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HC refuses to interfere in police order against Owaisi

order-against-OwaisiThe Bombay High Court upheld a police order barring Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi from speaking on ‘Hindu Muslim harmony’ at a function in Thane, saying it could not interfere with administrative order.
A division bench of Justices N H Patil and V L Achiliya rejected a petition filed by Abdul Rauf Khan, member of ‘My Mumbra Foundation’ which is organising the programme on February 8, asking the court to direct police to allow Owaisi to address the event.

“That is the job of the administration. Even they (police) cannot say for sure that there will be a situation. You never know when a peaceful mob can go violent. All these issues are the administration’s lookout. We cannot interfere,” Justice Patil said.

According to the petition, president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Owaisi is among several speakers invited. Thane police refused to grant permission to the NGO to hold the function, fearing law and order problem.

“Yesterday, Owaisi was informed that an order under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been passed against him, banning his entry in Thane jurisdiction. Such an order is a curb on his fundamental rights of speech and expression,” the petition said.

Advocate General Darius Khambata, representing the government, argued that police were willing to grant permission to the function if the NGO agrees to remove Owaisi’s name from the speakers’ list.
The High Court said it was not in the position to judge whether the programme will cause a law and order problem.

The court also noted that Owaisi can challenge the order passed by the police banning his entry in a separate petition. “Why are you as an NGO deviating from your original cause and fighting for one person? The NGO can still hold the function,” the court said.

The bench, while dismissing the petition, added that the NGO can submit a fresh application to the police seeking permission to hold the function after dropping Owaisi.

Bhatkal planned to blow up police van in Dadar

Bhatkal-plannedIndian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, who is behind bars in the July 13, 2011 blasts case, had planned to blow up a police van in the crowded Dadar area, but could not do so as it had moved away by the time he reached there, sources in the Maharashtra ATS said here today.

“He wanted to kill the policemen in the van,” the sources said.

Bhatkal could not find the vehicle on the fateful day after which he planted the fourth explosive in a nearby dustbin, which failed to blow up, they said.

Three powerful blasts had ripped through crowded areas in Mumbai on the evening of July 13, 2011, killing at least 21 people and injuring 141.

The first explosion had rocked Zaveri Bazar, a popular jewellery market, at 6.50 pm. A minute later, another blast shook the busy business area Opera House. The third blast ripped through the crowded Dadar (West) area in Central Mumbai at 7.04 pm.

Interrogation of Bhatkal has revealed that the home-grown terror group had actually planted four explosives at four spots, but the fourth bomb, placed in a dustbin near a crowded flower market at Dadar (East) area, did not go off.
“Bhatkal and wanted accused Tehseen Akhtar Shaikh, who carried two explosives with them, had plans to attach a bomb to a police van usually stationed near the flower market at Dadar (East).

“However, on that particular day, the van was not found by Bhatkal in the area. He was running out of time, because of which he placed the explosive in a dustbin. But the bomb did not explode,” said an ATS official after interrogating Yasin and his aide Asadullah Akhtar alias Tabrez.

However, the unexploded bomb was never found, the officer said adding that, “It might have been lifted away along with other waste by the garbage trucks.”
On Wednesday, Bhatkal and his aide Akhtar were arrested here by the ATS in the 2011 Mimi terror attack case after being brought to the city from New Delhi. The two were produced before a MCOCA court, which remanded them to ATS custody till February 18.

NCP accuses Congress of delaying decision to appoint new Mumbai Commissioner

NCPA week after Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh resigned to join the Bharatiya Janata Party; the top post is still lying vacant. The Nationalist Congress Party accused the Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan of delaying to take a decision on the matter. “It is very unfortunate that since one week there is no CP for Mumbai city. The proposal has been put up to the CM. Hopefully he will take a decision soon,” said NCP leader Nawab Malik.

Ahmed Javed, Rakesh Maria and Vijay Kamble are the frontrunners for the post, but political parties have their own preferences. Sources said that the Congress is favouring Ahmed Javed and its ally the NCP is favouring Rakesh Maria.

Meanwhile, it is expected that the police establishment board will meet next week to discuss the matter and will send its recommendations to the Chief Minister.

After quitting as Commissioner, Satyapal Singh had said that there was a need to back BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi so that he can bring about a change in the nation after he becomes PM.

In an attempt to justify his switch to politics, he had also recited lines from a famous poem and said those staying “neutral” will be judged adversely by the history as there was a need to take sides in this battle for change.

Nitin Gadkari presses his defamation complaint against Manish Tewari

NITIN_GADKARIBJP leader Nitin Gadkari on Friday stood by the defamation complaint filed by him with the magistrate’s court here against Union Minister of Information and Communication Manish Tewari, and sought that the court take cognisance of it and initiate further process.

