JUDICIARY/ LAW 2013

January to December - 2013

Compiled By
Fr. Paul G Documentation Centre

SC to hear plea seeking speedy trial in rape cases (19)
New Delhi: Amid growing demand for stricter punishment for offences against women, the Supreme Court
on Wednesday agreed to hear a PIL for setting-up fast-track courts all over the country for speedy trial of
rape cases. The PIL, filed by retired IAS officer Promilla Shankar, also seeks suspension of MPs and
MLAs who have been chargesheeted for crime against women. Meanwhile, another bench of Justice P
Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued notices to the Centre and all the states on another PIL
seeking security measures for women. Filed by advocate Mukul Kumar the PIL seeks creation of women
police stations in every town to investigate complaints of rape and sexual assault against women and
implementation of UN convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. "In spite of
international agreements, the denial of women's basic human rights is persistent and widespread. As per
a study, conducted by the Centre for Social Research, 18 women were tortured every hour in some way
or the other across the country," the petition said. In her PIL, Promilla said no effort was being made for
effective implementation of existing laws for safety of women. "Punitive actions are being taken only after
incidents are reported by media, but no reformatory or systematic improvements are being made ...
People are getting frustrated by absence of deterrent effect of law on criminals and innocent people are
suffering due to misuse of police power." (Hindustan Times 2/1/13)

No fast track courts for women in Gujarat (19)
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat is yet to put justice for women on the fast track! Even as states like Maharashtra,
Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala and of course Delhi announced fast track courts for speedy justice to
women in the aftermath of national upsurge against Delhi gang rape, Gujarat has no courts dedicated to
women. Delhi announced six fast track courts for women, Maharashtra 25, West Bengal 88! Gujarat has
not yet woken up to the fact that the women in the state need such courts for speedy trials and justice.
Advocate Meena Jagtap said fast track courts dedicated to women with women judges and women public
prosecutors should be started on top priority by Gujarat government for speedy delivery of justice to the
women wronged in the state. "First thing, women especially those who have been raped feel extremely
humiliated and are hesitant to testify before male advocates and judges. Secondly, I have witnessed in
some cases that judges themselves advised women to work out a compromise. In such a situation, the
case is resolved but justice is not done", said Jagtap. Nupur Sinha of Center for Social Justice (CSJ) said
Gujarat has no dedicated women court. "Gujarat needs fast track courts dedicated to women for the
simple reason that we have found it difficult to sustain the interest of the litigants or women survivors or
witnesses over a long period of time. When the case drags on for long years, the victim gets tired of
coming to the court and a compromise is reached due to pressure from the community or relatives", said
Sinha. Legal secretary V P Patel said the state had begun fast track courts in the year 2001 and the
functioning of these courts were stopped in 2010. Legal eagles said that these were funded by the central
government and were stopped when the funds did not come. Patel said while there were no special fast
track courts dedicated to women ever in the state, following the Supreme Court direction, women judges
were asked to handle women related cases, wherever possible. Pradeepsinh Jadeja, minister of judiciary

This is a collection of previously published news and views from the print as well as the electronic media, whose reference
marked at the end of each news items. Department of Documentation and Library (DDL) of the Indian Social Institute, New
Delhi neither claims to the veracity of the facts in the news nor subscribes to the views expressed.
and law, says that there are 35 women courts or naari adalats which are under the women and child
development department. When asked about government starting fast track courts especially dedicated
to women in Gujarat, he said, "No such matter has been brought to his office for consideration". (Times of
India 6/1/13)

Wife-beating not accepted social norm, observes SC (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has expressed its anguish over a judgment delivered by a Karwar
sessions court judge, which suggested that beating wife was a normal facet of life. Describing the
judgment as perverse, a bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai asked for bringing in
change in the mindset of judges in order to deal with the phenomenal rise in the crimes against women.
There is a phenomenal rise in the crimes against women and protection granted to women by the
Constitution of India and other laws would be meaningful only if those who are entrusted with the job of
doing justice are sensitised towards womens problems, the bench said. The court dismissed an appeal
by Vajresh Venkatray Anvekar, who was fined and sentenced to five years jail by the Karnataka High
Court, for driving his wife Girija to commit suicide in June 2002. Their marriage had taken place in
December, 2001. The apex court said the high court had rightly reversed the judgment delivered by the
trial court, which had acquitted the accused. It, however, pulled up the fast-track court judge for writing a
judgment that suggested occasional slapping of wife was not that strong a reason for the woman to end
her life. The tenor of the judgment suggests that wife beating is a normal facet of married life. Does that
mean giving one or two slaps to a wife by a husband just does not matter? We do not think that that can
be a right approach. It is one thing to say that every wear and tear of married life need not lead to suicide
and it is another thing to put it so crudely and suggest that one or two assaults on a woman is an
accepted social norm. Judges have to be sensitive to womens problems. Perhaps learned Sessions
Judge wanted to convey that the circumstances on record were not strong enough to drive Girija to
commit suicide, the bench said. The court said that making light of slaps given to Girija, which resulted in
loss of her eyesight, was to show extreme insensitivity. Assault on a woman offends her dignity. What
effect it will have on a woman depends on facts and circumstances of each case. There cannot be any
generalisation on this issue, the bench said. (Deccan Herald 7/1/13)

CJI asks all high courts to fast-track cases of crimes against women (19)
NEW DELHI: Citing the spontaneous outburst of outrage over the brutal gang-rape and death of a woman
in Delhi, Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir has urged the chief justices of all high courts to take
immediate steps for prioritizing trial in the case of crimes against women. In a letter addressed to all the
chief justices, Chief Justice Kabir asked them to "ensure that cases relating to offences against women
are fast-tracked and taken up for hearing on priority basis, both at the high court and district court level."
"The spontaneous outburst of outrage and anger," Chief Justice Kabir's letter said, "is a measure of how
the incident has left an indelible mark and shaken the conscience of the nation." "Rape is not only
physical barbarism, but afflicts the very soul of a victim," he said, adding that a large number of cases
involving crime against women are pending in various high courts and trial courts and in recent times,
there was a marked increase in such cases. Delay might be one of the factors contributing in the rise of
cases of offences against women, Chief Justice Kabir said adding that "on account of such delay,
deterrence pales into insignificance"."Time has come when these cases have to be dealt with
expeditiously, lest we should fail in our endeavour to arrest the sharp increase of crimes of violence
against women," the letter said. Urging the chief justices to take steps for setting up fast-track courts to
exclusively deal with offences against the women, Chief Justice Kabir asked them to identify the number
of requisite posts required to be created at the level of session judges as well as the magistrates along
with supporting staff and judicial infrastructure. Asking the chief justices to take up the matter with the
state governments with "promptitude", he said: "I am sure that, judging the present day scenario, the state
government/Union territory will not decline the genuine demand of the judiciary." Pointing to one of the
five fast-track courts inaugurated by him January 2, Chief Justice Kabir said the Delhi government has
already taken steps to appoint 150 new judicial officers with 1,085 posts of supporting staff. He also urged
the chief justices to take steps for filling 3,670 vacancies in the subordinate judiciary as well as vacancies
in the high courts. Chief Justice Kabir's letter also said that fast-tracking of matters relating to offences
against women would be one of the agenda items of the Chief Justices Conference scheduled for April 5-
7, 2013. (Times of India 8/1/13)

Exclude those above 16 from Juvenile Act, demands PIL (19)
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre on a petition seeking to
exclude from the purview of the Juvenile Justice Act those above 16 years committing serious crimes like
rape and murder. A division bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain issued the notice
through the ministries of parliamentary affairs and law and justice, and asked them to file their response
by Feb 14. The public interest litigation (PIL) sought to declare as ultra vires some provisions of the
Juvenile Justice Act, alleging that recent incidents showed that those aged 16 years were involved in
"serious crimes" and are "quite well developed"."They do not need the care and protection of the society,
rather the society needs care and protection against them," read the PIL. Advocate R K Kapoor said if
juveniles above 16 years were involved in "heinous crime" like rape and murder, they should not be
treated as juveniles and be given harsher punishment like adults. He added that those above 16 should
not be allowed to escape "life term" and "death penalty".The petition also seeks a direction for
amendment to the act to provide for harsher punishment to the rape convicts. Appearing for the Centre,
Additional Solicitor General Rajiv Mehra told the court that he "will take instruction from the government
for quashing of certain provisions in the JJ Act." Mehra submitted that "Justice J S Verma Committee has
already been constituted for the purpose".The government has set up a three-member Justice J.S. Verma
Committee to give recommendations on amending laws to provide speedier justice and enhanced
punishment in sexual assault cases. The PIL would also be significant in the Dec 16 gang-rape and
murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in Delhi, where the investigation has revealed that a minor,
claiming to be 17, was allegedly the "most brutal" among the six accused. The petition was filed by a
woman advocate lawyer, Shweta Kapoor, who noted that Section 16 of the JJ Act deals with the order
which cannot be passed against a juvenile, including "sentence to death or life imprisonment"."Issue
direction declaring the provisions of Section 16(1) (1st part without proviso), the proviso to subsection 2 of
Section 16, ...of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, as ultra vires to the
constitution..," the PIL said. It stated that the provision also says that delinquents above 16 years shall be
kept in special homes away from other minors and the period of detention would be of three years.
Another provision, however, says that a juvenile can only be kept at the special home till he attains 18
years of age. Kapoor in his plea quoted a survey, which showed 67 per cent of all juvenile criminals
arrested belong to the age group of 16 to 18 years and that since 2001 there has been a 188 per cent rise
in crimes committed by juveniles. In the Dec 16 gang rape case, the minor accused was 17-and-half
years old at the time of the crime and, if convicted, would come out of the special home after he become
a major at 18. He can neither be kept with minor convicts at the special home nor be sent to jail with adult
convicts, as per JJ Act. The PIL submitted: "The very fact that gruesome acts and heinous crimes have
been committed by a number of juveniles between the age of 16 and 18 years would show that certain
provisions of the act are ultra vires..." "...the provisions of the Constitution of India in view of the fact that
unequals have been clubbed together and given the same benefit though the same benefit cannot be
given to the class of juveniles between the age of 16 to 18 years, who have been found involved in
heinous and grave crimes," it said. "A person committing a serious crime after attaining the age of 17
years and 364 days cannot be treated differently from the person who commits the same crime after
attaining the age of 18 years and one day." Delhi Police have filed the chargesheet in the gang rape case
and of the six accused, five are lodged in Tihar Jail. The Juvenile Justice Board would hear the case of
sixth accused, who claims to be a minor. (Times of India 10/1/13)


'Gangrape case hastened introspection of judiciary' (19)
New Delhi: The outrage following Delhi gangrape case has hastened the process of introspection over
justice delivery system, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said on Saturday, while cautioning that a perception
of legislations being "impotent" erodes people's faith in the rule of law. "Tragic events in the recent past
that have shaken national sensitivity and has shocked the national conscience have indeed hastened the
process of introspection," Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said here. He said besides those who committed
the crime, the public outrage after the tragedy was also against the perceived inadequacies in way
procedural laws are administered. "...laws perceived as impotent in the face of rage leave an
unacceptable erosion of people's faith in justice delivery system and the rule of law itself," he said. Kumar
was addressing a seminar on judicial reforms in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and senior
judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. He said the ongoing structural procedural changes are
aimed at ensuring a credible, responsible and a citizen-friendly judicial process so that the people may
have a full faith in the justice delivery system. "It should be our endeavour to ensure that law works for
everyone and the vast majority is not deprived of the protective shelter of the law," he said. The Minister
said the judicial system was under "strain" due to backlog of cases and suggested an improved
infrastructure and nourished legal fraternity for a robust judicial system would help overcome the problem.
He also said the Gram Nyayalaya Act which proposes to set up courts in rural areas to deliver justice at
the doorsteps of the common man and establishment of model courts would help bring down the number
of pending cases. Over three crore cases are pending in the 21 High Courts and subordinate courts
across the country. The Supreme Court is saddled with 66,000 pending cases. (Hindustan Times 12/1/13)

PIL against Maran: SC seeks response from CBI, BSNL (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought replies from the CBI and BSNL on a PIL demanding a
thorough inquiry and appropriate action against DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran for allegedly setting up a
telephone exchange in his Chennai house and routing 323 high-speed telephone lines to his family-
owned Sun TV Network offices when he was the Union Telecom Minister. The PIL by journalist
Swaminathan Gurumurthy claimed that this arrangement was carried out to facilitate the Data Transfer
requirements of Sun TV Network and caused, on the estimates provided by CBI in its preliminary inquiry,
a loss of Rs 440 crore to BSNL and the national exchequer. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate
Aman Lekhi contended that the crime was brazen and that the facts of the case were gross while the
legal remedies remained abject in the present case since there was no movement regarding a fair probe
against Maran. Admitting the PIL, a Bench led by Justice Aftab Alam issued notices to the CBI and BSNL,
seeking their response to the contentions. As per the plea, Maran acquired these telephone lines in the
name of Chief General Manager of BSNL at Chennai and managed to secretly keep them out of the
telephonic system and records of BSNL while it was installed at his Chennai residence. It added that CBI
had initiated a preliminary investigation regarding the alleged scam and also wrote to the Telecom
Secretary Telecom in September 2007 but the matter subsequently was put in cold storage. (Indian
Express 12/1/13)

Lack of Govt support reason for delay in justice: SC judge (19)
New Delhi: Lack of Government support in States is one of the reason for delay in justice delivery, Justice
Madan B Lokur of the Supreme Court said on Saturday. He was addressing a seminar on Technology to
Enable Accessible and Speedy Justice in the Capital. Pointing out that only 0.4 per cent of the budgetary
outlay is allocated to the judiciary, Justice Lokur wondered, Is justice delivery so unimportant that there is
only 0.4 per cent of the GDP as budget for the judiciary, while terming it as quite insufficient. Heading
the E-Committee of the Supreme Court, Justice Lokur felt that the need for more budgetary allocation
was all the more essential when there is a pending proposal to increase the number of courts from 14,000
to 18,847 and modernising the existing ones. Apart from this, he said, We require more judges, land,
new courts, modernisation of existing courts, staff to help judges, resources etc, which will be hard to
come by in this situation when there are many other challenging agendas before the Government.With
the Government considering to increase the number of judges, Lokur was skeptical since judiciary at
present was not able to handle the existing 14,000 courts due to lack of infrastructure and State
Governments cash-stripped. In his view, justice delivery system could become responsive provided it gets
the necessary impetus with technology. Senior advocate Fali S Nariman who shared his concern on the
issue said there was a need for accessibility of the common man to speedy justice. We need not only
technology but something more. We need civil societys initiative, encouraging young lawyers to
represent litigants in small cases. As against 13 million criminal cases pending in subordinate courts, the
strength of judges is 12,000, he said. At the same time, he pointed out, Courts are not mechanical. They
also need time to go through the evidence... We cant blame the judges (for pendency) either, he added.
(Pioneer 13/1/13)

Khap diktats are unlawful, says SC (19)
New Delhi: In a major setback for khap panchayats, the Supreme Court on Monday termed their diktat, on
dress code for women and asking them not to carry mobiles, as unlawful. A bench of justices Aftab Alam
and Ranjana Prakash Desai said such diktates are against the fundamental right to life and asked khap
panchayats (caste-based councils) to file their replies on the issue. It (such diktat) also violates the law.
How can someone ask others not to carry mobile?, the bench asked when the Centre told it that such
orders are being passed by them against women. Leaders of various khap panchayats of Utter Pradesh
and Haryana appeared before the apex court in response to its invitation on Monday, extended during its
last hearing to them to express their views. They told the court that very distorted facts have been
projected about them in the court. Top police officers from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana also appeared
before the apex court and submitted that although the khaps issued some socially retrograde resolutions
but they were never directly involved in honour killings. Additional director-generals of police (law and
order) of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh said khaps also play positive roles at times like passing resolution
against foeticide. The court was hearing a PIL filed by an NGO Sahakti Vahini seeking courts direction to
the government to take action against khap panchayats for allegedly harassing and killing couples,
particularly women in name of familys honour for entering into inter-caste or intra-gotra marriages. (Asian
Age 15/1/13)

Centre sanctions appointment of 2,000 judges for fast-track courts (19)
NEW DELHI: Prompted by nationwide outrage over the Nirbhaya gang rape incident, the law ministry has
approved Rs 80 crore for recruitment of 2,000 more judges across the country for fast-track courts. In a
letter to state governments and high courts on January 9, the Centre asked them to increase the strength
of subordinate judiciary from the current 18,000 to 20,000 with the additional judges to be deployed in
fast-track courts. The law ministry took Cabinet approval in the last week of December when India was
rocked by mass protests over Nirbhaya's gang rape that saw activists, lawyers, officials and jurists
pointing to how victims were disadvantaged by long trials that allowed accused to influence witnesses.
Sources said the government was working on another proposal to allow states to use funds available for
morning and evening courts to further increase the number of fast-track courts, a demand raised by
various sections of society to expedite trial of pending cases, particularly those of sexual assault and
heinous crimes. The law ministry allowed setting up of morning and evening courts in 2010 but the
scheme failed to take off with very few states availing the scheme leading to unused funds. Now, the
government proposes to divert this allocation towards setting up of fast-track courts, sources said. The
Centre had discontinued the fast-track courts scheme in March 2011 after running it for over 11 years.
However, several states like Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh decided to convert these courts into
regular courts while some like West Bengal and Maharashtra continued to run more than 100 such courts
without the central contribution. During the central funding of fast-track courts, between 2000 and 2011,
Bihar ran maximum number of such courts at 179 and this also resulted in reduction of a large number of
pending cases in the state. Under the scheme, the central assistance was limited to Rs 4.80 lakh per
court per annum for recurring expenditure and Rs 8.60 lakh non-recurring expenditure. Any other
expenditure incurred by states in excess was to be borne by them. Despite all these efforts, there are
more than 3.20 crore pending cases in different courts of the country. Of this, at least 2.76 crore cases
are pending in subordinate courts while 44 lakh are pending in various high courts, according to the law
ministry. (Times of India 17/1/13)

Centre to conduct study on RTI Act, gauge its implementation (19)
The Centre has decided to conduct a study on RTI Act to assess its implementation across the country
and find ways to address bottlenecks faced by various stakeholders. The study will analyse public
perception about the extent of reduction in corruption as a result of the functioning of the RTI Act and to
calculate cost to the government in providing information under the transparency law among others.
Besides, it will determine the level of satisfaction among the people with the functioning of the
transparency law, assess type of information sought by people, record experience of public authorities at
different levels and assess trends in filing of RTI applications or appeals. The Right to Information Act
was enacted in 2005 to further the objectives of making governance more transparent and accountable.
"In order to strengthen both the 'demand' and 'supply' side of RTI regime, several initiatives have been
taken by Government of India to generate awareness amongst public regarding their rights under the Act
and how to exercise those and also to train Public Information Officer in handling the RTI requests fairly
and expeditiously... "To further strengthen the RTI regime, it has been decided to carry out a 360 degree
study of the implementation of the RTI Act. The implementation of the provisions of the Act has to be
studied from the perspective of both the demand and supply side," an Expression of Interest (EOI) floated
by the Department of Personnel and Training, said. The study will cover both states and central
government, across various sectors, and will cover public authorities at centre, state, district and
panchayat level. "The time frame for the study is six-nine months," it said. Interested firms can reply to the
EOI by January 28. Earlier, the DoPT had decided to re-tender an RTI Call centre and portal project,
aimed at further simplifying the process to facilitate easy access to government information, in November
last year following unfavourable response. (DNA 20/1/13)

Verma panel recommends sweeping changes in laws, tougher penalties (19)
New Delhi: From amendments to the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and criminal laws
dealing with sexual violence against women to immediate steps to check trafficking of women and
children, the three-member Justice J S Verma Committee Wednesday presented a detailed roadmap of
steps the Centre and states should take to prevent sexual crimes against women. The panel, however,
left the maximum penalty in rape cases to life imprisonment but said this should be entire life in jail. It also
did not suggest any changes to the Juvenile Justice Act in its 631-page report submitted to the Home
ministry. Observing that chemical castration which has been talked of as punishment for rapists
needs to be researched, the panel said, "We note that it would be unconstitutional and inconsistent with
basic human rights treaties for the state to expose any citizen without their consent to potentially
dangerous medical side-effects. For this reason, we do not recommend mandatory chemical castration of
any type as a punishment for sex offenders". The ministry had formed the commission on December 23
"to suggest amendments to criminal laws to provide for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for
criminals committing sexual assault of extreme nature against women" in the aftermath of the gangrape of
a student in a Delhi bus. If the government accepts the recommendations, it would mean amendments
being brought to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2012, introduced in Parliament on December 4.
During its deliberations, the panel, which included former Himachal Pradesh high court chief justice Leila
Seth and former solicitor-general Gopal Subramaniam, received more than 80,000 suggestions. (Indian
Express 24/1/13)

Court holds verdict on powers to private schools (19)
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on a PIL challenging two
government notifications that gave powers to unaided private schools to formulate own criteria for nursery
class admissions. "We reserve the order on the petition. The parties may give their written synopsis within
two days," a bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain said after the counsel for the
federation of unaided private schools wrapped up his arguments in the case. Senior advocate N K Kaul,
appearing for the federation comprising over 380 private schools as members, said, "The attempt to do
away with the principle of maximum autonomy, laid down by the Supreme Court, to be given to private
schools would have wide ramifications." Referring to various case laws, he said that the private schools
cannot be forced to "toe" the diktat so far as the admission process is concerned and "at best the
admission criteria, laid down by them, should be reasonable".Another senior lawyer, appearing for the
parents of an admission seeking toddler, opposed the PIL saying "the fundamental right to education
cannot be enforced against private schools as it is enforceable against the state and its instrumentalities.
It is the duty of the state to provide education".Reserving the verdict, the court said, "We are testing the
constitutional validity of the notifications that gave you (schools) the power to formulate criteria. We are
also on the applicability of the Right to Education Act in this case." Earlier, the court had made it clear that
its decision on the PIL would also affect nursery admissions for the 2013-14 academic session. The court
is hearing the PIL, filed by NGO Social Jurist, against two notifications, issued by the Human Resources
Development Ministry and the Directorate of Education of Delhi government. The notifications gave
schools the power to formulate their own admission criteria. Earlier, additional solicitor general Rajeeve
Mehra, appearing for HRD Ministry, said the Act stipulates that a child, in the age group of 6 to 14 years,
would be treated as a child covered under the legislation. The ASG said that he would be filing a "short
synopsis" on the issue after getting instructions from the government. "This is strange. If the nursery
admission process cannot be regulated then the purpose of the Act would be defeated as the seats would
be filled by the time a poor kid attains the age of six," Ashok Agarwal, counsel for the NGO, said. New
Delhi: The Delhi high court on Wednesday gave two weeks more to Delhi police and the district judge of
Saket courts for filing fresh reports on missing of judicial and police files related to a 20-year-old rape
case. The bench of chief justice D Murugesan and justice V K Jain allowed the plea of police and judicial
officer, asked the additional deputy commissioner of police of New Delhi and district judge to file the
status report in the case and posted the matter for February 13. During the hearing, the court questioned
advocate Sweta Singh, who has filed the PIL, asking in what capacity she has filed the plea. "The FIR
was filed by the girl (victim). Neither the accused nor the complainant is before us. What made you file a
PIL?" the bench asked, adding, "We will certainly look into the lapse part. We just want to confirm the
facts as we are not supposed to pass orders against a person who is not before us." (Times of India
31/1/13)

Justice Verma report sent to House panel (19)
NEW DELHI: The home ministry has forwarded the Justice JS Verma report seeking tighter rape laws to
the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, which will take it up for discussion on February 4.
The standing committee, headed by BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu, is already looking at the Criminal Law
Amendment Bill that seeks to redefine rape and make it gender-neutral. The bill was introduced in the last
session of Parliament. With the Justice Verma panel now suggesting an overhaul of the anti-rape law to
provide for harsher penalty for gang rape and rape resulting in death or vegetative state of the victim, the
parliamentary committee will revisit the provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2012, and
examine the recommendations made by the Verma panel that can be incorporated in the bill. Incidentally,
given the sharp differences over the issue of death penalty for rape as well as over lowering the age bar
for juvenile offenders, the chances of an early consensus on the recommendations of the Justice Verma
panel appear slim. So, even as Justice Verma favours promulgation of an ordinance to amend the rape
law, pragmatist voices in the government do not favour rushing with the amendments. "In any case, the
amendments shall not apply retrospectively and thus not affect the timeline of Nirbhaya rape and murder
trial," a senior minister said. However, after the assurance given by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to
Justice Verma of prompt action on his report, the standing committee is expected to get to work and cull
out the suggestions that that can be incorporated in the Criminal Law Amendment Bill. A revised version
of the bill will then be put up for Cabinet approval, and then brought before Parliament in the budget
session. The Justice Verma committee had, in its report submitted to the government on January 23,
recommended enhanced punishment for gang rape and rape that causes death or reduces the victim to a
vegetative state, ranging from 20 years to the rest of natural life of the rapist. The panel suggested
various amendments to the criminal law, including creation of new offences like stalking, acid attacks and
voyeurism, all of which are proposed to carry a stiffer punishment. It also recommended introduction of a
"breach of command offence" in Section 376 of the IPC, by virtue of which a senior officer would be held
responsible for sexual crimes of a junior under his command. The committee, incidentally, rejected the
demand for capital punishment for rape and also disapproved of the proposal to lower the age bar for
juvenile offenders. (Times of India 1/2/13)

Govt clears 14 major changes to Lokpal Bill (19)
The Cabinet Thursday cleared the amendments the government proposes to make in the controversial
Lokpal Bill when it is tabled for consideration in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session, including
dropping the contentious provision about setting up Lokayuktas in the states, hoping that this would clear
the way for its passage. The amendments include doing away with the requirement under Section 6A
of the Delhi (Special Police) Establishment Act of prior sanction to launch a preliminary enquiry and
prosecution against any government of India official of the rank of joint secretary and above. The only
safeguard which will be put in place is that the official concerned would be given an opportunity to
respond to the allegations. "Lokpal can order investigation against a public servant, in case a prima facie
case exists, after calling for explanation from the public servant. Opportunity to be given to public servant
to be heard. Lokpal to have power to grant sanction for prosecution of public servants," an official
statement said. V Narayanasamy, minister of state for personnel and training, said the government has
accepted 14 of the amendments proposed by the Rajya Sabha select committee, set up last year after
differences between the government and opposition parties resulted in the legislation getting stuck in the
upper house after being cleared by the Lok Sabha in December 2011. While agreeing to delete the
contentious Part III of the legislation, the Centre will propose putting in place a new section which will
provide for setting up of Lokayuktas in states by enacting a law within 365 days from the date the Central
legislation becomes effective. (Indian Express 1/2/13)

Judges must be sensitive to womens problems: Supreme Court (19)
MUMBAI: The mindset of judges needs to change, the Supreme Court said recently while expressing
shock at the "tenor" of a Karnataka trial court order acquitting a man accused of cruelty and abetting his
wife's suicide. "There is a phenomenal rise in crime against women and protection granted to women by
the Constitution of India and other laws can be meaningful only if those entrusted with the job of doing
justice are sensitized towards women's problems," wrote Justice Ranjana Desai in a division bench
judgment on January 3, 2013. Justice Desai and Justice Aftab Alam held the accused, Vajresh Anvekar,
"guilty of abetment to suicide" and dismissed his appeal against a Karnataka high court order saying "the
HC has rightly reversed the trial court judgment of acquittal." The man was sentenced to five years and
fined Rs 1 lakh for abetment to suicide and given three years' jail and fined Rs 10,000 for cruelty. The SC
judgment, which came a fortnight after Nirbhaya's brutal gang-rape in the capital, is a wake up call for the
judiciary. A woman committed suicide in June 2002 within six months of an unhappy marriage. The
couple, from Karnataka, lived in Mumbai where the husband had a jewellery business. She was found
dead in her house in Hubbawada, Karnataka. "The evidence on record establishes that Ganga (name
changed) was subjected to mental and physical cruelty by the appellant in their matrimonial home which
drove her to commit suicide," the SC said, rejecting the husband's plea of innocence. The husband even
caused her an eye injury after marriage, it observed. Besides, suicide within seven years of marriage in
her matrimonial home is a circumstance that carries weight, but one whose impact the trial court "clearly
missed" said the SC. The trial court held an "unexplained six-hour delay in registering the FIR" by
Ganga's father against her husband and in-laws to be "fatal to the prosecution case". The SC judges said,
"We are amazed at this observation". "When a man loses his daughter due to cyanide poisoning, he is
bound to break down. He would take time to recover from the shock. Six hours' delay can't make his case
untrue," the SC said. His parents too were accused, but were acquitted both by the fast track trial court at
Karwar and the HC. The sessions court, while acquitting all three accused had said, "Conduct of the
accused in reprimanding the deceased for her lethargic habits, strongly advising her to be more
compatible with members of the family and to evince interest in the domestic shores (sic) can't be
considered as acts of cruelty." The SC held, "Orders to wake up at 5am daily and start work may not
always be innocuous." The trial court also said, "... the couple were staying together till her death.
Therefore, giving one or two beatings is not cruelty to drive the deceased to commit suicide." The SC
expressed its distress. It said, "The tenor of the judgment suggests that wife-beating is a normal facet of
married life. Does that mean giving one or two slaps to a wife by a husband just does not matter? We do
not think that that can be a right approach." The SC said, "It is one thing to say that every wear and tear
of married life need not lead to suicide and it is another thing to put it so crudely and suggest that one or
two assaults on a woman is an accepted social norm. Judges have to be sensitive to women's problems."
(Times of India 3/2/13)

PIL questions constitutional validity of IT Act section 66 (19)
A PIL filed in Bombay High Court has challenged the constitutional validity of section 66 (a) of the
Information Technology Act, 2000 ,that provides for punishment for "sending offensive messages through
communication service, etc." The PIL, filed by Manoj Oswal, who leads the Pune unit of BJP MP Maneka
Gandhi's People for animals, has also referred to the case of the two girls from Palghar who were
arrested for criticising the shutdown in Mumbai after the death of Bal Thackeray and cartoonist Aseem
Trivedi who were booked under the contentious section of the IT Act. The PIL states that the section of
the Act cannot be applied to individuals posting content on public forums like social networking websites
and blogs. Seeking a stay on arrests and prosecutions made under the section of the IT Act, the PIL had
stated that the section refers to sending offensive messages and would essentially involve a sender and a
receiver. However, it argues further, that this cannot be equated with public posts. Oswal was also
booked under the section after he posted comments on a website against Prataprao Pawar, brother of
NCP leader Sharad Pawar, accusing him of usurping the Pune land belonging to an aged and ailing
animal rights activist Lila Parulekar. The cyber crime branch of Pune police had arrested him for setting
up such a website as it had caused "inconvenience" to complainant Pawar.While Oswal has sought the
quashing of the complaint filed against him, he has separately questioned the constitutional validity of
section 66 (a) in the PIL. The PIL is likely to be heard on February 27. (Indian Express 6/2/13)

SC pulls up CBI in Babri Masjid case (19)
New Delhi: CBI's submission in the Babri Masjid demolition case that senior BJP leader LK Advani and
others had committed a 'national crime' drew a sharp reaction from the Supreme Court which asked the
agency not to use such a language till the case is decided by the courts. "Please don't say that it is a
national crime or a matter of national importance. We are yet to decide it. Until we or trial court decide this
way or other, you can't make such statements," a bench headed by justice H L Dattu said. The bench
made the observations after senior advocate PP Rao, appearing for CBI, submitted that leaders of BJP
and VHP were involved in a "national conspiracy" which was reflected in the Rath Yatra and its a case of
"national crime".Rao's submission came while challenging the verdicts of Special CBI court and
Allahabad high court dropping conspiracy charges against BJP leaders Advani, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti
Vinay Katiyar and Murli Manohar Joshi. The others against whom charges were dropped included Satish
Pradhan, CR Bansal, Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Sadhvi Ritambhara, V H Dalmia, Mahant
Avaidhynath, RV Vedanti, Param Hans Ram Chandra Das, Jagdish Muni Maharaj, BL Sharma, Nritya
Gopal Das, Dharam Das, Satish Nagar and Moreshwar Save. During arguments, the bench also
questioned CBI over the delay in hearings before the special court and the filing of the appeal
challenging the verdicts of the two courts. "You said that it is a case of national importance. Then can you
say that the translation (of court records) takes days and filing of case takes three months," the bench
said. The agency pleaded that it should be allowed to file a fresh affidavit to explain its stand but the
bench turned it down and said no fresh affidavits or material will be allowed to be placed before it.
(Hindustan Times 7/2/13)

Of 238 given cover in Gujarat, 71 from judiciary (19)
NEW DELHI: Gujarat on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the state provided security to 238 persons
of which 71 were high court judges, retired judges and other judicial officers even as the top court pulled
up states for failing to provide details of personnel engaged in protecting VVIPs and the cost involved. A
bench of Justices G S Singhvi and H L Gokhale asked the states to file affidavits by Monday, failing which
home secretaries of the states concerned would have to be present in court on February 14. "We are
granting time till Monday to the states to file necessary affidavit failing which their home secretaries will
assist us during the hearing on Thursday," the bench said. Additional solicitor general Indira Jaising said
she would inform all chief secretaries about the apex court's order. Gujarat was among the states
complying with the SC order. It told the court that security cover was provided to 238 persons in the state.
Interestingly, nearly one-third or 71, were high court Judges, retired judges, judicial officers, commission
and tribunal heads and members. In Ahmedabad city, international working president of VHP Pravinbhai
Togadia was provided Z+ security cover on the ground that he faced threat from Muslim fundamentalist
organizations. A VHP office-bearer, Jaydipbhai Patel, was given security cover without the state
specifying any reason. Two mahants -- Swami Shri Akhileshdasji Maharaj and Dilipdasji Maharaj - were
provided security cover "due to threat", the state said, without elaborating. Social worker Ramdev
Modhvadiya and BJP worker Kishan Khubchand Korani too were provided security by Ahmedabad police
citing the "due to threat" reason. Sant Samiti vice-president Avichaldas Maharaj Sarsa has got X-category
security while Swami Sachidanand of Dantali Ashram was given security cover because he faced threat
from anti-social elements. The vague "due to threat" formulation for providing security appeared to be
very common. An editor of a local daily and his son too got security cover under this category. Even IPS
officer Sanjiv Bhat, whose wife contested against CM Narendra Modi in the recent Gujarat assembly
election, has been provided with a personal security officer because he faced threat from unspecified
quarters. Sohrabuddin fake encounter case accused and former police official N K Amin got security
because he faced "threat from anti-social elements". The family of another accused in the fake encounter
case, Rajkumar Pandiyan, too was provided security and the police said it was on Supreme Court's order.
(Times of India 8/2/13)

States oppose key food bill provisions (19)
New Delhi: Differences came to the fore ahead of the government giving a final shape to the National
Food Security Bill, as a number of states opposed key provisions of the legislative proposal. The state
governments made their differences clear broadly on two issues quantity of foodgrains and number of
beneficiaries. Consistent with its stand the Tamil Nadu government made it clear during a meeting of the
food ministers of states in the national capital that the state would like to be exempted from the ambit of
the Food Bill. Tamil Nadu maintains that the state has a better scheme, which is universal unlike the Food
Bill, which would compulsory exclude 33 per cent of the population from its ambit. Chhattisgarh and West
Bengal also joined Tamil Nadu in seeking universal application of the Food Bill. Chhattisgarh chief
minister Raman Singh has also written a letter to the Prime Minister to stress his demands with respect to
the Food Bill. The Centre got further trouble as Opposition-ruled states Bihar, Orissa, Punjab and
Gujarat suggested that first the public distribution system (PDS) be revised before the scheme is
unveiled. Even the Congress-ruled Kerala, from where Union minister of state for food and consumer
affairs K.V. Thomas hails, sought PDS modernisation to precede implementation of the Food Bill. Bihar,
Kerala and Orissa also made it clear that the suggestion of 5 kg of foodgrains each person a month as
given by the parliamentary standing committee would be inadequate to meet the objectives of the food
security. However, Mr Thomas, apparently unfazed over the difference of opinions among the states,
stressed that the government would go ahead with the Food Bill in the coming Budget Session. Except
Tamil Nadu, all states have welcomed the bill. Some have expressed reservation on certain provisions.
We cannot satisfy all states, he said. The consultation meeting, hosted by the Centre on Wednesday,
was attended by 19 states and Union Territories. The state governments also demanded that the Centre
should bear the full cost of the implementation of the Food Bill. (Asian Age 14/2/13)

Opinion of judge in judicial recruitment not necessary: HC (19)
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has observed that an opinion by an existing judge cannot be relied
upon to reject a candidate who is otherwise fit to be recruited as a judge by the state government. The
court said this while delivering judgment earlier this month, in a petition filed by one Aezaz Alee M
Bukharee, whose name was dropped by the government in a final list of candidates appointed as civil
judges last year. Justice S R Brahmbhatt ordered the reconsideration of names that were rejected for
posts of Civil Judges based on such opinions and said, How Judicial Officer can form an opinion in
respect of candidate whom he himself had no occasion to watch or examine? Would it not be
preposterous for a Principal District Judge of a vast district having 10 or 15 taluka courts in his district to
opine in respect conduct and integrity as well as suitability of a candidate advocate who might be
exclusively practicing in court of remote taluka and who had never appeared before him? he said. In
such situation, how can the competent authority even form an opinion? In such situation how a Principal
District Judge can ever be insisted to send in his or her opinion? the judge asked. Bukharee had cleared
all necessary tests and examinations earlier, but a principal district judge had recommended against him,
after which the government had dropped his name. The Principal District Judge, who had given the
adverse opinion had in fact asked office bearers of the bar for information, which he then used in his
opinion submitted to the state. The information given to him by the bar members had in fact turned out to
be inaccurate, court documents show. The government was also reprimanded for seeking the judges
opinion and relying on it since such provisions were not part of recruitment rules. Bukharees lawyer,
Mukul Sinha, termed the judgment very significant and that it would have long term effect on all
recruitments of the subordinate judiciary. (Express India 14/2/13)

