Jayalalitha

Major setback to Jaya
SC upheld
transferring of cases

NEW DELHI, May 14: In a major setback to AIADMK supremo J ....more

M Karunanidhi

Karunanidhi welcomes
SC judgement

CHENNAI, May 14: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi....more

P A Sangma and Monmohan Singh

Special agenda of
Cong to focus on
speedy development

GUWAHATI, May 14: Speedy development of the North-Eastern ....more

NEW DELHI, May 14: CBI has registered 110 graft cases against public servants, including bank and insurance officials and an educationist, in March this year under various provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) and other laws, the agency said here today....more

Chavan confident
of better show
by Congress

NANDED, May 14: Former Union Home Minister and veteran Congress leader S B Chavan has...more

Ministry rapped for
not fully utilising
budgetary provisions

NEW DELHI, May 14: A Parliamentary Committee has rapped Union Ministry of Social Justice and ....more

Kashmiri Pandits
oppose J&K autonomy
report proposals

NEW DELHI, May 14: Two Kashmiri Pandit organisations have opposed the proposals of the Jammu ...more

Teenager rag-picker
gangraped

HYDERABAD May 14: An 18-year-old rag-picker was gangraped by ten people in a shed in the Guntakal Railway Station in Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours today. ...more

Major setback to Jaya
SC upheld transferring of cases

NEW DELHI, May 14: In a major setback to AIADMK supremo J Jayalalitha the Supreme Court today upheld a notification by the Tamil Nadu Government transferring all corruption cases against her and others to three special courts for speedy trial while quashing a central notification reallocating them to sessions courts.

A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice G T Nanavati and Mr Justice S P Kurdukar thus dismissed all the appeals filed by the former Chief Minister, some of her erstwhile cabinet colleagues and some bureaucrats challenging a Madras High Court judgement upholding the impugned notification dated April 30, 1997.

By quashing the central notification issued on February 5 under section 4(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the apex court cleared hurdles for the speedy trial of 46 corruption cases against Ms Jayalalitha and others by the three special courts appointed by the Tamil Nadu Government under the act.

The court, however, allowed an appeal filed by a consumer activist organisation- ‘Voice’, challenging a Madras High Court order dismissing its public interest petition challenging the central notification.

The High Court, by two separate judgements, dismissed writ petitions of the appellants holding that section 3 of the act insofar as it empowers the State Government to appoint special judges "for such case or group of cases" is constitutionally valid and not violative of articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. It also held that the establishment of three additional sessions courts at Chennai and appointment of judges of those courts as special judges by the notification dated April 30, 1997, was also valid and that in no way contravenes articles 14 and 21 of the constitution nor did their appointment stand vitiated by malafides either factual or legal.

Mr Justice Nanavati, who wrote the judgement for the bench, said that the discretion conferred upon the State Government to appoint special judges was not absolute. "It is in the nature of Statutory obligation or duty. It is the requirement which would necessitate exercise of power by the Government."

The judge pointed out that the words ‘as may be necessary’ in their opinion was the guideline according to which the Government had to exercise its discretion to achieve the objective of speedy trial.

"The legislature has enacted the Prevention of Corruption Act and provided for speedy trial of offences punishable under the act in public interest as it had become aware of rampant corruption among the public servants. While replacing the 1947 act by the present act, the legislature wanted to make the provisions of the act more effective and also to widen the scope of the act by giving a wider definition to the term ‘public servant’, the judge observed.

The reason for this, the judge said, was obvious. Corruption corrodes the moral fabric of the society and corruption by public servants not only leads to corrosion of the moral fabric of the society but is also harmful to the national economy and national interest, as the persons occupying high posts in Government, but misusing their power, can cause considerable damage to the national economy, national interest and the image of the country, the judge added.

Mr Justice Nanavati said it is in the context of public interest that we have to construe the meaning of the word ‘necessary’ appearing in section 3 of the act. Considering the object and the scheme of the act and the context in which it is used would mean requirement in public interest and cannot be said to be so vague as not to provide a good guideline. Thus the exercise of discretion by the Government under section 3 has to be guided by the element of requirement in public interest.

Again, conferment of such wide discretion by section 3, the judge opined, is not likely to lead to discrimination either in the matter of the court by which the accused is to be tried or the procedure to be followed during discharge.

