Can we legalize prostitution?, Supreme Court

The honourable Supreme Court of the country in a striking remark while hearing a public interest litigation yesterday (Wednesday) had asked the Government of India whether it is possible to legalize world’s oldest profession prostitution, if the profession considered as shameless is feasibly beyond control.  
   
A bench comprising Justice Dalveer Bhandari and AK Patnaik gave above mentioned dramatics remarks when they were hearing a public interest litigation lodged by country’s leading N.G.O Bachpan Bachao Aandolan and a similar PIL lodged by Childline, the PIL had brought a sensitive cause in front of the honourable court . In its application the NGOs have raised the issue of massive child trafficking and its implications on socio-economic development of the children and in turn society and country as a whole. 

The bench vigilantly heard arguments from both the party and opined “They (sex trade) have been operating in one way or the other and nowhere in the world have they been able to curb it by legislation. In some cases, they are carried out in a sophisticated manner. So why don't you legalise it?" Appearing for the government Solicitor General expressed that he will thoroughly work on the issue and discuss it with the various government agencies, before filling government’s opinion and reply on the controversial issue.     

The bench also touched various other issues liable for child trafficking and prostitution, it was of the opinion that poverty is one of the significant causes that forces people into this trade, children are trafficked from poverty ridden areas and most of them end up becoming bonded labour and prostitutes. The bench also vehemently rapped the government for failing to check poverty, the two justices said "We are talking about growing GDP. I do not know what is the development we are all talking about when the number of BPL families is at 37 per cent which has increased from 30 per cent. Growth of GDP does not mean some four or five families have developed. If this is the state of development, we can't help it."

Given the manner in which this derogatory trade prostitution is carried out across the country, government should legalize it, as penalizing people have not helped in curbing sex trade in any part of the country. Reasons are obvious, urge for sex is natural, migrant workers and others willing to have sex often visit prostitutes and call girls, that’s why the trade is flourishing but declining. Legalizing it will also help in designing comprehensive strategy to combat AIDS/HIV and proper rehabilitation of people engaged in the trade.

 

Apart from red light area (known prostitution area) the trade is also carried out in camouflage manner, fake massage and escort service centres in metro cities carry out it in a very planned and sophisticated style, they run their business like corporate companies.     

Now the next hearing of the issue will take place on January 5, then only we will know whether government favours legalising prostitution or not.

Poaching threat over Chilika

BERHAMPUR: Orissa's famed blue lagoon, the Chilika Lake, which becomes home to hundreds of migratory birds in winter, is failing to curb poaching

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despite a strong security net.

Wildlife officials registered four cases and arrested two persons allegedly for poaching recently. The lake hosts over four lakh migratory birds during winter. The latest incident of poaching was reported from Sorana on Friday night. Forest officials and police seized 16 different birds, one pintail and 15 Indian moorhens, from a person.

"The poacher, identified as Anwar Khan, was caught red handed by the staff when he was returning to his village after poaching in Chilika," said divisional forest officer B P Acharya. Khan was identified as a habitual bird poacher and was arrested by wildlife officials.

Although wildlife and police officials have seized 15 different birds from poachers on three occasions, only one person was arrested. The other three, however, have managed to escape, the DFO said.

"While poaching was reported from Sorana and Kalupadaghata, no poaching was reported from the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary, where most migratory waterfowls congregate," he said.

Wildlife authorities have set up 21 camps, including two mobile camps, to guard the avian guests. "Several local youths have also engaged to protect the birds," the DFO said.

The birds concentrate in the 1,150 sq km Chilika Lake, mainly in Bhusandapur, Sorana and Mangalajodi areas. Flocks of migratory birds arrive from the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, remote parts of Russia, central and south East Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas for feeding and roosting. The lake is recognized as the wintering zone for the largest congregation of waterfowls in the country. They start arriving in mid-October and roost here till the first week of March. But the peak congregation period is between mid-December and mid-January.

Stop construction activity on Alibaug beach: HC Bombay

Mumbai:-The Bombay High Court in a recent interim order to the state revenue department and the collector of Raigad, has asked them to put a stop to encroachments on a beach at Nandgaon, Alibaug.

Responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), the court took immediate cognizance of violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms on the beach.

The PIL had sought the court’s direction to the state as well as the Union Government to “protect the beach and shoreline at Nandgaon”. BEAG named the state environment and revenue department, the collector of Raigad, tahsildar of Murud, the sub-divisional officer of Alibaug, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest and the Maharashtra Coastal Management Authority as respondents.

In its order, the court upheld the ‘polluter pays’ principle in environmental law. The principle states that the party carrying on a polluting or environmentally non-benign activity must pay for the damage done to the environment. While BEAG is unaware as to who were behind the activities leading to the flouting of norms, the court has given the state and the Raigad collector the responsibility of preventing the activity and taking action against those responsible.

The PIL informed about “the construction of an  illegal road which, it appears, is about to be built on the beach itself; and for largescale illegal sand mining.” It stated that both the activities violated the CRZ notification of 1991.

The petition also pointed out that Alibaug falls within the CRZ III and the construction on the beach was in a CRZ area, between the high tide line (HTL) and the low tide line (LTL).

“Recently we visited the site and took photographs of construction of a road there. The work is clearly illegal,” stated Dr Sayed Nudrat Zawar, a senior conservation officer of the Conservation Action Trust, an offshoot of BEAG.

CRZ notification classifies coastal areas: The CRZ-I areas are (i) those that are ecologically sensitive and (ii) the area between the HTL and the LTL.

CRZ-III areas are those that are relatively undisturbed and those which do not belong to either Category-I or II (the latter being already developed areas). CRZ III areas include coastal zones in rural areas (developed and undeveloped) and areas within municipal limits or in other legally designated urban areas which are not substantially built up.

What is CRZ ?

The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification, issued by the Ministry of Environment & Forests on February 19, 1991, under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act seeks to protect the ecology and environment of India’s coastline. It states that the area (i) within 500 metres of the High Tide Line (HTL), and (ii) the area between the HTL and the Low Tide Line (LTL) is a Coastal Regulation Zone. Restrictions are imposed on development activities in CRZ. The HTL is the line to which the highest of the spring or neap tides, reach.

Cops hunt for City Limo boss as court rejects anticipatory bail

C Unnikrishnan, TNN 14 November 2009, 02:11am IST
MUMBAI: The city police have launched a hunt for City Limouzines chairman S M Masood after the sessions court rejected his anticipatory bail 

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on Friday.

More than 200 investors had gathered at the court from the morning to hear the verdict. Sessions judge N D Dhote pushed it back twice, and finally pronounced a one-line order saying Masood's anticipatory bail was rejected. There are three FIRs against him in Mumbai.

City Limouzines and its sister concern City Realcom have been accused of defaulting on interest payments to thousands of investors nationwide. "We've been trying to locate Masood. We checked several places where he might be hiding," a senior police officer said.

Masood's lawyers had argued that it was a civil dispute, but the police contended that it was a case of cheating and said several investors had been duped by the company.

The court order is a major setback for Masood, who has been filing numerous petitions in several courts for relief. He has filed six transfer petitions in the Supreme Court, for which the apex court has asked the state to file its reply.

The police have also initiated a separate investigation into group company City Realcom's agreement with some landowners where a plot of the land was shown to investors as belonging to them.

City Realcom had floated a scheme promising investors 20 square feet of land at the end of the maturity period. "The investigations are at a preliminary stage, and we are still in the process of verifying the documents,'' a police officer said.