SC declines urgent hearing on PIL (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday declined to take up for urgent hearing a PIL seeking an SC-
monitored probe by a special investigation team or the Central Vigilance Commission into the alleged
kickbacks in the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP helicopter deal. "Let it come in a regular way," a bench headed by
Chief Justice Altamas Kabir said when the matter was mentioned for early hearing. The PIL filed by
advocate M L Sharma also seeks directions to the Ministry of Defence to cancel the contract with
Finmeccanica for the supply of 12 AW101 helicopters manufactured by its subsidiary, AgustaWestland.
Citing the delay by the government in taking cognisance of reports first published by The Indian
Express about ongoing investigation by the Italy's state prosecutor into alleged payment of kickbacks
by the company to clinch the tender, the petitioner has asserted that it is imperative that a SIT, under the
monitoring of the apex court, is set up to investigate the same. (Indian Express 15/2/13)

Lawyers, judiciary should work together for speedy justice: Manmohan Singh (19)
NEW DELHI: Against the backdrop of over three crore cases pending in courts across India, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday urged the lawyers and the judiciary to work together to provide
speedy justice to the people. He also said that the government is aware of its responsibilities in working
with the judiciary and other stakeholders to build a "strong and effective" justice delivery system. "It is of
critical importance that the bench and the bar work together in ensuring the rule of law in our country and
in furthering our Constitutional objectives,"Manmohan Singh. "Unless this happens, we cannot succeed
substantially in providing speedy and affordable justice to millions of our countrymen, especially those
who belong to the poor and weaker sections of our society," he said. The Prime Minister was addressing
the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Bar Council of India here in the presence of Chief Justice of India
Altamas Kabir and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. Singh said several challenges have to be overcome and
many bottlenecks have to be removed before the objective is achieved. "An obvious area of concern is
the large number of cases pending in courts especially in trial courts. I would urge the whole of the legal
fraternity to pool their knowledge, wisdom and experience to find ways and means to tackle this problem,"
he said. (Times of India 16/2/13)

PIL in SC for release of Afzal's body, framing of guidelines (19)
New Delhi: A petition was today filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the government for
handing over Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's body to his family and for laying down guidelines on
the issue of relatives' claims over bodies of executed prisoners. The PIL also sought judicial interpretation
of the right to claim bodies of convicts after their execution. The PIL, filed by NGO Garib Nawaz Jail
Victim Welfare Society, said, "The respondent (Centre) also does not bother about the religious right of
the relatives of the convicted person after being hanged to death. To perform the religious rituals as per
their professed religion is the fundamental right of the family members of the convicted person. "The
family members' right cannot be shunted out on the ground of security reason as the government has
taken in case of Afzal Guru. The family members of convicts suffer serious mental set back due to
deprivation of the right of the family members from performing the last rites as per Islamic rituals." The
petition, filed through advocates Sanobar Ali Qureshi and Ambika Ray, also said the government's
decision to bury Afzal's body inside Tihar Jail needed to be dealt by the apex court. "The decision of the
government to retain and bury the body of Afzal Guru convict of Parliament attack case inside Tihar Jail
requires the judicial interpretation pertaining to the right to claim body by the relatives after execution of
the death penalty of the convict since the sentence in case of death penalty demonstrates hang till death
and is silent about the right to retain body by the government," it said. (Indian Express 18/2/13)

NGO moves SC for vetting of trial record (19)
New Delhi: In the wake of the recent sting operation by an undisclosed person who apparently recorded a
face-to-face conversation between CBI prosecutor AK Singh and Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra accused in
the 2G spectrum scam, the Centre for Public Interest and Litigation (CPIL) has moved the Supreme Court
to direct a committee or the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to examine the trial court record of the
case. It was on NGO CPILs petition that the SC had directed a court-monitored CBI probe and also
cancelled the 122 licences of "ineligible companies" that were allocated 2G spectrum during A Raja's
tenure. The CPIL's application also wants examination of the statements made by prosecution witnesses
before the trial to ascertain any nexus between the prosecution and key corporate accused. This is
important as there is a danger of the collapse of the entire trial against the accused," stated the
application. Seeking a direction to the CBI to send the tapes of the conversation to a truth lab, the NGO
alleged the agency had not filed an FIR into the revelations made in the sting operation. The NGO said
the tapes were in the government labs and it was easy for political leadership to obtain convenient
reports. (Hindustan Times 20/2/13)

Judiciary lauded for upholding human rights (19)
VARANASI: The 21-day second refresher course in human rights (interdisciplinary) for teachers from
colleges and universities organised at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) concluded on Friday. Delivering a
lecture at the valedictory function, Prof S Shivkumar of Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, said that concept
of human right is complete only when there is acknowledgement of subsistence rights along with
traditional liberties. The role that judiciary played in upholding the human rights of the deprived through
the public interest litigation (PIL) is admirable, he said, and also threw light on the various aspects of the
PIL and a new jurisprudence being evolved by the Supreme Court of India known as 'social justice
jurisprudence' in the last few decades. In 'social justice jurisprudence' the social rights have been given
greater importance in the cases without affecting the balance between political and social rights.
Speaking on the occasion Faculty of Law, BHU, dean, Prof BC Nirmal, emphasized the need of extensive
research in the area of human rights and advocated for striking a proper balance between subsistence
and traditional rights. Later, Prof Shivkumar also delivered a lecture on 'cooperation between Law School
and Indian Law Institute in the area of research'. He made an appeal to students and faculty to actively
engage with the research work of Indian Law Institute. (Times of India 23/2/13)

PIL urges protection for domestic violence victims (19)
Mumbai: Alleging that the Domestic Violence Act was not being implemented, a PIL has urged the
Bombay High Court to direct the Maharashtra government to immediately appoint full-time officers to
protect victims of domestic violence. Appointment of such full time 'protection officers' is mandatory under
the Domestic Violence Act which came into being in 2005 but the state had not taken any steps to
implement this provision, the PIL argued. A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar last week asked
the Secretary of Women and Child Welfare Department to personally file an affidavit by March 14
explaining the stand of the government on the issue. Such 'protection officers' are expected to help
women subjected to domestic violence, bring about settlement between victims and family members,
assist courts to hold trial, help in giving shelter to victims if necessary and also to help in securing custody
of children to mothers in such cases. The PIL, filed by Rajendra Andhule, social worker from Pune,
argued that there should be at least one officer in each police station area and at least one in every JMFC
court. The state, however, has not yet appointed such officers. Even the High Court, while hearing a
petition in 2008-2009, had ordered the state to appoint such officers but no steps had been taken in this
regard, the PIL said. The PIL alleged that instead of appointing full time 'protection officers' the state had
delegated this task to revenue officers. This was unfair because the very purpose of the Domestic
Violence Act was defeated. Revenue officers are already overburdened with their own work and to
impose further responsibility of conducting themselves as 'protection officers' was not proper on the part
of the state, the PIL contended. (Hindustan Times 25/2/13)

Parliament passes sexual harassment at workplace Bill (19)
NEW DELHI: Parliament on Tuesday passed a law, providing for protection of women, including domestic
helps and agricultural labourers, against sexual harassment at workplace. The new legislation, seeking to
provide a secure and enabling environment for women employees, will make it mandatory for all
workplaces including home, universities, hospitals, government and non-government offices, factories,
other formal and informal work places to constitute an internal committee for redressal of complaints.
Under the law, such cases of harassment will have to be disposed of by in-house committees within a
period of 90 days failing which penalty of Rs 50,000 would be imposed. Repeated non-compliance will
even lead to higher penalties and cancellation of licence or registration to conduct business. The Sexual
Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, which has already been
passed by the Lok Sabha, was unanimously passed by the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, with women and
child development minister Krishna Tirath promising to follow up the legislation with strict rules for its
implementation. Sexual harassment, which will be covered under the law includes any one or more
unwelcome acts or behaviour like physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours
or making sexually coloured remarks or showing pornography. The acts whether directly, or by
implication, include any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature. It has
also provisions for safeguard against false or malicious charges. If it is found that a woman had filed
complaint against someone with mala-fide intention, there is a provision for some punishment for her. The
failure to prove charges against the person will, however, not be construed as mala-fide intention. The Bill
makes it mandatory that all offices, hospitals, institutions and other workplaces should have an internal
redressal mechanism for complaints related to sexual harassment. The Act defines domestic worker as a
woman employed to do household work in any household for remuneration whether in cash or kind, either
directly or through any agency on temporary, permanent, part time or full-time, but does not include any
member of the family of the employer. (Times of India 27/2/13)

Amendment on AFSPA only after reviewing ground realities: Govt (19)
New Delhi: The government on Wednesday said any decision on amending the Armed Forces (Special)
Powers Act will be taken only after taking into consideration the ground reality where it is in force and no
time frame can be given on the issue of changing the controversial legislation. Minister of State for Home
Mullappally Ramachandran said the issue of repealing/amending AFSPA has been under consideration
of the government and Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee and the Administrative Reforms Commission
(ARC) have also made certain recommendations on the subject. "Now the Group of Ministers has to take
a final decision on the ARC recommendation. On direction of the GoM, comments of the state
governments concerned on the ARC recommendation have been called for. "On such security-related
issued, all factors, including the ground reality are taken into consideration before taking a decision and
hence no time limit can be specified," Ramachandran told Rajya Sabha. Several groups and political
parties in Jammu and Kashmir and north eastern region have been demanding either repeal or
amendment to AFSPA which has been in force in some of the disturbed regions in the country. DNA
28/2/13)

Child Marriage Act overrides Muslim Personal Law: Karnataka high court (19)
BANGALORE: The Karnataka high court on Tuesday ruled that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act
(PCMA) has overriding effect over the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law, where the marriage of a girl
child is allowed once she attains puberty. Justice Ashok B Hinchigeri, sitting at the Dharwad circuit bench,
dismissed a petition in this regard while upholding the state government's contention that PCMA
provisions had far-reaching and overriding power vis-a-vis personal laws. Additional advocate general K
M Nataraj, who appeared on behalf of the state, told the court that the personal laws of any religion
should make way for the statutory provisions under the PCMA. He said the girl (the petitioner) could not
be permitted to marry as she had not completed 18 years of age, a requirement under the PCMA. Seema
Begum, a 17-year-old girl represented by her father, had filed a petition seeking a declaration that the
PCMA was not applicable to Muslims. Her contention was that the Muslim Personal Law permitted the
marriage of a girl after she attained puberty. She had also complained against Koppal district authorities
who prevented her marriage ceremony citing PCMA provisions. (Times of India 1/3/13)

Govt view sought on PIL seeking ban on prostitution (19)
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government and police to respond to a
PIL seeking a direction for appropriate steps to ban prostitution from GB Road, pleading that it was
affecting students and residents of nearby locality. The court issued notices to the MCD, the
Archeological Survey of India (ASI) besides Delhi government and city police and sought their replies by
April 10. The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Kamran Siddiqui, a social worker, and sought the court's
direction "to remove the illegal, immoral and unhygienic activities from GB Road, which are affecting
school and college students adversely and nuisance to the residents of near locality".The petition said the
Anglo Arabic School, Ghaziuddin Khan Tomb and a hardware market were situated close to GB Road.
(Hindustan Times 1/3/13)

Govt to reduce age of consent to 16, reintroduce rape in new Bill (19)
NEW DELHI: The government has decided to reverse its controversial decision to raise the age of
consensual sex from 16 years to 18 years, and to replace the term "rape" with "sexual assault" in criminal
law. Both moves had drawn widespread criticism, but the government persisted and incorporated them in
the ordinance on criminal law which was promulgated on February 3 in the light of the clamour for
stiffening anti-rape laws post-Nirbhaya case. If cleared by the Cabinet later this week, the new proposals
will be reflected in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2013 which will be introduced in Parliament next
week to replace the ordinance. The move to raise the age of consensual sex to 18 was criticized on the
ground that it ignored the contemporary social reality where children are more aware and can get sexually
active at increasingly younger age. It was also feared that it would be misused to harass youth who are
not conforming to parental and societal norms: a risk which was highlighted by the rampant killings of
couples in the name of protecting family honour. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
had, in fact, recommended that the age of consent be lowered to 12 years. However, the government
rejected the reservations saying that increasing the age for consensual sex was necessary to protect
child trafficking for sexual and other purposes, and incorporated the change in the ordinance on criminal
law promulgated on February 13. However, now that the government has bowed to the criticism, it will
also have to move to amend the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act which has set the
age for consensual sex at 18. The decision to substitute "sexual assault" for "rape" had also come in for
criticism by women's rights groups and others who argued that the new term ignored the reality that
women constituted the overwhelming majority of victims. Justice (retd) J S Verma, who was tasked by the
government to suggest changes in law in the aftermath of the Nirbhaya incident, had recommended that
the term "rape" be retained. (Times of India 6/3/13)

Activists join chorus against gender neutral rape laws (19)
NEW DELHI: "Gender just, gender sensitive and not gender neutral rape laws," is what women's groups,
human rights groups and activists are demanding. The appeal gains significance as it comes at a time
when the 2013 Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance and the report of the Parliamentary Standing
Committee are set to come up for debate in Parliament. The women's groups and human rights bodies
want "all parties aligned with women's rights to ensure that laws made in the wake of the brutal Delhi
gang-rape case do not leave women even more vulnerable than they already are". The report of the
Parliamentary Standing Committee on the 2012 Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill as well as the 2013
Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance not only violates the letter and spirit of the Justice Verma
Committee (JVC) recommendations but endangers and deepens women's vulnerability in this country,"
said representatives of women's groups preparing to raise the issue nationwide to create awareness on
the lacunae in the law. On the International Women's Day, to be observed on Friday, activists from
voluntary organizations like Jagori, Saheli, Nirantar, Women Against Sexual Violence, Lawyers Collective,
State Repression Forum Against Oppression of Women, Mumbai; and Madhya Pradesh Mahila Manch,
Indore propose to raise the issue in one voice. Several legal luminaries are also expected to join the
chorus. Lawyer, Seema Mishra pointed out that one pernicious provision of the Ordinance 2013, upheld
by the Committee report is blanket gender neutrality of the perpetrator of sexual harassment, assault and
rape. "Put simply: unlike in existing law where the accused is male, the Committee recommendations if
enacted into a proposed new Bill, will make it possible for women to be charged with these offences. This
is wholly unacceptable," she said. Kalpana Vishwanath from Jagori said that making a gender neutral
rape law will pave the way for bigger problems and make the woman more vulnerable. Dwelling on the
reality of rape, women activists say, "It is an act of violence that must be seen in the context of deeply
entrenched power inequalities between men and woman in our society. Gender neutral provisions only
strengthen those already powerful, silencing the real victims." Activists argue that apart from situations
where women hold positions of statutory authority (like police officers, etc), in all other situations, making
the accused gender neutral means that complaints by women can be met with counter-complaints to build
pressure on them to withdraw their complaint. The human rights groups say that there is no basis to the
argument that gender neutral laws allow young boys to be protected from abuse, because all young boys
and girls are fully protected by gender neutral laws in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
Act, 2012. (Times of India 7/3/13)

Legislature to have a say in appointing judges, law minister says (19)
MUMBAI: Union minister for law & justice Ashwani Kumar says his ministry has prepared a draft bill for
setting up the National Judicial Appointments Commission that will have legislative representation apart
from the judiciary. Kumar said "political consensus has been achieved" over the need to "broad-base" the
process of appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the high courts. At present judges are
appointed by a five judges Supreme Court Collegium. Speaking in Mumbai, the minister said, "The
present process has not proved to be adequate and there is a need to re-visit the issue. Wide-ranging
consultations have been held with political leaders as well as legal experts. Former chief justices J S
Verma and M N Venkatachaliah also back the setting up of an independent body to appoint judges to the
higher judiciary," he said. Ashwani Kumar admitted that the large number of vacancies has hampered the
timely disposal of cases. At presently there are over 3 crore cases pending in lawcourts across the
country. And for providing cost-effective justice he said 182 Gram Nyayalayas are being set up at the
intermediate panchayat level. Out of these, 172 are already operational. Over 14,000 subordinate courts
are being computerized to speed work. Issues like marital rape and reducing the age of consensual sex
from 18 to 16 came up as well. "There are divergent views, all having considerable weight and therefore
they need to be thoroughly debated. The government has an open mind provided there is political
consensus," he said, alluding to the fact that the topic is a political hot potato. (Times of India 9/3/13)

Steep fall in judges strength in High Courts (19)
Hyderabad: Expressing concern over the imbalance in one of the pillars of democracy, judiciary, with
increasing vacant judge positions in High Courts of different states, the All India Lawyers Union has
appealed to policymakers to take immediate measures to rectify the lapse urgently. In a press release
issued here on Saturday, office-bearers of the union said a fourth of the vacancies in the judiciary were in
High Courts. They said it was a remarkable decline in the strength of the judges of the High Courts in the
country. Out of the total strength of 895 judges of various High Courts, at present there are are only 623
judges. In Andhra Pradesh, against the approved strength of 49 judges, there are only 26 judges at
present and, by August the strength will come down to 19. Critcising the government for failing to take up
adequate measure to get the vacant posts filled up, they said that the government and higher wings of
judiciary were well aware of the dates on which judges would be retiring but failed to take up action to find
replacements. Such lapses would pave for the collapse of the effective justice delivery system. They said
Andhra Pradesh clearly reflected the casual approach in ensuring the strengthening of the system for the
last two to three years. Only solace for the state is that many of the chief justices that come to serve the
High Court have been elevated to the Supreme Court or appointed to a constitutional post in the state.
They recalled that there was large pendancy of cases in criminal, civil and even constitutional matters and
the backlog of cases was increasing. They reiterated their request to fill the vacant positions at the
earliest and also sought an increase in the strength of the judges by maintaining a proper
judge:population ratio. (Indian Express 10/3/13)

PIL seeks amenities for disabled (19)
PUNE: A city-based NGO has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay high court demanding
disabled-friendly infrastructure at public places in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. The HC has listed the
next hearing for March 14. Parisar a city-based group working for sustainable urban transport - has
demanded that footpaths, crossings, PMPML and Bus Rapid Transit System must fully comply with the
Disabilities Act and various policies and guidelines accessible for senior citizens and the disabled. Parisar
has argued before the HC that complying with the Act is well within the capacity of the two municipal
corporations since they have planned large projects with substantial budgets. Parisar's PIL stated: "The
Disability Act seeks to ensure that there shall not be any discrimination against people living with disability
while using any mode of public transportation or using any road or bridge and that their right to livelihood
is not denied or restricted. India is also a signatory to the UN Convention for the Rights of People with
Disabilities, whose contents, the Supreme Court has ruled, "are binding on our legal system".Parisar has
alleged that the footpaths are uneven and are occupied by obstructions created by the authorities
themselves. The obstructions include traffic light poles, electricity poles, sign boards, gantry columns,
municipal garbage containers, and utility boxes such as electricity DP boxes or telephone boxes. The PIL
said that amenities like public toilets are also not disabled-friendly. Parisar has also questioned the
construction of pedestrian subways and foot over bridges. "The ones made in Pune do not have ramps or
working lifts. The lifts are also not as per the Central PWD Guidelines published by the ministry of urban
development," Parisar said. Insisting that the PMC and the PCMC should be making safe at-grade
crossings as per the guidelines of the Indian Roads Congress, the PIL pointed out that many cities like
London are in fact removing subways and replacing them with surface-level crossings. Last month,
Parisar sent a letter to the PMC stating that the BRTS shelters being constructed on Alandi Road are not
in compliance with persons with Disablities Act and the guidelines for barrier-free environment for
disabled and elderly persons published by the Central Public Works Department. Parisar said that if all
the civic infrastrucutural facilities are accessible for the disabled and senior citizens, they are
automatically friendly for others. The objective of filing the PIL is to create public awareness about the
issue and also to sensitize the concerned authorities about planning disabled-friendly projects, Parisar
said. As per the State Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities, 1.06% of the population is legally
disabled. Parisar pointed out that in 20 years, about 12-14% of the population will be above the age of 60.
(Times of India 12/3/13)


Cabinet clears anti-rape bill (19)
NEW DELHI: The Cabinet on Thursday approved a bill that will make rapists-murderers punishable by
death and provides for stringent punishment for offences like acid attacks, voyeurism and stalking against
women. The bill also lowered the age of consent for sex from 18 to 16 years and made 'rape' a gender-
specific offence under which only men can be charged for it. There is a provision for death sentence if the
rape victim dies or is left in a 'persistent vegetative state' or if the rapist is a repeat offender. Rapists will
be liable to a minimum jail term of 20 years extendable to imprisonment till the natural life of the convict
according to the anti-rape bill that was cleared by a group of ministers and accepted in toto by the
Cabinet. The bill will be placed before an all-party meeting on March 18 to build consensus before it is
brought to Parliament. The government has time till March 22 to get Parliament's approval on the Criminal
Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013. The decision comes three months after the Delhi gang-rape brought focus
on strong punishment for offences against women. The bill also provides for stringent punishment for
other crimes against women, like acid attacks, stalking and voyeurism. The Cabinet decision comes after
sharp differences over the age of consent and possible misuse of certain provisions forced the
government to set up a GoM to thrash out contentious provisions. The GoM finalized the draft on
Wednesday amid the government's keenness to expedite the bill that will replace the ordinance
promulgated on February 3. The bill uses the term 'rape' which will be gender-specific, in contrast to the
gender-neutral 'sexual assault' as proposed in the ordinance. The bill also lowers the age of consent for
sex from 18 to 16 years. In the ordinance, it was 18 years. The issue of age had led to lengthy inter-
ministry consultations with some arguing that it should not be reduced. Sexual intercourse below the age
of consent is considered statutory rape. The women and child development (WCD) ministry had strongly
protested in bringing down the age of consent citing precedent of the Protection of Children Against
Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act that was approved by Parliament last year. It now remains to be seen if
UPA will garner support from political parties on the issue. Defining acid attack as a separate IPC offence,
the bill proposes a punishment of not less than 10 years to a maximum of life imprisonment, sources said.
Repeat offences of voyeurism, inappropriate touch, gesture and remarks have been recommended as
non-bailable offences, they said. Provisions seeking strong action against those filing false complaints
were dropped from the draft bill as there was consensus in the GoM that existing provisions under the
Indian Penal Code (IPC) were adequate to deal with such cases and it was only a matter of enforcing
them. A fresh proposal now makes it mandatory for all government and private hospitals in the country to
provide free medical treatment to women victims of any form of sexual violence. Hospitals and similar
facilities will not have to wait for the police. Refusal to do so will now be a criminal offence and will attract
a one-year jail term for senior functionaries and the staff on duty of hospitals found guilty of turning
(Times of India 15/3/13)

Panel finds 3 top judges unfit for SC (19)
New Delhi: In a rare move, a panel of India's top five judges has rejected the names of the chief justices
of the Bombay, Gujarat and Uttarakhand high courts for promotion to the Supreme Court on the grounds
that their appointment would prove "counter-productive" to the administration of justice. Chief Justice of
India Altamas Kabir has conveyed the "unanimous decision" of the Supreme Court collegium to the
government, which has accepted it, HT has learnt. In his letter, the CJI stated the collegium considered
the names of senior judges, including justice Mohit S Shah, justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and justice
Barin Ghosh, chief justice of the Bombay, Gujarat and Uttarakhand high courts, respectively, for elevation
to the top court. The President last week appointed justice Kurien Joseph and justice Pinaki Ghose to the
SC without making an issue about the rejection of the three chief justices. "The collegium has
unanimously taken the view that they are not suitable to hold the office of Supreme Court judge and their
elevation as such would prove to be counter-productive and not conducive to administration of justice,"
the CJI wrote. "The collegium has not recommended the names of these three chief justices for good
reasons and after taking into consideration all relevant factors, including their merit, ability and seniority at
all levels." Though this is not the first time that senior judges have been overlooked for promotion to the
Supreme Court, the rejection has surprised jurists. Former chief justice of India VN Khare expressed
surprise. "It is unprecedented if this has been done. My experience has been that reasons for elevation or
otherwise are not communicated in writing." The collegium's decision virtually means the end of the road
for the three senior judges and they will have to retire in their present positions. The collegium's terse
decision comes when the government is in the process of changing the procedure for appointing judges
of the Supreme Court and high courts. (Hindustan Times 17/3/13)

Courts should encourage settlement of matrimonial disputes: Supreme Court (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has held that criminal case of torture filed by a woman against her
husband and in-laws should be quashed if the warring spouses come to an agreement for out-of-court
settlement. It said that courts should encourage settlements of matrimonial disputes, particularly in view
of "outburst" of such cases in recent times. "If the parties ponder over their defaults and terminate their
disputes amicably by mutual agreement instead of fighting it out in a court of law, in order to do
completejustice in the matrimonial matters, the courts should be less hesitant in exercising its
extraordinary jurisdiction," a bench headed by Justice P Sathasivam said. The bench, also comprising
justices J S Khehar and Kurian Joseph, said that the high courts should exercise power granted to them
under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code to quash criminal cases in matrimonial disputes after the
parties have compromised. "There has been an outburst of matrimonial disputes in recent times. The
institution of marriage occupies an important place and it has an important role to play in the society.
Therefore, every effort should be made in the interest of the individuals in order to enable them to settle
down in life and live peacefully," it said. The bench set aside the Madhya Pradesh High Court's order
which had refused to quash the FIR, filed by a woman against her husband and in-laws, after the parties
agreed compromise. "In our view, it is the duty of the courts to encourage genuine settlements of
matrimonial disputes, particularly, when the same are on considerable increase," it said. (Indian Express
18/3/13)

SC seeks Centres response to overcrowding in prisons (19)
NEW DELHI: In a move that may result in substantial decongestion of overcrowded jails across the
country, the Supreme Court on Monday entertained a PIL seeking release of undertrials charged with
petty offences, carrying maximum punishment of seven years. A bench of Justices R M Lodha, J
Chelameswar and Madan B Lokur issued notice to the Union government and all the states giving them
five weeks time to respond to the PIL that pointed out undertrials constitute 64.7% of the total prison
population in India. There are over 2.41 lakh undertrial prisoners in India. Besides the ministry of home
affairs and states, the court also issued a notice to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on the
plea filed by a Delhi-based lawyer Vijay Aggarwal, urging it to intervene and direct government to frame a
policy to grant bail to prisoners facing trial for offences in which punishment ranges between three and
seven years. It pleads for directions to authorities to immediately review cases of under trials who face a
maximum punishment of seven years. Aggarwal approached the apex court after a similar PIL filed in the
Delhi High Court last year led to the release of more than 400 prisoners from Tihar Jail. On his plea HC
had directed the jail authorities to fast track bail pleas of undertrials lodged behind bars for over a year in
offences that carry a maximum sentence of seven years. It had also directed the jail administration to
pass on the details of such undertrials to the Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA), which was
authorized to co-ordinate their release on bail. Taking into account a list furnished by Delhi jail authorities
saying they had over 8,000 undertrials lodged with them in offences that include kidnapping, theft,
cheating, Arms Act, counterfeiting and rioting, the HC had directed trial courts to grant bail and release
the accused on personal bonds in case any prisoner failed to furnish the bail bond. Citing the salutary
ruling of Delhi HC, Aggarwal prayed the SC widen its ambit to make it applicable across the country so
that thousands of undertrials benefit from the court order. "The undertrials charged with offences tried by
a magistrate and punishable with a jail-term up to seven years, be released on bail during the trial as it
would also lessen the burden on the state exchequer," the petition argues. The plea for bail should be
considered favourably of persons undergoing seven years of imprisonment and also of prisoners who
have spent more than one year in prison for offences of cheating and forgery should be released, the
lawyer said. (Times of India 19/3/13)

SC snubs Italian envoy, says he has no immunity (19)
NEW DELHI: The apex court extended its earlier order restraining the envoy from leaving the country until
further orders. The apex court extended its earlier order restraining the envoy from leaving the country
until further orders. Making it amply clear that Italian Ambassador to India Daniele Mancini does not enjoy
immunity anymore, the Supreme Court on Monday reminded him that he had come before it as a
petitioner and had reneged on an undertaking he gave on the return of marines Massimiliano Latorre and
Salvatore Girone, who are accused of killing two fishermen off the Kerala coast last year, to face trial. The
Bench on Monday directed all authorities to ensure he did not leave the country. At this, senior counsel
Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Ambassador and the Republic of Italy, reque-sted the Bench comprising
Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, Justice Anil R Dave and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai that it need not be
part of the order and said, He will not leave the country. But the Chief Justice did not relent and it
remained part of the apex court order. The Bench extended its earlier order restraining the envoy from
leaving the country until further orders. You want us to believe you? We never expected the government
of Italy to behave like this. We dont accept any such assurance from you. We have lost our trust in you,
the Chief Justice said. At this, Rohatgi said, There is complete immunity for the Ambassador and he will
go by the instructions of his government. The person who has come to this court as a petitioner I dont
think has any immunity. You have given a perso-nal undertaking, the CJI said. Some people are writing
we are naive. But we didnt expect the Republic of Italy to behave like this. What do they think of our
judicial system? he asked. Last Monday Rome infor-med New Delhi that the two marines, who shot to
death two Kerala fishermen in February last year and who were allowed by the apex court to go to Italy to
cast votes in the general elections, will not return to India. With regard to the marines, the Bench did not
issue any further directions, saying the deadline for their return was still March 22 and listed the case for
further hearing on April 2. Earlier, Attorney General G E Vahanvati drew the attention of the court to a
note verbale issued by Italy on March 15, which said that as per the Vienna Convention, Any restriction
to the freedom of movement of the Ambassador of Italy to India including any limitation to his right of
leaving Indian territory will be contrary to International Obligations of the receiving State to respect his
person, freedom, dignity and function. (Indian Express 20/3/13)

Chief Justice opens high courts in Meghalaya and Manipur (19)
IMPHAL: The two new high courts in Meghalaya and Manipur were inaugurated by Chief Justice Altamas
Kabir on Monday. Union minister for law and justice Ashwani Kumar was also present on the occasion.
This has marked the separation of Manipur and Meghalaya from the Gauhati High Court, which, till
recently, was the only high court for all seven northeastern states. The Tripura HC will be formally
inaugurated on Tuesday. On Monday, Justice Kabir inaugurated the Meghalaya HC and then travelled to
Imphal to inaugurate Manipur HC in the afternoon. Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and
Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma were present at the functions in Imphal and Shillong. "The swearing-in of
T Meena Kumari as chief justice of Meghalaya HC and inauguration of the HC is a fulfillment of that
pledge in the Constitution that each state should have its own high court," Kabir said. The CJI said that
his visits to the region made him realize that the people here wanted to know what the legal system in the
mainland was and why things could not be integrated in such a way so that "everybody becomes part of
this great country".Acknowledging that the people of the northeast have special laws and customs, the
CJI said all these need to be integrated. In Imphal, the CJI congratulated the people of Manipur for having
a high court of their own which would deliver legal remedy at their doorsteps. "I'm certain that the new
high court will deliver justice to the people like what the Gauhati high court did before. Now, the new high
court will focus on the state's problems and local difficulties," he said. The new HC will also strengthen the
legal organs like the state and district legal services authorities, he said. Stating that Manipur chief justice
Abhay Manohar Sapre is very sensitive and an experienced judge and justice Kotishwar Singh being from
the state, the CJI said their combination will deliver good justice and resolve the local problems easily.
The formation of the high court was delayed due to a strike by lawyers who demanded seven judges. The
Centre, later, sanctioned four judges. The two remaining judges of Manipur HC will be appointed soon. In
Shillong, the Union law minister said the operationalization of the high court will bring justice to the
doorsteps of people according to local customs and realities. "It is historic because since 1972, when
Meghalaya (and Manipur besides Tripura) was created, there was a persistent demand of the people to
have their own high courts... I have no doubt that the Meghalaya high court will become a shining
example of the independence of judiciary as well as the quality of justice that will be rendered in the years
ahead," he added. Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma said the inauguration of Meghalaya high court was a
fructification of the dreams of the people of the state and thanked the CJI for having kept his promise
without losing much time. (Times of India 26/3/13)

Courts may not accept Indias word to Italy on marines, Khurshid says (19)
NEW DELHI: India's "assurance" to the Italian government that the Italian marines standing trial for killing
two Indian fishermen may not be upheld by courts. In an interview to a private TV channel, foreign
minister SalmanKhurshid acknowledged it was possible Indian courts might disagree with the written
clarification he gave to the Italian government that the death penalty would not apply in the Italian
marines' case. In that event, as he put it, his clarification would be "wrong". The statement is significant
because government had earlier said that the alleged crime of the marines did not fall in the "rarest of
rare" category that attracts death penalty. Italian government has claimed that they decided to send the
marines back only after Indian government assured them that the marines would not be awarded death
penalty if they were found guilty of killing two Indian fishermen. But the minister indicated that the decision
of whether India had jurisdiction over the case would be decided by the Special Court to be constituted by
the government. If the Special Court rejects Indian jurisdiction the government might appeal to the
Supreme Court but, ultimately, would accept the decision. Khurshid refused to answer whether the crisis
in relations with Italy would blow up a second time if the marines are found guilty by the Special Court and
sentenced to jail or a higher punishment. Government's assurance to Italy that her marines don't have to
fear death penalty has intrigued many. Besides the debatable issue of whether executive can give
commitments on behalf of judiciary, many were puzzled also because courts in India have followed the
"rarest-of-rare" principle for awarding death sentences in diverse ways, leading many to argue that the
issue of who deserve capital punishment boils down to discretion of individual judges. Khurshid also said
that the claim made by Staffan de Mistura, deputy foreign minister of Italy, that the Italian ship, Enrica
Lexie, had been lured into Indian waters by deception was something he had heard for the first time. He
said the Italian government had neither said this to the Supreme Court nor to the Indian government. On
Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti had said Italy risked isolation if the marines were not sent
back. The issue saw Italy's foreign minister Guilio Terzi resign in a huff. (Times of India 30/3/13)

PIL on sexual offences: SC asks Centre, states to respond (19)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre, states and Union
Territories on a PIL seeking effective "preventive and protective" measures, including sentencing
guidelines, in respect of sexual offence cases against women. "Issue notice to respondents. Returnable
within three weeks," a bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said while issuing notices to
the ministries of law and justice, women and child Development and home Affairs and also the states and
Union Territories. Senior advocate Indu Malhotra and others filed the PIL in the wake of the gruesome
December 16 gang rape and assault of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus, resulting in her death. "At
present, in India, there are no sentencing principles laid down for the offence of rape, as a consequence
of which, as an academic notes, there is 'rampant disparity' across the country in the sentences which are
awarded for offences involving similar aggravating and mitigating factors, the PIL said and sought framing
of sentencing guidelines. Section 376 (rape) of the IPC provides that a convict shall be "punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than seven years, but which may be
for life, or for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine..." it said. "Issue an
appropriate writ, order or direction ... for directions to state government/UTs to ensure that police
authorities maintain a register of sexual offenders...," the petition said, adding that it would help in
devising effective protective measures against sexual offences against women. It also sought that the
"two-finger test" to ascertain the offence of rape be declared as "illegal, unconstitutional and violative of
the right to life and privacy guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India".The petition also said the
state governments be asked to "devise and implement a uniform proforma for examining adult victims of
sexual assault." (Times of India 1/4/13)

SC raps govt against police excesses in states (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today came down heavily on states which have not filed their responses
to separate petitions seeking implementation of police reforms and recent police excesses in Bihar and
Punjab. "We normally do not summon officers. The governments think that they can play with the court's
orders. They must respond to what courts have asked them to respond," a bench of justices GS Singvi
and Kurian Joseph said. "Sorry for the inconvenience. We will take up the matter for hearing on day-after-
tomorrow," Justice Singhvi said and asked the states, which have so far not responded, to file their
affidavits by tomorrow evening after supplying advance copies to Attorney General (AG) G E Vahanvati,
senior advocate Harish Salve and others. "Those states/officers, who have not filed the affidavits, should
understand that they have to file them by tomorrow evening or the court may have to summon senior
officers to assist the court," the bench said after the AG said only eight states have so far filed their
replies. The court had earlier taken suo-motu cognisance of news reports on separate incidents in which
a woman was beaten up in Punjab and some ladies teachers were assaulted in Patna during an agitation.
It had issued notices to the Centre and states saying the beating up of innocent and unarmed people was
"animal behaviour".During the hearing, the Attorney General, who along with Salve and others, is
assisting the court, said the affidavit filed by the Bihar DGP is "conspicuously" silent over the assault on
women teachers who were sitting inside a tent. "It is just merciless. One can understand the use of force
if there is unlawful assembly. But here teachers have been beaten up mercilessly when they were sitting
in a tent," the court said. There is no explanation why women were beaten up, the court said and
criticised the practise of justifying such incidents to the media by the officers concerned. "The moment
such wrong is committed, some police officers go on TV and try to justify the police action," it said adding
that even after 66 years of independence, "the helpless and ladies" are being beaten up. "The ailment
starts at the grassroot level. At the recruitment level, there is extraneous considerations," the court said.
The court fixed the matter for hearing on April 3. Earlier, the court had slammed Bihar and Punjab
governments for recent incidents of police excesses and issued notices to the chief secretaries, the home
secretaries and the DGPs of all states and police commissioners of UTs on implementation of its earlier
directions in the Prakash Singh case on police reforms. It had also asked the DGPs of Bihar and Punjab
to file personal affidavits giving explanations for the incidents. The SP of Patna and the SSP of Tarn
Taran (Punjab) districts were also directed to file the affidavit. "How can police act in such a manner?
How can a woman be treated in this way? There must be some norms for police to handle such
situations," the bench had said, adding "time has come to undertake some exercise to stop such incidents
and some concrete action must be taken by the state. On March 4, the girl was thrashed by police
constables when she had approached them along with her father for lodging a complaint against
harassment by a truck driver and his accomplices in Tarn Taran district. In the other incident, Bihar Police
personnel had on March 5 resorted to baton charge and fired tear gas shells during a protest by
contractual teachers outside the assembly in Patna demanding regularisation of their jobs and pay parity
with regular teachers. (Hindustan Times 2/4/13)

IPL auctions violate human rights, says PIL (19)
MUMBAI: A public interest litigation has urged the Bombay High Court to stop the public auction of
players for Indian Premier League matches saying it violates their constitutional and human rights. The
PIL filed by Aam Aadmi Lok Manch has said Board of Control for Cricket in India has allowed public
auction of players from the first to the sixth edition of IPL matches and has expressed apprehension that
such auctions will continue. It added that auction of human beings is an infringement of human rights
under United Nations charter on human rights. The petition said at the auction held on February 2, 2013
in Chennai licenses were issued to eight teams. ``The players were sold virtually i.e in their absence,'' the
petition said. The PIL has urged the court to terminate the licenses and direct BCCI to refrain from any
public auction of human beings in future. Manchs advocate P P Goyal mentioned the matter before a
division bench of Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice A P Bhangale who posted the hearing on April 25,
2013. (Times of India 3/4/13)

