Shivani case: IPS officer R K Sharma to
be sentenced on Mar 24

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: A Delhi court today reserved its order on the quantum of sentence against convicted IPS officer R K Sharma in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case till March 24 even as the prosecution sought death penalty for him.

Additional Sessions Judge Rajender Kumar Shastri said he would pronounce the punishment against Sharma and three other convicts next week, after the prosecution and the defence completed their arguments on sentence.

Earlier starting the day’s proceedings in a packed court room, the special public prosecutor S K Saxena sought the gallows for the Haryana cadre IPS officer and the hired "killer" Pradeep Sharma for the nine-year-old incident.

Sharma, a 1976-batch IPS officer, along with three others-Pradeep Sharma, Sri Bhagwan and Satya Prakash-was convicted on March 18 for plotting journalist Shivani’s murder in her east Delhi apartment on January 23, 1999.

A pensive-looking Sharma stood in the dock for about 20 minutes during the proceedings and then sought the court’s permission to sit on a chair due to his back ailment.

For the next two hours, he shut his eyes and buried himself in the chair to hear the arguments.

Opposing the prosecution’s plea seeking death penalty for Sharma, his counsel S P Minocha said "Just because, a journalist was allegedly killed by an IPS officer, it does not constitute an offence falling under the rarest of rare category calling for the maximum punishment."

Referring to media reports on the verdict related to the defence allegedly casting aspersions on Shivani’s character, he said, "It was the prosecution claim that Sharma got the journalist killed because he wanted to walk out of their intimate relationship."

Shivani’s threat to expose Sharma goes in his favour, the counsel said. (PTI)

Opposing prosecution’s plea for awarding capital punishment to R K Sharma, his counsel Minocha said "It was a simple case of murder involving Sharma as an individual and the plea of death sentence should not be entertained on the ground that he was a senior police officer."

He should not be given the extreme penalty in view of his excellent service record, Minocha added.

Sharma’s counsel also expressed his anguish over the alleged leak of a part of the judgement to the media claiming it was the convicts’ right to get the first copy of the verdict.

"Throughout the trial, we have maintained that the convict only had a professional relationship with the deceased," he said.

Counsel for other convicts also pleaded for leniency saying that the case did not fall under the rarest of rare category.

The court, after hearing the two-hour-long argument deferred till March 24 the pronouncement of sentence against the convicts which may range from life imprisonment to the death penalty.

Sharma then sought the court’s permission for consulting his counsel inside the courtroom, which was granted.

The prosecution, earlier, sought death penalty for the IPS officer and hired killer Pradeep Sharma.

The duo played a "pivotal role" in the commission of the offence, special public prosecutor S K Saxena said, adding that the convicted IPS officer had all the intentions to kill the "defenceless journalist" while the other convict was a "cold-blooded murderer", who killed Bhatnagar for money. (PTI)

India’s forest cover not declining: Govt

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: The Government today denied that India’s forest cover had depleted in the recent years and said programmes are being launched to protect the existing forests.

Replying to supplementaries in the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour, Minister of State for Environment and Forests S Reghupathy said at present the total forest cover in the country is 23.39 per cent as per the 2005 report of the Forest Survey of India.

"The report, conducted on biennial basis, has established that the forest cover more or less has stabilised," he added in reply to the question raised by BJP member Gyan Prakash Pilania.

The Minister said the forest cover of the country has increased by 23,918 sq km between 2001 and 2003 assessment and decreased marginally by 728 sq km between 2003 amd 2005.

"In the 2003 report, the cover was put at 677,816 sq km and in 2005 it was put at 677,088 sq km, with Nagaland reporting the maximum decline," he said.

For protection of the existing forests, Mr Raghupathy said the Government had launched a centrally sponsored scheme "Integrated Forest Protection Scheme (IFPS) from the 10^{th Five Year Plan.}

^{"During the 10th five year plan, Rs 204.57 crore was released to states and Union Territories. This scheme is being continued during the 11th plan... In the first year of the 11th plan -- 2007-08 -- Rs 66.98 crore was released on March 17," he informed the House.}

^{The Minister said the financial assistance is made available on sharing basis for fire control and management, strengthening of infrastructure, preparation of working plans and other protection related measures. (UNI)}

Pak’s approach softens on our father: Sarabjit’s daughter

CHANDIGARH, Mar 20: Swapandeep Kaur, the daughter of Sarabjit Singh, whose hanging was stayed by the Pakistani authorities by a month, today said it appeared that the neighbouring country has soften its stand on their father.

"It is an indication from the Pakistan side that it has soften its stand on our father," she told reporters here.

Expressing satisfaction over the Pakistan Government’s decision, Kaur said "we (the family) have applied for our visas and if they allow us to visit Pakistan, we will produce evidence on his innocence".

