TNN | Jun 27, 2011, 12.57am IST
NEW DELHI: Acknowledging that certain individuals with doubtful integrity were elevated within the higher judiciary, former Chief Justice of India JS Verma — who had envisaged the collegium system of judicial appointments — said a national commission should be put in place to ensure greater transparency. This comes on the back of growing pressure for greater transparency and accountability in judicial appointments.
Justice Verma - who wrote the 1993 Supreme Court judgment that was institutionalized in the form of a collegium – said his judgment had not been properly implemented and errors had occurred because of "improper working". Asked if the greatest error was that "the wrong sort of person has either been elevated or made it to a Chief Justice", he bluntly responded, "Correct".
Asked in an interview on TV news channel CNN-IBN if, as CJI in 1997, he had first recommended and then withdrawn approval for a High Court judge to be made chief justice of an HC, Justice Verma said, "Well, the prime minister rang me up and said he'll clear it, because it has come from me, but he had disturbing reports about his integrity. I said don't clear it, send it back to me. I withdrew the recommendation and also told two of my colleagues in the Supreme Court who had recommended his appointment that this is not the thing to be done and I also rang up that particular judge himself and told him I'm withdrawing your recommendation."
When asked whether one of his successors, Justice A S Anand, who knew about the incident, later promoted the judge and whether the judge was Justice Ashok Agarwal, Justice Verma responded, "Well, let us not take names".
Justice Verma added that several people whom he had not considered suitable were elevated after he retired, giving credence to the belief that judicial appointments were not as fair and transparent as made out to be.
In another revelation, the former CJI cited the case of Justice M M Punchhi, whose impeachment had been sought by the campaign for judicial accountability. Justice Verma said he was willing to permit the allegations to be probed but the political executive refused to allow this. When asked if former PM Inder Kumar Gujral refused to accept that an FIR be lodged against Punchhi, Justice Verma said, "Well, that's what he clearly said. And also the President, who did not say it directly, he said it through the prime minister. That was all I could do."
Underlining his willingness to have Punchhi probed, Justice Verma explained, "Because the allegations, if proved, were serious and therefore they required to be investigated, so that one could know whether they were true or not." He acknowledged that Justice Punchhi was later elevated to CJI despite facing what he called "serious allegations".
Justice Verma was also clear in his stand against former CJI K G Balakrishnan's continuance as National Human Rights Commission chairman. Asked if Balakrishnan should demit office in the face of allegations of financial irregularities, Justice Verma said, "He should have demitted long back and if he doesn't do it voluntarily, the government should persuade him to do that, otherwise, proceed to do whatever can be done to see that he demits office."
--------------------------------------------------
For a detail account of the te Ex-CJI's interview with Karan Thapar please refere to this CNN IBN link: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/keep-pm-higher-judiciary-out-of-lokpal-excji/162837-3.html
--------------------------------------------------
Monday, June 27, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
World's First Transatlantic Flight on Biofuels
Jun 21, 2011, www.scientificamerican.com
This past weekend, the Paris Air Show witnessed two historic firsts: the first transatlantic flight on biofuels, closely followed by the second, which involved a much larger jet (although a smaller percentage of bio–jet fuel). Honeywell's corporate Gulfstream G450 sped from North America to Europe burning a 50–50 blend of kerosene derived from fossil algae and bio-jet refined from camelina oil, courtesy of Honeywell-owned refinery technology company UOP.
The blended fuel boasts all the same characteristics as traditional jet fuel, except that it burns a little more frugally. The bio-jet has to be blended, however, lest it leak out of conventional engines (biofuel lacks the aromatic hydrocarbons that help swell shut valves and seals in an aircraft engine). On the upside, the blended mix cuts down on the pungent aroma of jet fuel for the ground crew.
Camelina-derived UOP bio-jet also contributed 15 percent of the fuel for the first Boeing 747 to make the transatlantic flight partially powered by non-fossil plant oil.
Neither plane required changes to any of its engines to burn the bio-jet, and more than 700,000 gallons of the greener jet fuel have been produced to date, for customers such as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. The next hurdle is simply certifying that the fuel—known in the industry as synthetic paraffinated kerosene—can be used commercially, and then bringing down the cost (it remains more expensive than fossil jet fuel). Already, ASTM has issued a provisional standard. And that means bio-jet may not be a matter of demonstration flights for much longer.
-------- For video pl go to the site by clicking on the post caption ----------
This past weekend, the Paris Air Show witnessed two historic firsts: the first transatlantic flight on biofuels, closely followed by the second, which involved a much larger jet (although a smaller percentage of bio–jet fuel). Honeywell's corporate Gulfstream G450 sped from North America to Europe burning a 50–50 blend of kerosene derived from fossil algae and bio-jet refined from camelina oil, courtesy of Honeywell-owned refinery technology company UOP.
The blended fuel boasts all the same characteristics as traditional jet fuel, except that it burns a little more frugally. The bio-jet has to be blended, however, lest it leak out of conventional engines (biofuel lacks the aromatic hydrocarbons that help swell shut valves and seals in an aircraft engine). On the upside, the blended mix cuts down on the pungent aroma of jet fuel for the ground crew.
Camelina-derived UOP bio-jet also contributed 15 percent of the fuel for the first Boeing 747 to make the transatlantic flight partially powered by non-fossil plant oil.
Neither plane required changes to any of its engines to burn the bio-jet, and more than 700,000 gallons of the greener jet fuel have been produced to date, for customers such as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. The next hurdle is simply certifying that the fuel—known in the industry as synthetic paraffinated kerosene—can be used commercially, and then bringing down the cost (it remains more expensive than fossil jet fuel). Already, ASTM has issued a provisional standard. And that means bio-jet may not be a matter of demonstration flights for much longer.
-------- For video pl go to the site by clicking on the post caption ----------
Friday, June 17, 2011
The UK Supreme Court ordered return of two girl children to their father in Norway, who were abducted by their mother
It's a very recent judgment pronounced on 10 June 2011, with far reaching implication in cross-border parental abduction of children.
Here's the summary.
The Supreme Court has ruled that two girls, aged seven and four respectively, be returned with their mother to Norway, after she had removed them without the father’s consent. The decision was made largely under the Hague Convention on the Rights of the Child which gives more specific direction to the courts in abduction cases than the European Convention on Human Rights, although, as the Supreme Court observed, a little more reassurance that the necessary safeguards can be enforced in the destination country would make it easier for the courts in the requesting country to make orders protecting the interests of the child.
Here's the summary.
The Supreme Court has ruled that two girls, aged seven and four respectively, be returned with their mother to Norway, after she had removed them without the father’s consent. The decision was made largely under the Hague Convention on the Rights of the Child which gives more specific direction to the courts in abduction cases than the European Convention on Human Rights, although, as the Supreme Court observed, a little more reassurance that the necessary safeguards can be enforced in the destination country would make it easier for the courts in the requesting country to make orders protecting the interests of the child.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Shutdown of the Internet in Syria
Published on June 5, 2011, Washington, DC,,
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Washington, DC ,
We are deeply concerned by reports that Internet service has been shut down across much of Syria, as have some mobile communication networks. We condemn any effort to suppress the Syrian people’s exercise of their rights to free expression, assembly, and association.Two weeks ago, the White House released the International Strategy for Cyberspace, which noted that “States should not arbitrarily deprive or disrupt individuals’ access to the Internet or other networked technologies.” We condemn such shutdowns in the strongest terms.