Push to set up 1,800 fast track courts (19)
NEW DELHI: Immediately after the passage of a stringent anti-rape law, the government is looking at
setting up of 1,800 fast track courts across the country, hundreds of them in each metro, for speedier trial
of cases of heinous crimes and sexual harassment. The government has asked state governments to set
up court infrastructures, while the Supreme Court and the High Courts are working on appointment of at
least 2,000 judges for these legal facilities. The government has allocated Rs 80 crore for appointment of
judges. A senior law ministry official said the government has set aside Rs 2,800 crore for setting up of
court infrastructures that can be used to open fast tract courts. The fund has been diverted from the
allocation earmarked for morning and evening courts. Besides the fast track courts, the government
would run other special courts. The revival of government funding for fast track courts has been the result
of widespread condemnation for long-pending cases and delay in delivering justice even in cases of
heinous crimes. The Centre had discontinued the fast track courts scheme in March 2011 after running it
for over 11 years. During the central funding of fast track courts between 2000 and 2011 the
government had in two tranches allocated over Rs 1,000 crore for running of these courts. This helped in
faster disposal of cases with more than 1,500 such courts made operational in states. The move also
gave a boost to faster disposal of cases. According to the law ministry, of the 39 lakh cases transferred to
these courts, verdict was given to 32 lakh cases. During this period Bihar ran the maximum number of
fast track courts while some north-eastern states like Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh decided to
convert them into regular ones and some like West Bengal and Maharashtra continued to run more than
100 such courts with their own funding. The matter will also be discussed at the meeting of chief justices
of the High Courts and Supreme Court judges, beginning on Friday. At least 24 chief justices of High
Courts and 28 judges of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice of India, will deliberate for two
days on various issues, including setting up of fast track courts and appointment of judges to clear
pendency of cases. The top judiciary will meet with the PM and the law minister on Sunday where all
chief ministers and state law secretaries have also been invited. The judges will also contemplate
strengthening the juvenile justice system and discuss undertaking judicial reforms through the setting up
of all-India Judicial Service and the National Judicial data grid under the e-courts mission mode project.
(Times of India 4/4/13)

HC seeks govt response on PIL seeking more time (19)
The Allahabad High Court on Thursday directed the state government counsel to seek instructions in
connection with an PIL demanding extension of the March 31 deadline for installing set top boxes (STBs)
to watch television in various cities of Uttar Pradesh. The court has fixed April 8 as the next date of
hearing. A division bench of Justices Sushil Harkauli and Manoj Misra asked the state government
counsel to seek instructions on the PIL filed by D K Joshi, a resident of Agra. The PIL demanded
extension of the March 31 deadline for installation of STBs till such time that adequate number of such
devices are available in all cities concerned. Lakhs of television sets in cities like Allahabad, Lucknow,
Ghaziabad, Agra, Kanpur, Meerut and Varanasi went blank after analogue signals were stopped. (Indian
Express 5/4/13)

8 convicts denied mercy by President get SC stay on hanging (19)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Saturday late evening stayed for four weeks the execution of 8
persons, including condemned woman prisoner Sonia, whose mercy pleas had been rejected by
President Pranab Mukherjee. A bench of Justices P Sathasivam and M Y Eqbal stayed the execution of
the eight - Sonia and her husband Sanjeev, Gurmeet Singh, Praveen Kumar, Sunder Singh, Jafar Ali,
Suresh and Ramji - on a petition filed by "People's Union for Democratic Rights", civil rights group. In the
late evening hearing at Justice Sathasivam's residence, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves gave the
instance the stay of execution of four aides of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan granted by a bench of
Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir on February 18.He cited the delay in carrying out
the death sentence after the Supreme Court had confirmed them, as the main ground for staying the
executions. Gonsalves said the delay in all these cases ranged from 3 to 12 years. The apex court has
already reserved judgment in the case of Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, who had cited a delay of 11 years
in adjudicating his mercy plea by President as a ground for seeking commutation of death penalty to life
imprisonment. 'Shouldn't repeat mistakes that happened in Afzal case'During the hearing, the bench of
Justices Sathasivam and Eqbal said it was also entertaining the petition on the additional ground to
ascertain whether proper communication had been sent to the relatives of these condemned prisoners
whose mercy pleas have been rejected. "It should not happen as it happened in the Jammu and Kashmir
case (Afzal's hanging). The intimation of the execution reached the relatives of the person (Afzal) after his
hanging. That is bad. The relatives lost an opportunity to meet the condemned prisoner for one last time
before his execution," the bench said. Ordering the month-long stay, the bench directed the Registry to
intimate the concerned Inspectors General of Prisons about the order through fax immediately. Praveen
Kumar is lodged at Belgaum in Karnataka, Gurmeet Singh, Jafar Ali, Suresh and Ramji (all in UP), Sonia
and Sanjeev (Haryana) and Sunder Singh (Uttarakhand). Gonsalves conceded that these were handed
down capital punishment for heinous offences but said there had been no guideline for intimating the
relatives about the death warrants nor there a set procedure for dealing with the mercy petitions of
condemned prisoners. Sonia, daughter of former Haryana MLA Relu Ram Punia, and her husband Sanjiv
were awarded death penalty for killing eight members of her family in 2001 over a property dispute.
Gurmeet was convicted of killing 13 of his family members in 1986, Jafar Ali had murdered his wife and
five daughters and brothers Suresh and Ramji had killed five of their brothers. The other condemned
prisoner Dharampal has approached Punjab and Haryana high court challenging the President's decision
to reject his mercy plea. (Times of India 8/4/13)

PIL challenges Aadhar card compulsion, govt on notice (19)
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi government to reply to a plea seeking
quashing of its executive orders to make Aadhar cards compulsory for the public to avail of various
benefits and services. Justice Rajiv Shakdher issued a notice to the Delhi government, seeking its view
on a public interest litigation that termed the executive orders issued by the government of making the
cards mandatory "illegal". Petitioner Ashutosh Chadola contended that the planning commission has said
the cards were only optional and no one can be forced to get the card. The petition sought a direction to
the government to accept other identity and address proofs such as voter ID card, passport and other
documents, prescribed by the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, for availing public services in Delhi. "The
entire (Aadhaar) project (of Planning Commission) is meant to be voluntary in nature and this is reflected
in the Aadhar enrolment form that clearly mentions that the Aadhar enrolment is free and voluntary," it
said. The petition contended that the project was launched to empower the poor, who lack ID proofs, in
accessing various welfare and other services. The government, however, issued executive orders and
made Aadhar mandatory for obtaining various certificates relating to "caste, domicile, income, death and
birth." Aadhar has also been made necessary for registration of various documents relating to property,
will and marriages, the petition said. It said the constitutional validity of UIDAI has been challenged in the
Supreme Court and till the case is decided, "the burden of obtaining an Aadhar should not be made
mandatory on the public for availing public services." (Hindustan Times 12/4/13)

Bombay high court to hear PIL on custodial deaths (19)
MUMBAI: Bombay High Court is slated to hear on Monday a public interest regarding custodial deaths at
Thane Central Prison in 1996. HC in 1997 converted into a petition a letter written by social activist N R
Soni following news reports of three custodial deaths. In 2008, the HC converted it into a PIL and
appointed advocate Madhav Jamdar as amicus curie (friend of court). The court had thereafter directed a
magisterial inquiry. an inquiry into the death in September 1996 of an undertrial Robert Almeida. Almeida,
who was arrested by Vikhroli police for assaulting his father under the influence of alcohol, was found
dead i n his prison cell on September 1, 1996 with injury marks on his body. Post mortem report said that
he had died of brain haemorrhage. Fourteen years later, a sub-divisional magistrate's inquiry revealed
that he died due to police torture in prison. The report was submitted to the HC. The PIL will come up for
hearing before a division bench of Justice P V Hardas and Justice Mridula Bhatkar. (Times of India
15/4/13)

Chief justice laments lack of suitable candidates for judges (19)
Thane: Bombay high court chief justice Mohit Shah has expressed concern over lack of suitable
candidates for post of judges for various courts in the state. Addressing the state conference of the Bar
Council of Maharashtra and Goa in Thane on Sunday, justice Shah urged the Bar Council to conduct
certain courses for training of candidates for the posts of judges. If there are no sufficient judges, the
system and judgement will be affected and there will be pendency, he said. As compared to other states
where there were 13-15 judges per 10 lakhs, the figure was 18 in Maharashtra. He said they were facing
the problem of filling existing vacancies of judges as there were no competent lawyers for the post. He
said that in 2010 when they advertised for 100 judges, they were able to get as many. In 2011, when they
advertised for 100 judges, they got just 41 and in 2012 when they advertised for 159 judges they were
able to recruit 55 judges. The Bar Council should conduct a drive to facilitate proper candidates and some
training classes for them, he said. The situation was not good for recruitment of district judges also, he
said. Against 29 vacancies, we could get only two district judges, he said. The chief justice also said that
proceedings in the High Court will remain in English only and asked the judges at the district level to write
50% of the judgements in Marathi and the balance in English. (Hindustan Times 16/4/13)

Govt lawyer, seven others to take charge as HC judges (19)
New Delhi: Advocate Najmi Waziri, who has been serving as the standing counsel for Delhi government
(civil cases) for the past seven years, is among the five lawyers to be sworn in as additional judges of the
Delhi high court on Wednesday. Waziri had successfully defended the government when many of its
policies such as regularisation of unauthorised colonies, phase-out of bluelines, hiking of court fees were
challenged. He had also assisted the court that had issued a slew of directions in view of public interest
litigations seeking night shelters, removal of polluting industries, probe against ghost employees in the
MCD, welfare measures for labourers involved in construction of commonwealth games-related projects,
various environmental issues, free seats for poor children in schools and free beds for poor patients in
hospitals. Four other lawyers to become judges are VK Rao, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Jayant Nath and Vibhu
Bakhru. Chief Justice D Murugesan will administer the oath of office to all the eight new judges on
Wednesday morning. (Hindustan Times 17/4/13)

New proposal for appointment of judges not taken up by cabinet (19)
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet today did not take up for consideration the much-anticipated proposal to
establish a new mechanism giving a say to the government in appointment of judges to the higher
judiciary. The Cabinet was expected to take up the proposal that envisages replacing the present
collegium system, under which judges alone decide the appointments to the higher judiciary, in its
meeting today but decided to postpone it. Another proposal to make amendments to the Prevention of
Corruption Act was also not taken up by the Cabinet, ostensibly due to paucity of time. The government
proposes to set up a six-member Judicial Appointments Commission headed by the Chief Justice of India
with the Law Minister as a representative of the government. The JAC will also have two judges of the
Supreme Court, two eminent jurists nominated by the President as members. The government is open to
include the Leader of Opposition in the Commission. The proposal, which replaces the present system of
Collegium appointing judges, will require a Constitutional amendment. The Collegium is a five-member
body headed by the Chief Justice of India and includes four other seniormost judges. The proposal has
been hanging fire for several years because of strong resistance by the judiciary. "One view has been
that the Leader of the Opposition should be made a member of JAC. This suggestion could be
considered," the Cabinet note of the Law Ministry reads. Secretary, Department of Justice, will be the
Convener of the panel. The move would entail amendments to Articles 124, 217, 222 and 231 of the
Constitution and insertion of Article 124 A. The views of the Governors, Chief Ministers and respective
Chief Justices of the 24 High Courts will be elicited in writing for appointment of judges as per the
procedure which could be determined by the JAC. (Indian Express 18/4/13)

HC seeks govt view on jurisdiction to hear PIL (19)
Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Monday sought to know from the Maharashtra government whether it
has the jurisdiction to hear a public interest litigation demanding a CBI inquiry against the MLAs, who
allegedly assaulted a policeman inside the state Assembly premises recently. Whether we have
jurisdiction in such cases and if we can issue notice to the respondents needs to be checked, a division
bench of Justice P.V. Hardas and Justice Mridula Bhatkar said. The bench was hearing a PIL filed by
former journalist Ketan Tirodkar seeking CBI inquiry against the MLAs who attacked traffic policeman
Sachin Suryawanshi inside the Assembly premises last month. The court, while posting the matter in
June, asked public prosecutor Revati Dere to ascertain if the court has jurisdiction to hear the matter. Mr
Tirodkar had sought probe by an independent agency on the grounds that the legislators might influence
the polices investigation. Suryawanshi, the assistant police inspector, attached to the Worli police station,
was allegedly thrashed by around 10 to 12 MLAs on March 19, a day after he stopped Independent MLA
Kshitij Thakurs car and fined him for speeding on the Bandra-Worli Sealink. Following the attack, Thakur,
besides his colleagues Pradeep Jaiswal (also an Independent), Rajan Salvi (Shiv Sena), Ram Kadam
(MNS) and Jaykumar Raval (BJP) were suspended from Assembly till December 31 and a crime branch
probe was ordered. However, the legislative probe panel, which was investigating the police assault case,
has found suspended police sub-inspector Suryawanshi guilty of insolence and recommended a
departmental inquiry against him. The panel has also recommended revoking the suspension of three
MLAs Jaykumar Rawal (BJP), Rajan Salvi (Shiv Sena) and Pradeep Jaiswal (Independent), as there was
no substantial proof of thrashing against them. (Asian Age 23/4/13)

Making laws is Parliaments job, MPs panel tells courts (19)
New Delhi: A parliamentary panel on Thursday opposed the trend of courts imposing their judgments as
guidelines to be followed by the government till the parliament makes a law on a particular subject, saying
it amounts to infringing on the powers of the legislature. Chairman of the parliamentary standing
committee on law and justice, Shantaram Naik said judicial activism was justified to a point, but the courts
must not cross the line when it came to enacting laws. If due to any reason the government fails to make
a law to cover what is in the guidelines, then such guidelines remain for years in the form of judgment.
How far is this fair? It means the power of legislation has been taken over by the courts in this form, Naik
told reporters. Naik said following the 1993 Supreme Court judgment, the collegium system was created
and judges took the power from the executive to appoint judges in the Supreme Court and high courts.
He was also critical of the courts setting up empowered committees, like the one on environment, to
monitor the tasks given to them by courts. (Hindustan Times 25/4/13)

When Constitution got a judicial shield (19)
NEW DELHI: It was the mother of all judgments, delivered exactly 40 years ago. The largest ever bench,
consisting of 13 judges of the Supreme Court, came up with the "basic structure" doctrine in the
Kesavananda Bharati case. The verdict was as political as it was legal, prompting the Indira Gandhi
government to mount an audacious attack on the independence of the judiciary. On April 24, 1973, the
bench headed by the outgoing Chief Justice of India, S M Sikri, held with a 7-6 majority that Parliament's
power to amend the Constitution did not extend to tampering with its basic structure or framework. The
very next day, the government appointed A N Ray as CJI, superseding three of the seven judges who
had laid down the basic structure as the line that Parliament could not cross while amending the
Constitution. For better or for worse, the Kesavananda Bharati judgment thwarted Indira Gandhi's much-
touted socialist policies of serving the collective interest at the expense of individual rights. Long before
the initiation of economic reforms in 1991, Kesavananda Bharati was the most significant triumph for the
right, thanks to the exertions of legendary advocate Nani Palkhivala. In fact, it was seen as an instance
when the right was on the right side of history. The basic structure doctrine came on top of three judicial
setbacks she had already suffered. While dealing with laws eroding the right to property, which was then
a fundamental right, the Golaknath judgment of 1967 ruled that Parliament could not amend any of the
fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Two years later, the apex court struck down the first-
ever nationalization of banks, because of inadequate compensation to the original owners. In 1970, it also
invalidated the government's decision to abolish privy purses, which had been conferred on erstwhile
princes at the time of the integration of their states into the country. If the basic structure doctrine was a
path-breaking innovation, the manner in which it was laid down was no less unprecedented. For, 12 of the
13 judges on the bench were equally divided on whether there was any implied limitation in Article 368 on
Parliament's power to amend the Constitution. CJI Sikri, who was on the side of the judges who believed
in the implied limitation, tilted the balance by using the ambivalent opinion of the 13th judge, H R Khanna.
Sikri adopting the stratagem of writing a note titled "View by the Majority", which was endorsed by most of
his fellow judges. Khanna came on board as the crucial sentence in that summary about the basic
structure was lifted from his opinion. Thus was born the basic structure doctrine, through an addendum of
doubtful legal sanctity. Though it did not attempt to provide an exhaustive list of the basic features of the
Constitution, the Kesavananda Bharati verdict cited illustrative examples: supremacy of the Constitution,
republican and democratic form of government, secular character of the Constitution, federal character of
the Constitution, mandate to build a welfare state, free and fair elections and unity and integrity of the
nation. The premise of the verdict was that an amendment to any of these basic features would amount to
abrogation of the Constitution, as it would have changed beyond recognition. (Times of India 26/4/13)

Special session to bring in tough law (19)
Kolkata: A SPECIAL session of the West Bengal Assembly will be convened on April 29 and 30 to
introduce a Bill for protection of investors following the Saradha Group scam which has hit thousands of
investors. This is for the first time since 1960 when a special session of the Assembly has been convened
to pass just one Bill. After an all-party meeting in the Assembly on Friday, Speaker Biman Banerjee said
that the new Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Bill, 2013 would be tabled on the second
day after the customary obituary references. He said that the session has been called keeping in mind the
unrest created after the Saradha Group went bust affecting thousands of poor investors and the state
government wanted to formulate a strong legislation. "A motion will be moved to withdraw the West
Bengal Protection of Depositors in Financial Institutions Bill, 2009, which was introduced by the previous
Left Front government," he added. The decision comes after a similar Bill passed by the erstwhile Left
government was sent back to Governor M K Narayanan by President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday since
the present Trinamool government had asked the President to do so as to "incorporate changes following
the Saradha scam".Deputy Leader in the House and Industry minister Partha Chatterjee said, the new Bill
will have retrospective effect. Once the Bill is passed and becomes an Act, the new legislation will be able
to effectively deal with the Saradha scam and other similar incidents, he said adding, the new bill will be
more stringent and also empower authorities to confiscate assets of perpetrators of fraud. CPM leader
Anisur Rahman, however, claimed it was not possible to give retrospective effect to the new Bill and
added: "The earlier one was equipped to deal with the present situation. We will see how the bill being
brought by this government is going to be different." (Indian Express 27/4/13)

291 judicial officers transferred in Karnataka (19)
BANGALORE: The Karnataka high court on Saturday issued orders transferring 291 judicial officers
across the state. These transfers will take effect from May 27. Among those transferred, 39 belong to
district judge cadre, 122 are civil judges (senior division) and 130 belong to civil judges (junior division)
cadre. KS Mudagal will take over as principal secretary, department of law, justice and human rights, PD
Waingankar will be the new registrar (administration) of the high court and Rathnakala will be the new
principal city civil and sessions (Times of India 28/4/13)

Provision Regarding Key Managerial Personnel in the Companies Bill, 2012 (19)
The Companies Bill, 2012, as passed by Lok Sabha, inter-alia, incorporates provisions (Clause 203)
regarding appointment of Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) which provides that every Company,
belonging to such class or classes of company as may be prescribed, shall have a Company Secretary
as whole-time key managerial personnel. Giving this information in written reply to a question in the Lok
Sabha today Shri Sachin Pilot, Minister of Corporate Affairs, said that as per information provided by the
Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), there are 28,719 members on the roll of Institute of
Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). Further, 48,697 persons are pursuing the professional programme
as on 31.03.2013. This number is likely to meet the current and emerging demands of the Corporate
sector. (Govt. of India, PIB 2/5/13)

President Pranab Mukherjee asks Supreme Court to decide women lawyers' plea.. (19)
New Delhi: Stating that the recent incidents of child rape in Delhi highlight the "repeated failure" to ensure
security of women and children, President Pranab Mukherjee today asked the Supreme Court to give
expeditious attention to a plea seeking enforcement of Vishakha judgement to ensure more congenial
work environment for women lawyers. "The recent incidents of brutal assault and child rape in Delhi have
shaken our society's collective conscience. They highlight the urgency with which we need to introspect at
the erosion of values and our repeated failure to ensure safety and security of our women and children.
We must ensure the dignity and respect for women at all times," Mukherjee said. The President also said
that the apex court should give expeditious attention to the PIL of lady lawyers who are seeking "more
congenial" and safe atmosphere in courts in pursuance of earlier landmark judgement in the Vishakha
case. "I gather that a group of lady lawyers in the Supreme Court have moved a petition to seek the
enforcement of the court's own verdict in the Vishakha case on providing a more congenial workplace
environment within the courts for lady lawyers. I am sure the Supreme Court will give expeditious
attention to the matter," he said. The Supreme Court's Vishakha Judgement of 1997 is a landmark in legal
guidelines to deal with cases of sexual harassment at work places and includes setting up of a commitee
to inquire into such complaints. Addressing the National Seminar on Welfare of Lawyers, organised by
Bar Council of Delhi, the President said there was "huge disparities" between the elite and young lawyers
and new ones needed to be helped to "find their feet"."I would like to use this occasion to call upon
Judges to take special efforts to encourage young members of the Bar by considering them for local
commissions and appointment as 'Amicus Curiae' or 'Friend of the Court' in cases of public importance. I
am sure such initiatives will boost confidence and morale of younger members of legal fraternity," he
said (Indian Express 4/5/13)

Technical lapses cannot justify outright rejection of PIL: HC (19)
MUMBAI: Refusing to dismiss two Public interest litigation that sought CBI probe into irregularities in the
funding of a major irrigation project and its cost overruns due to delays, Nagpur bench of Bombay high
court recently observed that technical lapses in a PIL may not attract its outright rejection. "All technical
lapses in public interest matters cannot lead to its outright rejection. In appropriate matters, even while
upholding such preliminary objections, this court may still, in larger public interest, consider taking
cognizance of such grievances, suo motu. In present facts and situation, we hold that a "rule of
procedure" like making of demand can not outweigh public interest and cannot warrant dismissal of Public
Interest Litigation in limini." The HC bench comprising Justice B P Dharmadhikari and A B Chaudhari,
posted two PIL filed last for further hearing in June 2013 after calling for replies on allegations it raises of
irregularities in the Ghosikhurd Dam in Vidharbha. The Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation and
its executive director named in the PIL were represented by senior counsel V R Manohar who raised two
preliminary contentions objecting the tenability of the PILs and sought their dismissal. Manohar had
argued in court, "There is a prayer for CBI inquiry but then alternatives like filing of FIR or a private
complaint are not even resorted to. As these mandatory preconditions are vital to support the prayers are
not satisfied, the PILs need to be dismissed at threshold." The PIL relied on directives by state governor
for region-wise distribution of outlays in the final plan of 2013-14 made in March this year. It notes that the
governor, after pointing out that the earlier directives have not been fully complied with, has issued further
directions to the chief secretary to review the compliances of current as well as earlier directives and to
address policy issues, if any, at the level of state government. The planning department submitted no
impact assessment study and the chief secretary also did not submit his report about the discrepancy in
the figures of unspent balance of rest of Maharashtra Development Board, the PIL pointed out. The HC
observed that the "material on record prima facie shows indifference of or omission by the state
government even to comply with the governor's directions. The judges added, "It is to be noted that we
are not concluding this controversy on merits at this stage, as the respondents have not addressed us on
this count." The judges also noted that it was not the case of VIDC that petitioners have approached the
court with unclean hands. The HC said the government's statement shows that there is some substance
in their grievance. (Times of India 5/5/13)

HC judges differ over ID proof need for litigants (19)
New Delhi: Two judges of the Delhi High Court have aired different opinions over the issue of denial of
entry of litigants to the courtrooms due to absence of identity proof. While Justice Gita Mittal, of the two-
judge bench, has in a Friday order asked for the setting up of an expert committee to look into the issue,
the other judge JR Midha is said to have disagreed with her opinion. However, Midha's judgment is to be
delivered yet. "I have received the order proposed by my learned brother disagreeing with my opinion this
morning. I have not had a chance to glance through the same. It is necessary to clarify some aspects of
the matter raised therein which I proceed to record hereafter," Justice Mittal, who headed the bench, said
on Friday. "In any event, looked at from any angle, the issue deserves priority attention - both judicial
(because we have differed on whether the measure impacts access to justice) and administrative - which
I am positive, irrespective of the judicial view taken, will be given," she said. Noting that security
measures are inextricably connected with disaster concerns, she said a comprehensive evaluation plan is
required and hence had directed for the setting up of an expert committee. "Denying entry to a litigant to
the court premises is barrier to access to justice. Restricting public access to courts and imposition of
identification or documentation requirements on litigants represent barriers to access to justice," Justice
Mittal said. (Hindustan Times 6/5/13)

Need more women judges: Pranab (19)
President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday expressed concern over the number of women judges in the
higher courts. Pointing out that only ten women had become judges in 150 years of the Calcutta High
Court, he said, "Few women were elevated as judges of the Supreme Court." Mukherjee requested the
legal worlds to look into the situation of young lawyers and women lawyers. Chief Justice of India Altamas
Kabir, who also attended the event, advised the judges that they should concentrate on the quality of
verdict rather than the number of cases disposed. During the programme, Union Law Minister Ashwini
Kumar announced that the number of lower courts would be doubled in the next five years. Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee urged the judiciary to give justice to the common people as their expectation from the
judiciary was high. (Indian Express 6/5/13)

Govt, BJP in war of words over Food Security Bill (19)
NEW DELHI: Government and the BJP were on Tuesday engaged in a war of words over the Food
Security Bill pending for consideration in Lok Sabha since last week. While government accused BJP of
creating obstacles in the passage of a bill "which seeks to end hunger," the opposition party said it would
prefer to end Congress' "hunger for ill-gotten money" before pasing the ambitious legislation. "The UPA
believes that hunger should be removed and food security be ensured. It is extremely sad and most
unfortunate that certain sections of the opposition believe that it is not hunger that should be removed, but
it is the hungry who should be removed," information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari told
reporters outside Parliament House. He said a bill which seeks to provide 67 per cent of the people with
food security is being "sacrificed on the altar of political opportunism." Asked whether government could
promulgate an ordinance on the food bill if it is not passed in the Budgest session, Tewari said when the
session is in progress, he would not like to refer to an ordinance. "We want the bill to be passed after a
discussion. While some parties have constructive views on it, the party which calls itsself major opposition
party is politicising the issue," he said. Hitting back at Tewari, BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy
said while his party is willing to get important legislations passed, it would first like to end Congress'
"hunger for ill-gotten money" before passing the food bill. "Yes, we want to end the hunger of the people.
But before that we want to end their (Congress') hunger for ill-gotten money," Rudy said in an apparent
attack on railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal - involved in a controversy over arrest of his nephew
while allegedly accepting a bribe for a plum posting in the railway board. (Times of India 7/5/13)

Amendments in the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 (19)
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for amendments in the Parliament (Prevention of
Disqualification) Act, 1959 by introducing of a Bill in Parliament, namely, the Parliament (Prevention of
Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2013. Section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act,
1959, as amended from time to time, lists certain offices of profit under the Government of India or the
Government of any State, which do not disqualify the holders thereof for being chosen as, or for being, a
Member of Parliament. Sub-clause (ii) of clause (ba) of section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention of
Disqualification) Act, 1959, exempts the Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes from such disqualification. The National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes was bifurcated into two independent Commissions i.e. (i) the National Commission for
the Scheduled Castes and (ii) the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes by the Constitution
(Eighty-ninth Amendment) Act, 2003. By the said amendment Act Article 338 of the Constitution was
amended and a new article, namely, Article 338A was inserted in the Constitution. With the bifurcation of
the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, consequential amendments
are required in sub-clause (ii) of clause (ba) of section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification)
Act, 1959, so as to exclude the Chairperson of the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and
the Chairperson of the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes from incurring any disqualification
for being chosen as or for being a Member of Parliament. The Constitution (Eighty-ninth Amendment) Act,
2003, came into force from 19th February, 2004 and therefore, it is proposed to give effect to the present
amendment from the same date. (Govt. of India, PIB 9/5/13)

MNS to file PIL over tendu e-tendering (19)
NAGPUR: Alleging irregularities in the allocation of the e-tendering contract by the forest department to
the company which carried out the process, the roads, infrastructure and facilities division of Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena (MNS), East Vidarbha will file a public interest litigation (PIL) over the matter.
Addressing a press conference, Manish Deshmukh and Anand Fiske of MNS said sources in the forest
department told them that the agency which was chosen to carry out e-tendering was not eligible for it
and that another agency which was ready to do the same work at much lesser cost was denied it. But
they failed to show a definite proof of their allegation and said when the courts open after vacation they
will file a PIL. "We have strong reason to suspect that the e-tendering contract given to the agency does
not comply with the chief vigilance commission (CVC) and the IT Act 2000 guidelines. Has the
government checked all the credentials of the company," asked Fiske. They said e-tendering of tendu
contracts had brought in a lot of losses. "Every one is not very comfortable with working online and just
conducting a workshop doesn't help. Even after all this time one third of the tenders still remain unsold
and the revenue generated is also very low. E-tendering was a big mistake," said Deshmukh. They said
around 5 lakh people would be affected due to this. "The wages they will get will be low and also affect
the bonus they were getting since 2006. We also cannot fathom how come they are suggesting that the
contracts will be given to the gram panchayats," said Fiske. (Times of India 12/5/13)

Judges appointment system opaque, needs reforms, Kapil Sibal says (19)
NEW DELHI: Newly-appointed law minister Kapil Sibal on Monday stressed on the need for judicial
reform but cautioned that it should be done through "institutional dialogue and
understanding"."Appointments to the higher judiciary must be through transparent processes which
ensure that persons of impeccable integrity and high competence are appointed to these positions," he
said after assuming additional charge of the law ministry. Sibal succeeds Ashwani Kumar who resigned
last week after being accused of interfering in the functioning of CBI and having forced changes in the
agency's status report to Supreme Court on its Coalgate investigation. Sibal also stressed on simplifying
legal procedures so that they were not an impediment to economic growth. "Simplification and
transparency of legal processes and procedures are necessary to achieve this objective," he said.
However, the minister indicated that the government may not rush with certain legislations with general
elections a year away. Sibal said use of technology at every level of the judicial system, from investigation
to decision-making, was necessary. "This is the only way change can be brought about expeditiously," he
said. On pending legislations and changes required in various laws, the minister said it was part of the
government's long-term and short-term agenda to simplify procedures and and reduce hurdles. On the
appointment of judges through a transparent system, law ministry sources said a "short-term" method
could be to change the present system through an "institutional dialogue". They said the present system
was opaque and the long- term method to change it was through a law. (Times of India 14/5/13)

Man cannot take away child from divorced wife: court (19)
Mumbai: A man cannot take away his child from the custody of his estranged wife, the Bombay high court
held last week while rejecting a petition filed by a Vadgaon Maval resident challenging a lower court order
directing him to handover custody of his minor son to his estranged wife. Justice Roshan Dalvi rejected
the petition citing that the man had taken the seven-year-old boy away from the lawful guardianship of his
mother. Such lawful guardianship cannot be interfered with, except by the order of a competent court,
the judge observed while upholding the order passed by an additional sessions judge at Pune. The
woman, who is legally separated from her husband, had approached a judicial magistrate first class after
her husband took the child away in December 2012 However, the magistrate rejected her plea for
custody holding that the father is a natura guardian. The woman then challenged the order before the
sessions court, which overruled the magistrate court and on April 22 2013, directed the husband to
handover custody of the child to his mother. The husband had carried the matter in appeal contending
that he is a natura guardian of the child and, therefore, entitled to his custody. This is correct, Justice
Dalvi said adding, The mother is equally a lawful guardian. The judge noted that when the couple
separated the child was with his mother. The judge directed the man to handover the boys custody with a
warning that the man would invite action for contempt of court if he fails to comply with the order.
(Hindustan Times 15/5/13)

Supreme Court refers to larger bench plea on President's power to pardon (19)
NEW DELHI: Can the power of the President and a Governor to pardon or to reduce the sentence of a
convict be taken away by any law? The Supreme Court is to decide the issue while examining the validity
of Section 32A of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act which says that no
suspension, remission or commutation in sentence awarded under this Act is allowed. Considering the
importance of issue involved, a bench of justices BS Chauhan and FM Ibrahim Kalifulla referred the
matter to a larger bench. The court passed the order while hearing an appeal filed by one Krishnan and
others, convicted under NDPS Act, challenging the Punjab and Haryana high court's order which held that
he was not entitled to any remission in view of the provisions of Section 32-A of the Act. "We are of the
opinion that the matter requires to be considered by a larger bench, either by a three judges' bench first or
by a five judges' bench directly. The papers may be placed before the Chief Justice of India for
appropriate orders," the bench said. Section 32A of NDPS Act says notwithstanding anything contained in
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or any other law for the time being in force but subject to the
provisions of Section 33, no sentence awarded under this Act (other than Section 27) shall be suspended
or remitted or commuted. Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution empower the President of India and the
Governor of a state to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishments or to suspend,
remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence under any law relating to a matter
to which the executive power of the Union and state exists. (Times of India 16/5/13)

Recruitment of district judges challenged in high court (19)
MADURAI: Challenging the notification to fill up vacancies for the posts of district judge, a writ petition has
been filed before the Madras high court (Madurai bench). The petition filed by a differently abled person
states that the government has issued the notification for these entry-level posts without reservation for
the differently-abled people (DAP). The government issued the notification without following a 2011 order
of Madras high court in reply to writ petitions directing the government to give chance to the DAP in the
next recruitment drive (ie the current one) for the district judges, the petition filed by advocate M Ponniah,
who himself is disabled, stated. A few days ago another petition was filed before the Madras high court
principal bench by P Ramalingam, former president of TN Judicial Officers Association and retired district
judge, challenging the same notification on the ground that the government fills up the vacancies without
using the service quota (promotion should be given to the sub judges as district judge). On this petition,
the court has ordered notice to the government and the high court registry. After hearing the petition of
Ponniah, the division bench, comprising Justices M Duraiswamy and T Raja, ordered notices to be issue
to the chief secretary of the Tamil Nadu government, secretary of the public department and the registrar
general of the Madras high court. On May 1, the public department had issued the notification inviting
applications from advocates with seven years of practice to fill up 23 vacancies of district judge in the
Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service. The notification also contained the details about distribution of
vacancies, according to reservation, among backward classes (6 posts), general (8) scheduled castes
(3), most backward classes and denotified communities (4), scheduled castes (Arunthathiyars on
preferential basis) (1) and backward class Muslims (1). However, the notification did not provide for
reservation for DAPs who are entitled for 3% reservation under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. Even though, the DAPs were
selected to the post of civil judge (junior division), so far they have not been given a chance in the
recruitment for district judge. After the Act came into force, two selections to the district judge cadre were
made. In 2011, 17 candidates were selected to the post out of 2,541 applicants who appeared for the
written examination. Prior to this, 11 persons were selected. The recent notification aims to fill up 23
vacancies. The current vacancy in district judge cadre is 51. According to the Act, one DAP should be
appointed in the government service as one among 33 judges. As the government issued notification
without giving reservation to the disabled, the writ petition was filed challenging the notification, the
petitioner alleged. (Times of India 18/5/13)

Jails not hotels: high court (19)
Chandigarh: Treating the case of a murder convict's release on parole twice in the past four months from
Gurgaon jail as a public-interest petition, the Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Haryana
government to explain its parole policy. Visibly anguished, the division bench comprising acting chief
justice Jasbir Singh and justice Rakesh Kumar Jain said jails were not hotels where convicts arrived for
enjoying holidays and the rest of the time remained on parole. Taking a serious view of the parole
petitioner's example, the high court directed the state government to file a specific affidavit as to whether
there was some policy for releasing prisoners on parole or the authorities were issuing paroles on their
own whims and fancies to selected prisoners. The court has also asked the authorities concerned to
explain how some of the convicts had been released on parole a number of times within a short period.
The division bench also refused to grant parole to murder convict Jai Prakash, who is lodged in the
Gurgaon jail. The hearing is now on May 27. (Hindustan Times 21/5/13)

PIL: Why does HC need a summer break? (19)
CHENNAI: At a time when all court halls have been airconditioned, and all cars and residence of judges
too are airconditioned, why do we need a summer vacation for the high court? This was the question
raised by a public interest writ petition filed in the Madras high court. Calling it a relic of colonial era and
unwarranted because courts have been grappling with lakhs of pending cases, the PIL filed by K Shyam
Sundar, a practising advocate, wanted the HC to quash its own April 26 notification declaring summer
recess from May 1 to June 2. "The concept of summer vacation was introduced in high courts during the
time when English judges were adorning the seats and they could not best the heat in summer.
Nowadays, most of the superior courts are airconditioned and the chambers and cars provided to judges
are also airconditioned. In view of the technological advancement, the custom of observing long summer
vacations because of severe heat condition has lost its relevance," he said. Pointing out that high courts
functioned for only 210 days a year, the PIL said in addition to the four-week summer vacation, there
were 22 declared holidays, 10-day Dussehra holidays and eight-day Christmas-New Year break for the
high court. The April 26 notification had laid a condition that only urgent cases could be filed during the
four-week recess and deprived advocates as well as litigants of their right to file other cases such as quo
warranto petitions, he said. "The notification is void because it is without jurisdiction and there is no
provision in the high court rules or in the Constitution to close the court for more than a month, thereby
depriving the citizens of their right to approach the court for violation of various rights," Shyam Sundar
said. Describing the vacation as 'anti-people, anti-democratic and anti-judicial', the PIL said TN alone had
more than five lakh cases pending at various levels of the judiciary. In its report in 2009, the Law
Commission of India said, "Of late, there has been a general erosion of work culture throughout the
country. It is high time that all the judges devote full time to judicial work and should not be under any
misconception that they are Lords, or above society." (Times of India 22/5/13)

PIL seeks reopening of Rajiv assassination case (19)
Madurai: A PIL seeking to reinvestigate the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has
been filed in the Madras High Court bench in Madurai on Tuesday. The petitioner, V. Santhakumaresan,
an advocate, said in his PIL that the reinvestigation, in the interest of justice, may bring out buried truths.
The grounds under which the petitioner sought reinvestigation included the reported statement of CBI
investigating officer Ragothaman in an interview to a Tamil channel recently. Mr. Ragothaman said that
video clippings and recorded tapes of the case had not been handed over to the Special Investigation
team. The petitioner said Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan, who were facing death sentence in the
case should be protected against this background, . There was no tangible evidence to prove the
involvement of LTTE in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Mr. Santhakumaresan said. He said he had
given representation to Secretary, External Affairs, Director of Research and Analysis Wing and
Additional Director of CBI to reinvestigate the case. But no action had been taken so far. The Supreme
Court had given two different views on hanging cases that of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar and
Mahendra Nath Das. (The Hindu 28/5/13)

