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2G Scam: Delhi HC denies bail to Kanimozhi JPC to question former telecom secys
Penalise khap members supporting honour killings: Law Commission
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10 get death penalty for honour killing
Lucknow, June 8 Etah district court today awarded capital punishment to 10 persons, mostly from the same family for brutally murdering a young couple and the man’s brother as punishment for marrying without the family’s blessings.
Sushma meets Ramdev
Telangana Congmen to meet PM today
TN House for economic sanctions on Lanka
Russia reluctant to set up nuke plant at Haripur
AP to go slow on Kovvada plant
Adarsh Land ownership Southern Naval Command Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice-Admiral KN Sushil (L); Commander Bandhul Mishra (C) and Rear-Admiral (retired) KC Shekhar, CMD, Garden Reach Shipbuilders; visit warship INS Kabra at the Naval Base in Kochi on Wednesday. — PTI
Paddy support price likely to go up Four die in Nashik blast
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2G Scam: Delhi HC denies bail to Kanimozhi
New Delhi, June 8 Justice Ajit Bharihoke also declined bail to Kalaignar TV channel managing director Sharad Kumar. Both Kanimozhi, who holds 20 per cent stake in the channel, and Sharad Kumar have been in custody since May 20. Justice Bharihoke noted that Kanimozhi and Raja belonged to the DMK, which “is sharing power in the Central Government. Thus, considering the financial and political clout of the petitioners, a possibility cannot be ruled out that if the petitioners are freed at this stage they would interfere with the investigation or try to influence the witnesses, particularly the employees of their company”. DMK leader TR Baalu, who was present in the courtroom, said Kanimozhi would challenge the order in the Supreme Court. Listing as many as 12 “factors that have come to the fore” in the case, the Judge clarified that these should not be treated as a finding on the merits of the case. Besides being a shareholder, Kanimozhi and Raja “are important functionaries of the same political party”. Former Telecom Minister and accused in the 2G scam case A Raja helped Kalaignar channel to get registration with the government and also get included in the bouquet of Sky TV. A sum of Rs 200 crore was transferred from the accounts of DB Realty Group Companies, an alleged beneficiary of the 2G scam, to the account of Kalaignar TV through “a circuitous route”, the HC noted. The “facts and circumstances prima facie show the complicity of the petitioners in the conspiracy and their having received illegal gratification of Rs 200 crore in the account of the company controlled by them, namely M/s Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd,” the HC said. Anil Ambani meets ADAG officials in Tihar
Three top officials of Reliance ADA Group Gautam Doshi (the company's Managing Director), Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair have been accused of conspiracy and abetment of cheating in 2G Spectrum allocation scam. — PTI
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JPC to question former telecom secys
Nine former telecom secretaries - right from the now-incarcerated Sidharth Behuria to AV Gokak and PJ Thomas - will be called for questioning before the 30-member JPC. Among other former secretaries to be questioned are Anil Kumar, Shyamal Ghosh, Vinod Vaish, Nripendra Misra, JS Sharma, and DS Mathur. The decision to quiz the secretaries was taken today with the JPC members concluding that every secretary’s inputs to the telecom policy needed to be understood to get an insight into the developments that led to the scam. Shyamal Ghosh, for example, has been in the news for not consulting the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India before formulating norms for allotting additional Spectrum in 2001. The matter was not even taken up at the level of the Telecom Commission, which has representatives from the DoT and Finance and Industry Ministries. “The questioning of secretaries will take place on July 7-8,” chairperson of the Committee PC Chacko today said. That apart, the panel today spoke with economic intelligence officials (probing irregularities around the Spectrum deal), including Revenue Secretary Sunil Mitra, Secretary (Economic Affairs) R Gopalan, Chairman (Central Board of Direct Taxes) Prakash Chandra, Enforcement Directorate (ED) head Arun Kumar Mathur and chief of ED’s financial investigation unit PK Tiwari. In an important development, the ED officials told the JPC that they had detected violations amounting to Rs 4,300 crore by telecom firms that found favours with former Telecom Minister A Raja. On the trail of foreign exchange flows through money laundering law infringements, the ED has also found credible evidence against 10 telecom company managements already. The ED is further scanning Unitech, Swan, Loop, STel, Videocon, Idea, Tata, Sistema Shyam, Alliance Infotech, which has merged with Etsilat, and Spice that has merged with Idea. Meanwhile, Chacko was non committal when asked if DMK patriarch’s daughter Kanimozhi would also be called.
