New Delhi, October 8
If you thought that even a petty criminal, let alone the common man or the legal expert, is well versed with the definition of ‘arrest’ as it simply means putting some offender behind the bars, think again.

For, according to the Supreme Court, “the term arrest has neither been defined in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, nor in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, nor in any other enactment dealing with offences.”

Justices C.K. Thakker and D.K. Jain made this startling revelation in a 42-page judgment, disposing of a special leave petition filed by the Union of India against one Padam Narain Aggarwal in a customs case from Rajasthan last week.

In the absence of such a definition, the judges, apparently relying on the dictionary, said: “The word arrest is derived from the French word ‘arrater’ meaning ‘to stop or stay.’ It signifies a restraint of a person. Arrest is thus a restraint of a person, obliging him to be obedient to law.

“Arrest then may be defined as ‘the execution of the command of a court of law or of a duly authorised officer’,” the judges go on to explain.

Now comes another familiar word, rather a pair of words: anticipatory bail. Is the meaning very simple in this case as well? No, not absolutely. What is true of arrest holds good in this instance also. The expression, anticipatory bail, has also not been defined in the code, the judges point out.

And if you still thought anticipatory bail is meant for evading arrest, you are again in the wrong, spot on. The bail comes into effect only after the arrest, rather immediately upon arrest.

This is what the judges stated in their judgment, written by Justice Thakker, quoting an earlier verdict of the apex court (Balchand Jain v. State of MP (1976) 4 SCC572: “Anticipatory bail means a bail in anticipation of arrest. The expression ‘anticipatory bail’ is a misnomer in as much as it is not as if bail presently granted in anticipation of arrest. Where a competent court grants ‘anticipatory bail,’ it makes an order that in the event of arrest, a person shall be released on bail. There is no question of release on bail unless a person is arrested and, therefore, it is only on arrest that the order granting anticipatory bail becomes operative.”

In the relevant case, the Union of India had challenged a Rajasthan (Jaipur Bench) HC order, directing the customs not to arrest, without 10 days’ prior notice, Aggarwal and other respondents even if they were found to have committed non-bailable offence.

Setting aside this specific directive, the apex court pointed out that this was not legal, valid or in consonance with law as it was “blanket” in nature, covering all non-bailable offences and, secondly, “it illegally obstructs, interferes and curtails the authority of customs officers from exercising statutory power of arrest (against) a person said to have committed a non-bailable offence by imposing a condition of giving 10 days prior notice, a condition not warranted by law.” 

Kolkata, October 8
Post Ratan Tata’s decision to move out of Singur, both the CPM and Trinamool Congress are now gearing up for launching respective campaigns against each other over the Nano issue.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has held Mamata Banerjee responsible for the Tatas moving out of Singur, which had been also virtually echoed by Ratan Tata himself during his media meet in Ahmedabad in the presence of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. During the meet Tata had expressed happiness that he had now opted for a “good M” (meaning Modi) from a “bad M”(Mamata).

Biman Bose said soon after the puja festivities, their cadres would launch a massive protest against Trinamool Congress, Congress(l) and others for forcing the Tatas out of Singur.

Mamata, however, alleged that if anybody was to be held responsible for the Singur situation, it was the CM, who had acted like Stalin in grabbing the land belonging to the poor farmers for “gifting it to the Tatas for the Nano project”.

She also accused Ratan Tata of playing with the poor farmers’ livelihood. Mamata said they would organise demonstrations in front of the Singur plant against the Tatas shifting the equipment of the plant to Ahmedabad, and demanded that the lands acquired forcibly at Singur should first be returned to the farmers.

She demanded that the Tatas should be forced to pay compensation worth Rs 500 crore (including Rs 200 crore for land acquisition and earth-filling works etc) to the WBIDC before they are allowed to move out.

On the other hand, a “Singur Bachaoo Committee” has been formed comprising people from different walks of life, irrespective of their political differences. The committee brought out processions yesterday and today demanding that the Tatas should be allowed to remain in Singur. They also set up camps in front of the project site and would launch an indefinite dharna after the pujas.

Meanwhile, although a section of the corporate houses and chambers of commerce expressed their apprehension about the state’s poor business prospects, several industrialists, including Sajjan Jindal (Jindal steel) and Benugopal Dhut (Videocon) said the decision of the Tatas would have no impact on them. Even, Mamata opined that if there were no aggressive trade union movements of the CITU and other left trade unions, there would be no dearth of new investments proposals in the state in future.