Betting on stronger laws (19)
New Delhi: Even as the crisis in cricket triggered by the spot-fixing scandal continues to sweep the
country, there is growing consensus on the need to legalise betting in sporting events. The voices within
the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) demanding that its president N Srinivasan step down, at
least until investigations against his son-in-law are concluded, are also on the rise. A major debate is on
whether legalising betting in India and enacting strong laws would help curb the operations of bookies,
who constantly look to tap players to influence the outcome of matches or parts of it and are said to have
strong underworld links. While many had suggested legalising betting after the match-fixing scandal
erupted in 2000, it gradually lost steam. In India, only betting on horse racing is legal and there is no
specific law to deal with illegal betting in other sports. The authorities can invoke the provisions of the
Public Gambling Act of 1867. Under Sections of the Indian Penal Code investigators have caught bookies
and players for cheating and breach of trust. Thus, there has been a crying need for specific laws to deal
with sports betting. The FICCI has called for legalising betting, arguing that it would fetch massive
amounts in taxes and reduce fixing, money-laundering and related crimes. The trade body is for putting in
place a system to control, rather than prohibit, gambling. However, there are other hurdles as well. The
sports ministry says betting being a state subject, it cannot be part of a central law to regularise betting.
But with investigations clearly showing that illegal betting and spot-fixing are in the grip of the underworld,
it is time the authorities got over the technicalities. India will do well to study the laws in the United
Kingdom, where betting on sports is legal but is highly regulated. It helps prevent gambling rings from
influencing teams and individuals. These laws led to the imprisonment of three Pakistani players following
the 2010 spot-fixing scandal. Legalising betting will reduce the number of cricket punters who seek out
illegal bookies, and it is obvious that the quantum of bets on cricket matches provide the financial
incentive to dubious characters to tap players. This combined with specific laws will go a long way to help
prevent a repeat of the present crisis. (Hindustan Times 29/5/13)

UP plans courts where only netas, babus will be tried (19)
Allahabad,: At a time when corruption scandals appear to embroil the UPA government with clockwork
regularity, Uttar Pradesh government plans, for the first time in India, to set up 22 courts exclusively for
trying corruption cases against politicians and babus. These courts will come up in five major districts of
the state and hold exclusive trials in the corruption cases involving politicians, gazetted officers, senior
police and other government officials. Judges of additional district and sessions judge or special judge
rank would preside over these courts, a letter issued by Allahabad high court joint registrar (services) on
May 24 reads. The letter has asked district judges and officers on special duty (OSD) of Lucknow,
Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Meerut and Bareilly, where these courts are planned, to submit within six weeks
details about the required infrastructure and manpower. Nine of the courts, the highest number, will be set
up in Lucknow, followed by Gorakhpur with five and Varanasi four. Meerut and Bareilly would have two
courts each. The government also plans to set up courts of additional chief judicial magistrate and
additional civil judge (senior division) in Lakhimpur Kheri and that of a civil judge (junior division) in
Lakhimpur Kheri, Allahabad, Budaun and Etah. (Times of India 30/5/13)

Tribal ministry concerned over delay by state on SC order (19)
BHUBANESWAR: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) is concerned over the lackadaisical approach of
the Odisha Government in implementing the order of the Supreme Court to conduct Gram Sabha in
Rayagada and Kalahandi districts to get the mandate of the tribals on the Bauxite Mining Project (BMP) in
Niyamgiri hills and settlement of religious and cultural rights of the indigenous population. Union
Secretary Vibha Puri, in a letter to Chief Sceretary BK Patnaik, said considerable time has elapsed since
MoTA issued a letter on May 2 containing guidelines to comply with the SC order. However, the Ministry
is yet to receive any reply from the State. The State was to immediately issue an advertisement in all local
newspapers that all STs and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) wishing to stake claim as per
Forest Rights Act or cultural and religious rights over any part of 660.749 hectare forest land should
submit their applications. It was to prepare a list of villages and hamlets whose people have been
traditionally grazing cattle, collecting minor forest produce, protecting forests, worshipping deities or
otherwise using the forest land demanded by Odisha Mining Corporation for the project and make it
public. The process of the identification of the Gram Sabhas concerned was to be completed within a
period of 15-20 days. You will appreciate that the Supreme Court has directed that fresh claims be filed
before the Gram Sabha within six weeks of the judgment and both Ministry as well as State Government
are required to assist the Gram Sabha in settling individual as well as community claims. We need to
work jointly and urgently in this crucial matter, Puris letter stated. The States attitude also drew flak from
the activists who alleged that attempts are being made to subvert the order of the apex court in
conducting Gram Sabhas. President of Lok Shakti Abhijan Prafulla Samantara said communications from
the Centre have been downplayed by the State Government. Only on Tuesday, the government
unilaterally declared the number and names of villages where Gram Sabhas will take place which
contradicts the letter and spirit of the apex court order, he told mediapersons on Wednesday. The
Government had earlier submitted an affidavit before the apex court providing a list of 12 villages that are
likely to be affected by the proposed mining and the same villages have been identified for holding Gram
Sabhas though there are more than 42 villages within 10 km range of the proposed BMP area, he said.
He said he would approach the Supreme Court for contempt proceedings if the State does not stop
manipulating its order to serve the interest of Vedanta Alumina Ltd. (Indian Express 305/13)

SC panned panelists 2001 verdict (19)
COIMBATORE: Justice R Balasubramanian, a member of the BCCIs independent panel constituted to
probe charges of spot-fixing and betting, had earned the sobriquet acquittal judge from the legal
community at the Madras High Court where he served as a judge for 10 years. He had disposed of nearly
71,000 cases during his tenure. While it is not clear why lawyers had coined the curious sobriquet, Justice
Balasubramanian was known to court an occasional controversy. One such judgment delivered by a
division bench headed by him on October 5, 2001, had literally shaken the collective conscience of the
society. The SC later overturned the verdict. The bench comprising justices R Balasubramanian and V
Bhaktavatsulu had then acquitted John David, a medico convicted by a trial court to dual life
imprisonment for butchering a student, Pon Navarasu, after a ragging session in his hostel room at the
Annamalai University. The crime, which occurred in November 1996, had shocked the nation for its sheer
brutality. David had chopped the body of Navarasu, son of then University of Madras V-C P K
Ponnusamy and dumped the parts in different places. The torso was abandoned in a suitcase in a bus in
Chennai. (New Indian Express 31/5/13)

Govt must have say in appointment of judges to higher courts: Kapil Sibal (19)
NEW DELHI: The collegium system of appointing judges has not worked to the expectations and the
government must have a say in such appointments, law minister Kapil Sibal has said as he prepares to
move a Cabinet note to scrap the two-decades-old system. He said he would "very soon" move a
proposal in the Cabinet to replace the Collegium system with the Judicial Appointment Commission which
will give a say to the Executive in the appointments of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts. "We
do not think that the Collegium system has worked to our expectations. I don't think it even worked to the
expectations of the judiciary," Sibal told PTI in an interview while justifying the need for scrapping the
system. Sibal, who took charge of the Law Ministry last month, said the objective of the government and
the judiciary is to have the best people as judges who must be chosen with complete transparency and
objectivity and there must be broadbased consultations. "Just as judges have enormous stake in the
appointment of judicial officers in the higher judiciary (Supreme Court and the 24 High Courts), the
government has an equal stake. Since both of us have stakes in the appointment of members of the
higher judiciary, the consultation of both of them is absolutely necessary. Government must have a say,"
he emphasised. Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir recently strongly defended the Collegium system,
saying appointments to the higher judiciary are made after "intense deliberations".When referred to the
judiciary's objections to changing the system, the Law Minister said, "We know the views (of the judiciary).
We will take that into account. Again, laws must be acceptable by and large to the stakeholders, that
includes the judiciary, it includes the executive, it includes all the players in the field of dispensation of
justice," he said. The practice of judges appointing judges started after 1993, replacing the system of
government picking judges for higher judiciary comprising the Supreme Court and High Courts. According
to the government proposal, a six-member Judicial Appointments Commission headed by the Chief
Justice of India with the Law Minister as a representative of the government would be set up to select
judges for the higher courts. The JAC will also have two judges of the Supreme Court, two eminent jurists
nominated by the President as members. The government is open to include the Leader of Opposition in
the Commission. The proposal to replace the present system of Collegium appointing judges will require
a Constitutional amendment. The Collegium is a five-member body headed by the Chief Justice of India
and includes four other senior-most judges. The proposal was on the agenda of the Union Cabinet on
April 18, but could not be taken up. Sibal said he would strive to "give life" to the various Law Ministry bills
pending in Parliament by getting them enacted. These include the Judicial Standards Accountability Bill.
(Times of India 2/6/130

Cheque bounce offence likely to go (19)
NEW DELHI: The government will soon bring an amendment in the Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act that
will restrict banks from dragging a person to court for an offence like cheque bounce. All such cases, after
the changes are affected, will have to be decided only through arbitration, conciliation or settlement by
Lok Adalats. It is estimated that more than 30% of all the pending cases in courts across the country are
either related to cheque bounce or traffic challans. The proposed amendment in the NI Act has been
recently suggested by an inter-ministerial group (IMG), which was set up last year to make suggestions
for necessary policy and legislative changes to deal with a large number of cases pending in various
courts. The law ministry is working closely with the finance ministry and the surface transport ministry to
make suitable changes in the law and cases falling under both categories (cheque bounce and traffic
challans) will be ineligible to be taken to courts unless some other criminal intent is alleged. The changes
in the NI Act will make it compulsory for the disputing parties to resolve the matter through alternate
dispute resolution mechanism. Amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act are suggested for cases related to
traffic challans. "The use of alternate dispute resolution mechanism on the lines of Section 89 of the Code
of Civil Procedure, through arbitration; conciliation; judicial settlement including settlement through Lok
Adalat of mediation may be made compulsory in cheque bounce cases by making suitable amendments
in the negotiable instruments act," the IMG recommendation said. The IMG report, being implemented by
the finance ministry, said a summary procedure for dealing with cheque bounce cases as a schedule of
procedure may be codified, and developed by the department of financial services. The same may
suitably be incorporated in the Negotiable Instruments Act, it added. The existing rules for court fees do
not take into account the amount involved in the cheque or volume of complaint cases. "The court fee
may be made Ad-valorem to act as a deterrent for indiscreet and vexatious complaints," the IMG has
said. Provision may also be made for defaulting party to bear the cost of litigation in cheque bounce
cases, it added. (Times of India 4/6/13)

Real Estate Bill: What's in it for property buyer (19)
New Delhi: The Real Estate Regulatory Bill, when enacted into law, will ensure that home or property
buyers get timely possession, and as per the specifications promised by developers, say realty firms and
consultants. Besides, it will improve the image of the realty sector by bringing in transparency, they said.
However, industry experts highlighted that the bill does not provide relief to builders in getting faster
approvals for their projects. "The bill will pave the way for providing the much needed transparency by
seeking to regulate the hitherto largely unregulated housing sector in India," Jones Lang LaSalle India
Chairman & Country Head Anuj Puri said in a statement. The ambit of the proposed law is quite large and
seeks to cover all major private residential developments across the country as the bill applies to all
projects over 4,000 square meters, he added. Global realty consultant CBRE South Asia Chairman & MD
Anshuman Magazine said: "Real estate regulator bill should have been more balanced (while) taking view
of challenges faced by developers and consumer grievances." Recognising that consumers need
protection, Magazine said that administrative reforms are required urgently for real estate development to
happen more efficiently and in a transparent manner. The Cabinet yesterday cleared the Real Estate
(Regulation and Development) Bill, which among other things, seeks to provide a uniform regulatory
environment to the sector. Hailing the Cabinet's approval of the bill, NAREDCO President Navin Raheja
said: "It is a welcome step. We had been waiting for the same since long as it would bring buyers at ease
along with transparency and respect to the sector"The bill will protect the interest of all stakeholders,
people, developers and also help check unscrupulous players in the sector and would streamline the
sector, Raheja added. (Indian Express 5/6/13)

Four HC judges administered oath (19)
Chandigarh: Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana high court Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul administered the
oath of office to four new judges here on Thursday. He administered the oath of office to Justice
Paramjeet Singh, Justice Naresh Kumar Sanghi and Justice Rameshwar Singh Malik as permanent
judges of the high court. They were earlier additional judges of the high court. The Chief Justice also
administered the oath of office to Justice Bharat Bhushan Parsoon, district and sessions judge, Gurgaon,
as additional judge of the court. With this the strength of judges in the high court has risen to 42.Sitting
and retired judges, senior advocates and families of the judges attended the ceremony. (Hindustan Times
13/6/13)

Pleas against textbooks with national anthem gaffe will be filed as PIL (19)
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Wednesday declined to hear two petitions seeking direction to the
State government to withdraw text books in which 'Sindh' has been replaced in the national anthem with
"Sindhu'' saying they were filed wrongly as criminal writ petition and instead should be filed as a civil
public interest litigation. The first petition filed by Mulund resident Dakshata Shet, said she noticed the
change in the latest Standard X Geography textbook of Marathi Medium school printed by the
Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. "The change is also reflected in
the English medium Geography textbooks," Shet told TOI. The second petition was by Arjun Pawar
regarding saying the history text books also contain the same gaffe. In her petition, Shet has pointed out
that the Supreme Court, as well as the Bombay High Court, have ruled that the national anthem should
not be amended even if geographical changes take place in India. "These rulings are specifically in
relation to the word 'Sindh'," the petition adds. Shet's petition also urged the court to direct the
government to reprint new textbooks with the correct national anthem and to register a cognisable offence
against the concerned persons "for exhibiting disrespect towards the national anthem and towards the
nation as a whole." The judges pointed out that they could not hear the matter sitting in criminal
jurisdiction and would instead grant liberty to the petitioners to withdraw their petitions and filed again as
PIL. Shet and Pawar agreed to the court's suggestion and withdrew their petitions. (Times of India
13/6/13)

Under new law, stalking a separate offence (19)
New Delhi: A 16-year-old girl befriended a man on a social networking site and made the mistake of
meeting him. During the meeting, their private moments were captured by the mans friend; they later
used the photograph to blackmail and extort money from the girl. This was one of the first few cases the
police registered under the newly-amended criminal law in which capturing or watching private moments
of a woman have been termed an offence. Similarly, in another case, four men were arrested from a
Metro train for stalking a woman. The amendments in the criminal law, after the December 16 gangrape,
have given freedom to the police to categorise crimes against women. Now the section has been divided
into four subheads. Broadly, cases of sexual harassment are registered under section 354A, including
cases in which a woman is physically contacted (i.e. groped), or someone has made sexual remarks or
showed pornographic material to her forcibly. Cases like assault during a molestation attempt are
registered under Section 354 B. Cases like someone capturing or watching private moments of a woman
are now registered under section 354 C. The fourth part of the law 354D deals with stalking and most of
the cases have come under this head. This year till May 31, 1,618 molestations were reported. After the
law was amended, 501 accused were booked for sexual harassment, 60 for assaulting a woman, four for
capturing or watching private moments of a woman and 135 accused for stalking. A survey of molestation
cases revealed that out of 1,282 cases (till April 30), nearly 40% took place on the road. (Hindustan
Times 14/6/13)

Lawyers filed PIL against stamp duty and registration department in 2010 (19)
MUMBAI: A group of lawyers had filed a public interest litigation in 2010 over the stamp duty and
registration (SDR) department's "haphazard" functioning in the Bombay high court. In the PIL, the lawyers
alleged that though the department has computerized the registration process, the records at various
registration offices are not linked. "Records are kept in tattered conditions and in some cases are not
available at all for several years at a stretch. Sections 52 and 55 of the Registration Act provide that every
document be copied in the appropriate book and an index of registered documents be maintained. This
never happens,'' said advocate Deepa Tharkar (not a petitioner) who is tracking the PIL. Non-updation of
property records at the SDR department has, in the past few years, led to many complaints and cases of
unscrupulous sale of the same property to multiple buyers. Rajesh Lakhara, a taxation expert, knows this
well. In 2010, Lakhara purchased a two-bedroom flat from an investor at Bhayandar. "The bank
sanctioned my loan, the property was duly registered and all the documentation was in place. After the
formalities, I decided to check upon the flat. To my shock, I found some other family residing there who
claimed to have bought it.''Lakhara found out that the investor had sold to three other buyers. "The seller
registered the flat in the names of all four, including myself and the SDR department accepted the stamp
duty and registration charges from all of us. Buyers like me have lost their hard-earned money because of
its irresponsible working,'' said Lakhara who filed a case against the seller and the SDR department in
Thane court three years ago. (Times of India 16/6/13)

Indian judiciary one of most powerful in world: CJI (19)
SRINAGAR: Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir has described the Indian judicial system as one of the
most powerful in the world today due to the power of judicial review enjoyed by it. Speaking at an event
after inaugurating the Jammu and Kashmir Judicial Academy complex built on the outskirts of Srinagar on
Sunday, he said that the constitution has given power to judicial systems to enforce the fundamental
rights of people. "Today the Indian judiciary is one of the most powerful judiciary in the world, because
there is a power of judicial review. We are empowered under Article 32 of the Constitution to enforce or
implement any fundamental rights," Justice Kabir said in his address to the gathering at the newly built
auditorium of the academy at Mominabad. The CJI also praised the role of Alternate Dispute Resolution
(ADR) mechanism in the country saying, "It has worked wonders to bring down the backlog of
cases"."Population has gone up, crimes have gone up and unemployment, so many factors are there
which have led to increase in the cases piling up in the courts," he said, adding that ADR mechanism
should be adopted increasingly. He also asked the legal community to become a role model for society by
their behaviour and sticking to the spirit of law. "There are rules about ethics and how lawyers should
behave both inside the court and outside and when a person becomes an advocate and takes that oath,
he becomes a member of the bar council of india and the state bar council. "He is immediately elevated to
a certain position in the society and people look up to him or her. An advocate is a privileged person in
the society," he said. (Times of India 18/6/13)

Privacy law draft does not cover CCTV footage (19)
New Delhi: An individual captured on CCTV camera at a public place will not be able to invoke the
proposed privacy law to seek redress. This is one of the provisions of the draft Bill likely to be tabled in
Parliament's forthcoming session. "Draft (of the privacy Bill) has been prepared. We will go to cabinet
after law ministry vets it," MoS, Personnel, V Narayanasamy said. The draft Bill drawn up by DoPT
addresses the home ministry's concern that interception laws must not change, and that footage from
security cameras in public places are kept out of the ambit of the new law, officials said. The draft,
however, proposes to make individuals, organisations and agencies accountable for audio and video
recording by creating a national body that will ensure that the circumstances are exceptional, and that the
recorded data is not misused, the officials said. The draft is learnt to have proposed a central monitoring
system (CMS) to stop the illegal tapping of phones. (Indian Express 19/6/13)

Take Sarabjit case to International Court, says PIL in Guj HC (19)
Ahmedabad: A Gujarat High Court (HC) bench Thursday asked a petitioner to clarify if the Tashkent
Declaration between India and Pakistan could be implemented by a citizen of either of the countries. The
bench comprising Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala made the query acting
on a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought a direction asking the Central Government to approach the
International Court of Justice (ICJ), with reference to Sarabjit Singh's murder, the Indian prisoner who
died in May after being attacked inside a Pakistan jail, against the Government of Pakistan. The
petitioner, HC advocate Girish Das, based his plea on the 1996 Tashkent Declaration signed between
India and Pakistan. According to Das, Sarabjit Singh's body was sent to India where post mortem
revealed his heart kidneys and stomach to be missing because of which the real cause of death could not
be ascertained. Das has sought the direction to investigate who removed the vital organs from his body
and other connected offences like inhuman torture due to his race, language, religion, national and social
origin that are prohibited under international treaties and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
According to Das, the Tashkent Declaration was signed to promote friendly relations between the people
of the two countries and for their welfare. He has alleged Singh's murder in a Pakistan jail is a violation of
the declaration and is nothing but inhumanity. "After hearing the petition, the court adjourned the hearing
for next week asking me to clarify if a citizen of either of the countries can get implemented a declaration
signed by the two countries," he said. Das added that as per provisions of the Protection of Human Rights
Act, 1993, the Central Government can approach the ICJ to secure fundamental rights of its citizens
promised under the Tashkent Declaration. (Indian Express 21/6/13)

Justice for weaker sections of the society (19)
A brainstorming to strengthen legal services for vulnerable communities is slated in Hyderabad on the
weekend. In situations where the law tends to favor the rich and the powerful, it becomes equally if not
more important to protect the rights of the weaker sections of society in the quest for justice. Free legal
aid has been made into a right under the Legal Services Authority Act of 1987 by constituting the National
Legal Services Authority (NALSA). As per the Section 12 of the Act, every person who has to file or
defend a case shall be entitled to legal services if that person is a member of the Scheduled Caste or
Scheduled Tribe, a woman or a child, a mentally ill or otherwise disabled person, an industrial workman,
in custody, in receipt of an annual income below a prescribed amount, a victim of a mass disaster, ethnic
violence, caste atrocity, flood, draught, earthquake or industrial disaster. How many such persons are
able to access or receive free legal aid is anybodys guess. But to strengthen the engagement of the
Legal Services Authority at the state, district and taluk level in advancing the legal entitlements of
vulnerable communities such as women in sex work, injecting drug users and sexual minorities, the
NALSA is conducting a seminar in Hyderabad on June 22. It seems some legal help has been provided to
marginal communities at the district level and some of the best practices by District Legal Services
Authority in partnership with community based organizations and para legal volunteers will be showcased
during the seminar. The occasion is also expected to be used to spread awareness and strengthen the
communitys access to the schemes being provided by the Legal Services Authority. The topic around
which the meeting will be held is Legal Aid and Education for Marginal Communities and those Most-at-
Risk of HIV. It is expected to be attended by executive chairperson and Member Secretary of five State
Legal Services Authority, district chairpersons and secretaries from the District Legal Service Authority of
five states. Over 75 community-based organisations, 22 civil society organisations, project directors of
State AIDS Control Societies, academicians and government are expected to be present. NALSA was
constituted in 1995 to bring uniformity to legal aid programmes throughout the country. As the apex body
NALSA lays down the policies and principles for providing legal services under the provisions of the Act. It
also disburses funds and grants to the State Legal Services Authorities and NGOs for implementing legal
awareness and legal aid. (The Hindu 22/6/13)


SC rejects PIL against Ranbaxy seeking sealing of its India units (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the PIL seeking the cancellation of the licence
granted to Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd and for initiating a probe against the pharma major for allegedly
manufacturing and selling adulterated drugs. Gogoi, however, allowed the petitioner advocate ML
Sharma to file a fresh petition if he finds some evidence against the company in support of his allegation
that the company is engaged in manufacturing and selling substandard drugs. The bench said that it
cannot decide the plea against the company on the basis of a judgement passed by a US court against
Ranbaxy. "Your entire argument is based on proceedings in the US. We have no jurisdiction over it. Show
us material that things are happening in India and it adversely affects right to life of people here," the
bench observed adding, "Where is the material against Ranbaxy"."No material has been placed to show
that drugs manufactured by any unit of Ranbaxy are substandard, adulterated, spurious and that such
drugs are prohibited under the law. In absence of such material, we cannot entertain the plea," the bench
said. In his PIL, Sharma had alleged that Ranbaxy was fined $500 million by the US Food and Drug
Administration (USFDA) for making and selling "adulterated" drugs. It also sought sealing of all its
manufacturing units here, including those in Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh and Dewas in Madhya
Pradesh. He alleged that despite Ranbaxy pleading guilty to supplying adulterated drugs in the US and it
being fined such a huge amount, the Centre has not taken any action to prohibit or ban the drugs made
by the company. He also sought action against Indian drug regulator, Central Drug Standards Control
Organisation (CDSCO), for permitting Ranbaxy to sell drugs in India, especially in the wake of the results
of the USFDA probe against the company. (Hindustan Times 25/6/13)

Kerala High Court moved against marriage circular (19)
KOCHI: Three writ petitions were filed on Wednesday in the Kerala High Court questioning a circular
issued by the State government directing to register marriages between males aged below 21 and
females aged below 18 but over 16 belonging to the Muslim community and issue them marriage
certificates. The petitions were filed by the Kozhikode based Punerjeni Charitable Trust; Viswa Hindu
Parishad, State Committee; and Kerala Yukthivadi Sanghom. The petitioners contended that the circular
was against the existing laws. It was issued with an oblique motive with the connivance of persons with
vested interest. It went against the provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. In fact, the circular
perpetuated and justified the social evil of child marriages, the petitioners alleged. By issuing the order,
the government had deviated from its constitutional and statutory duties. The government should have
taken steps to implement the provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act instead of issuing such
illegal circular. The contention that marriages were voidable under the Act was not correct. Such
marriages were void. The stand that personal laws permitted such marriages was unjustified in view of
the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.The contention that personal laws of Muslims, Christians, and other
communities allowed such marriages was untenable after the Act which fixed the marriageable age of a
person came into force. The petitioner sought a directive not to register the marriages between a male of
below 21 years and female of below 18 years. Meanwhile, according to the information received by the
Punerjeni Charitable Trust from the social welfare department, as many as 26,442 marriages between
girls aged between 13 and 18 took place in Malappuram district during 2001-02 while a total of 17,026
marriages between the same age group were held in Malappuram district during 2002-2003. However,
during 2007-2009, 5,829 marriages took place in Malppauram. Community wise figures were not
available. The petitioner said the child welfare officers appointed under the Act had been unable to
prevent such marriages because of the circular. (The Hindu 27/6/13)

Lawyers to be motivated for practising at grassroots level (19)
Lucknow: To enable young advocates get practical know how of the legal profession, Dr Ram Manohar
Lohiya National Law University (RMLNLU) will conduct an intensive training programme to educate them
on the most common aspects related to their field -- like how to draft petition, etc. The ministry of law and
justice, department of legal affairs, has come out with a scheme - Rajiv Gandhi Adhivakta Prashikshan
Yojna (Rajiv Gandhi Advocates Training Scheme) to upgrade professional knowledge and skills of young
advocates. The objective of the programme is to motivate them to continue their practice at grass-roots
level. The RMLNLU will hold the training session next month. But before that a meeting of higher officials
of the ministry will be held in Lucknow to discuss the modalities and the content of the training material for
the advocates, said Gurdip Singh, vice-chancellor of the university, while talking to Hindustan Times.
Who all are eligible? Those practicing in magistrate and munsif courts so that they can effectively serve
the needs of the legal profession at the grassroots level, reads an official communiqu of ministry of law
and justice. There is no dearth of talented law graduates at the grassroots level, but there is no motivation
and encouragement for them to come forward and stay in legal profession at district, taluka or village
levels. As a result, most of these young lawyers, despite their ability, are not getting proper exposure in
their profession. Therefore, there is a need to give them proper training so that they may become good
lawyers and compete with solicitors of high profile law firms, sources said. (Hindustan Times 27/6/13)

Soon, every district to have family court (19)
Lucknow: Every district in the state will now get a family court for speedy disposal of the rising number of
cases arising due to marital disputes. At present, only 16 family courts are functioning in 12 of the 75
districts. The UP government has issued a notification for constitution of family courts in the remaining 63
districts . After creating necessary posts for these courts, the Law Department has sent a letter informing
the Allahabad High Court. The presiding officers in these family courts will be appointed by the Governor
on the High Court's recommendation from the Higher Judicial Services (HJS) cadre. The 156 ex-cadre
posts of the Fast Tract Courts, which no more exist, will be absorbed by these courts. Each family court
will be headed by an additional district and sessions judge, who will function under the district judge.
These family courts will be established with central government funding. "A letter in this regard has been
sent to the Law Secretary, Government of India, for providing financial assistance," S K Pandey, Principal
Secretary, Law, said. He informed that the registrar of the High Court had in May 2008 written to the state
government, expressing the need to constitute family courts in every district. "The number of cases
arising due to marital disputes runs into lakhs and the pendency is increasing every day. Every marital
dispute case gives birth to several other cases between two families," Pandey said. Another reminder for
constituting family courts was sent by the Registrar in May 2012. "After this, the process was initiated and
after getting clearance from the Finance Department, these courts have been constituted," Pandey
stated. Constitution of 63 family courts will also result in appointment of 504 employees on different posts.
(Indian Express 28/6/13)

Cabinet clears ordinance to implement Food Security Bill (19)
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday decided to come out with an ordinance to give nation's
two-third population the right to 5kg of foodgrain every month at highly subsidized rates of Rs 1-3 per kg.
The Cabinet, which had last month deferred a decision on the issue, approved promulgation of an
ordinance to implement the Food Security Bill, sources said. With this, India will join select league of
countries in the world that guarantee majority of its population foodgrain. At Rs 125,000 crore of
government support, the food security programme will be the largest in the world. The ordinance is being
promulgated just weeks before the scheduled monsoon session of Parliament. Even after the ordinance,
the bill will have to be approved by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The ordinance, which will
guarantee 5kg of rice, wheat and coarse cereals per month per person at a fixed price of Rs 3, 2, 1,
respectively, will come into effect after President Pranab Mukherjee signs it. However, about 2.43 crore
poorest of the poor families covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme under PDS (public
distribution system) would get legal entitlement to 35kg of foodgrains per family per month. Officials said
the ordinance will be presented to the President on Thursday. Once the President signs it, rules will be
framed. The programme will be rolled-out from August after state governments prepare the beneficiary
list. The scheme will take at least six moths to cover the entire country, they said. (Times of India 3/7/13)

HC dismisses PIL for quashing court vacation (19)
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking
discontinuation of its summer vacation, saying that most judges spend substantial part of vacation time in
writing judgments at their offices. The order was passed by a bench of Acting Chief Justice B.D. Ahmed
and Justice Vibhu Bakhru which turned down the PIL filed by Prakash India, a registered society, also
seeking quashing of the 2013 circular which notified the vacation period from June 1 to 30. Most of the
judges spend substantial part of vacation time in writing the judgments at their offices, the bench
observed, rejecting the petitioners suggestion that either the judges avail the vacation on rotation basis
like police officers or the high court should curtail the number of vacation days to 10 or 15 instead of 30
days. Unfortunately other organisations cannot be compared with court system. It is not practically
feasible nor advisable to work in rotation. It might become absolutely chaotic. We dont see any merit in
this case and dismiss (it), the bench said, adding that this high court has been maintaining 210 working
days as per the central government communication. Appearing in person, petitioner Suraj Prakash
Manchanda, a retired bank officer, argued that there is huge pendency of cases across the country
including over 60,000 in the Delhi high court and the judges and lawyers should not go on vacation as
litigants suffer. ...In such circumstance, the judges and advocates who have sworn to uphold the rule of
law and Constitution of India cannot afford to go on long vacations. This affects the sacred objective of
rendering social justice to one and all in the country, the plea said. The Delhi high court also issued
notice to the city government on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction to constitute special
courts for trying sexual offences committed against children. A bench of Acting Chief Justice B.D. Ahmed
and Justice Vibhu Bakhru sought response from the Delhi government by August 14 on the PIL filed by
an advocate Gaurav Bansal. The petition said that though Section 28 of the Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act mandates setting up special courts, nothing has been in that direction
done so far. (Asian Age 4/7/13)

Apex court says freebies not good for fair polls (19)
New Delhi: In an important election year thats bound to see political parties go all out to woo voters with
tall promises and free gifts galore, the Supreme Court has sought to play spoiler. On Friday, it directed
the Election Commission (EC) to frame guidelines to regulate the contents of parties poll manifestos,
holding that the freebies they promise vitiate the electoral process. Maintaining that such practices could
not be construed as corrupt under the Representation of Peoples (RP) Act, the court, however, held:
The reality cannot be ruled out that distribution of freebies undoubtedly influences all people. It shakes
the roots of free and fair elections to a great degree. Refusing to frame the guidelines itself, a bench of
justice P Sathasivam and justice Ranjan Gogoi directed the poll panel to consult various parties and
include guidelines for monitoring poll manifestos in its Model Code of Conduct. Considering there is no
enactment that directly governs the contents of manifestos, we hereby direct the Election Commission to
frame guidelines for the same in consultation with all recognized political parties. It asked the EC to "take
up this task as early as possible".The order came on a petition by advocate S Subramaniam Balaji,
challenging the decision of the present (AIADMK) and previous (DMK) Tamil Nadu governments to
distribute freebies as promised in their poll manifestos. The court said that though the EC did not have the
authority to regulate manifestos - published before the code of conduct kicks in - it could still make an
exception by bringing them under the code as they are directly associated with the election process.This
could curb the rampant practice of parties promising and distributing freebies - from saris and foodgrains
to laptops and colour TVs - after coming to power. The Congress didn't agree with the court's views. "For
many years, the EC has been conducting free and fair elections. In our manifestos, we offer a
comprehensive policy of development in different sectors. Unfortunately, the media only highlights the
laptops and freebies," said spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam. But there were others like the BJP that
welcomed it. "This is a step in the direction of reforming the poll process and creating a level-playing
field," said party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman. "Freebies have been a subject of great controversy
in the past. The SC direction is very clear and I am sure the election commission will comply with it," said
former chief election commissioner SY Qureshi. "Based on consultations with parties, the SC direction
can be another addition to the model code of conduct or the EC can even recommend an amendment to
the RP Act." Senior Supreme Court advocate Dushyant Dave, however, felt the court missed an
opportunity to lay down a good law. "Promising freebies is a corrupt practice. The court could have said
this is impermissible and directed parties not to indulge in it." Nilotpal Basu of the CPM said bigger
problems plagued the poll process, such as use of money and muscle power, and paid news. (Hindustan
Times 5/7/13)

CJI-designate favours wider representation in higher judiciary (19)
NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India designate Justice P Sathasivam is in favour of virtual reservation in
appointment of judges in the higher judiciary by giving more representation to OBCs, scheduled castes,
scheduled tribes and minorities. "We have to give representation to OBCs, SC/STs and other minorities in
the appointment of judges to high courts and the Supreme Court. Though there is no reservation rule, the
selection or appointing authority must keep this in mind. "In a country like ours, where different
communities, different culture are there, we have to give some latitude to them and fill up those pores," he
said. Justice Sathasivam said there was no need for any new law for making such appointments and that
it can be accomplished solely on merit. "No law is required. All appointments should be made on merits.
But at the same time, because of the nature of our country, many people at the bottom level, they have to
come up. We have to give them some representation. If they satisfy minimum requirements, you can
consider those candidates," he said. (Times of India 7/7/13)

PIL in SC questions misuse of Article 123 (19)
NEW DELHI: A PIL challenging the ordinance on Food Security, which got the Presidential assent, was
filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday. Advocate M L Sharma filed the petition questioning whether the
ruling parties can be allowed to misuse Article 123 of the Constitution (Power of President to promulgate
ordinances during recess of Parliament) for their pre-election propaganda. Seeking quashing of the
ordinance, the petitioner requested the apex court to decide on a few Constitutional questions in this
regard. i) Whether without any emergent circumstances, Article 123 can be invoked? ii) Whether a Bill,
which is laid in the House, but supposed to be defeated not even argued / debated can be imposed via
Article 123. iii) Whether Article 123 ordinance route can be used for election, political propaganda? and
iv) Whether Article 123 can be allowed to be misused by the ruling parties for their pre-election
propaganda? That millions of tons of wheat is rotting because the country had run out of warehouse
space to hold another bumper crop illustrates a core problem of Indias food crisis. The country can grow
plenty of food, but it cannot store or transport it well enough to nourish its 1.2 billion people, Sharma
contended. It is unfortunate that while people are dying of hunger, foodgrain is rotting in the open. The
rotting of foodgrain is tantamount to criminal neglect in a country, which has one of the highest rates of
child malnutrition and the largest proportion of hungry people, the petitioner said. (New Indian Express
8/7/13)

Fresh PIL against DUs four-year programme (19)
New Delhi: A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in Delhi High Court on Wednesday challenging the
legal validity of the Delhi University's controversial four-year graduation programme. The petitioner's
lawyer, Manoj Sharma, argued that Delhi University Act does not permit structural changes in the
education system in the manner carried out with the courses. He contended that the National Education
Policy of 1992 also prescribed that graduation should only be of three years and specified that there
should be uniformity in graduation courses across the country. Appearing for the Delhi University, senior
lawyer Pinky Anand countered the argument by stating that the course had been approved by the Centre,
UGC, academic council and executive council of the Delhi University. The court fixed July 17 as the date
for hearing detailed arguments on the PIL. The court had on July 3 disposed off another PIL challenging
the course which was filed by an NGO that represented the visually-impaired students. The court had
disposed of that petition after extracting an assurance from the Delhi University that all grievances of
visually-impaired students, especially regarding mandatory courses in mathematics and science, will be
addressed before the commencement of the programme. ( Hindustan Times 10/7/13)

Judiciary lacks wherewithal to understand policy objectives: Sibal (19)
NEW DELHI: On the day the Supreme Court directed the government to file an affidavit explaining the
procedure and methodology adopted for allocation of 164 coal blocks, law minister Kapil Sibal said the
judiciary lacked the wherewithal to "fully understand" how a government seeks to attain its objectives
through its policies. Speaking at a seminar here, he said under the separation of powers, it was not the
domain of the judiciary to "fully understand" the "vision" of a government which seeks to attain a particular
objective. "Not because it is not equipped to understand, I am sure that every judge of the superior
judiciary is well equipped to understand that. But they don't have the wherewithal. They do not have the
support system," a PTI report quoted Sibal as saying. "Behind the cold prints of the law, there is a soul of
a vision. You can decide on the cold prints of the law, but you cannot possibly realize the consequences
of that... which is why under the Constitution, we have this separation of powers," he added. The law
minister said formulation of a policy took more than one year and it included discussions with experts,
past experience of the bureaucracy and the issue of resources. "That support system is not available with
the judiciary. So, if the judiciary was to actually decide for us on as to how to go about and what policy
there should be and how that public interest is to be achieved, then there will be problems," he said while
addressing a seminar on 'Competitiveness of Corporate India and the Legal System'. Sibal said there
were different definitions of public interest for the judiciary, government as well as the corporate sector.
"These competing concepts of public interest can only be resolved if we objectively agree on what our
aim is... when a judge decides a particular matter, and he looks at public interest in the context of his own
perception of public interest, he must make sure that the public interest speaks into the larger vision," he
added. Sibal said if a judge decides to cancel all licences, it would lead to a large public debt which in turn
would "strain the banking system, which in turn will bring about a downturn to such an extent that it will
bring a prosperous industry into steep decline".He, however, said telecom licences procured through
fraudulent means should be cancelled but such cancellations should not be a policy prescription. (Times
of India 11/7/13)

