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Electricity tariff
Sexual harassment case
6 years after 26/11, Jewish centre reopens
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U’khand Guv denies Oppn charges
Apex court raps Army over illegal sale of weapons
Heaviest cross-border firing by Pak since ’71 war: BSF DG
Uproar in UP as riot-accused BJP MLA gets Z-plus security
Italian firm barred from bidding; ongoing projects to continue
CBI files closure report in Tatra scam
Contours of new plan panel discussed
Poll code breach case against Modi transferred
Will set deadline for razing illegal shrines, says SC
SC judge opts out of Hansi-Butana case
No ebola case yet as Indians return from West Africa
Sushma meets Indian envoys, discusses ways to strengthen ties with ASEAN
All schools to have girls’ toilets by July: Centre
Ragging: FIR against five
Contours of new plan panel discussed
Assembly bypolls Rape charge: M’rashtra DIG suspended
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SC shoots down price hike,relief for Punjab, Haryana
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, August 26 On July 21, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) had given the go-ahead to Tata Power Co Ltd and Adani Power Ltd, the two companies that sell power to distribution companies in Punjab, Haryana and other states, for raising the tariff. The two companies had sought the hike citing the unforeseen spurt in coal price in the international market which was bleeding them. The power distribution companies (discoms) had come to the SC challenging the APTEL order. A Bench headed by JS Khehar put the hike on hold yesterday, observing that the two companies had entered into an agreement with the distribution companies for maintaining the price level and as such could not cite unexpected circumstances to raise the tariff. Appearing for the discoms of Haryana, Additional Solicitor General L Nageshwar Rao said any tariff hike by the power producers would affect the consumers as his clients had no option but to pass it on to the end user. The hike had been allowed first by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), forcing the discoms to appeal in APTEL and SC. The apex court asked the APTEL to dispose of the pleas by the power producers expeditiously.
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Woman ex-judge moves SC, seeks new probe panel
New Delhi, August 26 The former Additional District and Sessions Judge sought setting up a committee comprising two Chief Justices and one judge of high courts to probe her allegations against the HC judge. The judge, who had put in his paper after the alleged incidents, also pleaded in court that her resignation is a “constructive termination” and she be reinstated with all consequential benefits.— PTI
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6 years after 26/11, Jewish centre reopens
Mumbai, August 26 At the reopening ceremony, Rabbi Moshe Kotralaraky said, “At the funeral, I promised that we will rebuild the centre and we have not left Mumbai for one day. We have continued their (the couple) work of spreading goodness and kindness and of spreading love.” Rabbi Kotralaraky was joined by Rabbis from various parts of the world who paid homage to Rabbi Gavriel and his wife Rivka Holtzberg who lost their lives in the attacks. Their young son, Moshe, was rescued by his nanny. The Mumbai Chabad House is run by the Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The centre houses a residential centre for Jews transiting Mumbai and offers them a home away from home. It is preferred by those looking for authentic kosher food. The Chabad House will house a museum to mark the three-day siege of the institution during the 26/11 terror attacks. As per the practice of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, the centre will be led by Rabbi Yisroel Kozlovsky and his wife Chaya. They told reporters that they would “continue the work of Gabi and Rivky” and would resume the activities planned by them. The renovation of the building was stuck following a dispute between the relatives of the Holtzberg and some officials of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. For a short while the property was administered by the Charity Commissioner. Subsequently, both parties made up and the renovation was partially completed last year.
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U’khand Guv denies Oppn charges
Dehradun, August 26 The Governor said on April 2, 2013, a BJP delegation submitted a memorandum to him and on May 31, 2013, former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal also submitted a memorandum. Later, another memorandum was given by BJP state president Tirath Singh Rawat. All memorandums were sent for action, said the Governor. He said the decision was taken after consulting the Legal Adviser to the Governor, Advocate General, Chief Secretary and other officials concerned. Qureshi said his decision on Harak Singh Rawat holding two offices of profit had been challenged by Bhatt in the High Court. It was first rejected by a single bench of the HC and then by the double bench.
