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Ban use of confessional
statement as evidence, NEW DELHI, Sept 26: Former President R Venkataraman ....more
Caution needed in selection of Judges: Krishan Kant JAIPUR, Sept 26: Vice President Krishan Kant today said ...more
Sonia blames BJP, AGP for insurgency, ISI activities SILCHAR (ASSAM), Sept 26: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today ..more Hindi radio channel to be launched in UAE next month DUBAI, Sept 26: A new 24-hour Hindi radio channel will be launched in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month, local newspapers said. .....more Advani describes Vajpayee as the best Prime Minister MIDNAPORE (WEST BENGAL), Sept 26: Union Home Minister L K Advani today described Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the "best Prime Minister,....more |
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Arjun charges BJP GORAKHPUR, Sept 26: Senior Congress leader....more
Sinha urges WB to WASHINGTON, Sept 26: Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.....more
Cong can provide stable Govt, says Digvijay BHOPAL, Sept 26: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister ...more
Sonia is not
Congress’s Prime Ministerial CALCUTTA, Sept 26: Congress is not projecting Sonia ...more |
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Ban
use of confessional statement as evidence, NEW DELHI, Sept 26: Former President R Venkataraman has stressed the need for a legislation banning use of confessional statement as evidence before court by any authority and for any purpose in order to prevent torture by police and investigating authorities. Addressing the valedictory function of the ‘eighth international symposium on torture — a challenge to health, legal and other professionals’ here yesterday, Mr Venkataraman said though no law anywhere in the world authorised use of third degree methods in investigation, state agencies incharge of law and order resort to torture to extract confession resulting in large number of cases of custodial deaths and other heinous crimes. He said "it is no human nature to confess a crime, so if an accused confesses it must be necessarily under compulsion. The fact that such confessions are recorded by a judicial officer does not guarantee that the confession is voluntary. "Legislation banning use of confessional statement as evidence before any authority and for any purpose would go a long way in reducing the number of cases of custodial torture, the former President said "torture is resorted to mostly by the law enforcing agencies out of their anxiety to gain conviction in courts by any means and earn advancement in their careers," he said and blamed the type of education and training imparted to them for such an orientation. He suggested that officers investigating crimes should be given a Gandhian orientation of their duties and responsibility so that "even if they do not succeed in weaning the criminals their own approach may be changed and they do not descend to the depths of human depravity." The legal expert suggested that the Union Government should sent these officers to Universities offering course in Gandhian studies and report the result of the experiment to the world bodies working for the abolition of torture. He said that torture make the victims physical wrecks, mentally deranged and psychologically impaired and added that the medical attention and physical and economic rehabilitation of torture victims is the responsibility of the state and the community. He appreciated the role played by the UN voluntary fund for victims of torture. Dr Inge Genefke, secretary general of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), said that torture should be dealt with as a social and political evil which has to be confronted not ignored or banalised. She appreciated that plans to include anti torture methods in the training of law enforcement personnel in India were chalked out during the symposium. Moreover, a process to review domestic legislation to bring it into conformity with the UN convention against torture has been initiated in the largest democracy of the world. On this occasion the symposium adopted the ‘Delhi declaration and programme of action on freedom from torture’. Presenting the declaration for adoption, Justice V S Malimath, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the symposium, urged the sensitisation of the political leadership of various countries on issues concerning torture. The declaration also called for accession to the UN convention against torture and the statute of rome on the establishment of the international criminal courts by all the countries of the world. Dr Maria Piniou-Kalli, president of the IRCT, said torture is the most degarding and inhuman practice against which all the countries and all sections of the civil society should launch a crusade. She hoped that the involvement of health professionals, legal experts, media and other sections of the society would help in sensitising the people against the menace of torture and motivate them to work for the rehabilitation of the victims. Mr Virender Dayal, member of the National Human Rights Commission and Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the symposium gave a brief report on the various aspects of torture which was deliberated upon during the four-day symposium. More than 3000 delegates from 64 countries participated in the symposium, which was organised by the IRCT, NHRC in collaboration with the Indian Medical Association and the Indian Law Institute. (UNI) |
