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House committee wants better system for appointing judges
‘Judges shouldn’t give unwarranted comments’
Mend ways or face more protests, SC tells govt
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India, B’desh set to ink key pacts
Segregation of delinquents on health grounds barred
HC again dismisses Kalmadi’s plea to attend Parliament
Congress out to reclaim YSR legacy
Gujarat Lokayukta
Chennai I-T officer held for accepting Rs 50 lakh bribe
ED freezes accounts of 5 cos in 2G case
Another rhino falls prey to poachers
UP blames Centre for potholed roads
LS protocol officer goes missing
Judicial custody for CPM MLA
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House committee wants better system for appointing judges
State of affairs now
New Delhi, August 30 The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice and Personnel, which submitted a report on the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010, in both Houses was clearly of the opinion that the issue of judges’ appointment needs to be addressed comprehensively, though separately, at the earlier. “If the source is dirty there is no point in cleaning at the end”, committee chairman Abhishek Singhvi said, adding that the piecemeal nature of proposed legislation, despite genuineness of its objective, would achieve only “limited success”. The appointment of higher judiciary lies with the collegium of judges. The present system is often charged with being afflicted with nepotism, caste affiliation, favoritism, arbitrariness and lack of transparency. There is a clamour for a full-time Judicial Appointments Commission for selecting judges of the higher judiciary as also members of commissions and tribunals to remove the current state of secrecy and lack of transparency. The government says it has not yet finalised any proposal to replace the collegium system. Singhvi, too, said he was neither speaking in favour nor against the National Judicial Commission - one of the alternatives being suggested to replace the current system. “The committee is of the view that the government has to move beyond an incremental approach and give urgent and due thought to a holistic legislation encompassing the appointment process and other related matters to ensure judicial accountability for improved administration of justice,” he said. The Bill, tabled in Lok Sabha in 2010, seeks to make judges accountable and create a set of standards for members of the higher judiciary. Incidentally, the legislation is not designed to replace the impeachment process. But as Singhvi said, when the Bill becomes a law it would be a much faster way to ensure action against erring judges. “It is not a perfect Bill but it is a beginning,” he maintained. |
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‘Judges shouldn’t give unwarranted comments’
New Delhi, August 30 The committee also recommended “in-camera” proceedings during initial investigations. Panel chairman Abhishek Singhvi said such an arrangement was necessary to ensure that the judge in question does not face “unwarranted defamation” when the case was with the Complaint Scrutiny Panel to sift out frivolous complains. Media, too, will be liable for penal action if it splashes the names of the judges before the genuineness of the complaint is ascertained by the scrutiny panel. After the complaint is referred to the investigating agency, set up by the Oversight Committee, the case can be reported. The two main bodies under the legislation - the National Judicial Oversight Committee and the Complain Scrutiny Panel - need to be broad based to include all three organs of the government - the judiciary, the executive and the legislature. There will be non-judicial members in the two committees.
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Mend ways or face more protests, SC tells govt
New Delhi, August 30 The bench of justices GS Singhvi and HL Dattu made the comments when they were irked over failure of the government to furnish adequate details in a service dispute. “But what about the government. Their officers do not give proper information and briefs to the counsel. Take another 10 years, people will teach you a lesson. Three days back you have witnessed it. It will be much worse,” the Bench told Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra. The Bench regretted that it had become a common practice for government officers to not give sufficient details or material to their counsel resulting in precious loss of time. It suggested that instead of commenting on the judiciary it was time the government did some introspection as to how its own officers were functioning. “We have seen some enlightened people making comments that the standards of judiciary have gone down. Let those people cry from rooftops.” In the present case, the Centre has challenged a Gauhati High Court order directing it to grant enhanced pay structures to various government employees.
