a bus and as one of them indulged in pick-pocketing others surrounded the victim. If the victim tried to resist, the accused stabbed him. They even had murdered a few passengers and raped one woman whom they killed afterwards, the police said. |
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Passport staff go on strike NEW DELHI, Sept 18 — The All India Passport Employees Association (AIPEA) today observed a strike, paralysing work in 28 passport offices throughout the country. A press note of the Ministry of External Affairs said while officers at all passport offices attended their duties, AIPEA members resorted to agitation and dharna outside the offices. Terming the strike as unjustified, it said the government was of the view that when it was willing to work with the association for the resolution of their demands, a strike at this stage was uncalled for since it negated the overall objective of providing prompt and efficient services to people. Issues raised by the association pertained to its cadre review, review of recruitment rules, and resolution of anomalies in pay scales.  |
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167 blasts accused produced in court COIMBATORE, Sept 18 (PTI) — Amid high drama for about four hours in the Central Jail here, all 167 accused in the sensational Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case were produced before the special court this evening.Two out of the 167 accused were produced before the court separately.Police sources said the accused had refused to come to the court in the morning demanding that Special Judge, M. Thanikachalam, trying the case, be changed. They were also demanding that the government bear the court expenses including the fees for defence counsel of their choice. They also opposed a direction of the judge to seek legal aid from the government panel, if they could not appoint counsel on their own. The accused were brought to the special court around 4 p.m. after the intervention of police and jail officials, the sources said. According to court sources, the main accused S.A. Batcha and another accused, Peoples Democratic Party leader, Abdul Nasser Madhani, were heard saying to the court that though they had complete faith in the judiciary they had no faith in the judge. The judge adjourned the case for September 27, court sources said. |
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