WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016 (PAGE 6) DAILY EXCELSIOR...
1
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016 (PAGE 6) DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU From page 1 Mehbooba blames NC for fomenting trouble in Kashmir when the situation has improved, students are going to schools and tourism has also picked up a little bit and when situation is improving Farooq Sahib has once again given orders to his workers to create the same situation again where Jammu and Kashmir will deteri- orate again", she said. Mehbooba said that the NC has done everything for chair since 1947. "They have nothing to do with the movement but NC since 1947 has done everything for the chair. And I feel the state- ment of Farooq Abdullah has given indication to his workers that don't allow situation to nor- malize because they don't want situation should normalize in Kashmir", she said. The Chief Minister said Dr Farooq Abdullah had been advo- cating bombing of Pakistan and throwing Hurriyat Conference leaders into Jhelum. "Omar Sahib has been External Affairs Minister in BJP Government. He has spoken against Pakistan at National and international lev- els. When Omar Sahib was Minister, he had said that Pakistan should be declared a terrorist State. Farooq Sahib has been advocating bombing of Pakistan. Farooq Sahib had been saying that Hurriyat leaders should be thrown into river Jhelum", she said. Mehbooba said it is now evi- dent that the NC can play with the lives of children and even women for power. "It has become evident today that the NC can go to any extent to play with the lives of little children and even women for power", she said. Meanwhile, an official statement said here that Chief Minister has expressed sur- prise over the changing stand of some politicians. She said her party and Government have maintained consistent stand on the issues and regret- ted some seasoned politicians changing their postures in and out of power. "She said that she has main- tained during the past five months that criminal elements had infiltrated into the Kashmir's public domain that were getting people killed, prop- erties destroyed and above all giving the otherwise sobre soci- ety of Kashmir a bad name", the statement said. The Chief Minister said it was unfortunate when the leader of the oldest political party of the State should console people and ask for restraint, he was just provoking his cadre to aid and abet violence when people of Kashmir have realized its futili- ty and have suffered huge losses financially, physically, educa- tionally and emotionally. Mehbooba said it has been very unfortunate trait of the NC party that they keep chanting Kashmir and other issues of peo- ple but once in power they for- get the miseries of people. The Chief Minister said the people of Kashmir having suf- fered a lot and understand such political gimmickry and won't fall prey to such things. BSF launches major operation to detect tunnels along 198-kms IB into zones for execution of the task expeditiously. The task will be completed very soon,'' they added. According to sources, the task (to detect the tunnels) is being executed in such a way that Pakistani Rangers wouldn't be able to detect or disrupt it. However, even if they (the Rangers) try to disrupt the work, they wouldn't succeed. It's a fool-proof plan going on along the borders, they said. Sources said since entire international boundary is spread in plain areas, the chances of tunnel are more there instead of the Line of Control (LoC), which is treach- erous and located in hilly areas of Rajouri and Poonch. It may be mentioned here that security forces have so far detected four tunnels on the International Border and Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu sector. The longest of them was detected at Chilyari in Samba- Hiranagar sector in 2012 while another tunnel was detected on LoC in Pallanwalla sector in August 2014. The third tunnel was detected in RS Pura sector in April this year. After detection of fourth tunnel at Chamliyal in Ramgarh sector of Samba dis- trict on November 29, the BSF was now looking for more such tunnels on the border to ensure that the militants didn't man- age to sneak-in using the tun- nels. There had been reports that one time rat hole tunnels by Pakistani Rangers were being conducted using Chinese tech- nology. Such tunnels, meant for one time use, can be dug with- in few hours through which the militants can negotiate border fencing and crawl to this side. All three militants, who had infiltrated using this technolo- gy, were eliminated by the BSF personnel within few hours after their infiltration. Politicians, big sharks involved in forest land encroachment remain untouched in J&K bureaucrats and politicians including ex-Ministers and sit- ting Ministers. Moreover, the department even placed the list of such encroachers before the House with the mention that Government will leave no stone unturned to get the land