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fisherman’s death
Courts, tribunals beset with problems: SC
Defence Ministry defends CBI probe in Adarsh scam
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No freebies for docs, govt okays code of ethics for drug makers
River interlinking: 5 months on, panel suggested by SC yet to be formed
Govt may impose stock-holding limit on pulses
Accident compensation On poll eve, Pranab unwinds with a book Cabinet all set to toughen sexual abuse laws 2G: Rs
52 crore unaccounted for in Kalaignar TV money
Maharashtra on verge of drought
NCW head seeks govt job for molestation victim
Jagan to vote for Pranab, Ansari
6-year-old girl killed by leopard in Mumbai
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fisherman’s death
The fishermen had yesterday said the US ship had not given any warning before opening the fire. Washington, however, insisted that the vessel had disregarded non-lethal warnings. Iran, meanwhile, called for the immediate withdrawal of foreign forces from the region against the backdrop of Monday's incident. Addressing a select group of journalists, Hussein Sheikholeslam, Adviser to the Speaker of Iranian Parliament and Director General of International Affairs, said: ''This is the way the Americans behave...they consider themselves as God. Such incidents will continue to take place as long as foreign forces are there in the region...they must pull out as they threaten regional security.'' Wondering what a small fishing boat could do to a US Navy ship, he said the mere presence of American troops in the region caused tension. Expressing regret over the death of the Indian fisherman, Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said both the US and the UAE governments have promised that they would conduct inquiries in a very transparent manner and share the details. Once the inquiry reports were available, New Delhi would decide what action had to be taken. On whether the injured fishermen would be repatriated, Kaur said: ''There is some constraint because it is a police case, that they will have to finish the formalities before we can repatriate them but we will give fullest assistance and bring the people back." The CPM criticised the government for not squarely condemning the US Navy for the incident and demanded the arrest of the personnel repsonsible for the incident. Both Pentagon and the State department last night stuck to a statement issued by the US Embassy in Delhi that the US naval ship Rappahannock had "escalated warning measures" before opening fire at the boat carrying Indian fishermen off the UAE coast in the Persian Gulf. "The USNS Rappahannock escalated warning measures in response to a potential threat posed by this vessel," Pentagon spokesman George Little said. "And this is something that all US Navy ships take into account for security reasons." Asked if the US was planning to apologise for the shooting, Little said, "We certainly regret the loss of life in this incident. (But) There were, in fact, warning measures that were taken based on what we know now."
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Courts, tribunals beset with problems: SC
New Delhi, July 18 A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya made the observation after citing an example within the SC, where a case involving a poor family of a road accident victim was not listed for effective hearing for five years that enabled an insurance company to enjoy an interim order during the period. After a "paltry sum of Rs 2 lakh" was awarded as interim compensation by the SC, the claimants "perhaps thought it will not be worthwhile to spend money for contesting" the appeal filed by the company, the Bench said. "This is perhaps the thinking of many thousands of poor litigants, who succeed in the courts below and the high courts but cannot afford the cost and expenses of contesting litigation in the highest court of the country and suffer silently in the name of the Almighty by treating it as their destiny," the SC said. "In a country where 36 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, these deficiencies in the justice delivery system prevent a large segment of the population from availing legal remedies," a Bench noted in an order. Though the free legal aid mechanism had done yeoman's service for the past 25 years, "a lot is required to be done for ensuring justice to economically deprived section of the society and those who suffer from other disabilities like illiteracy and ignorance," it noted. The Bench noted that the SC had passed an order in July 2007, virtually staying the Rajasthan High Court order awarding compensation to the victim's family. "This petition was not listed before the court for next five years for effective hearing and the appellant continued to enjoy the benefit of ex parte interim order," the SC observed. "It should be a matter of concern for those who are associated with this institution as to why an ex parte interim order passed by the court should continue to operate for years together without the matter being listed for effective hearing," the judges observed. candid admission
Unable to afford expenses in SC, poor litigants suffer silently in the name of Almighty God by treating it as their destiny. A lot is required to be done for ensuring justice to economically deprived section of the society and those who suffer from other disabilities like illiteracy and ignorance.
