Supreme Court issues notices to Karunanidhi, Baalu

New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday issued notices to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and Union Surface Transport Minister T.R. Baalu among others for defying the court orders against a shutdown in the state Oct 1.

The notices were issued on a petition by the AIADMK seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against the two.

The shutdown was called by DMK on Oct 1 in support of the Sethusamudram canal project, aimed at building a shorter navigational route for ships.

Hindu groups and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have protested the cutting of the Rs.240 billion canal through a geographical formation known as Adam's Bridge or Ram Sethu, which they believe was built during Hindu god Ram's time.

Supreme Court chides judge ordered back to law school

New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS) Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Tewary, who was ordered early this month to go back to law school to learn the basics, was Friday chided by the Supreme Court for approaching it against the high court order.

A bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan castigated ASJ Tewary for "showing his magistracy" for which he was ordered Oct 5 by Justice V.B. Gupta of the high court to undergo a refresher course at the Delhi Judicial Academy for at least three months to learn the basics of criminal law.

"That's a strange way to show your magistracy," Chief Justice Balakrishnan said, castigating counsel for Tewary as he pleaded to the court to expunge the high court's remarks against his client and stall its order.

Even Justice V.S. Sirpurkar, the other judge on the bench, voiced his ire over Tewary for declaring a person, allegedly involved in power theft in the capital, as a proclaimed offender, remarking, "It's atrocious."

"Don't you know that declaring a person a proclaimed offender has serious civil consequences," remarked the bench, which also included Justice R.V. Raveendran.

The bench, however, in a temporary reprieve to Tewary, stayed the high court's order for a fortnight and asked him to go back to the high court for getting its remarks against him expunged.

While ordering Tewary back to law school, Justice Gupta had in his order said, "Since ASJ Tewari does not have even elementary knowledge of the Criminal Procedure Code, it would be appropriate if he undergoes a refresher course at the Delhi Judicial Academy for the law at the earliest for three months."

Irked over a wrong judgement given by Tewary, Justice Gupta had said, "It also seemed he did not know that the subordinate courts are constitutionally bound by the decisions of the high courts."

Tewary had earned the high court's wrath while dealing with the case of one Rohit Kumar, who was accused of power pilferage and had been declared a proclaimed offender by the lower court even as he was trying for bail to evade arrest under the orders of the trial court.

Declaring a person proclaimed offender leads to seizure and attachment of his moveable and non-moveable properties. A person is declared a proclaimed offender only after repeated attempts to arrest him fail.

In his petition to the Supreme Court, Tewary pleaded that the high court's order would do immense harm to his professional career and reputation. He pointed out that before his selection as additional sessions judge, he had worked for 13 years as a public prosecutor and used to teach at the Delhi Judicial Academy, the institution where he has been ordered to undergo a refresher course.

Tewary also contended that even it be assumed that the order passed by him was wrong, it did not imply that he had no elementary knowledge of law and needed to be sent back to law school.

"Day in and day out, judgements of the lower courts are reversed by the high courts and judgements of high courts reversed by the Supreme Court," said Tewary in his petition.

"But this does not imply that the judges, whose judgements are reversed, have no elementary knowledge of the law and need to be sent to the law school," he contended.

7,913 cases on "domestic violence" registered in One Year

As many as 7,913 cases have been filed since a law to protect women from domestic violence came into force a year ago, according to a national report released Friday.

'Staying Alive', as the report is titled, is the first monitoring and evaluation report of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) 2005.

The report states that the primary users of the law are married women. There are also a number of cases wherein relief has been granted to widows and daughters.

Compiled by the Lawyers Collective (Women's Rights Initiatives) (LCWRI), the report analyses data collected from the office of the Chief Justice of India, the ministry of women and child development and from organisations specifically working on the issue of domestic violence across the country.

"The compilation of the report and the conference is to be regarded as a first step towards evaluation and monitoring which should become an integral component in the implementation of this law," Indira Jaisingh, director of LCWRI, said at the release of the report.

While the most commonly granted relief is for maintenance, the second most commonly granted are residence orders and protection orders.

"There is an urgent need for adequate budgetary allocations to be made by the central and state governments to ensure the effective implementation of the PWDVA," Jaisingh said.

"There is also a need for coordination among different government departments, particularly the departments of women and child development, social welfare, home and law and legislative affairs.

"This is required in order to build a multi-agency response that is uniform across the country in the manner in which it offers relief to women facing domestic violence," she added.

Jaisingh also stressed that the police needed to be trained on providing information about the Act to women who approached them with complaints of domestic violence.