vacated from the illegal occu- pants. However, not even one step has so far been initiated to retrieve the encroached forest land, sources regretted, adding "in majority of the cases involv- ing influential persons the inter- im orders from the courts have restrained the Forest Department from carrying out anti-encroach- ment drive but despite being aware of this the concerned Law Officers have not been taking interest in getting the interim orders vacated by placing rele- vant data and information before the courts". "The slackness of the Law Officers in this regard is notwithstanding the fact that Minister for Law and Justice, Abdul Haq Khan is repeatedly laying thrust on regular follow- up of the cases where interim orders have created road-block in carrying out exercise of immense importance", sources further said. As per the data of Forest Department, former Minister of Congress party is alleged to have encroached 26.20 kanals of forest land in Shopian Forest Division and under Section 48(a) of J&K Forest Act, eviction notices were served upon him for vacating of encroachment. However, he filed an appeal in J&K Special Tribunal Srinagar where the matter is under trial since long. Similarly, matter regarding encroachment of forest land by a sitting BJP Minister in the out- skirts of Jammu city is pending for disposal in the court of law and unless the concerned Law Officers convince the court with relevant data and information the interim order cannot be vacated. Likewise, another former Minister is alleged to have encroached forest land in Sunjwan area of Jammu but the interim order from the High Court could not be vacated dur- ing the past several years because of the slackness of the concerned Law Officers. As far as hoteliers are con- cerned, a prominent hotel in Gulmarg has encroached approximately one kanal of forest land for which eviction notice was issued but due to failure of the Law Officers to get the interim order of the court vacated or modified the legal action is pending. According to the sources, the High Court of J&K had consti- tuted a committee in the year 2004 to report the details of buildings/structures that have violated the Patnitop Development Authority (PDA) approved plan and encroached forest land. It was found by this commit- tee that 14 hotels in Patnitop have encroached the forest land as per the records. However, eight forest land encroachments by the hotels were evicted but the remaining six could not be touched mainly because of inter- im orders of different courts whereby proceedings under J&K Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act were stayed. "The status quo is still in- force mainly because of the fail- ure of the concerned Law Officers to convince the courts with the relevant information for modification of their orders", sources said. They informed that on the directions of the then Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed the Udhampur district administration had identified many more encroachments on the forest land in Patnitop area and the list of the encroachers was forwarded to the senior officers of the Forest Department for action in a time-bound manner. However, no major progress has been achieved in removal of encroachments despite lapse of considerable period of time, sources added. "There are numerous other instances in the official record of none else than the Forest Department which clearly estab- lish that influential encroachers have remained untouched till date", sources said, adding "unless the Government issues stern direction to the Law Officers to regularly follow these cases in the courts of law for get- ting the interim orders vacated or modified these encroachers will remain unpunished". Seal illegal structures: HC carried at Gulmarg." Court also directed these authorities to seal the structure on the spot in case illegal con- struction is found to be going on and file the latest status report about the visit and any kind of illegal constructions by or before the next date fixed in the case which is in the week com- mencing from December 19. It may be mentioned that Court has already made it clear that if any person violates the Court direction and continues with the constructional activi- ties, then Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) shall seal such structures. The GDA has already kept on hold the building or repair permissions passed in favour of various hoteliers after passing of stay order by the High Court on these permissions. The GDA through its CEO has made a statement before the court that the position on spot is existing as it was on October 5 (before passing of stay order) and no construction material has been allowed towards the Ski resort. Court has already directed Sub Divisional Magistrate and Sub Divisional Police Officer Gulmarg to extend all assistance to the CEO GDA for enforcing the law and implementing the court orders. Court while hearing the PIL said that at number of times ear- lier in the instant PIL it