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Apex court raps Army over illegal sale of weapons
Sedhuraman
New Delhi, August 26 A Bench headed by Justice HL Dattu also felt the court martial conducted against officers were an “eye wash” as they had been let off with reprimands or censure and a fine of just Rs 500. The SC also wanted to know as to why a fresh court martial should not be held for awarding appropriate punishment to them. It was hearing a PIL on the issue. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, however, sought to justify the quantum of punishment, stating that censuring them would finish their career. Further, the weapons sold were obsolete and serving and retired Army officers were entitled to purchase and sell them after obtaining permission from the Central Ordnance Depot (COD) at Jabalpur. Nevertheless, it was true that some weapons were sold without authorisation, he acknowledged. But these were subsequently retrieved. “Army officers can use their position to retrieve the guns. In the first place, they should not be selling the weapons... Look at the people involved — Lieutenant Colonels, Brigadiers and Majors. They were importing ammunition without authorisation and selling weapons for profit and the punishment they get is mere displeasure,” the Bench remarked. It was not just the number of weapons that mattered. It was the conduct of the officers of the disciplined force. Weapons were sold in the market like toys and this increased crime in places such as Delhi, the SC said. “All this shocks our conscience. It is possible that ammunition was sold to gangsters and terrorists who kill innocent people. You are a disciplined force and the guilty officers are not just cadets, they are high ranking officers. Maybe, this is just the tip of the iceberg,” the Bench added. At this, the AG said there were bad people everywhere and the Army was no different. The Bench said that was why the rules had been framed to check such tendencies. “These weapons are meant to defend the country and the Army officers are trained on tax payers’ money.” The SC asked the AG to find out from the Army as to why the punishment could not be enhanced and the probe not extended to all nine commands, instead of restricting it to the Northwestern command. The next hearing is slated for September 16.
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Heaviest cross-border firing by Pak since ’71 war: BSF DG
RS Pura, August 26 We would retaliate “very effectively and appropriately” to every provocation by our adversary, he asserted. On a visit to forward areas in RS Pura sector today, Pathak, in an impromptu media interaction here, said, “We will not initiate first fire, but would retaliate strongly, if they (Pakistan Rangers) fire at us.” Pathak also said that the Rangers didn’t respond to BSF’s request to de-escalate the tension. “Ever since they started shelling our posts and civilians areas, the BSF made 16 attempts. After every truce violation, we have been lodging a protest with them. On three to four occasions, we also tried to hold flag meets, but they didn’t turn up. They are not responding positively,” said the DG. Pakistan has been firing heavily at us for the past 45 days. To be more precise, since the first incident of sniping by them in the Arnia area on July 16 when we lost a boy. Thereafter, there was a lull for quite some time and then, they again resorted to heavy fire, he said. The BSF chief said that Pakistan has now started targeting civilian areas, shelling innocent people with long-range weapons. “Though we are not targeting their civilian areas, let me be very candid in saying that we are giving very effective and appropriate retaliation to whatever fire is coming at us. Our response is either equal or more, but definitely not less,” he said.
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Uproar in UP as riot-accused BJP MLA gets Z-plus security
Lucknow, August 26 Som not only allegedly made a provocative speech at the September 7, 2013 ‘Bahu-Beti Hindu Bachao Mahapanchayat’ at Nagla Madod, but he is also charged with uploading a fake video about the Kawal incident which went viral on social media, fanning communal violence across several districts. On the decision to grant Som Z-plus security, SP spokesperson Rajendra Chadhury said that it was an administrative decision. However, SP Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Aggarwal was more forthcoming in his criticism when he said that the move reflected the contradiction within the BJP. “While Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims to fight communalism, the main villain of the Muzffarnagar riots is being rewarded with Z-plus security.” Congress MLA Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that Som was a threat to the nation and giving him Z security was an insult to the riot survivors who were still running from pillar to post to get justice. Around 65 persons were killed during the Muzaffarnagar riots and 50,000 had been rendered homeless. Around a thousand continue to live in relief camps in Shamli and Muzaffarnagar even after a year of the violence.
