 |
|
Bhagwat’s sacking case NEW DELHI, Jan 21: Attorney General of India Soli Sorabjee today tried to pull...more
BCCI urged to MUMBAI, Jan 21: Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi today visited the ransacked office.....more
NEW DELHI, Jan 21: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh today threatened to invoke.....more |
 |
Naidu demands convening of NDC meeting HYDERABAD, Jan 21: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu....more Naxalites blast HYDERABAD, Jan 21: Naxalites belonging to the banned People’s War Group (PWG).....more CM assures steps CHENNAI Jan 21: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said the State Government would take all necessary.....more SC asks AG to sort NEW DELHI, Jan 21: The Supreme Court today advised Attorney....more NEW DELHI, Jan 21: Police today arrested two people allegedly .....more INTUC leader CALCUTTA, Jan 21: Renowned social worker and INTUC leader ....more |
 |
Bhagwat’s
sacking case NEW DELHI, Jan 21: Attorney General of India Soli Sorabjee today tried to pull out the Central Government from the legal veb in Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat’s sacking case by questioning before Delhi High Court the locus standi of the petitioner in challenging the dismissal of the Naval Chief and maintainability of his public interest petition. Mr Sorabjee went on an offensive as soon as the matter came up for hearing before a division bench of the court by submitting that though the records in the case have been brought for its perusal, it would be better that the question of the maintainability of the petition and the locus standi of the petitioner in filing it was settled first. The bench comprising Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice K S Gupta had on January 12 directed the Government to place the records related to the case before it as it felt that "the entire nation had been watching the developments for the last few days and it is better for the Government that the nation should be told as much as it can be told about it (the sudden dismissal of the Naval Chief)." The court had left the question of issuing show cause notices to the Government subject to the contents of the records. Mr Sorabjee contended, "there is no question of hiding anything, but the locus standi of the petitioner should be proved before the court perused the documents." The petition was not maintainable in view of the averments made in it, he said and cited two Supreme Court judgments which restrained a third party from approaching the court to challenge certain decisions related to people holding high offices. Agreeing with the submissions of Mr Sorabjee, the bench directed petitioner Wg Cdr H M Sethi (retd) to satisfy the court about his locus standi in approaching the court and maintainability of the petitioner as the matter was of great importance. Submitting written submissions supporting the Government stand on the issue, the Attorney General also attracted the court’s attention on the decision of Bombay High Court in dismissing a similar PIL merely because the petitioner failed to statisfy the court question of his locus standi. The bench directed Mr Sorabjee to place a copy of the Bombay High Court order on the next date of hearing on January 28. The Judges also asked Cdr Sethi to address the court on the queries raised by them and the views expressed by Mr Sorabjee regarding the Apex Court order. "We are thinking that you address us for our prima facie forming an opinion about the maintainability of the petition and your locus standi," they observed. "Some kind of hearing would be required to decide the matter," the judges opined, but directed the Government to bring the records to the court on the next date of hearing as well. On the submission of Cdr. Sethi for perusing the records as they were available in the court, the bench said, "you may have a fairly good case, but we will have to refresh ourself on the contents of the two Supreme Court judgments referred to by Mr Sorabjee." Mr Sorabjee stated that the petition was liable to be dismissed in view of the settled legal position that when the person aggrieved consciously and deliberately chooses not to question the decision or action affecting him, it was not permissible for any third party to file a writ petition challenging that decision or action. In the present case ex-Navy Chief Admiral Bhagwat has publicly declared that he does not wish to challenge the decision in the court of law. "His choice must be respected," the written submission filed in the court contended. It said another party cannot be permitted to thrust or feist a relief which the affected party has not claimed nor desired and to wage a proxy forensic battle which the former Navy Chief wished to eschew. "In any event it is well sufficiency of the grounds for withdrawal of pleasure by the president in respect of a member of the defence service would be outside the scope of the court’s enquiry. The decision (to dismiss Admiral Bhagwat) would thus be unssailable if, Admiral Bhagwat were himself to challenge," the Government said. "The public interest petition cannot seek to obtain a relief to which Admiral Bhagwat himself would not have been entitled if he had chosen to approach the court," it opined. Cdr. H M Sethi, an ex-serviceman, has sought a high-level probe into the circumstances leading to the sacking of the Admiral and a court’s direction to the Government for divulging the reasons, grounds and charges for the action.(UNI) |
|
BCCI urged to reconsider decision MUMBAI, Jan 21: Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi today visited the ransacked office of the Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) at the Brabourne Stadium in South Mumbai. Sources at Mantralaya, the State Secretariat, said that the Chief Minister met BCCI President Raj Singh Dungarpur and Executive Secretary Sharad Diwadkar. The meeting was held at 0930 hrs, before the Chief Minister left for the Hotel Airport Centaur for a high-level meeting with Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray, Union Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani and Information and Broadcasting Minister Pramod Mahajan. Sources said that Mr Joshi, who is also the Vice-President of BCCI, urged Mr Dungarpur to reconsider its decision to shift the headquarters of the BCCI form the Brabourne stadium to the Eden Gardens in Calcutta. Earlier, the Chief Minister has also spoken to International Cricket Council (ICC) President Jagmohan Dalmia, who is also the President of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). It is reliably learnt that the Chief Minister has assured protection to the BCCI headquarters, and also police protection to the players. (UNI) NEW DELHI, Jan 21: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh today threatened to invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against