The Syrian government has a history of restricting the Internet in an attempt to prevent the Syrian people from accessing and sharing information. The Syrian government must understand that attempting to silence its population cannot prevent the transition currently taking place. We believe that even in the face of significant obstacles, the Syrian people will — and should — find a way to make their voices heard.
The United States stands for universal human rights, including freedom of expression, and we call on all governments to respect them.
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Washington, DC ,
We are deeply concerned by reports that Internet service has been shut down across much of Syria, as have some mobile communication networks. We condemn any effort to suppress the Syrian people’s exercise of their rights to free expression, assembly, and association.Two weeks ago, the White House released the International Strategy for Cyberspace, which noted that “States should not arbitrarily deprive or disrupt individuals’ access to the Internet or other networked technologies.” We condemn such shutdowns in the strongest terms.
The Syrian government has a history of restricting the Internet in an attempt to prevent the Syrian people from accessing and sharing information. The Syrian government must understand that attempting to silence its population cannot prevent the transition currently taking place. We believe that even in the face of significant obstacles, the Syrian people will — and should — find a way to make their voices heard.
The United States stands for universal human rights, including freedom of expression, and we call on all governments to respect them.
Assassination of Mumbai based Mid Day reporter, Shri Jyotirmoy Dey
No civilized society can tolerate this kind of attack on the freedom of the press : Ambika Soni
Published on June 12, 2011
The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Smt. Ambika Soni has condemned the assassination of Mumbai based Mid Day reporter, Shri Jyotirmoy Dey, who was allegedly shot dead by the underworld today.
In her condolence message, Smt Soni has said this act has challenged the freedom of press and perusal of objective reporting. This incident is a sign of insanity perpetuated by mindless individuals in which innocent citizens are killed. No civilized society can tolerate this kind of attack on the freedom of the press.
The Minister has said that she is confident that the Home Minister of Maharashtra, Shri RR Patil will live up to his assurance of tracking down the assailants in the shortest possible time. She has conveyed her heartfelt condolences to the members of Shri Dey’s family.
Published on June 12, 2011
The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Smt. Ambika Soni has condemned the assassination of Mumbai based Mid Day reporter, Shri Jyotirmoy Dey, who was allegedly shot dead by the underworld today.
In her condolence message, Smt Soni has said this act has challenged the freedom of press and perusal of objective reporting. This incident is a sign of insanity perpetuated by mindless individuals in which innocent citizens are killed. No civilized society can tolerate this kind of attack on the freedom of the press.
The Minister has said that she is confident that the Home Minister of Maharashtra, Shri RR Patil will live up to his assurance of tracking down the assailants in the shortest possible time. She has conveyed her heartfelt condolences to the members of Shri Dey’s family.
When the Supreme Court rules
By Soli J Sorabjee in The India Express
Illegal demands for dowry and cruelty against women are persistent evils in our country. Parliament has enacted legislation to curb these evils. Demanding dowry is punishable under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code [IPC] punishes a husband and his relatives that harass or torture the wife and coerce her or her relatives to satisfy unlawful demands for dowry.
A person was convicted for an offence under Section 498A. He challenged the conviction on the ground that the complainant was not his legally wedded wife, as he was already married, and, therefore, Section 498A had no application in his case. The question before the Supreme Court was about the meaning of the expression “husband”, in the absence of any statutory definition.
A bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices Arijit Pasayat and A.K. Ganguly in a recent judgment held that irrespective of the legitimacy of the marriage, for the purposes of Section 498A the expression “husband” would include a person who enters into a marital relationship and under the colour of a proclaimed or feigned status of “husband” subjects the woman to cruelty to satisfy illegal dowry demands. The Court further held that “the absence of a definition of ‘husband’ to specifically include such persons who contract marriages ostensibly and cohabitate with such woman, in the purported exercise of his role and status as ‘husband’ is no ground to exclude such person from the purview of Section 498A.”
In common parlance a husband is a person who is legally wedded to another woman, and the marriage is subsisting. What is the basis for the court’s extraordinary conclusion? One is that acts of Parliament are not “drafted with divine prescience and perfect clarity”. True, but can that justify the reasoning that when a defect appears a judge cannot “simply fold his hands and blame the draftsman. He must set to work on the constructive task of finding the intention of Parliament not only from the language of the statute, but also from a consideration of the social conditions which gave rise to the statute”? Then the judge “must supplement the written word so as to give ‘force and life’ to the intention of the legislature.” The eminent English judge, Lord Denning, who had adopted a similar approach, was roundly reproved by the House of Lords who decried “such judicial heroics.”
The critical question is whether it is permissible for judges in India to cure omissions in a statute by filling in the gaps a la Lord Denning. Or by so doing are the judges not in effect legislating under the thin veil of purposive construction? There are divergent opinions among judges, lawyers and academics. However, there can be no two opinions that the judgment protects women who have in fact been cohabiting in a marital relationship with persons who, though not their legally wedded husbands, are professedly acting and behaving as their husbands. The judgment also highlights that the life of the law is not logic but experience. It reflects a humane approach towards ill-treated sections of society. It is a significant addition to the jurisprudence of compassion evolved by our Supreme Court. And that is what ultimately matters to the exploited and marginalised sections of Indian humanity.
The Supreme Court has in 1996 held that “water is a gift of nature and it would be mocking nature to force the people who live on the bank of a river to remain thirsty.” The court has also held that the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 inter alia includes the right to water. Gandhiji often said that freedom for him would mean the availability of safe drinking water to every person in every village of India. This has still not become a reality. It is a cruel paradox that our country, despite having immense reservoirs of water, continues to experience water shortage as an acute problem. (It is reminiscent of Samuel Coleridge’s famous lines, “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.”) In much of rural India there is shortage of water for irrigation and for drinking. John Briscoe, who has authored a detailed World Bank report on the subject, has said that despite this alarming situation there is widespread official complacency.
The Supreme Court has come to the rescue. A bench comprising of Justices Markandey Katju and H.L. Dattu in a recent judgment dated April 28 spoke first of India’s strong heritage of science, pointing out outstanding scientific discoveries and inventions made in the past by Indians, and then went on to lament that subsequently we took “to the unscientific path of superstitions and empty rituals, which has led us to disaster.” The court rightly stressed that the way out for our nation is to once again turn to the scientific path shown by our ancestors. Then follows a critical part of the judgment — namely directions, not recommendations, issued to the Central government inter alia to form a committee to address the water shortage problem at the earliest. The committee’s composition is also set out in the order. Thereafter the court has directed the committee so formed to conduct scientific research on a war footing to solve the country’s water shortage. The functions of the committee have been set out in detail. Thereafter the court requests the committee “to do patriotic duty to the nation”, and through scientific research discover solutions for the water shortage problem. The justification for these directions, apparently, is that the country is reeling under acute shortage of water.
The judgment and the directions given are most welcome, and should provide much needed relief. The stress on science and scientific methods and bemoaning the path of superstition is heartening. Indeed that thinking is in keeping with the fundamental duty prescribed in Article 51A “to develop scientific temper”. Another noteworthy feature is that the directions issued to the Central government signify a wholesome change in Justice Katju’s judicial philosophy of separation of powers, of which he has been a strong proponent. It must be realised that the doctrine of separation of powers cannot be rigidly followed but has to be adapted to the needs and problems of our nation in a pragmatic manner. And that is what the judgment has admirably done.
