New Delhi, September 12
The Supreme Court has ruled that no sanction was required to prosecute government servants charged with abetting corruption under Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), 1988.

Section 19 of the PCA which stipulated “previous sanction" for prosecution "specifically omits Section 12 from its purview,” a Bench comprising Justices RV Raveendran and B Sudershan Reddy pointed out yesterday while setting aside a Bombay High Court verdict.

“…the inevitable conclusion is that the High Court fell into error in reading into Section 19 of the Act, the prohibition not to take cognizance of an offence punishable even under Section 12 of the Act without previous sanction of the government which is not otherwise provided for,” the apex court ruled.

The language employed in Section 19 of the Act “is couched in mandatory form directing the courts not to take cognizance of an offence punishable under Sections 7, 10, 11, 13 and 15 only.”

The legislature “consciously” omitted abetment of an offence punishable under Section 7 (public servant taking gratification) or 11 (public servant obtaining valuable thing), making its intention clear that no previous sanction would be required in cases of offence punishable under Section 12 of the Act, the court clarified in the verdict.

“The High Court read something into Section 19 on its own, thereby including Section 12 also into its ambit, which in our opinion is impermissible,” the Bench ruled in the verdict, written for the Bench by Justice Reddy.

The CBI had filed the appeal against the HC verdict in a 2002 case involving the then Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Panaji, and the Inspector of Central Excise, Goa.

The case was related to the purchase of 48 ready built flats for the Customs Department at “an exorbitant” price of Rs 3.55 crore, causing a loss of over Rs 1 crore to the department.

The two officials had tried to bribe the CBI Inspector involved in the investigation, but the Special Judge, North Goa, Panaji, refused to take cognizance of the chargesheet in the absence of sanction. The HC had upheld the ruling, forcing the CBI to come to the apex court.

In a plethora of cases, it had been clarified that where the “language is clear, the intention of the legislature is to be gathered from the language used. It is not the duty of the court either to enlarge the scope of legislation or the intention of the legislature, when the language of the provision is plain,” the Bench noted.

New Delhi, September 12
A year after a series of blasts rocked the national capital on September 13, the accused now want a “speedy trial”.

Seemingly peeved at what he called slow progress of the case, counsel for accused, MS Khan, says, “We are now moving the Supreme Court seeking an early trial”.

With more than 500 witnesses listed in the case, it could drag on for years as has happened in the past, opined Khan.

Out of last year’s blasts, the Karol Bagh blast has 178 witnesses, the blast at Connaught Place - 69, the Barakhamba road blast - 110 and 69 witnesses in the Greater Kailash blast.

There are also 72 witnesses At Tilak Marg where a bomb was timely defused. This is one reason why the case is taking longer than enough for the trial, says Khan.

The prosecution’s evidence in the trial of each case will take more than five years to complete. This will be followed by other aspects of trial — like cross examination of witnesses. It is going to be difficult for the courts to punish criminals, Khan opined.

Some of the previous cases that are still pending in the local courts of the national capital are the 1996 Lajpat Nagar blast and 1985 Transistor blasts at the Railway station among other places.

Last year’s blasts in the city claimed more than 30 lives, leaving several people injured. Presently, the proceedings of the case are going on at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Kaveri Baweja’s court.

The case has not yet been committed to the Court of Session, as the accused have not been produced in the court.

The cases in the Delhi blasts are against suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists - Mohammad Saif, Zeeshan Ahmed, Zia-ur-Rehman, Saqib Nisar, Mohammad Shakeel, Mohammad Hakim, Kayamuddin Kapadia, Sadique Sheikh, Mohammad Mansoor Ashgar Peerbhoy, Asif Bashif and Mubins.

Presently, all of them are kept at the Sabarmati jail in Ahemdabad.The accused have been charged under different sections of the Indian Penal Code.

New Delhi, September 12
The week has come to an end and the Congress appears to have still not made up its mind on the tricky issue of successor of late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

It was being hoped that by the end of the week there would be an acceptable-to-all-concerned solution for the Andhra leadership impasse.

During the week, Congress bosses engaged YSR’s close aide, Rajya Sabha MP KVP Ramachandra Rao, in efforts to resolve the situation.

They also tried their best to make supporters of YSR’s son Jaganmohan Reddy see reason but there was no let down in the “Jagan-for-CM” campaign.

A group of Andhra MPs on Friday met member of the “Andhra leadership crisis resolving team” Pranab Mukherjee.

