PIL Against Transport Policy

Approach probe agency, High Court to petitioner
Chandigarh, December 15
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today made it clear that Barrister-at-Law Himmat Singh Shergill could move the investigating agency for action against the Badals in the transport policy case.
Disposing of a petition filed by Shergill alleging manipulation in the transport policy to drive private bus operators towards profits, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Surya Kant asserted: “We decline to entertain this public interest litigation in the present form and deem it appropriate to close the same by grant of liberty to the petitioner to approach the investigating agency for redress of his grievance and, thereafter, to approach the Court if he has any subsisting grievance in the matter".
Going into the reasons behind issuing the directions, the Bench asserted: “We will like to put on record, at the very outset, that we find it difficult to entertain this public interest litigation.
“If respondents number one and two (Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister) have committed any wrong, while in office, which has injured the public exchequer and has benefited their own interests, the petitioner should have taken recourse to the remedy available under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, rather than approaching the Court by way of this public interest litigation seeking directions for registration of a criminal case and investigation of the same.
“If a criminal act has been occasioned, the affected party or any interested party is expected to approach the investigating agency by filing a FIR, instead of seeking orders from the Court by means of a public interest litigation. The role of the Court in such matters is extremely limited. By way of illustration, persistent refusal by the investigating agency to act in the matter or to carry out an investigation in a fair and proper manner may justify an approach to the Court and its intervention”.
According to the petitioner, such investigation should be in respect of the information available in the news-items published in The Tribune, details of which are available in the writ petition.

’84 anti-Sikh riots: Another witness comes forward against Bachchan

Amritsar, December 15
After various Sikh outfits pointed fingers towards Amitabh Bachchan in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, an "eyewitness" has come forward alleging that the actor had provoked the rioters in the aftermath of assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
As per a release issued by Gurpatwant S. Pannun, legal adviser to 'Sikhs for Justice', 52-year-old Manjit Singh Saini, originally hailing from Kalu Sarai, Delhi, and at present residing in California, was present in front of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences on October 31, 1984, when Bachchan allegedly incited a mob to target a Sikh present there.
Pannun said Saini decided to break his silence after Bachchan approached Sri Akal Takht Sahib pleading innocence.

New taxi agreement is good for passengers but cab drivers say bad for them

EDMONTON - A system that, for the past five years, has determined where cab drivers can pick up and drop off passengers is about to change.

When the Leduc-based company, Airport Taxi won the contract to serve the Edmonton International Airport in 2006, its drivers weren't allowed to pick up passengers in Edmonton, and Edmonton cabbies couldn't take an airport fare back.

An agreement reached on Wednesday between City Council and the airport authority will see that the next company to win the contract serving the airport when the current one is up in May, must have a license for its drivers to serve in Edmonton, as well, though.

That means more cabs on city streets, which is a win for passengers, but has a lot of cab drivers up in arms.

"We are issuing 100 new addition licenses for the taxi industry in return for having the Edmonton International Airport available to Edmonton taxi drivers," says Councillor Amarjeet Sohi.

50 of those new licenses will be for regular cab plates, while the other 50 will be for accessible cab plates, which some drivers say there is not enough demand for.

"There's very few people calling handicapped vans. They end up taking regular trips. It becomes totally pointless adding more into what's already congested," says taxi driver Naz Goray.

Drivers who normally service the airport are also upset, saying they're losing their bread and butter.

"The city council look like they giving the people who can't even cover the city of edmonton more job...and taking our job away (sic)," says Airport Taxi driver, Ali Dhorre.

The new cabs are expected to hit city streets this spring. Those selected for the new plates will have 60 days to bring the new cabs into service.

City Council is also looking at one other change: in most major cities around the world, passengers simply flag down a cab to get a ride. Here in Edmonton, though, there are restrictive rules as to where a cab can pick up a fare. City councillors say they want to loosen those rules and will be talking more about how to do it this spring.

Now, retired Army jawans can join paramilitary forcesin India

New Delhi, December 15
Jawans who retire from the armed forces will have the option of joining paramilitary forces such as the CRPF and BSF among others. The Ministry of Home Affairs has agreed to fill 10 per cent of Group ‘B’ posts - up to the level of inspector - in the Central paramilitary forces from ex-servicemen, Defence Minister AK Antony informed the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Defence today.
Antony told the MPs about opportunities for jawans who retire in their 30s. The move to absorb them in paramilitary forces will allow optimum use of their talent and skills besides reducing the pension bill of the government. can be easily used there.
It will be like a lateral entry into the paramilitary forces. For long, it has been the opinion of the government that jawans retiring from the forces
Antony said that efforts were now being made to persuade public sector undertakings and the private sector to tap this reservoir of talented and disciplined ex-servicemen.
The MPs also wanted to know the status of ‘one rank, one pension’. Other suggestions were that the government should take urgent steps to build a suitable national memorial for martyrs in the national capital and inclusion of MPs in the zila sainik board meetings.
Antony said the issue of setting up of a war memorial in the capital was a long pending one and hoped that the issue may be settled in the near future.
Referring to the issue of ‘one rank, one pension’, Antony said the issue was not a ‘closed chapter’, but it has to be approached in a phased manner.
Antony assured the MPs that the government was taking measures for the all-round welfare of ex-servicemen. He said the health of ex-servicemen and their dependents was a prime concern with the government.
Giving details of the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) which has been operating since April 2003, Antony said that presently, the scheme caters to 38 lakh beneficiaries including 12 lakh ex-servicemen and over 26 lakh dependents. During 2010-11, a total of 89 lakh patients attended the polyclinics.

Sibal initiates dialogue with networking sites

New Delhi, December 15
Facing flak for suggesting policing of the internet, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal today sought to douse the fire by initiating a dialogue with leading social networking firms Google, Facebook and Twitter.
Sibal had said last week that the government would take steps to screen and remove “derogatory” contents from these sites following posting of such comments against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Minister on Thusday appeared reconciliatory as he sought suggestions from the representatives of these sites on effective usage of these platforms.
The minister’s comment came a day after representatives from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft met him and declined to remove “offensive” content.
The minister last week stressed these firms would have to evolve a mechanism and come back with a solution. At the same time, he made it clear the government did not believe in either directly or indirectly interfering in the freedom of expression.
The minister’s comment led to a controversy over policing the internet. On Thursday, he came out with a statement, saying “the government called for an open dialogue with the social media firms and ask for opinions on how social media and e-governance can empower citizens of this country.”
Striking the reconciliatory mode the minister added, “This discussion and this dialogue are about how the social media can empower government, because under the normal processes of government, there is always a limited dialogue with representatives of society because the means are limited”.
In an apparent effort to bring around the defiant social network sites, the minister said, “But with the social media platforms that are now in place, there is a huge expansion of the space within which the dialogue can take place and therefore, that expansion of space should be used by us as a bridge that will help government to be empowered through the citizens”.
The minister was of the view that the reach of the social media was enormous, but those who use the social media were limited. “So it should not be that the government represents the point of view of a certain section of society,” he said.
Sibal said he asked the social network representatives, “How does the social media use its own platform to ensure that the voice of the marginalised is heard by government, which otherwise sometimes is not heard?”
He added that government wanted a constructive dialogue with these sites which “would help them to empower us when we move forward in our decision-making”.
Sibal sought to ignore the question when asked whether discussion took place with regard to monitoring of defamatory and derogatory content on the internet.