has been recorded that Gulmarg is a world famous tourist destination and it is responsibility of every- one to protect and look-after its ecosystem and environment and observed "The laws have to be implemented without any dis- crepancy and breach". Court was hearing a PIL on saving of famous tourist resort Gulmarg from all encroach- ments which have taken place for the last more than two decades in and around it. Earlier, High Court received the record of Gulmarg Land Scam case from the trial court. The record pertaining to the infa- mous Gulmarg Land Scam case was called from the Court of Special Anti-corruption Baramulla on previous date of hearing when Advocate General submitted that the case is pending before the Court of Sessions Judge Baramulla (Special Anti- corruption) in which Chief Secretary was directed what steps has been taken on vesting of own- ership rights to persons in respect of properties situated at Gulmarg. Pargal gets ‘Journalist of the Year’ award Top journalists of the coun- try formed the Panel, which screened entries for ‘Journalist of the Year' award and selected the entries of Pargal and Vivek as the best. The Panel had received large number of entries for the award. While presenting award to Sanjeev Pargal and Vivek Singh, Vohra congratulated and compli- mented them for the honour. Several distinguished per- sonalities of Jammu especially those from media fraternity attended the function. Aneesh Bhanot, who has been affiliated with journalism at the national level and happens to be brother of Neerja Bhanot, an airhostess, who was shot and killed by the terrorists on September 5, 1986 but not before she had saved 359 lives and on whom recent Movie Neerja was picturized, also attended the function and stressed for trans- parency in the journalism. Bhanot said today's awards were being given for excelling in the field of political reporting and investigative journalism. Pargal is already the recipi- ent of State award, `Best Legislature Coverage Award' (twice) and Reliance People's Choice Award. Prof Sushil Chhibber, wife of Prof RK Chhibber, Ved Bushan Gupta, Secretary of the Trust, Press Club president Ashwani Kumar and Secretary General Zorawar Singh also addressed the gathering. Meanwhile, Kamal Rohmetra, Editor-in-Chief, Daily Excelsior and Neeraj Rohmetra, Executive Editor, have congratulated Sanjeev Pargal on receiving the 'Journalist of the Year' award. In his address at the function, the Governor observed that the media is a vital organ and has an extremely crucial role in sustain- ing and strengthening democra- cy. He urged journalists to be detached, objective and fair and free from political biases while writing on sensitive issues and matters of public importance. Vohra urged the journalistic fraternity to powerfully project issues relating to corruption, misgovernance, poverty, illitera- cy, safety and security of women and children, upliftment of the rural areas etc. and help the Government to effectively dis- seminate development and wel- fare programmes as enhance- ment of awareness would bene- fit the targeted segments of the population and, besides, pro- mote accountability. The Governor noted that if our print and electronic media work responsibly within parame- ters of positivity and productivi- ty it can be extremely effective in spreading awareness and focus- ing critical attention on impor- tant issues. He said that journal- ists have an important role which they can play for building a bright future for our country. Minor reshuffle in judiciary has been transferred and posted as President, Divisional Consumer Protection Forum Jammu vice Shahzad Azeem. Rajesh Kumar Abrol, Sub Judge (presently attached with the Registrar Judicial), has been transferred and posted as Sub Judge Chadoora vice Vinod Kumar, who has been posted as Sub Judge, Leave Reserve Post in the High Court of J&K, Jammu Wing. Additional charge of the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Kargil for the time being has been given to the Chief Judicial Magistrate Leh with the direction to hold the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate at Kargil for one week in a month keeping in view the workload and urgency. For complaints regarding newspaper delivery or Advertisement Production. Contact: 9419157374, 9419111428 Edited, Printed, Published by Kamal Rohmetra and owned by Daily Excelsior. Executive Editor Neeraj Rohmetra. Printed at Daily Excelsior and Excelsior Printer Pvt Ltd, Janipura, Jammu and published from EXCELSIOR HOUSE, Janipura, Jammu 180007 (J&K). Phones: 2537055, 2537901, 2539178. Fax: 0191-2537831 and 2530272 Editor's Residence: 2431830, 2433288. E-mail: [email protected]. Advertisement Manager Ajay Mengi 9419187959. For Advertisement queries: [email protected]. Residence Nos: Jammu Bureau Chief: Sanjeev Pargal (2538475), Special Correspondents: Anil Sharma (2435602), Gopal Sharma (9419180803), Mohinder Verma (9419185803), Avtar Bhat (9419142184), Srinagar Office: 2 Pratap Park