New Delhi, The Supreme Court Thursday asked the government to take a decision on a representation by the Committee on Judicial Accountability (CJA) seeking a presidential reference on the allegation of misconduct against NHRC chairman K.G. Balakrishnan when he was chief justice of India. The apex court bench headed by Justices B.S. Chauhan and J.S. Khehar issued directions to the government citing the "peculiar sets and circumstances" of the case. Pronouncing the judgement, Justice Khehar said if the government found that the allegation against the former chief justice of India was unworthy of being proceeded against then it would inform the petitioner, NGO Common Cause, accordingly. However, the court said if the government decides in favour of the representation by the CJA, then it would proceed into the matter as mandated Under Section 5 (2) of the National Human Rights Commission Act. The Supreme Court had Monday reserved its order on the petition. Besides allegations of misconduct against Justice Balakrishnan, it has also been alleged in the public suit that his two sons-in-law and brother amassed wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income when he ...
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New Delhi, More than 15 months after their arrest in the 2G spectrum scam case, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura and jailed ex-telecom minister A Raja's erstwhile personal secretary RK Chandolia were granted bail by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. This prompted Raja, now the lone accused in judicial custody since his arrest along with Behura and Chandolia on February 2 last year, to move a bail application before the trial court. The former minister, who was waiting for the outcome of Behura and Chandolia's petitions in the SC to apply for bail, argued in his plea, "All the individual accused persons in this case except the petitioner (Raja) have been released on bail .... the petitioner is entitled to bail on the grounds of parity." Claiming that the case against him was "false and fabricated", and that he was "likely to get acquitted", Raja said he should be granted bail as he was unable to argue his case before the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G scam as well as Parliament's Public Accounts Committee. "The PAC of the Parliament and the JPC are also looking into various aspects of this matter. The petitioner has been unable to put his case before the PAC and ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court today dismissed a PIL seeking action against Anna Hazare and his team members for allegedly showing disrespect to the national flag during his agitation for the Lokpal Bill last year. A bench of justices B S Chauhan and J S Khehar rapped the petitioner, Chennai-resident L K Venkat for filing the PIL. The petitioner had alleged that during the agitation in December last year, the associates of Harare had shown disrespect to the national flag and the government had failed to take any action despite a complaint filed against them. "During the course of the agitation, Hazare and his associates had flown the national flag at half mast in public and also mutilated and defaced the flag," the petitioner alleged. The bench, however, was not satisfied with his contention and during the hearing threatened to impose cost on the petitioner for misusing the process of PIL but it refrained from doing so and dismissed the ...
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Ghaziabad, Holding that legal history is replete with instances of filicide, a special CBI court today denied bail to dentist Nupur Talwar in the sensational 2008 double murder of her daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj. As she prepared for her third day of stay in the Dasna jail, Nupur's lawyers immediately moved for bail in the Supreme Court where she has already sought a review of its decision giving a go ahead to the criminal prosecution of her and her dentist husband Rajesh Talwar. Disposing of her petition, additional district and sessions judge S Lal said he cannot exercise the discretion of giving the bail to Nupur since "there is a prima facie evidence to suggest the involvement of the accused (Nupur)" in the light of the seriousness of the offence and severity of the punishment provided. "The legal history is replete with instances of matricide, patricide and fratricide. Everything is possible in these days of modern era wherein moral values are fast declining and one can stoop to the lowest extent ... She is accused of killing her own progeny, who was in her teens, apart from killing domestic help Hemraj, who had come over from Nepal to eke out a ...