Supreme Court bans people lodged in jails from fighting elections (19)
New Delhi: A person, who is in jail or in police custody, cannot contest election to legislative bodies, the
Supreme Court has held, bringing to an end an era of undertrial politicians fighting polls from behind bars.
In another path-breaking verdict to prevent criminal elements from entering Parliament and state
assemblies, the apex court ruled that only an "elector" can contest the polls and he/she ceases the right
to cast vote due to confinement in prison or being in custody of police. The Supreme Court, however,
made it clear that disqualification would not be applicable to person subjected to preventive detention
under any law. Referring to the Representation of Peoples' Act, a bench of justices A K Patnaik and S J
Mukhopadhayay said that the Act (Section 4 & 5) lays down the qualifications for membership of the
House of the People and Legislative Assembly and one of the qualifications laid down is that he must be
an elector. The bench said Section 62(5) of the Act says that no person shall vote at any election if he is
confined in a prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation or otherwise, or is in the
lawful custody of the police. Reading Sections 4, 5 and 62(5) together, the apex court came to the
conclusion that a person in jail or police custody cannot contest election. The court passed the order on a
appeal filed by the Chief Election Commissioner and others challenging a Patna High Court order barring
people in police custody to contest polls. "We do not find any infirmity in the findings of the High Court in
the impugned common order that a person who has no right to vote by virtue of the provisions of sub-
section (5) of Section 62 of the 1951 Act is not an elector and is therefore not qualified to contest the
election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of a State," the apex court said. (Indian
Express 12/7/13)

Dont sentence juveniles in criminal cases: court (19)
New Delhi: Refer accused to Juvenile Justice Board, Bench asks magistrates. In all criminal cases where
the accused were above 16 but under 18 years on the date of the crime, proceedings pending in court will
continue and should be taken to their logical end except that the court, upon finding the juvenile guilty,
would not pass an order of sentence. The Supreme Court gave this direction, laying down guidelines for
magistrates across the country. A Bench of Justices T.S. Thakur and Madan B. Lokur said: The accused
shall be referred to the Juvenile Justice Board for appropriate orders under the Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Act, 2000. The Board was empowered to award compensation to the victims
family payable by the accused/appellant. The Bench said: It becomes obligatory for every magistrate to
ascertain, in the first instance or as soon possible, whether the accused is an adult or a juvenile in conflict
with law. The reason is to avoid a two-fold difficulty: first, to avoid a juvenile being subjected to
procedures under the normal criminal law and dehors the Act and the Rules, and second, a resultant
situation, where the trial is required to be set aside as having been conducted by a court not having the
jurisdiction to do so or a juvenile, on being found guilty, going unpunished. If the magistrate had an iota
of doubt about the juvenility of an accused, he/she might arrive at a prima facie conclusion on the basis of
physical appearance. This should be recorded by the magistrate. Thereafter, if custodial remand was
necessary, the accused might be sent to jail or a juvenile might be sent to an Observation Home, and the
magistrate should simultaneously order an inquiry, if necessary, for determining the age of the accused.
An inquiry at the earliest would be in the best interests of the juvenile, since he would be kept away from
adult undertrial prisoners and would not be subjected to a regimen in jail, which may not be conducive to
his wellbeing. In the instant case, according to the prosecution, Jitendra Singh alias Babboo Singh was a
juvenile, aged 17, on the date his wife Asha Devi was burnt to death. He was 15 at the time of marriage
and Asha Devi was older than him. After the incident, a case of dowry death was registered and Babboos
father was also cited as co-accused. The Allahabad High Court granted him bail, accepting his claim as a
juvenile. A trial court in Uttar Pradesh awarded him seven years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs.
100. His father died during the hearing of the appeal. Babboos appeal against his conviction was
dismissed by the High Court. Now, disposing of the appeal against this judgment, the Supreme Court
said: At present, the appellant is 40. The only possible and realistic sentence that can be awarded to him
is imposition of a fine. The existing fine of Rs.100 is grossly inadequate. To this extent, the punishment
awarded to the appellant is set aside. The issue of the quantum of fine is remitted to the jurisdictional
Juvenile Justice Board, which is also enjoined to examine compensation to be awarded, if any, to Asha
Devis family in terms of the decision of this court. (The Hindu 14/7/13)

PIL filed for 85 p.c. reservation for Delhiites in colleges (19)
New Delhi: A petition has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking reservation of up to 85 per cent
of total seats for Delhi domicile students in all colleges funded by the state government. In the petition
filed before a bench of Acting Chief Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru, Moksha Foundation
sought direction to the Centre and the state government to adopt a new policy for reservation of up to 85
per cent of total seats available for Delhi domicile students in all 12 colleges funded by Delhi
government. It should be done with a criteria for reservation for students passing the qualifying
examination from recognised schools located within Delhi with effect from academic year 2014-15, the
PIL said. Besides the Delhi government and the Centre, the petition has also been filed against the Delhi
University (DU) and the University Grants Commission (UGC). The 12 colleges where it sought
reservation include Deen Dayal Upadhaya College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education, Keshav
Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College, Shaheed Raj Guru College and Shaheed Sukhdev College. It
also sought direction to adopt a new policy for reservation of upto five per cent of total seats available for
Delhi domicile students in all colleges having mixed funding by UGC and GNCTD. It sought a direction to
give five per cent relaxation in cut-off marks to female students in under-graduate courses in all colleges
under the DU. The petitioner said the students passing XII standard from government schools or other
poor students are deprived of the opportunity to study in DU colleges and the bonafide residents of Delhi
are arbitrarily and unjustifiably being denied admission to DU colleges due to limited avenues. The plea
said that their fundamental right to education is being violated on account of failure of the government to
frame any guidelines to safeguard the interest of the Delhi domicile students. It said every year 2.24 lakh
students pass out from class 12th CBSE and additionally from other boards. In DUs 76 colleges, there
are 55,000 seats for under-graduate courses and if all seats are given to Delhi students, even then about
one lakh students will not be able to get admission in DU. (The Hindu 17/7/13)

HC admits PIL against government move to not register deeds minus stamp duty (19)
MUMBAI: The Bombay HC recently admitted a PIL challenging the government's decision not to register
confirmation and declaration deeds unless stamp duty is paid as per the current market value by the
parties concerned. Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha, however, refused to stay the
December 22, 2011, circular issued by the Inspector General of Registration (IGR). The petitioner, Anant
D Nerurkar, a stamp duty consultant, is now planning to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. The IGR
claimed the circular was issued to check forgery of multiple transactions and fraud in multiple dealings.
"Under the Registration Act, the document has to be registered within four months from the date of
execution of the deed (delay would invite penalty). But it was found that people were not coming forward
for registration. As these transaction documents were in the public domain, it led to multiple transactions
and fraud in property deals," the IGR stated. The circular also cited an SC order itation (ILR 21 Vol. 924)
in the Gokulbhoy Mulchand Tullockchand Harnath & Ors case which said, "If the two documents are
distinct, being separately stamped and executed to effect different objects, the registrar has no power to
register them as one, even if the party presenting them for registration styles one to be the annexure of
the other." Stamp duty and property consultants, however, argued that the IGR seems to have goofed up
on his arguments. A consultant said the joint registrar's post being created out of the Registration Act,
which is a central act, the IGR or the state government are not empowered to stop any registration orders
and especially through a circular. "If the government wants to check fraud, it should refuse to register
deeds if a person comes to register after 8 months. How is the government checking fraud by registering
the declaration and confirmation deeds (even after 8 months) for parties paying stamp duty at current
market value?" said a stamp duty consultant. Moreover, the consultants said the Bombay high court in
Mitchell versus Mathura Das case have said if a deed of conveyance, or any instrument is confirmed and
registered subsequently, it is proof of ownership of the property. The government took this step as many
times, documents relating to immovable property are executed and not presented for registration within
the eight-month period. Sometimes stamp duty is also paid on such documents. "Prior to this circular in
such cases where proper stamp duty was paid on the original document, many persons executed a
Confirmation Deed confirming the contents of the original document and the original document was then
annexed to the Confirmation Deed and the Confirmation Deed was then presented for registration," said
an expert. Sometimes, if all parties were not in a position to execute and register the Confirmation Deed,
a one-sided Declaration was executed confirming contents of the original document, which was then
annexed to the Declaration and then the Declaration was presented for registration. In this manner the
original document was brought on record of the registrar. (Times of India 19/7/13)

Women lawyers want 33% quota in judiciary (19)
CHENNAI:A couple of days after the new chief justice of India, Justice P Sathasivam, opined that more
number of women judges must be accommodated at all levels in the judiciary, the Women Lawyers
Association (WLA) has sought 33% reservation for women in higher judiciary. Pointing out that though
more than 1,000 lawyers practicing in Chennai alone, the Madras high court had only two women judges
directly elevated from the Bar, the WLA adopted a resolution urging the new CJI to ensure that there was
proportional representation of women advocates in the judiciary. Bracketing it with the positive
discrimination meant to benefit SC/ST, minorities and other backward classes, the resolution said
reserving a certain percentage of vacancies in the higher judiciary for women is indeed a reasonable
classification, said WLA president D Prasanna. Though the Madras high court at present has seven
women judges, only two had been chosen from the Bar, while the remaining had been elevated from the
subordinate judiciary, said V Nalini, vice-president of the WLA. Through other resolutions, the WLA
wanted the CJI's intervention to scrap the unpopular holiday family courts in the state. Noting that women
advocates need to meet clients to discuss cases or take care of their own families, the resolution said the
family courts working on holidays had become a security risk because there was only skeletal presence
of police on security duty. The WLA secretary, G Manjula Devi said a resolution was adopted seeking
creation of more number o family courts in view of huge rise in matrimonial cases piling up before the
existing courts. At present the ratio of family courts to the number of cases is highly disproportionate, she
said. (Times of India 20/7/13)

Govt to amend RTI Act to exempt parties (19)
New Delhi: The government has decided to seek Cabinet approval to amend the Right To Information Act
instead of promulgating an ordinance to negate the order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) to
bring political parties under the purview of the Act. The Department of Personnel and Training has
finalised a Cabinet note and has decided to seek Cabinet nod this week, sources said. The decision to
drop the move to issue an ordinance was taken by the Congress leadership to avoid being viewed as the
only party opposed to bringing political parties under the transparency law. There is, however, a general
consensus among all major political parties about the need to amend the RTI Act to keep them out of its
purview. Barring the CPI, no other party has implemented the CIC order even though the deadline to
implement it passed over two weeks ago. Sources told The Indian Express that Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, who is also the minister in-charge of the DoPT, has cleared the proposed
amendments. The government intends to introduce the Bill in the monsoon session and push for its
passage. Parliamentary approval is not expected to be difficult as the move has support across the
political spectrum. The Cabinet note says the DoPT proposes to amend the definition of public authorities
under the RTI Act, with the amended definition keeping all recognised and registered political parties out
of its ambit. However, the government has dropped the proposal in the ordinance finalised earlier to
amend Section 8 of the Act to add all political parties to the list of entities exempted from the Act. This,
sources said, has been done as it was felt that since the main amendment defines a public authority as
not being a political party, there was no need to put political parties in the exempted list. (Indian Express
23/7/13)

Keeping the statute quo (19)
The Supreme Court judgments of July 10, disqualifying convicted or jailed MPs and MLAs from contesting
elections, won a lot of accolades. It was claimed they would clean our politics. I have no sympathy for
criminals, but in my respectful opinion lawmaking is the job of the legislature, not the judiciary. Others
objected that since many legislators have criminal backgrounds, they will not change the law. My reply
was: if it is said that the judiciary must step in if the legislature is not doing its job properly, it can likewise
be said that since the judiciary is not doing its job properly (there is often great delay in deciding cases, a
section of the judiciary has become corrupt, etc) the legislature or executive should do the work of
deciding cases. This would lead to a constitutional crisis and chaos. In Lily Thomas vs Union of India, the
bench struck down Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as unconstitutional. Now it
has been held by the Supreme Court in Government of Andhra Pradesh and Others vs P. Laxmi Devi
(2008) that the invalidation of a statute by the judiciary is a grave step. The court can declare a statute
unconstitutional not merely because it is possible to take such a view, but only when it is the sole possible
view not open to rational question. This is because there is a broad separation of powers in our
Constitution between the three organs of state. If one organ encroaches on the others' domain, the
system cannot function. Declaring a statute to be unconstitutional is thwarting the will of a co-ordinate
organ of the state, which should be done only if there is a clear violation of some constitutional provision.
Keeping the above considerations in mind it is difficult to understand how Section 8(4) could be held
unconstitutional (Indian Express 24/7/13)

Compensation for rape victims in 2 months (19)
Mumbai: Two days after the Bombay high court came down heavily on the Maharashtra government for
failing to give effect to the scheme for compensating rape and acid attack victims, the state on Thursday
told the court that the scheme would be made operational within two months. Assistant public prosecutor
Prajakta Shinde informed the high court that the home department has forwarded a proposal for financial
sanction and the formalities would take at least two months. The division bench of justice SC
Dharmadhikari and justice SB Shukre accordingly granted two months time to the home department, but
added a caution: Authorities concerned must show some sense of urgency and see to it that nothing
remains to be done after the time period is over. These are not measures that can be postponed. We
expect that a sense of urgency would be shown so that the scheme which provides solace to victims,
particularly minors and children, is made operational as early as possible. The judges expressed
displeasure over the fact that though the scheme was formulated in 2010, no steps have been taken even
after the state received a letter from the central government in February 2013, stating it would provide
50% funds required for implementation of the scheme. The judges were also surprised to note that
though the state chief secretary had convened a meeting of concerned bureaucrats on July 14, the
financial sanction for the scheme was still pending. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL)
filed by city NGO Forum Against Oppression of Women, seeking directions to implement the provision of
section 357(A) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which mandates that state governments formulate a
scheme to compensate victims of crime and disburse the compensation amount through District Legal Aid
Authorities. Earlier, during course of hearing on the PIL on July 22, the bench had rapped the state
government after noting that it had cited lack of funds as the reason for not implementing the
compensation scheme in Maharashtra. (Hindustan Times 26/7/13)

HC verdict will impact private complaints before special courts (19)
BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Courts ruling that no private complaints against public servants could
be entertained without prior sanction for their prosecution will impact a majority of such complaints
pending before the Special Lokayukta Courts in the State. Except the complaints filed by Sirajin Basha
against the then Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa after securing sanction from the Governor, in no case
sanction for prosecution was produced before the special courts by the complainants on the date of filing
of complaints. Hence, said the former Additional Advocate-General K.M. Nataraj, the special courts
cannot take note of these complaints. However, Mr. Nataraj points out that the verdict of the Supreme
Court in the A.R. Antulays case permits the special courts to take cognisance of offence against a
Minister without sanction under the PC Act after he demits the post of Minister, which he is alleged to
have abused, even though he continues to be an MLA or MPor against MLAs or MPs after they cease
to hold these posts. The special courts may proceed against the former Ministers or former MLAs, or
former MPs under the PC Act in the absence of sanction if the complaint is re-presented. However, the
special courts may not be able to do so if they are charged under various sections of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) along with the provisions of the PC Act as the law is well settled that no courts can take
cognisance of offence under the IPC against a public servant whether serving or retired or demitted
the office in the absence of sanction granted by the competent authority under Section 197 of the Cr.
PC, Mr. Nataraj pointed out. Also, Mr. Nataraj said, in many of the complaints, bureaucrats and other
government servants have been made co-accused along with politicians. And the special courts cannot
prosecute politicians alone in the absence of sanction for prosecuting bureaucrats and other government
servants, who are made co-accused in many of these complaints, in the absence of mandatory sanction
required under Section 197 of the Cr. PC. The Karnataka High Court in 2011 itself had set aside the
Bangalore Special Courts decision of taking cognisance of offence against the former Chief Minister H.D.
Kumaraswamy holding that sanction under Section 197 of Cr. PC was mandatory as he was charged with
offences under IPC along with the provisions of the PC Act. (The Hindu 28/7/13)

Politicians vs judiciary: All parties express concern over recent Supreme Court judgements (19)
NEW DELHI: An all-party meeting on Thursday voiced concern over "erosion of supremacy" of Parliament
with demands being made for a change in the mechanism of higher judiciary appointments and a
response to the recent Supreme Court judgements on disqualification of legislators and barring those
behind bars from contesting elections. The meeting, convened by parliamentary affairs minister Kamal
Nath on the eve of monsoon session beginning on Monday, saw leaders of all parties being also critical of
the Supreme Court judgements on the issue of reservations. After the 90-minute meeting, he told
reporters that all parties expressed concern over the judgements and wanted the National Judicial
Commission Bill to be introduced as well as passed in this session itself. Some leaders wanted the
government to "respond" to the apex court judgement against reservation in the faculty of AIIMS and the
orders relating to disqualification which they felt could lead to vendetta and anarchy. The session, which
concludes on August 30, will have 16 sittings. As many as 44 Bills are planned to be taken up for
consideration while six are to be withdrawn and 14 are to be introduced. Food Security Bill, on which an
Ordinance is already in place, is among the proposed legislations. While the BJP demanded that the Bill
on formation of separate Telangana be brought in this session itself for consideration and passage,
government said that it will have to follow the legal process under which a resolution is required to be
passed by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. There was unanimity among political parties in the meeting
that government should take requisite measures against the recent Supreme Court judgements. "How
can you expect a smooth session when the Supreme Court has come out with a judgement which has
affected 80% of the people belonging to SC, ST and OBC?" asked JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, who
wanted the government to first address the issue in this session. Asked about the government plans,
Kamal Nath said, "We will sit and decide." The parliamentary affairs minister hoped that this would be a
constructive session with parties assuring the government over its smooth functioning. Leader of the
Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, however, struck a note of caution over the "ambitious" agenda
planned by the government for the session, wondering as to how this "near miracle" will be achieved in
such a short session which will have only 12 effective sittings for taking up government business. Sources
said while government is keen on getting its financial business done in the short monsoon session, BJP-
led NDA and the Left parties want to corner the government on issues like floods in Uttarakhand and the
state of the economy with rising prices and devaluation of the Rupee. (Times of India 31/7/13)

Cabinet approves changes to RTI Act to keep parties out of its ambit (19)
NEW DELHI: Ignoring concerns raised by civil rights activists the Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod
for amending the Right to Information (RTI) Act to exclude political parties from its purview. The bill will be
placed before the monsoon session starting August 5. The amendments have been necessitated by a
Central Information Commission (CIC) order on June 3 that ruled that 6 national partiesCongress,
BJP, BSP, CPI, CPM and NCPwere public authorities on the grounds that they were substantially
funded by the government. The CIC also directed the parties to appoint public information officers by July
15, an order that was ignored by all 6. The cabinet gave its nod to amend the RTI Act to keep political
parties out of the ambit of transparency law. The department of personnel and training (DoPT), which acts
as nodal department for the implementation of the RTI Act, in consultation with law ministry moved the
proposal to amend the RTI Act. The government seeks to change the definition of public authorities
mentioned under Section 2 of the RTI Act to keep all political parties out of the jurisdiction of RTI, the
sources said. Government sources said that there was unanimous support from all political parties on the
issue. The CIC order argued that political parties received income tax exemptions and doles from
government including land, electoral rolls and airtime on public broadcaster at nominal rates on the
grounds that they were doing social service. The CIC order said that since the parties' professed to be
working for the public, they should be open to scrutiny from the public on the finances and decisions.
Political parties across the board have opposed the order. They have argued that political parties are a
voluntary association of people and in fact a very small part of their funds come from the government.
The parties also said that they were under scrutiny of the Election Commission and the Income Tax
authorities. Both parties and candidates are expected to furnish their sources of funding and details of
assets owned to both authorities. Prominent activists including Aruna Roy, Shailesh Gandhi, Jayati
Ghosh, Kamini Jaiswal, Nandita Das, Prashant Bhushan and Soli Sorabjee have written to the PM.
Petitions have also been sent to parliamentarians to oppose the act which is unlikely since the bill has
near unanimous political support. (Times of India 1/8/13)

44 bills in 16 days of parliament: Will opposition play ball? (19)
New Delhi: The opposition leaders are also concerned over another Supreme Court order barring
reservation in super-specialty courses in medical colleges. The Aug 5-30 monsoon session of parliament
could see a battle of political wits with the government listing 44 bills for the lonly 16 working days
available. These include the food security bill, those related to reforms in the insurance and pension
sectors and an amendment to the RTI Act to keep political parties out of its ambit. But the big question is:
Will the opposition, riled over a variety of issues, play ball? Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also
stepped into the picture, hoping that the monsoon session would be "constructive and productive" and
sought cooperation of all political parties for this. "We expect a constructive and productive session of
parliament...I sincerely hope all sections of the house will cooperate in making this a very productive,
constructive session," the prime minister told reporters after an all-party meet called by Lok Sabha
Speaker Meira Kumar on Saturday to ensure parliament's smooth running. Meanwhile, responding to the
opposition's contention that the session, scheduled to last till Aug 30, would, in practice, have just 12
working days available against the estimated 16 to take up the 44 listed bills, Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Kamal Nath on Saturday hinted it could be extended, if needed. After an all-party meeting on
Thursday, Kamal Nath said all parties wanted the smooth running of parliament but expressed their
concerns, especially related to erosion of parliament's supremacy as a result of a Supreme Court order
on criminals in politics. Leaders belonging to the Left parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the
Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have expressed concern over the
implications of a court order disqualifying a legislator if convicted in a criminal case and barring those
arrested from contesting the polls. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who was also present during the
meeting, said the government is likely to make a statement on the issue. The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), which disrupted the budget session demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over
the faulty allocation of coal bocks, has said it does not want to disrupt the monsoon session. Kamal Nath
said the opposition parties want to pass the judicial commission bill, which deals with appointment of
judges, in this session. The opposition wants debates on the land acquisition bill, the state of the
economy, rampant corruption in the mid-day meal scheme, floods in Uttarakhand, the ongoing tussle
between the CBI and the IB in the Ishrat Jahan shootout case and Chinese intrusions into the Ladakh
region of Jammu and Kashmir. The opposition leaders are also concerned over another Supreme Court
order barring reservation in super-specialty courses in medical colleges. While the BJP has demanded
that the bill on the formation of a Telangana state be brought in the monsoon session, the CPI-M wants
discussion on the government's recent move to allow more foreign equity in many sectors. Kamal Nath
said the monsoon session will have 16 sittings during which 44 bills are planned to be taken up for
consideration while six are to be withdrawn and 14 are to be introduced. (DNA 4/8/13)

Delhi HC dismisses PIL on Food Security Ordinance (19)
Delhi High Court Wednesday dismissed a PIL seeking the quashing of the National Food Security
Ordinance on the grounds that it was the UPA government's politically inspired pre-election propaganda
camouflaged as a scheme to feed the poor. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice B.D. Ahmad and
Justice Vibhu Bakhru dismissed the plea and said: "We refrain from entertaining the petition." "There is no
material to test that the centre brought the ordinance under special circumstances or ordinary
circumstances," the bench said. The petitioner had earlier approached Supreme Court, which had asked
him to file the plea in high court. Petitioner M.L. Sharma, an advocate, moved the high court describing
the government's move as "malafide" as the ordinance would be misused by the ruling party for its pre-
election propaganda and political considerations. Describing the promulgation of the ordinance as
"unconstitutional", the PIL said: "Can a bill that had been introduced in parliament but not even debated
for the fear of its being defeated on the floor of parliament be made into law by taking the ordinance
route." President Pranab Mukherjee July 5 signed the ordinance on food security to give two-thirds of the
nation's population the right to get five kg of food grains every month at highly subsidised rates of Rs.1-3
per kg. "There were no emergency circumstances to issue the impugned ordinance. Hence, it does not
comply with the terms of Article 123. Therefore, the impugned notification is unconstitutional and is liable
to be declared unconstitutional and void," PIL said. The bill to enact the food security law was introduced
in parliament in the first week of May but it was not pushed as the government did not expect it to be
passed, the petition contended. (New Indian Express 7/8/13)

India finally enacts a modern company law (19)
New Delhi: The Parliament on Thursday cleared the long-awaited Companies Bill 2012, with the Rajya
Sabha passing sweeping measures to replace a 57-year-old predecessor. The new law will empower
small shareholders, smoothen corporate governance and compell large companies to spend more on
social welfare under the broad head of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The Bill imposes checks and
balances to prevent frauds, make corporate board room decisions transparent and hold auditors and
directors more accountable. Replying to a debate before the bill was passed by a voice vote, corporate
affairs minister Sachin Pilot said the new legislation will bring India's corporate governance framework in
line with the changing business environment of the 21st century. "For the next two or three decades, this
(new legislation) will bring positivity in the economy," Pilot said, adding that the views of all stakeholders,
including industry chambers, have been taken into consideration. The legislation, which has been in the
works for several years and was passed by the Lok Sabha in December last year, will allow the creation
of special courts for speedy trials an assurance to investors that cases will not linger. "The Bill passage
will give impetus to the growth momentum," Pilot said. "The focus of the bill is to enhance transparency
and ensure fewer regulations, self reporting and disclosure...It will outline the positivity in the economy".At
least a third of a company's board should comprise of independent directors and at least one of the board
members should be a woman, according to the new law. All companies will have to move to a uniform
financial year ending March 31. Only companies, which are holding or subsidiary arms of a foreign entity
requiring consolidation outside India, can have a different financial year with the approval of Tribunal. It
will allow shareholders' associations to take legal action against companies' promoters and management
through Class Action Suits' a form of lawsuit where a large group of people collectively bring a claim to
court. This acts as a deterrent to carry out a fraud by tailoring and influencing board decisions only to suit
promoter and management interests. It also makes it mandatory for firms to rotate auditors within a
stipulated time-frame --- a practice which public sector enterprises and banks currently adopt. Besides,
the Bill also contains provisions defining rules for inter-corporate loans and norms for creation of a web of
step-down sister companies or subsidiaries. The proposed legislation, which will replace the 57-year old
Companies Act 1956, will empower the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), an agency mandated
to investigate corporate scams, with a statutory status armed with the authority to impose punitive
measures and in specific instances, even arrest persons found guilty of corporate crimes. "Now that the
law is ready, it is time to focus and work on the practical aspects of complying with its provisions. One
such vital provision is surely the clause dealing with CSR spend," said Chandrajit Banerjee, director-
general of CII. (Hindustan Times 8/8/13)

Cabinet defers judicial appointment bill (19)
NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Thursday deferred the National Judicial Appointments Commission
Bill which proposes to change the current collegium system of judges appointing judges by a commission
which will have representation from the executive and non-judicial members. The bill was not taken up as
the law minister was absent and may be on the agenda of the Cabinet's next meeting. Despite the fact
that the higher judiciary, led by the chief justice of India, has opposed any changes in the collegium
system, the government is serious about bringing in a constitutional amendment and has mobilized
support from other parties, including main opposition BJP. The government has introduced a new clause
in the JAC Bill that will empower the law ministry to prepare a list of names of judges for the commission
to consider after inviting suggestions from other forums besides high courts and the Supreme Court. A list
will be collated by the secretariat of the proposed JAC, the convenor of which will be the law secretary. At
present, high courts recommend names of judges to be appointed and the SC collegium of five senior-
most judges, headed by the CJI, vets these names and select candidates. Similarly, the collegium
decides who should be elevated to the apex court from HCs. Though the collegium sends these final
names to the government for background check and appointment, its selection is final and binding. The
proposed JAC will be headed by the CJI and will comprise two senior-most judges of the apex court, the
law minister and two eminent personalities to be selected by a committee consisting of the prime minister,
the leader of opposition and the CJI. (Times of India 9/8/13)

Son can't refuse to help 'uncaring' father: Mumbai court (19)
Mumbai: "The son cannot refuse to maintain his father even if the latter had failed to provide for him in the
past," the family court ruled on Thursday while asking a 30-year-old police constable to pay maintenance
to his 57-year-old father. The petition filed by the father states that he was working in a private firm and
took voluntarily retirement, after which he started working at a sports club. The petitioner alleged his
father (constable's grandfather) had made his son (constable) a nominee for his flat. After the death of his
father in October 2002, the constable got the flat transferred in his name and forced the petitioner to leave
the house. The petitioner approached the family court in August 2011 seeking Rs10,000 monthly
maintenance from his son pleading that he is old, sick and unable to maintain himself. The petitioner's
wife and daughter, who stay with the cop, stated the petitioner was addicted to alcohol and used to
disturb the family. They also said the petitioner never paid maintenance for his family when he was
working. They alleged he is gainfully employed and does not require maintenance. The court observed:
"There is ample evidence on record that the petitioner has not maintained his family when he was
earning. He has neglected his wife and minor children. It also appears the petitioner has not maintained
his mother. The petitioner has failed in his duties as a father and a husband." But, the court, while
granting the maintenance, said: "The question is whether nonperformance of his duties would disentitle
him from claiming maintenance from his son. To my mind, a son's responsibility to maintain his father will
not be absolved." (Hindustan Times 9/8/13)

Pune lawyers to stay away from courts for two days (19)
PUNE: Lawyers practicing at the district and sessions courts here on Monday decided to abstain from
work on Tuesday and Wednesday to stress their long-pending demand of starting a bench of the Bombay
high court in Pune. The lawyers announced their decision at the general body meeting called by Pune Bar
Association (PBA) president RajendraUmap. Sureshchandra Bhosale, member of the Bar Council of
Maharashtra and Goa, said, "We have requested the high court to invite the PBA for establishing a circuit
bench in Pune, but did not get a response. The PBA has conveyed its decision to the court here and to
the high court registrar general by fax that lawyers have unanimously decided to abstain from work."
Bhosale said that the state government had earlier assured the bar that an eight-acre plot at Shivajinagar
godown will be given to the judiciary to shift all courts/ tribunals to a common place for the convenience of
litigants. The bar is opposed to the government's move of requesting the judiciary to look for alternative
locations . "The bar has decided that lawyers will not appear before all quasi-judicial bodies presided over
by government officials till they get a written assurance from the government about the relocation of
courts. We will file a public interest litigation (PIL) if the government dose not consider our demand of
giving the land to the judiciary," Bhosale said. "The bar has requested the principal district and sessions
judge to seek participation of senior lawyers in judicial conferences as per the civil procedure court, to
sensitise judicial officers on various aspects of law," Bhosale added. After the meeting, Umap told TOI
that lawyers practising at the taluka courts in the district will also abstain from work. PBA officials will
stand at the entrance of the district courts and will make an appeal to lawyers to abstain from work for two
days. The meeting was attended by bar council members Harshad Nimbalkar and Ahmed Khan Pathan,
bar vice-presidents Satish Pailwan and Amol Jadhav and others. Court officials said that district courts will
function as usual. (Times of India 13/8/13)

Nod to marriage bill, experts unsure (19)
New Delhi, Aug. 13: The Rajya Sabha today passed a bill that makes registration of marriages
compulsory to shield wives against desertion, but rights activists were sceptical about its enforcement
citing the absence of punishment and incentives. The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill
2012, which had been pending for a year, will now go to the Lok Sabha for passage. The existing act
mandates compulsory registration of births and deaths; the amendment introduces the same requirement
for marriages irrespective of religion. Certain states now have their own marriage registration laws.
Marriages registered under these state laws or any other law, such as the Anand Marriage Act 1909, will
not have to be registered again. The Supreme Court had in 2006 directed that all marriages must be
registered. In 2007, the same recommendation came from the parliamentary committee for womens
empowerment in its report on the plight of abandoned NRI wives. It said the government should make the
registration process simpler, affordable and accessible. The 18th Law Commission supported the view.
The bill aims to protect poor and hapless women who are disowned by their husbands and are often
denied justice in the absence of documented evidence of their marriage. Union law minister Kapil Sibal
said the marriage registration certificates would be treated as evidence in all matrimonial cases, such as
those relating to maintenance, child custody and childrens inheritance and other rights. Lawyer and
human rights activist Rebecca John, however, is doubtful how far the new law, if passed, can be
implemented on the ground. Do you think poor women will force their husbands to go and register their
marriage at the registrars office? Poverty and disempowerment of women is so critical that they may not
be interested in such a legal and bureaucratic procedure, she said. John suggested the government
introduce incentives by, for instance, tying marriage registration to some social welfare benefits. The
amendment bill is silent on incentives and punishments, apart from a token monetary penalty for
providing wrong information during registration. I cannot imagine how the government is going implement
it. How will they convince people about this provision? John said. Lawyer Vrinda Grover cautioned that
after the bill is passed, the government must not make a marriage certificate the only valid document in
matrimonial disputes. We are not a monolithic country. People from different societies and cultural
backgrounds follow different systems of marriage. To impose the registration system is not going to work.
We must have space to ensure the protection of rights of all sections of society, she said. Grover cited
how deaths and births are not yet universally registered in the country despite the current act making the
practice mandatory since 1969. The same fate will befall this law, she said. She said empowering
women socially and economically alone could make them strong and enable them to fight injustice. The
bill was passed in a voice vote with members from all the parties supporting it. The BJPs Basawaraj Patil
advocated stricter punishment for providing wrong information at the time of registration. Samajwadi Party
leader Ram Gopal Yadav said the bill should have covered live-in relationships, making their registration
compulsory. (The Telegraph 14/8/13)

SC dismisses PIL against suspension of UP IAS officer Durga Nagpal (19)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking reinstatement of
suspended IAS officer Durga Sakthi Nagpal, who had cracked down on illegal sand mining in Uttar
Pradesh. Questioning the locus of a lawyer, who filed a PIL, a bench headed by Justice HL Dattu
dismissed the plea and said that it may entertain the petition if she (Nagpal) herself approaches the court.
The bench further said that the officer can take care of herself and can also approach the other
authorities including a court, against her suspension order. "The moment she approaches the court, we
will hear her plea and we may pass an interim order," the bench said. The court dismissed the petition
filed by advocate ML Sharma, who had sought quashing of all the proceedings against Nagpal for
allegedly demolishing of wall of a mosque. The petitioner had submitted that Nagpal is suffering hardship
for following Supreme Court's order on preventing unauthorized construction of religious buildings on
public land and the apex court should protect her. Contending that the action taken against Nagpal was
arbitrary, unconstitutional and malafide, the PIL had sought quashing of all proceedings against the 2010
batch IAS officer who had clamped down on the mining mafia in Gautam Budh Nagar area of UP. The PIL
had said suspending Nagpal was "unconstitutional, arbitrary and lowered the constitutional system" and
"the absence of support from top bureaucracy, in both Uttar Pradesh and in New Delhi, is shameful".The
28-year-old Sub-Divisional Magistrate was suspended on July 27 ostensibly for ordering the demolition of
the wall of an under-construction mosque in a village in Noida without following the due process. The
petition had sought judicial review of the suspension order and said, "Nagpal's victimization is a new low
in a long process of the subversion of bureaucracy".The UP government had on August 4 served a
charge sheet on the officer, asking her to submit an explanation for her conduct. (Times of India 16/8/13)

Judiciary in grip of growing crisis: CJI (19)
Guwahati: A "growing crisis" within it, manifested by ever-increasing pendency and a steading decline in
its reputation, has gripped the judiciary, one of India's most respected institutions, Chief Justice of India P
Sathasivam said on Saturday. "The Judiciary is perhaps India's most respected institutions and the
opportunity to be integral part of this institution is indeed very honouring for all of us. The public esteem
and credibility it enjoys deserve to be cherished and preserved. However, there is, unfortunately, a
growing crisis within it," Justice Sathasivam said, after inaugurating the additional building of the Gauhati
High Court on Saturday. He said the manifestation of this crisis lies not only in the ever-increasing arrears
of cases in courts, and the consequent delays in our justice delivery system, but also in the steady
decline in the reputation of the judiciary as also of the legal profession. "This institution unlike other
institutions in the democratic set up thrives only on the trust and confidence of reposed by the people.
The virtuous image of the institute in the eyes of the public is paramount for the dispensation of justice,"
he said. "Sensitized judiciary is as imperative as an active judiciary. It may not be enough if a judge is
only energetic and diligent in the performance of his duties. He has to go beyond being an active judge
and has to be an activist judge," he said. (Indian Express 18/8/13)

PIL: road accidents are a national emergency (19)
New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the response of various Union ministries and the
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority for a direction to take coordinated efforts to prevent
road accidents. A Bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justices Ranjana Desai and Ranjan Gogoi
asked them to file their response in four weeks on a public interest litigation petition by Coimbatore
orthopaedic surgeon S. Rajasekaran. The petitioner said: There is no national problem that required
more attention than the one which results in a death every four minutes, disabling four citizens every
minute, a loss of 3% GDP every year, a loss of Rs. 7 lakh crore in primary treatment, and an unspecified
amount lost in physical disability. It deserved to be termed a national emergency.Lack of coordination
and cohesiveness among government departments is the cause for ineffectual implementation of laws.
The lack of public education and the appalling condition of infrastructure resulted in citizens being
deprived of their lives, a condition manifestly violative of Article 21 (Right to life and personal liberty). The
total failure and inaction on the part of the various ministries to commit themselves to ending road
accidents, in addition to depriving citizens of the right to lives, is responsible for pulling down the
countrys status in the growing economies. Dr. Rajasekaran wanted the authorities to take practical
measures expeditiously to give effect to the numerous legislation, reports and recommendations for
ensuring that the loss of lives in accidents was minimised. It would be a grave miscarriage of justice if
laws are not amended to make insurance companies liable if a patient is denied treatment due to delay in
sanction of the insurance money that a patient is entitled to. Insurance laws should provide for equal if not
higher compensation to the injured (as against to the next of kin of the dead) who get disabled for life.
(The Hindu 22/8/13)

