New Delhi, Jan 10 (UNI) Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today created furore by announcing that he has asked all state Chief Ministers to be careful while arresting youth from the minority communities.
“We have written to all state CMs that they should be careful while arresting the youth from the minority communities. Minority does not mean one particular community. If they are not involved, they should be released immediately,” Mr Shinde told a press conference here.
The Minister said he was looking at appointing a screening committee in all states which will be set up along the lines of  the Prevention of Terrorism Act. (UNI)

NEW DELHI, Jan 10:
The Supreme Court today held a person can be made an accused by the trial court in case evidence crops up during the proceedings even if he has not been named in the FIR or charge sheet.
A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said that the trial court has powers to summon a person as an accused despite his name being not mentioned by the investigators in the FIR and charge sheet.
The bench clarified that Section 319 of Criminal Procedure Code empowers the trial court to proceed against a person who appears to be guilty of offence but not named in the FIR or charge sheet.
The judgement could have implications in some cases arising out of the 2G scam in which the trial judge had summoned as accused some corporate honchos despite them being not named by CBI in the FIR and charge sheet.
The businessmen have approached the Supreme Court against the trial court’s summoning order. The apex court is yet to pronounce its verdict in the case. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Jan 10:
The Delhi High Court today declined any interim relief to unaided recognised private schools which have sought quashing of the notification on nursery admission guidelines.
Justice Manmohan, while issuing notices to Delhi Government and Directorate of Education (DoE), said the petitions required “detailed hearing and it cannot be stayed on the first day”.
Terming the Delhi Government’s notification as arbitrary, senior advocate N K Kaul, appearing for Action Committee for Unaided Recognised Private Schools, said that at least for the time being the operation of the notification be stayed.
The court, however, refused to stay the notification and fixed the matter for final hearing on March 11.
It, meanwhile, asked the Delhi Government and DoE to file their responses within three weeks.
The plea has been filed challenging the nursery admission guidelines issued by the Lieutenant Governor by which various steps including weightage to neighbourhood kids and abolition of 20 per cent management quota were taken.
It has sought setting aside of the 2014-15 guidelines on the ground that the LG office lacked the power to frame them.
It claimed the guidelines were against the principle of autonomy and the recognised unaided private schools were given the power by the Central Government to formulate their own admission criteria for 75 per cent seats.
Central Government, the Directorate of Education (DoE) and the office of LG have been made party in the plea.
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, on 18 December, issued new guidelines for the nursery admissions for the session 2014-15 and took various steps such as scrapping of 20 per cent management quota.
The neighbourhood criteria, which seeks schools to give preference to children living within the radius of six km from school, has been given maximum weightage with 70 points out of 100 in the open category seats. Later, the LG enhanced the criteria to eight kilometre.
The LG, however, had refused to reconsider the decision to scrap the management quota.
Besides these, the applicants who have sibling studying in the same school will get 20 points and five points will be added by default in the application of girls and wards of school alumni.
The guidelines also seek the minority schools to have 25 per cent seats reserved, like other schools, for the economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups of the society.
The DoE or the Delhi Government or the LG does not have the power to fix criteria of admission in unaided private schools, the petition had contended.
The admission process for nursery classes will start from 15 January and the last date for submission of applications is fixed on January 31. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Jan 10:
No decision has been taken as yet on whether to grant sanction to NIA to prosecute two Italian marines, who allegedly killed two Kerala fishermen in Indian waters last year, under a law that entails only death penalty, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here today.
During his monthly press conference here, he was asked questions about his meeting with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Law Minister Kapil Sibal yesterday.
“There were many issues discussed and as far as the issue of Italian marines is concerned, a decision will be taken in two to three days,” he said.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sought sanction to prosecute the two Italian marines — Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone — under the ‘Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf’ Act (SUA), a provision which has only death penalty as punishment.
India has, however, given an assurance to Italy that the two would not be awarded death penalty.
The two marines, who are now lodged at the Italian Embassy here, were on board Italian vessel ‘Enrica Lexie’ when they allegedly shot dead two fishermen off Kerala coast on February 15, 2012.
One of the suggestions emerging was that after pressing the charges under SUA, the NIA may tell the trial court not to award the accused death penalty if found guilty, citing India’s commitment to Italy.
The NIA completed its probe after questioning four Italian marines, who were witness to the incident, through video conferencing after their refusal to come to India.
Supreme Court had shifted the case to Delhi on grounds that Kerala Police had no jurisdiction over the case which was subsequently handed over to NIA. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, Jan 10:
One of the alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives, whose arrest and purported connection with Muzaffarnagar region has created a controversy, was today remanded to five-day police custody by a Delhi court.
28-year-old Rashid was produced before Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash after expiry of his police custody and the special cell of Delhi Police sought extension of his remand saying he has to be taken to Rajasthan and Haryana to nab his associates.
“It is submitted that further examination of accused Rashid is required for the purpose of confronting him with the call details/conversations and the facts that have emerged after the examination of witnesses. Accused Rashid is also to be taken to Haryana and Rajasthan to apprehend his other associates,” the special cell said.
