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HC quashes appointment of K’taka Upalokayukta
Yeddyurappa rakes up leadership issue again
BJP rift surfaces after EC cancels J’khand RS polls
CBI arrests senior M’rashtra babus in Adarsh scam
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Bihar to conduct caste census
Farmers’ stir hits rail traffic
Fishermen killing
UP rights panel orders relief for 50 patients
Award in slain IPS officer’s memory
ISRO to launch French satellite
Akhilesh to meet public representatives every Tuesday
Aarushi Case
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HC quashes appointment of K’taka Upalokayukta
Bangalore, April 3 A Division Bench of Justices N Kumar and HS Kempanna set aside the appointment on the ground that the High Court’s Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen was not consulted before appointing the Upalokayukta. Chandrashekaraiah, who was a Karnataka High Court judge between 1995 and 2004, took over as the second Upalokayukta in January this year, the first major appointment by Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda. The appointment was challenged by two Bangalore advocates M Anand and J C Krishna who said it was invalid since it had been made without consulting the Chief Justice. Karnataka has only one Upalokayukta now, SB Majage, who is also a former judge of the high court. The post of Lokayukta also has been lying vacant since September 19 when former Supreme Court Judge Shivaraj V Patil resigned following a row over owning two house sites from two housing societies in Bangalore in violation of rules. Subsequently, Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj rejected Sadananda Gowda government’s recommendation to appoint SR Bannurmath, a former Kerala High Court Chief Justice, as the Lokayukta because he was also caught in a similar row. R Gururajan, a former Karnataka High Court judge, resigned two months after his appointment as the Upalokayukta of Karnataka as media reports appeared accusing him of obtaining cooperative housing society sites in violation of rules. Chandrashekaraiah is also involved in a row over owning a site from a housing society formed by high court employees. But he faced problem from an unexpected quarter. Chief Justice Sen opposed his appointment saying the customary consultation with him was not carried out while choosing Chandrashekaraiah for the job. Governor HR Bhardwaj had okayed Chandrashekaraiah’s appointment despite his involvement in a housing site controversy. But he also favoured review of the Upalokayukta’s appointment in the light of Chief Justice Vikramjit Sen’s letter to Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda objecting to Chandrashekaraiah’s appointment. Chandrashekaraiah, who refused to quit, could have been removed only by going through an extremely cumbersome process of moving an impeachment motion in the state legislature which required approval by an overwhelming majority of members to ensure that the Upalokayukta was shown the door. Moving an impeachment motion in the legislature may not be necessary any more in the wake today’s HC order. The reason
A Division Bench of Justices N Kumar and HS Kempanna set aside the appointment on the grounds that the High Court's Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen was not consulted before appointing the
Upalokayukta.
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Yeddyurappa rakes up leadership issue again
"I will wait for a few more days. Probably, the central leadership was busy with Rajya Sabha and Assembly elections in five states. It is all over now. I hope they will take a decision on their promise now," Yeddyurappa told a press meet here. Yeddyurappa has on and off been putting pressure on the central leadership to reinstate him as Chief Minister after he was forced to step down in July last following indictment by the Lokayukta report on illegal mining. "I will not set any deadline. I am confident that my party high command will take a suitable decision at an appropriate time," Yeddyurappa said. He said the party leaders had promised him that they would reinstate him as Chief Minister after he was cleared of charges in illegal mining cases. On the drought situation in the state, Yeddyurappa, who is touring drought-hit areas today, virtually lambasted officials for their apathy in tackling the issue. "During the last three-and-half years of my rule, the state had copious rains and even some North Karnataka areas faced flood situation. But unfortunately this year, 123 taluks in 20 districts are reeling under drought. The district in charge secretaries have not visited their respective districts and reviewed drought relief works," he said. He asked the government to ensure drinking water and fodder in drought-prone districts. To a question on how long he would wait for his party leadership to decide on his political future, Yeddyurappa said, "I will not resort to pressure tactics. It is left to the central leadership to utilise my services. I know the high command will take a decision." The former Chief Minister said he wanted to present the state's 2012-13 Budget, but "due to certain reasons" he could not get the opportunity. "In the past seven months after I quit as Chief Minister, I maintained silence and watched the recent Assembly session as a spectator. Now I have decided to break my silence," Yeddyurappa said. The 70-year-old Lingayat strongman had recently staged a show of strength by mobilising about 70 MLAs at a resort before calling a truce at the central leadership's intervention. He said he would tour the state to strengthen the party and ensure that it returns to power in the next Assembly polls and win 22 to 23 Lok Sabha seats. "Opposition Congress leaders are already revelling over the (result of) Udupi-Chikmagalar parliamentary seat bypoll and dreaming of coming to power in the state. They are under illusion. I will ensure that BJP retains power," he said. Asked whether his tour of drought-prone districts was meant to remind his party leadership to reinstate him, he evaded reply. "I have always been in the midst of people and fighting for their cause. From today, I will tour Koppal, Gadag, Bijapur, Raichur, Yadgir, Bidar and Gulbarga till April 8." Yeddyurappa said he would apprise Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda about the situation after he concludes his tour. He urged Gowda not to wait for central assistance and release Rs 5 crore for each of the drought-hit districts for relief work.