Openly pleading for Jaganmohan’s case, they urged the senior Congress leader to understand the sentiments of Andhra people, who, they said, wanted to see YSR’s son as the next incumbent in the CMO.

While the party high command wants to continue with interim Chief Minister K Rosaiah, it is well aware of the complications that could arise if Jaganmohan is not made the next Chief Minister.

Which is why, sources say YSR’s son is still in the race despite best efforts by senior leaders Pranab Mukherjee, Verrappa Moily and Digvijay Singh to push the case for letting Rosaiah continue.

While the party does not want to be seen as bowing down to pressure, the situation in Andhra Pradesh is too tricky for a simple solution, they say.

In a compromise formula, balancing “popular sentiment” and the need for an experinced person at the helm of affairs in AP, the Congress is now even considering making Jaganmohan the Deputy Chief Minister.

New Delhi, September 12
The storm raging over the UPA government’s fresh austerity measures has had serious fallout for the country’s lawmakers who were eagerly awaiting a better pay packet. The proposal to increase their salaries and allowances has been put on hold for the time being.

The matter has now snowballed into a major controversy following reports that External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and his junior Shashi Tharoor had been staying in five-star hotels for three months as their official bungalows were under renovation.

Given the public outcry on this matter, the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry has quietly buried its proposal on raising the salaries and allowances of MPs.

UPA sources said since the salaries were last increased in 2006, another hike was overdue for long, especially after the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission report which provided for a substantial raise in the salaries of government officials.

A bill approving such a hike was being drawn up and would had been presented in the winter session of Parliament, had the present controversy not erupted.

The new proposals, it is learnt, included a substantial hike in the constituency allowance and a provision for the recruitment of researchers by MPs.

The sources confirmed that the proposal has now been put in cold storage for at least another year.

“Given the current mood of the people, this is certainly not the right time to give ourselves a pay hike...it will not go down well with the public ,” remarked a senior Cabinet minister.

At present, Lok Sabha MPs are paid a monthly salary of Rs 16,000, which was revised from Rs 12,000 in 2006. In addition, they are entitled to a host of allowances for travel, medical facilities, accommodation and telephones.

They also get constituency allowance and office expenses’ allowance amounting to Rs 20,000 a month, a sum of Rs 1,000 daily for attending a parliamentary committee meeting and travel concessions.

Not only does a lawmaker get accommodation in Delhi’s prized Lutyen’s Zone but it also comes with free supply of water up to 4,000 kl a year and electricity up to 50,000 units. An MP is entitled to 50,000 local calls from his telephone during a year.

The UPA government was also planning to consider former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee’s proposal that a permanent commission or a similar body be set up to fix the salaries and allowances of MPs.

The Union Cabinet had considered the proposal last year but left the final decision to the next Lok Sabha.

It was felt that such an independent mechanism would have would have insulated MPs from facing flak for deciding their own salaries.

New Delhi, September 12
Alarmed by the growing cases in which big business houses have appropriated huge chunks of fertile agricultural land, in many instances much more than they required, for their units in special economic zones, several prominent social groups and NGOs have joined hands to conduct a first of its kind audit of SEZs in Maharashtra.

Calling it a ‘people’s audit’ of SEZs, representatives of various organisations will assemble at Pen taluka in Raigad district of Maharashtra on September 15.

The state has been chosen as it has the largest number - over two hundred - of such zones in the country.

Similar ‘peoples’ audits’ are being planned for SEZs in the NCR region, Haryana, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa and West Bengal.

Since the Special Economic Zone Act came into force in 2005, 722 zones have been approved in the country with many others at various stages of approval, land acquisition or completion.

Div village in Raigad district, where the first audit will be conducted, is 40 km from Panvel on the Mumbai-Goa highway, is located in the area where the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries plans to set up a huge SEZ spread over 35,000 acres across 45 villages.

The ‘peoples audits’ are aimed at examining the impact of the projects against stated objectives as well as the impact of the law on the people of the area.

The Maharashtra audit, to be conducted by an eminent panel of social activists, will examine issues concerning large SEZs, land acquisition, displacement of locals, corruption, environmental impact, compensation for land acquired as well as questions of development and economic growth in four districts - Raigad, Gorai, Nasik and Pune.

”It will also examine the unfolding political economy of SEZs and in articulating the development needs of the state,” Ulka Mahajan, convener of the Peoples’ Audit committee told The Tribune from Mumbai over telephone.