Politicians 'no national assets needing protection': Delhi HC

New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS) Politicians are not national assets that need to be protected, the Delhi High Court observed Thursday, adding that the security cover given to political leaders was often a nuisance for the common man.

"If there is a threat to the lives of the politicians, they should remain in the confines of their homes and offices," a bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur said.

"You should not let these men (politicians) to come out. Their presence in public places itself threatens the common men. I do not know why it has become a matter of prestige for them to move with 10-15 uniformed security personnel carrying lethal weapon."

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Rajiv Awasti on the police reforms, seeking a division of the force into two wings to deal with law and order matters and investigation independently.

The court said people have been put in inconvenience due to the overwhelming presence of security guards accompanying politicians in public places.

"It has become fashionable and a status symbol. The more people (security men) surrounds these people (politicians) the more prestigious they feel. It is obnoxious that common men are forced to stay on the sidelines and are prevented to walk on the pavements when the politicians pass," the court said.

Earlier the court had asked the home ministry to state the names of the people who were provided with the VIP security in the capital. The ministry and Delhi Police had submitted a list of about 70 VIPs who were provided with security at the state cost.

The ministry and Delhi Police had also produced separately in sealed covers the lists of 355 and 27 people, who were provided personal security cover either for their position or threat perception respectively in the capital.

"When the security cover is given, the VIPs flaunt it. It has become a status symbol and fashionable to have security cover," observed the court.

"When common men are being killed in bomb blasts on the street, old people are strangulated in their houses, what is the reason of providing individual security to so many people?" the court questioned.

About 3,000 police personnel are engaged at a cost of more than Rs.200 million to provide security to the VIPs in the capital, said advocate Awasti appearing in person.

Supreme Court wants all Marriages to be registered

The Supreme Court Thursday directed all states and union territories to enact laws within three months to make registration of all marriages mandatory.

A bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat also sought compliance reports from various governments within three months.The bench noted that several states had made registration of marriages compulsory only for members of the Hindu community, while the court had earlier asked for mandatory registration of marriages in all communities.

A Bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice P. Sathasivam passed this order on a petition filed by a divorcee, Seema, seeking directions for making registration of marriage compulsory. The Bench reiterated that marriages should be compulsorily registered “in respect of persons who are citizens of India even if they belonged to various religions”. In February last year the Court had held that compulsory registration of marriages of all religions would be a step in the right direction for prevention of child marriage – a practice still prevalent in many parts of the country. The Court had said that one way to curb the practice was to make it mandatory legally for all to register their marriage, mentioning their age at the time of marriage.

Khalid Rashid, member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said the judgment interferes with his community’s personal law. "Marriages in Islam are a religious affair completely. If registration is made compulsory it will bring unwanted hindrances in the solemnization of nikaahs (marriage), so our request to the court and governments is it should be made voluntary and not compulsory. We ourselves keep records of all marriages at our institutions and we don't think there is any need to compulsory registration, which will bring problems, particularly in villages," he said.

Team India in a legal tangle for 'insulting' tricolour

Lucknow, Oct 23 (IANS) They may have earned the sobriquet of conquerors of Twenty20 cricket. However, the Indian cricket team could be in the dock for allegedly "insulting" the national tricolour.

A petition has been filed before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Kanpur raising serious objections against the alleged disrespect shown by the team members to the national flag.

While admitting the petition, the court has fixed Oct 25 (Thursday) for the hearing.

Not only Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, but also vice captain Yuvraj Singh and all other team members have been accused of desecrating the national flag during the team's Twenty20 win against Pakistan in South Africa.

According to the petitioner Rahul Pandey, a local lawyer, "Dhoni and several other players not only wrapped themselves in the tricolour, but also rolled on the ground. This was followed by spraying of champagne that fell on the flag." He views the entire act as an "insult" to the flag.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah, cine star Shah Rukh Khan and commentator Ravi Shastri have been named as "witnesses" in the plaint, as the euphoric revelling took place in their presence.

The petitioner's counsel Vijay Bakshi told IANS over telephone from Kanpur: "We have cited sufficient evidence in the form of television, magazine and newspaper clippings."

He went on to add, "What we found even more shocking was the fact that despite showing disrespect to the national flag, these players were felicitated and showered with gifts and monetary awards, when they actually deserved punishment for their act."

Judges should learn to refuse adjournment pleas: Venugopal

New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) Judges need to be trained to dismiss adjournment pleas from senior lawyers in order to ensure speedy adjudication of criminal and civil cases as well as for faster out-of-court arbitration, noted jurist K.K. Venugopal said here.