Minister seeks more transparency in environmental clearances

New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Environmental clearance procedures would be made more “transparent and businesslike” to avoid any conflict of interest and to ensure a stipulated period for the process, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said Friday.
“There has been criticism that the process (of environmental clearances) lacked transparency… lot of civil society organisations have commented that the people who headed some expert committees - that do appraisal of clearances - had conflict of interest. We have taken the first step today,” Ramesh told media persons at the Paryavaran Bhawan.
The first step was accepting the resignation of former bureaucrat P. Abraham, who was the chairman of the expert appraisal committee for river valley and hydroelectric projects - one of seven such committees in the ministry. Abraham had also been on the board of many power companies with interest in hydro-power and was charged with misusing his position.
In addition, the minister said four conditions - an annual environmental statement required under the Environment (Protection) Rules 1986, a copy of the clearance letter, the status of compliance of the stipulated environmental clearance conditions including results of monitored data, and a six-monthly report on the status of compliance - all be made public by the party undertaking the project.
Ramesh said this needed to be done to ensure a “more transparent, business-like clearance procedure within set time periods” and prescribed a period of 150 days for forest clearance and 210 days for environmental clearance.
The minister also said that the number of pending cases which were 700 when he took charge had been brought down to 250. “All cases will be put up on our website for public scrutiny by June 30,” he said.
Noting the ministry had an “unnaturally high rate of acceptance” for clearances, he said: “The rate is 98 percent - this needs to be changed to a healthy rate of rejection.” Several cases that had been rejected recently dealt with forests and mining in hilly states, he said.
Ramesh also criticised the tendency of project promoters, both in the public and private sector, to lay the foundation stones even before being granted the clearances from his ministry.
“This tendency to treat clearances as a mere formality cannot be accepted - legally I cannot do much, but I can sit on the file by administrative right,” he said.

Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/minister-seeks-more-transparency-in-environmental-clearances_100209939.html#ixzz0YqL0ozXV

SC seeks details of environmental clearances for Ghazipur abattoir

NEW DELHI

: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Wednesday made a spirited presentation bringing out the stark contrast between the

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facilities at the Rs 130 crore Ghazipur abattoir and the now-closed Idgah slaughter house, but the Supreme Court sought to know details of environmental clearances for the project.

When Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) counsel Vijay Panjwani alleged that the project had breached statutory requirements under environmental laws, MCD counsel Sanjiv Sen questioned the CPCB's locus standi saying the central body had nothing to do with the project, which had got all clearances under environmental law from Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

Refusing to buy the argument that CPCB had no role to play, especially when the apex court had been seeking its assistance in the matter since 1996, a Bench comprising Justices V S Sirpurkar, Cyriac Joseph and Deepak Verma asked MCD to file all relevant environmental clearances obtained from DPCC in two weeks and adjourned the hearing.

The meat traders association and several other groups, which are on strike refusing to shift to the "ill-equipped" Ghazipur abattoir, also relied on the CPCB's environmental objections, primary among which is the location of a huge sanitary landfill next to the modern slaughter house.

They also said absence of a proper approach road could result in the vehicles transporting animals whipping up dust clouds and the unhygienic location of the abattoir would defeat the purpose of the project -- supply of hygienic meat to Delhiites.

The SC asked MCD to submit its response to the allegations within two weeks but clarified that slaughtering would not return to Idgah. "Those on strike are free to join slaughtering activity at Ghazipur," it said, and asked MCD to list what steps it had taken to make provisions for animal trading

at the new abattoir.

Environmental clearances to 6 mines in Andhra suspended

Hyderabad / New Delhi: The Union government on Monday suspended forest clearances to six iron ore mines in Andhra Pradesh, including those owned by Karnataka tourism minister Gali Janardhana Reddy.
The environment ministry has also advised the Andhra Pradesh government to ban mining in the state.
The move comes three days after the state government suspended mining operations at the six mines in Anantapur district, pending orders from the Supreme Court on the report of its central empowered committee. Reddy challenged the decision in the Andhra Pradesh high court, questioning the authority of the state government in suspending the mining operations.

Leading the charge: (from right) TDP’s Naidu addresses a conference on Andhra Pradesh mining issues in New Delhi on Sunday as CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan and CPM leader Brinda Karat look on. Vijay Verma / PTI

