New Delhi, May 1
The UPA government today kicked off the process for “second generation reform in legal education” with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Law Minister M Veerappa Moily acknowledging that the legal profession in the country had so far undergone only cosmetic changes and drastic steps were necessary to root out “institutionalised mediocrity.”

“The very nature of law, legal institutions and law practice are in the throes of a paradigm shift,” Singh said in his inaugural address at the two-day National Consultation on the subject.

He said it was unfortunate that a statement made 50 years ago by Dr S Radhakrishnan lamenting the state of legal education and profession was true even today. The former President had said “our colleges of law do not hold a place of high esteem either at home or abroad, nor has law become an area of profound scholarship and enlightened research.”

Quoting this, the Prime Minister said, “As we introspect honestly, we must sadly accept that Dr Radhakrishnan’s powerful yet poignant words may not be amenable to any radical restatement even today.” And this was so despite the fact that the problems as also the panaceas in the field of legal education were known.

Acknowledging that the country did have a small number of dynamic and outstanding law schools, he said he was “afraid they remain islands of excellence amidst a sea of institutionalised mediocrity.”

For ensuring speedy and affordable justice to the common man and creating an economic environment where contracts were easily enforceable, a very high standard had to be set for law teachers, practising advocates, corporate lawyers, legal advisers, judicial officers and legal facilitators.

“And this is possible only if there is dramatic reform and improvement in the scope and quality of our legal education system,” the PM said.

Moily, presenting his Vision Statement on the subject to the Prime Minister, said the second-generation reforms would focus on the three pillars of “expansion, inclusion and excellence.” Expansion would cover establishment of four national-level institutions at the regional level as centres of excellence focused on research and upgradation of faculty skills. These would be called Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and Research. Every state would have a National Law University as a school of excellence.

Each of the 913 existing law schools would be evaluated by an empowered committee and classified as per standards and needs for the purpose of upgradation. Law schools would be set up under the public-private participation model. Autonomous colleges would have to meet the demanding accreditation standards.

The inaugural function was attended among others by Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan and his fellow judges in the Supreme Court and high courts, Attorney General GE Vahanvati and Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium. The meet has been organised by the Law Ministry, National Law University, Delhi, and the Bar Council of India.

Kolkata, May 1
The unity drive between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TC) against the CPM virtually came to an end today following the decision by both parties to fight the forthcoming civic polls against each other.The Congress today announced the candidate list in 88 wards. Earlier, as per its agreement with the TC, it was to put up a joint fight in 25 to 30 wards against the CPM.

The AICC general secretary, Keshav Rao, claimed the committee had no role in the decision. But he was confident the decision would in no way affect the stability of the UPA government as Mamata Banerjee’s TC would continue to support it.

The TC leadership, however, said the Congress decision was bound to affect the party’s future relationship with it.

As directed by Mamata, the TC had already announced their candidate list for 115 wards, leaving the remaining 25 wards to the Congress after assessing the poll performances of the respective parties in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly byelections in Kolkata.

New Delhi, May 1
There might have been some failure of talks between the Congress and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TC) in West Bengal with the two UPA allies deciding to go their separate ways in forthcoming Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) polls, but political observers are not yet ruling out the possibility of a last minute patch-up.

At least, Congress leaders do not expect the souring of relationship between the two allies in the local body elections to put the crucial alliance at the Centre under any stress. Senior Congress leader and state party in charge K. Keshav Rao, who has been holding talks with Mamata on seat-sharing alliance for the KMC polls, says: “This (KMC poll) is a local election based on local issues. The alliance at the Centre is based on larger issues. In fact, the alliance between the Congress and Trinamool will strengthen after this”.

The fact of the matter is that both parties know that without keeping their votes together it will be almost impossible to defeat the Marxists in the state. The proof is the last Lok Sabha elections when together they did extremely well.

