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| EC to stand by 1997 instructions CHENNAI, Apr 20: The Election Commission today told the Madras High Court that it stood by 1997 .........more Sonia-Swamy issue CHENNAI, Apr 20: Senior BJP leader and Union Rural Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said today .......more Selection of CBI Director: NEW DELHI, Apr 20: The Supreme Court today stuck to its 1998 order laying down guidelines for the .....more PTA project for armed NEW DELHI, Apr 20: Even 20 years after its sanction and crores of rupees spent, the Pilotless Target .........more |
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Safdarjung
Hospital asked to file affidavit on improvement NEW DELHI, Apr 20: The Delhi High Court today asked the Safdarjung Hospital authorities to file a............more Autonomous status NEW DELHI, Apr 20: The committee on empowerment of women (2001-2002) has recommended..........more Jharkhand BJP leaders to RANCHI, Apr 20: A section of the BJP leaders in Jharkhand is planning to call on the party high command.......more Dedicated fleet for NEW DELHI, Apr 20: A Parliamentary Committee on home affairs today said a dedicated fleet for school......more |
EC to stand by 1997 instructions CHENNAI, Apr 20: The Election Commission today told the Madras High Court that it stood by 1997 instructions which bar convicted candidates from contesting elections. The Commission’s counsel K Rajagopal told a two-member division bench of the court headed by Chief Justice L K Jain that the Commission has issued orders to all the returning officers in the coming elections that the August 20, 1997 instructions issued by it held good and should be followed. The bench including Justice K Sampath reserved orders for Monday on a Public Interest Litigation petition filed by advocate K M Vijayan seeking a direction to Returning Officers of Krishnagiri and Andipatti not to accept the nomination papers filed by AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha in the coming elections. The Commission’s stand assumes significance in the context of Jayalalitha, convicted in a corruption case, filing papers from these two constituencies which will come up for scrutiny on April 24. Meanwhile, the court dismissed a petition seeking a direction to the Election Commission and authorities concerned to disqualify the AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha from contesting elections. After bench dismissed the petition filed by one Dr Ching Chang Ching on the ground that the court could not interfere since the election process had already been set in motion. In the other petition, advocate Vijayan sought a direction to restrain returning officers for the may 10 polls to the Tamil Nadu Assembly from accepting the nomination papers of any candidate who had been convicted and disqualified under the Representation of Peoples Act (RPA). A declaration that disqualification under Sec 8 (1) 2 Sec 8 of RPA cannot be stayed and it should be implemented irrespective of any pendency of appeal or suspension of sentence or stay of conviction. Stating that the Returning Officer had no discretion to admit the nomination of a candidate, against glaring statutory disqualification, the petition contended that such an action would go against the object of the RPA. Contending that a Returning Officer had no jurisdiction to act as in Quasi-judicial authority in deciding the merits of a candidate disqualified under RPA, Vijayan said the declaratory mandate of law could not be left to the returning officers to decide any way other than reject the nomination papers of al within the ambit of Section 8 of the act. The petitioner claimed that an interpretation by the High Court relating to disqualification under Sec 8 of the RPA had created confusion in the minds of election authorities. The Election Commission counsel Rajagopalan told the court that the EC had issued directives to the returning officers in such matters. (PTI) |
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Sonia-Swamy issue is up to CBI to decide: Venkaiah CHENNAI, Apr 20: Senior BJP leader and Union Rural Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said today that it was for the CBI to examine the charges filed against Congress president Sonia Gandhi by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy and proceed according to merit. Addressing reporters, he said the Government would not pressurise the CBI to act "one way or the other." "The Congress had even boycotted the parliamentary party leaders meeting convened by the Prime Minister on the pretext that the Government had ordered the CBI to investigate the charges against ms gandhi," he observed. Mr Naidu said the Government would not interfere with the functioning of the CBI. "The law would take its own course," he said, replying to a question whether the Government was curtailing the functioning of the CBI to buy peace with the Congress. Mr Naidu said the Government would not accept the Congress demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Tehelka expose since a judicial inquiry on the issue was already on. "There cannot be a parallel inquiry on an issue. When the Government offered to order any kind of probe, the opposition was stalling Parliament and was not agreeing to anything." The Congress was now finding itself cornered and was raising an unwarranted demand, the minister added. "They are now demanding a debate in the house before passing the budget. What have they been doing since March 13? the Government wants every issue to be discussed in the house and decisions arrived at," he maintained. Mr Naidu said the Government was not against a JPC probe but it was the Congress which boycotted parliament and negated institutions of democracy. Deriding senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechuri’s reported threat that the oppostion members should quit Parliament if the Government did not order a JPC probe on Tehelka, Mr Naidu said instead of holding press meets on the issue the politburo member should pursue the matter with the opposition. (UNI) |
