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Trial must on complaints of marital cruelty: SC
House panel slams MoD over delay in projects
CAG flays misuse of defence land
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Court of Inquiry was never held, claims Brig Surinder
Seven Maoists killed in M’rashtra encounte
Tejpal alleges political vendetta
Telangana rejoices as Andhra CM prepares to resign
Hyderabad: Telangana’s gain, Seemandhra’s loss
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Trial must on complaints of marital cruelty: SC
New Delhi, February 18 “Appreciation, even in a summary manner, of the averments made in a complaint petition or FIR would not be permissible at the stage of quashing,” a Bench comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and SK Singh held while dismissing the appeals of an accused parents-in-law. The Bench noted that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code related to both physical and mental cruelty. While instances of physical torture would be plainly evident from the pleadings, mental torture “would be far more subtle”. “The facts, as alleged, therefore will have to be proved which can only be done in the course of a regular trial.... This is the core test that has to be applied before summoning the accused. Once the aforesaid stage is overcome, the facts alleged have to be proved by the complainant/ prosecution on the basis of legal evidence in order to establish the penal liability of the person charged with the offence,” the apex court explained. The SC delivered the verdict on the appellants’ plea against their ex-daughter-in-law Monica. As a consequence, the apex court asked the trial court in Delhi, seized of Monica’s case filed in 2005, to dispose it of within one year. The Bench also ruled that since Monica’s divorced husband was living outside India, she could follow the government guidelines to get the maintenance of Rs 93,500 a month awarded to her since July 2013 onwards. If necessary, the family court could transfer the case to a competent criminal court for an early conclusion of the enforcement proceedings, the Supreme Court held.
The observations
* The SC has ruled that any complaint of mental and physical cruelty against the husband and parents-in-law should be accepted as such and not rejected at the outset *
Once it is done, the facts alleged will have to be proved in the course of a regular trial, the court observed.
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House panel slams MoD over delay in projects
New Delhi, February 18 The committee has warned that the country’s inability to keep pace with the technological and infrastructural advancement in comparison to China is responsible for perception of threats. Slamming the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the committee said, “It repudiates the claims of the ministry that our infrastructure development is being implemented in consonance with the threat perception.” “It is disquieting to note that no direct response has been given by the ministry as to what difficulties were faced by India due to poor network of road, rail, airports/helipads,” said the report that was tabled in Parliament by Raj Babbar, who heads the 31-member committee. “Many of the border passes from the China side are now connected by road. What would happen to our nation in case of any eventuality such as war, especially when our side has a dismal network of roads as well as rail connections which could be effective in mobilising men and machines”, the report warned. Out of eight border road projects such as Himank, Swastik and Shivalik along the India-China border, none was hundred per cent complete. “All projects along the India-China border should be executed with a new zeal and completed as planned. The task force should monitor the progress of all the roads,” suggested the committee.
Dismal scenario
* Only one road out of 27 suggested by the ITBP was complete * As many as 11 roads were behind schedule *
Not even the detailed project reports about the roads had been finalised *
Out of eight border road projects none was hundred per cent complete.
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CAG flays misuse of defence land
New Delhi, February 18 The performance audit on ‘Planning and management of refits of the Indian Naval ships from 2005-06 to 2009-10 says “113 (74 per cent) out of a total of 152 refits were completed with an accumulated delay of 8,629 days”. Another 66 refits (43.42 per cent) were planned ab initio in excess of the duration authorised for refits in operational-cum-refit cycle, thereby resulting in an accumulated planned loss of 5,188 days in availability of the concerned war ships.
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Court of Inquiry was never held, claims Brig Surinder
Chandigarh, February 18 The petition, which came up for hearing before the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal yesterday, avers that the show cause notice and termination order issued to him states that he was held blameworthy by a COI convened by 3 Infantry Division on September 6, 1999. However, a response to a specific query received by him from 3 Div about a month ago stated that no COI was convened by the division in September 1999. The reply further stated that a COI was convened in August 1999 but the terms of reference of that COI were different from the terms of reference stated in the documents supplied to him. Brigadier Surinder Singh was the commander of 121 Brigade in Kargil when the conflict with Pakistan took place in the icy heights in the summer of 1999. He had been removed from command in the early stages of the conflict and later his services were terminated on charges of mishandling classified information. He has since been fighting a legal battle against his termination. In the amended petition filed recently after having received fresh information, he has also claimed that under Army Rules, the proceedings of a COI cannot be used as evidence to initiate action against him. He has also averred that complete reports of the inquiries on the basis of which his termination orders were issued were never supplied to him.
The case
* Brig Surinder Singh was the commander of 121 Brigade in Kargil when the conflict with Pakistan took place in 1999 *
He was removed from command in the early stages of the conflict and later his services were terminated on charges of mishandling classified information *
He has since been fighting a legal battle against his termination
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Sanjay Dutt’s parole extended
Mumbai, February 18 Sources said the actor's parole had been extended by another 30 days. The actor was granted a 30-day parole on December 21 and his furlough was extended by a month from January 21. Maanyata has been diagnosed with heart and liver ailments apart from several medical complications, the actor said in his application for parole. She reportedly underwent surgery at Global Hospital and is recuperating at home. This is the second time, Dutt was out of jail on parole. In October, Dutt was granted furlough after he fell ill and needed to undergo treatment. Dutt was sentenced to five years in prison for keeping illegal weapons sourced from the bombers who carried out the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.