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Caution needed in selection of Judges: Krishan Kant JAIPUR, Sept 26: Vice President Krishan Kant today said selection of Judges to the higher courts should be done with utmost care and caution as judiciary was the most vigilant defender of democratric values and consitutionalism. Only men and women of proven ability and unimpeachable integrity should be elevated to the bench to help shape the substance and texture of future democracy in the country, he said at the concluding function of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Rajasthan High Court here. The Judges had the delicate duty of checking other’s powers without seeming to claim too much for themselves as they were State’s democratic referee, Kant said. Cautioning that the low turnout in polls was an indication of people losing trust in politics and politicians which was a warning signal to the modern democracy, he said judiciary, the least elective branch of the State was the most vigilant defender of democratic values and constitutionalism. Calling for a transparent enough judiciary which could withstand critical scrutiny, the Vice President said there should be a healthy, wholesome response from the judiciary itself to the criticism of slow disposal of cases leading to crippling backlog, erosion of values, decline in standards, unpredictablity, eliticism and an affinity for limelight. Your achievements are so vast that criticisms will pale in comparison. Yet, you owe it to yourself to answer the critics through deeds that history will applaud, he told the members of judiciary. Kant said it is only through the actions and pronouncements of judiciary that all arms of the Government act within defined limits and individual’s freedom receive protection from covert and overt incursions. Best interests of democracy are served, he said, when Governance upon popular converge with liberal constitutionalism which is often promoted by judiciary. This is the best insurance against the State drifting into social conflict, civil wars and worse, Kant added. He said matters like environmental consciousness, women’s rights, consumer protection, moral arbitration, and civil society issues can become the concern of the mainstream politics through the actions of judiciary which becomes a sounding board for civil society and for the State and the society’s dynamic image. The Vice President said the future generations will assess Indian judicary by the measure of freedom, liberty and constitutional balance upheld. They will also judge it by its success in coping with the challenges of modern times, its sensitivity to new concerns and flexibility of its responses. Rajasthan Governor Anshuman Singh also addressed the gathering and asked the State Government to take steps to provide better infrastructure facilities to judicary. Justice S B Majumdar of the Supreme Court, Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee and chairman of Bar Council of Rajasthan N K Joshi were present on the dias on the occasion. (PTI) |
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Sonia blames BJP, AGP for insurgency, ISI activities SILCHAR (ASSAM), Sept 26: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today lashed out at the BJP Government at the Centre and the AGP Government for failure to "tackle insurgency and ISI’s subversive activities". Addressing a well-attended public meeting, Gandhi said that Assam is a fit case for imposition of President’s rule as law and order in the State is steadily deteriorating. "The AGP Government is irresponsible and its efforts to tackle the law and order situation here is very poor," she said in her brief speech lasting barely 10 minutes. Gandhi also criticised the AGP Government for allegedly neglecting the developmental and poverty alleviation schemes much to the disadvantage of the masses. Gandhi promised that if voted to power the Congress would implement in full the 1981 Assam Accord which was the legacy of her late husband Rajiv Gandhi. She also accused the AGP Government in the State of not holding Panchayat elections and blamed it for the economic condition of the State. "The fiscal condition of the State was very bad as salary of teachers and Government employees were not paid for months," Sonia said. She pointed out that the Congress was opposed to repeal of the illegal migrants determination by Tribunal Act. Gandhi also promised that the Congress will provide one crore jobs annually to the unemployed in the country and a five-year package for poverty alleviation will also be introduced. The Congress president, who arrived here more than three hours late, was accompanied by her son Rahul Gandhi. They waved enthusiastically to the crowd who inspite of the delay waited patiently for them. The Congress president on a day’s tour to the State was here to campaign for the party candidate and former Union Minister Santosh Mohan Dev. She was also scheduled to address a meeting at Lakhimpur where the State Youth Congress president and sitting MP Ranee Narah is contesting, but it was later cancelled. The Congress president later left for Guwahati where she was scheduled to address a meeting. (PTI) |
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Hindi radio channel to be launched in UAE next month DUBAI, Sept 26: A new 24-hour Hindi radio channel will be launched in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month, local newspapers said. "Hindi FM" will basically be a music channel with personality based interviews and competitions, according to Mr Andrew Maskall, Sales and Marketing Director of Channel Four FM, which is launching the service. "The test signals are already on air but full-fledged operations will begin some time next month", the reports quoted him as saying. Mr Maskall said the new service would reinforce the channel’s commitment to the choice of listeners and advertisers in the UAE, adding that it would also allow huge new business opportunities to its existing clients and encourage the development of future partnerships. The UAE already has two other radio channels—Hum FM and Radio Asia—catering to expatriates from the sub-continent with programmes in Hindi, Urdu and Malayalam. (UNI) |