— PTI
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Sushma opposes extension to LS Secretary-General
New Delhi, August 30 In a letter to the Speaker today, Sushma said her consent was not taken for the extension. She also objected to the coveted post of Lok Sabha Secretary-General being given to an officer from outside and not from within the LS cadre. The said appointment is on a contract basis and the position is of the rank and status of Cabinet Secretary in the pay scale Rs 90,000. Vishwanathan was originally appointed as the 12th Lok Sabha Secretary-General on October 1, 2010, and his term was to end tomorrow, i.e. August 31. But the Speaker, vide her orders yesterday, extended the term by another year until August 31, 2012. Terming this extension as “demoralising for Lok Sabha cadre officials,” Sushma said though she was called to Meira Kumar's residence to hold discussions on the matter concerning the Secretary-General, a formal meeting on the subject between her, the Speaker and the Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee did not take place. As per rules, the Lok Sabha Secretary-General is selected by a committee comprising the Speaker, Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition. The Speaker finally issues the appointment order. Sushma, who has of late been on a war path with Meira Kumar whom she openly questioned the other day for having permitted Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to speak for 10 minutes in Zero Hour without receiving any notice, today dug her heels in, causing a blockade in the way of Vishwanathan’s extension. The Speaker said she had received Sushma’s letter, but it would be unethical for her to comment on the same. Sources in the LS secretariat, however, said consultations for the said extension had been held.
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India, B’desh set to ink key pacts
Prime Minister’s visit
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, along with Chief Ministers of Assam,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, West Bengal and Tripura, will visit Bangladesh on September 6 and 7
New Delhi, August 30 New Delhi and Dhaka will sign an agreement to exchange “enclaves” in each other’s country and also demarcate the disputed land boundary between the two countries which will eventually see the implementation of the 1974 historic Indira-Mujib accord. There are a total of 162 enclaves - 111 in India and 51 in Bangladesh - which are in adverse possession. These are small pieces of land which are located in each other’s country and has been a subject of a bitter dispute for decades. While people in the enclaves have been given the right to reside in the country of their choice, most of them are not keen on moving, it is learnt. A joint head count was on even today in a few enclaves as the two sides are working feverishly to wrap up the pact in time for Manmohan Singh’s meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. The territorial swap will eventually have to be endorsed by Parliament,
but the external affairs ministry has prepared the ground work for this eventuality and has kept the Opposition parties informed about these issues. That India attaches immense signficance to this visit is amply demonstrated by the fact that Chief Ministers of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, West Bengal and Tripura - whose states share a border are part of the Prime Minister’s entourage. Another festering issue - the sharing of Teesta river waters - will also be sorted out during the Prime Minister’s visit. Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is travelling to Dhaka this Sunday to do the necessary spadework for a mutually acceptable formula before the two leaders sign on the dotted line. Having come so far, the key to the relationship is to sustain it so that it is not perceived as an agreement between India and the Awami League, which is known to be soft on India, but between New Delhi and Dhaka. India has, therefore, taken care to engage with all political parties in Bangladesh. That Kaleda Zia of the BNP has sought a meeting with the Prime Minister is seen to be a sign of the changing popular mood in Bangladesh towards India. The various pacts, which are to be inked during the PM’s visit on September 6 and 7, are a culmination of the steady efforts made by both sides to repair their tattered relationship. New Delhi has seized the opportunity as it finds there is marked change in the overall perception towards India. While India has extended a $1 billion grant to Bangladesh and raised textiles quotas from 80 lakh to one crore, Dhaka has reciprocated by accommodating India’s concerns and has cracked down on insurgents operating from its territory.
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Better variant of Mi-17 copter to be based in Punjab
New Delhi, August 30 Sources confirmed that the first lot of the latest Mi-17-V5 is to arrive in the next couple of weeks and will be stationed at a major airbase in the southern part of Punjab. The location has been chosen with care to cater to surrounding areas. Originally, the first lot of Mi-17-V5 was expected arrive in March. These are part of the 80 choppers India ordered from Russia in 2008 by signing a contract with Rosoboronexport, the state arms exporter. According to the Indian Ministry of Defence, the deal is worth $1.35 billion (Rs 6,000 crore). The IAF aims to utilise the Mi-17-V5 helicopters for special heli-borne operations, air-maintenance, transportation of troops and equipment, search and rescue, casualty evacuation and in armed helicopter roles. For long, Mi-17 chopper variants have been used by para-commandos of the Army and also the Special Operations Group of the NSG. The latest variant will be able to drop 25 troops in one go and from multiple on-board exit points. At present, the Mi-17-IV version of the chopper is the latest variant in the IAF fleet. The last lot was inducted between 2000 and 2004. The IAF has been operating various types on ‘Mi’ series choppers in the past 40 years. This includes the famous heli-borne operations to drop guns and troops in East Pakistan and also its use during the initial stages of the Kargil war in 1999. The chopper is considered a workhorse in the far-flung areas of Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayas. Strategically, India neighbours - Pakistan and China - also operate Mi-17 choppers. While Pakistan has got a few Mi-17-V5 choppers through the US that purchased the same for Afghanistan, China has a joint production agreement with Russia, but is yet to get the Mi-17-V5. The new variant will have the ability to allow the pilots to start the engines at altitudes of 6,000 m (about 21,000 ft) thus helping in servicing various high-altitude posts in the Himalayas. Each of the two engines can generate 2,200 hp of power. This is a significant improvement over the previous version which has two engines of 1,950 hp each.