Asked whether she would prefer Government handing over some terrorists to Pakistan in return of their father’s release, she said "it is a policy matter of the Government and the Centre has to decide on such issues".

Kaur, however, said her father was not a terrorist. "I am really happy that Pakistan’s caretaker Human Rights Minister Ansar Burney again gave the assurance to take up the issue of our father," she said.

Kaur admitted that the statement made by Kashmir Singh, who was released recently from Pakistan, that he was an Indian spy has damaged the efforts of human rights organisations working on the release of their father. (PTI)

CPI protests disparaging ‘Economist’ report about India

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: An article in the Economist published from London making disparaging comments about the Indian civil services, policy of reservation and the efficiency of the public sector today evoked objections from the CPI in the Rajya Sabha.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, CPI Member D Raja said the objective of the write-up, carried in the March 8 edition of the Economist, was to undermine India’s capabilities in various sector.

Quoting some portions from the article, Mr Raja said the writer had said that the malfunctioning public sector of the country was the biggest obstacle in the growth. It also said that the part of the problems lay in the falling quality of the IAS officers, falling education standards, increasing political interference and above all the caste-based reservations.

Moreover, all these analyses and assesemnts are ascribed to "some critics’ and "some economists", an unethical style of writing not becoming of a newspaper of the standard of Economist, said Mr Raja. (UNI)

Institutes to pay for smoking individuals

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Individuals smoking in their offices will now invite penalty for their institutions as part of the Union Health Ministry’s crackdown on smoking in public places.

"If one person is caught smoking, the fine would be Rs 5,000 for the institution, if two persons are caught it would be Rs 10,000 while if three persons are caught it would be Rs 15,000," Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told reporters here today.

As part of the plan, the Government is also planning to increase the fine on an individual smoking in public places from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000, he said.

Expressing concern over the increase in the number of smokers in the country, he said the ministry has recommended the formulation of a comprehensive Tobacco Control Policy and its effective implementation needs to be initiated.

"There is a need to increase awareness among teachers, students and community leaders," he said at the release of the ‘Global Youth Tobacco Survey and Global School Personnel Survey’ for 2006.

Observing that the high prevalence of tobacco use among students and school personnel is alarming, the survey said indication of increasing use among girls in some regions is a matter of concern.

Between 2003 and 2006, the period under consideration in the survey reveals that smoking pattern did not change nationally among students in the age group of 13-15 years but significantly increased in the southern and northeastern region.

Currently use of tobacco products by students in the age group of 13-15 years other than cigarette has not decreased at the national level but has increased in the central region, the study said.

No significant change in current tobacco consumption by boys and girls was seen in two of the six regions in 2003 and in sale of tobacco to minors at the national level during 2003-06, it said.

It further goes on to say that overall prevalence of teaching in schools about the dangers of smoking has not changed but increased significantly in the eastern and northeastern region.

Exposure of students in the age group of 13-15 years to cigarette advertisements on billboards has not decreased significantly at the national level but has decreased in the northeastern region, in particular.

Percentage of free distribution of cigarette samples to the students of the age group of 13-15 years has also not decreased significantly at the national level including North but has increased in the eastern and southern region. (PTI)

Buildings to be penalised, fine increased for tobacco use

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: In a bid to check the menace of tobacco and provide smoke-free workplace, the Government is planning to impose fine of Rs 5000 on buildings/institutions for any violation of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Act while the fine on individuals violating the law would be increased five times.

Releasing a report on ‘Tobacco Control in Schools in India’ and the ‘Tobacco Control in Medical Schools of India’ here, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss today urged West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and other senior leaders to set up an example by not smoking in public.

"Mr Bhattacharya is a senior leader and he should set up an example," when asked about the senior CPI(M) leader smoking in public.

Dr Ramadoss said the provisions of the Tobacco Control Act would be amended to increase the penality on any individual violating the act from Rs 200 to Rs 1000. For the first time, a penality of Rs 5000 would be imposed on any building where violation of the Act would be noticed and with every violation the penality would be added.

He said the government would come down heavily on surrogate advertisements of tobacco adding the Health Ministry was constantly in touch with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to take measures to prevent smoking on screen.

The Health Minister said the Government was also planning to set up an authority to enforce the Tobacco Control Act. It would bring succession changes at district level and medical colleges.

A Rs 450 crore programme would be launched to create awareness against use of tobacco in schools. Under the programme Rs four lakh would be provided to each district for awareness generation in schools, he said. (UNI)

No decision to convert Sainik School to heritage hotel:CM

CHANDIGARH, Mar 20: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal today categorically said that there was no decision of the state Government to convert prestigious Sainik School building at Kapurthala into a heritage hotel.