Threat to nation
Som is a threat to the nation and giving him Z security is an insult to the riot survivors who are still running from pillar to post to get
justice.
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Italian firm barred from bidding; ongoing projects to continue
New Delhi, August 26 The company's subsidiary, AgustaWestland, is accused of paying bribe to secure the Rs 3,650 crore contract to supply 12 helicopters to the Indian Air Force. The deal was cancelled and the CBI registered a case against 13 persons, including former IAF Chief SP Tyagi in 2013. The ministry has taken a step as any blanket suspension of existing contracts would have impacted India. Stopping the company from being a sub-vendor to other equipment producers would have stalled upgrading of some equipment and even future work. The company is worth 16 billion Euro (approx Rs 1,28,000 crore) and deals with ship-building design in India, avionics, aviation and guns besides being a supplier to major European firms already functioning in India. The Italian Government holds a 30% stake in the company, which is involved in defence projects worth Rs 30,000 in India. The ministry has come out with detailed orders on dealing with the Italian company. It said: In case contracts are under execution, these will be proceeded with and the company can do its work as usual. In case the contract has already been executed, but spares, upgrades are still required on a regular basis, the contracts would be honoured. In case of a tender had been opened and Finmeccanica has been declared as the lowest bidder, all such procurement/acquisition cases shall be put on hold until further orders, the ministry's instructions said. In cases when the tender process is on-going but no company has been declared the lowest eligible bidder, Finmeccanica Group may not be considered in the tender, says the ministry. Lastly it has clarified, in case a company owned by Finmeccanica Group is a sub-contractor or supplier to a bigger equipment maker, it will have no impact on the supplies. The ministry's decision has stalled future work with the Italian major, but has no issues with the existing contracts, upgrades and spares. This partial lifting of ban would not apply to AgustaWestland's contract to supply 12 VVIP choppers.
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CBI files closure report in Tatra scam
New Delhi, August 26 CBI sources said the allegation that the all-terrain trucks were supplied by Tatra Sipox UK promoted by Ravinder Rishi did not stand during the probe as the Czech-based company gave in writing that Rishi’s company was authorised distributor of its products. The allegation that initial payment mode was in dollars but later converted to Euro thus increasing the cost also failed to stand legal scrutiny after Bank of Czechoslovakia claimed that it was the bank which had insisted on the change in currency, they said. The CBI also concluded that lack of indigenisation of trucks supplied by Tatra was not a lapse. — PTI
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Contours of new plan panel discussed
New Delhi, August 26 The meeting unanimously endorsed the Prime Minister’s decision to scrap the Planning Commission. The Prime Minister had announced the decision in his August 15 speech. “The PM had invited ideas from people on what shape the new institution to replace the Planning Commission can take,” the Planning Commission said in the statement. “A special open forum was created on the website mygov.nic.in for inviting suggestions on the new institution,” it added. “There is unanimity that Planning Commission should be scrapped. We have discussed what could be the new avatar of the plan panel and some brilliant suggestions came up which will be given to the Prime Minister,” Yashwant Sinha said after the meeting held at the Yojana Bhavan here. The meeting held several rounds of discussions and deliberated on many issues including the new plan panel’s role in state allocations. “We envision the proposed Institution as one that caters to the aspirations of the 21st century India and strengthens participation of the states,” Modi had tweeted, reflecting on the basic idea that he has for the new body.