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Selection of CBI Director: SC refuses to clarify order NEW DELHI, Apr 20: The Supreme Court today stuck to its 1998 order laying down guidelines for the selection of the director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and refused to answer the clarification sought by the Union Government. With the selection process for a new CBI Director gathering momentum, the Government through Attorney General Soli Sorabjee was seeking a clarification whether it could consider those officers having less than two years service tenure for the post of the director, CBI, in view of the court directive fixing a minimum tenure of two years for him. A three-judge bench comprising Justice S P Bharucha, Justice Doraiswamy Raju and Justice Y K Sabharwal said "no clarification was required" as the 1998 order was clear on this aspect. The bench quoted the court’s 1998 order saying "the director, CBI, shall have a minimum tenure of two years, regardless of the date of his superannuation. This would ensure that an officer suitable in all respects is not ignored merely because he has less than two years to superannuate from the date of his appointment. The present Director of CBI, K Raghavan, who was holding the post for more than two years, would retire on April 30, leaving the selection committee with only 10 days time to find his successor. The Supreme Court had also stipulated in its 1998 order that "recommendations for appointment of the Director, CBI, shall be made by a committee headed by the Central Vigilance Commissioner with the Home Secretary and Secretary (Personnel) as members. "The views of the incumbent Director shall be considered by the committee for making the best choice," the order had said. "The committee shall draw up a panel of IPS officers on the basis of their seniority, integrity, experience in investigation and anti-corruption work," the apex court had said in 1998 in the Vineet Narain case. It had also said the final selection "shall be made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) from the panel recommended by the selection committee. If none among the panel is found suitable, the reasons thereof shall be recorded and the committee asked to draw up a fresh panel." This way the court, though not interfering with the Government’s power to appoint the CBI Director, had restricted the choice to that recommended by the selection committee. The current confusion arose when one of the members of the selection committee expressed doubts whether an IPS officer having a tenure less than two years could be considered for inclusion in the panel. However, the apex court appreciated the Attorney General’s "wisdom" in not pressing for a petition seeking modification of the 1998 order and confining the application for clarification. (PTI) |
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Jharkhand BJP leaders to logge protest against Naqvi RANCHI, Apr 20: A section of the BJP leaders in Jharkhand is planning to call on the party high command in Delhi to lodge it’s protest against the functioning of party national secretary and incharge of Jharkhand Muqhtar Abbas Naqvi. According to party sources here, this group of dissident BJP leaders, peeved over Mr Naqvi’s style of functioning, are planning to leave for Delhi tomorrow to voice their protest against what they described as a "move to delay the organisational polls" and to keep the party led Government in the state under pressure. Irked over the removal of the three ministers from the state party posts following a recommendation by Mr Naqvi, this section of the state BJP has also lodged a vehement protest against the constitution of an eleven-member committee at the behest of Mr Naqvi to review the political, social and constitutional aspects of the Jharkhand Panchayat Raj Bill 2001 which had been recently adopted by the Government on the floor of the State Assembly. The dissidents in the state BJP, including about 13 functionaries, have also threatened to resign en masse from the state committee if their demand to oust Mr Naqvi from Jharkhand was not heeded by the party central leadership. Expressing solidarity with the three ministers- Mr Ravidra Rai, Mr Deodayal Kuswaha and Mr Pradeep Yadav- these leaders are likely to call on party president Jana Krishnamurti in Delhi and to apprise him (Mr Krishnamurti) of the present political development in state unit. The immediate reason for revolt within the party is said to be the constitution of the committee to study the Jharkhand Panchayat Raj Bill 2001. The committee, according to sources, has been the brainchild of a party leader, belonging to the Kurmi Mahato community, who is allegedly spearheading the ongoing movement against the Panchayat Raj Bill launched by the politically sensitive Kurmi Mahatos. Meanwhile, BJP state chief Dukha Bhagat along with few Members of Parliament from Jharkhand is learnt to have called on party president Jana Krishnamurti and Home Minister L K Advani yesterday in the wake of the threat by few state functionaries. Mr Bhagat justifying the ouster of three ministers from state party posts held that it was done keeping in line with the one man one post theory being followed in the party across the country. Talking to UNI here over phone from Delhi, Mr Naqvi said he took strong exception to the threat of resignation by a few party functionaries in Jharkhand. "Indiscipline would not be tolerated at any cost," he said. The party can not afford factionalism and any leader indulging in it would be strongly dealt with, he added. When asked about the allegations raised by some partymen against his style of functioning, he said, "I will respond at an opportune moment." (UNI) |
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Dedicated fleet for school
transportation NEW DELHI, Apr 20: A Parliamentary Committee on home affairs today said a dedicated fleet for school transportation was of paramount importance in view of increasing number of fatal accidents involving school-going children. "Of late, Delhi has witnessed a large number of accidents in which a number of school children have died. These accidents have mainly occurred due to rash and negligent driving by drivers of school buses," the Committee said in its report presented to Parliament. Stating that the accidents had brought to fore the need to focus attention on this hitherto neglected area of traffic management, the Committee said "the safety of school children is the shared responsibility of school authorities, traffic authorities, drivers and conductors of the buses and parents." The Committee was of the considered view that a set of guidelines should be framed whereby the role and responsibility of every person concerned with the transportation of school children should be clearly defined. Holding negligence by the authorities concerned responsible for the worsening traffic scenario of the capital, the committee said "there is no unity of command nor there is any coordination among the agencies responsible for the management of overall traffic scenario." A city with close to four million vehicles with an almost static road network poses huge challenges for traffic managers, it said. The Committee felt that there was an urgent need to set up a unified traffic management authority which should be responsible for overall planning and management of traffic scenario in the national capital. This body may consist of noted experts with proven expertise on traffic management, senior officials of traffic police, representatives of local civic agencies and public representatives, the report said. Stating that enforcement played a crucial role in managing traffic on the roads, the Committee said state-of-the-art technological devices should be pressed into service. "The growing number of traffic violations in Delhi makes it abundantly clear that enforcement through primitive methods has lost its efficacy. The use of latest gadgets and technology alone can reduce the number of violations," it said and suggested providing red light speed cameras, CCTV cameras, radar guns, Alco meters and interceptors to delhi traffic police. (PTI) |
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