Lawyers want charity commissioner's office under judiciary (19)
NAGPUR: The lawyers working at Charity Commissioner's office here knocked the judiciary's doors
demanding that their organization should be brought under the ambit of administrative, judicial
superintendence and control of High Court of Judicature at Bombay. Currently, the office works under the
Maharashtra Law and Judiciary Department. Treating their petition as PIL, a division bench comprising
justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Atul Chandurkar on Thursday issued notices to respondents
including principal secretary of State Law and Judiciary Department, Finance Department secretary,
registrar general of Bombay High Court, secretary of Maharashtra Public Service Commission ( MPSC),
charity commissioner in Mumbai and joint charity commissioner in Nagpur. Prashant Gode and Ganesh
Abhyankar were the counsels for the petitioner - Vidarbha Charity Bar Association (VCBA). According to
VCBA secretary Anil Thakre, their office works for resolving disputes and proceedings initiated under the
provisions of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950. "However, due to vacancy of top posts like joint
and deputy commissioners, probably since last year, the pendency is growing. Entire work has came to
standstill due to vacancies since last two to four years, and even those who were appointed on these
posts for a temporary period either took voluntary retirement or were transferred to other places. "Due to
this, the multifarious litigations and multifarious disputes are on rise in the management of various trusts.
As a result, both lawyers and litigants are suffering. Many a time, emergent situations cropped up
because of the disputes in the trust management, but grievances of the litigants were not addressed due
to the vacancy," Thakre said. The petitioner stated that except Mumbai, the posts of joint charity
commissioners are vacant at all major places in state and the condition cropped up as entire task of
appointment, transfers, posting and promotions are vested with the government, despite the fact that it
has no role to play in administration of justice. The officers appointed under the provisions of the
Maharashtra Public Trusts Act are the 'judicial officers' and it is one of the wings of judiciary. However, the
government jurisdiction over their appointments is violation of settled principle of separation of power,
which is a basic structure of the Constitution of India, the petitioner said. Thakre prayed for directives to
the respondents to transfer the jurisdiction of appointment, postings and promotions to the high court
judicature along with utilization of public administrative fund. He also insisted on filling up of all vacant
posts of joint, deputy and assistant charity commissioners all over the state. (Times of India 23/8/13)

275 judges posts vacant in 24 high courts (19)
NEW DELHI: There is no let up in incidents of heinous crimes like rape across the country. And to add to
the victim's woes, the pendency of such cases in courts are mounting at an alarming rate with the
government pleading helplessness due to massive vacancies in most of these courts, including High
Courts. There are 275 judges' posts vacant in 24 HCs, and Bombay HC ranks at number five with 16
vacancies. Bombay HC is also among the top seven that have highest number of rape cases pending at
1,009. Even in trial courts, Maharashtra has one of the largest vacancies of judges. At least, 185 judges'
slots are vacant in the state. Allahabad HC tops the list on two counts: the highest number of rape cases
pending at 8,200 and maximum number of judges' vacancy at 68. MP HC has 3,800 pending rape cases
and 10 judges' positions are vacant; Punjab & Haryana HC (2,700 pending rape cases and 21 judges'
vacancies), and Chhattisgarh HC (1,500 cases pending along with eight vacant slots for judges). "There
are three vacancies in the Supreme Court and 275 vacancies in the HCs as on August 1, 2013," law
minister Kapil Sibal said on Friday in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha. He said vacancies of
judges are one of the several reasons for growing pendency of cases in courts. Vacancies in subordinate
judiciary are alarming too with more than 3,700 slots for judges yet to be filled in states. This also has
impacted the pendency of cases which stood at 2.68 crore as of March, 2012. Allahabad HC tops the list
for maximum pendency of cases at more than 10 lakh. Bombay HC comes third (3.60 lakh pendency)
after Madras HC (4.80 lakh pendency). In 24 HCs, there are over 43 lakh cases pending. (Times of India
24/8/13)

Consumer court fines US travel company for making Indian pay tip, not other nationals (19)
New Delhi: An Indian lawyer and his wife were having a meal while on a holiday in Germany. After the
meal, he asked the waiter for a glass of water. The waiter, after serving him, charged him two euros.
None of the other guests, hailing from other nationalities, were charged. The man then learned that his
travel plan had made tipping compulsory for Indian customers alone and, what was more, had pre-
determined tip rates. A lawsuit and three years later, the man on Thursday shouted "fantastic" on
receiving the order from a city consumer court directing the erring travel agency to cough up an apology
and Rs 25,000 for the intentional racial discrimination. The US-based travel agency, Cosmos, had
introduced compulsory tipping for its group tours offered to Indians. However, the tips were neither
compulsory nor these amounts pre-determined for customers of other nationalities. When pulled up by
the consumer court, Cosmos defended its action by stating that without compulsory tips it was difficult to
attract and retain talented staff. Their response was "condemned" by a three-member panel of the
consumer forum, headed by judge C K Chaturvedi. It held that tour operators could not transfer the cost
of hiring talent to consumers of a certain nationality alone. "The commercial considerations should remain
secular commercial considerations and not morph into a nationality issue," the order read. The court on
August 8 held that the practice of the travel agency was an act of "racial discrimination" against Indians,
which in turn amounted to "deficiency of services" under Section 2(g) of the Consumer Protection Act,
1986. It directed Thomas Cook, the connecting travel agency, to record an apology on behalf of Cosmos
and deposit punitive damages of Rs 25,000. Upon the prayer of Ajit Bhasme, the complainant in this
case, the amount is to be deposited with the Delhi State Consumer Welfare Fund. .. (Indian Express
26/8/13)


Bar officials may be part of judges selection panel (19)
NEW DELHI: Office-bearers of bar councils and high court bar associations stand a good chance of being
nominated in the category of "eminent persons" in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC)
that is proposed to replace the collegium system of appointing judges. The proposed six-member panel,
which will replace the Supreme Court's collegium system once Parliament passes the constitutional
amendment bill, will have two "eminent persons" as members. The JAC Bill was cleared by Cabinet last
week and is likely to be tabled in Parliament soon. The proposed commission will be headed by the Chief
Justice of India and comprise the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, two eminent persons (to
be appointed by a panel headed by the prime minister) and the law minister as members. At a recent
meeting with chairmen of bar councils and presidents of high court bar associations, law minister Kapil
Sibal agreed with the suggestion to involve senior members of the bar in the selection process of higher
judiciary. "There is a provision for nomination of two eminent persons in the commission and members
from the legal profession would stand a good chance," the law minister said. However, office-bearers of
bar councils and HC bar associations insisted that they should be nominated in the commission in their
individual capacity as the field of eligibility under the category of eminent persons would be too wide.
Sibal stressed on the importance of consultation with the bars and said their views could be ascertained
by the chief justice of high courts at the time of making recommendations to the judicial appointments
commission for appointment of judges in the HC. There was consensus at the meeting among members
of the bars for replacement of the collegium system of appointing judges in higher judiciary. The
members, however, said that being important stakeholders in the justice delivery system, their
involvement in the selection process would help the proposed commission in selecting the right people.
The support of bar councils and bar associations of high courts is crucial for the government to push
through judicial reforms as the higher judiciary has been opposing any move to replace the collegium
system. All apex court and high court judges had expressed reservation against the move, saying the
present system of judges appointing judges was working fine. (Times of India 27/8/13)

Top legal appointment in Army quashed (19)
Chandigarh: The Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has quashed the elevation of
Brigadier T. Prashad as head of the Judge Advocate General (JAG), top appointment in the Armys
judicial and legal wing, on the ground that there were serious irregularities in the Selection Board (SB)
held last August that approved the officers promotion to Major General. The AFT set aside the promotion
board that approved Brigadier Prashads elevation as Major General, after it was proved that new inputs
on the service record of the officer were included much after the time line given for such inclusion in
selection boards. The new input for Brigadier Prashad related to relief granted by the Ministry of Defence
to his statutory complaint on adverse annual confidential reports (ACRs) of previous years that were
expunged. According to rules in force, all records pertaining to the officers being considered for selection
to higher ranks are frozen five days prior to the date of meeting of the SB. In the case of Brigadier
Prashad, the order expunging his adverse ACRs was of October 16, 2012 and the SB, which considered
the case of four brigadiers for promotion, was scheduled to meet on October 18. The proceedings were
postponed by a day and when it met, the Board, after taking into consideration the relief granted to
Brigadier Prashad on his adverse ACRs, approved his promotion to the next rank. The AFT has said,
making the selection after considering the redressal to Brigadier Prashad is inappropriate as per the
policy of the MS branch. Initially, there was only one vacancy for a Major General in the JAG branch, but
in May last year, the government created an additional vacancy. The SB of October 19, therefore, met to
fill two vacancies for which four brigadiers of the 1981 batch were considered on the basis of their existing
record and comparative merit. When Brigadier Prashad, most junior Brigadier was selected, he was also
tipped to be the JAG by virtue of having more residual service than his peer. The matter was taken to the
AFT by Brigadier Dinkar Adeeb and Brigadier P.K. Sharma, who in their petition said the SB of October
19 was done illegally, hastily, with a mala fide intent to grant undue advantage to one particular officer.
Brigadier Prashad was granted relief on the eve of the SB and that too by postponing the SB
repeatedly and shifting the goalposts, said the petition. He was granted relief in his career
profile/ACR(s) on the eve of the SB totally out of turn in undue haste, it added. The SB was then
postponed by a day to October 19 and Brigadier Prashad was declared empanelled for the rank of Major
General. That he was granted relief in such a clandestine post in a haste manner leaves no manner of
doubt that he otherwise would have not made it to the next rank but for his changed profile, the petition
said. (The Hindu 31/8/13)

Justice Ramana is new Chief Justice of Delhi High Court (19)
New Delhi: Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana, judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court was on Friday
appointed the new Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. "The President has appointed Justice
Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana, judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, as the Chief Justice of the
High Court of Delhi with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office," said the statement issued
by the Law Ministry on Friday evening. Fifty-six-year-old Justice Ramana enrolled as an advocate in 1983
and has practised in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Central and AP Administrative Tribunals and the
Supreme Court in civil, criminal, constitutional, labour, service and election matters. He also specialises in
Constitutional, Criminal, Service and Inter-State River laws. Ramana has also been credited with the
encouragement of the use of Telugu as the language for proceedings in the Andhra Pradesh High Court
and has held the post of president of the Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy and the executive chairman
of the AP Legal Services Authority. Justice Ramana is expected to take over as Chief Justice of the Delhi
High Court by next week. Justice Badar Durrez Ahmad has been the Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi
High court since June after the retirement of former Chief Justice D Murugesan. (Indian Express 31/8/13)

Be transparent, HC tells judicial authorities in Gujarat (19)
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court has advised the judiciary that a court must not behave in a manner
that people perceive it as a court of "no justice" by refusing to be transparent in its functioning. When the
HC was faced with a complaint that a judicial officer refused to supply a copy of an office order, Justice G
B Shah said, "Why is justice depicted as carrying a balance on her hands with lifted scales? This is plain
simple. It needs no justification. The balanced scales have always been the symbol of even-handed
justice. The court as a court of justice must not project itself as a court of 'no justice' by denying copy of its
order." The high court order says, "The court is a court having its own 'judicial discipline' and for striking
the 'judicial balance', it must perform its essential functions." This case pertains to land related litigations
in Surat. Kalpataru Land Pvt Ltd is one of the parties. Principal district judge I C Shah transferred the land
suits without any reasoned order on April 18 to another court, and put up a copy of the decision on notice
board. Kalpataru sought a certified copy, but the judge restricted court staff to supply it to the litigant.
Kalpataru moved the HC with the complaint that without citing any reason, the district judge shifted the
cases when they are at a final stage. Before the HC, the district judge contended that he did so following
a confidential letter from the high court's administrative side. But the petitioner complained that the judge
should have at least mentioned this fact in his transfer order. After hearing the case, Justice Shah
rebuked the judicial officer for his adamant behaviour of not disclosing the reason behind transferring the
case, saying that if the judge as head of the department was bold enough to issue such order, he should
have shown courage to give certified copy also. It reminded the judge that the litigants are entitled to
know the reason behind court orders. The HC observed, "A judge is impartial administrator of law and
'judicial balance' is mark of his authority and source of respect to judicial system. In my view, just but
unreasoned conclusion does not appear to be just to those who read it." (Times of India 2/9/13)

LS nod to Pension Bill (19)
The long-pending Pension Bill, a key economic legislation assuring minimum returns to subscribers, was
today approved by the Lok Sabha, with the government saying it is based on the principle that "you save
while you earn".The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, 2011, provides
for market based returns and wide coverage based on several investment options in the pension sector
with an aim to building confidence in the subscribers. It will have provision for withdrawals for limited
purposes from Tier-I pension account, an incentive for subscribers to join the New Pension Scheme
(NPS). Replying to a brief debate, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the government has accepted
most of the recommendations of the Standing Committee. The NPS, beneficial for employees in the long
run, is based on the principle that "you save while you earn" especially for retirement period and is mainly
for those who have a regular income, he said. The corpus of the NPS having 52.83 lakh subscribers
(including those of 26 state governments) was about Rs 35,000 crore. The bill also seeks to grant
statutory status to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. "....Rs 35,000 crore should
not be used by unstatutory authority...All this Bill does is make unstatutory authority (into) a statutory
authority," Chidambarm said, adding the statutory authority will have powers to penalise. The bill would
also provide subscribers a wide choice to invest their funds for assured returns, like opting for
government bonds as well as in other funds depending on their capacity to take risk. The subscriber
seeking minimum assured returns would be allowed to opt for investing funds in such scheme providing
minimum assured returns as may be notified by the Authority. (Business Standard 4/9/13)

Judicial bill in Rajya Sabha: Govt, opposition unite to attack judiciary (19)
NEW DELHI: Government and opposition were united in criticising the functioning of the judiciary on
Thursday while seeking to scrap the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts, saying it is
essential to restore the delicate balance of power which has been disturbed. As Rajya Sabha took up a
bill to amend the Constitution to set up a Judicial Appointments Commission replacing the collegium
system, law minister Kapil Sibal, leader of opposition Arun Jaitley and several other members were of the
view that the present system of appointing judges to Supreme Court and high courts lacked transparency
and accountability. Moving the Constitution (120th Amendment) Bill, 2013, Sibal said the judiciary
"rewrote Constitution" in 1993 when the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts was
adopted which disturbed the delicate balance between the judiciary, the legislature and the executive.
"Sometimes moments come in the life a nation when you have to revisit the past and embrace the future.
One such moment has come today," he said. Sibal, a renowned lawyer, noted that it was in 1993 that the
Supreme Court sought to change the procedure of appointment of judges in higher judiciary with an
interpretation of Article 124 (2) by bringing in a collegium system. "With greatest respect to Supreme
Court of India, I believe they rewrote Constitution," he said. Underlining that appointment of judges has
"nothing to do with judicial function", he said, "The acts of appointments are executive acts. The judiciary
has taken over executive power by rewriting Article 124. That balance must be restored. Executive must
have a say in appointment." Sibal said, "It has disturbed the delicate balance of separation of powers.
There is very clear division of powers among the executive, legislature and judiciary in our Constitution.
Judiciary cannot take over the function of the executive." (Times of India 5/9/13)

Opposes exemption of political parties from RTI Act (19)
HYDERABAD: A public interest litigation has been filed in the High Court with a request for declaration of
the action of the central government in clearing a proposal to grant exemption to political parties from the
Right to Information Act. It also challenged the decision of granting permission to convicted MPs, MLAs
and MLCs to contest elections. The petitioner, G Bhargavi, submitted that the CIC had held that six
national parties Congress, BJP, NCP, CPM, CPI and BSP _ were substantially funded indirectly by the
government and had the character of a public authority, compelling them to share information under the
RTI Act. The CIC had directed the parties to appoint public information officers for the same. However,
the department of personnel and training, the nodal department for implementing the RTI Act, in
consultation with the law ministry, made an amendment which now specifically says that the definition of
public authority does not apply to political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of
the People Act, 1951. Why the political parties be exempted when every other body which is substantially
financially funded by the government falls under the RTI Act?, the petitioner asked. The petitioner found
fault with the Centres decision to clear proposal to grant permission to the convicted MPs, MLAs and
MLCs to contest in the elections, and submitted that the Apex Court had made it clear that sitting
members would stand disqualified on the date of conviction. The court also clarified that the decision
would not apply to MPs and MLAs, who have been convicted and have already filed appeals in the higher
court before pronouncement of judgment. Secretary to the ministry of law and justice, secretary to the
ministry of home affairs, election commission of India, Congress, BJP, CPI, CPM, BSP, NCP and TDP
were named as the respondents. The matter will come up for hearing on September 16. (New Indian
Express 8/9/13)

10 bills passed in monsoon session of Parliament (19)
NEW DELHI: Unlike recent Parliament sessions when a large part of the sittings were complete
washouts, the just-ended monsoon session saw passage of 10 legislations including UPA's flagship bills -
food security and land acquisition. An official statement from parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath
listed details of bills passed by both the Houses and legislations that were cleared separately by Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Nath had said on Saturday that "substantive work" was done in the month-long
session including passage of a major economic legislation, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development
Authority Bill, which was hanging fire for long due to political differences. An analysis done by PRS
Legislative Research on monsoon sessions in the past four years showed this was the second most
productive sitting. While in 2012, the Lok Sabha was productive for 20% and Rajya Sabha for 27% of the
total time, in this session, the Lok Sabha sat for 73.13 hours and productivity was 58%. The upper House
had a better record, sitting for 99.65 hours and clocking 80% productivity. There were four late night
sittings of the Lok Sabha beyond 10pm while Rajya Sabha sat till 11pm twice this session. The longest
time spent discussing a bill was on the National Food Security Bill with nine hours of discussion in Lok
Sabha and 9.3 hours in Rajya Sabha. This came as a big relief considering the first couple of weeks saw
several disruptions, adjournments and even suspension of members from the Lok Sabha for the first time.
The cause of disruptions were on account of coal scam allegations, Telangana, Robert Vadra's land deal
controversy, Chinese incursions in Ladakh, killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistan army and fuel price. The
government was successful in getting the support of opposition parties, particularly BJP and extended the
session to pass important legislations including Companies Bill, SEBI Bill, Waqf Board (Amendment) Bill
besides two others Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill and Representation of
the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, which brought all political parties together. Rajya Sabha also
passed the legislation for prohibition of manual scavenging, a social commitment that the UPA has made.
"While the government was able to get some key social legislations and financial legislations passed in
this session, by and large, legislative business has slowed down in the 15th Lok Sabha. Most of the anti-
corruption legislations and those related to reforms in higher education are stuck at various stages in the
parliamentary system. Government faces the uphill task of getting political consensus built around these
legislations before the winter session of Parliament," said Chakshu Roy of PRS Legislative Research.
(Times of India 9/9/13)

Delhi gang-rape: Death penalty in India (19)
Mumbai: As the four convicts in the Delhi gang-rape are awarded the death sentence, dna looks at the
death penalty in IndiaThe landmark judgment in the Delhi gang-rape case saw all four convictsMukesh
Singh, Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Guptaget the death sentence. All four were convicted
of gang-raping and murdering the 23-year-old paramedical student on Tuesday. According to TV reports,
the four convicts broke down in court on hearing the sentence. The girl's father said: "Happy with the
order. Thank police and media." The girl's mother said: "My daughter has finally got justice." dna looks at
the death penalty in India: Capital punishment or the death penalty is a legal process whereby a person is
put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The judicial decree that someone be punished in
this manner is a death sentence, while the actual process of killing the person is an execution. The
Supreme Court of India ruled in 1983 that the death penalty should be imposed only in "the rarest of rare
cases." While stating that honour killings fall within the "rarest of the rare" category, the Supreme Court
has recommended that the death penalty be extended to those found guilty of committing "honour
killings". The Supreme Court also recommended death sentences to be imposed on police officials who
commit police brutality in the form of encounter killings. In an appeal filed by Vikram Singh and another
person, facing the death sentence, the constitutional validity of Section 364A of the Indian Penal Code
has been questioned.In addition to the Indian Penal Code there have been a series of legislations
enacted by the Parliament which have provisions for death penalty. Sati is an inhuman practice involving
the burning or burying alive of any widow or woman along with the body of her deceased husband or any
other relative or with any article, object or thing associated with the husband or such relative. Under, The
Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 Part. II, Section 4, if any person commits sati, whoever abets
the commission of such sati, either directly or indirectly, shall be punishable with death. The Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was enacted to prevent the
commission of offences of atrocities against members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes. Under the Section 3(2)(i)of the Act, bearing false witness in a capital case against a member of a
scheduled caste or tribe, resulting in that person's conviction and execution, carries the death penalty. In
1989, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was passed which applied
mandatory death penalty for a second offence of "large scale narcotics trafficking". On 16 June 2011, the
Bombay High Court ruled that Section 31A of the NDPS Act, which imposed mandatory sentence,
violated Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution and that a second conviction need not be a death
penalty, giving judges discretion to decide on awarding capital punishment. In recent years, the death
penalty has been imposed under new anti-terrorism legislation for people convicted of terrorist activities.
The Indian Government had passed an ordinance which applied the death penalty in cases of rape that
leads to death or leaves the victim in a "persistent vegetative state" on 3 February 2013, in response to
public outcry over the Delhi gang-rape. (DNA 13/9/13)

CJI defends collegium system of appointment of judges (19)
NEW DELHI: The Chief Justice of India, P Sathasivam, has defended the collegium system for
appointment of judges in higher judiciary but said it is a prerogative of the Centre to bring a bill to change
it. "Now as CJI, I am not going into the contents of the bill and how it was passed as it is the prerogative
of the government and it is for the people to accept it or not. It is too early for me to say anything on
Judicial Appointment Commission or Committee," Justice Sathasivan said on Saturday while inaugurating
a seminar on rule of law. His remarks came after the president of Bar Association of India, Anil Divan,
raised questions on the way the Centre brought the bill "without" taking members of judicial fraternity into
confidence and "rushed" it through in Rajya Sabha. He said they never received any response from the
law minister on the letter dated April 17 by top jurists of the country seeking a draft copy of the bill. The
CJI said that the government and its agencies have a say in the present collegium system and their views
are also taken into consideration for appointment of judges. Justice Sathasivam said that no name is
finalised until it gets clearance from the law minister, the Prime Minister and the President and in the
whole mechanism, inputs from intelligence bureau, respective high courts and eminent people like sons
of the soil, are taken into consideration. He said judicial function is universally recognised as distinct and
separate in the system of government and is the "very heart" of the republic and the "bulwark" of
democracy. He said judicial accountability is fostered through the process of selection, discipline and
removal found in the Constitution. "...The success of a democracy largely depends upon an impartial
strong and independent judiciary endowed with sufficient power to administer justice," the CJI said.
"Although both judicial independence and judicial accountability are vital for maintaining the rule of law,
they are sometimes projected as conflicting phenomenon. Judicial accountability has become an
indispensable counterbalance to judicial independence. "In that connection, accountability is fostered
through the process of selection, discipline and removal found in the Constitution and the statutes in
various judicial systems," he said. Stressing the need for an independent judiciary, he said, without it,
there is a little hope for the rule of law. "Thus, the need for judicial independence is not for judges or the
judiciary per se but for the people," he said. (Times of India 14/9/13)

Bill on appointment of judges referred to Parliament panel (19)
New Delhi: The panel has now sought the opinion and views of the general public and stakeholders on
the provisions of the bill which aims at establishing a new mechanism to appoint judges to the Supreme
Court and 24 High Courts. A Bill which seeks to scrap the collegium system of appointment of judges to
the higher judiciary and give executive a say in the matter has been referred to a Parliamentary
committee for further consultations. The Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2013, introduced in the
Rajya Sabha on August 29, has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law. The
panel has now sought the opinion and views of the general public and stakeholders on the provisions of
the bill which aims at establishing a new mechanism to appoint judges to the Supreme Court and 24 High
Courts. Law Minister Kapil Sibal had introduced an enabling bill the Constitution (120th) Amendment
Bill and the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2013, which defines the establishment of the
proposed body to recommend appointment and transfer of judges. The government and the Opposition
were united in seeking to scrap the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts, saying it was
essential to restore the delicate balance of power which has been disturbed. The Constitutional
Amendment Bill was passed in the Upper House amidst a walkout by BJP which wanted both the bills to
be referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee. The government wanted the Constitutional
Amendment Bill to be passed and was willing to send the main bill the Judicial Appointments
Commission Bill to the standing committee. The Constitutional Amendment Bill is now pending with the
Lok Sabha, while Rajya Sabha Chairman M Hamid Ansari had agreed to refer the main bill to the
Parliamentary panel. Under the present collegium system, the Chief Justice of India and four senior most
judges of Supreme Court recommend to the government the names of judges for appointment to the High
Courts and to the apex court. The government can return the file to the collegium only once for its
reconsideration, but cannot refuse the recommendation. India perhaps is the only country where judges
appoint judges. The bill seeks to set up a Judicial Appointments Commission to recommend the
appointment and transfer of Supreme Court and High Court judges. It states that it will make the
participants in the selection accountable and introduce "transparency" in the selection process. The bill
seeks to set up a panel headed by the CJI to recommend the appointment and transfer of senior judges.
The other members of the proposed Commission would be two senior-most judges of Supreme Court, the
Law Minister and two eminent persons, along with the Secretary (Justice) in the Law Ministry as its
convener. The two eminent persons will be selected by a panel headed by the Prime Minister with the CJI
and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha as its members. The Judiciary is opposed to the
proposal and has defended the collegium system for appointment of judges in higher judiciary. Chief
Justice of India P Sathasivam said yesterday that the government and its agencies have a say in the
present collegium system and their views are also taken into consideration for appointment of judges.
Justice Sathasivam said that no name is finalised until it gets clearance from the Law Minister, the Prime
Minister and the President and in the whole mechanism, inputs from Intelligence Bureau, respective high
courts and eminent people, are taken into consideration. (DNA 15/9/13)

Fast-track courts slow down justice (19)
NEW DELHI: Fast-track courts were set up in the capital to ensure that women got speedy justice in
cases of sexual assault. But here is the irony. Statistics reveal that the disposal rate of rape cases was
actually higher when regular courts decided these cases. The six fast-track courts, set up this January to
enable day-to-day trial, have only been able to dispose of 380 cases by August 15, 2013. By contrast,
2010 saw 707 being disposed of while 650 and 547 rape cases, respectively, were decided upon in 2011
and 2012. This comes to an average of 59 cases disposed per month in 2010 and 54 cases per month in
2011. With just about the last quarter left in this year, it will be difficult for fast-track courts to match these
rates. So far, the average disposal rate of the six courts (till August) is 48-50 cases in a month. To match
the rates of previous years, the fast-track courts will have to decide around 300 cases in the remaining
days of 2013. This seems a tall order, given that there are just 82 working days from September till
December. Sources say it is the extra workload on the six fast-track courts that is defeating the purpose
of speedy justice. At the end of 2012, there were 1,400 pending rape cases. These, along with fresh rape
cases filed this year, have all been distributed among these six designated fast-track courts. Before the
fast-track courts were set up, these cases were handled by regular courts, which had over 70 judges.
Though the pendency period of each rape case has come down because of day-to-day trial, the fast-track
court judges are reeling under the pressure of at least 300 cases per court. Also, there are vacancies in
the higher judiciary of the trial courts that need to be filled to tackle the problem. "The fast-track courts are
overburdened. They cannot act like fast-track courts if all cases come to them. The need is to have more
courts and divide the cases properly," said Rajiv Khosla, lawyer and ex-officio member of the Delhi Bar
Association. Khosla also said there should be a change in the criminal procedure code to remove
bottlenecks. "No one wants to see the real cause. Speedy disposal is not possible without a proper
structure. In most cases, the witnesses don't come or the IO is not present. All these things delay a trial,"
he said. As of now, there are more than 70 posts to be filled in the Delhi high judicial services and over
100 posts in the lower judiciary. R N Vats, president of the Delhi Bar Association, said the vacancies
should be filled to speed up the judicial process. "The disposal of the fast-track courts have been
satisfactory seeing the workload they have. Though if the vacancies are filled soon, it would really help,"
he said. (Times of India 20/9/13)

Can govt justify administrative action on a quasi judicial order? (19)
Chandigarh: While the Haryana government may act against IAS officer Ashok Khemka for publicly
criticising its actions, there are doubts whether or not administrative action can be justified against the
officer for exercising powers without jurisdiction in cancelling the mutation of 3.5-acre land in Gurgaon.
Service law experts say that since the order to set aside the mutation passed by Khemka was a quasi
judicial, it can only be challenged or rectified in a court of law. Initiating administrative action on this
ground may not be tenable, they said. "This will provide Khemka an opportunity to petition the high court
on the ground that he can't be issued an article of charges for passing a quasi judicial order," an expert
said. The state government, legal experts feel, can't justify the action unless it is able to prove mala fide
and mischievous interpretation of the law. "The government will have to prove that the officer as director
general, consolidation of holdings, had differing standards on the same issue," an expert said. While the
government is now armed with a July 12 order of the Punjab and Haryana high court that held that orders
passed by Khemka in a similar matter pertaining to Baad Gujjar village in Gurgaon under Section 42 of
the Consolidation Act suffered from an error of jurisdiction and was against the principles of natural
justice, the question is whether or not a departmental action against Khemka in the Shikohpur mutation
matter can be justified on its basis. The HC had quashed Khemka's orders of August 8, 2012, wherein
without affording an opportunity of hearing other parties, the IAS officer had set aside the transfer of land
of Baad Gujjar panchayat to private parties in the consolidation proceedings on the grounds that
classification of land in terms of relative value was unreasonable and detrimental to the interests of
panchayat. Khemka's order of August 8 had a parallel in his October 15, 2012, order under Section 42 of
the Consolidation Act whereby he ordered setting aside of mutation of 3.5 acre in Gurgaon's Shikohpur.
In Shikohpur matter too, the IAS officer had passed the orders without issuing notice to the interested
parties and granting them an opportunity to be heard. The HC in its July 12 order said the facts clearly
indicated that the August 8, 2012, order pertaining to Baad-Gujjar was passed in contravention of the
principles of natural justice. "The petitioners and other right-holders were not heard when the order was
passed. They were the affected party," the HC ruled. The three member committee too had concluded in
its report that Khemka could not have passed the orders to set aside the mutation under Section 42
without affording an opportunity to hear the parties involved. (Hindustan Times 21/9/13)

SC restores PIL challenging Shariat courts (19)
NEW DELHI: More than four months after a bench headed by then CJI Altamas Kabir had dismissed a
PIL challenging the fatwas issued by Shariat courts running a parallel judicial system in the country, the
Supreme Court on Monday restored it for hearing. A bench headed by Justice C K Prasad restored the
PIL filed by advocate Vishwa Lochan Madan for hearing on November 11 despite objections from the
Centre, a decision that would force the government to articulate its position on Shariat courts and the
fatwas issued by them. Madan pleaded for restoration of the PIL for hearing after informing it that his
absence because of his mother's ill health on May 10 had resulted in its dismissal. The petitioner argued
that Shariat courts were unconstitutional and operated as parallel courts in the country deciding on
religious and social freedoms of Muslim citizens. It sought a declaration that these courts were
unconstitutional. Madan also argued that the fundamental rights of Muslims could not be controlled and
curtailed through fatwas issued by qazis and muftis appointed by Muslim organizations. However, he
clarified that the prayers contained in his PIL should not be seen as an attempt to introduce Uniform Civil
Code in the country. (Times of India 24/9/13)

Aadhaar not must for benefits: Court (19)
New Delhi, Sept. 23: The Supreme Court has said in an interim order that no state and Union territory can
deny social or other government benefits to a beneficiary on the ground that the Aadhaar card is not
available. The court also directed the government to ensure that illegal migrants were not granted the
card. A bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and S.A. Bobde passed the interim order today while posting for
final disposal hearing on a PIL filed by a retired high court judge of Karnataka, Justice K.S. Puttaswamy.
The former judge had questioned the constitutional validity of the scheme and alleged that the card was
being given even to illegal migrants, posing a threat to national security. The apex court issued two
interim directives. One, no benefit or service shall be denied on account of non-possession of Aadhaar
cards. Two, no illegal migrants should be issued the card. Senior counsel Anil Divan and counsel Ankit
Goel, appearing for the petitioner, contended that Aadhaar had resulted in the denial of many benefits
and services to persons who are otherwise eligible. The counsel cited the alleged instances of linkages
with the card such as salaries to teaching and non-teaching staff in Maharashtra on the basis of Aadhaar,
and registration of marriages in Jharkhand only for Aadhaar number holders. But in Ranchi, Jharkhand
chief secretary R.S. Sharma, a former director general of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
that runs the project, said the Aadhaar number was not mandatory for registration of marriages. The
counsels also referred to the proposal to restrict LPG subsidy to Aadhaar number holders. They added
that for many government scholarships, the Aadhaar number was mandatory. However, solicitor-general
Mohan Parasaran and additional solicitor-general L. Nageswara Rao, appearing for the Centre, stated
that Aadhaar was purely voluntary and no interim directions were required. According to a Union
government decision, the Aadhaar number is mandatory for securing LPG subsidy in select districts,
including Calcutta, Howrah and Cooch Behar in Bengal, after October 31 with a grace period of three
months. If the court revokes its interim order eventually, it will mean that LPG consumers in the chosen
districts will need the Aadhaar number to access the subsidy after January 31, 2014. The coverage of the
requirement will be expanded to more districts later. The Aadhaar number is not required for buying LPG
cylinders at the non-subsidised rate, officials later said. In his petition, Justice Puttaswamy submitted that
the entire Aadhaar scheme was unconstitutional as the individuals obtaining the number are required to
part with personal information, such as iris images and fingerprints, that infringed the right to privacy. The
petitioner said there were no safeguards or penalties and no legislative backing for obtaining personal
information, and the legislation introduced by the government has been rejected by the parliamentary
standing committee on finance. The unique identification bill, under which the Aadhar card is issued, is
yet to become law, though it was introduced in 2010. The linkage of Aadhaar number with various
government benefits and services, such as food security under the newly enacted Food Security Act,
LPG subsidy, Employees Provident Fund, and other DBT (direct benefit transfer) services... makes
enrolment with the Aadhaar scheme mandatory, completely falsifying the governments claim of it being
voluntary, the petition said. He alleged that the indiscriminate allocation of Aadhaar numbers to all
residents, including illegal migrants, could create a serious threat to national security. The Aadhaar is now
issued on production of residential and identity proof. The government has repeatedly clarified that the
Aadhaar card is not a proof of citizenship but a means to reach benefits to the people. (The Telegrasph
24/9/13)

Cabinet overrules Supreme Court, clears ordinance to protect convicted MPs (19)
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared an ordinance to protect convicted MPs and MLAs
from immediate disqualification a move that seeks to nullify an order by the Supreme Court. The
Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2013 allows convicted MPs and
MLAs to continue in office if their appeal is admitted by a higher court within 90 days and the conviction
stayed. But they won't be entitled to vote during House proceedings or draw salaries and allowances until
the case is finally decided. Earlier, the government failed to get a Bill to this effect passed in the monsoon
session of Parliament due to pressure from the BJP. The Bill was then referred to the department-related
standing committee. On July 10, the Supreme Court had ruled that an MP or MLA would be immediately
disqualified if convicted by a court in a criminal offence with a jail sentence of two years or more. The
Supreme Court had struck down Section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which
protects convicted legislators from disqualification if they appeal before a higher court within three
months. Holding that Parliament had exceeded its powers in providing such an immunity, the cout had
ruled that Parliament lacked legislative competence to enact this provision since it was in direct conflict
with Articles 101 and 102, which stipulate the principles for those who want to contest elections as well as
those who have been elected. The court had ruled that no relaxation could be given to a sitting MP or an
MLA when an ordinary citizen is barred from contesting elections if he stands convicted on the date of
polling. (Indian Express 26/9/13)

PIL seeks ban on second generation politicians (19)
CHENNAI: A PIL has sought amendments to the Representation of the People Act, to bar legal heirs of
political leaders from contesting elections or holding positions in the government. The PIL seeking a ban
on second generation political leaders from garnering all positions for themselves, has been filed by
advocate R Balasubramanian. The first bench comprising acting Chief Justice R K Agrawal and Justice M
Sathyanarayanan, before which the PIL came up for admission on Thursday, merely reserved the orders
on the matter. It was neither admitted nor notices issued to the Election Commission of India which had
been cited as respondent in the PIL. When the matter was taken up, Balasubramanian contended that
after independence several top national-level and regional political leaders had brought their family
members into politics. Now, several states from Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu had leaders
grooming their family members for top positions, he said, adding that he had sent a representation to the
election commission of India on September 10 to amend the RP Act suitably so as to prevent family and
dynastic rules. Since there was no response from the commission he said he was constrained to file the
present PIL. The bench, before reserving orders, merely sought to know from the PIL-petitioner whether
the election commission had any power and jurisdiction at all to bring in amendments in the Constitution
and the relevant law. To this, Balasubramanian said the commission represented the Centre and that he
had sent the representation to it as it was the proper channel. (Times of India 27/9/13)

NGO opposes law on manual scavenging (19)
Ahmedabad: Janvikas, a city-based voluntary organisation, is upset over the latest law on manual
scavenging. It has expressed unhappiness over the law as it reportedly favours lowering of manhole
workers in drains with protective gear. The Prohibition of Employment As Manual Scavengers and Their
Rehabilitation Act, 2013 received assent of the President on September 18. "The provisions of the Act are
not intended to eradicate manual scavenging in any form. The Act talks more about insanitary latrines,
open drain and pits, but says not much on widespread manual scavenging going on due to open
defecation for the lack of sufficient sanitation," said Jitendra Rathod of Janvikas. He said that the practice
of manual scavenging in the Indian Railways, especially in rail coaches, will continue because manual
handling of human excreta is not to be considered as manual scavenging if done with safety equipments.
Moreover, the Act does not talk about possible action that can be taken against any authority for not
implementing the provisions of the Act, he pointed out. The organisation has demanded that manual
scavenging in any form and at any place must be stopped. "It should not be practiced even with safety
devices. Safety equipments may be provided to sweepers for their better health and dignity, but manual
scavenging is an undignified work and must be prohibited in any form," Rathod said. If at all a manhole
worker is to be lowered in a drain, it must be listed in the Act what type of protective gear and other
cleaning devices will be listed when rules are framed, Rathod said, adding that manhole workers must be
trained by institutes like the fire brigade and only certified manhole worker be allowed to enter a drain.
(Indian Express 30/9/13)