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Poll code breach case against Modi transferred
Ahmedabad, August 26 Sheikh pointed out that the original case related to the issue was heard by Ahmedabad City Metropolitan Court. “As the case proceeding was conducted under the jurisdiction of Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court, so this is my request to pass an order to decide jurisdiction,” he had said. CJM Bhatt today told advocate KR Koshti, lawyer of the applicant Nishant Verma, that he would be hearing the case from now on. — PTI
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Will set deadline for razing illegal shrines, says SC
New Delhi, August 26 A Bench headed by Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya asked all states to file status reports on their drive for demolition or regularisation of such structures in the light of an apex court order. It also directed them to specify their policy decisions on the issue. The court said it would finalise the cut-off date on the basis of the states’ policy decisions and after considering the pros and cons. It would explore all options, including the possibility of getting all illegal structures constructed after the Independence. In January 2013, the SC had directed the states to prevent construction of any statue and religious shrines on public land.
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SC judge opts out of Hansi-Butana case
New Delhi, August 26 After hearing the arguments of Haryana’s senior advocate VA Bobde for some time, Justice Eqbal said since the state’s dispute with Punjab and Rajasthan was over the Ravi-Beas waters, he wanted to recuse himself. He said he was part of the Ravi-Beas Water Disputes Tribunal, which however, was not functional at present for want of its reconstitution in the wake of the death of its chairman, Justice VB Eradi. The tribunal was set up in 1986. In his submissions, Bobde said the SC had passed an interim order in 2007 restraining Haryana from rupturing the BML to take water through the intra-state HB canal virtually without hearing the state. No ex parte order could be in force for so many years affecting the human rights of people living in four drought-prone districts of Haryana, he pleaded. However, both Punjab and Rajasthan objected to vacating the stay order at a time when their original suits on the water dispute was in the final stages with just two more witnesses yet to be examined. Anyway, the relief for Haryana was meant only for the next summer and as such there was no hurry in lifting the seven-year-old stay, they pleaded. Bobde, however, contended that Punjab had taken more than one year for cross-examining just one of the witnesses and in view of this there was no guarantee that the proceedings in this regard would be over any time soon. At this the Bench, which included Justice PC Ghose, suggested that a deadline could be set for completing the evidence process. Today’s hearing, which was supposed to go into the details, had been finalised after a great deal of pleading by Haryana on July 7. Now that Justice Eqbal has opted out, it would have to be listed before another Bench which normally takes time and this would come in the way of Haryana getting quick relief ahead of the coming assembly elections.
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No ebola case yet as Indians return from West Africa
New Delhi, August 26 A statement issued by the ministry around 4.35 pm today, 112 Indian nationals and four Nepalese nationals working M/s Afcons in Liberia are being brought to India by the International SOS, a world medical and travel security services company, on the request of Afcons. They belong to Delhi (4), Maharashtra (54), West Bengal (12), Bihar (10), Uttar Pradesh (7), Tamil Nadu (5), Andhra Pradesh (4), Kerala (3), Odisha (3), Gujarat (3), Karnataka (2), Haryana (2), Punjab (2), Jharkhand (1), Madhya Pradesh (1), Uttarakhand (1), Rajasthan (1) and Himachal Pradesh (1). "Sixty-six people have landed in Mumbai and 13 in Delhi. They have been found healthy," the statement read.
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Sushma meets Indian envoys, discusses ways to strengthen ties with ASEAN
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj discussed security concerns of ASEAN nations against the backdrop of the dispute over the South China Sea and ways to enhance India’s “soft-power” image in the region with Indian Heads of Missions (HoMs) from Southeast and East Asia at a meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday.
