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RS clears Bills to scrap collegium system
Intolerance & violence defeat democracy: Prez
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Parliament adjourned; Congress attacks on Speaker condemned
SC: Movies are for fun, not to be taken seriously
Graft case: Censor board CEO under CBI scanner
Phoolan’s murder: Rana gets life term
Unauthorised industrial units in Solan
CRPF men get 71 gallantry medals
Cigarette ban: SC notice to
Centre, states
Border areas to get major infra fillip
Roy gets 15 more days to strike property deals
Black money: 600 Indians under scanner
Pilot asleep, jet plunges 5,000 ft over Turkey
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RS clears Bills to scrap collegium system
New Delhi, August 14 A day after its passage in the Lok Sabha, the Constitution Amendment Bill was cleared by the Rajya Sabha with 179 votes in favour and the abstention of noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani. The Bill will make way for the setting up of a National Judicial Appointments Commission, which will appoint and transfer judges to the Supreme Court and the 24 High Courts. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had moved the Bill in the Rajya Sabha yesterday night after an hour-long debate on whether the House had powers to enact such a law. The Bill will come into force after ratification by 50 per cent of the state legislatures, which can take up to eight months. After ratification, the government will send it to the President for his assent. With the passage of the Bill in Parliament, the collegium system of judges choosing judges will now be history as the Constitution Amendment Bill will grant Constitutional status to the NJAC and its composition. The collegium system had been under severe criticism. Under the statute amendment Bill, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) will head the NJAC. Besides the CJI, the judiciary will be represented by two senior judges of the Supreme Court. Two eminent personalities and the Law Minister will be the other members of the proposed body. The prominent persons, one of whom will belong to either of SC/ST, OBC, minorities or a woman, will be selected by a panel comprising the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha or the leader of the largest opposition party in the lower House. Moving the NJAC Bill, Prasad said, “The measure is not being brought in haste as there have been several committees in the past that have recommended for bringing a change in the collegium system of appointing judges. Why is Parliament wary of using its powers? It must have full trust in its ability to pass the law.” Prasad said the power of appointing a judge rested with the President. “This House respects the independence of the judiciary and it also respects the power of Parliament,” he added. On doubts of some members on the appointment of eminent persons on the all-important Judicial Appointments Committee, he said, they would be appointed by the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition or the largest opposition party in the LS. “Should we not trust their collective wisdom. If they can govern the country well, they can select eminent persons as well,” he added. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the interest of judiciary there should be an element of primacy in the institution of judiciary.
Bill to come into force after ratification * The Constitution Amendment Bill was cleared by the Rajya Sabha with 179 votes in
favour. * The Bill will come into force after ratification by 50 per cent of the state legislatures, which can take up to eight months *
After ratification, the government will send it to the President for his assent
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Intolerance & violence defeat democracy: Prez
“Though an ancient civilization, India is a modern nation with modern dreams. Intolerance and violence are a betrayal of the letter and spirit of democracy. Those who believe in the poison drip of inflammatory provocation do not understand India’s values or even its present political impulses. Indians know that progress, economic or social, is difficult without peace,” the President said in his address to the nation on the eve of the 68th Independence Day. For a person who has a deep and abiding interest in history, the President turned the pages to the Mughal era recalling how Maratha ruler Shivaji wrote to Aurangzeb on the imposition of “jaziya” (religious tax) that Shah Jehan to Akbar could also have levied it but they did not as they considered all men created by God to be examples of the nature of diverse creeds and temperaments. Suggesting that the epistle of Shivaji carries a universal message, he said it must become a living testament that guides behaviour today. “We can least afford to forget this message at a time when an increasingly turbulent international environment has sparked off rising dangers in our region and beyond, some clearly visible, and some crawling out of the debris of unprecedented turmoil, as radical militia are making attempts across parts of Asia and Africa to redraw maps of nations to create a geography of theocratic ideology. “India will feel the heat of blowback, particularly as it represents the values that reject extremism in all its manifestations. India is a beacon of democracy, equilibrium, inter-and-intra faith harmony. We must defend our secular fabric with vigour. Our security and foreign policies must combine the steel of strength with the velvet of diplomacy even as we persuade the like-minded as well as the hesitant to recognise the substantial dangers that breed within indifference,” the President reminded. On poverty, he said, the decisive challenge is to end the curse and the focus should move from alleviation to elimination. “The poor cannot, and will not, wait for yet another generation to see the very essentials of life — food, shelter, education and employment — being denied to them.