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Seven Maoists killed in M’rashtra encounte
r
Gondia (Maharashtra), Feb 18 A fierce gun-battle followed and seven Maoists were gunned down, they said. The bodies of all the seven Naxals have been brought to Gadchiroli and their identification and other processes are on, said Gadchiroli police PRO Dharmendra Joshi. — PTI
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Tejpal alleges political vendetta
Panaji, February 18 Tejpal (50) said this after he failed to get relief from the Bombay High Court, which deferred hearing of his bail plea till next month. “The chargesheet against me is out of political vendetta. I have done nothing wrong. I am innocent. I am not involved,” he told reporters while emerging from the court. “The entire truth is in the CCTV footage and it will be known to the world,” he said. Tejpal was brought in a police van to the court where he sat in the front row beside his lawyer Sandip Kapoor. Tejpal has been charged with rape, sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of a woman journalist in the lift of a five-star hotel in Goa during ThinkFest, an event organised by Tehelka. The Goa police yesterday filed a 2,846-page chargesheet against Tejpal. — PTI
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Telangana rejoices as Andhra CM prepares to resign
Hyderabad, February 18 The YSR Congress, in the forefront of the agitation against division of Andhra Pradesh, has called for a bandh tomorrow in the state in protest against the passage of the Bill. “This is the black day in the history of this country,” YSRC president and Kadapa MP, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, told reporters in Delhi. The ruling Congress suffered a setback in Coastal Andhra, with state Infrastructure and Investment Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao quitting his post and the party in protest against the Centre going ahead with the state's division. “A decision (regarding division) was taken against people's wishes...,” said Rao, a former MP and an influential leader in north coastal Andhra, who was elected in 2009 from Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam district on the ticket of Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam, which later merged with Congress. A defiant Chief Minister has invited his loyalist ministers and legislators for a meeting tomorrow to formally communicate his decision to quit, according to state Social Welfare Minister Pitani Satyanarayana. “The Chief Minister will address a press conference at 10.45 am and then proceed to Raj Bhavan to hand over his resignation to Governor E S L Narasimhan,” the minister, one of the his close followers, said. As the news of the passage trickled in, chants of “Jai Telangana” rented the air in many parts of the region, where a festive atmosphere prevailed with the separate statehood supporters bursting crackers, distributing sweets, taking out victory rallies and dancing to the tunes of popular songs hailing Telangana. A large number of students gathered in Osmania University, the nerve-centre of separate statehood agitation, and danced in joy. Congress activists at some places in Telangana rejoiced distributing sweets and held pictures showing their party president Sonia Gandhi in the image of 'Telangana Talli' (Telangana mother). “This is the result of a long struggle. The Bill will be passed in Rajya Sabha tomorrow. We thank Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy and each one of those who supported separate Telangana bill. We are actually at loss of words to express our joy,” Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) chairman M Kodandaram said.— PTI
As a member of the party and the government, I feel saddened the manner in which we have cleared the Bill. We will continue to protest with our party and the
government.— MM Pallam Raju, Central Minister
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Hyderabad: Telangana’s gain, Seemandhra’s loss
Hyderabad, February 18 Fueling the regional divide is the question of control over Hyderabad, the powerhouse of state economy. Though Hyderabad is part of the Telangana region, about 40 per cent of its population comprises Seemandhra migrants. It is often said a majority of households in Seemandhra, spread over 13 districts, have at least one family member settled in the state capital. While pro-Telangana parties have made it clear that nothing short of a separate state with Hyderabad as the capital would satisfy them, the integrationists argued that Seemandhra people have equal stakes in the city. The future of Hyderabad’s status has become a prime concern for people of all three regions. The city accounts for 70 per cent of the state’s manufacturing sector and about 95 per cent of the IT business. It accounts for over 30 per cent of the state’s revenues. More than 90 per cent of the private sector investment that came to Hyderabad was from entrepreneurs from the Seemandhra region. Also, 65 per cent of the Union government’s revenues from AP are collected from the metropolitan area of Hyderabad. It contributes nearly Rs 90,000 crore to the state’s taxes kitty annually and accounts for software exports of Rs 60,000 crore. Not surprisingly, there are fears over the safety for huge investments made by Seemandhra settlers since the formation of AP in 1956. Post-bifurcation, the Seemandhra region would suffer because of lack of funds at a time when they have to spend huge money on creating a new capital. Moreover, people in Seemandhra feel a sense of loss, having to forego the state capital. The new truncated state of AP will find it dependent on the Centre for funds. The Seemandhra leaders have come up with a set of demands to address the concerns of their region. Declaring Hyderabad as union territory for a period of 10 years, identification of new capital for Seemandhra, financial package for building the capital, special compensation for Seemandhra due to loss of revenue, development package for the backward areas in the region, tax concessions, are among the amendments suggested by them.
State fight
* Pro-Telangana parties’ firm stand on a separate state with Hyderabad as capital has left Seemandhra settlers worried *
Hyderabad, part of the Telangana region, has about 40% population from Seemandhra *
Majority of households in Seemandhra, spread over 13 districts, have at least one family member in the state capital *
More than 90% of the private sector investment that comes to Hyderabad is from Seemandhra entrepreneurs
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Gadkari sues Kejriwal BJP leader Nitin Gadkari today filed a criminal defamation complaint before a local court against Delhi former CM Arvind Kejriwal, who had put Gadkari on the AAP's list of “India's most corrupt”. — PTI
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New Delhi, February 18
Voices of dissent
The show has not finished. Tomorrow, we again have a chance to stall the Rajya Sabha.~
— Chiranjeevi, Rajya Sabha MP