Speaking at a closed-door session of an international seminar on arbitration in the capital Friday, Venugopal underlined the tardiness of the arbitration process in the country, saying: "First it takes about five years in reaching a decision over a dispute through an arbitration process.

"And then it's another five years of chasing the case through the three-tier judicial layers of various courts in implementing the decisions arrived at after the arbitration."

Venugopal's critical appraisal of arbitration law and procedures in India came in the same seminar where Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj expressed a wish to see India emerge as an international arbitration hub.

Bhardwaj said: "It is my dream that India should emerge as a hub of international arbitration."

Venugopal said: "In 1996, when the arbitration law was enacted, with backlog of cases hovering at 36 million in trial courts, four million in various high courts and at 30,000 in the Supreme Court, the law was expected to be a panacea for the huge pendancy of cases in the judiciary.

"But the arbitration process too with all its attendant delays and tardiness has become a clone of the justice delivery system of India."

Enumerating the steps required for enhancing the efficacy of the arbitration process, Venugopal said: "To begin with, the judges involved in the arbitration process should be trained (on) how to refuse senior counsels' plea for adjournments on flimsy grounds.

"In fact, if judges learn how to say no to pleas for adjournments, it would be helpful in faster disposal of ordinary court cases as well."

Pointing out the tendency of retired judges to be over-dependent upon legal procedures in deciding the arbitration cases referred to them, Venugopal said: "The National Judicial Academy of Bhopal should also train them to be not over-dependent upon the judicial procedure in arbitration matters."

The jurist said the arbitration law should be amended in such a way that a retired judge, who fails to finalise an arbitration process within one year and seeks to approach the court for extension of his tenure as arbitrator, should be made to tell the court the reasons for his failure, including adjournments, the grounds of adjournment and also the fee that he has received for his service.

Citing another lacuna in the arbitration process, Venugopal said Indian lawyers are accustomed to arbitration only as a part-time profession during the evenings after their engagement with regular courts are over. This tendency must go for India to emerge as a hub of international arbitration, he stressed.

Venugopal made his observations to a distinguished gathering of international legal luminaries at the seminar titled 'International Judicial Colloquium on Arbitration and Courts' Harmony Amid Disharmony'.

Over 500 participants from 22 countries as well as at least 60 serving judges of the apex court and high courts in the country are attending the two-day conference.

Legal luminaries attending the conference include Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice Arijit Pasayat of the Supreme Court, former chief justice R.C. Lahoti and eminent jurist Fali S. Nariman, International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions (IFCAI) president Ulf Franke and London's Essex Court's Chamber's Toby Landau.

Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions (IFCAI) are hosting the seminar jointly.`

10 Delhi cops held guilty for Connaught Place shootout

New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS) A Delhi court Tuesday convicted 10 Delhi Police personnel, including an assistant commissioner of police (ACP), for gunning down two businessmen in the capital's business district Connaught Place in 1997 after suspecting them to be dangerous criminals.

While holding the now suspended ACP Satyaveer Singh Rathee and his nine-member team guilty of killing businessmen Pradeep Goel and Jagjeet Singh in broad daylight outside Statesman House, Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar fixed Oct 24 for announcing the quantum of sentence.

"You all have been found guilty" of the charges of murder, attempt to murder and destruction of evidence, said the judge, delivering his verdict in the case exactly 10 years, six months and 15 days after that fateful March 31, 1997 when the two men were mistaken for mobster Mohammed Yaseen.

All 10 policemen were taken into custody after the judgment was pronounced.

The court also found Delhi Police's ballistic expert Roop Singh guilty of fabricating evidence and issued notice to him to appear before the court Oct 22.

Roop Singh had earlier been found guilty of fabricating ballistic evidence in the murder of ramp model Jessica Lal in 1999 by the Delhi High Court.

Besides ACP Rathee, the others convicted Tuesday include inspectors Anil Kumar and Ashok Rana and policemen Shiv Kumar, Tejpal Singh, Mahaveer Singh, Sumer Singh, Subhash Chand, Sunil Kumar and Khetan Ram.

The trigger-happy police team had opened fire on Goel's car, killing two of its occupants and severely injuring a third one, Tarun Preet Singh, mistaking them for the wanted mobster and his friends.

The team had been tailing the car from the Minto Road underpass, also in the heart of the city, and intercepted it near Statesman House.

ACP Rathee claimed later that he had learnt that the mobster and his associates would be travelling in a blue colour Maruti Esteem car. The car carrying the innocent businessmen fitted that description.

The policemen said they opened fire because those inside the car failed to obey the police command to come out of the car immediately.

The case was later probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which found the police team not merely guilty of killing the two innocent people but also of fabricating evidence to prove their innocence.