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Parliament adjourned; Congress attacks on Speaker condemned
New Delhi, August 14 "We disapprove of the comments from certain parties questioning the integrity of the Speaker. This is a dangerous trend and should be avoided at all costs," Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said today after both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die after a sitting of 27 days. The government hailed the session as the most productive out of the sessions in 2004 and 2009, the initial years of new governments. "The Narendra Modi-led government has walked the talk. On the whole the Budget session of Parliament has been satisfactory and several important issues have been raised in the session such as price rise, flood and drought situation, UPSC row, crimes against women and communal violence," the minister said remaining non-committal on the issue of denial of the Leader of Opposition post to the Congress. As regards time, the Lok Sabha sat for 167 hours losing 14 hours and 23 minutes to disruptions. The House sat for 28 hours to compensate for its losses. The Rajya Sabha sat for 140 hours losing 21 hours to disruptions and sitting 38 hours to make up.
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SC: Movies are for fun, not to be taken seriously
New Delhi, August 14 “Movies are nothing but fiction meant for entertainment. Entertainment will remain entertainment. Don’t bring religious facets into it. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. Why are you unnecessarily bothered?” the Bench told the petitioner, All India Human Rights and Social Justice Front. Arguing for the front, lawyer Nafis Siddiqui pleaded that the youth were anguished over a nude scene in which Aamir Khan had nothing but a transistor to hide his groin. At this, the Bench advised him not to be sensitive to such things. “Today’s youth are smart. They know the difference between entertainment and something else. You can’t equate them with the youth of our days. Also, the internet is there these days. What will you hide from them,” the court remarked. The Bench, which included Justices Kurian Joseph and RF Nariman, asked the petitioner to specify the legal and constitutional rights that would be affected by the release of the movie, PK, produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Rajkumar
Hirani.
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Jaya objects to jokes on FM channels
New Delhi, August 14 Raising the issue during question hour in the Rajya Sabha, Jaya, who is a member of the Samajwadi Party, pointed out that on many occasions the jokes cross the limits of decency. — TNS
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Phoolan’s murder: Rana gets life term
New Delhi, August 14 Additional Sessions Judge Bharat Parashar observed that awarding death penalty to 35-year-old Rana would be “completely disproportionate” to the crime committed by him. “The fact remains that the act of convict cannot be termed as an attack on a democratic institution of the country viz Parliament,” the court, which also imposed a fine of ~1 lakh on Rana, said. “I am thus of the considered opinion that awarding of death penalty (to Rana) would be completely disproportionate to the crime committed in the present case,” the judge said. The judge noted that Rana had already spent about 11 years in jail during the trial that lasted for more than 13 years. — PTI
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Unauthorised industrial units in Solan
Baddi, August 14 Some NGOs, including Him Parivesh, have been saying that industrial units were polluting the area. The Central Pollution Control Board also declared the area as critically polluted as per its comprehensive environmental pollution index ratio of 69.07, but the state authorities failed to act. Balkrishen Sharma, general secretary, Him Parivesh, hailed the NGT directions and said: “This has vindicated our claim that a majority of industrial units in the district are operating without mandatory clearance.” He said information sought under the RTI Act revealed that of the 2,063 units registered in the area, only 1,131 units had the permission to operate. Out of these, 176 units are red category units, which are the highly polluting. A total of 104 units are running without the consent of the board, he said. Of the 779 orange category units (causing less pollution), 440 are operating without the consent of the board. Of the 1,108 units under the green category, 587 are running without the board’s permission, said Sharma. The board has failed to upgrade its infrastructure to check air pollution, he alleged. Though the state pollution control board has an online clearance system, the pendency of cases was a reflection of the lax working of the board authorities. Even the red category units such as JP Cements and Ambuja Cements are yet to get renewal of consent since March this year.
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CRPF men get 71 gallantry medals
New Delhi, August 14 The CRPF is involved in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir. The bulk of the force is currently committed to tackling the Left wing extremist in the country, where more than 80,000 officers and men are deployed. Fifty two out of the 71 gallantry medals have been awarded for extraordinary acts of valour in countering the Left Wing Extremism (LWE). Seventeen medals for gallantry have been conferred on the men fighting insurgency in the North-East with the elite 210 CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) unit bagging 15 of them for taking on the might of insurgents in the North-East. The BSF has been awarded 59 medals, including gallantry medals. The BSF is deployed along the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders. It is also involved in counter LWE operations. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has been awarded four Police Medals for gallantry. It has been awarded 31 other President’s Police Medals. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been awarded 16 medals, including two President’s Police Medal for gallantry. The Sashastra Seema Bal has been awarded two President Police Medal for distinguished services and 12 Police Medal for meritorious services. The NSG, India’s primary counter-terror group, has been awarded three Police Medals for meritorious service.