Moreover, observers believe that for Mamata, who has her eyes firmly set on the post of Chief Minister of the state, the 2011 Assembly elections could well be the last chance to make it to the famous Writers Building -- the secretariat building of the State Government of West Bengal.

“She has missed many a chances in the past and despite her famous temperament, as a politician, she knows that if she does not make it this time, it may never happen. At the same time, she does not want give the Congress a bigger chunk in West Bengal politics because of her insecurities,” they say.

As far as the Congress is concerned, it definitely wants a share in West Bengal politics, and for which keeping Mamata close is important. This primarily is the reason that even though the alliance for the KMC poll may or may not happen, the party will not let this affect its relationship with the Trinamool chief. 

New Delhi, May 1
Two days after India and Pakistan agreed to resume talks, New Delhi is cautious against any high-level expectations from the proposed dialogue.

Having learnt a bitter lesson from last year’s fiasco at Sharm-el-Sheikh, India is being extremely careful about the outcome of the hour-long meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, who met on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in Thimpu earlier this week.

The two leaders decided to take the first step towards serious re-engagement by asking their respective foreign ministers to meet. The date and venue for this meeting is yet to be finalised.

The dialogue between India and Pakistan was called off after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Although both sides did attempt to pick up the threads when the two premiers met at the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharam-el-Sheikh last July, the domestic political backlash that followed their joint statement prevented New Delhi from moving forward with the dialogue process.

Although New Delhi and Islamabad have now agreed to resume talks, government sources were quick to point out that the limited purpose of the proposed meetings was to work out the modalities for restoring trust in their relationship, which, in turn, could lay the foundation for a more purposeful dialogue covering all outstanding issues.

“There is a absence of trust between the two countries. Since there was agreement that it is lack of trust which is holding up any meaningful dialogue, the two decided to look at issues which are coming in the way and see how we can build trust,” it was pointed out.

Government sources were, however, not willing to second guess the outcome of the talks at this early stage. Instead, they chose to describe it as an “opportunity” which could kick-start a fuller dialogue.

New Delhi, May 1
Extradited underworld don Abu Salem was today charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) by a Delhi court for allegedly making threat calls to a trader to extort Rs 5 crore as protection money.

"Your (Salem) activities and involvement were analysed and it was observed that you are continuing with your unlawful criminal activities in an organised manner by forming an organised crime syndicate," Additional Sessions Judge Pinki said.

Paving the way for start of the trial in the eight-year-old case, the court said there was prima facie evidence to prosecute Salem under various provisions of the IPC and the MCOCA, dealing with conspiracy, attempt to extort money, threatening and running an organised crime syndicate.

"You were found running an organised crime syndicate for the purpose of gaining pecuniary benefits by indulging in organised crime activities," the court said.

The court has fixed the matter for recording of prosecution evidence on May 17.Besides Salem, who had remained elusive till his extradition from Portugal in 2005, other accused in the case are Chanchal Mehta, Majid Khan, Pawan Kumar Mittal, Mohd Ashraf.

Another accused Sajjan Kumar Soni died during pendency of the case and, consequently, proceedings against him were stopped. — PTI

Chandigarh, May 1
While the Army has convened a general court martial (GCM) to try the commandant of a military hospital on charges of corruption, the accused Brigadier in turn has moved the Armed Forces Tribunal challenging his trial and demanding that he be promoted to the rank of major general as approved by a selection board earlier.

Brig Anil Kayastha, who was head of the Military Hospital, Jalandhar, is facing six charges, including three involving moral turpitude. He is alleged to have purchased medical supplies worth more than Rs 9 crore from the unregistered dealers with intent to defraud during November 2006 and January 2008.

The trial, presided by Maj Gen T.K. Das, Chief Signal Officer, Western Command, commenced at Ferozepur on April 29. Brigadier Kayastha has submitted a plea before the GCM, challenging its jurisdiction on the grounds that no charges are made out against him and there is no due application of mind by the authorities concerned while deciding his case.