They were found to have planted a pistol on the businessmen's bodies to prove their claim that they opened fire in self-defence.

Sanjay Dutt's freedom may end Oct 20

Sanjay Dutt's freedom may end Oct 20
By Probir Pramanik

Mumbai, Oct 10 (IANS) Days of freedom for Sanjay Dutt, sentenced to six years in jail after conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings case, could end on Oct 20 when he has been asked to appear before a special anti-terror court here.

Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Preventive) Acts (TADA) court judge Pramod Kode has summoned on that day all those sentenced in the case relating to the worst terror attack in India on its financial and entertainment capital Mumbai on March 12, 1993.

As many as 257 people were killed and hundreds injured in the blasts that damaged property worth over Rs.300 million.

The judge Tuesday said he would hand over the copies of the full judgement to the convicts on Oct 18, 19, and 20.

The 48-year-old actor was convicted in November last year for illegal possession of weapons ahead of the blasts and sentenced to a six-year prison term on July 30.

He has been out on interim bail granted by the Supreme Court since Aug 23 on the ground that he had not been served with the full text of the TADA court's judgement.

"Sanjay has been given the last date (Oct 20) as he was the last among the 100-odd convicts to be sentenced," his lawyer Farhana Shah told IANS Wednesday.

"Once the copies of the full text of the judgement are furnished to him and all the others like him who too are on bail on similar grounds, they will have to surrender to the court and be sent to jail again," said Shah, who along with Subash Kanse was part of the defence team.

Dutt, one of top Bollywood actors who won many hearts by his portrayal of likeable mobster in two Munnabhai films, spent 23 days in prison after his sentencing.

He was first lodged in the high-security Arthur Road prison in central Mumbai and then shifted to the Yerawada prison in western Maharashtra's Pune on the night of Aug 2, as the former houses only under-trial prisoners.

In Yerawada jail, the actor had taken up carpentry as his chosen prison labour and was being paid about Rs.20 a day.

Film industry sources say that the actor had over Rs.500 million riding on him till his bail, and has over the past month and a half managed to complete many of his under-production projects.

Along with Dutt, there are 15 convicts who are out on bail, including a few who have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Law Commission submits report on Dowry Death

PIB Press Release October 10 - The Chairman of the Law Commission of India, Dr. Justice AR. Lakshmanan today submitted a Report on Dowry Death to the Union Law Minister, Dr. H. R. Bhardwaj.

The question that has been examined by the Law Commission in this Report is whether Section 304-B of Indian Penal Code, should be amended to provide for more stringent punishment of death sentence to curb the menace of dowry death. This section provides for punishment of imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life. Although this section has come into force w.e.f. November 19, 1986 yet the incidents of dowry death have not shown any significant decline. This gave rise to demands for death sentence for the offence of dowry death in order to imbibe necessary deterrence in the law.

The Commission examined Section 304-B IPC in the light of various judicial pronouncements and critically dealt with the substantive as well as procedural aspects of the subjects. The Commission finds that the offence of murder is not the same thing as the offence of dowry death. Though death of bride may be a common element in both the offences, the absence of direct connection between the husband and the death of wife distinguished the offence of dowry death from the offence of murder. Besides, the presumptive character of the offence of dowry death and cardinal principle of proportionality as well as the underlying scheme of the Penal Code go against the proposed prescription of death sentence in case of dowry death. It may be pertinent to point out that where a case of dowry death also falls within the ambit of the offence of murder, awarding death sentence may be legally permissible. The guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court for award of death sentence, especially, the dictum of rarest of rare case, will, however, have to be adhered to in such cases.

The Commission found a lot of misgivings and misapprehension associated with the subject of dowry death. Dowry death is quite often confused with the offence of murder. There may be instances where the two may overlap with each other. This gives rise to demand for parity in the matter of sentence in both these cases. Nevertheless, the two offences are distinct and independent offences. The Commission has proceeded to spell out the finer nuances of the offence of dowry death for their better understanding and appreciation to dispel the ambiguity and confusion shrouding the notion of dowry death vis-à-vis murder. This will help in providing clarity on the subject for its correct understanding and appreciation to the concerned authorities while dealing with the cases of dowry death.

The Commission has, there, not recommended death penalty for dowry death cases. However, the Commission has favored the increasing of the minimum sentence from seven years to ten years in such cases.

Remove illegal constructions in politicians' bungalows: Delhi High Court

New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed the Centre to remove illegal constructions in the bungalows allotted to bureaucrats and politicians, including 55 MPs, in Lutyen's Delhi.