Bhubaneswar, October 8
The prime accused in the alleged rape of a young nun during Kandhamal violence in Orissa has been arrested, the police said today, as the Orissa government made fresh attempts to locate the victim to help in investigations.

With the arrest of Somanath Pradhan of Rajaghar village under Baliguda police station in Kandhamal district yesterday, the epicentre of attacks against Christians, five persons have been nabbed so far, the police said.

"We have nabbed the prime accused in the alleged nun rape case incident," director-general of police Manmohan Praharaj said. He was picked up from his house on the basis of information collected by the police.

SP(crime branch) Yatindra Koyal said more arrests were likely to be made in connection with the rape in August very soon and claimed the investigation was on the right track. "All five arrests made so far in the case were on the basis of concrete evidence available with us," he said. The nun's presence was considered essential because she had reportedly told some private news channels that she could identify the accused in person. The police was, meanwhile, preparing for TI (Test Identification) parade after arresting the main accused.

The Orissa police continued to be in the dark regarding the whereabouts of the nun and assured full security and protection to the catholic woman and others helping her, Praharaj said. A lady police officers' team headed by B. Radhika, an IG rank officer, returned from Delhi after failing to trace the nun while another team could not locate her in her native village in Sambalpur in Orissa. A third team is being sent to Kerala, the police said.

Suprerior-General of the Missionaries of Charity Sister Nirmala, after meeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, had said the nun would be 'found' if proper atmosphere is created. — PTI

New Delhi, October 8
With violence continuing against the Dalit and tribal Christians in Orissa, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has decided to probe the matter.

A full-fledged team of the Commission chaired by NCSC chairman Buta Singh is visting Orissa on October 17 for a two-day inquiry into the whole episode. The team will visit the worst affected Kandhamal district and adjoining areas to assess the situation. NCSC members will also hold meetings with the chief secretary, home secretary and DGP of the state.

The commission will examine cases of attacks against Dalit Christians and also assess the steps taken by the state government to safeguard their life and property. The commission had earlier sought a detailed report from the Orissa chief secretary on the communal violence there after the killing of VHP leader Laxmananda Saraswati on August 23. — PTI

New Delhi, October 8
The UPA Government may be dithering about imposing President’s rule in Orissa in spite of more than a month long anti-Christian violence in the state, citing its lack of numbers in Parliament, but the Left is not likely to oppose the move in the event of a Government initiative.

The Left has been asking the Central Government to deal firmly with the situation. CPM general secretary Prakash Karat asked the Government yesterday in Hyderabad to issue a directive to the Orissa government under Article 355 of the Constitution to ensure the safety of Christian minorities in the state. Orissa is a governed by a NDA coalition of BJP and BJD.

In separate statements from time to time, the CPM and CPI in particular have been asking for handing over the probe into the killings by the CBI. Besides that the CPM has also asked for a ban on VHP and Bajrang Dal, charged with instigating the locals against Christians.

The state is under the grip of anti-Christian violence since August 23 soon after a VHP sadhu Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati was killed ostensibly by Maoists. But the Sangh parivar blamed it on Christian missionaries.

That ignited the violence against Christians in the remote backward region of Kandhamal and since then it has continued almost unabated.

Karat asked the UPA Government to invoke Article 355 against Orissa. He was asked if he was opposed to 356 and he said, “First of all they have to use 355. They have sent some letters. But so far they have not even used 355.”

Privately CPM sources said, “We have a history of opposing 356. So we cannot demand it. But if the Government comes up with it we cannot oppose it on the floor of the House.”

CPM source recalled, “We had demanded 356 in Gujarat in the wake of the post-Godhra anti-Muslim massacre.”

CPI national secretary D Raja was equally non-committal about 356. While demanding strict action by the Central government he said in reply to a specific question on 356, “No one has spoken to us so far. Let them first come up with what the Government proposes to do and we will then respond accordingly.”

Dismissal of a democratically elected government and imposition of President’s rule is a delicate issue with the UPA allies too. While parties like the DMK are clearly opposed to it, even Lalu Prasad’s RJD is not very keen about it. Lalu had recently said privately that President’s rule may backfire on the Central Government and could unnecessarily make a hero and martyr of Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

New Delhi, October 8
Lankesh Ravana’s ‘home’ is now a popular tourism destination in Sri Lanka! While on Dusshera (today) all over India, Lord Ram’s final arrow will kill Ravana and signal to burn the effigies of demon king, his brother Kumbhkaran and son Meghnad, Sri Lanka is inviting the believers “to come and see for yourself where Ram actually fought with the demon king.”