Gadkari filed the case in December 2010 when Tewari was a Congress spokesperson. He had allegedly accused Gadkari of holding a benami flat in the scam-tainted Adarsh Society here.

“Gadkari appeared before the court and stated on oath that the statement made by Tewari was defamatory, and sought issuance of process against the latter,” said advocate Rameshwar Gite, the BJP leader’s lawyer.

As per Gadkari’s complaint, Tewari told reporters that Ajay Sancheti, who was close to Gadkari, had a benami flat in Adarsh in the name of his driver.

Gadkari says in the complaint that this was false and defamatory and Tewari be tried for criminal defamation under the Indian Penal Code.

Nana Patekar turns down offer by BJP to contest against Congress’ Priya Dutt

Nana-PatekarHindi film actor Nana Patekar has reportedly turned down an offer by the BJP to contest the upcoming 2014 General Elections from Mumbai North Central constituency against Congress’ Priya Dutt.

As per reports in a leading daily, Nana Patekar was one of the actors who was approached by the BJP to take on the Congress MP.

Priya Dutt is the sister of Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt and daughter of legendary actor Sunil Dutt, who was a Congress leader and an MP from the Mumbai North Central constituency. Priya started contesting from the seat after her father’s death.

She won this seat in 2009 by defeating Mahesh Jethmalani, BJP leader and lawyer.

Meanwhile, the daily also quoted a senior BJP functionary as saying that they were in touch with other people from the Hindi film industry to fight the Lok Sabha polls. Mumbai has six Lok Sabha seats and Maharashtra in total has 48 seats.

The BJP has an alliance with the Shiv Sena in the state.

BJP prime ministerial candidate for 2014 General Elections, Narendra Modi, held a mega rally in Mumbai on December 22 last year. This was his first rally after being nominated as his party’s PM candidate in September last year.

Modi’s ‘mahagarjana’ rally was held in MMRDA grounds in Mumbai.

2008 Serial Blasts: Court Issues Notices to Prison Authorities

Irked over non-production of 11 out of 13 suspected members of Indian Mujahideen, facing trial in September 2008 Delhi serial blasts, a court here has issued show cause notices to superintendents of Mumbai and Ahmedabad jails to explain why action be not taken against them.

Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash issued the show cause notices to superintendents of Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail and Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati central jail, where these 11 accused are presently lodged in judicial custody.
“Despite issuance of production warrants against the accused persons they could not be produced. Issue show cause notice to both the superintendent as to why action be not taken against them,” the judge said.

Out of these 11 accused, five are presently lodged in the Mumbai’s jail while six others are lodged in the prison at Ahmedabad under judicial custody. Two other accused are lodged here in Tihar jail. The court had earlier ordered for production of accused, lodged in jails at Mumbai and Ahmedabad, before it. The order had come after some of the accused had said they want to be present physically before the court at the time of recording of statement of the prosecution witnesses.

During most of the hearings, these 11 accused were roduced before the court through video conferencing.

The court has now issued production warrants for February 28 for the accused lodged in prisons in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

“Let the production warrants be issued for production of accused, who are lodged in Arthur Road Jail, Mumbai, and Ahmadabad Jail for February 28, 2014,” it said.
The September 13, 2008 serial blasts had claimed 26 lives and left 135 people injured. Five cases were lodged in connection with the blasts at Gaffar Market in Karol Bagh, Barakhamba Road in Connaught Place, M-Block Market in Greater Kailash and recovery of a bomb near India Gate. Among the accused, five men were arrested by the police following an encounter at Batla House here on September 19, 2008.

All the five cases were clubbed by the trial court for the purpose of framing of charges and trial saying that “they arise from the series of same transaction”.
The accused facing trial in the case are — Mohd Shakeel, Mohd Saif, Zeeshan Ahmed, Zia-ur-Rehaman, Saquib Nisar, Mohd Sadique, Kayamuddin Kapadia, Mohd Hakim, Mohd Mansoor Ashgar Peerbhoy, Mubin Kadar Sheikh, Asif Bashiruddin, Mohd Akbar Ismail Chaudhary and Shahzad Ahmed.

HC quashes cheating case against self-styled godman

Bombay-HCfor duping an elderly woman and imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on him.

A division bench of Justices N H Patil and V L Achiliya was hearing a petition filed by Sayed Rehman Ali alias Tantrik Baba seeking for the FIR lodged against him in November 2013 to be quashed as he has arrived at a settlement with the complainant.

According to the petition, Ali, who is accused of duping the complainant and her daughter of Rs 75,000 in cash and gold ornaments, has already compensated them with Rs two lakh.

The high court quashed the case, but directed the accused to deposit Rs 10,000 to the police welfare fund.