— PTI
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BJP rift surfaces after EC cancels J’khand RS polls
New Delhi, April 3 Hazaribagh MP and senior party leader Yashwant Sinha yesterday wrote to CEC SY Quraishi complimenting him for his “bold” decision and suggested a CBI probe into the role of money bags in the countermanded election. In his letter, Sinha described his state as a “happy hunting ground for unscrupulous elements” and asked the CEC to inquire as to how some MLAs signed the nomination forms of tycoons. “Those found guilty of electoral malpractices, both among candidates and their proposers, should be barred from contesting elections for the maximum permissible period.” He also called for registering cases against such legislators under the Prevention of Corruption Act, as they are public servants. Advani complimented Quraishi in his blog and hoped that “money bags with no political support would think a thousand times before jumping into the fray.” The rival camp in BJP, however, claimed that in spite of the presence of money bags in the fray, the Jharkhand poll results were a foregone conclusion. This was evident, they said, after most MLAs had cast single preference votes in favour of their official candidates. They said the countermanding would lead to fresh nominations and may open up the possibility of the cash-rich candidates trying their luck again. Sources said the statements of Advani seem to point a finger at their own party leaders who first backed UK-based NRI Anshuman Mishra as an Independent candidature and then overturned party’s earlier decision to abstain from the poll process. The Gadkari camp contested this saying that many candidates with money power had managed to enter the Rajya Sabha. This time, the election of the two official candidates was a near certainty because the MLAs cast their votes after showing it to their respective party agents.
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CBI arrests senior M’rashtra babus in Adarsh scam
Jairaj, a 1978-batch IAS officer, and Tiwari, a 1972-batch IAS officer who retired as Additional Chief Secretary of the Maharashtra Government, were arrested after day-long questioning, a CBI spokesperson said. Both of them would be produced in a designated court tomorrow. They are among the 14 persons named in the FIR registered by the agency last year. With these two, the number of people arrested in the case has gone up to nine. According to the CBI, Phatak, during his tenure as the municipal commissioner and head of the High-Rise Committee, allegedly allowed the height of the building in Colaba to be raised beyond 100 m. Phatak is alleged to have taken this decision without referring the matter to other members of the committee as per rules, the CBI claimed. The agency has alleged that Pathak, against whom it has got sanction for prosecution, received a flat in the Adarsh building in the name of his son allegedly as quid pro quo. Former State Information Commissioner Tiwari, who is also an accused in the case, is alleged to have facilitated the transfer of floor space index (FSI) from the BEST land to
Adarsh. Tiwari allegedly issued letters to MMRDA misguiding the planning authority on various issues in the development of the plot. Both Tiwari and Phatak were suspended by the government after the CBI sought sanction to prosecute them.