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Penalise khap members supporting honour killings: Law Commission
New Delhi, June 8 The commission, headed by Justice P Venkatarama Reddi, wants the proposed law to be titled ‘The Endangerment of Life and Liberty (Protection, Prosecution and other measures) Act, 2011’. The draft proposals would soon be made public inviting suggestions from the people. Prepared by R Venkataramani, senior advocate of the Supreme Court, the proposals were discussed and approved by commission members at a recent meeting, sources said. Under the proposed law, khap panchayat members would also be debarred from contesting any election, including to local bodies, immediately after being booked and for a period for five years upon conviction. They would not be allowed to hold public positions, honorary or otherwise, and the restriction would be in place for five years after conviction. In addition, there would be a maximum fine of Rs 30,000. Citing several cases reported from Haryana, the commission has expressed “grave concern” over the rising incidence of murders of individuals marrying outside their caste or religion and other offences on them and the “skewed prosecution” of the offenders. “Very often such incidents and offences are not even taken cognizance of at the threshold. The strength wielded by caste combinations and assemblies are perceived and found to be so domineering as to silence or stifle the investigating and prosecuting agencies. With the best of judicial interventions, the right course of action under the law is slow, delayed or obfuscated,” the commission noted. The commission feels that mere ex-communications or social boycott of such couples “would have warranted a less drastic approach. If such hostility gathers strength in going to the extreme of physical intimidation, violence and homicides, it would appear to be a proportionate response to deal with such conduct through the processes of penal law”. The Right to Life and Personal Liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution was sufficient to proceed against caste panchayats for unlawful gathering, prompted by considerations and intentions to engage in acts of deprivation of life and liberty. “The state necessarily has the duty to ensure that such deprivations are prohibited/prevented and also to ensure that transgressions of such prohibition will be subjected to prosecution and other sanctions,” the Commission said. “It shall be unlawful for any member of such assembly individually or collectively to counsel, encourage, exhort or bring pressure upon persons, in endangerment of life or personal liberty or persons, in a marriage, or proposed marriage which is objected to or to create an environment of hostility whereby the loss of life or liberty of such persons are threatened,” the draft legislation read. The law would empower the Collector or District Magistrate to ban such assemblies. The expression “personal liberty” would include the right to make choices, the right to free and unfettered movement, the right to reside in a locality or with his or her family and the right to security. Last year, the Home Ministry had drafted a Bill suggesting that Khap Panchayat members should be prosecuted on murder charges in the event of any boy or girl being killed by relatives in the name of honour killings. After considering the Bill, the Cabinet referred it to a Group of Ministers, but nothing was heard of it subsequently. The Law Commission has, however, rejected the suggestion for amending Section 300 of the IPC to book the members for murder. Given the ground reality, such an amendment itself would not be “useful and productive. The power and strength of caste panchayats may appear to be imperiled but it also appears such effect of change in Section 300 may be marginal”.
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10 get death penalty for honour killing
Explaining his decision, Special Additional Judge (anti-dacoity) Rajendra Babu Sharma today said the case meets "the rarest of the rare" criterion for the death sentence because the killing "was premeditated and brutal." Of the 12 persons named as accused in the case, the court awarded one-year imprisonment to one man and acquitted another. A fine of Rs 10,000 was also imposed by the court on each of the accused. In October 2008 one Uday Pal had eloped with Vijaya, daughter of one of the convicts Ramesh Pal Singh. His brother convinced the couple to return home. On November 13-14, Singh, his brothers and six other relatives repeatedly shot at the couple and killed the young couple along with Uday Pal's brother.