As per rules, medicines are to be procured through local purchase only from registered dealers selected by a board of officers. According to sources, when board proceedings containing names of 60 dealers was put up to him for approval, he allegedly asked the board’s head to include the names of 20 more dealers. He is also alleged to have cancelled, with intent to defraud, the rate inquiries prepared by the officer in charge of the hospital’s medical store to be issued to vendors for procurement.

In his petition before the Tribunal, he has claimed that he was screened for promotion in 2008-09 and had reasons to believe that he was approved for promotion to the rank of Major General. He was expecting formal orders to this effect in May 2009 but those junior to him were promoted in June 2009. He has contended that he was denied promotion due to pendency of disciplinary proceedings whereas there were no disciplinary proceedings against him at the time he was approved for promotion.

He has claimed that he was due to pick up his rank on May 1, 2009, while the tentative charge-sheet following the court of inquiry was issued only on June 23, 2009. He had taken up the matter of denial of promotion with the Director General Medical Services, but got no response.

Mumbai, May 1
With just a couple of days left for the 26/11 court to pronounce its judgement in the Mumbai terror attack case, prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam today said the case was a big challenge, but is confident that he would secure conviction of its perpetrator Ajmal Kasab and two Indian conspirators.

Nikam, who has an enviable track record of securing death penalty for 37 accused and life term to 627 in his career spanning over three decades, is confident that Kasab, the lone 26/11 gunman captured, will be punished despite his repeated attempts to “misguide” the court.

“Kasab ka hisaab zaroor hoga (Kasab will be made accountable),” he said.

Nikam said the Pakistani gunman never showed any signs of remorse during the nearly year-long trial and conducted himself very casually in the court. — PTI

Jaipur, May 1
The Rajasthan ATS has arrested Chandrashekhar, another member of the terror module that was apparently formed for carrying out the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast, from Shahajahanpur in Madhya Pradesh.

The team has also seized the mobile phone allegedly used to trigger the blast from Chandrashekhar’s possession. It has also come to light that he was leading the module and was given the responsibility of supplying mobile phones and SIM cards needed to trigger the explosive. The ATS has revealed that a Madhya Pradesh-based module of the right-wing Hindu outfit Abhinav Bharat, accused in the Malegaon blasts, had possibly executed the terror strike at the Ajmer Dargah on October 11, 2007.

This is the second arrest in the Ajmer blast case since Wednesday. Earlier, the ATS had arrested Devendra Gupta, who allegedly had links with the Hindu outfit, Abhinav Bharat. Gupta is also in the news for his alleged RSS connection. ATS sources claim the accused was an active member of the RSS. Rajasthan Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal also said the investigating agencies had collected enough evidence to prove that he had links with the RSS. 

While Chandrashekhar has been remanded in 12-day police custody, the ATS has got some fresh leads in the case after interrogation of Gupta. Sources in the ATS said there were a few more persons in the list of suspects and further investigations might take the ATS to a few other states as well.

Meanwhile, after these two arrests, the state police is now claiming that the Malegaon, Ajmer and Mecca Masjid blasts were part of an overall conspiracy and the names of both Chandrashekhar and Gupta had come up during the interrogation and narco analysis of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col SP Purohit.

The probe has also brought the focus on the operations of Hindu extremist outfits in the desert state and the police is now probing into the possibility of any local involvement for providing logistical support in the execution of the terror strike. Meanwhile, the Ajmer district administration got installed two screening machines at the gates of the Ajmer Dargah following the interrogation of Gupta on Friday. The security has also been beefed up in the nearby areas of the shrine. Earlier, the administration had got installed 12 CCTV cameras in and around the shrine.

New Delhi, May 1
A meeting convened by the Union Home Ministry with 33 MPs from Naxal violence-hit areas yesterday remained inconclusive, however, a kind of consensus is said to have emerged advocating against talks with Naxals till they abjure violence.

