New Delhi, March 1
A special court is being set up for holding expeditious trial in the 2G spectrum scam case, while promoters, CEOs and top executives of 10 telecom companies are among 63 persons under the CBI scanner, the Supreme Court was informed today.

The Delhi High Court is likely to identify a Sessions Judge in 10 days for conducting the trial, Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaisingh informed the apex court Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly.

The SC Bench had suggested formation of the special court on February 10. The ASG said the same day Attorney General GE Vahanvati conveyed this to Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, who in turn wrote to the HC Chief Justice in this regard, again on the same day. The HC’s response was awaited, she said.

The CBI today submitted another progress report on its investigations, listing all those who have been questioned by it. The Bench expressed satisfaction over the progress.

During the day-long hearing, Vahanvati clarified that the then telecom minister A Raja, who is now in judicial custody in the case, never sought his opinion in connection with spectrum allotment. The AG was denying an allegation that he was hand in glove with Raja to overcome M Veerappa Moily’s suggestion for referring the 2G matter to a Group of Ministers.

Counsel Prashant Bhushan, appearing for a PIL petitioner who has sought cancellation of the 2G licences, informed the court that even while the case was being heard by the SC last year, the telecom ministry “arm-twisted” a telecom company by suspending its right to provide services under the existing licence. Following this, the company sought to withdraw its case against the government, he said. The Bench has sought production of the relevant documents.

Many a probe panel

The 2G spectrum scam is perhaps the first case in the country which has come under the scrutiny of a maximum number of fora. Besides the CAG, the matter is under the consideration of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) of Parliament. The government has also yielded to the Opposition demand for setting up a JPC to go into the scam.

Further, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal set up a one-member committee of former SC Judge Shivraj Patil which has already given its findings. Two trial courts of Delhi are also holding hearings in the case.

The Delhi HC has also gone into various aspects of the scam, while a few related cases have been heard by at least three Benches of the SC. The issue has also come under the scanner of the Prime Minister’s Office, Finance and Law Ministries, the Cabinet, the Telecom Commission, TRAI etc.

Hyderabad, March 1
Taking their cue from the Gujjar agitation, pro-Telangana activists today virtually took over railway tracks across the region and turned them into impromptu theatres to stage protests.

The statehood supporters of all political hues pitched their flags, raised slogans, staged song and dance programmes, cooked and ate food on the tracks. Not a single train could move through the region for over 12 hours.

The protesters used the railway tracks to present a “slice of Telangana cultural life”. Some went about their daily routine like shaving, bathing, cooking and having breakfast and lunch on the rail tracks while others had even spread mattresses on the tracks for an afternoon siesta.

The “rail roko”, which brought the train services in the region to a grinding halt, was part of an intensifying agitation to mount pressure on the UPA government to introduce a Bill on the formation of a separate Telangana state.

Christened “Palle Palle Pattala Paiki” (All villages on railway tracks), the dawn-to-dusk protest programme fuelled competitive zeal among the political parties in the region with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), BJP and TDP workers actively participating in the stir and courting arrest.

Thousands of passengers travelling by long distance express and passenger trains were put through hardship with children and the aged suffering the most. The South Central Railway (SCR) was forced to cancel at least 25 express trains and passenger services while suburban trains in Hyderabad were also cancelled.

The slogan-shouting Telangana activists staged protests at railway stations in Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Nizamabad, Warangal, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Khammam and other places in the region.

The protesters put up make-shift kitchens on the tracks at several places and cooked breakfast and lunch. They put up boulders at some places and water tankers and other vehicles on the tracks at railway crossings.

The police arrested the protesters, including TRS MLAs T Harish Rao and K T Rama Rao, revolutionary balladeer Gaddar and convener of the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee Prof M Kodandaram. Fearing sabotage by the agitators, the railway authorities and police stepped up their vigil along the main trunk routes and in railway stations. They also warned of strict action if anyone was found indulging in sabotage activities. 

New Delhi, March 1
Endorsing CBI’s probe indicting Kolkata-based industrialist Ashok Todi for driving graphic engineer Rizwanur Rahman to suicide for marrying his daughter against his will, the Supreme Court today ruled out filing of a murder case against Todi and a fresh CBI probe against him.