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Cong can provide stable Govt, says Digvijay BHOPAL, Sept 26: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh today said ‘stability’ was the biggest issue in the Lok Sabha elections in the state. "The party’s victory will substantiate that the Congress alone can provide a stable Government at the Centre," Mr Singh said while talking to newsmen here. Unlike March last year, the Chief Minister said, there was absence of a sympathy wave in favour of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee this time in the state. The turnout at election meetings of Congress president Sonia Gandhi was clear indication that there was an undercurrent, particularly in Madhya Pradesh, favouring the Congress, he said and added that this had created frustration in the BJP camp. He said the people had "totally" rejected the issue of foreign origin of Ms Gandhi, raised by the BJP. Mr Singh claimed that his party’s tally could vary from 22 to 27 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The Chief Minister did not agree with the contention that recent hike in power tariff was an issue for the voters in the state, saying that Lok Sabha elections were fought on national issues. However, the decision to raise the tariff was taken after thorough consideration and the revised tariff was still lower than that in neighbouring states, he added. (UNI) |
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Sonia is not Congress’s Prime Ministerial candidate: Dixit CALCUTTA, Sept 26: Congress is not projecting Sonia Gandhi as its Prime Ministerial candidate and its leader in Parliament would be decided by the party MPs after the polls, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit today said. "Sonia Gandhi is merely leading the Congress at the hustings as party chief. Prime Minister or leader of the opposition, as the case may be, will be decided by the party’s Lok Sabha MPs after the polls," she told a press conference here. Asked whether she was being evasive on the issue, Dixit, who was here to campaign for party candidates, said "am I? no. I am only telling you what had happened in the party in the past." Expressing hope that Congress would improve its position in the states where it had not done well in the last polls, she said, "this has led to a panic reaction in the BJP and they are campaigning at a personal level against Gandhi." Coming down heavily on senior BJP leader L K Advani for predicting Gandhi’s defeat at Bellary, Dixit said the Union Home Minister was not known to say the "right thing all the time". She claimed, contrary to exit poll predictions, the Congress would finish as the single largest party, if not with an absolute majority. Asked whether her party would seek support of the leftists to form a Government if it fell short of a majority, Dixit said "that will depend on the situation, on how short we are from a majority. But nothing can be ruled out at present". Firmly denying that the Congress was ‘soft’ on the cpi(m), she said, "in some states we have aligned with them. But their major force is in West Bengal where they are our adversary." She described the Third Front as ‘an opportunistic front’ bereft of any common ideology, which had a bleak future. "Though their main aim was to fight communalism, they relied on casteist sentiments. The country is gradually rejecting communal, casteist and parochial forces." Dixit said Sharad
Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party had ‘failed
to take off’ and would not make much of a dent into
the Congress vote bank. (PTI) Advani describes Vajpayee as the best Prime Minister MIDNAPORE (WEST BENGAL), Sept 26: Union Home Minister L K Advani today described Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the "best Prime Minister, both in times of peace and war. " Addressing a rally here in support of BJP candidate Manoranjan Dutta from Midnapore parliamentary constituency, Mr Advani said the Prime Minister’s Lahore trip showcased his peace mission, whereas his "bold steps," during the Kargil crisis bore ample testimony to his "war-time personality". In the past 50 years, Pakistan has licked dust every time it has waged a war against India, "but this time we won both on military and diplomatic fronts. The international community also supported us," he said. Referring to possibility of Ms Sonia Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister, Mr Advani said, "we have never shown disrespect to her." the BJP only started a debate as to whether a person of foreign origin should have access to such high offices in our country." "This is an issue of national importance and anything on this line is not possible either in Italy or USA," he stated. On the candidature of BJP’s opposing candidate Indrajit Gupta, Mr Advani said, "we have nothing to say against Mr Gupta. We would like to win this seat as Midnapore despite fighting a brave battle against the British has not received its due share in development in the post-independence period". The then Bharatiya Jan Sangha under late Shyama Prasad Mukherjee had won from here in the first general election in 1952. Taking a dig at Marxist Governments throughout the world, Mr Advani said, "they have disappeared elsewhere. Only three small islands remain in this country, one of these being West Bengal. This island will be hit hard this time and the CPI(M) will lose their base in the next election’s. Later talking to newspersons, Mr Advani expressed confidence about commanding an absolute majority in the 13 the Lok Sabha. "Exit poll by Doordarshan has predicted a thumping majority in the fourth phase of elections. We will in fact win more seats as West Bengal will give the BJP-Trinamool combine more seats as compared to last time". (UNI) |
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