In a report submitted to a division bench headed by Chief Justice M.K. Sharma, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) said illegal constructions were carried out in the bungalows of many politicians, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani, former Congress leader Natwar Singh, and Samajwadi Party's Amar Singh.

Despite repeated notices, the leaders have not demolished the unauthorised portions, the government lawyer said. The court pulled up the government for showing leniency towards politicians and bureaucrats while it had pulled down several private houses and buildings.

"It is good that unauthorised constructions in private houses are demolished, the authorities should show the same intention in the case of these official bungalows occupied by political leaders," the court observed.

The court has been issuing instructions to authorities in the urban development ministry for the past three years for removing illegal constructions.

"Either you (the Centre) do it yourself or we will see to it that the law is enforced," the chief justice had earlier said. "You may be a member of parliament or a minister but you cannot break the law. Even I can't do it," he had said.

Amicus Curiae Rekha Pallai pointed out that of 514 bungalows surveyed by CPWD, 231 were found to have illegal additions/alterations. There are still 55 houses where unauthorised constructions have not been removed.

Taking suo motu cognisance of news reports on illegal constructions in the Lutyens' Zone, the court had in September 2006 issued notices to CPWD over the matter.

Delhi HC demands Blueline phase-out plan in four weeks

New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Monday took strong exception to the killing of innocent people by Blueline buses and asked the state government to prepare a detailed phase-out plan for the fleet that has claimed 94 lives this year, including seven on Sunday.

"Earlier, the court had given the government time till Dec 15 but after the Sunday accident, it has directed (the government) to submit a detailed phase-out plan for privately-owned Blueline Buses within four weeks from today," said Anup Bhambani, amicus curiae appointed by the court.

"The court, however, has given clear instructions that the phase-out should not affect the commuters. For every cancellation of Blueline bus permits, there should be a replacement," Bhambani told reporters.

The court has also asked the state government to furnish details of Blueline buses being owned and operated by city legislators and parliamentarians.

"Earlier it had asked the government to furnish details of such buses owned by police officials," he said, adding that instead of just punishing the errant drivers, their owners should also feel the heat.

"Just cancelling the licences of drivers will not be enough. The bus involved in fatal accidents should be impounded and sent to the workshop. And buses should not be released without a court order," he said.

Summoning the government and private operators for an urgent hearing on the issue, a bench of justices Mukul Mudgal and Reva Khetrapal termed the growing incidents of fatal accidents as "shocking".

"It's becoming shocking day by day and cannot get worse than this," the bench said in reference to the accidents by privately owned Blueline buses.

The court has fixed the next hearing of the case on Oct 11.

Seven people - five women, a four-year-old child and a man - were killed and eight injured when a recklessly driven Blueline bus ran over them in south Delhi's Badarpur area while trying to overtake a stationary bus from the wrong side.

Since January this year, Blueline buses have snuffed out 94 lives and injured over 160 others.

The capital has over 4,000 Blueline buses, which form a crucial part of the city's public transport system.

No vehicle delivery without registration: consumer forum

Ahmedabad, Oct 8 (IANS) The Consumer Redressal Forum of Ahmedabad city has held that delivery of a motor vehicle without a temporary registration number was improper and contravened provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.

The forum's order related to purchase of a Maruti Wagon-R bought from Cargo (Motors) Gujarat Pvt Ltd in 2004. The car was delivered at the buyer's residence without any temporary registration number.

When the dealer's representative collected the car for registration at the regional transport office (RTO), it was damaged due to an accident. When the representative informed the buyer about the accident on phone, the buyer refused to accept the car.

After the buyer's repeated reminders to the dealer to get the car redone evoked no response, the Consumer Education Research Society intervened and helped file a complaint before the forum under the Consumer Protection Act.

Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) and Cargo Motors contended that it was not a consumer complaint. They held that once the vehicle was delivered, it was the duty of the consumer to get it registered with the RTO and obtain a temporary or permanent registration number.

They also denied any liability to refund the amount or repair the vehicle free of cost. They argued that the service provided to the buyer was a gesture of goodwill. Moreover, the negligence was not on the part of the representative of the dealer who drove the car at the time of accident.

The forum decided that the delivery of the car to the complainant without a temporary registration number was in contravention of Rule 42 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1989.

It also noted that the dealer's contention that delivery of the vehicle was under "extraordinary circumstances" could not be substantiated.

The forum relied on the precedence cited by the National Commission in another case in 2006, which held that it cannot be said that "agent or dealer is not jointly and severally liable for the defects in the machine as the contract is through the dealer though the liability for the manufacturing defects is to be borne by the manufacturer".