The committee, which looks into matters of forest clearances, had in a report submitted on 19 November advised that mining in the state be suspended till the mining areas were demarcated. It also recommended that transportation of already excavated ore be suspended.In its letter to the Andhra Pradesh government, the Congress party-led Union government said it had suspended clearances to Bellary Iron Ores Pvt. Ltd, Obulapuram Mining Co. Pvt. Ltd (OMC) and four mines adjacent to them under the Forest Conservation Act.
OMC is owned by Reddy, a member of the Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition at the Centre.
Reddy is known to be close to the family of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, known popularly as YSR, a Congress leader and the former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh who died in a helicopter crash in September. The Karnataka tourism minister had played a key role in a recent rebellion against the BJP government in Karnataka headed by B.S. Yaddyurappa.
Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh, led by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu, have raised cries of mining irregularities by OMC and sought the support of national parties on the issue.
“We are estimating the size of the illegal mining to be at least Rs10,000 crore over the last few years and we suspect the role of family members of YSR in extending support to the mining irregularities of OMC,” Naidu had told reporters on 19 November.
Naidu demanded that the Union government order a multidisciplinary probe into the allegations against OMC, including possible encroachments into neighbouring mines, destruction of boundaries between various mines as well as the boundaries of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, violation of foreign exchange regulations, and money laundering.
Calls to OMC’s spokesperson on Monday evening remained unanswered. He did not reply to text messages sent to his mobile phone.
At a press briefing in Hyderabad on 13 November, Janardhana Reddy had denied the allegations against his company. He said he was being targeted by Naidu and other political leaders because of his close association with YSR’s family.
“There is a strong nexus between the industrial houses, politicians and government officials behind the irregularities in key areas such as merchant power projects, allotment of mineral resources and special economic zones,” said E.A.S. Sarma, a former secretary in the department of economic affairs and now convener of a citizens body, Forum for Better Visakha.

3 years in jail for leaking CAT exam details

MUMBAI: Just in case you’re an MBA aspirant who’s planning to disclose any details of the CAT exam — which will be conducted over a period of 10 

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days starting Saturday — here’s a word of caution. The IIMs have put out a disclaimer on their website warning that such action could result in imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of Rs 2 lakh as it violates a number of laws including the Copyright Act.

While this is common knowledge and was applicable for the earlier CAT exams too, this is possibly the first time that the rule has been put out in writing. Candidates appearing for CAT will have to consent to a Non-Disclosure Agreement at the time of the test.

According to the disclaimer, ‘‘Disclosing, publishing, reproducing, transmitting, storing, or facilitating transmission and storage of the contents of the CAT or any information therein in whole or part thereof in any form or by any means, verbal or written, electronically or mechanically for any purpose, shall be in violation of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 and/or the Copyright Act, 1957 and/or the Information Technology Act.’’

While coaching classes have routinely put out details of the CAT paper online and have analysed the paper in detail on their websites, this time round, many say they are doing a rethink.

‘‘We’ve consulted our lawyers over the matter, and they say we could invite a penalty if we disclose any details about the paper,’’ said a coaching class head.

SC tells runaway mom, child to return to US

NEW DELHI: Ending a cross-continental tug-of-war between an estranged NRI couple involving their only child, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered 

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that Vijayshree Voora return to the US with her seven-year-old son Adithya and husband V Ravi Chandran and submit to the jurisdiction of the American court.

The apex court's verdict puts paid to the efforts of Vijayshree who fled to India with Adithya soon after the US court order in 2007 for joint custody of the child in the divorce dispute. For months, she kept shifting places to dodge the police. 

The SC directed the mother to go back to US, submit herself to the local court's jurisdiction and, if she so wishes, initiate proceedings seeking changes in the order asking her to share Adithya's custody with Ravi Chandran.

While the case spotlighted the emotional trauma that ugly divorces and separations inflict on children, the judgment of the Bench comprising Justices Tarun Chatterjee, R M Lodha and B S Chauhan is significant in that it rejected the mother's argument that Indian courts were not obligated to enforce orders of American courts that were inconsistent with local laws.

This judgment is pathbreaking also in the sense that it comes despite an ugly incident three years ago when a US family court had refused to accede to an order of the Supreme Court of India for production of two minors, the grandchildren of the son of former actor-politician N T Rama Rao.

Vijayshree's allegation through senior advocate T L V Iyer that the father used to ill-treat the child, hamper his education and abuse him were termed as "hollow" by the Bench which found that all custody orders by US courts were granted on consent of both parties -- the father and mother.

