NEW DELHI, Feb 3:
Supreme Court judge Justice R M Lodha today expressed surprise over a media report that he is in the race to be the first Lokpal of the country.
While hearing a PIL on issue of use of red beacon, Justice Lodha, in a lighter vein, said “I have not even demitted office. They have named me in the race for Lokpal.”
Justice Lodha is the seniormost judge of the apex court after Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam and set to be the next CJI.
Another apex court judge Justice H L Dattu is likely to be one of the members of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led selection panel to choose chairperson and members for the anti-corruption body Lokpal.
The CJI is understood to have nominated Justice Dattu as one of the members of the selection committee.
The committee has as its members the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the apex court nominated by him and an eminent jurist who could be nominated by the President or any of the members.
Dattu, who was elevated to the apex court on December 17, 2008, is the third seniormost judge after the CJI and Justice Lodha. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Feb 3:
The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to resolve within a week all disputes arising out of the issue of invoking anti-piracy law against two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast in 2012.
A bench headed by Justice B S Chauhan directed the Centre to end the logjam in the issue in which Ministries of Law, Home Affairs and External Affairs are involved and make its stand clear on February 10.
“Will you be able to end the logjam by next Monday? Don’t expect us to grant adjournment on the next date,” the bench said while posting the case for hearing on February 10.
Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati told the bench that the Centre has “almost” resolved the issue and will respond on the next date of hearing.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Italian Government and Marines, submitted that the Centre has not been able to proceed in the case and 13 months have lapsed since the apex court has passed the order for conducting day-to-day proceedings.
He submitted that marines should be allowed to go back to their country.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by Italian Government challenging invoking of anti-terrorism law SUA (Suppression of Unlawful Acts against safety of Maritime Navigation And Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf) Act, saying it is against the order of the apex court which allowed proceedings only under the Maritime Zone Act, IPC, CrPC and UNCLOS.
The joint petition, filed by Ambassador of Italy Daniele Mancini along with Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, also sought direction to the Centre and NIA to expedite the proceedings in the case or discharge the marines.
During the last hearing on January 20, the apex court had adjourned the case after Vahanvati had submitted that the Centre was trying to resolve all disputes with Italian Government on the issue.
The petition has said, “Invoking the anti-terrorism SUA Act would tantamount to the Republic of Italy being termed a terrorist state and acts of its organs, which were in repression of piracy, as being deemed as acts of terrorism, which is wholly untenable and unacceptable in the facts and circumstances of this case and in keeping with the comity of nations and international cooperation.”
It has said that the draft protocol of 2005 to the SUA convention expressly excludes the applicability of the convention to activities undertaken by the military forces of a State in the exercise of their official duties.
“The purported attempt by the Centre to unilaterally invoke the provisions of SUA Act is contrary to and in wilful disregard of the directions of this court,” the petition has said, adding that they came to know about invoking SUA on the basis of application filed by NIA in trial court.
It has contended that one year has passed since the apex court had directed an expeditious hearing in the case but the Centre has failed to implement the order and charge sheet has so far not been filed in the case.
“The petitioners have been detained in India for the last two years without any criminal case against them being started and the Centre has in fact failed to present any Final Report against them for almost one year despite the direction of the apex court to try and dispose of the case on a fast track basis,” the petition has said, adding that the accused be allowed to return to Italy till the proceedings begin.
On January 18 last year, the Supreme Court had directed the central agency to probe the case against the marines and directed the Centre to set up a special court to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis after the charge sheet is filed.
The case pertains to the killing of two Indian fishermen allegedly by Latorre and Girone on board ‘Enrica Lexie’.
Fearing a pirate attack, the two officers had allegedly fired at the fishermen’s vessel off Kerala coast on February 15, 2012, killing two of them. The marines were arrested on February 19, 2012. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Feb 3: Hijacking of browser settings tops the list of user complaints made to search engine Google as cyber criminals change them using malicious software.
Modification of the settings is done without users’ knowledge to generally force hits on a particular website, increasing its advertising revenue.
“So, you’re trying to download a free screensaver or game or something else you really want. But later you find out that game came bundled with a malicious programme that’s trying to hijack your browser settings. You’re not the only one having this problem, in fact, it’s an issue that’s continuing to grow at an alarming rate,” Google said on its official blog.
To help keep users browser settings under their control, Google added a ‘reset browser settings’ button to Chrome’s settings page in October last year, it added.
“Despite this, settings hijacking remains our number one user complaint,” the tech giant said.
To make sure the reset option reaches everyone who might need it, Google added that Chrome will be prompting Windows users whose settings appear to have been changed if they like to restore their browser settings back to factory default.