A Bench of Justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan delivered the verdict while endorsing the Calcutta High Court Single-Bench’s order to the CBI in October 2007 to probe Rizwanur’s unnatural death and rejecting the high court Division Bench’s subsequent May 2010 order for a fresh probe into it.

Setting aside the Division Bench’s order, the apex court said, “The fresh investigation into the same allegation would be a futile exercise and no purpose would be served by investigating the case afresh, more particularly, when there is no adverse comment on the investigation carried out by the CBI.”

“The de novo investigation by lodging another FIR would result in delay of justice since the Division Bench has ordered to conduct the same investigation under the same sections started three years back by the same agency, namely, the CBI,” the Bench said.

Endorsing the high court’s interim order on October 10, 2007, to the CBI to probe into Rizwanur’s death, the apex court also justified its subsequent August 14, 2008, order to the agency to file a charge sheet into the case.

Rizwanur married Todi’s daughter Priyanka on August 18, 2007, as per the Special Marriage Act, 1954, and the couple began living together from August 30 after which Rizwanur intimated the police and his in-laws about the marriage. Rizwanur was found dead on a rail track on September 21, 2007. — PTI

Guwahati, March 1
Rebel groups in Nagaland are on the warpath again barely months after they resolved to set aside their differences and work for unity. The border districts of Nagaland, especially Tuensang, are tense following the influx of over a hundred well armed cadres of the NSCN(IM) with a mandate to target members of the rival NSCN(K). As per unconfirmed reports, several gun battles have taken place over the past few days between cadres of the two outfits at certain areas in Myanmar across the international border in that area.

The development may disrupt the proposed visit of NSCN(K) “chairman” SS Khaplang to a place near the border from his base deep inside Myanmar to have talks with NSCN(IM) “chairman” Isak Chisi Swu who is arriving in Dimapur today. Khaplang is supposed to chair a series of meetings with his senior commanders and cadres on vital issues related to the conflict with the NSCN(IM) and the ceasefire agreement with New Delhi.

Both the factions of the NSCN and the Naga National Council ( NNC) signed an agreement in 2009 to work for unity, which was followed by a joint declaration in November last that conflicts would be avoided. The NSCN-K faction and NNC have alleged that the NSCN(IM) is indulging in activities which appeared “very opposite to what they had pledged while signing the agreement”. “We have not reneged on the commitment given in the joint declaration and neither has the Federal Government of Nagaland (the government set up by Naga National Council),” said a senior member of the NSCN(K), adding that “movement by the Myanmar army has also been noticed in Sagaing adjacent to Tuensang”.

Several civil society organizations and the church in Nagaland had worked hard to promote harmony between the warring rebel groups. The efforts seem to have been watered down given the present situation in the border districts. Members of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation that played a vital role in the joint declaration by the outfits refused to comment when asked about the recurring hostility between the NSCN factions. 

Chennai, March 1
Amid pressure from the parent organisation and pro-Tiger outfits to snap ties with the Congress, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader M Karunanidhi has given strong indications that he is in no mood to concede the national party’s demand for power sharing and more number of seats.

Karunanidhi’s tough stand follows a statement from the parent body Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) to sever ties with the Congress. DK president K Veeramani, in a statement on Sunday, indirectly referred to the allegations against the DMK for continuing its relationship with the Congress which was being charged with “abetting the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka” and said Karunanidhi could absolve himself from those allegations by snapping ties with the Congress. “This is the wish of the Tamils all over the world”, he said referring to the appeals of the Lankan Tamils’ diaspora.

The leader of the DK, in which most of the DMK leaders including Karunanidhi began their political career, said “it is not good to have alliance with a party whose words express friendship and actions betray bitterness and hatred”.

Citing the several populist schemes initiated by the DMK government, Veeramani, a close associate of Karunanidhi, when they worked in the same movement under the DK founder EVR Periyar, said numerous people have benefited from those schemes and the DMK could be assured of their support. He asserted that the Congress alliance would not bring votes to the DMK and predicted that Karunanidhi would emerge victorious if it shed the “unwanted luggage”.

Hours after the DK leader’s statement, Karunanidhi invited pro-Tiger Dalit leader Thol Thirumavalavan and held discussions with him till 8.30 pm last night. The DMK leader also signed a pact with Thirumavalavan, allocating 10 seats to his outfit, the VCK. Last time, the Dalit leader was given only nine seats. The DMK, a constituent of the UPA, has 18 seats in the Lok Sabha and the support of the lone VCK MP.