Some 15 HoMs, including Indian envoy to China Ashok Kantha, attended the meeting. MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said the focus was on the initiatives the Modi government could take to strengthen India’s ties with this strategically important and resourceful region. The meeting assumes significance in view of the fact that PM Modi will be visiting Japan later this week and travel to Myanmar in November to attend the India-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit. Swaraj, who concluded her three-day visit to Vietnam on Tuesday evening, told the Indian HoMs that India was determined to give a push to its “Look East” policy by acting vigorously in this direction. This is the minister’s second meeting with Indian HoMs. The first was held in Delhi when she interacted with Indian envoys in Gulf countries. The Indian envoys gave the minister their assessment of the situation in the country to which they are accredited and the opportunities and challenges for India there. Official sources said connectivity with the region, India’s ‘soft-power’ image, South China Sea, Korean peninsula and Buddhist tourism were some of the issues that came up for review at the meeting. Stressing the importance of strong connectivity within ASEAN, Swaraj said there was need to look at a more “functional visa regime” in the grouping. She said the new Indian government believed in a participative approach to bring together the members of the strategic community, the industry, experts, professionals and the youth of India and ASEAN countries.
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All schools to have girls’ toilets by July: Centre
New Delhi, August 26 HRD Minister Smriti Irani delivered the message to state secretaries of school education who, for the first time, sat for over 10 hours at length to discuss ways to improve learning outcomes in schools, quality of teacher educators and measures to ensure safety of students while on tour and excursions. The most important take-away from the meeting was the Centre’s message of “clean schools (Swachh Vidyalayas)”, as stressed by the PM in his Independence Day speech. To help states achieve the target, the HRD Ministry also promised assistance on the front of funding.
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Gwalior (MP), August 26 The school management too cracked the whip against the accused, expelling the three students and suspending the housemaster and the assistant housemaster for negligence on the recommendations of its special committee which looked into the matter. The 14-year-old son of Bihar Cooperatives Minister Jai Kumar Singh was found in an unconscious state on August 20 evening in a hostel room. His father alleged he was harassed in school and suspected foul play. The FIRs were registered against the minor boys and staffers Arpan Soni and Parampreet Grewal. — PTI
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Contours of new plan panel discussed
New Delhi, August 26 The meeting unanimously endorsed the Prime Minister’s decision to scrap the Planning Commission. The PM had announced the decision in his August 15 speech. “The PM had invited ideas from people on what shape the new institution to replace the Planning Commission can take,” the Planning Commission said. “A special open forum was created on mygov.nic.in for inviting suggestions,” it added.
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Assembly bypolls
New Delhi, August 26 Though BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain maintained that the Modi government had nothing to do with the poll results, the party’s Maharashtra ally Shiv Sena today sent off a terse warning saying that the elections could not be won on “wave” alone. “People voted for Modi in Lok Sabha to improve the country’s governance. Political equations for the state elections are different and we will have to study Bihar and Karnataka poll results to learn that,” said an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamna. The edit urged the BJP to “learn a lesson” and “introspect” on what went wrong. While old ally Shiv Sena has been demanding more seats and Chief Ministerial post in the upcoming Assembly polls, the Haryana partner — the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) — too has been asking the BJP to honour its commitments — 50 per cent seats and a share in the Chief Ministership. The upcoming elections in four states, including Maharashtra and Haryana, are the biggest challenge before new BJP president Amit Shah. Sources say if he does not deliver his hope for second term as the party president may come under cloud.
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Rape charge: M’rashtra DIG suspended
Mumbai, August 26 The Home Department had proposed his suspension, which was approved by Chief Minister Prithivraj Chavan, an official said tonight. "The proposal to suspend Paraskar was sent to Chavan. The file regarding Paraskar’s suspension was received this afternoon at the CM’s office and Chavan has given approval to the action," he said. A court in Mumbai had recently granted Paraskar pre-arrest bail, observing the complainant's behaviour and her email exchange with him suggested consent. A 25-year-old model has accused Paraskar (57) of molesting and sexually assaulting her on two occasions in December 2013. — PTI
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The Defence Ministry today allowed Italian defence equipment producer Finmeccanica to work on ongoing projects in India and also as a sub-vendor in contracts of others companies, but for the time being, it has banned the company from bidding in any future projects.