In today’s world, religion is big business and seeing the popularity of the epic story of Ramayana, Sri Lanka has started encashing it too. It is wooing Hindu pilgrims from India and abroad to hit the “trail of Ramayana” in the island nation.

Believe it or not, the Sri Lanka tourism authorities wish to show you “five airports” of Ravana, where he used to park his “Pushpak Vimans,” the mythological aircraft in which he had reportedly kidnapped “Mata Sita” from the jungles of mainland “Bharat”.

The “trail of Ramayana” covers about 50 ancient sites of the Ramayana in the central and western parts of Sri Lanka. These tour sites are based on research findings that link them to Lord Ram, his wife Sita and the demon king Ravana, claim Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Board authorities.

Among the attractions is the Ravana Cave at Ella, 220 km from the national Capital of Colombo. As per the legend, it served as a quick means of transport through the hills for Ravana.

When contacted from here, a top official of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Board said, “We are promoting the trail of Ramayana and related spiritual tourism packages, aimed specifically at Indian visitors, who constitute over 20 per cent of our annual tourist inflow.” This year, the Ramayana tour hopes to attract over 1.5 lakh overseas Hindu tourists, a majority of them from India.

The Sri Lankan tourism authorities claim that they have identified five airports where Ravana parked his fleet of Pushpak Vimanas, in which Lankesh used to fly and that in one of them he reportedly kidnapped ‘Mata Sita’ when she was in ‘vanvasa’ on mainland India.

The five to ten days tour covers various spots associated with Ramayana across the island. The visit starts from its northern tip at Nagadeepa, which is said to be the Monkey-God Hanuman's entry point to Sri Lanka. The southern tip, Donara, is believed to be the place where Lord Ram launched his first attack on Ravana.

The main battleground, where Ram killed the ten-headed Ravana, has been identified as Yudagannawa. It is a wildlife sanctuary. No vegetation grows in this area except grass.

The Ramayana sites’ tour programme includes names of places like Seethaeliya, Ram Bodha, Ussangoda and Roomassala special temples in the areas where Ravana is believed to have held Sita captive.

These places are believed to be associated with Ashok Vatika (where Sita stayed under Ravana’s custody) and the main battlefield of Ramayana. A senior official of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Board said that “the Ramayana epic is part of a very special bond that we have with India and we are trying to offer an opportunity to Hindu pilgrims to visit Sri Lanka to explore, absorb and enjoy the various places of significance as shown in the epic.”

Ever since the launch of the Ramayana tour packages in January and other religious and spiritual tourism ventures by Sri Lanka, tour operators in the island-nation have been flooded with enquiries from India and abroad, especially from NRI Hindus in Europe and America.

Meanwhile, a research study called “Following the Trail of Ramayana in Sri Lanka” is also underway. The study is based on the compilation of research conducted by academicians from India and Sri Lanka over the years. It is being conducted by a team of six members, including three Indians.

D. N. Jha, noted historian and author of the controversial book “The Myth of the Holy Cow,” calls the “Trail of Ramayana” venture as “mythomania.” Jha, who recently retired from the Delhi University, says, “I think this is bizarre…this is what we can call mythomania…one needs to ask if the researchers have studied Sanskrit, and have they read all the different versions of Ramayana-there are over 300 versions.”

Well, many Indians may believe in the mythological story or not, Sri Lanka has, at least, concluded that “Ramayana is no longer a myth.” 

New Delhi, October 8
India and Germany today signed an agreement to exempt Indian workers posted in Germany from making social security contribution under the host-country legislation. The exemption will be given to people on short-term contracts for a period of four years, extendable by another year. German nationals in India will also receive similar benefits on a reciprocal basis.

The agreement on social insurance between the two countries was signed by K Mohandas, secretary in the overseas Indian affairs ministry and Franz-Josef Lersch-Mense, state secretary in the labour ministry of Germany.

Speaking on the occasion, overseas Indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi said the agreement would help help Indian investors and professionals in Germany in a big way. Ravi said negotiations have also begun with the US for a social-security pact and hoped an agreement would soon be concluded with Washington. The German official said the German Parliament would soon give its consent to the agreement.