When his attention was drawn towards news reports in a section of media by Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khera about the Government’s decision to convert Sainik School building at Kapurthala into a heritage hotel, Badal assured the state assembly that "no such decision is under consideration of the state Government."

He, however, said that he came to know about such a thing after reading newspapers only. "However, there is no such decision on the Government front," he added.

A section of media has reported that the Sainik School at Kapurthala, started in 1961, is likely to be commercialised by the state Government by converting its building into a heritage

hotel.

Meanwhile, the verbal spat between Rural Development and Panchayat minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura and speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon spilled over in the assembly for the second consecutive day today.

Brahmpura sought from the speaker that a lot has been written

on him in media today. "It should be expunged," he held. However an irked speaker said "even I have read what is written

in media...I will see and ask that it should be expunged."

The media had reported that the speaker directed Brahmpura to feel sorry from him for allegedly casting aspersion on the functioning of chair and the minister tendered apology in the assembly yesterday. (PTI)

HC admits Bihar Govt’s appeal against Lalu-Rabri duo

PATNA, Mar 20: In a setback to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, the Patna High Court today admitted for hearing, the appeal by Bihar government challenging their acquittal in a disproportionate assets case, an off-shoot of the multi-crore rupees fodder scam.

Justice R K Dutta, who had on February 18 reserved the order on conclusion of arguments on the admissibility of the state government’s appeal, admitted it for hearing and called for documents from the special CBI court which had acquitted the duo.

Arguing on behalf of the duo, who had contested the State Government’s competence to move an appeal against the acquittal, noted criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani had on January 28 described the NDA Government’s appeal as having arisen "unquestionably out of political vendetta".

Senior Supreme Court lawyer and state counsel Surendra Singh had, however, countered the charge, saying the trial court had not relied on evidences produced by the prosecution (CBI) in support of the DA case against the duo.

"Instead, the CBI court seems to have been influenced by the income tax appellate tribunal’s order exonerating the couple of the charge of amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income," he had pleaded.

That order "should not be binding", Singh argued and urged the court to set aside the CBI court’s order.

Jethmalani then said, even the informant in the case, CBI Dy SP R K Kharagwal, on whose statement the FIR was registered on August 18, 1998, had during the course of cross examination said he did not know why his name figured in the investigation and that he was not aware of any facts in the case.

Disputing Jethmalani’s claim, Singh said the informant had submitted a confidential report to the then CBI SP V S Kaumudi which had formed the basis for registration of the FIR in the case on August 18, 1998.

Counsels for the CBI and Lalu-Rabri had, during the hearing of the special leave petition filed by the couple in the Supreme Court, contested the Bihar Government’s right to challenge their acquittal by the trial court.

Since the CBI, which is a Central Government agency, had probed the fodder scam cases, the premier investigative agency or the Union government alone and not the State Government, was competent to challenge the acquittal, they had argued.

However, the Supreme Court had not given any relief to the couple saying it could hear the SLP only after the state government’s appeal was admitted.

Earlier, during the resumed hearing in the Patna High Court on the admission of Bihar government’s appeal, its counsel and Supreme Court lawyer Surendra Singh had on January 24 argued that the CBI had grossly erred in calculating the household expense of Lalu and his wife.

The Bihar government had on February 19 last year moved the Patna High Court against the acquittal of Lalu and Rabri in the DA case by CBI Judge Muni Lal Paswan on December 18, 2006.

The DA case charged Lalu Prasad with amassing assets worth over Rs 46 lakh beyond his known sources of income when he was chief minister between 1990 and 1996. Rabri was made a co-accused for abetting the offence. (PTI)

Govt preparing national plan to deal
with climate change:PM

NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Government is preparing a National Action Plan at the highest level to deal with the issues of climate change, including the remedial measures for mitigating the impact on foodgrains production.

Responding to an issue raised by nominated member and noted scientist M S Swaminathan in the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the impact of climate change has engaged attention of the Government.

He said the Government was in the process of preparing a National Action Plan "to deal with the issues of climate change". He said the plan would suggest remedial measures to mitigate the impact of changing environment.

The Prime Minister said only two days ago, he had convened a meeting of the concerned ministers in this regard.

Swaminathan asked whether the government was drawing contingency plans for dealing with impact of environment change on specific crops like potato and wheat. He said there was a need for such plans to deal with a situation arising out of wheat being used for feeding the birds and maize being diverted to make ethanol.

Environment Minister N N Meena said the report of an expert committee working under the guidance of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Changes would submit its report before June this year.

He said the Prime Minister has directed both the Department of Agriculture and the Planning Commission to prepare a comprehensive plan to deal with the impact of climate change on foodgrains production. (PTI)