The Forum also said the dealer firm had contradicted its own statements by averring differently on the status of registration.

Holding that the complainant had a contract with all the opponents, the forum ordered MUL and Cargo Motors to jointly pay Rs.3,94,662 (the full price of the car, including expenses like registration and municipal charges) to the complainant within two months from the date of the order.

The Forum also ordered MUL and Cargo Motors to pay Rs.2,000 towards cost to the complainant.

Supreme court order on forest land dampener for all parties

Ahmedabad, Oct 8 (IANS) The Supreme Court's recent order restraining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Gujarat from vesting ownership rights over forest land to tribals can also impact the state's opposition Congress amid a tussle for votes in the state's forest belt.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Oct 2 handed over pattas or ownership rights to 30 tribals in a symbolic move pre-empting the central government, but the apex court Friday directed the state to immediately cancel the pattas as the announcement violated its orders.

Modi's move was in keeping with the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2006, which was passed by parliament in December 2006, but is yet to be notified.

The Supreme Court's restraint order was seen as a setback for Modi, but the Congress too stands to lose.

The Congress has been exhorting tribals to claim their rights on forest land in a campaign since January with a view to regain its dominant position in the tribal belt of the state.

According to Congress sources, the party had distributed application forms for land ownership rights among 30,000 tribal families in Sabarkantha district and 13,000 families have already filled up the forms, providing details of the land they live on and the land they cultivate.

The families are expecting the Congress to help them gain rights over the plots, but the apex court order has applied brakes on the party's efforts.

Madhusudan Mistry, the Congress MP from Sabarkantha, however, does not think that the court order will affect the party's campaign.

He said the filled-up application forms had been sent to the state government for the grant of rights.

"At any rate, we will confer the land rights to the tribals when we form the government," Mistry told IANS.

Both the BJP and the Congress have taken up the land rights issue with an eye on the tribal votes.

While people in the forested regions in Dahod and Panchmahals districts along the state's border with Madhya Pradesh traditionally voted for the Congress, the party lost ground in the December 2002 assembly polls when the BJP defeated it on all the 13 seats there in the aftermath of communal violence in the state.

Modi's decision to grant pattas was part of a two-pronged strategy to retain his hold over the tribal belt in the next assembly poll, due by December.

The first part of the strategy was a Rs.150 billion package for the development of the tribal belt, which was announced after Congress president Sonia Gandhi's visit to Devgadh Baria near Dahod drew a huge crowd early this year.

The second element of the strategy was to grant ownership rights to tribals if the central government did not do so.

In his Independence Day address at Mehsana, the chief minister had declared that the state had sent to the centre many applications seeking ownership rights to tribals but there had been no response. He then declared that if the centre did not give its nod by Oct 2, his government would take steps to grant the pattas on its own.

SC refuses to stay order on investment firm

New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday refused to suspend a Delhi High Court order halting criminal proceedings against finance and investment firm CRB Capital Markets for allegedly duping 135,000 small investors and many financial institutions of Rs.12 billion in the 1990s.

A bench of Justice Ashok Bhan dismissed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) plea to reserve the high court ruling on the grounds that the agency had delayed in filing the appeal against the ruling.

The CBI, which had launched a probe into allegations against the firm, contended before the apex court that the Delhi High Court had no jurisdiction to annul the charge sheet filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, before the Mumbai special judge.

The agency contended that the high court had not only stayed the criminal proceedings, but had also approved the revival scheme of CRB Capital Markets in January this year.

The CBI had registered a slew of cases against CRB chairman Chain Roop Bhansali, State Bank of India officials and others for duping the Bank of Baroda of Rs.34.3 million and State Bank of India of Rs.570 million in 1997.

Supreme Court wants scavenging ban implemented

New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday asked the central and state governments to implement the provisions of a law aimed at ending the profession of manual scavenging in the country and rehabilitate those engaged in the demeaning task.

A bench of justices H.K. Sema and L.S. Panta asked the governments to notify district magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates to implement within two months the provisions of the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993.

The law treats employment of people as manual scavengers and construction of dry latrines as criminal offence and has made it mandatory for the government to rehabilitate manual scavengers after weaning them away from the profession.

The law also binds governments to demolish dry latrines in the country.

The bench issued the directions while adjudicating a bunch of petitions by NGO Safai Karamchari Andolan (Sweeper's Movement) and 13 other organisations and individuals urging abolition of manual scavenging and rehabilitation of over 676,000 people engaged in it.

The bench also assured the petitioners that it would take a hard look at the large-scale employment of scavengers by the Indian Railways to clear the railway tracks of human waste.