“After the complaint was filed, the police spent time investigating the case and a team had even gone to Uttar Pradesh to trace the accused. As compensation for the time spent by the police, we direct the accused to pay Rs 10,000,” the court ordered.

According to the police, the accused had from January 2013 to March 2013 duped the complainant under the pretext of performing magic by which the complainant’s daughter would get a suitable marriage proposal.

The high court, while quashing the case, directed the accused not to indulge in such activities again and return to Uttar Pradesh.

Congress defeated by NCP?

Manikrao-Thakre2The Congress finally has finally bowed down to the demands of NCP by accepting the 26:22 seat sharing agreement with the party. The seat sharing issue has always remained a bone of contention between both the parties. Earlier, the Congress had asked the NCP to accept the 26:19 formula based on its performance in the assembly and Lok Sabha election. NCP nonetheless opposed and said that it won’t accepting anything less than 22 seats. The deadlock between both the parties arises whenever elections are scheduled to be held in the state.

State Congress chief Manikrao Thakre hinted that the seat sharing formula between the Congress and the NCP would remain the same at 26:22, respectively. He announced a list of 26 observers in the constituencies fought by the party in the last polls.

However, Mr Thakre refused to admit that the formula would remain the same. “After the discussions with the NCP, we will announce our seat sharing formula. The meeting will take place on February 11 and February 12, after which we will issue a joint statement,” Mr Thakre said.

He said that the responsibility has been entrusted to its senior ministers who would also oversee poll preparations in 26 constituencies of the state.

Some of the ministers who have been entrusted with the responsibility are, Narayan Rane, who would oversee work in Raigad and Ratnagiri, Balasaheb Thorat (Nandurbar), Patangrao Kadam and Harshawardhan Patil (Pune and Sangli), Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil (Shirdi and Wardha), Naseem Khan (South Central Mumbai and South Mumbai), Suresh Shetty (North Western and North Central Mumbai), Sanjay Deotale (Gadchiroli), Shivajirao Moghe (Yavatmal and Chandrapur), Rajendra Darda and Ranjeet Kamble (Akola and Jalna). The Congress has been demanding 27 seats, while the NCP has already finalised its list of 22 candidates who would contest Lok Sabha polls from Maharashtra.

“Congress-NCP seat sharing talks are at a preliminary state. Praful Patel and Chief Minister Chavan have already held discussions. Congress’ internal meetings are on,” NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said.

Hindi film actor Nana Patekar has reportedly turned down an offer by the BJP to contest the upcoming 2014 General Elections from Mumbai North Central constituency against Congress’ Priya Dutt.

As per reports in a leading daily, Nana Patekar was one of the actors who was approached by the BJP to take on the Congress MP.

Priya Dutt is the sister of Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt and daughter of legendary actor Sunil Dutt, who was a Congress leader and an MP from the Mumbai North Central constituency. Priya started contesting from the seat after her father’s death.

According to sources, the BJP leaders has asked the Shiv Sena to allow a candidate from BJP to contest election from south Mumbai which will enable the party to defeat Milind Deora as the majority of the residents in this area belong to Jain community.

Let the parliament function

Adjourning the parliament is not the new thing. BJP is expert in creating ruckus in parliament and stall it for their demands. In the recent years, I don’t know how, India became a country with so many issues and contradictions. Probably, a common culture but this bond is not that strong anymore. If the countrymen don’t get their act on place then they simply disintegrate. In a year, Parliament runs for eighty days during sessions. Each day, businesses in both Houses are transacted for around six hours. If we take into account the total annual expenditure on Parliament, then for each minute of running the House costs Rs. 2.5 lakh. 77 per cent of the session’s business time in Lok Sabha and 72 per cent in Rajya Sabha were lost due to disruptions in this session; our MPs should realize this. India is a developing country and Parliament loses its relevance and significance if only disruptions take place in the House.

In our parliament, majority of the members are ‘crorepati’, they are not even bothered about expenses or efforts spent on one single session. Why there is any need to pay crorepatis who perform tamasha every day and we call the place as parliament in its place of circus tent. It’s high time; Supreme Court revisits such privileges and disciplines these swindlers. Constitution does not vest such disruptive powers to these MPs. Such disruptive sessions are anti-constitutional and anti-national and they can be imprisoned for such anti-constitutional acts. Enough is enough. Sooner or later people would take cudgels against these anti nationals. Who is in our country the least performing force this era? Why should the tax payer’s money be given to the MPs and the Parliament who do nothing for the betterment of the country but wasting a good amount of money? The entire salary along with perks for the last 5 years should be taken back from all the MPs from both the houses, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha for making the people fools during the last five years. It is pathetic that we call ourselves the large Democratic country, where only the handful of 550+ people making fools of the entire country.