Illegal demands for dowry and cruelty against women are persistent evils in our country. Parliament has enacted legislation to curb these evils. Demanding dowry is punishable under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code [IPC] punishes a husband and his relatives that harass or torture the wife and coerce her or her relatives to satisfy unlawful demands for dowry.
A person was convicted for an offence under Section 498A. He challenged the conviction on the ground that the complainant was not his legally wedded wife, as he was already married, and, therefore, Section 498A had no application in his case. The question before the Supreme Court was about the meaning of the expression “husband”, in the absence of any statutory definition.
A bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices Arijit Pasayat and A.K. Ganguly in a recent judgment held that irrespective of the legitimacy of the marriage, for the purposes of Section 498A the expression “husband” would include a person who enters into a marital relationship and under the colour of a proclaimed or feigned status of “husband” subjects the woman to cruelty to satisfy illegal dowry demands. The Court further held that “the absence of a definition of ‘husband’ to specifically include such persons who contract marriages ostensibly and cohabitate with such woman, in the purported exercise of his role and status as ‘husband’ is no ground to exclude such person from the purview of Section 498A.”
In common parlance a husband is a person who is legally wedded to another woman, and the marriage is subsisting. What is the basis for the court’s extraordinary conclusion? One is that acts of Parliament are not “drafted with divine prescience and perfect clarity”. True, but can that justify the reasoning that when a defect appears a judge cannot “simply fold his hands and blame the draftsman. He must set to work on the constructive task of finding the intention of Parliament not only from the language of the statute, but also from a consideration of the social conditions which gave rise to the statute”? Then the judge “must supplement the written word so as to give ‘force and life’ to the intention of the legislature.” The eminent English judge, Lord Denning, who had adopted a similar approach, was roundly reproved by the House of Lords who decried “such judicial heroics.”
The critical question is whether it is permissible for judges in India to cure omissions in a statute by filling in the gaps a la Lord Denning. Or by so doing are the judges not in effect legislating under the thin veil of purposive construction? There are divergent opinions among judges, lawyers and academics. However, there can be no two opinions that the judgment protects women who have in fact been cohabiting in a marital relationship with persons who, though not their legally wedded husbands, are professedly acting and behaving as their husbands. The judgment also highlights that the life of the law is not logic but experience. It reflects a humane approach towards ill-treated sections of society. It is a significant addition to the jurisprudence of compassion evolved by our Supreme Court. And that is what ultimately matters to the exploited and marginalised sections of Indian humanity.
The Supreme Court has in 1996 held that “water is a gift of nature and it would be mocking nature to force the people who live on the bank of a river to remain thirsty.” The court has also held that the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 inter alia includes the right to water. Gandhiji often said that freedom for him would mean the availability of safe drinking water to every person in every village of India. This has still not become a reality. It is a cruel paradox that our country, despite having immense reservoirs of water, continues to experience water shortage as an acute problem. (It is reminiscent of Samuel Coleridge’s famous lines, “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.”) In much of rural India there is shortage of water for irrigation and for drinking. John Briscoe, who has authored a detailed World Bank report on the subject, has said that despite this alarming situation there is widespread official complacency.
The Supreme Court has come to the rescue. A bench comprising of Justices Markandey Katju and H.L. Dattu in a recent judgment dated April 28 spoke first of India’s strong heritage of science, pointing out outstanding scientific discoveries and inventions made in the past by Indians, and then went on to lament that subsequently we took “to the unscientific path of superstitions and empty rituals, which has led us to disaster.” The court rightly stressed that the way out for our nation is to once again turn to the scientific path shown by our ancestors. Then follows a critical part of the judgment — namely directions, not recommendations, issued to the Central government inter alia to form a committee to address the water shortage problem at the earliest. The committee’s composition is also set out in the order. Thereafter the court has directed the committee so formed to conduct scientific research on a war footing to solve the country’s water shortage. The functions of the committee have been set out in detail. Thereafter the court requests the committee “to do patriotic duty to the nation”, and through scientific research discover solutions for the water shortage problem. The justification for these directions, apparently, is that the country is reeling under acute shortage of water.
The judgment and the directions given are most welcome, and should provide much needed relief. The stress on science and scientific methods and bemoaning the path of superstition is heartening. Indeed that thinking is in keeping with the fundamental duty prescribed in Article 51A “to develop scientific temper”. Another noteworthy feature is that the directions issued to the Central government signify a wholesome change in Justice Katju’s judicial philosophy of separation of powers, of which he has been a strong proponent. It must be realised that the doctrine of separation of powers cannot be rigidly followed but has to be adapted to the needs and problems of our nation in a pragmatic manner. And that is what the judgment has admirably done.
The case of soiled hands
M J Antony / New Delhi January 13, 2010, 0:09 IST
The growing tribe of litigants who pollute the fountain of justice worries the Supreme Court
We are told to disclose the full truth to doctors and lawyers, and never tell lies or suggest falsehood to them. But the courts are left out. That is perhaps why the Supreme Court lamented recently that the tribe of litigants who have no respect for truth has increased over the last four decades. No prize for guessing who advises these litigants. The problem must be quite serious because the judgment delivered last month in the Dalip Singh vs State of UP case is prefaced with long passages on the fall in standards from the Gandhian precepts. It says in part: “For many centuries, Indian society cherished two basic values of life, that is satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence). Mahavir, Gautam Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi guided the people to ingrain these values in their daily life. Truth constituted an integral part of the justice delivery system which was in vogue in pre-Independence era and the people used to feel proud to tell truth in the courts irrespective of the consequences. However, the post-Independence period has seen drastic changes in our value system. Those involved in litigation do not hesitate to take shelter in falsehood, misrepresentation and suppression of facts in the court proceedings.”
Perceiving this trend, the courts have evolved new rules, and it is now well established that a “litigant who attempts to pollute the stream of justice or who touches the pure fountain of justice with tainted hands is not entitled to any relief, interim or final.” However, the problem has not gone away.
It has deep roots in the judicial system.
Every year, a few cases in which unscrupulous litigants are found abusing the process of the courts reach the apex court. The situation in the courts below must be worse. In 2008, the court stated that if the litigant has not approached it “with clean hands”, not candidly disclosed all the facts he is aware of and intends to delay the proceedings, he would be kept out of the system (Sunil Poddar vs Union Bank of India). This was reiterated in several other cases.
In the present case, a landowner who was told to surrender surplus land under the UP Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act could delay the proceedings since 1975 till his death, when his legal representatives took over the litigation. It ended last month in the Supreme Court, but not before depriving hundreds of landless persons of the benefit of the law. The failure of land reforms may be attributed to several other causes, but litigation is one sure bet for delaying the surrender and enjoying the land for three generations, as in this case. The grandson’s main argument was that his ancestor did not get notice of the proceedings under the law and, in any case, he was too ill to present himself before the authorities.
Disbelieving all these, the Supreme Court remarked: “We are amazed at the audacity with which the grandson could make a patently false statement on oath… The efforts to mislead the authorities and the courts have transmitted through three generations and the conduct is reprehensible.” They belong to the category of persons who not only attempt but succeed in “polluting the course of justice”.
The cases above are hard cases, but there are grey and white lies too. How deep must be the stain on the hands of the litigant to disentitle him to enter the portals of the court? Two years ago, the court asked itself, “Even if the dirt is removed and the hands become clean, would the relief sought for be still denied?”