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Ramlila Maidan action
New Delhi, June 8 Around 12.30 am when DCP Central Vivek Kishore, approached the dais to hand over a formal letter with regard to cancellation of permission to hold the yoga camp to Baba Ramdev himself, his security officials refuse to let him wake up the Baba. Even as he was made to go from one Baba to another, around 1.30 am Baba Ramdev emerged on the dais and started addressing the people in a provocative manner and when police tried to reach him, they were attacked by stones first. According to sources, while the Delhi police was asked on Saturday evening (June 4) around 6 pm to make arrangements to evacuate the yoga guru and his supporters from the Ramlila Maidan the next day, the force itself was of the opinion that evacuation in the night would be “less incident-free and easier”. Based on intelligence inputs, the apprehension of the top police brass was that thousands of more people would join the protest by the next morning, which could create a law-and-order problem. “The Ramlila Maidan, is located in a communally sensitive area, we too did not want to take any chance by taking action in broad daylight when there were more chances of bystanders getting into thick of things and to give the agitation a communal colour. We decided that if we had to evacuate the ground, we should do it at the earliest and the same night,” said a senior Delhi police official, adding that Delhi police was adamant on taking action ‘only in the night’ and put its foot down on delaying the action until next morning. However, when the Delhi Police Commissioner initially conveyed this message to the Home Ministry, it was rejected for different reasons, like the presence of women and children among the large crowds. At around 7 pm a meeting was held at the police headquarters at which the proposal to take action the next day was discussed. But top officials rejected it outright. After a long debate and weighing all the pros and cons, the unanimous view was that action that ‘very night’ was the best alternative. After several calls by Gupta in this regard to various Home Ministry officials, he was once again summoned to the Home Ministry around 9 pm. “In the meantime, we had alerted all our DCPs to make preparations for the action and had already sent SHO Kamla Market police station in the evening to verbally tell the organisers that they were breaking the law and that their permission to hold the yoga camp stands cancelled and they should vacate the venue. However, they did not pay any heed,” said the official. According to him, around 10 pm, Commissioner Gupta managed to get a final ‘go-ahead’ from the Home Ministry. Then onwards, it did not take much time for officials to get on with the business since the 2 battalions of Rapid Action Force and hundreds of police officials were already present at the Ramlila Maidan. About a thousand from various police stations and other battalions of RAF were on stand by.
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Sushma meets Ramdev New Delhi, June 8 Explaining her reasons the BJP spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Husain said, “Sushma Swaraj has gone to Haridwar as the Leader of Opposition to enquire about the health of Baba Ramdev whose condition started worsening.” Shahnawaz said, “If the Government is insensitive to the condition of the Baba, is it not the duty of the Leader of Opposition to respond to the call of any citizen in this country?” On her part Sushma was also back to her sober and grave self, focusing only on Ramdev and the corruption issue.She said, "The government has lost its balance. There are no checks and balances. The Centre had sent four ministers for dialogue with Baba, but to beat innocent people they sent 5,000 policemen." After an hourlong backroom talk with the Yoga guru, she dismissed the government’s move to fight corruption as “baby steps”, and fully extended her party’s support to Ramdev’s fast on the issue of black money. Flanked by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokriyal Nishank, Swaraj said, "I have come here to support Baba, to ask about his well being. I have told him not only Sangh, he has the support of the whole nation." Significantly, Shahnawaz clarified that Sushma took the decision to go to Haridwar as the Leader of Opposition, clearly implying that she flew suddenly to Haridwar not at the instance of the BJP, but at her personal initiative.
