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CONVICTED LEGISLATORS Govt calls
all-party meet for impetus to Food Bill
Two AP ministers quit over Telangana
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Govt committed to Telangana formation: PC
Prithvi-II successfully test-fired
aarushi murder
MFN status for India not under consideration: Pak
SC relief for Amit Shah; ADGP Pandey’s bail plea rejected
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Centre seeks review of SC verdict on disqualification
R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, August 12 In the July 10 verdict, a Bench comprising Justices AK Patnaik and SJ Mukhopadhya had struck down sub-section (4) of Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act 1951 that was protecting the sitting lawmakers against immediate disqualification upon conviction. In the review petition, the government has stated that this ruling was not in consonance with a Constitution Bench judgment on the basis of which Parliament provided protection to sitting lawmakers in order to avoid any threat to the survival of governments depending on a thin majority. The purpose of providing an exception in Section 8(4) was not to confer an advantage on sitting MPs or MLAs but to protect the House/Legislature, the Centre pleaded. Further, the protection was given in view of the fact that the lawmakers convicted by the trial court had a fair chance of getting acquitted on appeal. Also, the protection was only for the present term. “Thus the legislative purpose is apparent and the classification is rational and justified and permissible in law…. and the same constitutes deferral of the disqualification and not a misuse of power or authority,” it was stated. The Centre has also pleaded that the review plea should be heard in open court instead of following the regular practice of deciding such cases in the judges’ chamber through circulation to the judges concerned without any arguments. “The issues are of paramount national interest having constitutional ramifications,” it contended. In the July 10 verdict, the SC has clarified that convicted MPs and MLAs who had already filed appeals in such cases would not be affected by the ruling. Till then, such lawmakers were not disqualified if they appealed against their conviction in higher courts within three months. This protection continued till the disposal of their appeals and the status of their membership depended on the final judicial outcome. The SC verdict had come on two PILs filed by Lily Thomas and Lok Prahari, an NGO.
The verdict
In the July 10 verdict, a Bench comprising Justices AK Patnaik and SJ Mukhopadhya had struck down sub-section (4) of Section 8 of Representation of People Act 1951 that was protecting the sitting lawmakers against immediate disqualification upon conviction
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Govt
calls all-party meet for impetus to Food Bill New Delhi, August 12 The government is keen to replace the July 5 ordinance on Food Security and last week introduced the Bill, but its attempt to have a discussion going in the Lok Sabha today could not succeed as the proceedings of the House were affected on several counts. With the Congress president Sonia Gandhi favouring an early passage of the social welfare measure, UPA parliamentary managers are working overtime to bring around opposition from both the Samajwadi Party and the DMK. After political opponent AIADMK opposed the Bill, DMK chief M Karunanidhi announced on Sunday that the party is against the Bill in the current form, suggesting acceptability only if amendments are incorporated as suggested by political parties. The Congress-led UPA has the numbers in the Lok Sabha, especially with the BJP willing to extend support and offering amendments favouring the model followed by its government in Chhattisgarh. There is a view within the Congress that all efforts be made to ensure there is near unanimity in getting parliamentary approval for a measure that will provide subsidised foodgrains to nearly 70 per cent of population and not amid din and disturbance. The latter move, it was felt, could endanger the fate of the Bill in Rajya Sabha where UPA does not enjoy majority. The
government also wants to ascertain the views of other political parties
on the two apex court judgments. Ahead of the monsoon session, at the
meetings called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Kamal Nath, political parties closed ranks and wanted
the government to take steps to undo the judgments. modi
writes to pm * Gujarat CM Narendra Modi has written a
letter to PM Manmohan Singh proposing a meeting of Chief Ministers be
held on the Food Security law saying it is an issue that concerns both
the Centre and state governments. * He alleged in the letter that
poor families have been made ‘food insecure' through the Ordinance
which "does not fulfil the basic objectives of food security". *
Modi charged that under the Ordinance, "unworkable statutory
responsibilities have been given to Central and state governments"
and the "number of beneficiaries has been fixed without specifying
eligibility criteria and fixing individual entitlements. Between
different states, there could be wide regional disparities". —
PTI
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Two AP ministers quit over Telangana
Hyderabad, August 12 With today's resignations, the number of ministers who have put in their papers rose to seven. Murali and Raju, both hailing from the coastal Andhra region, submitted their resignation papers to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. The functioning of the government offices across Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions is likely to be paralysed from Tuesday with 3.50 lakh government employees going on an indefinite strike from midnight today in protest against the decision to divide the state. The indefinite strike has been called by the Andhra Non-Gazetted Officers' Association. About one lakh workers from the public sector, including the staff of AP Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), will also join the strike. The strike is likely to hit all areas of government functioning, including revenue collection, with the staff of Commercial Taxes Department also joining the agitation. The Tehsildars, Mandal Parishad development officers, executive officers in the Panchat Raj Department will also be joining the indefinite strike called by the Non-Gazetted Officers (NGOs). The Seemandhra region, which has been in a state of chaos ever since the UPA Coordination Committee and the Congress Working Committee (CWC) endorsed the decision to carve out Telangana state, will be badly affected particularly since the APSRTC workers too are joining the strike. Most people in the rural areas are dependent on the bus service for mobility. Several other key departments like agriculture, revenue, animal husbandry, health, education and excise would be hit due to the strike, particularly since it comes during the peak farming season. The employees of the power distribution companies have also decided to support the agitation. State Chief Secretary PK Mohanty has put the District Collectors in Seemandhra region on a high alert and has issued directives for the administration to function during the strike. The District Collectors have been asked to make alternate arrangements to operate buses and other transport vehicles. All top district officials have been asked not to leave local headquarters and to monitor the situation. Separate wings have been set up in District Collectorates to gather information about absentee staff in various departments to send a report to the government. Congress general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, Digvijay Singh, has appealed to the government staff to withdraw the strike call.