In the Arunima Baruah vs Union of India case, an employee hid the fact that she had moved the district court when she tried a gamble in the Delhi High Court at the same time. The high court dismissed her writ petition as she was found “forum shopping”. However, on appeal, the Supreme Court was lenient towards her. It said that the right to move a court was a human right and if she was shut out from its doors, there might be grave injustice in individual cases. According to it, the suppression of “material facts” alone would disentitle a person from moving the court. But material facts depend upon individual cases.
The English courts seem to have confronted this dilemma a hundred years ago. Discussing the judgments there, one of the jurists said: “The absence of clean hands is of no account unless the depravity, the dirt on the hand in question, has an immediate and necessary relation to the equity sought for.” The clean-hand rule cannot be either precise or capable of satisfactory operation.
The growing tribe of litigants who pollute the fountain of justice worries the Supreme Court
We are told to disclose the full truth to doctors and lawyers, and never tell lies or suggest falsehood to them. But the courts are left out. That is perhaps why the Supreme Court lamented recently that the tribe of litigants who have no respect for truth has increased over the last four decades. No prize for guessing who advises these litigants. The problem must be quite serious because the judgment delivered last month in the Dalip Singh vs State of UP case is prefaced with long passages on the fall in standards from the Gandhian precepts. It says in part: “For many centuries, Indian society cherished two basic values of life, that is satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence). Mahavir, Gautam Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi guided the people to ingrain these values in their daily life. Truth constituted an integral part of the justice delivery system which was in vogue in pre-Independence era and the people used to feel proud to tell truth in the courts irrespective of the consequences. However, the post-Independence period has seen drastic changes in our value system. Those involved in litigation do not hesitate to take shelter in falsehood, misrepresentation and suppression of facts in the court proceedings.”
Perceiving this trend, the courts have evolved new rules, and it is now well established that a “litigant who attempts to pollute the stream of justice or who touches the pure fountain of justice with tainted hands is not entitled to any relief, interim or final.” However, the problem has not gone away.
It has deep roots in the judicial system.
Every year, a few cases in which unscrupulous litigants are found abusing the process of the courts reach the apex court. The situation in the courts below must be worse. In 2008, the court stated that if the litigant has not approached it “with clean hands”, not candidly disclosed all the facts he is aware of and intends to delay the proceedings, he would be kept out of the system (Sunil Poddar vs Union Bank of India). This was reiterated in several other cases.
In the present case, a landowner who was told to surrender surplus land under the UP Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act could delay the proceedings since 1975 till his death, when his legal representatives took over the litigation. It ended last month in the Supreme Court, but not before depriving hundreds of landless persons of the benefit of the law. The failure of land reforms may be attributed to several other causes, but litigation is one sure bet for delaying the surrender and enjoying the land for three generations, as in this case. The grandson’s main argument was that his ancestor did not get notice of the proceedings under the law and, in any case, he was too ill to present himself before the authorities.
Disbelieving all these, the Supreme Court remarked: “We are amazed at the audacity with which the grandson could make a patently false statement on oath… The efforts to mislead the authorities and the courts have transmitted through three generations and the conduct is reprehensible.” They belong to the category of persons who not only attempt but succeed in “polluting the course of justice”.
The cases above are hard cases, but there are grey and white lies too. How deep must be the stain on the hands of the litigant to disentitle him to enter the portals of the court? Two years ago, the court asked itself, “Even if the dirt is removed and the hands become clean, would the relief sought for be still denied?”
In the Arunima Baruah vs Union of India case, an employee hid the fact that she had moved the district court when she tried a gamble in the Delhi High Court at the same time. The high court dismissed her writ petition as she was found “forum shopping”. However, on appeal, the Supreme Court was lenient towards her. It said that the right to move a court was a human right and if she was shut out from its doors, there might be grave injustice in individual cases. According to it, the suppression of “material facts” alone would disentitle a person from moving the court. But material facts depend upon individual cases.
The English courts seem to have confronted this dilemma a hundred years ago. Discussing the judgments there, one of the jurists said: “The absence of clean hands is of no account unless the depravity, the dirt on the hand in question, has an immediate and necessary relation to the equity sought for.” The clean-hand rule cannot be either precise or capable of satisfactory operation.
Starting the PIL revolution
Krishnadas Rajgopal in Indian Express Jan 26, 2010
Thirty-one years ago, a woman lawyer confidently climbed the 17 steps of the Supreme Court and walked into a cold, thick-walled courtroom without a thought for the frowns trained at her from the high priests of Indian judiciary and her male colleagues.
Senior Advocate Pushpa Kapila Hingorani had a mission that day in December — one that the Supreme Court had never heard of before and one which would eventually kick off a revolution called the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) across the country. It was the same year she had resolved to give up her law practice and stay home.
The two pages she carried to the court contained the plight of undertrial prisoners languishing in jails in Bihar— men, women, children, lepers and mental patients cast away into jails and forgotten by the state. She wanted the court to intervene immediately and give orders to release them on bail. The historic case, later known to every law student in India as Hussainara Khatoon Vs Home Secretary, Bihar, drew its name from one of the prison inmates. It was the first PIL in India.
A shocked Supreme Court Bench led by Justice P.N. Bhagwati went on to release over 40,000 undertrial prisoners from various jails nationwide.
“The success of the Khatoon case was so widespread that the Supreme Court in the 1980s opened a new section in the Registry devoted to PILs. Officers used to sift through the incessant bombardment of letters or petitions from citizens everyday and choose the ones which should be brought to the court’s attention,” says Hingorani, who was born at the Kenyan Capital Nairobi into an Arya Samaj family.
“The Supreme Court held in the Hussainara Khatoon case that speedy trial and legal aid to the poor are the two essentials of a PIL. Today, as a woman who gave birth to PIL, I get hurt when people misuse it or judges do not understand the public problem laid before them,” she says.
Her title— “Mother of PIL” — is well-deserved. She has over the past 30 years done nearly 100 PILs, free of cost, including the Bhagalpur Blinding case of 1981 and Rudul Sah case of 1983. Her personal favourite among the PILs she did was one in which the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) agreed to pay Rs 1,000 to lepers to build their jhuggies. “I asked the court how people who could not even eat with their hands, build jhuggies? I sought the court to order the DDA to build them jhuggies and build them better,” she remembers before slowly walking indoors to escape the winter evening nip.
Thirty-one years ago, a woman lawyer confidently climbed the 17 steps of the Supreme Court and walked into a cold, thick-walled courtroom without a thought for the frowns trained at her from the high priests of Indian judiciary and her male colleagues.
Senior Advocate Pushpa Kapila Hingorani had a mission that day in December — one that the Supreme Court had never heard of before and one which would eventually kick off a revolution called the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) across the country. It was the same year she had resolved to give up her law practice and stay home.
The two pages she carried to the court contained the plight of undertrial prisoners languishing in jails in Bihar— men, women, children, lepers and mental patients cast away into jails and forgotten by the state. She wanted the court to intervene immediately and give orders to release them on bail. The historic case, later known to every law student in India as Hussainara Khatoon Vs Home Secretary, Bihar, drew its name from one of the prison inmates. It was the first PIL in India.
A shocked Supreme Court Bench led by Justice P.N. Bhagwati went on to release over 40,000 undertrial prisoners from various jails nationwide.
“The success of the Khatoon case was so widespread that the Supreme Court in the 1980s opened a new section in the Registry devoted to PILs. Officers used to sift through the incessant bombardment of letters or petitions from citizens everyday and choose the ones which should be brought to the court’s attention,” says Hingorani, who was born at the Kenyan Capital Nairobi into an Arya Samaj family.