Srinagar. Phone: (O) 2450213, New Delhi Advertisement Office: 3/15, INS Building, Rafi Marg. Chief: H.S. Paul 9810068545 (M), 25465596, 23327178 (O), 23350331 (Fax). Mumbai Advertisement Office: C/o S. J. Business Centre, Islam Building Room No. 17/18, Ist Floor, 46 Veer Nariman Road. Chief: K.S. Nitin 9322509953 (M) 22883904, 22821859 (O) 22845484 (Fax). To subscribe Excelsior Internet Edition, send-e-mail at: subscribe @dailyexcelsior.com CINEMA INDIRA AUDI- 1: 1. UNDERWORLD BLOOD- 9:45 A.M., 2. MOANA-3D (HIN) - 11:35 AM., 3. UNDERWORLD BLOOD- 1:35 P.M., 4. MOANA-3D (HIN)- 3:25 PM, 5. UNDERWORLD BLOOD- 5:25 PM, 6. MOANA-3D (HIN)- 7:15 PM., 7. KAHAANI-2- 9.45 P.M. INDIRA AUDI-2: 1. KAHAANI-2- 9:45 A.M., 2. KAHAANI-2- 12:15 PM, 3. KAHAANI-2 - 2:45 P.M., 4. KAHAANI-2 - 5:15 P.M, 5. KAHAANI-2 - 7:55 P.M., 6. KAHAANI-2- 10.25 P.M. INDIRA AUDI-3: 1. FORCE 2- 09:45 A.M., 2. DEAR ZINDAGI- 12:10 PM, 3. DEAR ZINDAGI- 3:00 P.M. 4. DEAR ZINDA- GI- 5:50 PM, 5. DEAR ZINDAGI- 8:40 P.M APSARA AUDI -1 KAHAANI-2 - 09.45 AM, 12:45 P.M., 03:45 A.M., 06:45 P.M. APSARA AUDI-2 FORCE- 2 - 10:00 A.M., 12:30 P.M., 3:30 P.M., 6:30 P.M. KC THEATRE AUDI-1: KAHAANI-2 - 10:00 A.M, 12:40 P.M., 3:40 P.M., 6:30 P.M, 9.15 P.M K C THEATRE AUDI-2: UNDERWORLD BLOOD - 10.00 AM, 12.30 PM, 03:30 PM, 6.30 PM, 9:15 PM HARI THEATRE: DONGRI KA RAJA - DAILY 4 SHOWS WAVE CINEMA-1: 1. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A) - 10.15 AM, 2. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A) - 1:15 PM, 3. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A) - 4:15 PM, 4. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A) - 7.15 PM, 5. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A) - 10.20 PM WAVE CINEMA-2: 1. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 9.40, 2. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 12:15 PM, 3. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 2:50 PM, 4. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 5.25 PM, 5. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 08.00 PM. 6. KAHAANI 2 (U/A)- 10:45 P.M. WAVE CINEMA-3: 1. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 10:30 AM, 2. UNDERWORLD 5 -3D- (U/A) HINDI - 1:05 PM, 3. MOANA 3D (U) HINDI - 3.00 PM, 4. UNDERWORLD 5- 3D- (U/A) ENG 5.10 PM 5. MOANA 3D (U) ENG - 7.00 PM, 6. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A)- 9.15 PM. DISCLAIMER ‘‘Daily Excelsior’’ does not take responsibility for the contents of the adver- tisements (Display/ Classified) carried in this newspaper. The paper does not endorse the same. Readers are requested to verify the contents on their own before acting there upon.’’ BJP Ministers under fire in Madhav-office bearers’ meeting Some of the office bearers went to the extent of saying that despite giving their life to BJP, the Ministers even refused to recognise them with the result they are facing humiliation in the public, sources added. Sources said though BJP was given massive mandate in Jammu region and people have many expectations from the party but the Ministers have failed to maintain a liaison with public with the result workers had to face the wrath of people, sources added Sources said BJP State presi- dent Sat Sharma and other sen- ior office bearers were present in the meeting. Ram Madhav was also briefed about the mobilization of party activities at different levels to highlight the achievements of the BJP led NDA Government at the Centre and the BJP coalition in Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing the meeting, Madhav said that the BJP Government under PM Narendra Modi, during the last two and half years, has taken a number of bold decisions which have long bearing consequences and aimed to make India one of the leading countries of the world. Not merely reformative but it has taken transformative decisions to put India on the track of rapid development while meeting the aspirations of common masses, down trodden and under privileged classes, he added. “The goal of the present NDA Government is not to enjoy power but to ensure coun- try’s dignified place at the inter- national level. Its decisions with regard to empowering the com- mon masses, providing the essential facilities to the people and in the matter of defence, for- eign affairs, communication sec- tor and in the economic fields are commendable”, Madhav added. He said that demonetization in India is one of the bold and transformative decision which will serve multiple purposes like breaking the back of black money, diminish fake currency, hawala transactions, give severe blow to drug mafia and the fund- ing to terrorists and anti-national elements. It is true that people in general have to face little incon- venience at few places but for the good of the country, the countrymen should be prepared to face some hardships. He said that it was a major and courageous step that no pre- vious Government ever dared to take. He stressed upon the party leaders to devote more time to the party and reach out the mass- es to educate