At present, Indian professionals are often sent to countries like Germany by their Indian employers on short-term contract and during this period they continue to make social security contribution as per the Indian law. However, they are also compelled to pay contribution under the host country social security system leading to double payment, although they often do not get any benefit from the social security contribution made abroad.

India recently signed a social security agreement with France. It already has in place such an accord with Belgium. The government has approved signing of similar agreements with the Netherlands, Oman and Bahrain. Negotiations are on for similar accords with Switzerland, Norway and Sweden.

Dhule, October 8
Curfew in this riot-hit town continued for the fourth day today, though no fresh incidents of violence were reported, the police said.

The curfew was imposed on Sunday after riots left four people dead. However, the situation in the north Maharashtra town is well under control, they said. Meanwhile, the death toll in the communal violence has risen to seven after three more persons died in separate incidents till last night, the police and hospital sources said.

A total of 165 were injured in separate incidents till yesterday. Currently 17 persons, two of them in critical condition, are undergoing treatment in the Dhule Civil hospital, civil surgeon T.K. Khot said.

Clashes broke out in the town when some people, belonging to a particular community, allegedly tore off banners of the Hindu Rakshan Samiti appealing to people to attend a meeting.

The police have arrested 200 persons and recovered swords, acid and petrol bombs. Shoot-at-sight orders are in place to prevent any further flare up in the trouble-torn areas, the police said.

Dhule has witnessed communal riots for the first time since 1993, when the town was affected by violence in the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition.

Meanwhile, Union minister for home Sriprakash Jaiswal will make an on-the-spot study of the situation arising out of the communal clashes in the town. Jaiswal, during his visit today, will review the situation at the meeting with senior district officials, a home ministry spokesperson said. — PTI

Mumbai, October 8
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) today set aside the appointment of Anami N. Roy as Maharashtra’s Director-General of Police (DGP).

CAT’s order quashing Roy’s appointment came on a petition filed by Suprakash Chakraborthy, DGP (home guards & civil defence), who was superseded for the top job.

CAT members Jog Singh and Sudhakar Mishra have directed the state government to appoint a new DGP from the three officers superseded by him within four weeks until which time Roy could continue in office.

In his petition, Chakraborthy contended that Roy was the fourth senior-most officer in Maharashtra and the three other DGPs - S.S. Virk, Chakraborthy and J.D. Virkar had been promoted a year before him. The petitioner also contended that they were also at least two years senior to him in service.

In his complaint, Chakraborthy also cited precedents in Maharashtra where the senior-most officer even he was due for retirement in a few months was always appointed as the DGP. The other three DGPs -anti-corruption, housing and home guards are held by the next in seniority, the petition said.

Replying to the complaint, the Maharashtra government had stated that Roy was appointed at the DGP as he was the most meritorious officer in the state. Moreover, it said, Virk was under suspension at the time of Roy’s appointment.

However, Chakraborthy challenged the state government’s contention on the grounds that the three DGPs superseded by him had already undergone three annual assessments and performance appraisals to judge their caliber as DGPs. He further stated that Roy had no annual assessment or performance appraisal since his appointment as the state DGP came just months after his promotion to the rank.

The petitioner also contended that Virk was not only the senior-most officer in the state police but had been conferred the Padma Shri for his services in the Punjab cadre. He also cited depositions made by the state government in the Supreme Court, which stated that Virk hadn’t been suspended that he was kept under “compulsory waiting” as all four posts of DGP in the state had been duly filled up.

New Delhi, October 8
The Union Cabinet today approved a proposal to restrict publication and broadcasting of exit polls till the last poll in a phased-election is over. The Cabinet approved to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in this regard.

Restriction on telecasting of exit polls would enable the voters to exercise their right to vote without being influenced by the projection of telecast after the one phase of voting is over and other phases of voting is yet to be completed.

The amendment will be placed before Parliament.

BRIEFLY

Ban on rowdy dancing during Visarjan
PORT BLAIR: The district administration of South Andaman has advised all Durga Puja Celebration Committees to ensure dignified behaviour during Visarjan of Idols on Thursday. Following complaints of drunken driving and raucous dancing against the committee members every year, the administration has decided to prohibit the practice during the Puja days. “We have also decided to declare either October 9 or 10 as dry day to control the over-excitement of youths who often indulge in fanatical consumption of liquor,” said deputy commissioner of South Andaman S.N. Jha. The Committee representatives have been advised to strictly follow the timings while operating loudspeakers and bursting crackers. — UNI