The Home Minister has been advocating this for a longtime. Operations to secure the areas in the security grid will continue in the districts where forces are stationed. The Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram called for better utilisation of funds, provided by the Centre for development of the districts worst-affected areas by left wing extremism (LWE) as he chaired a meeting of the MPs today. The MPs hailed from areas that are worst-hit by Naxal violence is parts of Jharkhand, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

The purpose of the meeting was to assess the present trends and review the steps needed for integrated development of these districts.

The MPs wanted that the elected representatives from these districts must have a role to play in monitoring implementation of the major developmental schemes. Among the suggestions at the meeting was setting up of a major vocational centre in each block, relaxation of norms for setting up schools and building roads etc.

MPs pointed out how Naxals from India were taking shelter in Nepal. Meanwhile, officials here said there would be no break in the ongoing plan to secure the area.

Another meeting is scheduled in a couple of weeks from now. The Home Minister said a plan would be worked out on the basis of concrete suggestions, received from the MPs and would be presented to the Chief Ministers.

Later in the evening, the Union Home Secretary GK Pillai, while releasing the monthly report of the Ministry said the one member committee to probe the April 6 Dantewada massacre has submitted its report, however, the Minister will take a call on this shortly. On providing relief to the families of the deceased jawans, Pillai said the eligible family members have been given offer letters for jobs while in case those who are yet to attain 18 years of age, have also been issued a letter that they will get a job on reaching the age.

Pillai said the government was buying more satellite phones for CRPF. On the ongoing controversy over the arrest of a woman diplomat Madhuri Gupta, Pillai said “There were leakage of some information. Investigating agencies are still assessing the details.”

Sonepat, May 1
Two women, along with five children, reportedly jumped into the parallel Delhi branch of the Western Yamuna Canal near Rohat village here today.

One of the women and a child were saved by a cyclist while the other woman and four kids drowned.

Saroj Bala (28) of Ballamba in Rohtak district and Sarla (25) of Baiyanpur village in Sonepat district got married to Saren and Baljit, both brothers, of Jassor Kheri village in Rohtak district, respectively.

Saroj Bala, along with her two daughters and a son, and Sarla, her son and a daughter today came from their in-laws’ house in a maxi-cab. They got down at the bridge on the canal near Rohat village and walked down for 1 km.

After reaching a deserted place, the women threw their kids into the canal and then themselves jumped into the water.

Incidentally, a cyclist heard the cries of a child. He jumped into the canal and saved the child and Saroj Bala.

After receiving information, tehsildar Brahm Prakash and the SHOs of Sadar, Kundli, and Rai police stations reached the spot to assist the villagers in finding the victims.

The bodies of Sarla and three children have been recovered. However, the body of the fourth child is yet to be recovered.

The police recovered a suicide note written by Saroj Bala, who survived, in which she had stated that she wanted the entire property in her name at her parental village to be transferred to her nephew, Deepak, son of Satbir of Ballamba village. A case has been registered and the police is investigating the case.

Lucknow, May 1
As part of its ongoing “clean-up” drive to rid the party of criminal elements, the ruling BSP in Uttar Pradesh today expelled 500 leaders and workers with dubious antecedents across the state.

“A final decision in this regard was taken during a meeting of senior leaders and zonal coordinators chaired by party supremo and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati this evening,” a BSP spokesman said.

Immediately after addressing a workers convention, Mayawati held a meeting with the coordinators and sought lists of workers and leaders having criminal antecedents, who have been expelled from the party, he said.

She has also sought a second list of big criminals still left in the party to be presented at its next meeting on May 13.

Mayawati said criminals would not be given any place in the party and only those with a clean image would be promoted.

“Those indulging in wrong activities will be ousted,” she was quoted as saying at the meeting.

“During the two-hour-long meeting, excluding Mirzapur zone, reports submitted by all other coordinators were found to be correct on the basis of which 500 people having criminal antecedents were expelled from the BSP,” he said.