them about the benefits of demonetization and dozens of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and expose the opposi- tion parties for their misinforma- tion campaign unleashed to tar- nish the image of the Modi Government. Justice Khehar to be new CJI office on January 3, 2017. Justice Khehar, who will be sworn in on January 4, will hold the tenure for over seven months till August 27, 2017. Besides heading the bench in NJAC matter, Justice Khehar has also headed a bench which had set aside the imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh in January this year. He was also a part of the bench which sent Sahara chief Subrata Roy to jail while hear- ing the matter relating to the refund of money invested by people in his two companies. Justice Khehar also headed a bench which recently gave a sig- nificant verdict holding that the principal of ‘equal pay for equal work’ has to be made applicable to those engaged as daily wagers, casual and contractual employees who perform the same duties as the regulars. While the turf war between the judiciary and the executive over the appointment of Judges for higher judiciary has intensi- fied, Justice Khehar on the occa- sion of Constitution Day on November 26 had responded to the tirade from Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi by saying that the judiciary was working with- in its “lakshmanrekha”. “Judiciary is mandated to shield all persons, citizens and non-citizens alike, against dis- crimination and abuse of State power. Liberty, equality and dig- nity of citizen have flourished substantially in India due to the pro-active role of judiciary in the country,” he had said. Justice Khehar was also a part of the five-Judge Bench which answered the Presidential Reference whether all natural resources have to be alienated through auction. The issue had arisen in wake of 2G spectrum allocation mat- ter in which all 122 licences were quashed by the Apex Court. Justice Khehar, writing a separate judgement, had opined that no part of natural resource can be dissipated as a matter of largesse, charity, donation or endowment for private exploita- tion. He had held that each bit of natural resource expended must bring back a reciprocal consider- ation. The consideration may be in the nature of earning revenue or may be to ‘best subserve the common good’, he had said, adding, it may well be the amal- gam of the two. Justice Khehar was also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha appointed Inquiry Committee for investigating the grounds on which the removal of Justice P D Dinakaran, Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, was sought for alleged corruption. Justice Khehar had assumed office as Judge of the Supreme Court on September 13, 2011. Before his elevation to the apex court, he was the Chief Justice of High Court of Karnataka, where he assumed his office on August 8, 2010. He was also the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court and was the Acting Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana HC twice with effect from August 2, 2008, and again, from November 17, 2009. He became a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 8, 1999. An LLM from Punjab University, he was enrolled as an advocate in 1979, was appointed as Additional Advocate General in Punjab, in January 1992, and then as Senior Standing Counsel, Union Territory, Chandigarh. He was designated as senior advocate in February, 1995 and remained Standing Counsel for Universities, Corporate Bodies and a large number of compa- nies and cooperative organisa- tions. (PTI) MSME Ministry wants withdrawal limit for units hiked to Rs 2 lakh NEW DELHI, Dec 6: The MSME Ministry will seek from the Finance Ministry higher withdrawal limit of Rs 2 lakh per week for small and medium enterprises to ease their cash crunch that has followed the government's demonetisation of high value currency notes. "We are having a discussion with MSME associations and the suggestions that we have received such as increasing the withdrawal limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh, removal of penal- ties and interest, will be put before the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister," Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhuri said on the sidelines of a conference organ- ised by Assocham. The weekly withdrawal limit for current accounts is Rs 50,000 at present. The Minister also suggested to businesses to go in for digital transactions, observing "demon- etisation will help to control the fiscal deficit". Chaudhuri further said that the government is witnessing a new trend with many MSMEs taking the e-commerce route to establish themselves in the Indian market and they are using internet not only as a marketing tool but also as a tool to enable them to understand if a unique product has high demand in the market. By adopting e-commerce, he said, MSMEs will achieve sig- nificant advantages such as increased revenues and margins, improved