What also went against the mother was the manner in which she changed her place of stay frequently to avoid detection by police after the SC issued notice to the states on a habeas corpus petition filed by the father. Finally, it had to seek the help of CBI to trace her and the child.

Agreeing with Ravi Chandran's counsel Pinky Anand, the Bench asked her to comply with the US court order of June 18, 2007, granting joint custody of the child to the estranged couple, but directed the father to move the courts there to suspend the arrest warrants issued against her.

The court also asked the father to bear the travel expenses of the mother and child to US and pay for their stay there till further orders of the US family court. "The father of the child will not pursue any criminal charge for violation of orders of US court passed on mutual consent," the Bench said.

After passing the order, Justice Lodha, writing the judgment for the Bench, warned that if the mother failed to take the child on her own to US within 15 days, the child's custody would be restored to the father along with the minor's passport to be taken to US, where local courts would initiate further proceedings. 

Madhu Koda's money trail abroad unravelled

NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax sleuths, on the trail of former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, have hit a jackpot. They have 
uncovered details of transfer of at least $110 million (about Rs 550 crore) to a frontman in Dubai for overseas investments and acquisitions by Koda’s associates.

The findings are a setback to Koda who has denied doing any wrong, and challenged the agencies to prove the charges against him.

The breakthrough came when officials seized records of Mumbai-based Balaji Bullion and Retailers, suspected to have been used to transfer at least $10 million to a Dubai frontman, Abdul Bhai. Investigators suspect the firm could have sent as much as Rs 990 crore, sources said.

Sources believe $100 million (Rs 500 crore) might have also been sent to Abdul Bhai through Mumbai-based contact, Manoj Punamia.

Tax officials have been able to get a ‘‘confession’’ from Mumbai-based aide Arvind Vyas that he arranged delivery of $1 million to Sanjay Chaudhary — who oversaw Koda’s operations in Dubai.

Mumbai-based Arvind Vyas has ‘confessed’ that he arranged delivery of $1 million to Sanjay Chaudhary — a key aide of former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda.

Both Vyas and Chaudhary are directors of Balaji Bullion and Retailers which has on its board another accomplice of Koda — Vinod Sinha. The concern seems to have been floated specially for the purpose of funnelling the money for investments and acquisitions in Dubai, Liberia and other places.

The launch of the firm is testimony to the planning that went into managing the flow of money, and has surprised investigators, considering the background of Koda’s aides, Sinha and Chaudhary. Sinha was a milk vendor not long ago, while Chaudhary’s father hawked chewing tobacco on his bicycle till recently.

Chaudhary had allegedly registered two companies — Cam Pech Manufacturing LLC and Blue Techno — in Dubai which were part of a web of deception that was used for handling Koda’s investments and assets abroad. Vijay Joshi, Vikash Sinha and Dhananjay Chaudhary helped Sanjay Chaudhary with money laundering in Dubai.

Investigations have brought out evidence of the alleged largescale corruption that flourished under Koda, with former CM and ministerial colleagues along with leading lights of UPA allies — JMM and RJD — milking the political instability in Jharkhand.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Madhu-Kodas-money-trail-abroad-unravelled/articleshow/5191120.cms

SC judges declare assets on website

NEW DELHI: Two months after the Supreme Court, faced with demands and growing pressure from within, resolved to make public the assets and 
liabilities of its judges, the details were put up on its official website.

The significant step towards transparency was marked by some surprise revelations — one of the judges doesn’t own even a two-wheeler, while another has a Yamaha motorcycle as his sole vehicle. There are details of land, houses, investments in shares and flats as well.

Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan owns land in Kerala and Faridabad in Haryana besides a house and a flat. Interestingly, however, he has no fixed deposit or investment in shares. 

In contrast, Justice S H Kapadia, the No.2 in the apex court who is in line to be the next CJI, has the bulk of his investments — Rs 22 lakh of a total of Rs 40 lakh — in shares. The rest is invested in mutual funds, fixed deposits and Provident Fund. The diverse portfolio is in keeping with Justice Kapadia’s reputation of being conversant with matters of finance.

All the judges, except Justice H S Bedi who has been out of the Capital because of bereavement, have posted their assets on the website.