"Whether he (an accused) is tried by a Special Judge for the area or a Special Judge appointed for a case or group of cases, he will be tried by a judge of the same class and by the same procedure. The accused will be tried by a Special Judge who is also a sessions judge appointed under the code of criminal procedure, as in the case of an accused tried by the area Special Judge. Thus, the accused is not exposed to a different treatment as regards the court by which he is to be tried or the procedure to be followed in the case", the judge held while turning down the plea of discrimination raised by Ms Jayalalitha.

For these reasons, the judges were of the view that the discretion conferred by section 3 upon the Government was not unfettered or unguided and therefore challenge to the validity of section 3(1) of the act must fail.

Agreeing with the reasoning given by the High Court for rejecting all the submissions made by the counsel for the appellants, Mr Justice Nanavati did not think it necessary to deal with them any further.

"We may only state that not factual averments were made by the appellants in the writ petitions to make out a valid case of malice in fact. We may also state that the material on record justified the exercise of power by the Government and therefore the impugned notification cannot be said to be either discriminatory or vioplative of article 14 of the constitution," the judges observed.

The judges noted that initially the proposal for setting up of three Special Courts was examined by a committee of judges appointed by the High Court and thereafter the full court had approved the same. Even the posting of session judges as special judges for those three additional courts was approved by the full court. Only the allocation or distribution of cases among the three special judges was done by then acting chief justice. That being a purely administrative act could have been performed by the Chief Justice alone and even if it is considered as an irregularity it is not of such a magnitude as would require us to invalidate that part of the notification whereby cases have been allocated to the three special judges. (UNI)

Karunanidhi welcomes SC judgement

CHENNAI, May 14: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today welcomed the Supreme Court judgement upholding the State Government’s notification setting up of three special courts and transfer of all corruption cases against Jayalalitha and other AIADMK leaders to these courts for speedy trial.

He told the State Assembly that the judgement brings cheers to the people all over the state. I do not want to say anything more now.

Karunanidhi was replying to a query by MGR-ADMK MLA S Thirunavakkarasu, who wanted to know the details of the judgement. (PTI)

Special agenda of Cong to focus on speedy development

GUWAHATI, May 14: Speedy development of the North-Eastern region with a view to solving the insurgency problem will be the special agenda of the Congress to woo voters in the region in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

This was decided by the high-power committee comprising senior party leaders, P A Sangma and Monmohan Singh, here yesterday, Assam Pradesh Congress Committe spokesman, Pradyut Bordoloi told reporters.

The thrust area of the special agenda would be development of the infrastructure, which Bordoloi said, was the only way to solve the insurgency problem afflicting the region.

The special agenda would develop on the special package announced earlier by the former Prime Minister, H D Deve Gowda, and have its thrust on tourism, he said.

Commenting on the prospects of the party in Assam, the spokesman was confident that his party would retain all its 11 seats out of the 14 besides wresting the Silchar seat from the BJP. (PTI)

110 graft cases against public servants in March

NEW DELHI, May 14: CBI has registered 110 graft cases against public servants, including bank and insurance officials and an educationist, in March this year under various provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) and other laws, the agency said here today.

Those caught while allegedly accepting bribe included a Chief Accounts Officer in Department of Telecommunications at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, a Food Superintendent in Chennai, a Principal in the Education Department in Nagpur and a purchase in charge in Hindustan Paper Corporation in Calcutta, it said.

Cases of abuse of official authority and criminal misconduct were registered against a store officer of all India Institute of Medical Sciences, a Delhi Transport Corporation manager, a manager in Oriental Insurance Company in Mumbai and a senior Divisional Manager of New India assurance company in Rourkela, it said.

Such cases were also registered against a former chairman and Managing Director of National Textile Corporation in Calcutta, and also in Telecommunication Department at Nadia in West Bengal, a senior manager of SAIL in Calcutta, a secretary of Calcutta Port Trust, a station director of All India Radio in Hyderabad, a manager of State Bank of India (Hyderabad) and a former AGM of SBI in Baroda, a CBI release said. (PTI)

Chavan confident of better show by Congress

NANDED, May 14: Former Union Home Minister and veteran Congress leader S B Chavan has said the party would put up a better performance in the Southern states and improve its position in Maharashtra in the coming mid-term polls.

The Congress definitely will get more seats in the Lok Sabha polls, though it was difficult to say whether it will get a clear-cut majority, Chavan told reporters here last night.

He ridiculed claims of BJP that there was a sympathy wave in favour of the party and said small parties would be wiped out in the polls.

The Congress leader claimed that in Maharashtra, the party would win all the seats in Marathwada and increase its tally in Mumbai and Konkan region.

Chavan, who is keeping ill-health for last few months, said that he would not contest the elections but work to enhance the party’s image. (PTI)