— SC Bench
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Defence Ministry defends CBI probe in Adarsh scam
Mumbai, July 18 In an affidavit filed in the Bombay High Court, the ministry made it clear that it has not accepted the judicial commission's ruling settling the ownership of the plot in favour of the state governent, dubbing it as "completely flawed". "Dispute over the ownership of the land is not yet over. The commission’s report is not binding on either the government or the court. The Ministry of Defence has not accepted the report. "The report of the commission is completely flawed, contrary to the evidence on record and is made on patently incorrect interpretation of law," the Defence Ministry said in an affidavit filed before a Division Bench of Justices S A Bobade and Mridula Bhatkar. The Maharashtra Government and Adarsh Society have contested CBI's jurisdiction to probe the alleged scam on the ground that neither the state nor the high court had handed over the investigation to the central agency, as required under the law. The CBI launched its probe into the scam on the direction of the Defence Ministry after an inquiry by the Army Chief. It formally registered an FIR in January last year.
— PTI
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No freebies for docs, govt okays code of ethics for drug makers
New Delhi, July 18 The “Uniform Code for Pharmaceuticals Marketing Practices”, approved by industry representatives today, bars pharma firms from offering gifts, travel facilities, hospitality and monetary grants to doctors and their families in return for expansion of business through drug prescription. The Code provides punitive measures for errant firms. Despite Health Ministry’s objections that a voluntary code would not work, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has decided to enforce a voluntary code to begin with. “We will monitor the voluntary code for six months. If it is not being implemented effectively, we will consider making it statutory,” top officials of the ministry told The Tribune. The code requires drug makers not to term drugs as “safe” and without any toxic effects. It bars them from supplying free samples of anti depressant, hypnotic, sedative and tranquilising drugs. The code states, “No gifts, pecuniary advantages will be supplied to doctors or their families by pharma companies, their distributors, wholesalers or retailers. Tickets to entertainment events are not to be offered. Companies, their representatives won’t extend travel facility inside India or outside including rail, air, ship, cruise, paid vacations to healthcare professionals and families to attend workshops as delegates. Firms will not offer hotel accommodations nor pay cash. Funding for medical research will only be extended through approved institutions by modalities laid down by the law.” The code will be enforced through an ombudsman the industry will appoint for monitoring complaints against unethical practices. The move comes following two recent instances of unethical practices. Last month, the Ministry received a complaint against a pharma firm, which purchased 11000 LCD television sets in one go. “Inducement possibility is not ruled out. We are investigating the complaint,” ministry officials said. In another case, 10 doctors - all neurologists - with wives and relatives holidayed in England and Scotland on a trip allegedly financed by Intas Pharmaceuticals, Ahmadabad. Accompanying 10 doctors were 20 family members. The Tribune has accessed the complaint which names the following doctors (being probed by the government) -- Gwalior’s Dr Atul Sahai and Dr Narottam Vaishya; Indore’s Dr Srikant Rege, Dr Vaishali Nadkarni, Dr Rajesh Mulay ; Dr Atul Tapadia and Dr Dhanraj Panjwani; Jabalpur’s Dr Alok Agarwal and Dr Harsh Saxena; Ujjain’s Dr Mahendra Chauhan. DG Shah, Secretary General, IPA, said, “The Ministry sent us the complaint. We have investigated it. The travel agent says he wrongly used the stationery bearing the logo of Intas. Doctors say they paid their own money and were not sponsored by Intas. The Ministry has to take a call.” Shah, however, admitted that it was high time a code was enforced. “We can’t allow black sheep to ruin industry reputation,” he said.