The website also mentions the assets of Justice B N Agrawal even though he retired on October 10. He made a request for including his declaration, arguing that being party to the August 28 decision of the Full Court to disclose assets, he was obliged to do so.

In many cases, lists of assets, liabilities and investments are exhaustive, with the judges disclosing to the last detail jewellery and the latest value of shares in their possession. In other cases, however, the declarations are vague.

The judges had opposed the demand of disclosure, arguing that declarations could make them susceptible to harassment through frivolous litigation. The Supreme Court even opposed in Delhi High Court the January 6 order of the Central Information Commission asking the SC Registry to provide information whether judges declared their assets regularly or not.The stance changed after two HC judges came out in the open to argue for disclosure, leading to the decision by the Full Court meeting on August 28.

A note of caution for those who may rush to conclusions on the riches of judges. Most of them were successful lawyers who earned a lot as senior advocates before joining the Bench from the Bar.

The CJI and his wife own gold jewellery weighing about 20 sovereigns and a 2000 model Santro but hold no shares in any company. He has no fixed deposits. But while he may possibly be the poorest of the lot when it comes to hard cash, the CJI does have decent land holdings. He owns over 12 acres in Kanayanoor taluk (Ernakulam) in Kerala, besides family property worth Rs 3.5 lakh in Vaikom taluk, a two-bedroom flat in Ernakulam and a plot in Faridabad measuring 444 sq yards. His wife owns property in Kottayam.

Justice Kapadia, who does not own a vehicle, appears to be meticulous with his investments, worth over Rs 40 lakh, the bulk in shares. The judge also has property worth Rs 20 lakh in Mumbai and has zero liability. His wife has shares worth Rs 19 lakh at present value. Besides, she has other investments worth over Rs 13 lakh.

Justice Tarun Chatterjee owns one building in Kolkata and a two-third share in ancestral property. He and his spouse own 46 pieces of gold, diamond and pearl jewellery, while FDs and PPF amount to Rs 3.1 lakh. He has two cars, a Chevrolet Tavera and a Honda Civic, and outstanding liabilities of Rs 7.5 lakh. 

Justice Altamas Kabir owns a house in Kolkata’s Salt Lake worth Rs 30.75 lakh. He and his wife possess 127.25 grams of gold and FDs and PPF worth Rs 43.97 lakh.

Justice R V Raveendran appears to be in favour of investing his money in real estate. He owns four residential and an office plot in Bangalore, while his wife has one-fifth share in three commercial properties in the city. She would also be the envy of wives of other judges as she owns 370 grams of gold jewellery, besides 12 carats of diamonds and five kilos of silver.

Justice B S Chauhan has one-third share in two ancestral residential properties in Muzaffarnagar, one-third share in agricultural land (200 bighas) and a residential building in Sector 15-A, Noida. Besides, he has investments worth Rs 9 lakh in Reliance (as mentioned in the declaration), Rs 3 lakh in HDFC, Rs 2 lakh in ABN Amro and Rs 20 lakh in PF.

Justice P Sathasivam has declared that he owns a 1989 Yamaha motorcycle. He also owns a residential plot in Chennai with a market value Rs 45,000.

In addition, he has 12.49 acres of agricultural land. His wife owns five acres.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-judges-declare-assets-on-website/articleshow/5191127.cms

Show-cause notice against four IAS officers

Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN 23 October 2009, 05:30am IS

NOIDA: UP government on Thursday issued a show-cause notice against four IAS officers in connection with the alleged Noida hotel land scam of 2006.

The four officers include former chairman of the New Okhla Industrial and Development Authority (NOIDA) Rakesh Bahadur, former CEO Sanjeev Sharan, former deputy CEO K Ravindra Nayan and the then divisional commissioner of Meerut Range Dev Dutt, UP government officials said on Thursday.

"All these four officers have been chargesheeted by the state government. They have been asked to respond within 15 days,'' a senior official said. The officers have been charged with selling expensive commercial land at prices way below the established rates to some hoteliers. It was alleged that these officers received a kickback for the same. The `deal' allegedly resulted in the loss of Rs 4,500 crore to the state exchequer.