The bench made the promise after counsel for the petitioners Shomona Khanna pointed out that the Ministry of Railways was the worst violator of the act, as it engages labourers for manual scavenging on the railway tracks.

The petition sought a declaration that manual scavenging and servicing dry latrines violated the fundamental rights, as per Article 14 (equality before law), Article 17 (abolition of untouchability) and Article 23 (right against exploitation) of the Constitution.

Khanna told the court that as per official statistics of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, there were still as many as 676,000 manual scavengers spread over 21 states and union territories of the country, though the law to abolish manual scavenging had been passed in 1993.

Khanna told the court that states like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan were yet to adopt the law, while some like Kerala, Nagaland and Puducherry asserted that there was no need to adopt it despite figures showing that manual scavenging existed there.

Delhi High Court orders sessions judge back to law school

New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS) Irked over a wrong judgement given by a sessions judge, the Delhi High Court Friday directed him to undergo training for three months at the Delhi Judicial Academy to gain basic knowledge of law and its procedures.

The judge had ordered the arrest of a person whose tenant had been charged with theft of power.

Justice V.B. Gupta of the Delhi High Court said: "Since Mr. R.K. Tewari, Additional Session Judge, does not have even elementary knowledge of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), under these circumstances, it would be appropriate if he undergoes a refresher course at the Delhi Judicial Academy in criminal law and procedure for three months.

"Director, Delhi Judicial Academy, should submit to this court the performance report with regard to this judicial officer," said Justice Gupta's order, which will be given to all subordinate court judges for reference.

Justice Gupta said: "The observations made by the subordinate judge in his order dated Sep 19, 2007, are per se disobedience of the order passed by the high court and amounts to contempt of court."

He said that despite the restraint and pendency of bail on accused Rohit Kumar before the high court, the trial court issued a warrant of arrest under section 82 of the CrPC (meant for absconders) and got him arrested.

"There must be a report before the magistrate that the person against whom he had issued a warrant had absconded or had been concealing himself so that such warrant can be issued. An attachment warrant can be issued only after the issuance of proclamation under Section 82 of the CrPC," the court said.

According to the petition, Rohit Kumar has a house and had rented it out to one Dubey. As the house did not have power connection Dubey was illegally using power through a cable connected to the electric pole.

He was caught and booked for theft of power. However, when the case came up before the court headed by R.K. Tewari, the private power supplier pleaded for proceeding against Rohit Kumar as he was the owner of the house.

He was arrested though he should not have been proceeded against under the Sections 82 and 83 of the CrPC which is for absconders, said Advocate Tanvir Ahmed Mir, appearing for Rohit.

Rohit had challenged in the high court the Sep 19 order of the trial court, and had applied for bail. But despite it the trial ordered his arrest.

Legal Experts - Death for former MP isn't effective justice

New Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS) India's first death penalty to a former MP and a former minister is just "symbolic deterrence" for criminals in politics as it isn't a case of effective justice, coming as it does 13 years after the murder and will take another five years to reach the higher courts, say experts.

A Patna court Wednesday sentenced to death former Lok Sabha MP and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Anand Mohan Singh, former state minister Akhlaq Ahmad of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and politician Arun Kumar for the 1994 lynching of Gopalgang district magistrate G. Krishnaiah.

The order, which also gave life imprisonment to four politicians, including former Lok Sabha MP and Anand Mohan's wife Lovely Anand, raised hopes in some circles that it would send out a message to other criminal politicians.

But electoral law experts don't seem to share the optimism.

"This ruling will fail to curb whole-hog criminalisation of today's politics simply because the ruling lacks the requisite ingredients - certainty, swiftness and harshness - which makes the punishment effective in criminal justice system," said former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C. Kashyap.

"It's only an individual case and will have only symbolic effect in ridding the body polity of criminal elements," Kashyap told IANS.

He said the sentence by Additional District and Sessions Judge Ramshreshta Rai lacked "requisite certainty" as those convicted were sure to appeal, first before the high court and then before the Supreme Court. And whether they face the hangman's noose eventually depends upon the rulings by the higher court.

Former principal secretary to the Election Commission S.K. Mendiratta agreed: "The murder case is already more than 13 years old. The high courts and the apex court subsequently will take at least another five years to arrive at their final decision.

"Evidently, the long-drawn process of trial deprives the punishment of its another ingredient - swiftness - to make it effective."

Rajya Sabha MPs like eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani and former Maharashtra governor P.C. Alexander have made the point in debates in the upper house that "punishment must be certain, swift and harsh" for the criminal justice system to be effective in deterring criminals from entering into politics.

