CASH FOR VOTES SCAM: Track fund source - Supreme Court!

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With Due Acknowledgement To: PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, September 2, 2011.

BJP MPs show packets of money in the Lok Sabha in this July 2008 file picture - PTI.

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Delhi Police to trace the source of money used to allegedly bribe some parliamentarians ahead of a confidence vote in Lok Sabha in 2008.

While asking police to trace the source of the funds, a bench of justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha, however, refused to monitor the case further, saying the charge sheet in what is known as the cash-for-vote scam has already been filed in the court.

“The objective has been achieved. Everything should be left to concerned criminal court which is hearing the case. We were on minor aspect. Who were involved and in what manner is to be decided by the court (trial court),” the bench said.

Former Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh on whose plea the apex court had issued a slew of directions in the scam pleaded the matter should not be disposed of and the apex court keep the matter pending.

The court, however, was not convinced with the plea and said he can approach it at any stage when its intervention is required.

Delhi Police also assured the bench that the probe will be completed within four weeks.

As soon as the court proceedings started, the bench remarked that Delhi Police has not found out the source of money and said the agency must focus on this aspect.

“You (Delhi Police) have not done what we said earlier.

Find out the source of money. You can do it, if you want to do it. You are capable of doing so,” the bench said.

During the last hearing, the court had slammed the police for its “half-hearted and hopeless” probe and had asked the police to take the probe to its logical conclusion.

The Delhi Police, thereafter, had intensified its probe and filed the charge sheet on August 24 in a Delhi court against six persons including Samajwadi Party’s former general secretary Amar Singh, BJP leader L K Advani’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni, two ex-BJP MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahabir Singh Bhagora along with Amar Singh’s former aide Sanjeev Saxena and alleged BJP activist Suhail Hindustani.

While Saxena and Suhail are in judicial custody, the trial court has issued summons to all the accused to be present before it on September 6.

The police, in its charge sheet, has accused Amar Singh and Sudheendra Kulkarni of “conspiring” and “masterminding” to bribe MPs to win their votes in the confidence motion after the Left withdrew outside support to government following differences on the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear deal.

The case dates back to July 22, 2008 when some BJP MPs had waved wads of currency notes on the floor of Lok Sabha during the trust vote faced by the UPA-I government, claiming they were given the money to vote in favour of the Manmohan Singh government.

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SC reserves order on plea against its SIT to probe black money!

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Courtesy:  PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, September 1, 2011.

A file picture of Supreme Court in New Delhi. Photo: V. Sudershan - The Hindu.

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its orders on the maintainability of the Centre's plea for recall of its July 4 order appointing an SIT to probe the black money issue.

A bench of justices Altamas Kabir and S S Nijjar said it would pass appropriate orders on the maintainability plea on September 20.

Earlier, resuming the arguments, senior counsel Anil Divan, appearing for the petitioners Ram Jethmalani and others, said the Centre's plea should be dismissed as the recall application "is, in fact, an appeal on merits, disguised as an application for modification and is an abuse of the process to defeat the public interest".

Mr. Divan submitted that the order constituting the SIT was passed by the apex court after hearing detailed arguments for several days.

Citing the apex court's earlier directions on forming SITs in cases relating to post-Godhra riots and CBI investigations in various matters, Mr. Divan argued that appointment of the two Supreme Court judges to head the SIT would only lend credibility to the probe.

The counsel submitted that the Centre cannot oppose it as it did not violate its fundamental rights and the principle of natural justice was observed by hearing the government before passing the impugned order.

Attorney General G E Vahanvati, in his brief intervention, said the order ought to be recalled as the Centre was proceeding in the right direction in unearthing the black money allegedly stashed away in foreign tax havens.

The Centre had earlier told the bench that the SIT set up by the apex court to probe and unearth black money needs to be scrapped as the investigating agency cannot function like a "super power."

Mr. Vahanvati had said the Government had "very serious" reservations on the court's directions which had also cast aspersions on sincerity of the Government in tackling the black money menace.

Mr. Divan had sought dismissal of the Centre's application and had said the apex court had rightly constituted the SIT as even the Centre had at that time admitted that the investigations were not proceeding in the right direction.

The bench had pointed out that the SIT was initially constituted by the Centre and the apex court had merely incorporated the names of retired SC judges, justices B P Jeevan Reddy and M B Shah.

The government, in its application, had also raised objections to the apex court remarks criticising the Cenrte's handling of black money cases.

The court had made the critical observations while appointing its former judges - justices Reddy and Shah, as chairman and vice-chairman of the 13-member SIT into which the Director of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) too had been inducted.

The Centre, in its application for recall of the Court's July 4 order had contended that the SIT was formed without being prayed for and has questioned the Court remarks that investigations into the issue of black money stashed abroad was moving at a "laggardly pace".

The bench had in its order said the money stashed away reveal the degree of "softness of the State".

                                      

HEALTH & CANCER: SC may ban use of tobacco in food products!

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Shalini, CNN-IBN / ibnlive.in.com / Updated Aug 30, 2011 at 10:08am IST.

New Delhi: After a ban on plastic packaging for tobacco products, and harsher pictorial warnings that come into effect this December, the smokeless tobacco industry is facing the heat again. This time in the form of the new Food Safety Standards Act.

Under the new notification tobacco and nicotine cannot be used as ingredients in any food products.

This latest regulation could cost the Rs 8000 crore gutka industry, given that it has been held to be a food product by the Supreme Court in the Godhavat case ruling.

Rest at,

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sc-may-ban-use-of-tobacco-in-food-products/179795-17.html

              

HAREN PANDYA MURDER CASE: CBI to approach SC in Haren Pandya murder case!

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Press Trust Of India / ibnlive.in.com / Posted on Aug 29, 2011 at 07:43pm IST.

New Delhi: After receiving flak from Gujarat High Court for "botched up" and "blinkered" probe in the Haren Pandya murder case, the CBI on Monday decided to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.

A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of senior officials, agency sources said.

They said it was decided that a Special Leave Petition will be filed in the apex court after going through detailed analysis of the High Court verdict.

The High Court on Monday dropped murder charges against the 12 accused in the killing of former minister Haren Pandya eight years ago.

While acquitting the 12 persons of the murder charges, the court upheld the trial court's decision to convict them for criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder and offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Rest at,

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/cbi-to-approach-sc-in-haren-pandya-murder-case/179635-3.html

                       

Anna’s detention: Supreme Court agrees to examine violation of right!

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PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 26, 2011.

Social Activist Anna Hazare waves as he was detained by the Delhi Police ahead of his fast in New Delhi on August 16. Photo: S. Subramanium - The Hindu.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine whether the government violated fundamental right of a citizen by taking Anna Hazare into preventive custody on August 16.

A bench of justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan, however, declined to issue notice to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal for the incident.

The Apex Court passed the direction while posting to September 2 the writ petition filed by J&K Panthers Party chief Professor Bhim Singh.

The Apex Court sought to clarify that it would go into the larger issue as to whether a citizen’s fundamental right is violated and was not confining it to Mr. Hazare.

The bench asked Mr. Singh as to whether he obtained the consent of Mr. Hazare before filing the petition.

“Tomorrow he (Mr. Hazare) may ask as to why you are interfering with my protest,” the bench remarked.

The Apex Court further clarified that it had laid down the law relating to preventive detention under section 107/151 of CrPC.

Rest at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2399491.ece