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Segregation of delinquents on health grounds barred
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The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on November 16, 2010
New Delhi, August 30 In a significant development today, Parliament passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2010, which omits from the old 2000 Act a provision that allowed for separate treatment of children suffering from leprosy, sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis B, tuberculosis and those with unsound minds. The Bill also replaces a provision - which gave competent authorities in special homes or children’s homes the power to move children suffering from leprosy, unsound mind, or drug addiction to special facilities for such children - and says only mentally ill children and addicts could be moved to treatment facilities till such time as they recover. Once they are fine, they would have to be mainstreamed. “Children who are mentally ill or addicted to alcohol or drugs can be moved to special facilities for treatment only if such condition leads to a behavioural change in the children. He can then be sent to a psychiatric hospital or nursing home,” states the amendment Bill earlier passed by the Rajya Sabha. The Bill witnessed massive participation of MPs, including Anurag Thakur of the BJP, who sought medical determination of the age of children in conflict with the law. Citing the recent instance of Mumbai terror attack prime accused Ajmal Kasab, who tried to use the Indian juvenile justice law to prove he was a juvenile, Thakur said: “Mere presentation of a date of birth certificate should not be allowed. The law should seek medical proof for the age of juveniles so that only genuine juveniles are covered by this law and no terrorist uses it to escape justice.” He also sought tougher penalties (than Rs 25,000) for mediapersons who reveal the identities of juveniles. Congress’ Girija Vyas asked the government to also include in the ambit HIV positive children who suffer severe stigma. She called for a national review committee to ensure proper implementation of the Act and said a GoM must be constituted to work out the way forward, adding she had in her long public life never found a single rehabilitation home for juveniles across India. Others who participated in the debate were Shailendra Kumar of the SP and Gorakhnath Pandey of the
BSP.
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HC again dismisses Kalmadi’s plea to attend Parliament
New Delhi, August 30 “In view of the gravity of the offence and the allegation of huge magnitude, it would be totally inappropriate to grant him permission solely on the ground of freedom of speech inside the Parliament House, on the foundation that he has to meet the Constitutional obligation. The writ petition is dismissed,” the bench, comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, said. Kalmadi had challenged the order of its single-judge bench of Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, who had rejected his plea for the permission, dubbing it as “an attempt to get fresh air outside the prison”.
— PTI
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Congress out to reclaim YSR legacy
New Delhi, August 30 A good array of top Congress leaders led by Chief Minister Kirankumar Reddy assembled at the India Islamic cultural Centre to launch a photo-book on YSR titled "YSR: Man of the People" edited and produced by photo journalist Raghu Rai. Kirankumar Reddy released the book with Congress leaders Motilal Vora, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Digvijay Singh, Vayalar Ravi, Oscar Fernandes and RK Dhawan present on the occasion. Front-rank leaders from Hyderabad also flew in for the function. Kirankumar Reddy said YSR had devoted his entire life to the Congress. He also recalled how YSR was focused on seeing Rahul Gandhi become the Prime Minister of India. The Chief Minister appreciated YSR's contribution to the Congress strength in Andhra Pradesh and said, "We are all influenced by YSR. He brought us to power. We are here today thanks to his efforts and his foresight." Sources said the Congress desperately needed to stake claim to YSR's legacy since Jaganmohan was reportedly in negotiations with the
BJP.
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Gujarat Lokayukta
New Delhi, August 30 “The Act says that Lokayukta shall be appointed by the Governor in consultation with the High Court Chief Justice and the Leader of Opposition,” he said, dismissing as “utter falsehood” the argument by BJP leader Arun Jaitley that the Governor's act of notifying the appointment of Lokayukta without taking the aid and advice is a violation of federal structure of the country. “The Modi government in Gujarat is trying to avoid Lokayuta's appointment and indeed more worse is that he is trying to get appointee of his choice,” he said.