“The Supreme Court held in the Hussainara Khatoon case that speedy trial and legal aid to the poor are the two essentials of a PIL. Today, as a woman who gave birth to PIL, I get hurt when people misuse it or judges do not understand the public problem laid before them,” she says.
Her title— “Mother of PIL” — is well-deserved. She has over the past 30 years done nearly 100 PILs, free of cost, including the Bhagalpur Blinding case of 1981 and Rudul Sah case of 1983. Her personal favourite among the PILs she did was one in which the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) agreed to pay Rs 1,000 to lepers to build their jhuggies. “I asked the court how people who could not even eat with their hands, build jhuggies? I sought the court to order the DDA to build them jhuggies and build them better,” she remembers before slowly walking indoors to escape the winter evening nip.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Is another Nandigram imminent?
God knows if another Nandigran is soon going to happen ... on the soil of Jagatsinghpur in Orissa!
Here's an update on the situation (as posted on binayaksen.net):
--------- --------------- ------------ ----------- -----------------
OVERNIGHT OR DAWN POLICE ATTACK IMMINENT ON POSCO AFFECTED VILLAGES
URGENT PRESS RELEASE
09 June 2011
The Odisha police have called in heavy reinforcements and are moving into positions all evening around the villages of Dhinkia and Gobindpur in Jagatsinghpur District of Odisha state. These villages form the epicentre of over 6 years of successful peaceful resistance to the scandalous POSCO steel-mining-power-port project – the world’s largest. This project is being pushed through by Odisha and Indian Governments in blatant violation of fundamental rights and a variety of environmental and economic laws of India.
According to confirmed sources within the Odisha establishment, the attack on this peaceful resistance is more than likely early morning tomorrow, if the police do not unleash terror overnight. The resilient people of these villages including women, children, elders, youth and men are holding overnight vigils along the borders of their villages now and will stay so till the police withdraw.
An alarming aspect of such abuse of police powers is that over 26 platoons of police have been mobilised around these villages over the past two weeks. Such heavy police presence betrays the Odisha Government’s claims that the acquisition of land for the project is peaceful.
The current Senior Police Officer in charge of the operation is the former Superintendent of Police of Kalinganagar, who had ordered firing on villagers protesting the Tata Steel plant, killing many tribals and injuring scores more. Under this officer’s ruthless leadership, the Odisha police has effectively declared an emergency on the resisting villages, completely halting normal life over the past several weeks. It is more than likely now that a needless carnage will result because of the such strong arm tactics of the police.
On behalf of the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samithi (PPSS), this urgent release is being made requesting your earliest attention to this impending disaster. India could do well without another Kalinganagar, or Nandigram, and the role of the mass media is critical in preventing such an incident.
Here's an update on the situation (as posted on binayaksen.net):
--------- --------------- ------------ ----------- -----------------
OVERNIGHT OR DAWN POLICE ATTACK IMMINENT ON POSCO AFFECTED VILLAGES
URGENT PRESS RELEASE
09 June 2011
The Odisha police have called in heavy reinforcements and are moving into positions all evening around the villages of Dhinkia and Gobindpur in Jagatsinghpur District of Odisha state. These villages form the epicentre of over 6 years of successful peaceful resistance to the scandalous POSCO steel-mining-power-port project – the world’s largest. This project is being pushed through by Odisha and Indian Governments in blatant violation of fundamental rights and a variety of environmental and economic laws of India.
According to confirmed sources within the Odisha establishment, the attack on this peaceful resistance is more than likely early morning tomorrow, if the police do not unleash terror overnight. The resilient people of these villages including women, children, elders, youth and men are holding overnight vigils along the borders of their villages now and will stay so till the police withdraw.
An alarming aspect of such abuse of police powers is that over 26 platoons of police have been mobilised around these villages over the past two weeks. Such heavy police presence betrays the Odisha Government’s claims that the acquisition of land for the project is peaceful.
The current Senior Police Officer in charge of the operation is the former Superintendent of Police of Kalinganagar, who had ordered firing on villagers protesting the Tata Steel plant, killing many tribals and injuring scores more. Under this officer’s ruthless leadership, the Odisha police has effectively declared an emergency on the resisting villages, completely halting normal life over the past several weeks. It is more than likely now that a needless carnage will result because of the such strong arm tactics of the police.
On behalf of the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samithi (PPSS), this urgent release is being made requesting your earliest attention to this impending disaster. India could do well without another Kalinganagar, or Nandigram, and the role of the mass media is critical in preventing such an incident.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
High-speed Euro train gets green boost from two miles of solar panels
Tunnel on Paris-to-Amsterdam line topped with 16,000 solar panels to power Antwerp station and Belgian train network
------------------------------------------------
Damian Carrington The Guardian, Monday 6 June 2011
--------------------------------------------------
A two-mile-long Belgian rail tunnel, built to shelter trains from falling trees, will from Monday provide a double environmental benefit by hosting a unique solar power project.
The high-speed line running from Paris to Amsterdam passes Antwerp and a nearby ancient forest. To avoid the need to fell protected trees, a long tunnel was built over the line which has now been topped with 16,000 solar panels. The electricity produced is equivalent to that needed to power all the trains in Belgium for one day per year, and will also help power Antwerp station.
"For train operators, it is the perfect way to cut their carbon footprints because you can use spaces that have no other economic value and the projects can be delivered within a year because they don't attract the protests that wind power does," said Bart Van Renterghem, UK head of Belgian renewable energy company Enfinity, which installed the panels.
"We had a couple of projects lined up around London with train operators and water utilities, but they have been put on hold."
Van Renterghem said this was due to the UK government's controversial review of subsidies for large-scale solar power projects, which will lower the returns available.
The UK government argues that solar technology is too expensive, but Van Renterghem said he had seen the cost of cells halve in the last two to three years thanks to economies of scale in Germany, France and Belgium.
The new Blackfriars station in London, which will span the River Thames, will host the largest single collection of solar panels in the UK when it opens in spring 2012.
The roof of the new station will have 4,400 panels and a capacity of 1MW, enough to provide 50% of the station's electricity. However, the development is not dependent on the level of government subsidy for solar power as the £7.3m bill was paid by the transport department's environment fund.
Monday, June 06, 2011
Richest Bureaucrat: IAS at 22 and 253 crore asset at the age of 45
5 June 2011
statesman news service
RAIPUR, 5 JUNE: A Chhattisgarh cadre who cracked the IAS exam in his maiden attempt at the age of 22 is probably the richest bureaucrat of the country. According to reports of the Income-Tax department this IAS officer has accumulated assets to the tune of Rs 253 crore, all by alleged corrupt means.
The 45-year-old serving IAS officer, Mr Babulal Agarwal, belongs to 1988 batch. From the country’s worst famine-hit district of Kalahandi in Orissa, he is now in the dock.
Of late, Bhopal-based I-T department has submitted about a 5,000-page report to the Chhattisgarh government, listing out details how the officer created an empire of Rs 253 crore. The report is based on the raid it had carried out at his residence and at his charatered accountant's place here in Feburary last year. Mr Agarwal was the then agriculture secretary.
Later, Chhattisgarh’s BJP government suspended him from the post but reinstated him after a few weeks that raised questions about the government’s intent to fight corruption.