anyone who tried to disrupt the coming cricket and hockey matches against Pakistan in Gwalior and Bhopal. "Anyone who tries to disrupt the cricket match in Gwalior or the hockey match in Bhopal will be booked under NSA", he told reporters here. The Pakistani cricket team is scheduled to play against India "A" a three-day tie at Gwalior, beginning Saturday. The Pakistani hockey team will play against India at Bhopal on February 5. Mr Singh said the state police would be given full power to arrest anyone who tried to create any problem. Asked if he would not advise Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee also to invoke the NSA against anyone who tried to disrupt the cricket matches, he said "I wish he could do that but law and order is a state subject". When a reporter told him that Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray had withdrawn his threat to disrupt the matches against Pakistan after a meeting with Home Minister L K Advani, the Chief Minister said "it is sad that the Home Minister had to meet an extra-constitutional authority for this purpose". (UNI) |
|
Naidu demands convening of NDC meeting HYDERABAD, Jan 21: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today demanded convening of an emergency meeting of National Development Council (NDC) for a consensus on action to be taken against Shiv Sena, including dismissal of its alliance Government in Maharashtra, for threatening to disrupt Pakistan’s cricket tour. Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party is supporting the Vajpayee Government, said the Centre should "act now" to protect the country’s secular image which was sought to be besmirched by Shiv Sena’s acts of vandalism and attempts to communalise sports. Stopping short of demanding dismissal of Sena-BJP coalition Government, the TDP president said Chief Ministers of all states and leaders of political parties should consider "all options" at the NDC meeting and forge a consensus on the issue since the country’s "prestige and honour was at stake". Asked whether he was satisfied with the steps taken by centre to ensure safe tour of Pakistan’s cricket team, Naidu said "we have seen BJP leaders’ statements (condemning vandalism at BCCI office in Mumbai and digging of pitch at New Delhi) but they should act firmly now". Condemning what he called "acts of madness" by Shiv Sena, Naidu said he would get in touch with Prime Minister A B Vajpayee today to put across his party’s demand on the issue. Asked whether his party would review support to the BJP Government on the issue, Naidu said "the need of the hour is to protect the country’s image and security. The coalition Government does not hinge only on our support. Ours is only a conditional support". Describing as "most reprehensible and condemnable" Shiv Sena’s alleged threat to dispatch suicide squads to disrupt Indo-Pak cricket matches and to take LTTE support for its mission, the Chief Minister said such utterances would instigate violence and provoke innocent party activists and general public. When pointed out that his party had earlier warned of withdrawal of support to the Centre if there was any threat to secularism, Naidu said "our concern is beyond politics. I am trying to suggest a solution to the crisis created by Shiv Sena and the situation warrants convening of NDC meeting". (PTI) Naxalites blast landord’s house HYDERABAD, Jan 21: Naxalites belonging to the banned People’s War Group (PWG) blasted the house of a landlord with explosives in protest against alleged fake encounters, in Potharam village in Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh early today. Police here said about a dozen Naxalites, including three women, entered the house of the landlord, V Ramachandra Rao (50) through the backdoor and asked the inmates to come out before blowing it up. The damage was reported to be about Rs 10 lakhs. Later, the militants went to the house of one Bhomagiri and pasted a wall poster asking him to make the bandh, called by the PWG in the town on January 26, a success and also stop fake encounters, police added. (UNI) CM assures steps to ensure smooth conduct of match CHENNAI Jan 21: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said the State Government would take all necessary steps to ensure security for the smooth conduct of the first cricket test match to be played between India and Pakistan here from Jan 28. He told reporters here that the police had been instructed to take steps to prevent any untoward incident at M A Chidambaram Stadium, the venue of the test. On the last night’s attempt by some persons to throw severed heads of pigs into the Stadium, he said it was not only ‘provocative’, but also ‘anti-national’. (PTI) |
|
SC asks AG to sort out
controversy over NEW DELHI, Jan 21: The Supreme Court today advised Attorney General Soli Sorabjee to sort out the controversy over appointment of Lt Gen Kalkat as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) saying matters of this sensitivity should not be debated in the courts. The Apex Court had on December 18 stayed the operation of a Delhi High Court order, which quashed appointment of Lt Gen Kalkat and ordered appointment of Lt Gen R S Kadyan in his place, on a Special Leave Petition filed by Union Government. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice A S Anand, Justice M Srinivasan and Justice U C Banerjee extended the stay on the operation of the High Court verdict during the pendency of the SLP. The bench told Sorabjee matters of this sensitivity should not reach a stage where it should be debated in the courts. Sorabjee said he would look into it and find out whether we can have a mechanism to deal with such matters outside the courts. The bench said, see if it can be sorted out as there is no allegation of favoritism. In matters like this, which affect the morale of the forces, let there be no heart burning. The court also asked Kadyan’s Counsel, senior advocate P P Rao, to bring to notice of the Attorney General the reasonability of the case to help him in sorting out the case and posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks. (PTI) |
|
|
NEW DELHI, Jan 21: Police today arrested two people allegedly belonging to the Shiv Sena from near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here when they were allegedly instigating local people and cargo workers to protest against the Pakistani cricket team. The two persons were freely moving in the vicinity of the IGI airport terminal before the arrival of the Pakistani team and were trying to instigate local people and employees of various cargo agencies working in the airport to join them in their protest, police said. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena Delhi Unit chief Jai Bhagwan Goyal denied that the arrested people were Shiv Sainiks saying those who defy the orders of party supremo Balasaheb Thackeray cannot be Sainiks.(PTI) |
|
|