The audit has been jointly initiated by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences; Jagatikaran Virodhi Kriti Samiti, an alliance of several farmers’ organisations in SEZ areas; National Alliance of People's Movements; National Campaign for People's Right to Information; National Centre for Advocacy Studies; and the India Centre for Human Rights Lawyers Network.

Many SEZs in different parts of the country have generated controversy and become a bone of contention between the state government, developers and local residents resisting acquisition of their land.

SEZs do not have any local body representation nor does their administrative structure take into account labour and environmental concerns.

“Given the potentially large scale implications and the nature of development envisaged by the SEZ Act, representatives of various NGOs and social groups from Maharashtra and the SEZ areas met early last month to undertake a national ‘peoples’ audit’ on the SEZ process in India,” said Mahajan, who is also convener of the Committee Against Globalisation.

Kolkata, September 12
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today flagged off Sealdah-Ajmer Sharif Express and a special train to Nabadwip Dham in Nadia in a function held at Sealdah station.

While the train to Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan will start from Sealdah, the Nabadwhip Dham Express will begin its journey from the New Farakka station. Both trains were flagged off through remote control devices.

Among others, the function was attended by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, six other Union ministers of the Trinamool Congress from the state and several other dignitaries.

The minister announced that the much faster Dooranto Express trains to New Delhi would be flagged off from Howrah on the occasion of Mahayala on September 18.

Similarly, the fastest trains from several state capitals to New Delhi would also be
opened soon.

Kolkata, September 12
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today hit out at the CPM, saying the charges that it had levelled against him were "character assassination" and the current political culture of the present leadership made the party and Left politics "almost irrelevant".

In a hard-hitting statement issued here, Chatterjee, who was expelled from CPM, referred to a rejoinder published in CPM mouthpiece 'People's Democracy' recently accusing him of levelling baseless charges against the party and said he was "amazed at the deliberate distortion of facts".

The former Lok Sabha Speaker said he had never stated that "the Left had some foreknowledge that the 'cash-for-vote' row during trust motion would come up in Parliament nor had I insinuated that there was some coordination between BJP and the Left in this matter.

"I get the impression that in its anxiety to justify its unfathomable decision which has brought the party to its present sorry state, the CPM has made a desperate effort to indulge in character assassination."

In the three-page statement, Chatterjee criticised the party leadership for forging a Third Front "with disparate elements with ridiculous assurance to its members that it would come to power and would provide opportunity to the party's general secretary even to head such a government."

Chatterjee said sections of supporters and members of CPM had extreme reservation about the efforts of the central leadership to cobble up a Third Front.

"They were bewildered at the almost desperate and comic attempts of the leadership to come closer to certain political outfits, many of which are embodiments of crime and corruption in politics. Even the die-hard supporters of the party could not countenance such deviations in its policies and basic philosophy." — PTI

Chennai, September 12
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s comments against interlinking of national rivers, which is a demand of all the major parties in Tamil Nadu including the Congress, has put the ruling DMK in a tight spot, with opposition parties raising the issue and demanding a reaction from Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

“The Chief Minister should immediately clarify whether he supported or opposed Rahul's views”, CPI State secretary D Pandian demanded, while speaking to reporters at Pudukottai in eastern Tamil Nadu.

The CPI leader said interlinking of rivers was a major promise in the election manifestos of all the parties, including the Congress and DMK.

Rahul's opposition to the scheme on grounds that it would be disastrous for the environment was also against the report of the national resources ministry which had opined that the project was feasible.

MDMK leader Vaiko was quick to join the issue and said interlinking of rivers was former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s dream.

Effort to initiate the scheme was made by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he said and added that even when BJP came to power, the scheme was accepted by the A.B. Vajpayee regime.

Interlinking rivers was a part of the common minimum programme of the UPA government under Manmohan Singh, Vaiko said.

He added that Rahul's comments that the scheme was disastrous to environment was a “new scientific revelation”.

Rahul Gandhi, during three-day Tamil Nadu tour, said interlinking of national rivers, a major demand of water-starved Tamil Nadu, would be disastrous to the environment and added that playing with nature at a massive scale should not be done.

Interlinking of rivers was a sensitive issue in Tamil Nadu, which has major water disputes with its neighbours Karnataka and Kerala.