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Govt committed to Telangana formation: PC
New Delhi, August 12 Even as members opposed to the division of Andhra Pradesh shouted slogans, acting Home Minister P Chidambaram said the Home Ministry would soon bring before the Union Cabinet a comprehensive note on the proposal for the formation of Telangana. The views of all political parties would be taken into consideration, he added. Chidambaram noted that the Congress had recommended that Hyderabad should remain the capital of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for the first 10 years and after that, the former could set up its own capital. Earlier, the Opposition came down heavily on the government for its decision to create
Telangana.
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Prithvi-II successfully test-fired
Balasore (Odisha), Aug 12 Prithvi is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrust by liquid propulsion twin engines, defence sources said. The missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory. The missile, based on a mobile transporter erector launcher vehicle, is versatile and designed for quick manoeuvrability and operational flexibility on the battlefield, the sources said. The sophisticated surface-to-surface missile was test fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur at 9.15 am. The user trial for the defence forces, conducted by a missile unit of the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), was a complete success, they said. "It was a perfect text-book launch. The missile, equipped with advanced high accuracy indigenously developed navigation and manoeuvring system achieved all its targeting and technical parameters set out for this launch,” they said. The missile trajectory was tracked by radars of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha, said a defence official. — PTI
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Talwars make UK-based DNA expert defence witness
Ghaziabad, August 12 The court of Additional Sessions Judge Shyam Lal, however, accepted the dentist couple’s request to present London-based DNA expert Dr Andre Semikhodskii as a defence witness. The court has fixed August 16 as the date for recording Semikhodskii’s statement. The Talwars are standing trial for the murder of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj in the Ghaziabad CBI court. They had told the court that the CBI had not provided them with tabular charts of Aarushi and Hemraj’s DNA samples. “The court accepted our application to summon the London-based DNA expert as a defence witness,” said Manoj Sisodia, a counsel for the Talwars. CBI lawyer RK Saini, meanwhile, contended that as per a High Court order, the investigative agency had provided all case-related documents to the defence. On August 16, Semikhodskii is likely to give his opinion on the case-related forensic documents provided by the CBI to the dentist couple. — PTI
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MFN status for India not under consideration: Pak
Islamabad, August 12 Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, a close aide of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said the government was not considering any proposal to grant the Most Favoured Nation status to India. "Giving MFN status immediately is not under consideration," Dar told Geo News channel tonight. "There is no consideration as of now. We need to normalise other things," he said in response to a question on whether MFN status would be granted in the wake of an increase in tensions over incidents along the Line of Control. Pakistan failed to meet a deadline to give MFN status to India in January as part of efforts to normalise trade relations. India granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996. Dar said "some actors" in India were trying to "sabotage" a proposed meeting between Prime Minister Sharif and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September so that the situation in the region did not improve. "If there is a conspiracy to spoil relations and scuttle the meeting, it is regrettable. We can't change neighbours and so, we should remain peaceful," he said. Dar acknowledged that peace in the region and Pakistan's economic development were inter-related. "That is the future. If we can promote trade, per capita income will increase, poverty will decrease and there will be GDP growth," he said. — PTI
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SC relief for Amit Shah; ADGP Pandey’s bail plea rejected
New Delhi, August 12 A Bench comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjana Desai allowed Shah’s exemption plea, citing six reasons - investigation in the case is over, the trial shifted from Gujarat to Mumbai, he has complied with all the earlier conditions of the SC, he has been elected as an MLA and appointed as BJP general secretary. Also, the CBI has not complained that he tried to tamper with the evidence or influence the witnesses. Shah is an accused in the case relating to the killing of gangster Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi in fake encounters near Gandhinagar in November 2005. Meanwhile, another Bench comprising Justices BS Chauhan and SA Bobde rejected the anticipatory bail plea of absconding Additional Director General of Police PP Pandey in the Ishrat Jehan fake encounter case. The Bench pointed out that Pandey was absconding in the case for the second time after his brief appearance in the trial court which had declined to grant him an anticipatory bail. On this conduct alone, he was not entitled to anticipatory bail, the Bench said. The police officer should surrender and seek regular bail from the trial court, the SC ruled. When senior counsel Jaspal Singh, who argued for him, persisted with his plea, the Bench said it was unfortunate that much of the SC’s time was wasted on criminals who approached it again and again. The apex court was unable to devote even five per cent of its time for the common man who did not have the means to avail of the services of senior advocates, the Bench lamented. At the same time, the Bench also rejected the plea of Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaisingh, who appeared for the CBI, for passing an order directing the accused police official to surrender. Earlier, the SC had rejected Pandey’s plea for quashing the FIR against him for his role in the killing of the college girl Ishrat Jehan in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2005 allegedly in a fake encounter, dubbing her as an activist of Pakistan’s terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba.
fake encounters * Amit Shah, an accused in the case relating to the killing of gangster Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi in a fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005 *
Pandey was heading the Crime Branch when Ishrat, Javed Shaikh, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter allegedly with the Gujarat Police on June 15, 2004
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