While Bahadur, Sharan and Nayak are under suspension, Devdutt has retired from his services, officials added.

According to sources, the four IAS officers are among 15 officers against whom the state government lodged FIR on August 13 this year in connection with the alleged scam.

Earlier, fingers were raised over the role of a senior Lucknow bureaucrat in the alleged scam following the suspension of these 15 officials.

In reply to these allegations, state additional cabinet Secretary Vijay Shanker Pandey had earlier stated that several officers were under the scanner but refused to name anyone.

Chief minister Mayawati, who had earlier ordered suspension of 15 officials, has also ordered a probe into the delay in punishing the guilty babus.

Pandey said the probe, to be completed very soon, will cover all aspects, including the role of those officials who had allotted land to hoteliers in violation of Statutory Regulation Act 1991 and Bidding Regulation 2006 which state that commercial land would be sold only though auction.

Officials said the CM had also ordered that all relevant files and the action taken report be brought before her within a fortnight.

The total land involved in the scam was around 65 acres covering 2.62 lakh sq meter.

Supreme Court studies secret report on Dinakaran

THIRUVALLUR(TN): Suspense mounted on Saturday about whether or not the Karnataka High Court chief justice P D Dinakaran would be elevated to the Supreme Court or even continue as a judge.

In what could have significant bearing on Justice Dinakaran’s chances of being on the Bench of the apex court, Thiruvallur district collector, V Palanikumar, sent a detailed report on the judge’s land holdings to the Supreme Court’s registrar-general, highly placed sources said. The “ discreet” inquiry was conducted at the instance of the Chief Justice of India.

The report was discussed at a meeting of the SC collegium that decides appointments to the higher judiciary in New Delhi on Saturday.

Sources said Palanikumar conducted a detailed study during a field visit alongside revenue officials before finalizing his confidential report. It was sent directly to the apex court without involving the state government. The district collector focussed on verifying the sketches and survey numbers mentioned in the original allegations.

The allegations were first made by a group of lawyers in Bangalore, that Justice Dinakaran held land in excess of the ceiling prescribed in land reform laws and had allegedly encroached on government land meant for various kinds of community use.

Though the matter at stake concerns whether Justice Dinakaran is going to make it to the apex court or not, the report submitted by the district collector, in response to a communication from the registrar of the SC, will also determine whether he continues in the judiciary at all.

India-born scientist wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

WASHINGTON: An India-born structural biologist whose quest for scientific excellence took him from undergraduate schools in India to graduate and

More Pictures

post-doc studies in US and research in UK was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for work on proteins that control life. ( Watch Video )

Dr Venkatraman ''Venky'' Ramakrishnan, 58, who had his early education in the temple town of Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, and Vadodra, Gujarat, before he made tracks to the United States, joined the long list of peripatetic Indians who had early education in India but thrived in the western academic eco-system, to have won the Nobel. Also with a chemistry Nobel, Indians or those with an India-connect figure in all prize categories.

The Swedish Nobel Committee awarded the Prize to Dr Ramakrishnan, who is currently affiliated with the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, for his work on protein-producing ribosomes, and its translation of DNA information into life. He will share the Prize with Dr Thomas Steitz of Yale University, Connecticut, and Dr Ada Yonath of Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

In a statement following the announcement of the award, Dr Ramakrishnan expressed gratitude to ``all of the brilliant associates, students and post docs who worked in my lab as science is a highly collaborative enterprise.'' He credited the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the University of Utah for supporting his work and the collegiate atmosphere there that made it all possible. ( Watch Video )

``The idea of supporting long term basic research like that at LMB does lead to breakthroughs, the ribosome is already starting to show its medical importance,'' he said.

The practical importance of Dr Ramakrishnan's work arises from ribosomes being present in all living cells, including those of bacteria. Human and bacterial ribosomes are slightly different, making the ribosome a good target for antibiotic therapy that works by blocking the bacteriums ability to make the proteins it needs to function.

Ramakrishnan, Steitz and Yonath demonstrated what the ribosome looks like and how it functions at an atomic level using a visualisation method called X-ray crystallography to map the position of each of the hundreds of thousands of atoms that make up the ribosome, according to the MRC.