The talks between the DMK and the Congress remain deadlocked, following the demand of Congress for power sharing and one-third of Assembly seats. Contrary to the expectations of Congress leaders that the DMK chief will not begin negotiations with smaller parties before finalising the number of seats to the Congress, Karunanidhi has allocated 44 constituencies to other parties so far, without waiting for the Congress to return to the negotiations table. What is more significant is that 41 of the seats allotted have gone to pro-Tiger parties like the PMK and the VCK.

As he goes on allotting more and more seats to smaller parties, the number of seats to be shared between the DMK and the Congress goes on decreasing. The message from the DMK leader is that the Congress can take whatever the DMK offers or leave the alliance.

The bargaining capacity of the Congress has come down, as it cannot form a third front now, since the PMK has joined hands with Karunanidhi and actor Vijaykanth’s DMDK is holding negotiations with the AIADMK. The threat of pro-Tiger outfits to begin a targeted campaign against the Congress is also proving to be a disadvantage for the grand old party, during seat-sharing talks itself. 

New Delhi, March 1
Faced with a reality of seeing the budget for defence slide down in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), Defence Minister AK Antony today put up a brave face saying he was happy with the budgetary allocation for armed forces.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an Army function, Antony said the government had assured to provide his ministry additional funds to meet acquisition requirements.

“By and large we are very happy about the Budget because apart from the allocation, the Finance Minister has declared on the floor of the House that if the defence needs more money, there will be no problem,” Antony said.

The Defence Minister was reacting to queries about reports suggesting that allocation of Rs 1,64,415 crore was not adequate to meet the requirements of the armed forces. With an increase of Rs 17,071 crore, the government has hiked the defence budget by 11.59 per cent for 2011-12 and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said that there will be no problems if more funds are required by the armed forces.

However, in this increase India’s defence spending out of its GDP has gone down, which is an important benchmark as it shows the military inclination of a nation. It now stands at 1.84 per cent of the GDP, down from 2.2 per cent in the 2010-11 fiscal. 

Allahabad, March 1
While lawyers across the state have completely paralysed the subordinate and district courts for the third consecutive day today, in Allahabad they fought a pitched battle with the police damaging several government vehicles and state transport buses.

The police resorted to lathicharge and heavy security was deployed at the district court here to control the advocates who indulged in violence over being prohibited from entering a government building.

Trouble began this morning when a number of lawyers tried to storm Vikas Bhavan, situated near the district court, where offices of the district administration are housed.

The advocates were livid over a notice on the building's entrance which stated that lawyers were “prohibited” from entering the premises along with their clients though they could get entry in case of “personal work”.

According to sources at Vikas Bhavan, the notice was meant to “prevent over-crowding” of the premises.

Upon being stopped by Vikas Bhavan employees from entering the building, the lawyers hurled stones at them. As the government employees retaliated, the advocates set afire a number of vehicles parked inside and outside the building.

The agitators also assaulted a number of mediapersons who had gathered at the spot.

The police resorted to lathicharge to bring the situation under control, official sources said. The police said the situation was tense but had been brought under control after personnel of the local police and the Provincial Armed Constabulary were deployed in strength.

The district administration has ordered an inquiry into the incident, sources said.

A section of lawyers also staged a protest in front of the Allahabad High Court premises and demanded suspension of the officials “who passed the order meant to insult the lawyer fraternity”. On February 25, the police in Lucknow had lathicharged lawyers when they had turned violent during a procession. In protest against the police lathicharge on them in Lucknow, lawyers across the state have held up normal functioning at district courts and declared a strike till March 7.

A section of Lucknow lawyers on February 25 under the banner of Virendra Bhatia Adhiwakta Kalyankari Manch were marching towards the Chief Minister's residence when they were stopped and lathicharged by the police.

The protesting lawyers were demanding an end to the reported atrocities on lawyers by the police and district authorities as well as the release of Rs 125 crore granted by the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav government for the welfare of the district lawyers.

Now in addition to these demands, they have sought punishment for the policemen resorting to the lathicharge on February 25.

However, lawyers at the Allahabad High Court and its bench in Lucknow have not joined the statewide strike. 