Is the value of an Indian voter only this much? We picked and send our leaders to parliament to work for us. Instead, they are just bunking it and getting back to their posh MP Guest houses in Delhi? All parties must work on the forthcoming weekends (12 hours a day) to pass all the pending bills. No matter whatsoever happens. When true gentlemen are elected to Indian parliament by the voters the august house can be turned into a fish market where one can witness all the drama that one usually experience at a building which is purposely built for fish traders and brokers. Where is the President, whose partymen were the ones who made the house a place which is unworthy of its name? He made a speech on the Independence Day as president of India pointing his fingers towards anarchy created by a chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal and advised everyone to behave responsibly to make India a strong and respectable country. What a shame? Parliament in recent times is not doing any job except shouting and yelling. These MPs are not setting an example for the people of India. I hope the next parliament after the election will enact a law preventing this unruliness. India’s MPs have given themselves a threefold hike in salary, now earning 68 times the country’s average salary. However, no conditions of service have changed. In the USA, members of Congress cannot earn more than 15 per cent from outside of their Congressional salary. In India, the average assets of 304 MPs who contested in 2004 and then re-contested in 2009 grew 300 per cent. The increase in the salaries of MPs and pension to former MPs would cost the government an additional Rs.103.76 crore every year. The increase in the daily, constituency and office expenditure allowances will cost the government an additional Rs. 38.50 crore every year.

An MP’s wage is tax-free and comes with additional perquisites such as free petrol, free telephone calls and free housing, some of it in the most expensive real estate in the country’s capital. Most household expenses – furniture, electricity, water, laundry – is also paid for by the State. MPs can travel anywhere in the country by rail, first class, and get 34 free air tickets for themselves or a companion a year. Spouses of MPs can travel free by air from their residence to New Delhi eight times a year when Parliament is in session and unlimited number of times by rail. Compared to developing countries, Indian MPs have unparallel freedom to fix their own salaries and perks. In France and Japan, salaries of MPs are determined in relation to the salaries of the highest paid bureaucrats. In Germany, Article 48 (3) of the Basic Law says that the members of Bundestag will get remuneration adequate enough to ensure their independence. In Switzerland, parliamentarians do not get any salary or allowance. They just get paid leave from their employers on the days of session.

Our beloved MPs should understand that delaying parliament will not fetch the result. Let the topic be discussed properly and a solution be defined. Stalling Parliament will only lead to wastage of public money and performance less sessions. This is really unfortunate that Parliament which enjoys the status of Temple of Democracy is being disrespected by few goons like MPs. Unfortunate, Unexpected and Unacceptable. Be Ethical, not callous. Let the parliament function.

Aseemanand denies implicating RSS Bhagwat in terror attacks

Aseemanand-deniesA day after a magazine claimed that Swami Aseemanand had implicated RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in several terror attacks, the former has denied giving any such interview.

In a handwritten letter, Aseemanand said he never gave any interview to the magazine or implicated the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or its chief for sanctioning several recent terror attacks.

The letter has been accessed several news channels and the details have been shared on air.

While dubbing the magazine report as fabricated, Aseemanand said he was planning legal action against the publicaton.

The magazine has however stood by its report.

While Aseemanand has admitted to meeting the magazine’s reporter who he said came disguised as a lawyer, he has denied giving any such interview.

“On 9th January, 2014, Leena R came to meet me in the jail. I saw her several times as a reporter in the Panchkula court. But on 9th January she came as an advocate and wanted to help me. I refused her proposal… Then she requested me to discuss social work… The story she mentioned in the article is totally false and fabricated. I will take legal action,” he wrote in the letter.

The magazine had yesterday quoted Aseemanand as saying that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had sanctioned the 2007 Samjhauta Express, Hyderabad Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Dargah blasts.

Aseemanand is himself an accused in these blasts.

As per the magazine, Aseemanand had claimed that Bhagwat sanctioned the attacks when he was the RSS general secretary. Bhagwat had specifically told Aseemanand that the attacks should not be linked to the RSS, the magazine report alleged.

The magazine had issued a press release and quoted Bhagwat as telling Aseemanand that “it is very important that it be done. But you should not link it to the Sangh”.

As per the magazine, the article was based on a series of interactions held with the blasts accused.

The magazine yesterday also released audio tapes and transcripts of the interview to prove its claim.

The Sangh has rubbished the allegations as baseless, dubbing the interview as “rubbish and concocted”.

Sangh spokesperson Ram Madhav said “attempts have been made earlier also to defame the organisation”.

“The timing gives a feeling that it is a political conspiracy. Someone is seeking political advantage by raking up this old issue,” Madhav said.

“Aseemanand himself has denied making such statements both inside and outside court… the authenticity of the interview is suspected,” he added.