— PTI custody for seven The Special CBI court on Tuesday remanded seven accused in the scam in judicial custody till April 17. They are: MLC KL Gidwani; bureaucrat Pradeep Vyas; Major General (retd) TK Kaul; Major General (retd) AR Kumar; Brigadier (retd) MM Wanchoo; retired defence estate officer RC Thakur and former Deputy Secretary in the Urban Department PV Deshmukh.
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CBI files first chargesheet in UP health scam
Lucknow, April 3 The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court had given two months time to the CBI for completing investigation into the case which had drawn to a close on April 1. The High Court had handed over the investigation into the NRHM scam to the central agency on July 27 last year. The approximately Rs 5,000 crore scam was unearthed when on June 22, 2011, the then Deputy Chief Medical Officer YS Sachan was mysteriously found dead with injury marks inside the Lucknow district jail. Interestingly, the name of former BSP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha and former BSP MLA Ram Prakash Jaiswal does not figure in today’s chargesheet. The duo was arrested in another NRHM-related case by the Delhi CBI team on March 3, minutes after the final round of Vidhan Sabha polling came to an end. However, their judicial custody has been extended till April 17. The CBI has carried out extensive search operations at the residences and offices of the state government’s district-level chief medical officers, shops of drug suppliers in 22 districts of the state including Lucknow, Varanasi, Meerut, Bahraich and
Ballia.
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Bhanwari case: Maderna, Malkhan to be shifted outside Jodhpur
Jaipur, April 3 While Maderna will be sent to the Jaipur Central Jail, Malkhan will be shifted to the Ajmer Central Jail as per the orders, officials said today. The Home Department had issued orders in this regard a couple of days ago following a CBI application in the High Court seeking transfer of both the accused from Jodhpur. In its plea, the CBI had alleged that the accused were trying to influence the witnesses, after which the court had issued notices to the state government seeking its response over the issue. “On CBI’s plea, the HC had sought response from the government, so it was decided to shift them and the orders to this effect were issued two days back,” Principal Secretary (Home) GS Sandhu said. Subsequently, the government had issued orders directing the Jodhpur jail superintendent to shift both the accused outside Jodhpur, he said. Bhanwari Devi, 36, had gone missing from Jodhpur’s Bilara area on September 1 last year following which her husband Amarchand, who is now in jail, had filed a habeas corpus petition in the High Court. After the state government ordered a CBI probe into the case, the agency arrested Mahipal Maderna and Congress MLA Malkhan Singh in December last year for their alleged involvement in the case.
— PTI
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Bihar to conduct caste census
Patna, April 3 The caste census will not only count people belonging to different caste groups, but will also identify people living below the poverty line (BPL families). The proposed exercise will be conducted simultaneously in rural and urban areas. The state’s Rural Development Minister Nitish Mishra told The Tribune that the last caste count was taken in the state in 1931. Mishra said that it would be a paperless exercise done through the hand-held tablets (personal computers) developed by the Bharat Electronic Development Corporation. The Centre had provided 50,000 tablet PCs for this purpose, but the requirement would be many more tablets, the minister said. The Union Ministry of Rural Development had also sanctioned a fund of Rs 121.82 crore for this socio-economic and caste census. number check
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Farmers’ stir hits rail traffic
Chandigarh, April 3 Train services were hit in both the states as the activists, in response to the “rail roko” call given by the morcha in eight states, did not allow movement of trains for one to two hours, railway officials said. Rail traffic was disrupted at Amritsar, Phagwara, Sahnewal, Sangrur and Bathinda in Punjab. “Movement of at least 7 to 8 trains was disrupted between 10.45 am till 1 pm in our division due to the protest,” said V Chaubey, Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur Division. Amritsar-Derababa Nanak, Hisar-Amritsar, Amritsar-Bihar, the Katihar Express, the Indore Jammu Malwa Express and the Shaane Punjab were the most affected trains. A report from Phagwara said protesters also burnt an effigy of Congress-led UPA government and raised slogans against the Centre for its alleged anti-farmer policies. In Haryana, national president of the BJP Kisan Morcha Om Prakash Dhankar and his thousands of supporters blocked railway traffic in Bhiwani. Similar reports were also received from Faridabad, Panipat, Tohana and Ambala. President of the state unit of the BJP Krishan Pal Gurjar said the party activists sustained injuries in clashes with the police in Faridabad and Ambala. Activists of the Haryana Janhit Congress, its alliance partner in Haryana, also joined the protest.