market reach, access to new markets, cost savings in marketing and communication spend, customer acquisition and improved customer experience. Meanwhile, an ASSOCHAM study on MSMEs has said the Government must realise that the small scale sector will certainly move to e-payments. It is important to acknowl- edge that money generated in business is not irregular, it said, adding that certain issues cannot be pushed so much that the sys- tem chokes and the outcome is distorted. Inadequacy of bank branches is one primary reason why cash dominates small businesses, it said. "Many rural branches are open for just a day or two in a week. People consider bank postings in rural India as a pun- ishment. The smaller the enter- prise, the bigger the problem," said the study. It said that irrespective of the bright side of upcoming GST, SMEs must be mindful of its accompanying challenges such as increase in complicate costs and alignment of IT systems with new processes. For SMEs, GST throws a mix bag of opportunities and chal- lenges to explore, it added. (PTI) NEW DELHI, Dec 6: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today appeared before the Delhi High Court and ten- dered evidence in support of his civil defamation suit against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders. The Union Minister came to the court of a Joint Registrar at 2 PM along with a battery of sen- ior lawyers and recorded his evi- dence during which he endorsed the documents and annexures filed by him alongwith the civil suit. Jaitley, who has already denied all allegations of financial bungling in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), had filed the suit seeking Rs 10 crore damages against the back- drop of attacks on him by Kejriwal and other AAP leaders over alleged irregularities and financial bungling in the cricket body of which he was the presi- dent for about 13 years till 2013. The senior BJP leader, who appeared before the high court in the matter for the first time since he had filed the suit in December 2015, corroborated his demand for Rs 10 crore as damages from Kejriwal and oth- ers. Senior advocates Rajiv Nayar, Sandeep Sethi and Pratibha M Singh, who appeared for Jaitley, submitted the files and documents during the one- and-a-half-hour long proceed- ings. The court fixed the matter for further hearing on March 6 next year, when Jaitley will be cross-examined by the counsel for Kejriwal and other AAP leaders. Advocate Rishikesh, appear- ing for the Chief Minister, sought a long date to cross- examine Jaitley as Kejriwal has engaged senior advocate Ram Jethmalani who will not be available for two months. Jaitley's counsel opposed the contention and said that Kejriwal and the five AAP lead- ers -- Raghav Chadha, Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh and Deepak Bajpai -- were "unnecessarily delaying the matter". After the hearing was over, Jaitley, along with his lawyers, headed to the high court advo- cates' canteen. The Minister appeared to record his evidence after the high court on July 12 had framed issues against Kejriwal and others in the matter, notwithstanding their claim that they had not made any defama- tory statement against him in the DDCA case. The issues were framed against them after Kejriwal's counsel had denied the allega- tions and submitted that whatev- er was said against the Minister was in public domain and he has not said anything on his own. The court had framed issues against all the six AAP leaders and fixed the matter before Joint Registrar to decide whether any defamatory statements were made by them. In a civil suit, when one party affirms and other party denies a material proposition of fact or law, then only the issues arise. Some of the issues framed by the court include whether Jaitley was entitled for any damage for the alleged defamatory statements made by AAP leaders and what should be the amount. (PTI) DDCA defamation suit: Jaitley appears in HC, tenders evidence Uphaar fire tragedy: Ansals say will not leave India NEW DELHI, Dec 6: Real estate barons - - Sushil and Gopal Ansal - - gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court today that they would not leave India till the hearings in the review petition in connec- tion with the 1997 Upahaar fire tragedy case been decided. The Apex Court, also issued notice to Ansal brothers on the plea of AVUT (Association of the Victims of the Uphaar Tragedy), which submitted that they might flee the country. A three-Judge bench, head- ed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi and also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel heard the plea from the AVUT and issued notice to real estate barons. December 14, Wednesday, was set for the next date of hearing. The Supreme Court also made it clear that the Ansal brothers could not leave the country till the petition was dis- posed off. (PTI)
Transcript of WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016 (PAGE 6) DAILY EXCELSIOR...