The I-T report has recommended action against the officer who is always keen on foreign trips and said that Mr Agrawal has floated some 30-odd companies in the past 11 years and operated more than 470 bank accounts with a total asset pegged at a whopping Rs 253 cr.
The report has now hit the headlines in the state on which Union law minister Mr M Veerappa Moily said in March during his visit here that, "Chhattisgarh is the most corrupt place in the country." Mr Agrawal, who is now secretary, co-operatives, has termed the I-T report "baseless".
"The I-T raid in February 2010 had found Rs 8 lakh from my residence in Raipur and it was all tax-paid money,’’ Mr Agrawal told The Statesman, adding, "reporters should avoid conducting media trial on the issue because it’s sub-judice. I have moved the Chhattisgarh High Court at Bilaspur against what I-T department claimed about my assets.’’
Mr Agrawal was miffed with repeated questions about his illegal assets empire, and said, "I belong to a business family. How the I-T department can club assets of my family members in my name, my brother, father and other members, all have separate business activities for long time and you can’t show their income in my name, I will fight it out.’’
Chhattisgarh’s chief secretary Mr P Joy Oommen, when asked why is the government not taking action against the IAS officer for piling up an illegal assets empire, said, "the whole issue of I-T raid against Mr Agrawal and then I-T report to state government, has been sent to Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for its own investigation and action to be taken only after a final report of the EOW is received.’’
Official sources say that I-T report has specific mention of several evidences about 'rag and rich’ story of Mr Agrawal who has always been dynamic in engineering corruption since he got the first posting in 1988 as assistant collector of Khargone district in undivided Madhya Pradesh. Though a few senior officials here recall his contribution to effectively execute key government schemes in Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh in 1995 when he served there as collector.
As per the I-T report, Mr Agrawal amassed his mind-boggling illegal assets mainly in the past 11 years when his postings ranged as collector in Durg and Rajn-andgaon districts to secretary in health department and then in agriculture department with the Chhattisgarh government.
statesman news service
RAIPUR, 5 JUNE: A Chhattisgarh cadre who cracked the IAS exam in his maiden attempt at the age of 22 is probably the richest bureaucrat of the country. According to reports of the Income-Tax department this IAS officer has accumulated assets to the tune of Rs 253 crore, all by alleged corrupt means.
The 45-year-old serving IAS officer, Mr Babulal Agarwal, belongs to 1988 batch. From the country’s worst famine-hit district of Kalahandi in Orissa, he is now in the dock.
Of late, Bhopal-based I-T department has submitted about a 5,000-page report to the Chhattisgarh government, listing out details how the officer created an empire of Rs 253 crore. The report is based on the raid it had carried out at his residence and at his charatered accountant's place here in Feburary last year. Mr Agarwal was the then agriculture secretary.
Later, Chhattisgarh’s BJP government suspended him from the post but reinstated him after a few weeks that raised questions about the government’s intent to fight corruption.
The I-T report has recommended action against the officer who is always keen on foreign trips and said that Mr Agrawal has floated some 30-odd companies in the past 11 years and operated more than 470 bank accounts with a total asset pegged at a whopping Rs 253 cr.
The report has now hit the headlines in the state on which Union law minister Mr M Veerappa Moily said in March during his visit here that, "Chhattisgarh is the most corrupt place in the country." Mr Agrawal, who is now secretary, co-operatives, has termed the I-T report "baseless".
"The I-T raid in February 2010 had found Rs 8 lakh from my residence in Raipur and it was all tax-paid money,’’ Mr Agrawal told The Statesman, adding, "reporters should avoid conducting media trial on the issue because it’s sub-judice. I have moved the Chhattisgarh High Court at Bilaspur against what I-T department claimed about my assets.’’
Mr Agrawal was miffed with repeated questions about his illegal assets empire, and said, "I belong to a business family. How the I-T department can club assets of my family members in my name, my brother, father and other members, all have separate business activities for long time and you can’t show their income in my name, I will fight it out.’’
Chhattisgarh’s chief secretary Mr P Joy Oommen, when asked why is the government not taking action against the IAS officer for piling up an illegal assets empire, said, "the whole issue of I-T raid against Mr Agrawal and then I-T report to state government, has been sent to Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for its own investigation and action to be taken only after a final report of the EOW is received.’’
Official sources say that I-T report has specific mention of several evidences about 'rag and rich’ story of Mr Agrawal who has always been dynamic in engineering corruption since he got the first posting in 1988 as assistant collector of Khargone district in undivided Madhya Pradesh. Though a few senior officials here recall his contribution to effectively execute key government schemes in Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh in 1995 when he served there as collector.
As per the I-T report, Mr Agrawal amassed his mind-boggling illegal assets mainly in the past 11 years when his postings ranged as collector in Durg and Rajn-andgaon districts to secretary in health department and then in agriculture department with the Chhattisgarh government.
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Germany announces end to nuclear power by 2022
Associated Press, Updated: May 30, 2011 (NDTV)
Berlin: Germany's Environment Minister has said that Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government has agreed to shut down all of the country's nuclear power plants by 2022.
Norbert Roettgen also says the seven oldest reactors taken off the grid pending safety inspections following Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster in March will remain offline permanently.
He says all but the three newest reactors will be shut down by 2021, and the remainder a year later.
Roettgen announced the agreement early Monday morning after hour-long negotiations between the governing parties.
Merkel in 2010 had pushed through to extend the lifespan of the country's 17 reactors with the last one scheduled to go offline in 2036, but she completely reversed her policy in the wake of Japan's nuclear disaster.
Berlin: Germany's Environment Minister has said that Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government has agreed to shut down all of the country's nuclear power plants by 2022.
Norbert Roettgen also says the seven oldest reactors taken off the grid pending safety inspections following Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster in March will remain offline permanently.
He says all but the three newest reactors will be shut down by 2021, and the remainder a year later.
Roettgen announced the agreement early Monday morning after hour-long negotiations between the governing parties.
Merkel in 2010 had pushed through to extend the lifespan of the country's 17 reactors with the last one scheduled to go offline in 2036, but she completely reversed her policy in the wake of Japan's nuclear disaster.
Baba Ramdev detained, asked to leave Delhi
NDTV, New Delhi: There was high drama at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi after a defiant Baba Ramdev refused to call off his fast despite the government's best efforts. The government then hardened its stand and asked the yoga icon to leave Delhi.
Delhi Police served an externment order on Baba Ramdev and Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which prevents unlawful assembly of five or more persons, was imposed. Police sources say the order was issued after Baba Ramdev used the Ramlila Ground for staging a hunger strike against corruption instead of a yoga camp.
Sources have told NDTV that Baba Ramdev was detained and sent to Haridwar, but Home Secretary GK Pillai says the yoga icon voluntarily left Delhi.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) has reported that Ramdev has sought the intervention of the Chief Justice of India. PTI reports also suggest that at least 30 people were injured in the police action in Ramlila Grounds.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/baba-ramdev-detained-asked-to-leave-delhi-110200?cp
Delhi Police served an externment order on Baba Ramdev and Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which prevents unlawful assembly of five or more persons, was imposed. Police sources say the order was issued after Baba Ramdev used the Ramlila Ground for staging a hunger strike against corruption instead of a yoga camp.
