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SC panel indicts Zaheera for ‘false’ deposition
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Oppn seeks FM’s resignation; unease in Congress too
Left seeks clarification on Chidambaram issue
BJP demands FM’s resignation
Docs not liable for failed sterilisation
operations: SC
TRAI recommendations on pvt terrestrial TV service
Report on IT Act 2000 submitted
Nod to women inheritance Bill
2 killed in gas leak at Bokaro plant
CBI seeks death for Dara
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SC panel indicts Zaheera for ‘false’ deposition
New Delhi, August 29 The report of the inquiry, conduced by a committee headed by Supreme Court Registrar-General B.M. Gupta, said Zaheera had spoken lies in her deposition before the fast track court at Vadodra, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the apex court. Since all 21 accused in the Best Bakery case were acquitted by the fast track court, the Supreme Court had ordered fresh trial in the case outside Gujarat in Mumbai, which is currently going on. The 150-page report said there was “inconsistency” in the statements of Zaheera while deposing before these forums. It indicated that BJP leader Madhu Srivastava, who had been accompanying her during her appearance before the fast track court, could be a person behind the alleged “inducement”. The Best Bakery case pertaining to the killing of 14 people, which included some of her family members and relatives, was registered by the police on Zaheera’s complaint, making her a crucial witness in it. The panel set up in January this year by the apex court with
Delhi Police Joint Commissioner Ms Kanwaljit Deol as another member, however, gave clean chit to Setalwad against the alleged intimidation and inducement of Zaheera to depose before the courts and the NHRC in a particular manner. While taking on record the report, a Bench of Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat and Mr Justice H.K. Sema, directed Zaheera and Teesta’s counsel to submit their views on the “acceptability” of the report within three weeks, making it clear that the court had not yet “accepted” it as it would like to give opportunity to the parties to submit their replies. The court further clarified that the report or any part of it would not be used as evidence by any party before the Mumbai trial judge. “We make it clear, we have not decided the issue of the acceptability of the report and, therefore, the question will not arise on its use in the trial court,” the Bench said, fixing further hearing in the matter on October 24. The controversy was raised by Zaheera in her application, accusing Setalwad of putting pressure on her to name the accused in the case. She also said that she had not filed any affidavit before the apex court in an appeal against the Best Bakery case judgement by the Gujarat High Court upholding the acquittal of the accused persons. |
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6 die in building collapse
Mumbai, August 29 Visiting the site of disaster this morning, Mr Deshmukh said his government would arrange to shift more than 900 families living in these structures to transit camps before reconstructing these structures. “All people living in the dangerous buildings will be removed in seven days,” Mr Deshmukh told reporters. He added that the government would provide compensation at the rate usually given to people displaced after a house collapse. Mr Deshmukh said he would order the police to help in evacuating people if required. “No building can be reconstructed till the residents vacate the premises,” he said. Residents, particularly tenants, of old buildings are hesitant about vacating the premises, afraid that they would not be given accommodation if the buildings were repaired. He said the Maharashtra Housing Development Authority (MHADA) had listed a further 80 buildings as requiring urgent repairs after the monsoon deluge of July 26. The government is likely to shift them out as well, according to the Chief Minister. According to the fire brigade, the three-storeyed Rassiwala building at Wellingdon Street, Marine Lines, crashed early this morning. Most of the victims were killed in their sleep. The structure was more than a century old and was listed as dangerous just last week. Another 13 injured were in a serious condition. |
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Death toll 1493
Mumbai, August 29 The state government report submitted before Chief Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice S. F. Vajifdar stated that another 141 persons were missing. The Bombay High Court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by film and television personalities over the failure of the government’s disaster prevention and management systems.