“If you’ve been affected by settings hijacking and would like to restore your settings, just click ‘Reset’ on the prompt below when it appears,” Google VP Engineering Linus Upson said.
“Some hijackers are especially pernicious and have left behind processes that are meant to undermine user control of settings, so you may find that you’re hijacked again after a short period of time,” Upson said.
In such a situation, users can find additional help uninstalling such programmes in the Chrome help forum, he added.
“Even if you don’t see the prompt, you can always restore Chrome to a fresh state by clicking the reset button in your Chrome settings,” Upson said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Feb 3:
With broad contours of a ‘Third Force’ emerging ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Government will have to face a new pressure group from the Opposition minus BJP on key issues as Parliament’s extended winter session re-convenes on February 5.
Amid efforts by Left and other parties to form a non-Congress, non-BJP conglomeration, a meeting of Parliamentary party leaders from Left parties, SP, JDU, JDS, AIADMK, BJD, AGP and JVM (P) is scheduled in Parliament House Committee room on February 5 to work out a common floor strategy against the Government.
The broad parameters for the strategy were decided in a meeting of CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury, SP leader Ramgopal Yadav and JD(U) general secretary Ramgopal Yadav on February 27 in Delhi, sources said.
The issue of federal rights vis-a-vis Centre-States relation will provide the glue for these regional satraps to stick together, a senior politician associated with the exercise said.
When contacted, JD(U) leader K C Tyagi said, “One factor which has clearly emerged after results of the assembly elections in four major states recently is that there is an anti-Congress mood in the country.
“If there is some non-Congress option other than BJP,  people are ready to vote for it.This fact comes out from the result of Delhi Assembly elections in which a new party AAP formed Government despite the presence of Congress and BJP.We are thinking on that.”
The JD(U) leader also said that Congress has failed to check “communal forces” so the task has now come to regional parties.
“We will check BJP. Regional parties are very strong in their specific states,” he said.
The JD(U) leader said these parties put together have almost equal number of MPs, what the BJP has and hence the strategy in future is to keep a separate secular non-Congress identity for this block both in Parliament and outside.
“There is a need for these parties to take a common ideological position on some issues as so far it is BJP, which is mainly seen as opposing the Congress on policies,” he said.
On February 5 when Parliament meets, the leaders of these parties will come together and try to formulate a common position on many issues.
“There is the issue of Centre State relations.While the Centre realises taxes from states as well, most the schemes of public welfare are decided by the Centre be it MGNREGA or JNURRM. Fifty percent of schemes should be decided by states for which central funding goes as the central fund is also from taxes collected from states,” he said.
Tyagi’s remarks came a day after AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha clinched a deal with CPI for Lok Sabha polls.
JD(U), AIADMK, BJD, AGP, SP, JDS and JVM (P) had also attended the Convention Against Communalism on October 30.
JD(U) President Sharad Yadav has expressed confidence of non-Congress non-BJP parties coming together despite internal contradictions in some states citing examples from past and asserting that such a possibility exist for future as well.
JD(U), which walked out NDA in June last year, has made it clear that it will maintain equidistance from both Congress and BJP.
Tyagi also cited the case of inauguration of the extended branch of Aligarh Muslim University in Kishanganj in Bihar on January 30 by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi as another example of Centre ignoring states alleging that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar got an invitation for it only one day before the function despite the state giving land.
Giving an inkling of their strategy in Parliament, he said, “We have seen reports that the Finance Minister and the Rail Minister could announce some populist schemes to help Congress in elections.We will oppose it tooth and nail.
“They should confine their work to present vote on account for which this session has been called. If they go beyond, then this group of secular parties will oppose the Government on the floor of the House,” Tyagi said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Feb 3:
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a PIL seeking to restrain the Centre from introducing a Bill in Parliament for the creation of Telangana state.
A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam listed the case for hearing on February 8 when it will look into the issue whether the Bill can be introduced in Parliament after its being rejected by Andhra Pradesh assembly.
“Within the provision of the Article 3, the President cannot recommend Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation  Bill, 2013 to introduce in Parliament contrary to the wish/resolution of the state assembly. Recommendation does not empower the President to accept the Bill against the resolution of the state House,” the petition, filed by an advocate M L Sharma, said.
He submitted any bifurcation of a state affects the life and liberty of the resident of the said state and it must be stopped.
“Despite defeat of said Bill in the assembly, the present executive politicians holding power in hand are bent upon to introduce it in the February 2014 last parliamentary session of the country, as parliamentary elections are to be held in the month of April/May and within this month the Election Commission will announce election gazette/notification for this,” the petition said. (PTI)