NEW DELHI: Noted criminal lawyer R K Anand, who was held guilty of attempting to influence the course of justice in the infamous BMW hit-and-run case, has tendered an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court.
Anand tendered his "sincere and unqualified unconditional apology" for all acts imputed to him in the sting operation carried out by a news channel in 2007 and as observed in the Supreme Court judgement.
The reply by the advocate came on the apex court's show cause notice as to why he should not be given more punishment.
Anand pleaded before the court that his punishment should not be enhanced under section 12 of Contempt of Court Act.
The apex court had on July 29, 2009 upheld the conviction and stripping the status off senior advocate of Anand for contempt of court for attempting to influence the course of justice in the hit-and-run case.
A three-judge bench of apex court had asked as to why the quantum of punishment for Anand, who was the defence lawyer in the BMW case, should not be enhanced.
The apex court had held that the sting operation carried out by a news channel showing the defence and prosecution lawyers trying to influence controversial witness Kulkarni as not a typical case of trial by the media but undertaken in public interest.
The Delhi High Court had held guilty two senior advocates-- R K Anand and I U Khan, for obstructing administration of justice and, as a punishment, debarred them from appearing in courts for four months.
However, the apex court had set aside the conviction of Khan from charges of contempt of court.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
SC slams India's tit-for-tat tactic on Pak prisoners
NEW DELHI: Holding that India lay great store in right to life, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered the government to immediately release 16 Pakistani prisoners who had completed their jail terms despite the Centre's argument that it was waiting for Islamabad to let off a similar number of Indian prisoners.
Commenting adversely on the UPA government's decision to put on hold the release of 16 Pakistanis even though they had completed their prison term in various state jails, a Bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and R M Lodha said right to life had primacy in a country governed by rule of law and was not dependent on another country's action.
It refused to accept the Centre's stand that exchange of prisoners was a diplomatic process that required cooperation at both ends.
"Under the Constitution, detention even for a second beyond the permitted period of sentence is illegal. Now you (Centre) are putting a condition that until they return a similar number of prisoners we cannot send them back. If Pakistan does not do something right, does that mean we should also follow them," the Bench said.
A petition filed by J&K Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh and advocate B S Billowriya had alleged that over 30 Pakistanis were illegally detained in prisons in Agra, Jodhpur, Naini, Sangrur, Varanasi and Tihar despite completion of their sentences.
The 16 persons ordered to be released on Monday are Mohammad Ajmal, Mehrban Sathi, Mohammad Nawaz, Sajad Ali Jat, Shabir Ahmed, Shahzad Gul, Shahid Mehmood, Qudrat Ullah, Mohammad Farooq Raja, Dawood Ahmed Mughal, Faiz Ali, Mohammad Usman Shiksh, Zarar Baloch, Shahid Latief, Suhail Ahmed Kataria and Sher Khan. They have already been provided travel documents by Pakistan.
Petitioner Bhim Singh also requested the Bench to order expeditious completion of trial of the rest of the Pakistani prisoners even as the Centre informed the court that it had extended consular access to Pakistani high commission officials for establishing the identity of the prisoners.
It invited a strong rebuke from Justice Katju, who said, "It's easy to say complete trial within one year but you must understand our problem. In India there is great shortage of judges. We are performing under great pressure."
Switching to Hindi to drive home the point, Justice Katju said, "Koi jaadu ki chhadi hai hamare paas jo ek saal mein case sune (Do we have a magic wand to dispose of cases in a year)."
The Centre also informed the court that "a consular access programme was being finalised in consultation with the external affairs ministry and the Pakistani high commission to provide consular access to five Pakistani prisoners, including `security and high security' prisoners who have completed their sentence".
These five prisoners are Mohammad Abdullah aka Abu Murad, Mohammad Aslam Mughal aka Zahoor Ahmed, Manzoor Ahmad Sheikh aka Umer, Liaquat Ali Khan aka Mehboob Ali and Abdul Qadeer Khawaja.
Commenting adversely on the UPA government's decision to put on hold the release of 16 Pakistanis even though they had completed their prison term in various state jails, a Bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and R M Lodha said right to life had primacy in a country governed by rule of law and was not dependent on another country's action.
It refused to accept the Centre's stand that exchange of prisoners was a diplomatic process that required cooperation at both ends.
"Under the Constitution, detention even for a second beyond the permitted period of sentence is illegal. Now you (Centre) are putting a condition that until they return a similar number of prisoners we cannot send them back. If Pakistan does not do something right, does that mean we should also follow them," the Bench said.
A petition filed by J&K Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh and advocate B S Billowriya had alleged that over 30 Pakistanis were illegally detained in prisons in Agra, Jodhpur, Naini, Sangrur, Varanasi and Tihar despite completion of their sentences.
The 16 persons ordered to be released on Monday are Mohammad Ajmal, Mehrban Sathi, Mohammad Nawaz, Sajad Ali Jat, Shabir Ahmed, Shahzad Gul, Shahid Mehmood, Qudrat Ullah, Mohammad Farooq Raja, Dawood Ahmed Mughal, Faiz Ali, Mohammad Usman Shiksh, Zarar Baloch, Shahid Latief, Suhail Ahmed Kataria and Sher Khan. They have already been provided travel documents by Pakistan.
Petitioner Bhim Singh also requested the Bench to order expeditious completion of trial of the rest of the Pakistani prisoners even as the Centre informed the court that it had extended consular access to Pakistani high commission officials for establishing the identity of the prisoners.
It invited a strong rebuke from Justice Katju, who said, "It's easy to say complete trial within one year but you must understand our problem. In India there is great shortage of judges. We are performing under great pressure."
Switching to Hindi to drive home the point, Justice Katju said, "Koi jaadu ki chhadi hai hamare paas jo ek saal mein case sune (Do we have a magic wand to dispose of cases in a year)."
The Centre also informed the court that "a consular access programme was being finalised in consultation with the external affairs ministry and the Pakistani high commission to provide consular access to five Pakistani prisoners, including `security and high security' prisoners who have completed their sentence".
These five prisoners are Mohammad Abdullah aka Abu Murad, Mohammad Aslam Mughal aka Zahoor Ahmed, Manzoor Ahmad Sheikh aka Umer, Liaquat Ali Khan aka Mehboob Ali and Abdul Qadeer Khawaja.
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