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A first: Tiger sighted in Arunachal reserve
Guwahati, April 3 The census was carried out by biologists and experts from Aaranyak — a Guwahati-based biodiversity conservation and research organisation — in collaboration with the Arunachal Forest Department. This is the first time that a tiger has been captured in a camera trap. Earlier, such attempts had been made in 1996 by Bangalore based Wildlife Conservation Society. Another study carried out in 2006 by Mysore-based Nature Conservation Foundation also did not yielded desired results. The achievement is significant as there was widespread apprehension that poachers had already wiped out the tiger population there, said Aaranyak’s senior biologist Dr Firoz Ahmed who headed the entire operation. Moreover, the core area of the park is highly disturbed because of illegal settlement by some Lishu tribe families. Namdapha is a major biosphere reserve and was covered under the Project Tiger in 1983. It is the only reserve in India that is home to four large cat species.
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Fishermen killing
Kochi, April 3 Observing that the single judge's orders 'deserves' to be set aside, the court directed the ship's owners Dolphin Tankers, the petitioner, to approach the Chief Judicial Magistrate court at Kollam with an application to release the vessel within a week. Thereafter, the magistrate can dispose of the application within one week, a division bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice V Chidambaresh, said. The bench directed the CJM court to give an opportunity to the state and others concerned to be heard. The magistrate can apply his mind to the facts of the case regarding retention of the vessel, the judges held. "It is a matter to be considered by the court which has jurisdiction to consider whether the vessel is required throughout the investigation and subsequently for the purpose of trial or inquiry," the judges said.
— PTI
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UP rights panel orders relief for 50 patients
Lucknow, April 3 After clashing with the security staff over a reportedly trivial matter, the resident doctors on duty at the trauma centre went on a flash strike and arbitrarily discharged the 50-odd patients admitted there. Taking a suo motu cognisance of the matter, the SHRC has ordered the state government to pay Rs 10,000 to each of the 50 patients packed off by the doctors. Describing the incident as denial of the patients’ basic right to survival, SHRC member Justice Vishnu Sahai has asked university Vice-Chancellor Dr DK Gupta to explain by May 1 the action that he has initiated against the erring staff responsible for denying the patients their right to life by turning them out. Taking a serious view of the matter, the SHRC has sent notices to the state’s Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary (Health Education) and the university Vice-Chancellor.
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Award in slain IPS officer’s memory
Patna, April 3 Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced the award in his name during the annual awards distribution ceremony of the Bihar Police recently. The Narendra Kumar Award would be given to the best probationary IPS officer of Bihar cadre every year. Narendra Kumar was also given an award posthumously for his commendable job as ASP of Purnea.
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ISRO to launch French satellite
Bangalore, April 3 Under this agreement, an advanced Remote Sensing satellite SPOT-6 weighing about 800 kg, built by Astrium SAS, will be launched on-board ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) during the second half of 2012. Along with SPOT-6, the PSLV, in its ‘core alone’configuration, will also carry other payloads. This Launch Services Agreement signed between Antrix and Astrium is part of a long-term agreement signed between the two agencies in September 2008. How much Antrix is charging for the service is not immediately known.
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Akhilesh to meet public representatives every Tuesday
Lucknow, April 3 The CM has written a letter to all MPs and MLAs of the state in this regard, an official spokesman said here. Akhilesh in his letter has said after formation of the new government expectations of the people were bound to rise.
— PTI |
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Aarushi Case Allahabad, April 3 Justice Bala Krishna Narayana passed the order on an appeal filed by the CBI challenging the order of a special CBI court at Ghaziabad dated March 14, 2012, whereby the bail of Talwar, who along with his wife Nupur is facing trial in the case, had been extended. — PTI
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2 govt officials held for graft
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Jaipur, April 3
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