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016 (PAGE 6) DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMUFrom page 1
Mehbooba blames NC forfomenting trouble in Kashmir
when the situation hasimproved, students are going toschools and tourism has alsopicked up a little bit and whensituation is improving FarooqSahib has once again givenorders to his workers to createthe same situation again whereJammu and Kashmir will deteri-orate again", she said.
Mehbooba said that the NChas done everything for chairsince 1947. "They have nothingto do with the movement but NCsince 1947 has done everythingfor the chair. And I feel the state-ment of Farooq Abdullah hasgiven indication to his workersthat don't allow situation to nor-malize because they don't wantsituation should normalize inKashmir", she said.
The Chief Minister said DrFarooq Abdullah had been advo-cating bombing of Pakistan andthrowing Hurriyat Conferenceleaders into Jhelum. "OmarSahib has been External AffairsMinister in BJP Government. Hehas spoken against Pakistan atNational and international lev-els. When Omar Sahib wasMinister, he had said thatPakistan should be declared aterrorist State. Farooq Sahib hasbeen advocating bombing ofPakistan. Farooq Sahib had beensaying that Hurriyat leadersshould be thrown into riverJhelum", she said.
Mehbooba said it is now evi-dent that the NC can play withthe lives of children and evenwomen for power. "It hasbecome evident today that theNC can go to any extent to play
with the lives of little childrenand even women for power", shesaid.
Meanwhile, an officialstatement said here that ChiefMinister has expressed sur-prise over the changing standof some politicians. She saidher party and Governmenthave maintained consistentstand on the issues and regret-ted some seasoned politicianschanging their postures in andout of power.
"She said that she has main-tained during the past fivemonths that criminal elementshad infiltrated into theKashmir's public domain thatwere getting people killed, prop-erties destroyed and above allgiving the otherwise sobre soci-ety of Kashmir a bad name", thestatement said.
The Chief Minister said itwas unfortunate when the leaderof the oldest political party ofthe State should console peopleand ask for restraint, he was justprovoking his cadre to aid andabet violence when people ofKashmir have realized its futili-ty and have suffered huge lossesfinancially, physically, educa-tionally and emotionally.
Mehbooba said it has beenvery unfortunate trait of the NCparty that they keep chantingKashmir and other issues of peo-ple but once in power they for-get the miseries of people.
The Chief Minister said thepeople of Kashmir having suf-fered a lot and understand suchpolitical gimmickry and won'tfall prey to such things.
BSF launches major operation todetect tunnels along 198-kms IB
into zones for execution of thetask expeditiously. The task willbe completed very soon,'' theyadded.
According to sources, thetask (to detect the tunnels) isbeing executed in such a waythat Pakistani Rangers wouldn'tbe able to detect or disrupt it.However, even if they (theRangers) try to disrupt thework, they wouldn't succeed.It's a fool-proof plan going onalong the borders, they said.
Sources said since entireinternational boundary isspread in plain areas, thechances of tunnel are morethere instead of the Line ofControl (LoC), which is treach-erous and located in hilly areasof Rajouri and Poonch.
It may be mentioned herethat security forces have so fardetected four tunnels on theInternational Border and Lineof Control (LoC) in Jammusector. The longest of them wasdetected at Chilyari in Samba-
Hiranagar sector in 2012 whileanother tunnel was detected onLoC in Pallanwalla sector inAugust 2014. The third tunnelwas detected in RS Pura sectorin April this year.
After detection of fourthtunnel at Chamliyal inRamgarh sector of Samba dis-trict on November 29, the BSFwas now looking for more suchtunnels on the border to ensurethat the militants didn't man-age to sneak-in using the tun-nels.
There had been reports thatone time rat hole tunnels byPakistani Rangers were beingconducted using Chinese tech-nology. Such tunnels, meant forone time use, can be dug with-in few hours through which themilitants can negotiate borderfencing and crawl to this side.
All three militants, who hadinfiltrated using this technolo-gy, were eliminated by the BSFpersonnel within few hoursafter their infiltration.
Politicians, big sharks involved in forest land encroachment remain untouched in J&K
bureaucrats and politiciansincluding ex-Ministers and sit-ting Ministers. Moreover, thedepartment even placed thelist of such encroachers beforethe House with the mentionthat Government will leave nostone unturned to get the landvacated from the illegal occu-pants.