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New Delhi, The special CBI court on Monday rejected the bail plea of Nupur Talwar, mother of the murdered 14-year-old Aarushi. She would be taken to Dasna jail in Ghaziabad. Her lawyers had applied for bail on the grounds that she is a woman, and is therefore entitled to leniency. They also pointed out that her husband Rajesh Talwar, also accused in the case, has already been granted bail and so Nupur should be treated at par. But the CBI opposed Talwar's bail, describing the crime that she is accused of as "heinous." Earlier on Monday morning, she surrendered in the Ghaziabad court following a Supreme Court directive last week. The court took Nupur Talwar in the custody, which means that this is for the first time she will be lodged in jail. After being taken into the custody, Nupur Talwar filed a bail application immediately. Filing its reply on Nupur's bail plea, CBI opposed her bail as she had evaded the arrest for a long time. CBI sources told Times of India that they have sufficient evidence on record against her. Rajesh Talwar was also present in the court. On April 27, Nupur Talwar was directed by the Supreme Court to surrender on Monday before the trial ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court Friday directed dentist Nupur Talwar to surrender before the magistrate's court which is trying the double murder case of her daughter Aarushi Talwar and servant Hemraj. The apex court Bench, headed by Justice A.K. Patnaik said that upon surrendering before the trial court, Nupur Talwar can apply for bail which the court will decide expeditiously and on merit. The apex court passed the order while adjourning till next Friday the hearing of Nupur Talwar's review petition of its order directing her to face trial in the 2008 Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj double murder case. Dentist couple Nupur and Rajesh Talwar's 14-year-old daughter Aarushi was found dead inside their Noida residence in May 2008 with her throat slit. The body of the Talwars' domestic servant Hemraj, initially a suspect in the case, was recovered from the terrace a day later. The Talwar couple is accused in the case. Nupur Talwar faces a non-bailable warrant issued by a CBI special court in Ghaziabad issued after she failed to appear in court as ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a defamation case filed against Army Chief General V.K.Singh by Lt. General (retired) Tejinder Singh till May 5. Lt.Gen. Tejinder Singh had recorded his statement before a Delhi court in connection with a criminal defamation case filed against Army chief VK Singh and four others. Lt.Gen.(retired) Singh had also sought an independent inquiry into the illegal monitoring of mobile phone conversation of ministry officials by the army under the present chief General VK Singh. Lt.Gen.Tejinder Singh had retired as Director General of Defence Intelligence Agencies in 2010. Lt.Gen.Tejinder Singh has placed a sealed, written statement and a CD in support of his petition demanding a CBI probe into alleged bugging of ministry offices. Lashing out at the chief for "concocting" bribery allegations against him, the petitioner also wants a court direction to CBI to carry out searches at offices and residences of General Singh, his subordinate officers and their family members. He wants the agency to seize documents related to his private life and not release it to the public. In a disclosure made during an interview to ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court Tuesday gave the central government three more months till August 31 to fulfil all requirements and auction 122 2G licenses which were cancelled by it in February this year. The apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan, while extending the time by three months, observed that the government was aware that something was wrong or this could have been avoided if a little effort was made. While granting three months more to the government for auctioning potential 2G licenses, the court gave time till September 7 to all the service operators whose licenses have been cancelled to continue providing services. The apex court by its February 2, 2012, order had cancelled all the 122 licenses that were granted by former telecom minister A. Raja on and after January 10, 2008. The court had said that all these licenses should be allocated after carrying out their auction. The court had given the government four months' time till June 2 to complete the process of auctioning the cancelled licenses. This was also the date when the licenses that were cancelled were to be terminated. However, the government cited procedural ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court has asked the govt to show the file relating to appointment of Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next Army chief. The apex court wants to find out if the allegations against Bikram Singh were placed before the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet before clearing his name. The court will go through the document at 2 pm. The Centre has opposed the PIL saying it has been filed with malafide intention and for raising the age controversy again. However, the SC made it clear that the date of birth issue of General V K Singh will not be reopened on any ground. The SC clarification on Gen V K Singh's date of birth came because of repeated reference to it in the PIL. Earlier, the Supreme Court refused to hold 'in-camera' proceedings of its hearing on a PIL challenging the appointment of Bikram Singh as next Army chief. A group of retired armed forces officials and bureaucrats have challenged the appointment of Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next