``This year's three Laureates have all generated 3D models that show how different antibiotics bind to the ribosome. These models are now used by scientists in order to develop new antibiotics, directly assisting the saving of lives and decreasing humanity's suffering,'' the Nobel citation explained.

Scientists say growing knowledge of the ribosome has created targets for a new generation of antibiotics. The instruction manual for the creation of proteins is DNA, but the ribosome is the machine which takes information transcribed onto messenger RNA and turns it into proteins.

Elaborating, the MRC said Dr Ramakrishnan's basic research on the arrangement of atoms in the ribosome has allowed his team not only to gain detailed knowledge of how it contributes to protein production but also to see directly how antibiotics bind to specific pockets in the ribosome structure. Dr Ramakrishnan will share the 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.4 million) Nobel Prize money (1/3rd each), in a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10.

City Limouzines Fraud

City Limouzines is a finance company who wound up the business by duping the money of their customers on Tuesday. Near About 50 customers when they came to know of this fraud, quickly rushed to the city branch office of the firm which is at Abids in the Hyderabad. After that On noticing the office was closed, they approached the Abids police station. Afterwords the police booked a case against the City Limouzines company under Section 420 (cheating) of IPC at around 8.30 pm.

Police believe that there could be nearly 500 persons who deposited money.

The company had issued preference shares in the name of City Realcom Limited, and lured gullible investors by asking them to invest a minimum of Rs 1,30,000 with a promise that the investor would get a monthly return of Rs 7775 per Rs 1.30 lakh.

The company paid interest every month for three years, but its cheques started bouncing since August.The company is mainly into vehicle leasing. According to the Inspector, the company started its fund mobilization operations in the city in 2006.

For every 2 lakh Rs of the investment, the company offered high monthly returns for a guaranteed period of five years.

Air India pilots getting Rs 8,000 per month

NEW DELHI: Pilots in the private sector are usually among the highest paid professionals in India. But executive pilots who are counted as part of Air India's management have, for the past few months, been taking home barely Rs 4,500-8,000 per month!

Not surprisingly, the `unwell' pilots who are on sick leave aren't keen to get well soon. Captain V K Bhalla, who is spearheading the agitation in Delhi, said: ``AI's management must pay our past three months' dues and roll back the Talibani cut in salaries. Only then will we report for work. We pilots are getting pittance as allowances and performance-linked incentives are not being paid. I have got Rs 6,000 so far this month. Last month, till August 22, I had got Rs 8,000 and then some allowances. It's not just me, most IA pilots (who were with Indian Airlines before the merger with AI) are getting a pittance. On top of that, they also want to cut the performance-based incentive of not just this month, but also the last two months.''

Another senior pilot said he has been getting Rs 4,600 for the past three months while his earlier take home was Rs 2-2.5 lakh. Despite repeated attempts, AI spokesperson could not be reached for comment on this issue.

However, with the management showing little sign of relenting, the strike could be a long-drawn affair.

While maintaining that it won't bow down to striking pilots and that AI has to cut costs drastically to survive, a worried government has called an emergency meeting of all airlines on Tuesday. Aviation secretary M M Nambiar will meet private airlines to stress on two points -- they should not raise fares to cash in on the crisis and should accommodate AI passengers to ensure they are not left stranded when pilots call in sick.

On Sunday, Bhalla, who refused to attend the meeting between some executive pilots and the airline management in Mumbai, said that nobody from the management had got in touch with them over the issue and accordingly only a handful of pilots from Mumbai were present for the meeting. ``Our demand is simple. The management should pay us our dues and call off the cut that it has ordered. While it is paying foreign pilots almost $20,000 per month, are we to believe that it has no money to pay us less than a third of that, specially since we don't even need foreign pilots,'' he said.

On its part, top aviation ministry officials say AI and IA pilots' pay package is much higher than their private counterparts. ``We are going to take a harsh view of the strike as it is inconveniencing the public. It is also not helping the effort to get bailout money from the government and if that does not come, the airline will have to die,'' said a top official.

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