Sources have told NDTV that Baba Ramdev was detained and sent to Haridwar, but Home Secretary GK Pillai says the yoga icon voluntarily left Delhi.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) has reported that Ramdev has sought the intervention of the Chief Justice of India. PTI reports also suggest that at least 30 people were injured in the police action in Ramlila Grounds.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/baba-ramdev-detained-asked-to-leave-delhi-110200?cp
Friday, June 03, 2011
I will join Baba Ramdev on June 5: Anna Hazare
CNN-IBN, Jun 02, 2011 at 10:30am IST
New Delhi: After the Baba Ramdev scare, there is a new complication for the government. Now, Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev pose a combined challenge to the UPA government and the Congress party.
Anti-corruption crusader and Lokpal panel member Anna Hazare on Thursday announced that he will join Baba Ramdev's protest fast in Delhi on June 5 saying he won't allow the government to weaken the anti-corruption agitation.
Hazare lashed out at the Centre saying that the government has tried to cheat civil society members on the Lokpal bill and tried to sabotage the Lokpal panel.
"I will join Baba Ramdev on June 5. The fight is against corruption. I will talk to Baba on how to go forward on the fight against corruption. The government has tried to cheat us. The government had assured us that they would look into our demand," he said.
With just two days to go for Baba Ramdev's fast, battle lines are drawn between the government and civil society groups fighting for a strong anti-graft bill.
"I will support Baba Ramdev so that the government does not do what it did when we were fighting. We will fight together against corruption," he added.
Hazare claimed that the government lacks the intention to root out corruption from the system. He said that the government is insecure and is only trying to prolong its stay at the Centre.
"The government is bringing in clauses so as to let corruption grow. The government lacks the intention to root out corruption from the system," he said.
Anna Hazare also said that there is no divide in the civil society over the Lokpal bill.
"There is no two views on Lokpal bill between us and Baba," he said.
Meanwhile, the UPA's outreach to Baba Ramdev continues. Ministers are expected to meet Ramdev on Thursday as well.
The Cabinet too is expected to discuss the Ramdev issue. significantly the Congress Core Committee will also meet today. Baba Ramdev though is firm on going ahead with his fast, starting Saturday.
The meetings come even as the party indicated it was miffed with the government's red carpet rolled out to the Yoga guru at the airport on Wednesday - he was received by four Union Ministers and the cabinet secretary.
The party is also worried about the fact that the RSS has come out in support of Baba's protest.
New Delhi: After the Baba Ramdev scare, there is a new complication for the government. Now, Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev pose a combined challenge to the UPA government and the Congress party.
Anti-corruption crusader and Lokpal panel member Anna Hazare on Thursday announced that he will join Baba Ramdev's protest fast in Delhi on June 5 saying he won't allow the government to weaken the anti-corruption agitation.
Hazare lashed out at the Centre saying that the government has tried to cheat civil society members on the Lokpal bill and tried to sabotage the Lokpal panel.
"I will join Baba Ramdev on June 5. The fight is against corruption. I will talk to Baba on how to go forward on the fight against corruption. The government has tried to cheat us. The government had assured us that they would look into our demand," he said.
With just two days to go for Baba Ramdev's fast, battle lines are drawn between the government and civil society groups fighting for a strong anti-graft bill.
"I will support Baba Ramdev so that the government does not do what it did when we were fighting. We will fight together against corruption," he added.
Hazare claimed that the government lacks the intention to root out corruption from the system. He said that the government is insecure and is only trying to prolong its stay at the Centre.
"The government is bringing in clauses so as to let corruption grow. The government lacks the intention to root out corruption from the system," he said.
Anna Hazare also said that there is no divide in the civil society over the Lokpal bill.
"There is no two views on Lokpal bill between us and Baba," he said.
Meanwhile, the UPA's outreach to Baba Ramdev continues. Ministers are expected to meet Ramdev on Thursday as well.
The Cabinet too is expected to discuss the Ramdev issue. significantly the Congress Core Committee will also meet today. Baba Ramdev though is firm on going ahead with his fast, starting Saturday.
The meetings come even as the party indicated it was miffed with the government's red carpet rolled out to the Yoga guru at the airport on Wednesday - he was received by four Union Ministers and the cabinet secretary.
The party is also worried about the fact that the RSS has come out in support of Baba's protest.
RTI ACTIVIST & ENVIRONMENTALIST CHAINED AND HANDCUFFED IN CAPTIVITY IN HOSPITAL
Bahar Dutt , CNN-IBN, Updated Jun 02, 2011 at 05:41pm IST
New Delhi: RTI activist Ramesh Agarwal has been arrested and chained to a hospital bed Chhattisgarh's Raigarh after a complaint by business group, the Jindals. Agarwal was arrested on May 28 by Chhatisgarh Police based on a complaint filed by the Jindals. Photographs available with CNN-IBN clearly show that Ramesh has been handcuffed.
Agarwal is apparently paying the price for being a whistleblower as he had written to Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh asking for environment clearance to be cancelled of Jindal plant for violating green norms in 2010.
It was based on his letter that Ramesh cancelled the environment clearance of Jindal Steel and Power Plant.
Agarwal is accused of defamation, insult and of making false statements. He was arrested after he reportedly spoke at a public hearing against the Jindals.
------------------------------------------------------------
More on the news from accessinitiative.org
Link: http://www.accessinitiative.org/sites/default/files/CHAINED%20AND%20HANDCUFFED%20FOR%20SPEAKING%20UP.doc
On wee hours of morning of 28th May 2011, Shri Ramesh Agrawal and Dr. Harihar Patel two longstanding and strong-willed activists from Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh were arrested from their homes by the district police. Both Agrawal and Patel had been raising concerns about the social and environmental impacts of rapid and indiscriminate industrial expansion in the district for the last several years. They had actively participated in mandatory public hearings being organised as part of the environment clearance procedure of India, wherein locally affected people and concerned citizens can raise their concerns and objections to any industrial or infrastructure related project that is to be set up.
Shri Ramesh Agrawal was part of an active group called Jan Chetana and lived in Raigarh town from where he carefully acted as a watchdog and a whistle-blower to several irregularities related to environmental compliance, water pollution and social impact issues of different project being proposed in the district. He had filed several Right to Information (RTI) applications and had on a regular basis highlighted the plight of environmental governance and disregard to environmental norms in the district before the concerned state and central level authorities and ministries. He had also taken up several matters before the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) and other regulatory authorities raising concerns about faulty impact assessment, infective public hearings and instances of construction before mandatory approvals.
Dr. Harihar Patel is a resident of Gare village is a a practicing medical doctor (B.A.M.S. and DAC Aryuvedic and Acupuncture). In more recent times Dr. Patel had been leading the Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Ekta Sangathan which had been fighting against take over of people's land due to industrial and mining activities in and around his village. He had also filed an application against environment clearance granted for setting up of the Gare IV coal mining project (by M/s JSPL) before the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) proposed .
Both Agrawal and Patel had participated in a public hearing on 8th May 2010 and raised objections against the expand an existing thermal power plant of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JPSL) with an additional capacity of 2400 MW. The Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB) had visited the plant site in February 2010 and made observations that the company had initiated construction activity even prior to the public consultation being being completed and an environment clearance issued based on people's responses and the contentions of an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). Both Agrawal and Patel had raised these and many other issues at the public hearing along with their colleague Rajesh Tripathy.
A Complaint was filed against the Aggarwal and Harihar Patel by Jindal Power Ltd. A perusal of Complaint filed before the Police shows that Sections 501,502,503,504,505,506 read with 34 and 35 of IPC have been registered against Ramesh Aggarwal for statement made at the Public hearing for the proposed project. The offences alleged are mainly dealing provisions of defamation, insult, making false statement with intent to cause offence against public peace etc. and criminal intimidation.