chief of the Army. Retired Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas is the leader of the group, which has filed the PIL alleging that Bikram Singh, who heads the Army's Eastern Command, was not fit to hold the office. The ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court Thursday directed the central and state governments to create 10 percent additional posts of the total regular judicial cadre for subordinate courts to fulfil the constitutional mandate of fair and expeditious justice to people. "Keeping in view the need of the hour and the constitutional mandate to provide fair and expeditious trial to all litigants and the citizens of the country, we direct the respective states and the central government to create 10 percent of the total regular cadre of the state as additional posts," said a bench of Justice A.K. Patnaik and Justice Swatanter Kumar in their judgement. The court said that these 10 percent additional posts would created within three months and the state governments would take up the "process for filling such additional vacancies as per the Higher Judicial Service and Judicial Services Rules of that state, immediately thereafter". "It will neither be appropriate nor logical for the Union of India and/or the state governments to raise an argument that this court may not issue any directions or mandamus to the concerned government, as it may have far reaching consequences," Justice Swatanter ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court will on Friday hear Nupur Talwar's plea seeking stay on the non-bailable warrant issued against her by a trial court in connection with the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case. The apex court has directed Nupur Talwar to present herself in court today. Earlier, on Thursday, the apex court had refused to entertain her plea. The Ghaziabad court issued the warrant on Wednesday after Nupur failed to show up in the court. Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had searched for Nupur in south and central Delhi but failed to locate her. The special CBI court had on March 14 asked Nupur to appear in court within 30 days. But the Talwars" counsel sought exemption on the basis of a pending plea in the Supreme Court against facing trial. Aarushi"s parents Rajesh and Nupur Talwar had filed a plea seeking review of its January 6 order in which the apex court had cleared the decks for the couple"s trial in the murder case by dismissing their plea to quash criminal proceedings against them. Fourteen-year-old Aarushi, the only daughter of the Talwars, was found dead at the family's Noida residence on the intervening night of May 15-16, ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Monday said the bail pleas of R K Chandolia, former personal secretary to then ex-telecom minister A Raja, and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura in irregular allotment of 2G spectrum case would be heard by a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and H L Dattu. This may raise hopes of the two accused as the bench of Justices Singhvi and Dattu had granted bail to five corporate heads - Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra, Reliance officials Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair and Swan Telecom director Vinod Goenka - in the 2G scam case. When the bail pleas of the two public servants came up before a bench of Justices Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya on Monday, additional solicitor general Mohan Parasaran, on behalf of the CBI, opposed relief to the duo alleging that their case was different from the corporate executives. The CBI's case against Chandolia and Behura was that they were instrumental in hatching the conspiracy with the Raja and apprehended that releasing them on bail could allow them to influence the witnesses. The bench said, "In cases where accused tamper with witnesses, the court can always cancel the bail. Is there anything ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Wednesday began hearing on petitions seeking investigations into alleged role of P Chidambaram as the finance minister to overrule finance ministry officials' objection on sale of spectrum in 2008 at 2001 prices, but the CBI said there was no merit in the plea. The CBI said as noted by the apex court in its judgment, the agency had completed investigations into 2G spectrum scam and filed chargesheets. The CBI's counsel, senior advocate K K Venugopal said, "The pleas amounted to saying that the CBI had not investigated the case properly." Arguing before a bench of Justices G S Singhvi and K S Radhakrishnan, Venugopal said: "All documents now being cited by the petitioners were placed before the court earlier. After going through them, the court had delivered its judgment saying no further investigation was required. But, the same documents are being relied now to make a prayer against Chidambaram. This is not maintainable." Veugopal said he was appearing for the CBI, which is the investigating agency. "Hence, I do not have much to say except arguing on the legal aspects," he said. An NGO 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation' and Janata ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court is expected to hear on Wednesday a plea seeking investigation against Union home minister P Chidambaram for his alleged role in the 2G spectrum scam. Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy and the NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation have moved the apex court against the trial court order giving clean chit to Chidambaram in the scam. Swamy had accused Chidambaram of acting in collusion with jailed former telecom minister A Raja on spectrum ...