The DMK leadership, embarassed by Rahul Gandhi’s comments, is tight-lipped about the young Congress leader’s views, while the opposition is puttingpressure on the party to react on the issue.

Already, the DMK is facing allegations of supporting the Centre's “anti-Tamil Sri Lankan policy”, despite Rahul’s assertion that the Union government was applying “massive pressure” on the island nation to provide equal rights for island Tamils.

Chennai, September 12
Tamil Nadu police denied permission to CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat to enter Uthapuram village in Madurai, where a conflict between the upper caste people and the Dalit community had been raging for the last one year, after the state government removed a wall separating residential areas of both the communities.

The police said the Communist leader resorted to rasta roko when she was denied permission since it would create caste tension in the area.

However, the police did not arrest her, when she said it was a personal visit to meet a party colleague.

Brinda Karat said she had not committed any illegal act and she was only going to the village only for a private function. She said that her car was blocked in the middle of the road without any reason.

“When I asked the police reasons for detaining her, they said my visit would create trouble. I told the police that if there is trouble, you should arrest trouble-makers, not me,” she said.

A Dalit was killed in police firing the area last year. The Madras High Court had ordered an inquiry by a retired judge into last year’s clash and passed interim orders for paying compensation to the Dalits affected in the police action.

Another clash between the backward castes and Dalits yesterday led to vandalising of buses and vans yesterday in the nearby Usilampatti village.

Hyderabad, September 12
The commandos of an elite anti-terror wing of the Andhra Pradesh police took over the security of Tirumala temple today. The step follows increased terror threat to the world-famous shrine.

Director-General of Police SSP Yadav launched the first unit of the Organisation for Counter Terror Operations (OCTOPUS), comprising 46 well-trained commandos, at the hill shrine.

“The government had decided to deploy OCTOPUS commandos for the temple security because of the heightened threat perception,” the DGP said. Two more units would be commissioned shortly, he added.

Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, is believed to be on terrorists’ hit list and there have been periodical intelligence alerts to that effect.

“The temple attracts pilgrims from all over the world and needs foolproof security,” a top police official said.

Tirumala is the country’s richest shrine with annual revenues crossing Rs 1,300 crore. On an average, the temple attracts about 50,000 pilgrims every day from all over the country and abroad and the figure touches one lakh on special occasions.

At present, the temple is guarded by AP Special Police Force (SPF) personnel. Initially, the officials had proposed the CRPF cover for the shrine.

However, keeping in view the seriousness of the threat, it was decided to opt for OCTOPUS personnel of which are specially trained to tackle terror attacks.

Kanpur/Lucknow, September 12
A suspected Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent was arrested in Kanpur and classified documents pertaining to the Army besides 15 SIM cards were seized from him, the police said today.

Imtiyaz Ali Siddiqui, alias Imati Babu, an agent of the ISI, was arrested by the Anti- Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Uttar Pradesh in Bhauti area in Kanpur district last night.

Imtiyaz, based in Jhansi, was taken to Lucknow soon after his arrest, the police
said in Kanpur.

Classified documents relating to the Army, a diary containing telephone numbers of ISI officers, 15 sim cards, e-mail IDs, visiting cards and coded documents were seized from him, ATS officials said in Lucknow.

They said an information was received that a suspected ISI agent was passing on important information relating to the Army to agencies in Pakistan.

Acting on the information, the ATS arrested Imtiyaz near a PCO on the Kanpur-Jhansi highway, the officials said.

During interrogation, Imtiyaz revealed he came into contact with the ISI in Karachi last year where he had gone to meet his sister.

He was imparted training there and was given information about the Army, the
ATS officials said.

Imtiyaz returned to India in February this year and was assigned the task of passing on information relating to Army regiments stationed in Jhansi, Mathura and Meerut to his masters, they said. — PTI

Patna, September 12
In a dramatic turn of events in the 18-year-old Barh poll violence case wherein a Congress worker, Sitaram Singh, was killed and four others sustained injuries, the police recovered a key witness from the house of former JD(U) MP from Jehanabad and Congress leader and former MP Arun Kumar.

The case hit the headlines last week when a lower court in Barh issued summons to Nitish for his alleged involvement in the murder committed during the 1991 General Election, which he had eventually won.

The police searched Arun’s home and rescued Ramanand Singh who had deposed against Nitish on the basis of a complaint filed by his (Ramanand’s) son, Chandan, that his father had been kept in captivity by the former MP for the past four days.