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Telangana Congmen to meet PM today
Hyderabad, June 8 A delegation of the ruling party MPs, ministers and MLAs will meet the Prime Minister and put forward their demand for early initiation of the process for carving out a separate Telangana state. “We got a call from the PMO informing that the appointment has been fixed at 5.30 pm tomorrow,” a senior MP said. The development assumes significance in the backdrop of the threat of a political showdown in the volatile region. The elected representatives of Telangana have already warned of en mass resignations if the Centre failed to announce a favourable decision by the end of this month. The Delhi trip could be a crucial test for the Telangana Congress leaders as they have been maintaining that the Telangana struggle has reached a decisive stage and that they were prepared for any sacrifices to realise the statehood goal. “This will be our last attempt to convince the leadership on the matter. If they fail to respond positively to the demand, we will resort to direct action,” senior MP K Kesava Rao said. The direct action could mean en mass resignations by the elected representatives of the region and taking up hunger strikes and other forms of agitation. “There will be no compromise on Telangana. We are determined to achieve it. We have spoken much and now it is time for action,” he said. The Telangana MPs and MLAs are also expected to meet Central leaders, including Pranab Mukherjee, and urge them to take the initiative to introduce a bill in the coming session of the Parliament for creation of Telangana state. Statehood Tussle
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TN House for economic sanctions on Lanka
Chennai, June 8 The resolution moved by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said a UN appointed committee had pointed out alleged excesses committed during the conflict between the armed forces and the LTTE, including bombing civilian areas and hospitals. Preventing humanitarian aid, committing human rights violations on displaced (Tamils) and suspected LTTE members were some of the excesses, Jayalalithaa said. India should press the UN to declare as “war criminals those who had committed such alleged excesses,” she said.
— PTI
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Russia reluctant to set up nuke plant at Haripur
Secretary of Russia’s National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev is believed to have conveyed this to National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon at their meeting here on Monday. Patrushev also called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today. The proposal to set up a nuclear plant at Haripur had been facing resistance from the local people but New Delhi had hoped that it would be able to allay their apprehensions and convince them to give up their opposition. But with the agitation continuing unabated, Moscow is no longer keen on building the infrastructure for the 1000 MW nuclear plant there. “Haripur is no longer on Russia’s radar,” diplomatic sources said. Sources said Russia was interested in any alternate coastal site outside West Bengal and this been conveyed to the Indian side. It is understood that Russia wants a site in West Bengal’s neighbouring Orissa for the second nuclear plant it is building in India under the civil nuclear accord between the two countries. It is already setting up one at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. After getting a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) to undertake nuclear commerce in September 2008, India had allotted sites in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh to the United States, in Jaitapur (Maharashtra) to France and Haripur (West Bengal) to Russia. The French have already started working on the nuclear plant in Jaitapur. The visiting Russian official also discussed with the Indian side the situation in the Af-Pak region in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden. About the overtures being made by the Karzai government to reintegrate the Taliban with the mainstream of the Afghan society, both India and Russia were of the view that the reconciliation process must take into account the red lines drawn at the donors’ conference on Afghanistan held in London in January last year. Only those among the Taliban who eschew violence, commit themselves to abide by the Afghan Constitution and snap links with the Al-Qaida should be considered for reintegration, the two countries felt. Patrushev also briefed the Indian side on the recent visit to Russia by Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and the agreements signed between the two countries. New Delhi conveyed to him that it had no objection to any cooperation between Russia and Pakistan but it should not be at the cost of India. Patrushev also discussed with Menon issues like military-technical cooperation, civilian nuclear and hydrocarbons, space research, and international and regional security issues. He is believed to have cleared the situation about the last minute cancellation of joint naval war games by Russia in April.