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Ingredients 1 1/2 cups vermicelli (MTR semiya or other brand, angel-hair pasta) 1/2 cup onions, finely chopped 1/2 cup carrots, cut into fine cubes 1/2 cup bell-peppers (capsicum), cut into small cubes 1/2 cup tomatoes, cut into small cubes 1/4 cup peas (optional) 1/2 tsp rasam powder (MTR or other brand) 2 tbsp cilantro (coriander leaves), chopped 3 cups water For Seasoning 7-8 tsp vegetable oil 1 1/2 tsp urad dal (black gram) 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 5-6 green chillies, finely chopped Preparation If you're using long (angel hair) pasta or vermicelli, cut it into 1/4 inch pieces. Roast the vermicelli or pasta in 2 tsp of oil for a couple of minutes, until brown. This prevents the upma from becoming sticky. You can skip this step, if you like. Heat oil in a shallow pan, and add the urad dal and mustard seeds. When the seeds start to splutter, add the add green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, and onions, bell-peppers, and carrots, along with some salt. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally, until onions become translucent, and other vegetables are cooked. Add the tomatoes and peas and saute for 2 ...
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Ingredients: 4 large tomatoes Mint leaves salt & pepper Method: Keep tomatoes in a heavy pan. Put water and allow it to boil. Put salt, mint and continue boiling for 10 minutes. When cool, blend the tomatoes in a mixer. Sieve to separate seeds and skin. If mixer is not available use a soup strainer for 2 minutes. Ready to serve ...
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Ingredients: 2 to 3 juicy large carrots 1 to 2 leaves cabbage 1 tbsp cream 1 small butter salt, pepper to taste 2 to 3 tbsp cream whipped smooth 10 gms sweet peas 1 small sprig mint Method: Grate 1 tbsp carrot and keep aside. Finely chop cabbage and keep aside. Pressure cook the remaining carrots till it becomes very soft Keep it to cool and blend in mixer. Strain. Heat butter, add the pulp and bring it to boil. Put the grated carrot and cabbage and salt. Transfer in serving bowl. Put a swirl of whipped cream. Sprinkle freshly ground pepper and chopped mint. Ready to ...
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Hisar, Jat protesters who are demanding reservation in government jobs under OBC quota ended their 23-day-long agitation on Monday following an assurance from chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. After marathon talks, Khap (caste council) leaders and members of All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti, which is spearheading the stir, jointly announced "suspension" of the agitation till September 13 and agreed to cremate the body of the youth who was killed in clashes between protesters and security forces on March 6. "Since Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has given assurance to Sarv-Khap leaders regarding the community's OBC status demand, we have decided to suspend the stir," Mahendar Singh Punia, State General Secretary of the Samiti, told reporters. The standoff between the government and agitators had shown signs of ending yesterday following the release of more than 100 protesters, who were arrested on charges of arson and rioting during the agitation. The protesters had refused to cremate the body of Sandeep and had placed it near the rail tracks till all those arrested had been released. As the body was taken to village Mayyar, where Sandeep's ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to six Andhra Pradesh ministers and eight IAS officers on a plea alleging that the CBI was not proceeding against them despite having sufficient evidence that they helped former Congress leader Y Jaganmohan Reddy accumulate massive illegal assets. A bench headed by Justice Dalveer Bhandari issued the notices to the ministers and the IAS officers and sought their stands on the petition filed by an advocate, Sudhakar Reddy. The petitioner alleged that these six ministers and eight IAS officers were also holding ministerial and other key positions under the then chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, during whose tenure his son Jagan Mohan accumulated huge wealth, disproportionate to his legal income. Reddy, in his petition, said even though the CBI had registered a number of cases against several others in the disproportionate assets case against Jagan Mohan Reddy, but it failed to register any case against these 14 persons. The notice was issued to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), six Andhra Pradesh ministers and eleven IAS officers serving in the state at the time. An apex court bench headed by Justice ...
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Jaipur, A notification was issued here on Monday for election to three Rajya Sabha seats from Rajasthan. The last date for filing of nomination papers is March 19. Scrutiny will take place on March 20 and nominations can be withdrawn by March 22, Returning Officer, Krishna Murari Gupta said. Polling, if required, will take place on March 30, he said. The polling is necessitated as Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Narendra Budania (both Congress) and BJP's Ram Das Agarwal are due to complete their terms as RS members from Rajasthan. ...
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