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River interlinking: 5 months on, panel suggested by SC yet to be formed
New Delhi, July 18 Five months down the line, the committee is nowhere in sight. Sources now say that the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) is consulting the Law Ministry to seek an opinion for a review of the Supreme Court’s February judgment. “There is a view in the ministry that the government should seek the review of the February order because interlinking of rivers is an unfeasible proposition,” they said. While the Supreme Court order in February brought cheer among its propagators and those struggling to build consensus on plan components among stakeholders (read states), environmentalists again reiterated that the proposal was “unfeasible” and one that could spell “grave environmental and social disaster” amid serious legal, procedural and statutory hurdles. Privately, officials also expressed doubt on the progress that would be possible on the project even after the formation of the committee, considering the sensitive nature of the issue - water sharing. “Water is a state subject and unless there is consensus among riparian states, it is impossible to progress beyond the drawing board,” they said. The court said that the committee should submit
a biannual report to the Cabinet which must consider the report and take decisions. In order to speed up the long-delayed programme, it also wanted the proposed committee to meet at least once in two months
and submit a report every six months to the Cabinet for “all final and appropriate decisions”. A senior government functionary explains why interlinking of rivers is such a difficult proposition. “Water is a sensitive issue and a state would rather let it go waste than share it with its
neighbours. The Sutlej-Yamuna link dispute and the Cauvery feud are just two examples of water feuds between states,” he said. While there may be consensus on the thought and spirit behind the interlinking of rivers, but when it comes to individual cases and signing on the dotted line, stakeholders develop cold feet. There are several examples of inter-state project reports travelling back and forth between the Centre and states for years. The only significant progress that could be seen on the issue was on the Ken-Betwa link between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. But even this so-called successful Ken-Betwa project is a classic example of how it may take ages to resolve water issues even when consensus has been achieved
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Govt may impose stock-holding limit on pulses
New Delhi, July 18 Food Minister KV Thomas today said the government was monitoring the price situation on daily basis and also examining the option of imposing stock-holding limits on food commodities. The Food Ministry was also discussing with the Agriculture Ministry the option of relaunching a scheme for distribution of imported pulses through PDS at subsidised rates, he said on the sidelines of a food conference. Meanwhile, the IMD today predicted an improvement in the overall monsoon situation from the coming week-end. “The monsoon will revive by July 20 with the formation of an upper air cyclonic circulation over the West Bengal-Orissa coast,” IMD director SC Bhan said.
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Accident compensation
New Delhi, July 18 A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhya gave the ruling while enhancing the compensation awarded to the family of a 36-year-old motorcyclist who had died in 1992 after being hit by a truck. The Supreme Court held that the standard practice of leaving out one-third of the victim’s monthly income (on account of personal expenses he would be incurring if he were alive) for the purpose of calculating the compensation was not correct in cases of poor people with large families. Pointing out that the victim had a large family of nine members - two aged parents, wife and five children - and a monthly income of Rs 3,000, the Bench questioned whether he could have spent one-third of his income on himself as contended by the insurance company. By a conservative estimate, he would have spent at least 50 per cent of the income on the purchase of foodgrains, milk and other essentials and for the payment of water, electricity and other bills. About 25 per cent of the income would have been spent on the education of children and another 15 per cent on other family necessities like clothes and medical expenses. The remaining 10 per cent would go towards unforeseen contingencies and on festivals. “In this scenario, any deduction towards personal expenses would be unrealistic,” the Bench reasoned. The apex court, however, made it clear that this logic would not apply to “rich persons living in urban areas who can afford to spend a substantial amount of their income in clubs, hotels and on parties. “In those cases, there may be a semblance of justification in applying the rule of one-third deduction but it would be wholly unrealistic to universally apply that rule in all cases,” the SC held. The Rajasthan High Court had awarded a compensation of Rs 6.45 lakh which was enhanced to Rs 10.63 lakh by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court directed the insurance company to pay another Rs 5 lakh to the victim’s family for challenging the high court verdict and obtaining an ex-parte interim order under which it had to pay just Rs 2 lakh as immediate compensation five years ago. The Bench also expressed concern over the long delays in the Supreme Court in the listing of cases pertaining to people from the poorer sections of society. “It should be a matter of concern for those who are associated with this institution as to why an ex-parte interim order passed by the court should continue to operate for years together without the matter being listed for effective hearing. If the claimants had been members of economically affluent sections of the society, they would have engaged an eminent advocate and taken steps for hearing of the matter at an early date but, as noted earlier, they (victim’s family) do not have the financial capacity and resources to engage any advocate for contesting the special leave petition filed by the insurance company,” the Bench noted. Court’s contention
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On poll eve, Pranab unwinds with a book New Delhi, July 18 Ensconced in his office, which has been the hub of high-powered political deliberations over the years, Mukherjee occupied himself reading a book on late President Radhakrishnan’s speeches and writings, perhaps in preparation for the acceptance speech he is required to deliver after he is sworn in as the next President on July 25, since his victory is a foregone conclusion. Known to be a storehouse of information, Mukherjee did not disappoint mediapersons who called him up on Wednesday. He disclosed an interesting nugget he had picked up during his readings: Radhakrishnan was the first President who announced in his acceptance speech that a Bharat Ratna would be conferred on outgoing President Rajendra Prasad. Having spent the past few weeks campaigning, Mukherjee admitted that the last two days he spent at home had been a period of reflection. “No meetings, no files, no GoMs, no EGoMs... the past few days have given me time to reflect on what lies ahead,” he said, while recalling that he had led a hectic life during his four decades in public life. He was also candid enough to admit that though he was well-versed with the functioning of the Constitution and knows how the President communicates with the government, he has little knowledge on what awaits him when he takes residence at Rashtrapati Bhavan. “It will be known when one reaches there,” he said smilingly, but added as abundant caution, “I have to be elected first.” Pranab, however, was not clear if he would vote in Thursday’s election though there’s no legal bar on it as he is a Lok Sabha MP. The former finance minister is the third MP after Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Zail Singh to be nominated for the Presidency. Both had cast their vote.