Cabinet withdraws Ordinance, bill protecting convicted law makers (19)
New Delhi: In a coincidence of sorts, the Union Cabinet on Gandhi Jayanthi decided to withdraw the
controversial Ordinance that was aimed to shield convicted lawmakers. The Bill that is before the
Standing Committee in the Rajya Sabha will also be withdrawn after legal formalities. The motion to
withdraw the bill will be moved durng the Winter Session, sources said. Though the Cabinet approved the
Ordinance twice (once as a bill), it was Rahul Gandhis viewpoint that ultimately won. In a way, the
Cabinet 'tore and threw away' the Ordinance and the Bill metaphorically speaking and in the words of
Rahul Gandhi. Inching towards withdrawal of the Ordinance, Congress top brass including Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi had earlier grappled to work out a face saver in the wake
of a huge political storm over Rahul Gandhi's public outburst against the measure. All pros and cons were
discussed and a decision was left to the Union Cabinet which is meeting in the evening, highly placed
party sources said after the hour-long Congress Core Group meeting headed by Sonia Gandhi. Soon
after the Core Group meeting, which was also attended by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and
Gandhi's political aide Ahmed Patel, the Prime Minister met President Pranab Mukherjee at the
Rashtrapati Bhavan. The meeting was unusually long. Mukherjee is said to have reservations over the
Ordinance to provide immunity to MPs and MLAs from immediate disqualification overriding a Supreme
Court judgement on the issue. The day of hectic activities in the Congress beganwith Rahul Gandhi
calling on the Prime Minister in the morning and holding one to one interaction during which the Congress
Vice President explained to Singh the context in which he denounced the Ordinance. Though Singh said
he does not get "upset easily", he had indicated his unease yesterday when he told reporters that he
would try to find out the reason why Rahul made a public statement and "why it had to be done that way".
(Asian Age 2/10/13)

SC clears air on pardon for accused (19)
New Delhi, Oct. 2: Courts have a duty to issue notice to the complainant if the accused are to be
pardoned, the Supreme Court has held, asserting that charges in criminal cases can be altered at any
stage up to the conviction. The apex court disapproved of the conduct of a trial court and Rajasthan High
Court in granting pardon to some people who had allegedly kidnapped a schoolteacher, Giriraj Prasad
Meena, and kept him in illegal custody for about five days. A bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and S.A.
Bobde found fault with the trial court for framing charges under Sections 323 (causing hurt) and 343
(wrongfully confining for three or more days) instead of Section 365 (kidnapping or abducting). The
kidnapping charge carries a maximum punishment of seven years in jail. Section 323 carries a maximum
punishment of one year in jail or a fine or both, and Section 343 is punishable with two years
imprisonment. Under the Probation of Offenders Act, pardon can only be granted to anyone found guilty
of an offence punishable with imprisonment up to two years. A convict granted pardon can lead a normal
life but under the watchful eyes of a probation officer, who has to see that the convict does not do
anything illegal and carries out social work as directed by the judge. In this case, the teacher was
allegedly kidnapped and illegally detained from June 29, 2009, to July 4, 2009, following a civil dispute
and was threatened his limbs would be chopped off. He was rescued by police who, however, booked
cases only under Sections 323 and 343 instead of Section 365. On July 15, 2011, the judicial magistrate
of Sawai Madhopur district pardoned the accused after they pleaded guilty. The magistrate concluded the
trial the same day without issuing a notice to the appellant, convicting the accused and granting their plea
for pardon. The accused were fined Rs 500 each under the Probation of Offenders Act and it was ruled
that the order passed in the criminal case shall not have any adverse affect on the government service of
the accused. The teacher appealed against the pardon in the high court, which on April 23, 2012,
dismissed his appeal. The high court said he could not now raise the issue of non-framing of kidnapping
charges against the accused and that there was no merit in his plea that the accused cannot be
pardoned. Aggrieved, he appealed in the apex court. Upholding his appeal, the court said: Filing of
chargesheet and taking cognisance has nothing to do with the finality of charges, as charges framed after
the cognisance is taken by the court can be altered/amended/changed and any charge can be added at
any stage up to the stage of conviction in view of the provisions of Section 216 CrPC. Although the victim
had named seven persons and made serious allegations, the police preferred to register only cases
under Sections 323 and 343 IPC. Had the trial court applied its mind to the material collected during
investigation and particularly the statement recorded under Section 164 CrPC (victim), the charges could
have been framed also under Section 365 IPC (kidnapping), it said. We are of the considered opinion
that the learned trial court proceeded not only in great haste, but adopted a procedure not known in law,
Justice Chauhan, writing the judgment, said. The bench said the high court failed to appreciate that
before the statement of the appellant or any other witness could be recorded, the trial court disposed of
the matter. Even otherwise if the trial court wanted to entertain any issue of plea bargaining (pardon),
then too the court was obliged thereunder to put the victim to notice before extending any such benefits,
the apex court said, sending the matter back to the trial court. (The Telegraph 3/10/13)

Judiciary has interfered to save democracy: Advocate-General (19)
Tumkur: As the legislature has forgotten to discharge its real duty, the judiciary has interfered to save
democracy by giving the right to voters to reject all candidates in elections, according to Advocate-
General Ravivarma Kumar. After inaugurating a seminar on The role of people in strengthening
democracy here on Sunday, Mr. Ravivarma Kumar said that the legislature has forgotten to frame laws
for the benefit of the people and to fulfil the expectations of the people. He said as the legislature has
limited itself to just carrying out administrative action, a situation has come where the judiciary is framing
laws. He said that the active participation of the people is important for a successful democracy.
Awareness among the people must be created everyday instead of once in five years, he said. He said
that voters must use the right to reject in a proper way. Similarly, he said, it will be dangerous to
democracy if the voters develop a mentality of rejecting all candidates. The legislature must think about
this matter, he added. He said that the economic crisis in the U.S. is due to its aggressive nature which it
has followed all these years. He expressed concern over the working style of Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi who, according to him, has the same aggressive nature. Media advisor to Chief Minister
Dinesh Ameenmattu launched a verbal attack on Mr. Modi saying that his development model was
nothing but globalisation, communalism and being dictatorial. It is dangerous for a country if it starts
achieving progress in these three areas, he said. He said that industrialists have become strong and they
have gained power to control governments. They speak only for their benefit, he added. Legislator
Rafeeq Ahmed and president of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberty K. Dorairaju were present. (The
Hindu 7/10/13)

Khap has no legal sanctity, says Hooda (19)
Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said that Khaps have no legal
sanctity and it was like any other social organisation. He was speaking at a function in New Delhi. Asked
about intolerance in the community on the girls marrying the boys of their choice, Hooda said that every
society has its own customs and rules, like not marrying in the same Gotra and in the same village. As far
as Government is concerned, it gives incentives on inter-caste marriages. (Pioneer 11/10/13)

Class I officers not prosecuted: PIL (19)
Several class one officers of the state government have not been prosecuted under the Prevention of
Corruption Act because of the lack of government sanctions to prosecute them. An activist from Mulund,
Ankur Patil has obtained this information from the government under the Right to Information Act. On the
basis of this information, Mr Patil has filed a pubic interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay high court
seeking the courts directive to the state to enforce a rule of law. Mr Patil has annexed the RTI reply to his
PIL, which shows that in 56 cases the officers had not been prosecuted because the government had not
accorded sanction. Besides, permission had not been given in 19 other cases to conduct an open inquiry.
The petitioner prayed for a direction to the state to enforce a rule of law set by the Supreme Court in the
two famous cases. The PIL said in the SC judgments cited by the petitioner, the time limit of three months
have been prescribed for granting sanction to prosecute officers. However, an additional month has also
been given to cases where consultation of the attorney general is required. Once the time limit was over,
it was deemed that the sanction had been given and the agency could go ahead with the prosecution, it
contended. A bench of Justices P.V. Hardas and P.N. Deshmukh has posted the PIL for hearing after
Diwali vacations. The bench has also asked the petitioner to answer a law point on the issue stating
whether a writ of mandamus can be issued by the court in such cases. A mandamus is generally issued
when the government does not take any action on an issue. (Asian Age 17/10/13)

SC to hear plea for court-monitored treasure excavation in Unnao (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is likely to hear a PIL seeking court- monitored excavation of gold
treasure believed to be buried beneath the ruins of a 180-year-old temple adjoining a fort belonging to
erstwhile Bais Rajput rulers in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district. As the petitioner, advocate ML Sharma
mentioned his plea for an early hearing by the court, a bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice
Ranjan Gogoi asked him to cure the defects in his petition before it could be taken up for hearing. The PIL
has also sought direction to the central government to depute a military officer, who would - along with the
court-appointed monitoring team - supervise the excavation. As Sharma expressed apprehension that in
the absence of a monitoring mechanism there was a likelihood of gold vanishing, the court observed that
the state government was there to take care of things. The details about the 1,000-tonne gold treasure
believed buried under the temple were revealed by a priest Swami Shobhan Sarkar who had a dream
about it. Following the dream, he wrote to the president, prime minister, Archaeological Survey of India
and other authorities. The ASI which drilled two bore-holes said that at the depth of 20 metres, their
drilling was obstructed by something which was not earth. The ASI is going to start excavation from
Friday, the PIL said. The PIL said that Rao Ram Bux Singh, an erstwhile ruler of the area, was hanged by
the British during the revolt of 1857. His palace was destroyed but the gold buried in his fort in Daundiya
Kheda village of Unnao still remains untraced. Tracing the history of Daundia Khera, the PIL said that it
was an ancient place and the founder of Archaeological Survey of India, Sir Alexander Cunningham, had
identified the ancient place Hayamukha with Daundia Khera. Hayamukha was visited by the famous
Chinese traveler Hsiuen-Tsang in the seventh century, who described this place as having five Buddhist
monasteries with over a thousand brethren of the Sammatiya School - one of the four main Buddhist
sects of that time. Cunningham asserts that Daundia Khera became the capital of the Bais Rajputs which
gave their name to Baiswara in Rae Bareli, UP. (Hindustan Times 18/10/13)

Maintenance relief for illegal wife (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today ruled that an illegally wedded wife and children born of such
relationship were entitled to maintenance allowance from the estranged husband, in an order that could
bring relief to deserted women. In other words, according to the court, if a man deceitfully marries a
second woman despite the subsistence of his earlier marriage, he is obliged to pay her monthly
maintenance under CrPC Section 125. A bench of Justices Ranjana Prakash Desai and A.K. Sikri
rejected Badshahs argument he illegally married Urmila despite the subsistence of his marriage with
Sobha that he was not bound to pay maintenance to his second wife. We are dealing with a situation
where the marriage between the parties has been proved. However, the petitioner was already married.
But he duped the respondent by suppressing the factum of alleged first marriage. On these facts, in our
opinion, he cannot be permitted to deny the benefit of maintenance to the respondent, taking advantage
of his own wrong, the court said. It passed the judgment while dismissing an appeal by Badshah
challenging the directions of the matrimonial court and Bombay High Court that he was obliged to pay
every month Rs 1,000 to Urmila and Rs 500 to the daughter born of their cohabitation. Badshahs counsel
argued that since he was already married to Sobha, the second marriage with Urmila in 2005 was void
under the Hindu Marriages Act. So, he was not entitled to pay her maintenance. But the apex court said:
If a man and woman have been living together for a long time even without a valid marriage, as in that
case, term of valid marriage entitling such a woman to maintenance should be drawn and a woman in
such a case should be entitled to maintain application under Section 125 CrPC. Secondly when the
marriage between respondent No.1 (Urmila) and petitioner was solemnised, the petitioner had kept
respondent No.1 in dark about his first marriage. A false representation was given to respondent No.1
that he was single and was competent to enter into marital tie with respondent No.1. In such
circumstances, can the petitioner be allowed to take advantage of his own wrong and turn around to say
that respondents are not entitled to maintenance by filing the petition under Section 125 CrPC that
respondent No.1 is not legally wedded wife of the petitioner? Our answer is in the negative. We are of
the view that at least for the purpose of Section 125 CrPC, respondent No.1 would be treated as the wife
of the petitioner. While dealing with the application of a destitute wife or hapless children under this
provision, the court is dealing with marginalised sections of society, Justice Ranjana said. The court said
it could not give an interpretation to the law that was contrary to the intent of the legislation relating to
Section 125 CrPC. We should avoid a construction which would reduce the legislation to futility and
should accept the bolder construction based on the view that Parliament would legislate only for the
purpose of bringing about an effective result. If this interpretation is not accepted, it would amount to
giving a premium to the husband for defrauding the wife. Therefore, at least for the purpose of claiming
maintenance under Section 125 CrPC, such a woman is to be treated as the legally wedded wife, the
bench said. It said the principles of Hindu personal law had evolved out of concern for all those subject to
it. The manifest purpose is to achieve the social objectives for making bare minimum provision to sustain
the members of relatively smaller social groups. Its foundation spring is humanistic, the bench said. (The
Telegraph 20/10/13)

Lawyers against circuit benches of district, session courts (19)
Dharamsala: The Kangra District Bar Association (DBA) has submitted a memorandum to the Prime
Minister, Chief Justice of India and the union law minister in protest against the decision of the state high
court, wherein it ordered district and sessions court and additional district and sessions court judges to
hold circuit courts at various subdivisions of the district for faster disposal of the cases. The bar
association members have submitted that the decision would affect the lawyers practicing at the district
headquarters of Kangra, besides putting extra financial burden on litigants. The decision has compelled
us to go on the strike and boycott the entire judicial work which is resulting only in an incalculable harm to
poor litigants, said Bar association vice-president Vikramjeet Sharma. He said the newly constituted
circuit courts also lack basic infrastructure and could not practically function as sessions court. In the
memorandum, we have also demanded to set up a bench of the Himachal Pradesh high court at
Dharamsala, said Sharma, adding that the principal quantum of work in the high court, both appellate
and otherwise, is from Kangra and adjoining districts of Hamirpur, Una and Chamba. (Hindustan Times
21/10/13)

Submit inquiry report on a PIL alleging atrocities: HC to cops (19)
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court today asked the police to submit an inquiry report on a PIL filed by
Islamic Relief Committee of Gujarat alleging atrocities on Muslims by police at Sansrod village in Karjan
taluka of Vadodara district. A mob had attacked a police team raiding an illegal slaughter house on
October 16 at Sansrod village. Six persons -- four policemen and members of a local cow protection
committee-- were injured when the mob pelted stones on them and also set a police vehicle on fire. The
next day, police had conducted combing operations at the village in which close to 40 persons were
detained. A bench of Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala today asked police to
submit a report on the inquiry conducted by police into the incident. The court posted the matter for
further hearing after Diwali vacation. The petition charged police resorted to "high-handedness, violence
and use of abusive language" against the villagers including women and old, which resulted in rioting.
The PIL accuses police and persons with vested interests of raiding the village and undertaking combing
operations, in which police arrested around 40 people from Muslim community and illegally took away
livestocks kept for Eid sacrifice. The petitioner further alleged Muslim villagers, who were arrested, are
being ruthlessly beaten up in police lock-up not only by police officers but also by people from outside.
The PIL also prayed for directing the National Human Rights Commission or the State Human Rights
Commission to probe the allegations of human rights and fundamental right violations or transfer
investigation into the offences already registered to any impartial probe agency like CBI or CID. Cow
slaughter and even transporting of the animal for the purpose is banned in Gujarat and the offenders are
liable to face seven years in jail. (The Economig Times 25/10/13)

Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 'hopeless', feel top jurists (19)
CHENNAI: An "aggregate of 300 years of legal wisdom" decried in one voice the Centre's proposal to
form a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) for appointing judges to higher judiciary. On Saturday,
The Times of India in association with Sastra University's school of law, brought four living legends of
Indian legal fraternity - Anil Divan, K Parasaran, Soli Sorabjee and Ram Jethmalani - together on one
platform to discuss a topic 'Does the Judicial commission guarantee judicial independence?' Sastra's
dean for planning and development S Vaidhyasubramaniam set the ball rolling by pointing out that
together the four senior advocates had nearly three centuries of legal practice behind them. Columnist S
Gurumurthy, who moderated the round table discussion, cited Ram Jethmalani's speech in the Rajya
Sabha to describe the JAC Bill as a 'great constitutional fraud'. Admitting that the existing collegium
system of appointing judges had failed for want of transparency, Gurumurthy lamented that even media
was taking the issue casually, unlike the 1973 upheaval when media, public and legal fraternity
denounced supercession of reputed apex court judges. Anil Divan said the Centre was emboldened to
bring the two Bills due to terrific dissatisfaction over the manner the collegium system worked. Divan, who
is president of the Bar Association of India (BAI), said the forum had sent several representations against
the move. The State, its agencies and the bureaucracy, who were the biggest litigants before courts,
pushed the Bills taking advantage of the general dissatisfaction, he said. He wanted the U.K. and South
Africa model to be followed in appointments to higher judiciary, and sought broader discussion before
they are made. They issue advertisements, invite applications, hold interviews, and even permit
mediapersons to be present during interviews, he said. Expressing serious doubt about the composition
of the proposed JAC, Divan said through ordinary laws the parliament could alter the composition
anytime, thereby making judges a minority in JAC. "It is the gravest threat to judicial independence," he
said. K Parasaran, dubbing the Bills as 'hopeless', said, "Without independent judiciary, the democracy is
finished." Those appointing judges and those who are appointed should be independent, he said, adding,
"It is agonising and painful when a sitting chief justice of India says judiciary is not untouched by
corruption." Citing the TOI report on how a person with terror links almost became a judge, he said it was
due to lack of inputs about shortlisted candidates. Soli Sorabjee, noting that it must be conceded that the
collegiums system has not worked, said the Centre should not bring the Bills through in haste. A judge
should first be independent of himself and his own personal philosophy, he said. He also supported a
vocal and a vigilant Bar. Ram Jethmalani, who was the sole Rajya Sabha member who cast his vote
against the Bill on September 5, said politicians were the lowest watermark for social acceptance and
added that lawyers' social acceptance too was downhill. Stressing on individual integrity of judges, he
said judicial independence did not merely mean independence from the executive. Judges must be
independent of their own character, greed for money and power, Jethmalani said, adding, "the proposed
Bill is a fraud." Noting that India is not merely a democratic but a democratic republic, he said the power is
not vested with those who represent the majority, but vested with every individual citizen. (Times of India
26/10/13)

Retrospective amendments to tax laws not good (19)
BANGALORE: Parthasarathi Shome, Advisor to Finance Minster, said on Friday that the issue of
retrospective amendment of tax laws is a serious issue. Even if there is a need to amend them with
retrospective effect, we should, at least, not impose penalties, interest and other punitive measures.
Addressing a two-day conference on international taxation, organised by the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India, Dr. Shome said, Retrospective amendments should only apply in the case of
egregious tax avoidance structures adopted by corporate entities. Generally, retrospectivity is not a
good idea, Dr. Shome said. Investors, he said, cannot be forced to comply with laws that they did not
anticipate when they made their investments, Dr. Shome said. Referring to the growing concern about tax
avoidance by multinational companies whether in the home base or elsewhere around the world, Dr.
Shome said that multinationals, in the guise of escaping double taxation, resort to base erosion and profit
shifting (BEPS), which cause losses to governments across the world. He pointed out that the G-20,
which recently met at St. Petersburg, resolved to plug the loopholes that cause revenue losses to
countries across the world. India must participate in the BEPS project to prevent the abuse of tax
treaties, he said. (The Hindu 27/10/13)

Rap on medical neglect, nudge for legal bulwark (19)
The Supreme Court last week passed a landmark award in Indian medical negligence, determining Rs
5.96 crore as compensation to be paid by Kolkatas AMRI Hospitals and doctors for the negligent death of
Anuradha Saha in 1998. The verdict is the culmination of a long and valiant fight carried out by the
victims husband, under the banner of People for Better Treatment to initiate a movement to eradicate
medical negligence and to promote corruption-free healthcare in India. This was the record
compensation ordered by courts in India in cases of medical negligence, compared to the US, where
multi-million dollar medical negligence claims are de rigueur. The court hoped the verdict would have a
deterrent effect on increasing complaints about malpractices in Indias booming medical industry. Apart
from its demonstrative effect, the verdict underlines the absence of an appropriate framework to check
medical malpractices that have increased as a result of privatisation and commercialisation of the health
sector in India. As the court observed, doctors and medical establishments must be dealt with strictly for
negligence in giving treatment to patients. It asked the government to enact laws for effective functioning
of private hospitals and nursing homes. Indeed, the entire medical fraternity cannot be branded as lacking
in integrity or competence. It is also true that doctors too make mistakes. However, it cannot be
overlooked that commercialisation and privatisation has led to an alarming rise in cases when doctors
depart from their Hippocratic oath to make a fast buck. As buyers of medical service, patients have every
right to raise their voice against negligence. The SC verdict is a warning to black sheep in the fraternity to
desist from medical malpractices and a nudge to the government to evolve an effective legal mechanism
to discourage it. (New Indian Express 28/10/13)

HC opposes move to overhaul system for judges appointment (19)
CHENNAI : Likening it to a tsunami that would engulf and destroy the judiciary and its independence, the
Madras high court has opposed the proposed amendment to the constitution to overhaul the present
system of appointment of judges to high courts and the Supreme Court. In its memorandum to the
parliamentary standing committee on the Amendment Bill, the 150-year-old Madras Bar Association
(MBA) said the composition of the proposed Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) has been
designed to give the executive an equal say in the appointment and transfer of judges. The
memorandum, signed by MBA president R Muthukumaraswamy and secretary V R Kamalanathan, said:
"With unfathomable agony and pain, we are compelled to say the proposed 120th Amendment Bill, 2013,
is in the nature of the British Rowlatt Act 1919 in its sweep and consequences, and would result in the
denial of right to life, liberty, freedom, protection of their property, to the people of India and their
cherished democracy." R C Paul Kanagaraj, president of the Madras High Court Advocates Association
(MHAA), too has expressed his dissent to the proposal and said the MHA was drafting a note to be
submitted to the parliamentary committee. "True we are not completely happy with the way the present
collegium system of appointment of judges has been functioning. Besides lacking in transparency, the
system does not involve the Bar in the process. But replacing it with JAC, where representatives of the
government will have a sound say, is not acceptable. We demand a say in the matter. As the issue
requires threadbare debate, it should not be rushed through." The proposed JAC is comprise of the the
chief justice of India, two seniormost judges of the Supreme Court, union law minister and two 'eminent
persons' appointed by a collegium of prime minister, leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, besides six
persons - three each from the judiciary and outside it. The MBA's representation has raised six objections
to the proposal the provision to include two 'eminent persons' is a vague expression as it does not
specify any qualification, the inclusion of union law minister is not proper as he has political interests. The
other objections include the designation of the secretary of law and justice as convenor of the JAC as he
might be caught between the law minister and and the CJI. The association has also pointed out that the
presence of the union law minister and secretary would undermine the principle of separation of judiciary
from the executive. It is also feared that judges from state and central government would make way for
men with partisan attitude to enter the judiciary. The possibility of a repeat of the 1973 event when
several senior judges were superceded in the apex court, cannot be ruled, said the association. (Times of
India 29/10/13)

Evidence of conducting puja alone cannot define a Hindu, says HC (19)
CHENNAI: Holding that not conducting puja by a Hindu in puja room regularly cannot be a conclusive
proof to declare that he is not a Hindu, the Madras high court has quashed cancellation of community
certificate of a dalit panchayat president, who had reconverted from Christianity. A division bench
comprising Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice K Ravichandra Baabu, concurring with the
submissions of senior advocate K Duraisamy on Thursday, said the village administrative officer and the
revenue divisional officer were not correct in concluding that K Vasikaran was not a Hindu, merely
because his house had a puja room but there was no evidence of prayer/puja there. They also reported
that words from the Bible were found at the house and a cross had been inscribed on its pillars.
Vasikaran was elected president of Gerugambakkam panchayat, which is a local body reserved for dalits,
in October 2011. After the poll loss, his rival candidate moved the state election commission to strip him
of the post, saying he was a Christian and that his community certificate too should be cancelled. The
matter was referred to the revenue authorities for filing of a report. The officials visited his home and held
inquiries before submitting a report favouring cancellation of the dalit certificate. Vasikaran said the district
collector had sent his notices to an addressee K Victor, which was his name when he was Christian. He
had become a Hindu by undergoing a 'shuddhi' ceremony by the Arya Samaj at Chennai, and a certificate
too has been given by the organisation. Noting that his community has accepted him, he said he had
polled more than 2,600 votes, which was another indication of acceptance by his community. Concurring
with him, the bench said Vasikaran had been described as a dalit in his school certificate in 1989. The
Sriperumpudur tahsildar issued a proper community certificate in 1996. But, his poll rivals had not raked
up his caste status before the election, the bench said. (Times of India 31/10/13)

Supreme Court tells government how it should govern bureaucrats (19)
New Delhi: In what it said is a move to shield the bureaucracy from excessive political interference and
pressure from vested interests, the Supreme Court Thursday ruled that civil servants should be assured
of a minimum tenure in a posting and a civil services boards (CSB) should be formed to make
recommendations to governments on service issues, especially on transfers, postings and disciplinary
actions. Blaming political influence for the deterioration of the standards of probity and accountability of
civil servants, the court also ruled that those in government should mandatorily issue written instructions
and directed bureaucrats to put in writing all orders they get from their superior and others in power. We
are of the view that civil servants cannot function on the basis of verbal or oral instructions, orders,
suggestions, proposals, etc., and they must also be protected against wrongful and arbitrary pressure
exerted by the administrative superiors, political executive, business and other vested interests, said a
bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and P C Ghose. Asserting that civil servants were also accountable
to the people of this country like elected representatives, the court has given three months to the Central
and state governments to issue necessary directions for setting up boards, fixing the minimum tenure as
well as compulsorily issue written instructions. The court orders came on a PIL by 83 former civil
servants, demanding a slew of reforms to ensure the bureaucracy is insulated from unwarranted political
influences. The petitioners included former cabinet secretary T S R Subramanian, former Indian
ambassador to the US Abid Hussain, former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami, former election
commissioner T S Krishna Murthy, former IPS officer Ved Prakash Marwah, and former CBI directors
Joginder Singh and D R Kaarthikeyan. Culling out recommendations by the Hota Committee, reports of
the second Administrative Reforms Commission, 2008, and the Santhanam Committee Report, the court
held that CSB, with the cabinet secretary at the Center and chief secretary at the state level, and other
high-ranking officers, should be set up within three months. (Indian Express 31/10/13)

Oral instructions undermine accountability: Supreme Court (19)
New Delhi: Civil servants must refrain from acting on oral instructions of political bosses, except in certain
exceptional circumstances, the Supreme Court made it clear on Thursday. The judgement, on a public
interest writ petition by 83 persons, comes on the heels of controversies surrounding action against
Ashok Khemka, IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, over the DLF-Robert Vadra land deal, and Durga Sakhti
Nagpal, U.P. cadre IAS officer, for alleged misconduct. A Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and
Pinaki Chandra Ghose referred to the recommendations of the Hota Committee (2004) and the
Santhanam Committee report, which highlighted the necessity of recording instructions and directions by
public servants. The Bench said: We notice that much of the deterioration of the standards of probity
and accountability with the civil servants is due to the political influence of persons purporting to represent
those who are in authority. The Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption, 1962 has
recommended that there should be a system of keeping some sort of records in such situations. Rule 3(3)
(iii) of the All India Service Rules specifically requires that all orders from superior officers shall ordinarily
be in writing. It added, Where in exceptional circumstances, action has to be taken on the basis of oral
directions, it is mandatory for the officer superior to confirm the same in writing. The civil servant, who has
received such information, in turn, is required to seek confirmation of the directions in writing as early as
possible and it is the duty of the officer superior to confirm the direction in writing. The Bench said:
There must be some records to demonstrate how the civil servant has acted, if the decision is not his,
but if he is acting on oral directions, instructions, he should record such directions in the file. If the civil
servant is acting on oral directions or dictation of anybody, he will be taking a risk, because he cannot
later take the stand the decision was in fact not his own. Recording of instructions, directions is, therefore,
necessary for fixing responsibility and ensuring accountability in the functioning of civil servants and to
uphold institutional integrity. Pointing out that democracy requires an informed citizenry and
transparency of information, the Bench said: Oral and verbal instructions, if not recorded, could not be
provided [to citizens]. By acting on oral directions, not recording the same, the rights guaranteed to the
citizens under the RTI Act could be defeated. The practice of giving oral directions/instructions by the
administrative superiors, political executive etc, would defeat the object and purpose of RTI Act and
would give room for favouritism and corruption. The Bench, therefore, directed all State Governments
and Union Territories to issue in three months directions like Rule 3(3) (iii) of the All India Services
(Conduct) Rules, 1968. The petitioners said weak governance manifesting in poor service delivery,
excessive regulation, whimsical interventions for personal benefit, wasteful public expenditure,
inadequate transparency and lack of accountability had reduced effectiveness of government policies and
impinged on development. They submitted that lack of good governance affected the quality of life and
violated the guarantees provided under Article 21 (right to life and liberty) of the Constitution. (The Hindu
1/11/13)

Supreme Court refuses to stop media from doing anti-Asaram stories (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu
seeking a direction restraining media from broadcasting stories allegedly projecting him in bad light after
he was charged with sexual assault of a minor. "Why should we restrain them? How can we stop them if
they get information from police and other people. Can we say them not to publish?," a bench headed by
Chief Justice P Sathasivam said as it summarily refused the plea of Asaram who alleged that he was
being victimised by "frivolous" reporting against him. Senior counsel Vikas Singh, appearing for Asaram,
72, referred to some stories and reports projecting him as "Dracula". He submitted that the court should
pass a direction against media. The bench, however, was not satisfied with his arguments and said "your
remedy lies elsewhere" and dismissed the plea. Singh then agreed to withdraw the petition. Asaram was
arrested in August on the charge of sexually assaulting a minor girl and has been in prison at Jodhpur in
Rajasthan since then. He is being investigated in other cases of sexual assault too. (Indian Express
1/11/13)

Week after SC's damages award, IMA wants doctors out of consumer laws ambit (19)
New Delhi: A week after the Supreme Court awarded a landmark compensation of Rs 5.96 crore in a 15-
year-old case of medical negligence, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has decided to ask the law
ministry to withdraw medical services from the ambit of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The CPA
allows people with complaints against doctors to move consumer courts. The IMA, the nodal body of
medical practitioners in the country, wants that a medical tribunal be set up instead, with medical experts
under a judicial officer to hear such complaints. Dr Narender Saini, secretary general of IMA, said, "Health
is not a concept that can be broken down in mathematical terms like any other commodity. Despite
clinical experience and diagnostics, there is at least a 10 to 15 per cent chance of error. While judicial
officers can identify obvious medical malpractices, subject knowledge is necessary to distinguish between
a medical accident and medical negligence, and only a doctor can have that." Dr K Vijaykumar, national
president of the IMA, said the association will submit a memorandum to the law ministry this month. "We
will submit a memorandum at the earliest. We are also exploring other options to see how we can push
our case," he said. Dr Vijaykumar added that the IMA is also seeking legal opinion to explore if it can
become a party to the review petition that Kolkata-based AMRI Hospitals and its doctors are likely to file
against the compensation order. On October 24, the Supreme Court asked the hospital and some doctors
to pay damages of Rs 5.96 crore to US-based Dr Kunal Saha whose wife Anuradha Saha died due to
medical negligence in 1998. Saha had moved the SC against the National Consumer Forum award of Rs
1.72 crore compensation. (Indian Express 2/11/13)

Centre to move SC against Gauhati HC order on CBI (19)
New Delhi: Taken aback by the Gauhati high court order holding as unconstitutional the setting up of the
CBI, Centre said on Friday that it would move the Supreme Court as early as Monday next to challenge it.
In a significant ruling, the Gauhati high court has declared the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the
country's premier investigating agency, an illegal entity on the grounds that it has not been created by
law. Any organisation whose functions curtail personal liberty, through means such as arrest, has to be
set up through a legislation, it said. The CBI, which functions under the Delhi Special Police
Establishment Act (DSPE) 1946, was created by a home ministry resolution on April 1, 1963. The verdict
has far-reaching implications for high-profile cases such as the 2G, Commonwealth Games and Coalgate
scams being probed/prosecuted by the CBI. Acting on a petition filed by a BSNL employee, Navendra
Kumar, who was being prosecuted by the CBI in a corruption case, justice Iqbal Ahmed and justice Indira
Shah said, "...we do hold that the CBI is neither an organ nor a part of the DSPE and the CBI cannot be
treated as a 'police force' constituted under the DSPE Act, 1946." Reversing the verdict of a single judge
who had on November 30, 2007 rejected Kumar's petition questioning the validity of the CBI, the bench
quashed the April 1, 1963 resolution by which the CBI was created. It also set aside the CBI charge sheet
against Kumar as also the trial. However, it said the verdict would not act as a bar to any further
investigation by police having jurisdiction over the subject matter. While the CBI contested the case, the
Union government chose not to file any affidavit. The high court said the 1963 resolution was not even a
proper executive order as it was neither a cabinet decision, nor was it signed by the President. The bench
said the impugned resolution can, at best, be regarded as departmental instructions, which cannot be
termed 'law', nor can it be termed "procedure established by law", as envisaged by Article 21 of the
Constitution. Article 21 says no person shall be deprived of his life or liberty, except in accordance with
procedure established by law. Former additional solicitor general and senior advocate Vikas Singh said: "I
have not read the verdict. But prima facie it appears to be correct. But the Supreme Court in all probability
will stay it, given the huge ramifications for high-profile cases such as the coal and 2G scams being
probed by the CBI. If the Supreme Court finally upholds the high court's verdict, all CBI cases will fall flat.
But the cases in which convictions have already taken place cannot be overturned." Minister of state for
personnel V Narayanasamy said, "I am not aware of what the court has ruled and I won't be able to
comment till I have gone through the judgment." Government sources, however, termed the verdict
"strange and legally unsustainable" and said it would be challenged in the Supreme Court at the earliest.
Additional solicitor general of India PP Malhotra, who appeared for the CBI, said the judgment was "totally
erroneous and the Centre will appeal in the apex court on November 11".The government's top law
officers are likely to mention the matter in the apex court on Monday, when it reopens after the Diwali
break. The CBI's spokesperson told HT, "We are yet to receive a certified copy of the court order. Once it
is received, it will be examined and appropriate steps in this regard will be taken." A CBI official said, "CBI
probes, including those pertaining to the coal block allocation scam and 2G spectrum scam, are
monitored by the apex court and high courts. Many high-profile cases are in fact handed over to the
agency by the apex court and high courts. Would they be doing this if the CBI was an invalid
organisation?" (Hindustan Times 8/11/13)


'My Lord' sign of slavery, should be banned: SC urged (19)
NEW DELHI: Addressing judges as " My Lord" or "Your Lordships" in courts is a relic of colonial era and a
sign of slavery, a petition filed in Supreme Court said on Monday and sought a ban on their use in the
country. A PIL was filed today by a 75-year-old lawyer seeking the apex court's direction to strictly prohibit
the use of "My Lord" or "Your Lordships" in the courts throughout India alleging that "it is against the
dignity of the country." "Using the word 'My Lord' and 'Your Lordship' which is symbol of slavery should be
strictly prohibited to be used in the courts throughout India as it is against the dignity of the country," the
petitioner Shiv Sagar Tiwari submitted before a bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan
Gogoi. The bench, after briefly hearing his plea, said how can it issue such a direction and raised
question on whether any court in the country insists on being addressed by these terms. The petitioner
replied his plea in the apex court was allegedly dismissed just because he did not address the court by
these terms. A hearing could not take place further as Justice Gogoi recused himself from hearing the
case. The CJI then said that case be listed before another bench. Tiwari in his petition submitted that Bar
Council of India has already passed a resolution in 2006 saying that nobody will address the court in India
as "My Lord" and "Your Lordship" but it is not being followed. He said that Justice S Muralidhar of Delhi
high court has acted on the resolution and he insists that no advocate address the court by "My Lord" and
"Your Lordship"."The petitioner submits that the same principle should be adopted by all the judges in the
judiciary including the Supreme Court, high courts and subordinate courts," he said adding "My Lords or
Your Lordships is a sign of relics of colonial posts which in other words a symbol of slavery"."Unless this
court issues a writ in the nature of mandamus, the judges in the courts and the advocates appearing in
the courts will not follow the amended Bar Council of India Rules which are mandatory now," Tiwari said
in the petition. (Times of India 11/11/13)

Lawyer who alleged sexual harassment by retd SC judge to depose before panel (19)
New Delhi: The young lawyer who had alleged sexual harassment by a retired Supreme Court judge has
been asked to appear before the three-judge inquiry panel set up by the Supreme Court on November 18.
The panel, which was set up by the Supreme Court on Tuesday to ascertain the veracity of the allegation,
held its first meeting on Wednesday. SC secretary general and secretary to the judges' panel Ravindra
Maithani confirmed that the panel has formally requested the lawyer to depose before it at 4:30 pm on
Monday. The lawyer, who graduated from Kolkata's National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) this
year, had blogged that she was sexually harassed in December by a Supreme Court judge with whom
she was interning. "Since the committee has now been constituted, I will depose before the judges," the
lawyer blogged on Tuesday. "We will take action on the basis of the (inquiry) report," CJI P Sathasivam
had said. The panel comprises Justices R M Lodha, H L Dattu and Ranjana Desai. (Indian Express
14/11/13)

Bid to ramp up Delhi HC judges' strength by 25% (19)
NEW DELHI: The government is considering ramping up the strength of the Delhi high court judges by
25%, and a similar increase at another 23 HCs. The move, which comes following a workload
assessment of judges, will help fast track dispensation of justice and bring down pendency of cases. At
present, against a sanctioned strength of 48 permanent and ad-hoc judges in the Delhi HC, there are six
vacancies. An evaluation is being carried out on the basis of pendency of cases and workload of judges
in another 23 HCs to sui ably increase judges' strength. Against a sanctioned strength of 906 judges in 24
HCs, at least 256 posts are lying vacant. Sources said the law ministry has sent a communication on this
to the Supreme Court. The ministry is working with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to expedite the
appointment of judges. There is also a proposal to increase the strength of permanent judges and bring
down the number of ad-hoc judges in HCs. "Soon a ratio of 75:25 of permanent and ad-hoc judges will be
maintained in every HC," a senior official said. Law minister Kapil Sibal has been pushing for judicial
reforms and recently held a meeting here to set a roadmap for a time-bound implementation of reforms.
The justice department in the ministry is working closely with the apex court on implementing many of the
reforms that the minister is keen on implementing. Sibal has also sought immediate implementation of
audio-video recording of court proceedings. Both the ministry and the SC have decided to revise the
appraisal system of judges where time taken on disposing of a case will be one of the key factors in
assessing them. The Allahabad HC tops the list with at least 73 vacancies against the approved strength
as on November 1. When it comes to pendency of heinous crimes like rape, the Allahabad HC has the
distinction of both having the highest number of rape cases pending at 8,200 as well as having the
highest number of vacancies for judges. Vacancies in subordinate judiciary are alarming too, with over
3,700 posts of judges vacant across states. This also has impacted the pendency of cases which stands
at 2.68 crore as of March, 2012. (Times of India 16/11/13)