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Cigarette ban: SC notice to Centre, states
New Delhi, August 14 A Bench headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha issued a notice on the PIL after advocate Aditya Agarwal pleaded that the Centre and states were spending more than Rs 30,000 crore a year on the treatment of tobacco-related diseases, which was more than double the amount of Rs 14,000 crore earned by way of excise duty on these products. Besides being a big drain on financial resources, smoking also retarded economic growth as illness forced people to abstain from work. Smoking accounted for as much as 10 lakh deaths a year in the country, the PIL said.
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Border areas to get major infra fillip
New Delhi, August 14 The government is aware of the need to maintain vigil to prevent any misadventure from across the borders. “Keeping our war machinery in readiness and to be able to mobilise troops to forward areas at short notice is an imperative that no responsible government can afford to ignore,” Jaitley said. This requires a balanced strengthening of infrastructure by building and upgrading our border roads, strategic bridges, airfields, advanced landing ground among others. To achieve this, the government has assigned this task to the Border Roads Organisation and other central agencies, while relaxing environmental norms for such critical infrastructure. To facilitate quick mobilisation of troops and weapons, the government has allocated Rs 1,000 crore for accelerating the development of a railway system in the border areas. Addressing troops over the radio broadcast, Jaitley said, “My thoughts are with the near and dear ones of those who laid down their lives in the line of duty. I assure you that the Government is committed to do whatever necessary to keep your morale high”. The Government is working on the Married Accommodation Project or MAP to provide nearly two lakh units for the married personnel near their places of posting. Jaitley promised that the government was particularly keen to reduce the stress and strain of millions of ex-servicemen and the demand of one-rank-one pension, has been accepted by allocating a sum of Rs 1,000 crore in this year’s Budget. The National war Memorial in Delhi is proposed to be built in the vicinity of India Gate and it will be supplemented by a War Museum.
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Roy gets 15 more days to strike property deals
New Delhi, August 14 A Bench headed by Justice TS Thakur passed the order after Roy’s senior counsel S Ganesh informed the court that one of the prospective buyers had offered 46 per cent more than the valuation done for the London hotel, while the two New York hotels were likely to fetch about nine per cent higher than the estimated worth, Ganesh said. The talks were also progressing over the Ambi Valley land. The details could not be divulged as the deals had secrecy clauses. Today, the apex court made it clear to Roy that no more time extension would be given to him.
UK, US hotels to fetch more than valuation n Sahara chief Subrata Roy’s senior counsel
S Ganesh told the court that one of the prospective buyers had offered 46 per cent more than the valuation done for the London hotel, while the two New York hotels were likely to fetch about nine per cent higher than the estimated worth
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Black money: 600 Indians under scanner
New Delhi, August 14 The information of these suspect accounts were obtained by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), a crucial department under the Union Finance Ministry, during the just concluded fiscal through a multi-layered sequence of information exchange on tax related issues and as part of the mandate to unearth black money hidden abroad by Indians. The CEIB, according to an official note, has “disseminated” the data of these 600 cases to the Income Tax department, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other departments for further investigation. — PTI
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Pilot asleep, jet plunges 5,000 ft over Turkey
New Delhi, August 14 Terming it a “serious incident”, aviation regulator DGCA has suspended the two pilots and initiated a probe into the incident. It has also set up a three-member team to review the airline’s flight training programmes and facilities following the incident last Friday, sources said. — PTI ‘Sexual assault’ on Malaysia Airlines jet Kuala Lumpur: A Malaysia Airlines crew member was on Thursday detained in France for questioning for allegedly sexually assaulting a passenger who was nervous over flying with the disaster-prone carrier
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The two-decade-old collegium system of appointment of judges in the country will soon be history with Parliament today passing the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Bill before it was adjourned sine die.
New Delhi, August 14
Jaitley in his customary address to the Armed Forces, broadcast over All India Radio on the eve of Independence Day, said the government was “trying to further strengthen capabilities in the northern sector”.