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AP to go slow on Kovvada plant
Hyderabad, June 8 Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has made it clear that his government would consider giving its nod for the mega plant only after satisfying itself about the safety of the people in the area and its environmental impact. The Chief Minister took the categorical stand at a recent meeting here with a high-level delegation of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI) led by its Chairman and Managing Director Dr SK Jain. He also sought a comprehensive report on the relief and rehabilitation package to the affected people and the employment generation potential. In the backdrop of heightened fears over safety following Japanese nuclear crisis, the state government has decided to elicit the opinion of locals and environmental experts in a congenial atmosphere before giving the go-ahead. The Chief Minister made it clear that while industrial development was definitely a priority for the state, it would be permitted only after ensuring the absolute safety of the people, ensuring that all environmental issues are addressed and the affected people are completely rehabilitated. He also instructed the officials concerned to appoint coordinating officers both from the state government and NCPI with regard to the Kovvada project. The Kovvada plant, proposed by Nuclear Power Corporation Limited, has raised the hackles of local farmers, opposition parties and environmentalists who argue that it would cause pollution and large-scale displacement. Kovvada was among the first set of four sites identified by the government last year for setting up nuclear plants as part of the civil nuclear agreement with United States. The ambitious Rs 60,000 crore plant involves construction of six nuclear reactors with the capacity of each unit varying from 1000 MW to 1250 MW. Being developed with US technical know-how, the project requires a whopping 9,000 acres of land. Meanwhile, noted environmentalist Prof T Sivaji Rao urged the Union Environment Ministry to cancel the clearances given to the proposed major nuclear power plants at Jaitapur in Maharashthra, Bhavnagar in Gujarat and Kovvada.
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Adarsh Land ownership
Mumbai, June 8 The Collector of Mumbai City had earlier filed an affidavit stating that the plot of land belonged to the Maharashtra government. In land survey records the property identified as Number 87-C, Block Number VI, located at Prakash Pethe Marg, Backbay Reclamation measures 3,758 sq m. A similar affidavit was filed by former CM Sushil Kumar Shinde who was one of the leaders who cleared construction of the Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society. This has however been contested by the Army through the Defence Ministry which claims that the plot was transferred to it in the 1950s and on which a park known as Kukhri Park was constructed some years later. The Army has decided to start legal proceedings challenging the stand of the state government. Sources said Defence Minister AK Antony has already given the go-ahead to the Army in this regard. Sources said as per procedure, counsel for the Army will file a title suit before the Small Causes Court claiming ownership of the plot of land on which Adarsh Society stands. Reports also said the defence secretary could issue a notification to acquire the property in a bid to avert to legal proceedings.
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Warship INS Kabra joins Navy
Kochi, June 8 Speaking on the occasion, the Vice-Admiral stressed the importance of relatively smaller ships like Fast Attack Crafts for a blue water Navy, pointing that these were essential inventory for low-intensity conflicts and anti-piracy operations. The ship is named after an island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. Rear-Admiral KC Shekhar, chairman and managing director, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, said INS Kabra was a cost-effective and fuel-efficient platform. INS Kabra is the eighth of a series built at GRSE. With a top speed of over 35 knots and manoeuvrability offered by her water-jet propulsion, the ship was ideally suited for high-speed interdiction of fast-moving targets and useful in search-and-rescue operations, he added. INS Kabra complies with the latest regulations of the International Maritime Organisation on sea pollution control. The main armament of the ships is an indigenous 30 mm CRN-91 gun, along with an optical sight manufactured by Ordnance Factory Medak and Bharat Electronics Limited, Chennai. It has an overall length of 49m, beam of 7.5m and a standard displacement of 320 tonnes. The ship has a crew of three officers and 39 sailors.
— PTI
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Paddy support price likely
to go up New Delhi, June 8 The sowing of kharif crops begins with the onset of monsoon in June, while its harvesting starts from October 2011. Announcement of the MSP is significant before sowing, as it sets the tone for the growers. The sources, however, say that the Agriculture Ministry had proposed a hike of Rs 160 hike in the MSP of paddy (common variety), in line with the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which suggested a support price (common grade) of Rs 1,080 a quintal for paddy and a bonus of Rs 80 on top of it. The CACP, which suggests the MSP of 40 agricultural commodities, also recommended a substantial increase in the MSP of pulses and oilseeds to reduce the country's dependence on imported foodgrains. Seeing a good response from the farmers following a substantial increase in the support prices of pulses last year, a rise of Rs 200 in the MSP of Tur and Arhar has been proposed.
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Mumbai, June 8 The blast was so powerful that two storeys of the building crumbled into each other, making relief and rescue efforts difficult. Despite the risk of the building collapsing on them, police and fire brigade officials aided by local residents extricated the dead and injured from the building. — TNS
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Elected representative shot dead
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New Delhi, June 8
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