8 years on, RTI Act awaits proper implementation (19)
Shimla: At a time when Right to Information Act has become an important tool to seek information,
government departments have failed to implement section 4 of act that was aimed at providing suo moto
information on websites. Section 4 of the RTI Act was a commitment to ensure that information is put
before the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that
the public need not formally apply for obtaining information. It was mandatory to ensure implementation of
section 4 within 120 days. Section 4 of the RTI Act is main character of entire law. This ensures
transparency with accountability in government functioning, said chief information commissioner Bhim
Sen, adding that even after 8 years, it was still waiting for proper implementation. The Act had been
enforced for more than eight years and it was enough time for concerned officials to get familiarised with
it, added Sen. Some of the departments of the state had not updated required information on any type of
media. As per the law, 17 categories of information have been listed under section 4-b, he added. Apart
from basic information, this section enabled commoners with right to seek information about functioning of
the government departments. He said the commission could not take suo moto action against
departments who had not disclosed information, until receiving any complaint. If we will receive any
complaint regarding flaying section 4, penal action will be taken by the commission, said Sen. This leads
to delay in providing information under the RTI Act, and to avoid delay, proper maintenance of records is
ensured in the law, he said, adding that most public authorities had failed to make pro-active disclosures
on their websites as required under Section 4 of the Act. Department of administrative reform (AR) had
issued a letter to all heads of the departments to ensure implementation of section 4 on November 1.
Additional chief secretary (AR) Ajay Mittal said there were few departments who had not published
required information. According to the assessment of AR department 5-7 departments have not
published information required under section 4 of the RTI Act, said Mittal. This notice was served after a
letter issued by state information commission relating to implementation of section 4 of RTI act. As per
law, it shall be a constant endeavour of every public authority to provide as much information suo moto to
the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that the
public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information. (Hindustan Times 17/11/13)

Supreme Court dismisses Centre's plea on jailed persons (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the review petition filed by the Centre against its
judgement prohibiting jailed persons from contesting polls. A bench led by Justice A K Patnaik took note
of the amendment carried out in the Representation of the People Act to nullify the effect of its July-
verdict whereby those in lawful custody had been restrained from contesting elections. The amendment
made in September said that a person shall not seize to be an "elector" although he cannot vote because
of his being in custody. The amendment was made to have retrospective effect from July 10 when the SC
verdict was passed. (Indian Express 20/11/13)

Dont hamper courts work: Chief Justice tells lawyers (19)
Chandigarh: Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice SK Kaul on Saturday exhorted lawyers to
never let courts work get hampered as there were many other ways to stress their point. Justice Kaul
while addressing the members of Bar Association in District Court Complex at Gurgaon said there was no
issue, which could not be resolved through negotiation. He felt that though the lawyers worked to make
their livelihood, yet it being a public service, they should try to provide relief to the people. Justice Kaul
was in Gurgaon to inspect the Lok Adalat held as a part of the National Lok Adalat organised in all courts
of the country on Saturday. He went around various courts in Gurgaon Court Complex and enquired from
the Judges about the number and kind of cases they have settled today in the Lok Adalat. The District
and Session Judge of Gurgaon Dr Shekher Dhawan apprised the Chief Justice that 16,787 cases had
been settled be various courts of Gurgaon from September 1, to till date, including Saturdays Lok Adalat
by reaching compromise between the parties. An amount of Rs 1,32,78,410 has been pronounced under
the head of compensation and fine recovery which was appreciated by the Chief Justice. On the demand
of Gurgaon Bar Association, Justice Kaul also granted permission for construction of temporary pota
cabins for lawyers in place of sheds erected by them in the Gurgaon court complex with the condition that
they would not resort to encroachments. He said Gurgaon should have a new modern court complex
befitting the status of Cyber City, the name by which Gurgaon was known world over. He said new Court
Complex and Chamber for lawyers should be constructed simultaneously so that the practicing lawyers
did not face hardship later on. He added he would take up this matter with the State Government so that
construction was started at the earliest possible. (Pioneer 24/11/13)

Supreme Court refuses to hear PIL against jailed persons (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL, seeking a direction to declare as
illegal an amendment to allow jailed persons to contest polls. A bench led by Justice H L Dattu said that
such a challenge against the amendment would lie before the high court and the petitioner should first
move there. "We should not be entertaining such petitions directly. You go to the high court and if the high
court refuses to hear you or does not grant you the relief, then come to us," the bench told petitioner M L
Sharma. In order to nullify an apex court order, the government had brought an amendment in the
Representation of the People Act to allow those in judicial custody to contest election. (Indian Express
25/11/13)

Aarushi case: Court awards life sentence to Talwars (19)
GHAZIABAD: A special CBI court on Tuesday sentenced the dentist couple, Rajesh Talwar and Nupur
Talwar, to life imprisonment in the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case. Special CBI judge Sham Lal
opted to award the minimum punishment prescribed for the murders saying that the crime did not fall
under the 'rarest of rare' category. The Talwars were on Monday convicted for the murder of their
daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj, destruction of evidence and common intention. During the
arguments on the quantum of sentence, CBI sought death penalty for the couple on the grounds that the
offence was grave in nature and the victims had been brutally injured multiple times. The defence counsel
on the other hand sought leniency arguing that it was an act of sudden and grave provocation. The court
imposed a total fine of Rs 32000 on the couple, out of which Rs 17000 is to be paid by Rajesh Talwar and
Rs 15000 by Nupur Talwar. Defence counsel Tanvir Mir countered CBI's argument and said the evidence
against his clients were weak and sought leniency for Talwars, Singh said. On Monday, five-and-a-half
years after 14-year-old Aarushi and her family's domestic help, Hemraj, were found dead in their Noida
apartment, a special CBI court in Ghaziabad held Aarushi's parents, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, guilty of
the double murder that had gripped the nation as one of the most puzzling crimes ever. Special CBI judge
Shyam Lal convicted the couple of murder (section 302), destruction of evidence (201) and common
intention to commit the crime (34). In a case widely speculated as one of honour killing, 49-year-old
Rajesh was also convicted separately for "furnishing false information to the police regarding the murder
of his daughter by Hemraj" (section 203). "Now is the time to say omega in this case ... it is proved
beyond reasonable doubt that the accused are the perpetrators of the crime," the court said in its
judgment, which relied heavily on circumstantial evidence provided by the CBI. The verdict comes after a
15-month-long trial, which saw many twists and turns. Aarushi and Hemraj were murdered on the
intervening night of May 15 and 16, 2008, days before the birthday of the class IX student. Rajesh and
Nupur, 48, were said to be angry over their daughter's liaison with 45-year-old Hemraj, who hailed from
Nepal, which triggered the crime. (Times of India 26/11/13)

11 states get SC notice on PIL against Aadhaar validity (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday issued notices to 11 states on a PIL questioning the legal
validity of Aadhaar card under the Centre's UIDAI project as well as the authority to link it with certain
services and benefits. A Bench of Justices B S Chauhan and S A Bobde sought the states' views to
ascertain their understanding of the nature of the UIDAI scheme and whether they had also linked
Aadhaar cards to such services and if so the manner of doing it. The Bench had by an interim order in
September restricted all authorities from denying a benefit or service to any citizen of India for want of the
Aadhaar card. It had also directed that no illegal immigrant should be issued the card while observing that
it may be linked with certain advantages meant for residents of the country. This order compelled the
government, some oil PSUs and UIDAI to rush to the court in defence of the validity of Aadhaar while also
pleading for modification of the interim order. The court however asked them to finally argue the matter.
Challenging constitutional validity of the Aadhaar card, senior counsel Shyam Divan, appearing for
petitioner Justice K S Puttaswamy, a retired judge of the Karnataka High Court, raised doubts over the
collection of personal data by the government and argued that it violated the citizen's fundamental right to
privacy. He also said no consent was taken from an applicant before his finger prints or iris records are
taken. The Bench however asked Divan to argue the matter keeping in mind the hard realities. "The harsh
reality in this country is that food and water are more important than right to privacy. Will people talk of
privacy when they are fighting for Re 1 of 2 over a kg of rice? What is their priority? You talk about
consent in a country where more than 68 per cent of girls are married under the age of 18," remarked the
Bench. (Indian Express 27/11/13)

What workplaces owe women (19)
The law is clear on how to handle sexual harassment. But our most important institutions have been slow
to catch up. The notification issued by the Supreme Court on November 26, 2013 does not address the
issue raised by the young intern who has made a complaint that she was sexually harassed by a former
judge. The 10 eminent members of the Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee will
have no jurisdiction to entertain complaints of sexual harassment against sitting judges or former judges.
In that respect, it is deeply disappointing. The young intern, who has made the complaint, is not the only
one in the same position. Where are they supposed to go? Impeachment is not an option, since that is an
entirely political process and the criminal process, far from being woman-friendly, is intimidating and
corrosive of the dignity of women. The committee will, however, come to the aid of women lawyers who
are sexually harassed by other lawyers, staff or visitors in the precincts of the SC. Our judges, in all
courts, particularly the high courts and the SC, continue to enjoy immunity from any legal process in the
case of alleged sexual harassment and sexual abuse. Parallel developments in the media seem to
indicate that the media too does not have in place a regulatory regime for dealing with sexual harassment
at the workplace. Tehelka, admittedly, had neither a policy nor a committee in place. These two incidents
compel us to look at the institutional response required to such situations by law. The judiciary and the
press are meant to be two pillars of society, one charged with the duty of doing justice, the other playing
an important role in guaranteeing freedom of expression and thus upholding the rule of law. The law laid
down by the SC in the Vishaka case clearly says that when a complaint to an employer by an employee
discloses a criminal offence, the employer must initiate proceedings with the appropriate authorities
which surely means the police. Regardless of whether the committee was in place or not, Tehelka was
under obligation to file a complaint with the police. (Indian Express 28/11/13)


Modi hasn't diluted stand on Article 370, say Jaitley and Swaraj (19)
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in favour of scrapping Article 370, which, among other
things, allows the border state a separate constitution. Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said, It is
wrong to say the BJP has gone soft on Article 370. Modi has just asked if there has been any gain from
this provision. Another top leader Arun Jaitley said, J&K's integration with India is an essential part of
the ideology of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and now the BJP. The BJP believes in Dr Syama Prasad
Mookerjee's (Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder) vision of J&K's integration with India. The Nehruvian vision
of a separate status has given rise to aspirations for the pre-1953 status, self-rule and even Azadi. In a
Facebook post, Jaitley held that the journey of a separate status has been towards separatism and not
towards integration. Jaitley, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, also backed Modi's
assertion that women in Jammu and Kashmir did not enjoy the same rights as men. "Can J&K CM Omar
Abdullah ignore a dubious track record of his party on the issue and indulge in discourteous tweets on the
subjects?" Jaitley said Jammu and Kashmir high court had in October 2002 re-interpreted a law in the
state and by a majority judgment held that a woman marrying outside the state would not lose her status
as a permanent resident. But the NC (National Conference) government's advocate general, MA Goni,
opposed the plea of women. The NC government moved the Supreme Court against the judgment. "The
PDP (People's Democratic Party) government, supported by the NC, passed the Jammu and Kashmir
Resident (Disqualification) Bill 2004, which attempted to statutorily nullify the progressive majority view
taken by the high court." Jaitley said when Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the then prime minister, suggested a
solution should be found to this problem, the PDP and the NC linked it to the upholding the special status
of the state guaranteed under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. (Hindustan Times 2/12/13)

Activists seek passage of accountability legislations (19)
NEW DELHI: With Parliament's winter session to start on Thursday, civil society activists under the aegis
of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) pushed for the passing of
accountability legislations including the Lokpal bill, whistleblowers bill and the grievance redressal bill.
The department of personnel and training has assured the members that the three bills will be taken up in
the winter session. Anjali Bhardwaj of NCPRI said it was critical that Parliament pass these accountability
legislations. She said various rights-based legislation passed by the government would be rendered
ineffective unless the government ensured time-bound redress of complaints on non-delivery of
entitlements and ensure the protection of people exposing corruption in government schemes. "Members
of Parliament and political parties should ensure that the accountability regime in the country is
strengthened by passing these critical bills. If the grievance redress bill is not passed by this Parliament,
the bill will lapse with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in 2014, which will be a huge loss. Parliament must
pass these critical accountability legislations rather than trying to amend the Right to Information Act,
which has been owned and used by people across the country to demand transparency and
accountability from the government," she said. NCPCRI held a day long dharna at Jantar Mantar on
Monday to demand that the Whistleblowers Protection Bill, 2011 and the Right of Citizens for Time Bound
Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 be discussed and passed by
Parliament in the upcoming winter session. (Times of India 3/12/13)

Inquiry panel finds merit in law graduate's accusation against Justice A K Ganguly (19)
NEW DELHI: Contrary to West Bengal Human Rights Commission chairman Justice A K Ganguly's
straight-faced denials, a three-judge fact-finding committee has found merit in the law graduate's sexual
harassment charges against him. According to sources, the conclusion of the fact-finding committee
comprising Justices R M Lodha, H L Dattu and Ranjana Prakash Desai, after examining statements of
both the law graduate and the retired judge and going through evidence tendered by her, supports the
complainant's version. The girl, who graduated this year from National University of Juridical Sciences
(NUJS), Kolkata, in her signed blog post on November 6, had alleged sexual harassment at the hands of
the retired judge at a hotel in Delhi in December last year at a time when the city had erupted in protest
against the Nirbhaya gang-rape case. She had followed it with a detailed interview to a website 'Legally
India' on November 11, which made headlines. Chief Justice P Sathasivam took prompt action by setting
up a three-judge inquiry panel, which completed its fact-finding exercise within 15 days and submitted its
report. The CJI, who received the report on November 29, is expected to take a decision this week. In his
speech at the Law Day function in Supreme Court on November 26, Justice Sathasivam had assured that
"justice in all aspects" will be done in the case. Justice Ganguly, who retired on February 3 last year as a
Supreme Court judge, had expressed shock and dismay over the allegations and questioned the motive
of the law graduate in leveling the charges nearly a year after the alleged incident. Denying the charges,
he had said the accusations had left him shattered. The allegations and the inquiry committee set up by
the CJI has sparked an intense internal debate, the moot question being: Should the conduct and actions
of retired judges be inquired by an in-house committee comprising sitting judges? A section of judges feel
that the CJI being the head of the judiciary was duty bound to ensure that the dignity of the institution was
not sullied by a 'black sheep' and justified the action taken in the law graduate's case. Others do not
question the process adopted by the CJI but feel there are too many retired judges scattered across the
country and it would be impossible to inquire into every allegation about their alleged
misdemeanour/misconduct. Moreover, the in-house inquiry committee, after all, was an institutional
mechanism meant to look into charges against a sitting judge, they argue. Amidst the battling cross-
arguments, it would be interesting to see what course of action the CJI takes in the coming days on the
fact-finding report, especially since it has found merit in the law graduate's sexual harassment charges
against Justice Ganguly. (Times of India 5/12/13)

Milk adulteration should be punished with life in jail: SC (19)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday called for life imprisonment for those making and selling
adulterated milk, asking states to make changes to laws. At present, food adulteration invites six months
in jail or a fine of Rs. 1,000. The court said it was not enough and cited examples of West Bengal, Orissa
and Uttar Pradesh, which have changed the law and increased the punishment to life in jail. We feel that
the punishment in Section 272 IPC (Indian Penal Code) is not sufficient. We want other states to make
similar amendments, the bench said in its order. Urea, detergent, caustic soda, refined oil and white
paint were being used for adulteration, posing a serious threat to health, a group of citizens, led by Swami
Achyutanand Tirth of Uttarakhand, have said in their public interest litigation. (Hindustan Times 6/12/13)

Understanding Article 370 (19)
Article 370 was and is about providing space, in matters of governance, to the people of a State who felt
deeply vulnerable about their identity and insecure about the future. At the Bharatiya Janata Partys
recent Lalkar rally in Jammu, its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, called for a debate on Article
370. This is encouraging and suggests that the BJP may be willing to review its absolutist stance on the
Article that defines the provisions of the Constitution of India with respect to Jammu and Kashmir. Any
meaningful debate on Article 370 must, however, separate myth from reality and fact from fiction. My
purpose here is to respond to the five main questions that have already been raised in the incipient
debate.. Why it was incorporated - First, why was Article 370 inserted in the Constitution? Or as the great
poet and thinker, Maulana Hasrat Mohini, asked in the Constituent Assembly on October 17, 1949: Why
this discrimination please? The answer was given by Nehrus confidant, the wise but misunderstood
Thanjavur Brahmin, Gopalaswami Ayyangar (Minister without portfolio in the first Union Cabinet, a former
Diwan to Maharajah Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, and the principal drafter of Article 370). Ayyangar
argued that for a variety of reasons Kashmir, unlike other princely states, was not yet ripe for integration.
India had been at war with Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir and while there was a ceasefire, the
conditions were still unusual and abnormal. Part of the States territory was in the hands of rebels and
enemies. The involvement of the United Nations brought an international dimension to this conflict, an
entanglement which would end only when the Kashmir problem is satisfactorily resolved. Finally,
Ayyangar argued that the will of the people through the instrument of the [J&K] Constituent Assembly will
determine the constitution of the State as well as the sphere of Union jurisdiction over the State. In sum,
there was hope that J&K would one day integrate like other States of the Union (hence the use of the
term temporary provisions in the title of the Article), but this could happen only when there was real
peace and only when the people of the State acquiesced to such an arrangement. Second, did Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel oppose Article 370? To reduce the Nehru-Patel relationship to Manichean terms is to
caricature history, and this is equally true of their attitude towards Jammu and Kashmir. Nehru was
undoubtedly idealistic and romantic about Kashmir. He wrote: Like some supremely beautiful woman,
whose beauty is almost impersonal and above human desire, such was Kashmir in all its feminine beauty
of river and valley... Patel had a much more earthy and pragmatic view and as his masterly integration
of princely states demonstrated little time for capricious state leaders or their separatist tendencies. But
while Ayyangar negotiated with Nehrus backing the substance and scope of Article 370 with Sheikh
Abdullah and other members from J&K in the Constituent Assembly (including Mirza Afzal Beg and
Maulana Masoodi), Patel was very much in the loop. And while Patel was deeply sceptical of a state
becoming part of India and not recognising ... [Indias] fundamental rights and directive principles of
State policy, he was aware of, and a party to, the final outcome on Article 370. (The Hindu 6/12/13)

Supreme Court says gay sex illegal, govt hints at legislative route (19)
New Delhi: A two-judge bench struck down a landmark Delhi high court ruling in 2009 which found that
Section 377 of the Indian penal code prohibiting "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" infringed
the fundamental rights of Indians. The decision four years ago to decriminalise gay sex emboldened the
still largely closeted homosexual community which has since campaigned publicly against widespread
discrimination and ignorance. But the Supreme Court bench, headed by GS Singhvi on his last day
before retirement, found the high court had overstepped its authority and that a law passed by the British
in 1860 was still constitutionally valid. "It is up to Parliament to legislate on this issue," Singhvi said in the
judgment which crushed the hopes of activists who had fought the case and led to tears outside the court
in central New Delhi. (Indian Express 11/123/13)

Don't Blame Judiciary for Outdated Laws (19)
The Supreme Courts verdict that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) does not suffer from any
constitutional infirmity as held by the Delhi High Court in a 2009 judgment has evoked a furious debate
over the desirability of sticking to moral values of the Victorian era imposed by British colonialists in India
of 2013. A vociferous bunch of self-styled liberals and their political patrons have rushed to dub the
verdict regressive and cynically accused the apex court of dealing a body blow to liberal values and
human rights and abdicating its proactive role as the defender of fundamental rights. In a statement,
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is also chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance that rules
at the Centre, has expressed her disappointment with the Supreme Courts view and hoped that
parliament will address the issue and safeguard the constitutional rights of those affected by the verdict.
Unfortunately, such a reaction has generated more sound and fury than light. A careful reading of the
verdict shows that the judges have confined themselves to the constitutional validity of the provision. In
fact, during the hearing, they had pulled up the Centre for its casual approach on the issue of
decriminalisation of homosexuality and also expressed concern over the parliament not discussing such
important matters and blaming the judiciary instead for its over-reach. For those who disagree with their
interpretation, the legal remedy by way of a review or curative petition is available. However, the tendency
to intimidate the judiciary selectively for verdicts that go against a section of the society must be
condemned as it poses a threat to democratic institutions. The Supreme Court has rightly suggested that
the parliament must take the final call on the desirability and propriety of Section 377 of the IPC. Instead
of faulting the judges, civil liberty and rights activists must mount pressure on the UPA and other political
parties to change the law. (New Indian Express 13/12/13)

Lokpal Bill passed by Lok Sabha; Anna Hazare celebrates (19)
The Lokpal Bill, passed Tuesday by the Rajya Sabha, was also passed by Lok Sabha today with clear
majority on Wednesday. The Samajwadi Party opted to walk out of the House in protest over its passage.
"No clerk will sign any files... there will be anarchy and no work will get done," claims Mulayam Singh
Yadav. "In a democracy, the people's representatives are supreme.This bill will allow a cop to come and
heckle us." It will now be sent to the President for his approval. Anna Hazare who had been fasting for a
stronger anti-corruption bill, celebrated the passage. A satisfied Hazare breaks his fast. He has thanked
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his "commitment" towards the passage of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament.
"All parties who supported this Lokpal Bill for the benefit of the society and the country, I thank them," he
said in an address at his fast venue in Ralegan Siddhi. "The poor will get justice. 40-50% of the
corruption can be controlled through this Bill," claimed Hazare. "Lokpal must now become a law before
the Lok Sabha elections," he urged. "We will form a watchdog body to oversee enforcement of the Lokpal
law." "The country awaits a strong Lokpal," Hazare had said in a letter to Rahul. Hazare said, "I accept it
completely. The Bill will help the poor people of this country." (DNA 18/12/13)

Bill to reduce stamp duty for women introduced in Himachal Pradesh (19)
Dharamshala: Himachal government on Wednesday introduced a bill which provides reduced stamp duty
for women in the state, a move seen to encourage registration of land in the name of women. Himachal
Revenue minister Kaul Singh Thakur introduced the Indian Stamp Himachal Pradesh (Amendment) Bill
2013 in the Assembly seeking to amend clause 23 of Indian Stamp Act 1899 to provide for reduced
stamp duty for women. The Bill seeks to reduce the stamp duty for women from 5% to 4% and from 5% to
6% for men. Another bill, seeking to curtail the powers of Commandant General Home Guards to make
recruitments was also introduced by the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. The bill Entitled as HP Home
Guards (amendment) bill, makes it mandatory for the CG Home Guards, Himachal, to seek prior approval
from the government while making any recruitments. While there was a opposition from the BJP,
including former Chief Minister P K Dhumal, the bill was later passed by a voice vote. (DNA 18/12/13)

PIL in HC against road blocks during marathons (19)
Ahmedabad: Challenging the authorities step to block large portions of city roads during events like
marathon and cyclothon, an Ahmedabad-based human rights organisation has moved a public interest
litigation (PIL) before the Gujarat High Court (HC). With that, the petitioner demanded a direction to the
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to change its plans for the upcoming marathon and cyclothon
scheduled on January 5 and January 19 respectively. Acting on the PIL, a division bench, comprising
Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala, has asked AMCs counsel to get the
related instructions. The court kept the case for further hearing on Friday. According to petitioner
Yogkshem Foundation for Human Dignity, the AMC has planned marathon on January 5 and cyclothon
on Janaury 19. Citing the previous instance of a cyclothon in the city on January 27 this year, the
petitioner has stated that AMC, with help of the Ahmedabad city police, had blocked key city roads,
stretching over 105 km, from 6 am to 1 pm, causing immense difficulties to the people of Ahmedabad.
Many missed their flights, while ailing people failed to get to hospitals in time, and students missed their
exam timings. The petitioner stated that the AMC authorities have planned such events this year as well
with plans similar to the previous. The authorities have also not replied in clear terms to the petitioners
letters, asking the former to address the road blockage issue, it said, adding that this is in clear violation
of the fundamental rights of the citizens of Ahmedabad as they will be barred from using some key roads
for around 7 hours each day. The petitioner has also demanded that the AMC be directed to either hold
the events in places like stadiums or the Sabarmati Riverfront or they be organised in such a manner that
one stretch of any road is reserved for the event while the rest is kept open for public traffic. (Indian
Express 20/12/13)

Changing Sec 377 Requires Political, Not Judicial, Will (19)
The Indian lawmakers seem to have abdicated their constitutional responsibility by not accepting the
Supreme Courts suggestion that Parliament should change Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code if it
thought decriminalising same-sex relationships by consenting adults was good for society. Instead of
doing so, as Congress President had promised in her first reaction to the Supreme Courts verdict on the
provision, it has tried to shoot from the apex courts shoulders by filing a review petition. The Supreme
Courts judgment is quite clear. It did not find Section 377, which makes sex against the order of nature a
punishable offence, unconstitutional. After all, it has been on the statute book for over a century. What it
struck down was the Delhi High Courts verdict which decriminalised gay sex. In doing so, it made it
abundantly clear that it was for Parliament to decide whether the law should be retained or not. The
history of criminal law enforcing social norms is complex. Many social norms that the law tolerated in the
past have been declared punishable offences. Others that were once considered abhorrent are getting
legitimised. The final call as to how the law should be shaped should be with the legislature and not the
judiciary. That is exactly what the government wants to avoid. Whatever be the stand of a section of our
Westernised liberal elite on homosexuality, a large majority of the people in India consider it abominable
and against the ethos of Indian culture. Most religious organisations and some political parties such as
the BJP are opposed to any tinkering with Section 377. Even in the ruling Congress, a large section is
opposed to decriminalisation of gay sex. The voices for legalising consensual homosexuality are not new.
When they got loud enough in the 1960s, the government had referred the issue to the Law Commission.
In its report to the government on June 2, 1971, the commission said: It appears to us that, in the highly
controversial field, the only safe guide is what would be acceptable to the community. We are inclined to
think that Indian society, by and large, disapproves of homosexuality and is strong enough to justify it
being treated as a criminal offence even where adults indulge in it in private. The commission had
recommended that the punishment for offences under Section 377 be reduced to a maximum of two
years. Successive governments slept over this recommendation. This view started changing gradually. In
its 172nd report dated March 25, 2000, the commission recommended changes in Section 375, IPC and
scrapping of Section 377. In the light of the change effected by us in Section 375 IPC, we are of the
opinion that Section 377 deserves to be deleted. After the changes effected by us in the preceding
provisions (Sections 375 to 376E), the only content left in Section 377 is having voluntary carnal
intercourse with any animal. We may leave such persons to their just deserts. The fact that successive
governments have failed to change Section 377 for 13 years after the Law Commissions categorical
recommendation only highlights their lack of political will. The Supreme Court cant be faulted for
believing that this shows that Parliament, which is undisputedly the representative body of the people of
India, has not thought it proper to delete the provision. Such a conclusion is only strengthened by the
ruling Congress partys reluctance to push a bill deleting Section 377 IPC in Winter Session of
Parliament. (New Indian Express 22/12/13)

Cabinet nod for constitutional status to proposed judicial appointments commission (19)
NEW DELHI: Amid demands by jurists and BJP, government on Thursday gave the go ahead to grant
constitutional status to a proposed commission for appointment and transfer of judges to the higher
judiciary to ensure that its composition cannot be altered through an ordinary legislation. A parliamentary
standing committee which examined the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) Bill, 2013 had also
made a similar recommendation. There were demands that the composition as well as the functions of
the proposed judicial appointments commission should be mentioned in the Constitution as a safeguard
against future changes. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting held here on Thursday. According
to the proposal, while new Article 124 A of the Constitution will define the composition of JAC, Article 124
B will define its functions. At present, the composition of the proposed panel is defined in the Judicial
Appointments Commission Bill, 2013 which was introduced along with a separate constitutional
amendment bill in Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session. The constitutional amendment bill says
there will be a JAC but does not say it will be headed by the CJI or mentions the composition. While the
constitutional amendment bill an enabling bill was passed by the Upper House, the main bill the
Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2013 was referred to the standing committee. The Judicial
Appointments Commission Bill defines the establishment of the proposed body to recommend
appointment and transfer of judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts. "We have made
compromises to make the bill palatable to all. We have satisfied all demands ... The bill with official
amendments will be tabled in the Lok Sabha now," law minister Kapil Sibal told reporters here. While a
constitutional amendment bill requires two-third majority for passage in a House, a normal legislation just
needs a simple majority. (Times of India 26/12/13)

Hindu married to non-Hindu can't get divorce under Hindu Marriage Act (19)
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has held that a Hindu married to a non-Hindu in accordance with Hindu
rituals cannot seek divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act. Accordingly, a bench headed by Justice VK
Tahilramani upheld a family court order which rejected a petition filed by Niranjani Roshan Rao, a Hindu,
seeking divorce from husband Roshan Pinto on the ground that he was a Christian at the time of
marriage and was professing the same religion till today. As the family court rejected her petition, she
moved the high court, which, on December 24, rejected her appeal and upheld the lower court order. "We
are of the view that an order passed by the learned judge of the family court is perfectly legal and calls for
no interference in exercise of appellate jurisdiction," said the bench while dismissing the appeal. The
appellant had filed the petition in family court seeking a decree of nullity of marriage and alternatively
claimed divorce on the grounds of cruelty. She said, on January 13, 1999, she was married to respondent
as per Hindu rituals. At the time of marriage, she was a Hindu while the respondent was a Christian. After
their marriage, they continued to profess their respective religions. Even at the time of filing of the petition,
they continue to practice and follow their respective religions. The appellant-wife argued that their
marriage was null and void as it was in contravention of essential condition of valid marriage provided
under section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, i.e. both the partners should be Hindus at the time of marriage.
The family court rejected the petition in exercise of powers under Order 7 Rule 11 of CPC, as the petition
did not disclose any triable cause of action. In other words, the family court said the petitioner had no right
to file such a petition under the Hindu Marriage Act and as such cannot seek any relief. Both were not
Hindus at the time of marriage and hence do not fulfill the conditions laid down under the act. The high
court observed that the appellant herself has stated that the respondent was not a Hindu at the time of
marriage or thereafter. "If this condition is not fulfilled and there was no contravention of provisions under
Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the family court was right in saying that she had no right to file such
a petition", the bench said. Moreover, provisions of Hindu Marriage Act can be applied in cases when
both the spouses were Hindus and their marriage is performed as per Hindu rites and rituals, the judges
said. (Times of India 28/12/13)

In 2014, Supreme Court will witness three CJIs (19)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will confront several challenges in 2014. It will witness three Chief
Justices in office and the retirement of 10 judges. The present Chief Justice, P. Sathasivam, will retire on
April 26; Justice R.M. Lodha will take over from him the next day. But he will have a short tenure of five
months till retirement in September, when Justice H.L. Dattu will succeed him. These three CJIs will have
a daunting task of filling 12 vacancies, including two existing vacancies and 10 which will arise later (with
the retirement of two CJIs.), if the National Judicial Appointments Commission is not put in place by then.
Furthermore, the will have to ensure that 275 judge vacancies in High Courts are filled. The immediate
task for the Supreme Court is to decide the review petitions on homosexuality. Its December 11, 2013
judgment declaring illegal homosexuality and gay sex between two consenting adults created a furore
among the gay community, and various sections have faulted it. Next, the court will have to decide on the
Presidential Reference for removal of Justice A.K. Ganguly as Chairperson of the West Bengal Human
Rights Commission. Besides deciding on the CBIs autonomy and freeing it from political control, the
court will take the probe into the coal block allocation scam to its logical end. It will pronounce an
important verdict in the Mullaperiyar dam row between Tamil Nadu and Kerala and decide on validity of
Aadhar card and the Wage Board notification for journalists and non-journalists. The year 2013 saw the
court giving its nod for the commissioning of the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu. Giving a big
relief to political parties, the court held that freebies offered by them in their manifestos would not amount
to corrupt practices and electoral offences under the Representation of the People Act. But it directed
the Election Commission to frame guidelines in consultation with all recognised parties. To prevent acid
attacks, the court prohibited over-the-counter sale unless the seller maintains a log to record details of
the person to whom acid is sold, the quantity and the address of the buyer. It also directed the States to
pay a compensation of Rs. 3 lakh to acid attack victims. The court declared unconstitutional the single
National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) introduced by the Medical Council of India and the Dental
Council of India for admission to graduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses. It quashed the
Karnataka governments order removing G. Bhavani Singh as special public prosecutor (SPP) for
conducting the trial in the disproportionate assets cases against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa
and three other accused. The court ordered a CBI probe into 14 issues relating to criminal dimensions of
the conversations of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia with industrialists and others. The court was harsh on
the Sahara Group when it failed to repay deposits to the tune of Rs.20,000 crore. It directed Sahara to
deposit original title deeds of its property worth Rs. 20,000 crore with the Securities and Exchange Board
of India. It ordered compulsory registration of the First Information Report by the police on receipt of a
complaint if the information disclosed commission of a cognizable offence. No preliminary inquiry was
permissible in such a situation. The court directed the Centre and the States to restrict the list of VIPs
using the red beacon in their cars and to limit the facility to the heads of political executive, the legislature,
the judiciary and persons holding constitutional posts. (The Hindu 31/12/13)

Section 377 will not be repealed any time soon (19)
With child abuse, particularly to feed the pornography industry, rising worldwide, every country needs
protective legislation. This is precisely why these laws are likely to remain on the statute bookBarely a
week after the Supreme Court of India overruled the Delhi High Court order de-criminalising
homosexuality among consenting adults, a determined group of Members of Parliament in Uganda
passed a stringent anti-gay law, citing the need to protect traditional family values which are being
undermined by Western-inspired gay rights groups. It is increasingly likely that nations concerned with the
erosion of cultural values due to intrusive Western interference in their internal affairs; that wish to protect
minors from predatory foreign tourists; and wish to have some legal leverage against Western activists
frequenting their country, may find it useful to have such a law on their statute books. It remains to be
seen if the Ugandan Bill is endorsed by President Yoweri Museveni, because national and international
activists have urged him not to, and because there was no quorum in the House that day (December 20).
But the fact that a group of MPs resolutely moved and passed the Bill first mooted in 2009 but withheld
following an international backlash shows that this is a festering issue in that nation, among others.
Homosexuality is illegal in 37 African countries. Ugandas law is strong. Though the original proposal to
prescribe death penalty for certain homosexual acts was dropped, the Bill provides stringent punishment,
including life imprisonment, for homosexual acts. It bans promotion of homosexuality and makes not
reporting gay people a crime punishable by prison sentence. Foreign tourists will not be exempt from
prosecution under the new law. Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, the driving force behind the law, had
promised it to the nation as a Christmas gift. The West was furious. US President Barack Obama called
it odious and said it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are. The UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights said the law would have a detrimental effect on the fundamental rights
of gay members of Ugandan society and hinder the work of human rights defenders and efforts to
address HIV/AIDS. It said the Bill violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that Uganda has ratified. If international accords
mooted by the West are used to slip in controversial agendas that supersede the laws, customs and
cultural sensitivities of nations, the world may need to reconsider the utility of such accords. South African
Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu condemned the Bill as comparable to apartheid, a claim
that mocks the sufferings of the South African natives who have seen no improvement in their social or
economic status after the end of apartheid. Amnesty International called it wildly discriminatory while
Human Rights Watch said the amended law still appalling. British campaigner Peter Tatchell
condemned the laws extra-territorial jurisdiction which extended to Ugandan citizens or foreign residents
of Uganda who had gay sex in countries where homosexuality is not a criminal offence. Amidst veiled
threats to withdraw Western aid, supporters of the new law argued that something dramatic needed to
be done to protect traditional lifestyles from Western-funded groups that were recruiting children into
gay lifestyles. The Western reaction to the Indian apex courts verdict was more muted, but still adverse.
The UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, called the judgment a significant step backwards for India... a
blow to human rights. The US State Department said Secretary of State John Kerry opposes any action
that criminalises consensual same-sex conduct between adults. Members of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee raised the issue with Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh during her visit to Washington. The
Western media Le Figaro and Le Monde, BBC and Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall
Street Journal and Foreign Policy uniformly derided the verdict. A Western academic noted for her
visceral hatred of the BJP and particularly its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, wrote a long
homily in an Indian newspaper on how the American law on sodomy was used to invade the privacy of
couples in their bedrooms and humiliate them, until very recently. Apart from the usual liberal spiel on
dignity and human rights, she warned that such laws discourage visitors. She said many (Western)
actors, sports stars, and academics, among others, would not want to visit a country where anti-gay laws
exist and have been reaffirmed by the apex court. Her university intends to open a centre for collaborative
research in Delhi in March 2014, but the apex courts verdict could well affect our scholarly activities;
she does not explain if sex is an intrinsic part of such activities. Denouncing Russia for forbidding the
advocacy of same-sex acts, she expressed frustration at the retention of the colonial era Section 377 and
said India deserves its own laws, which truly express its spirit of inclusion, freedom, and toleration. It is
ironic that hostile Westerners and secular Indians invoke our traditional (read Hindu) spirit when faced
with colonial-era laws that affect their new morality (read libertine lifestyles). Yet this is precisely why
these laws are likely to remain on the statute book to protect minors, especially orphans, from
predatory foreigners. Thailands Pattaya beach is notorious as a hunting ground for Western paedophiles.
A famous orphanage set up to protect young orphan boys from predators has turned into the best source
for ladyboys (pubescent boys dressed up as girls). The foreigners shamelessly violate the minors,
photograph themselves with their victims, and flaunt the pictures on social networking sites, as a cursory
search on Google will show. Thailand has not found the courage to take on these predators, but India has
arrested foreign nationals preying on minors in the guise of social service. Some years ago, a British
tabloid named a famous writer settled abroad as a paedophile, though the charges were never proved.
More recently, the BBC launched an investigation into charges of five decades of sexual abuse of minor
boys and girls by one of its most famous presenters (since deceased). With child abuse, particularly to
feed the pornography industry, rising worldwide, every country needs protective legislation. And as Indian
diplomats pointed out after the scandalous treatment of diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York,
Section 377 can be used to deny visas to the gay partners of foreign diplomats and thus hit them where it
hurts. In the time to come, this may emerge as a weapon against the rampaging neo-colonialism of the
West. (Pioneer 31/12/13)