New Delhi, March 1
The Delhi High Court today issued a notice to veteran Congress leader N D Tiwari on a plea by Rohit, who claims to be his biological son, to modify its earlier order saying the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) at Hyderabad, which was authorised to hold the DNA test, was no more conducting such a test.

Justice Gita Mittal issued a notice to Tiwari and sought his reply by March 4.

Earlier, the court had directed Tiwari to undergo a DNA test on the paternity suit filed by Rohit and also directed the Joint Registrar to complete the formalities to collect the blood sample of Tiwari and Rohit.

Last month, the Joint Registrar had asked its registry to contact the CCMB for the DNA test and also allowed Rohit to contact the lab at Hyderabad.

In the application, Rohit's counsel said: "By way of the present application, the plaintiff (Rohit Shekhar) seeks modification of the said order to the limited extent that the designated institution for this purpose may be changed to the Centre for DNA, Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad".

A division bench of the HC had dismissed Tiwari’s appeal against the single judge’s order asking him to undergo a DNA test on a plea made by Rohit. Rohit has claimed he was born out of the leader's alleged relationship with his mother Ujjawala Sharma. Tiwari, a former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, who had also held key ministerial portfolios at the Centre, was forced to resign as Andhra Pradesh Governor amid allegations of sexual misconduct against him following the airing of a sting operation in news channels. — PTI 

New Delhi, March 1
Twenty-seven years after several Sikh families of Hond Chhillar village of Rewari in Haryana were massacred in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the Parliament came alive to the issue today with both the Houses being adjourned amidst demands for justice.

Armed with the voters’ list and land records of Sikh victims, who the Haryana police declared as untraced (the FIR stated 20 killings where 70 were allegedly killed), the Shiromani Akali Dal members in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha stormed the well, seeking a debate on the issue and action against those who covered up for the culprits.

In both the Houses, the Presiding Officers assured discussions on the Chhillar anti-Sikh massacre, with Akali MPs warning of disruptions unless the matter was listed for debate in the Business Advisory Committee meeting this week. The Chhillar massacre was first reported by The Tribune; the newspaper copies were flashed in both the Houses today. In Rajya Sabha, Akali and BJP members were exercised with the fact that the files pertaining to the incident had gone missing, as reported.

In the Lower House, SAD’s Bathinda member Harsimrat Kaur Badal led the charge, questioning the Congress government’s silence on the matter and said it was time for action against the perpetrators. “For all these years, Haryana did nothing to bring the perpetrators to book; the state police dismissed the FIR as untraced. But now, two Sikh organisations have procured the land records of Sikhs who were killed, the voters’ lists that prove their inhabitation in Chhillar, the eye-witness accounts of the massacre. What more is needed to punish the culprits?” she asked, raising the issue soon as the LS assembled. Following the ruckus, it was adjourned for 15 minutes.

When the House reassembled, the Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj sought a discussion on the issue which LS Speaker Meira Kumar granted. The Rajya Sabha too was similarly adjourned for an hour soon as it met. Upon re-assembling, BJP’s S.S. Ahluwalia asked Chairman Hamid Ansari for a discussion. The latter asked the members to give a notice for the same.

In the Rajya Sabha, the Akalis demanded that Home Minister P Chidambaram be called in to respond to their queries. Some members, including Rudra Narayan Pany (BJP) and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (SAD), trooped into the well shouting slogans.

The Akalis remained unconvinced with the Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s order of a Commissioner-level inquiry into the killings.

BRIEFLY

SC says no to Tata plea on in-camera hearing
The Supreme Court on Tuesday disagreed with Tata Teleservices' plea to conduct in-camera hearing in the 2G Spectrum case and that the media be restrained from reporting the proceedings. Senior advocate Harish Salve, who was waiting to appear for Tata's in another related matter before a Bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly, made a plea in this regard when allegations were being made against the Tata's during the hearing of the matter in which the CBI probe is being done. The bench, however, disagreed with his plea saying “open media and open trial are important and we don't want to dilute it”. — PTI 

Varun cancels wedding reception 
New Delhi: The wedding reception of Varun Gandhi and fashion designer Yamini Roy on March 8 in New Delhi has been cancelled. The cancellation follows the death of his 77-year-old maternal grandmother Amteshwar Anand here on Monday. However, the marriage ceremony in a temple in Varanasi on March 6 will take place as scheduled. — PTI