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Chennai I-T officer held for accepting Rs 50 lakh bribe
New Delhi, August 30 The sleuths nabbed Additional Income Tax Commissioner Andasu Ravindar, an IRS of
1991 batch, along with Kishore, managing director of Everonn Educational Ltd, Perungudi, and one Uttam Chand Bohra,” said CBI officials. Ravindar was allegedly trying to transport the bribe money to a safe location from his residence, they added. “The bribe amount of Rs 50 lakh and the gold jewellery weighing 1.8 kg were seized from the residence of the Additional Commissioner,” CBI spokesperson Dharini Mishra said.
— PTI
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ED freezes accounts of 5 cos in 2G case
New Delhi, August 30 The bank accounts and immovable property, especially land of Dynamix realty, Conwood Constructions, Eversmile Constructions, Nihar Constructions and DB realty have been attached, ED officials said. Representative of the construction companies said they were awaiting the order. The properties will be attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This is the first attachment order in 2G case.
— PTI
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Another rhino falls prey to poachers
Guwahati, August 30 With this the number of rhinos poached in the national park this year has risen to four. A forest official informed that forest guards at
the Chirang camp in Burapahar Range of the park heard three gun shots around 1.30 am today and raised an alarm. A search team of forest personnel later recovered the carcass of a female rhino whose horn had been taken away by the poachers, just about 150 metres from the Chirang forest camp around 4.30 am. Despite the claim of the state forest department that it had intensified patrolling in the sprawling Kaziranga park, poachers continue to pose a threat to the endangered rhinos. Eleven rhinos fell prey to poachers’ guns in the park last year. The rhino population in the protected area is always under threat from inter-state gangs of poachers on the prowl. Sources said the intelligence network set up by the Kaziranga authorities to keep tabs on poachers had to be improved through frequent interaction with the forest staff and villagers. The Kaziranga park has the largest population of the endangered one-horned rhinoceros in the world.
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UP blames Centre for potholed roads
Lucknow, August 30 Till now, the state Public Works Department (PWD) has placed 43 such signboards along damaged portions of roads under the National Highways Authority (NHAI). The signboards target the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. These inform the people that the roads owned by the Central ministry were in a state of disrepair due to the said ministry not releasing the required funds for the repair work. According to state government officials, around 315 km of national highways were in a poor shape, requiring Rs 266 crore for their re-laying and repairs. Of the 6,681 km highways in the state, the NHAI manages 3,503 km and the PWD 3,178 km. Last week, state PWD Minister Nasimuddin Siddiqui had called a press meeting in which he accused the Central Government of ignoring the repair work of roads in Uttar Pradesh. A concerned PWD Minister Siddiqui has also written to the road transport ministry about the poor condition of the highways under the NHAI. In the letter, he has reportedly urged the Central ministry to “hand over the roads to the Uttar Pradesh government if it cannot manage them”. A CD of a documentary film on the damaged roads of the state has also been prepared and dispatched to the Central Government. The condition of roads and bridges in the state, which come under the state’s PWD Department, have been a bone of contention between the Centre and the state. In March 2010, a bridge over the Ganga at Dalmau in Rae Bareli had kicked up a controversy. The Rs 32 crore, bridge had been constructed with central road funds and was scheduled to be inaugurated by local MP Sonia Gandhi. Pulling the rug from under the UPA chairperson’s feet, the Mayawati government got the bridge inaugurated by a minister and state BSP president Swami Prasad Maurya before the then Road Transport Minister RPN Singh could arrive to take a final look at the newly constructed bridge before it was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi.
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LS protocol officer goes missing
New Delhi, August 30 Unable to trace him for the past three days, the LS Secretariat today got into action and the Secretary-General wrote to the state chief secretary and the DGP for help in the matter, which is being accorded the highest urgency. Already an FIR has been registered in the Dwarka North Police station, the area under which Janmesh’s local residence falls.
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Judicial custody for CPM MLA
Kolkata, August 30 On September 22, 2002, seven TMC workers had been killed at Garbeta, allegedly at the instance of the former minister and accordingly an FIR was also lodged against 30 CPM workers and supporters, including the minister. But at that time, the police did not take any cognizance of the FIR. However, when several skeletons were found around Ghose’s village, the minister was arrested.
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