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Cabinet all set to toughen sexual abuse laws New Delhi, July 18 According to the amended law, which will be taken up at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, a person who sexually abuses a child or a woman who is in his or her custody will be charged with aggravated sexual assault and can face jail for a period of 10 years to life imprisonment. The term “rape” has been replaced with “sexual assault” to make the law gender neutral following innumerable reports about young boys being subjected to sexual abuse. The punishment in all such cases ranges from a jail term of seven years to life imprisonment. Acid attacks have also been brought within the purview of the amended law. Anybody accused of throwing acid on a person with the intent of disfiguring him or her will be liable to five to seven years of rigorous imprisonment.
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2G: Rs
52 crore unaccounted for in Kalaignar TV money New Delhi, July 18 JPC Chairman PC Chacko said that that the CBDT officials, who were probing the financial aspects of the 2G spectrum scam and its extended deals, had informed the panel that there were doubts over the source of funds of Kalaignar TV. While the Income Tax Department has completed the scrutiny of accounts of Tata Telecommunications and Reliance Communications, it has still to go into the accounts of the other seven firms. Chacko said that the IT Department had informed the committee that it would be able to complete the scrutiny of the remaining seven firms by March 2013. Chacko said that while the rest of the amount from Rs 200 crore plus interest — which the DMK-owned Kalaignar TV returned — had its sources, Rs 52 crore seems to have come from fictitious firms. These firms, which he said, were 18 in number were registered in Kolkata and investigations had revealed fake addresses. Investigations had also brought out that India Cements also made a Rs 60 crore payment to Kalaignar TV, besides some big amount by a liquor company.
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Maharashtra on verge of drought
Mumbai, July 18 Most of the rainfall in Maharashtra happens in the month of July. The first half of the month has been dry in most places. "Only nine districts have received normal rainfall while other places have reported inadequate rains. In some areas like Pune rainfall deficit is more than 60 per cent," says an official of the Met department. The meteorological department has, however, stated that heavy rainfall is expected over the next 10 days thus providing relief to many parts of Maharashtra. According to state government officials, declaration of drought would enable Maharashtra to obtain further assistance from the Centre. Already, more than Rs 2,300 crore have been earmarked for providing relief to the worst-affected areas of the state, according to information put out by the Maharashtra secretariat.
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NCW head seeks govt job for molestation victim
Guwahati, July 18 She also asked for better police surveillance in the presence of women personnel in Assam and setting up of a fast-track court to punish the guilty of the molestation episode. Talking to mediapersons after meeting Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi here, Mamata said: “The NCW condemns the molestation incident. The Commission has put forward its recommendations, which have been accepted by the Chief Minister. The entire nation has been shamed by this incident and the Commission will not rest till justice is delivered to the victim”. Mamata said: “The police should have acted prompt as its early arrival would have saved the victim from much of what she had to face at the hands of her tormentors”.
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Jagan to vote for Pranab, Ansari
Hyderabad, July 18 The decision is being viewed in political circles as the first sign of a thaw between Jagan and the ruling Congress which he had quit last year to launch his own political outfit. “We have decided to vote for Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari as we believe that they would discharge their duties without any political bias,” YSR Congress Party MP M Raja Mohan Reddy said. The announcement came soon after a meeting of the party MPs and MLAs, chaired by the honorary president and Jagan’s mother YS Vijayamma, discussed the party’s stand on the presidential elections. The meeting felt that abstaining from voting in the election for the highest constitutional post would go against the principles of democracy and send wrong signals to the people.
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6-year-old girl killed by leopard in Mumbai
Mumbai, July 18 A few hours later forest guards of the park and villagers found the severed head of the girl. Police said the incident happened in an area called Shankar Tekdi in Mulund in Thane district.
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New Delhi, July 18