— TNS |
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Oppn seeks FM’s resignation; unease in Congress too New Delhi, August 29 While the Opposition launched a frontal attack against him in the Rajya Sabha, forcing Mr Chidambaram to offer a personal explanation on their allegations, his own party members worked behind the scenes to mount pressure on the Congress leadership to take a stern view of this incident which, they maintained, amounted to “gross impropriety”. Officially, the Congress defended the Finance Minister. But party members were not satisfied with the explanation proffered by Mr Chidambaram in the Rajya Sabha. They felt the issue could not be ignored or brushed under the carpet. This was especially so in the light of AIADMK Rajya Sabha leader N. Jothi’s second letter in which he pointed out that the Finance Minister’s brother and son, who owned a spinning mill, had benefited from the case taken up by Mrs Nalini Chidambaram. She had lost the case and this, he said, turned out to be a big boon for spinning mill owners. While most Congress members spoke on condition of anonymity, Water Resources minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi went public with his criticism, openly describing this as a case of impropriety. He, however, stopped short of seeking Mr Chidambaram’s resignation. Congress members were expected to raise the pitch in the coming days and their campaign could well draw support from the Left parties, who had been unhappy with Finance Minister’s style of functioning for past several months. The first salvo was fired by CPM’s Rajya Sabha leader Nilotpal Basu, who said Mr Chidambaram should come clean and give another comprehensive statement, especially the charges made in the second letter released today, as they were not satisfied with today’s explanation. Since the BJP has announced that it would raise the issue in the Lok Sabha tomorrow, Congress leaders were waiting to see how it plays out before they take a final view on this matter. While hoping it would peter out after Mr Chidambaram’s statement in the Lok Sabha tomorrow, there was, nevertheless, some concern that it could also snowball in view of next year’s Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. Realising that they would have to counter the Opposition attack politically, Congress leaders were closeted in a high-level meeting at party president Sonia Gandhi’s residence till late tonight. However, party spokesperson Anand Sharma said the Finance Minister had denied any impropriety in the matter and his personal intervention in the case, adding, “The House has accepted this explanation. The Chairman has accepted it.” Mr Sharma said the party had no reason to disbelieve Mr Chidambaram’s statement, stating the question of impropriety would arise if the minister had directed the IT Department that his wife be engaged as its counsel. In any case, he said, his wife was a professional lawyer in her own right and the matter could be construed a case of impropriety if she had appeared against the IT Department and not for it.
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Left seeks clarification on Chidambaram issue
New Delhi, August 29 The issue rocked the Rajya Sabha today, forcing frequent adjournment of the
House despite the Finance Minister stating that “I had no knowledge on the
matter, and at any point of time had the matter been brought to my notice, I
would have ensured that the proposal of (to engage) Nalini Chidambaram was
nipped in the bud and not proceeded any further.” On the ongoing controversy
of the Left’s “double standards” in practising economic reforms in
West Bengal and preaching closed economy in Delhi, CPM floor leader in
the Rajya Sabha Nilotpal Basu told reporters that “we are ready to
discuss the larger issues involved in the globalisation, privatisation,
FDI and disinvestment and their impact and application for the toiling
masses and the country as a whole.” His remarks assume special
significance in the wake of the Prime Minister complimenting West Bengal
Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee for his “open advocacy” of
100 per cent FDI for setting up a new greenfield airport at Kolkata. |
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New Delhi, August 29 “Either the Finance Minister should resign, or the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh drop him from the Council of Ministers,’’ BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said. She said the CBDT was under the Finance Ministry and by saying that he had no knowledge about the matter did not absolve Mr Chidamabaram of the charge that his wife had been favoured at his behest. Referring to Mr Chidambaram’s defence that he was not aware of the matter, she said once it was condoned, any minister could get away with merely stating that he had no knowledge about the matter.