Kashyap and Mendiratta felt that unless the government amends the prevailing electoral law and bars people with dubious criminal antecedents from contesting elections, irrespective of whether they have been convicted by a court, the body polity cannot be cleansed of criminal elements.

Recalling a recommendation by a national commission to review the working of the constitution, headed by former chief justice M.N. Venkatachallaih, the two experts said the government must change the law to bar a person, held guilty in a court's preliminary opinion at the stage of framing of charges, from entering the electoral fray.

The framing of charges by a court happens to be a mid-way stage of trial in a criminal case.

Protestors to pay for damage: Orissa High Court

Bhubaneswar, Oct 4 (IANS) Protestors have to pay for the damage they cause to private and public property, the Orissa High Court has said in a judgement.

A division bench of the high court at Cuttack, 26 km from here, gave the judgement Wednesday in response to a public interest petition filed by Chambara Soy, a resident of Gobarghati village in the coastal district of Jajpur, his lawyer Arupananda Das told IANS.

Soy in his petition had alleged that his son was seriously ill and had died subsequently as they could not take him to hospital because of a road blockade by protestors at the Kalinga Nagar industrial complex in the district.

Over 500 people had clashed with police at the industrial complex, 120 km from here, to protest the building of a boundary wall by Tata Steel on Jan 2 last year. Thirteen demonstrators and a policeman were killed in the violence.

Since then, the protestors had blocked the Daitari-Paradip highway. While hearing Soy's petition, the Orissa High Court in an interim order had directed the state government early this year to end the road blockade by March 9.

Now the division bench comprising justices B.P. Das and M.M Das Wednesday directed the state government to give Soy a compensation of Rs.100,000 and ordered the government to make legal provisions to recover the cost of the damage from the people who staged the road blockade, Arupananda Das said.

Expressing concern over the rising frequency of agitations and road blockades in the state, particularly by students, the judges also said that the state government should amend the Orissa Education Act to make the students accountable for the damage, the lawyer said.

The court asked the state government to issue instructions to schools and colleges to obtain undertakings from parents or guardians that they would pay for the loss caused by their children if they indulge in such activities, according to Das.

Bail for Dera chief till Oct 15

Ambala (Haryana), Oct 4 (IANS) A special CBI court here Thursday extended the bail of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh till Oct 15. He faces two charges of murder and one of rape.

Thousands of followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect assembled here Thursday as their chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh reached a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court to face two charges of murder conspiracy and one of rape.

Tension built up as an estimated 125,000 sect followers laid virtual siege in this Haryana town, about 45 km from Chandigarh, forcing the closure of several schools and colleges. Defying Section 144 that bans the assembly of five or more people at one place, they gathered at the HUDA ground, just one km from the court campus.

The sect chief arrived at the court complex around 10 a.m. in a cavalcade of cars, including Haryana police and private security. He was sitting on the front seat of his bullet-proof Lexus luxury SUV, dressed in his traditional white robes and headgear.

Some of his supporters were able to reach the court premises despite the security arrangement.

The Dera chief is one of the accused in the charge sheet filed by the CBI in the court here in August this year. He has been charged of conspiracy in the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh in July 2002 and Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chandra Chhatrapati in November 2001.

The Dera chief has also been accused of raping a "sadhvi" (female follower) inside his sprawling and fortified sect campus near Sirsa town in Haryana.

Delhi HC rejects plea to make National anthem singing compulsory

New Delhi, Oct 3 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday dismissed a public suit that sought a direction to the government that singing of the national anthem in all public offices in morning be made compulsory to imbibe patriotism among government employees.

A bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur rejected the plea of D.K. Singh, an advocate, and said the court did not have the authority to give such a direction to the government.

The petition said that in order to imbibe communal harmony, the government should make it compulsory for its employees to sing the national anthem at the beginning of the office hours every day.

Supreme Court threatens Tamil Nadu government with dismissal

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Enraged over non-compliance of its order banning a shutdown in Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court Monday warned that the state government could be sacked and contempt of court proceedings initiated against Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the chief secretary.

An apex court bench of acting Chief Justice B.N. Aggarwal and Justice P. Sathasivam said: "If there is no compliance with our order, it is complete breakdown of constitutional machinery. We will then have to direct the (central) government to impose President's rule."

The state's main opposition party AIADMK had approached the court alleging that Sunday's order was not being followed and government buses were not plying across the state.

The judges told the AIADMK lawyer that he could file a contempt of court petition against the state government if he wanted to do so.

The lawyer for the ruling DMK, however, told the Supreme Court that party leaders were on fast and only trade unions could be blamed for the disruption of normal life in the state.