Ramesh Aggarwal has been handcuffed and chained to the bed. This is illegal and violates Supreme Court orders and clearly invites contempt of Court. (See Extracts from Supreme Court Judgement)
Ramesh Agarwal has been spearheading the fight against unplanned industrialisation and exploitation of the natural resources of Chattisgarh. He has been critical in challenging environmental clearances granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests without proper Environment Impact Assessment studies and public consultation. Infact he has to his credit the maximum number of Appeals before the National Environment Appellate Authority. Some of the significant issues which Ramesh Aggarwal has brought before the Courts are: challenge to thermal power Plant, Champa, Chattisgarh, leading to the initial revocation of environmental clearance and having a fresh public hearing conducted, to his ongoing challenge about half a dozen projects in the region. On a petition of Aggarwals NGO i.e Jan Chetna the Delhi High court directed that copies of approval given to projects must be made published in local newspapers so as to enable people to know the approval conditions.
----------------------------------------------------------
Supreme Court Judgment relied upon:
AIR 1996 SC 2193, 1996 CriLJ 3247, (1996) 1 GLR 682
Citizen For Democracy Through Its ... vs State Of Assam And Others
16. We declare, direct and lay down as a rule that handcuffs or other fetters shall not be forced on a prisoner convicted or under-trialwhile lodged in a jail anywhere in the country or while transporting or in transit from one jail to another or from jail to Court and back. The police and the jail authorities, on their own, shall have no authority to direct the handcuffing of any inmate of a jail in the country or during transport from one jail to another or from jail to Court and back.
19. When the police arrests a person in execution of a warrant of arrest obtained from a Magistrate, the person arrested shall not be handcuffed unless the police has also obtained orders from the Magistrate for the handcuffing of the person to be so arrested.
21. We direct all ranks of police and the prison authorities to meticulously obey the above mentioned directions. Any violation of any of the directions issued by us by any rank of police in the country or member of the jail establishment shall be summarily punishable under the Contempt of Courts Act apart from other penal consequences under law”
---------------------------------------------------------
New Delhi: RTI activist Ramesh Agarwal has been arrested and chained to a hospital bed Chhattisgarh's Raigarh after a complaint by business group, the Jindals. Agarwal was arrested on May 28 by Chhatisgarh Police based on a complaint filed by the Jindals. Photographs available with CNN-IBN clearly show that Ramesh has been handcuffed.
Agarwal is apparently paying the price for being a whistleblower as he had written to Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh asking for environment clearance to be cancelled of Jindal plant for violating green norms in 2010.
It was based on his letter that Ramesh cancelled the environment clearance of Jindal Steel and Power Plant.
Agarwal is accused of defamation, insult and of making false statements. He was arrested after he reportedly spoke at a public hearing against the Jindals.
------------------------------------------------------------
More on the news from accessinitiative.org
Link: http://www.accessinitiative.org/sites/default/files/CHAINED%20AND%20HANDCUFFED%20FOR%20SPEAKING%20UP.doc
On wee hours of morning of 28th May 2011, Shri Ramesh Agrawal and Dr. Harihar Patel two longstanding and strong-willed activists from Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh were arrested from their homes by the district police. Both Agrawal and Patel had been raising concerns about the social and environmental impacts of rapid and indiscriminate industrial expansion in the district for the last several years. They had actively participated in mandatory public hearings being organised as part of the environment clearance procedure of India, wherein locally affected people and concerned citizens can raise their concerns and objections to any industrial or infrastructure related project that is to be set up.
Shri Ramesh Agrawal was part of an active group called Jan Chetana and lived in Raigarh town from where he carefully acted as a watchdog and a whistle-blower to several irregularities related to environmental compliance, water pollution and social impact issues of different project being proposed in the district. He had filed several Right to Information (RTI) applications and had on a regular basis highlighted the plight of environmental governance and disregard to environmental norms in the district before the concerned state and central level authorities and ministries. He had also taken up several matters before the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) and other regulatory authorities raising concerns about faulty impact assessment, infective public hearings and instances of construction before mandatory approvals.
Dr. Harihar Patel is a resident of Gare village is a a practicing medical doctor (B.A.M.S. and DAC Aryuvedic and Acupuncture). In more recent times Dr. Patel had been leading the Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Ekta Sangathan which had been fighting against take over of people's land due to industrial and mining activities in and around his village. He had also filed an application against environment clearance granted for setting up of the Gare IV coal mining project (by M/s JSPL) before the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) proposed .
Both Agrawal and Patel had participated in a public hearing on 8th May 2010 and raised objections against the expand an existing thermal power plant of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JPSL) with an additional capacity of 2400 MW. The Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB) had visited the plant site in February 2010 and made observations that the company had initiated construction activity even prior to the public consultation being being completed and an environment clearance issued based on people's responses and the contentions of an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). Both Agrawal and Patel had raised these and many other issues at the public hearing along with their colleague Rajesh Tripathy.
A Complaint was filed against the Aggarwal and Harihar Patel by Jindal Power Ltd. A perusal of Complaint filed before the Police shows that Sections 501,502,503,504,505,506 read with 34 and 35 of IPC have been registered against Ramesh Aggarwal for statement made at the Public hearing for the proposed project. The offences alleged are mainly dealing provisions of defamation, insult, making false statement with intent to cause offence against public peace etc. and criminal intimidation.
Ramesh Aggarwal has been handcuffed and chained to the bed. This is illegal and violates Supreme Court orders and clearly invites contempt of Court. (See Extracts from Supreme Court Judgement)
Ramesh Agarwal has been spearheading the fight against unplanned industrialisation and exploitation of the natural resources of Chattisgarh. He has been critical in challenging environmental clearances granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests without proper Environment Impact Assessment studies and public consultation. Infact he has to his credit the maximum number of Appeals before the National Environment Appellate Authority. Some of the significant issues which Ramesh Aggarwal has brought before the Courts are: challenge to thermal power Plant, Champa, Chattisgarh, leading to the initial revocation of environmental clearance and having a fresh public hearing conducted, to his ongoing challenge about half a dozen projects in the region. On a petition of Aggarwals NGO i.e Jan Chetna the Delhi High court directed that copies of approval given to projects must be made published in local newspapers so as to enable people to know the approval conditions.
----------------------------------------------------------
Supreme Court Judgment relied upon:
AIR 1996 SC 2193, 1996 CriLJ 3247, (1996) 1 GLR 682
Citizen For Democracy Through Its ... vs State Of Assam And Others
16. We declare, direct and lay down as a rule that handcuffs or other fetters shall not be forced on a prisoner convicted or under-trialwhile lodged in a jail anywhere in the country or while transporting or in transit from one jail to another or from jail to Court and back. The police and the jail authorities, on their own, shall have no authority to direct the handcuffing of any inmate of a jail in the country or during transport from one jail to another or from jail to Court and back.
19. When the police arrests a person in execution of a warrant of arrest obtained from a Magistrate, the person arrested shall not be handcuffed unless the police has also obtained orders from the Magistrate for the handcuffing of the person to be so arrested.
21. We direct all ranks of police and the prison authorities to meticulously obey the above mentioned directions. Any violation of any of the directions issued by us by any rank of police in the country or member of the jail establishment shall be summarily punishable under the Contempt of Courts Act apart from other penal consequences under law”
---------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)