The police also said the probe into the case was at a “very initial stage” and further custodial interrogation of Rashid was required to unearth the deep-rooted conspiracy of the accused and his associates.
“Therefore, in the light of the above facts and to unearth the deep-rooted conspiracy of accused Rashid and his associates to threaten the unity, integrity and security of India, police custody remand of accused Rashid may please be extended for five days in the interest of justice,” it said.
Advocate M S Khan, who appeared for Rashid, opposed the police’s plea saying no new facts have emerged on which his client was required to be interrogated further.
Khan also apprised the court that a letter has been sent by Rashid and another accused to Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde requesting him to transfer the case from the special cell of Delhi Police to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The court allowed the plea of police and sent Rashid to police custody till January 15.
Rashid was arrested by the special cell on December 16 last year while Shahid, also alleged to be a LeT operative, was apprehended on December 7 last year in connection with the case. Shahid is now in judicial custody and was last produced before the court on January 7.
Both Rashid and Shahid had yesterday written a letter to the Home Minister urging him to transfer the case to NIA saying the matter requires a “thorough and fair” investigation as there were loopholes in the version of Special Cell of Delhi Police.
In the letter, Advocate Khan has referred to a speech given by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on October 24 last year at Indore when he had said that “an officer of Intelligence Bureau had briefed him about the infiltration of ISI in relief camp in Muzaffarnagar for the purpose of recruitment of youngsters.”
“This matter requires a thorough and fair investigation as these two persons have been made scapegoats,” the letter has said, adding NIA was set up for taking up the probe of matters having national ramifications.
“Under the NIA Act, 2008, the Central Government is vested with the power to direct investigation of scheduled offences by NIA and in the facts and circumstances, it is a fit case for exercising such powers by the Government…,” it had said, requesting the Home Minister to transfer the case to NIA for an “impartial” probe.
The special cell had recently said that Rashid and Shahid had met two people in Muzaffarnagar region.
Delhi Police’s Special Commissioner of Special Cell S N Shrivastava had told the media that suspected LeT operatives had met Muzaffarnagar residents Liyakat and Zameerul Islam in connection with mobilising funds for construction of a mosque.
With the arrest of these two suspected LeT operatives from Haryana’s Mewat region, the police had last month claimed to have busted a terror module of LeT which was in an “advanced stage” of planning a militant strike in Delhi. (PTI)

KOLKATA, Jan 10:
Emphasising on the need for authenticity in the collection of statistics, President Pranab Mukherjee today said that good data was important as its analysis plays a key role in shaping national policies.
“The efficacy of our policies, especially in the social sector, hinges on the quality of data collected by different Government agencies. Good policies call for good data standards,” he said.
“Great emphasis must, therefore, be laid on the authenticity of the information gathered so as to form the basis of policy intervention,” Mukherjee told the 48th Convocation of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) here.
The President said that the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008, seeks to facilitate the collection of data on several socio-economic and other parameters.
It is the collective responsibility of the citizens and the seekers of information under this Act to ensure that correct and adequate statistics are furnished, he said.
The President advised exercise of due caution in analysing large data and drawing inferences.
“Capturing unstructured data and converting them into a structured format are technically challenging problems. They have to pursued in an enlightened manner.
“Drawing inferences call for adequate scrutiny of the theory requiring combined knowledge of the statistician and the subject expert,” he said.
“Enhanced capability of analysing large data had a positive act in our ability to formulate effective public policies as well improving transparency to ensure last mile connectivity,” he said.
Mukherjee said that improved ability to analyse data had led to an improvement in weather forecasting systems.
He said data mining and statistical techniques had been used to initiate counter terrorism programes.
The President expressed happiness that the Institute was involved in developing technologies in areas of cryptology and information security which have a far reaching impact on national security policies.
He said that the country had realised a lot of what its people had aspired for at the time of Independence and is on way to attaining global leadership.
“As a happy coincidence, the calendar of 2014 exactly matches that of 1947 – the year we started our tryst with destiny. There were a lot of hopes then and we have been successful to a great extent in realising them.
“We are today in the throes of attaining global leadership,” he said.
Mukherjee said that making India assume global leadership was possible only through the singular contribution of all its citizens.
He said for this it had to be ensured that every citizen benefits from the benefits of progress and prosperity.
Recalling his own association with the Institute, Mukherjee said that visiting it again was like a homecoming for him as he had been the chairman of the council for eight years.
He said that P C Mahalanobis, who had laid the foundation of the Institute, had a wonderful vision about the potential of statistics.
Defence Minister A K Antony, who is the current chairman of the Institute, said that the evolution of ISI had opened new horizons in the discipline of statistics.
He said Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had himself piloted a Bill to declare it an institute of national importance.
Union Minister for Statistics and Programe Implementation Srikant Jena said that the Institute played a pivotal role in nation building.
He also said that the Institute is in the process of setting up new centres including a centre for cryptology in Kolkata and another in Bhubaneswar. (PTI)