New Delhi, February 16
India today seemingly changed its tone on China saying it was not "unduly concerned" about its neighbour's military modernisation. Defence Minister AK Antony today said, "It is a matter of concern, but we are not unduly worried… an ongoing comprehensive review of our defence preparedness is on to meet security challenges."

Minutes after opening the Asian Security Conference organised by the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), Antony said, "Modernisation of armed forces of China and its ever-increasing military spending is a matter of serious concern, but we are not unduly worried because we will modernise and strengthen our armed forces."

The minister said the review of capabilities of the country's armed forces was an "ongoing and a constant" process and the defence preparedness was being reviewed on regular basis. "If there are any gaps, they will be filled up," Antony assured. He said India was strengthening its capabilities and infrastructure in that area. The government was also modernising armed forces and strengthening infrastructure in border areas, he added.

After China started deploying missiles and strengthening its military infrastructure along the Indian territory, India has also upgraded its roads and aviation infrastructure there. The first step in that direction was the opening of old and defunct air strips - Daulet Beg Oldie, Fukche and Nyoma - in remote valleys of Ladakh. New Delhi has already announced its intent to base fighters at Leh and set up two new mountain divisions of the Army - both in the North-East.

Asked if the Indian military modernisation was moving at a slower pace than China's, Antony said, "We are not modernising our armed forces by keeping in mind any other country. We are modernising our forces on the basis of a comprehensive review of the emerging security scenario around us."

On the reported Chinese objections over the trilateral Malabar series of war games among India, the USA and Japan, he said, "It started 15 years ago and we hold it every year. There is nothing against a particular country. It is to increase capabilities of our Navy."

On the unresolved border issue between the two countries, Antony said, "It can be settled only through dialogue and discussions."

New Delhi, February 16
The Supreme Court has rejected a plea for expanding its 2005 dowry demand definition, under which it had excluded urgent domestic expenses from the purview of crime, to exempt business and other financial requirements as well.

A Bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam and RM Lodha turned down the plea of a convict from Kurukshektra, Haryana, contending that he had demanded a motorcycle from his wife’s family only for the purpose of doing some business.

His wife, Kanta, daughter of a rickshaw puller who was earning Rs 20 a day, had committed suicide on August 11, 1990, within three months of marriage. The trial court had sentenced the husband and his father to imprisonment for seven years and the Punjab and Haryana High Court had confirmed this.

The convicts, through their counsel, had argued in the SC that they could not be found guilty if one were to go by a 2005 apex court verdict (2SCC 388 Appasaheb). The apex court had then ruled that “a demand for money on account of some financial stringency or for meeting some urgent domestic expenses or for purchasing manure cannot be termed as a demand for dowry as the said word is normally understood.”

New Delhi, February 16
The Supreme Court has ruled that proof of motive and test identification parades (TIPs) were not necessary for convicting alleged assailants in murder cases.

A Bench comprising Justices VS Sirpurkar and TS Thakur made the observations while confirming the conviction of two members of coal mafia in Jharkhand for the murder of Gurudas Chatterjee, a sitting MLA, in April 2000. The MLA had been shot dead in broad daylight while traveling on a motorcycle as a pillion. The assailants were also on a motorcycle.

The apex court, however, commuted the death sentence awarded to them by the Jharkhand High Court and restored the life term handed out by the trial court, holding that the killing did not fall under the rarest of the rare category.

“Proof of motive recedes into the background in cases where the prosecution relies upon an eye-witness account of the occurrence…Absence of motive would not, therefore, by itself make any material difference,” Justice Thakur said.

New Delhi, February 16
After more than 20 days of intense international controversy, the central security and intelligence agencies have given a “clean chit” to Tibetan spiritual leader Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorjee in the case relating to the huge foreign currency haul from his house, saying the money had come in the form of donations and offerings by devotees.

“The foreign currency recovered during raids are donations and offerings from devotees and the affairs of the Karmae Garchen Trust backed by him are managed by the trustees. It happened due to the callousness of his associates and lack of knowledge of laws,” a source said, adding the Karmapa's associates had made the mistake of keeping such a huge amount of foreign currency.

A nine-member delegation of the Karmapa’s followers, an MP and some political leaders today met Union Home Secretary GK Pillai and apprised him about various aspects of the case. The delegation pleaded the Karmapa’s innocence and assured Pillai of his cooperation in the ongoing probe.

The Home Secretary is learnt to have asked the delegation to advise the Karmapa and his associates about existing laws, hire a chartered accountant to manage his funds and register the Karmae Garchen Trust under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. Pillai also told the delegation that the Karmapa’s associates had no business to buy benami lands.