— TNS |
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Docs not liable for failed sterilisation
operations: SC
New Delhi, August 29 “We are...clearly of the opinion that merely because a woman having undergone a sterilisation operation became pregnant and delivered a child, the operating surgeon or his employer cannot be held liable for compensation on account of unwanted pregnancy or unwanted child,” a Bench of Chief Justice R C Lahoti, Mr Justice C K Thakker and Mr Justice P K Balasubramanyan ruled. The decision came on an appeal by the Punjab Government against awarding of Rs 50,000 compensation by courts below to a woman from Bathinda, who had conceived a child even after she under went a sterilisation operation in August 1984. A woman doctor of a local government hospital had performed the operation. The woman had claimed a compensation of Rs 3 lakh from Punjab Government’s Health Department in a suit before a civil court for the failure of her operation. But the court directed the state to pay Rs 50,000 to her. The District Judge and the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the order of the civil court. The Medical Officer of Civil Hospital, Bathinda, in his statement had told the civil judge that the “medical science recognises failure of sterilisation operations to the extent of 0.3 to 3 per cent.” Taking note of it, the Supreme Court said the surgeon could be held liable in contract unless the plaintiff (affected woman) proved that she had been assured 100 per cent exclusion of pregnancy after the surgery and was only on the basis of such assurance that she was persuaded to undergo the operation. To overcome this problem and without causing any harm to the family planning programme, The government should provide some solace to the person in whose case the operation was unsuccessful on account of “their illiteracy, ignorance or carelessness, the court said The best course for the government would be to take steps to devise an insurance schemes to the women on whom the operations had been a failure as the rate of such failure was not alarmingly high but negligible considering the vastness of the family welfare programme being undertaken in the country, the court said. |
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TRAI recommendations on pvt terrestrial TV service
New Delhi, August 29 Giving its recommendations on issues relating to private terrestrial television broadcast, TRAI has proposed no detailed eligibility conditions for sector and said that same disqualifications should apply as had been decided recently for
private FM Radio. The licensing structure should also follow the parallel of FM radio. “In view of the large number of private TV channels having national coverage, networking has been recommended,”TRAI said. In respect of foreign investment, it has been proposed that there should be a comprehensive review to bring about a greater consistency in the rules of various segments of media sector. “During the consultation process it was noted that the telecom sector is also interested in this area; accordingly this review would need to take note of the likely convergence in future between telecommunications and broadcasting,”it said. It also said the Supreme Court judgement of 1995 on airwaves that no medium should be controlled by a monopoly either of the state or of any individual, group or organisation. “The private sector would complement the public sector and provide more resources for the development of this alternative,” TRAI said, adding that this would give an additional choice to the consumers to view channels in a free-to-air mode. TRAI was in favour of opening of community television and said that detailed recommendations on this would be sent once the government takes an in-principle decision to allow the private sector for terrestrial broadcasting and also after the government policy on community television was finalised. In respect of commercial television broadcasting, it recommended that for the present this should be permitted in both analogue and digital modes since at present there is sufficient spectrum to support a few players even in the analogue mode. |
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Report on IT Act 2000 submitted
New Delhi, August 29 The expert committee, headed by Brijesh Kumar, Secretary, Department of Information Technology (DIT) and comprising representatives of the IT industry, has suggested that anybody found intentionally publishing or transmiting through electronic form any material pertaining to child pornography, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than three years and with a fine upto Rs 10 lakh. On the issue of mishandling and abuse of sensitive financial and personal data, the committee has recommended major ammendments in the existing law. It has suggested that if any body corporate, that owns or handles sensitive personal data is found to have been negligent in maintaining reasonable security practices, it shall be liable to pay damages by way of compensation not exceeding Rs 1 crore to the person so affected.
— TNS |
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Nod to women inheritance Bill
New Delhi, August 29 Law and Justice Minister H.R. Bhardwaj introduced the Bill. The Lok Sabha also passed after brief discussions, the Displaced Persons Claims and Other Laws Repeal Bill, 2005 and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Amendment Bill, 2005 by voice vote. Both these Bills have already been passed by the Rajya Sabha. |
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2 killed in gas leak at Bokaro plant
Ranchi, August 29 The Steel Authority of India Limited ordered a high-level probe into the leakage of carbon monoxide last night at the blast furnace area two in the plant, located some 100 kms from here. The leakage, which occurred when employees were at work, had since been plugged, BSP Chief Communication Officer Basant Thakur told by telephone from Bokaro. The 17 employees were out of danger and likely to be discharged any time, he added. The two killed were S N Singh and N Manjhi, Thakur said. Singh, who drove the ambulance to rescue those who had taken ill, himself fell victim to the tragedy while Manjhi was a labourer with Bharat Refactories Ltd.
— PTI |
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CBI seeks death for Dara
New Delhi, August 29 |
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