A probe was initiated against the 17th Karmapa and he was questioned after an unaccounted sum of Rs 1 crore was recovered from two of his associates near Una on January 25. Three days later, the Himachal Police seized Rs 6 crore in foreign currencies, including the Chinese yuan, from a room at the Gyuto Tantric Monastery at Sidhbari on the outskirts of Dharamsala, the capital of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

New Delhi, February 16
Former Director General of Punjab Police KPS Gill today created a stir by blaming the USA, UK, Canada and Germany of having tactically supported militancy in Punjab.

“In those days, it was the in thing to promote terror in third world countries. This changed only after the 9/11 attacks in the US,” Gill, who was the chief guest at the release of ‘Tripura Bravehearts’ authored by former Tripura police chief BL Vohra, said here today.

In reply to a specific query, Gill clarified that Pakistan was a conduit to supply guns and promote infiltration. He cited two meetings that were conducted by the ISI in Germany with Khalistani ideologues and also how Canada had not taken appropriate action against the persons who had masterminded the Kanishka bombing that killed more than 300 persons.

Gill, who steered Punjab out of militancy, expressed fears at the over-exposure of events to the media. “If Punjab (militancy) had happened today, I don’t know what would have been the outcome of our operations,” he said.

Union Home Secretary GK Pillai was the guest of honour while The Tribune Group of Newspapers Editor-in-Chief Raj Chengappa was the guest speaker at the release.

‘Tripura Bravehearts’ is the success story of counter-insurgency operations that were backed by political will in that state. Its author, a 1967-batch officer, had served in Punjab during militancy when he was on deputation to the CRPF. Pillai said that there was a lesson to learn from Tripura’s success. “It shows that we can do this (counter insurgency) without the Army. Good administration is all that is needed,” he said.

New Delhi, February 16
Hours after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated that he had no objections to the constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the 2G Spectrum scam, the UPA government stepped up its efforts to resolve this outstanding issue with the Opposition.

Finance Minister and Lok Sabha leader Pranab Mukherjee met BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley this evening to work out the nitty-gritty of setting up such a parliamentary panel. He was accompanied by Union ministers P Chidambaram, AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Although the government has conceded the opposition’s demand for a JPC, the focus of the discussions has now shifted to the modalities of setting up the Parliamentary panel. During the discussions today, the two BJP leaders are learnt to have insisted that the proposed JPC should look into the 2G Spectrum allocation, the Commonwealth Games fiasco and the Adarsh Housing Society controversy.

The government, however, maintained that a JPC could look into one particular issue. Swaraj and Jaitley countered by saying that there are no hard and fast rules and there was sufficient flexibility in the procedures to meet their demand. In her tweet, Swaraj said the opposition would like the government to move the motion on the constitution of the JPC on February 22 so that Parliament could start functioning smoothly.

Mukherjee was, however, non-committal though fresh round of discussions will take place as the government is keen that the Budget session of Parliament, due to commence on February 21, should not be washed out like the winter session. The government, however, wants these issues to be first debated in Parliament so that it gets an opportunity to place its views on record.

Despite these minor differences, the move to end the Parliamentary logjam has acquired urgency since the government has to complete urgent legislative business. Today’s consultations with the BJP leaders were a follow-up on the all-party meeting, which Mukherjee had convened on February 8 where he had said no price was high enough for the smooth functioning of Parliament.

That the government had agreed to the opposition demand for a JPC was evident from the PM’s remarks on this issue in his morning interaction with editors of television news channels. Stating categorically that he is not afraid to appear before any committee, including a JPC, he also clarified that an entirely wrong impression had been created that he was blocking the agreement on the JPC as he was afraid of appearing before it.

New Delhi, February 16
Last year when a Spaniard gay couple reached an understanding with an Indian surrogate mother to deliver a child for them by charging Rs 3.5 lakh, they hadn’t imagined they would be doubly blessed.

With newborn female twins in their arms today, Mauro and his husband Juan looked delighted. They couldn’t have struck such a deal in Europe or the US, where such a procedure would have cost around $100,000. Moreover, surrogates are nowhere as freely available as in India which penalises same-sex relationships but, curiously, allows homosexuals to have children through surrogacy.

There are no laws at present to regulate the sector. The Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill 2010 that the Indian Council for Medical Research drafted is awaiting the Law Ministry nod. It allows surrogacy for couples into sexual relationships considered legal in India. By that standard, homosexuals may not be able to legally have children if the said law rolls while Section 377 IPC (which criminalises same-sex relationships) is still alive. Though the Delhi High court had in a judgment ordered ‘decriminalising’of a same-sex relationship, the government is till to take a call on it.

But Mauro and Juan have skipped the noose. Married in 2010, after a decade-long relationship (though Spain recognised gay unions in 2005), they have now given Indian names-Daya and Uma-to their daughters as a mark of appreciation for the surrogate. As per the contract, the infants have been handed over to the parents and Dolly, their biological mother, is happy to stay away, proud to have delivered white babies.

“This is my first time. I have a six-year-old child. We did it for money and our child’s future,” she confessed, adding that she would not mind repeating a pregnancy if it brings her money.