However, not even one stephas so far been initiated toretrieve the encroached forestland, sources regretted, adding"in majority of the cases involv-ing influential persons the inter-im orders from the courts haverestrained the Forest Departmentfrom carrying out anti-encroach-ment drive but despite beingaware of this the concerned LawOfficers have not been takinginterest in getting the interimorders vacated by placing rele-vant data and information beforethe courts".
"The slackness of the LawOfficers in this regard isnotwithstanding the fact thatMinister for Law and Justice,Abdul Haq Khan is repeatedlylaying thrust on regular follow-up of the cases where interimorders have created road-blockin carrying out exercise ofimmense importance", sourcesfurther said.
As per the data of ForestDepartment, former Ministerof Congress party is alleged tohave encroached 26.20 kanalsof forest land in ShopianForest Division and underSection 48(a) of J&K ForestAct, eviction notices wereserved upon him for vacatingof encroachment. However, hefiled an appeal in J&K SpecialTribunal Srinagar where thematter is under trial sincelong.
Similarly, matter regardingencroachment of forest land by asitting BJP Minister in the out-skirts of Jammu city is pendingfor disposal in the court of lawand unless the concerned LawOfficers convince the court withrelevant data and informationthe interim order cannot bevacated.
Likewise, another formerMinister is alleged to haveencroached forest land inSunjwan area of Jammu but theinterim order from the HighCourt could not be vacated dur-ing the past several yearsbecause of the slackness of theconcerned Law Officers.
As far as hoteliers are con-cerned, a prominent hotel inGulmarg has encroachedapproximately one kanal offorest land for which evictionnotice was issued but due tofailure of the Law Officers toget the interim order of the
court vacated or modified thelegal action is pending.
According to the sources, theHigh Court of J&K had consti-tuted a committee in the year2004 to report the details ofbuildings/structures that haveviolated the PatnitopDevelopment Authority (PDA)approved plan and encroachedforest land.
It was found by this commit-tee that 14 hotels in Patnitophave encroached the forest landas per the records. However,eight forest land encroachmentsby the hotels were evicted butthe remaining six could not betouched mainly because of inter-im orders of different courtswhereby proceedings underJ&K Public Premises (Evictionof Unauthorized Occupants) Actwere stayed.
"The status quo is still in-force mainly because of the fail-ure of the concerned LawOfficers to convince the courtswith the relevant information formodification of their orders",sources said.
They informed that on thedirections of the then ChiefMinister, Mufti MohammadSayeed the Udhampur districtadministration had identifiedmany more encroachments onthe forest land in Patnitoparea and the list of theencroachers was forwarded tothe senior officers of the ForestDepartment for action in atime-bound manner. However,no major progress has beenachieved in removal ofencroachments despite lapseof considerable period of time,sources added.
"There are numerous otherinstances in the official record ofnone else than the ForestDepartment which clearly estab-lish that influential encroachershave remained untouched tilldate", sources said, adding"unless the Government issuesstern direction to the LawOfficers to regularly follow thesecases in the courts of law for get-ting the interim orders vacated ormodified these encroachers willremain unpunished".
Seal illegal structures: HCcarried at Gulmarg."
Court also directed theseauthorities to seal the structureon the spot in case illegal con-struction is found to be going onand file the latest status reportabout the visit and any kind ofillegal constructions by orbefore the next date fixed in thecase which is in the week com-mencing from December 19.
It may be mentioned thatCourt has already made it clearthat if any person violates theCourt direction and continueswith the constructional activi-ties, then Gulmarg DevelopmentAuthority (GDA) shall seal suchstructures.
The GDA has already kepton hold the building or repairpermissions passed in favour ofvarious hoteliers after passing ofstay order by the High Court onthese permissions.
The GDA through its CEOhas made a statement before thecourt that the position on spot isexisting as it was on October 5(before passing of stay order)and no construction material hasbeen allowed towards the Skiresort.
Court has already directedSub Divisional Magistrate andSub Divisional Police OfficerGulmarg to extend all assistance
to the CEO GDA for enforcingthe law and implementing thecourt orders.
Court while hearing the PILsaid that at number of times ear-lier in the instant PIL it has beenrecorded that Gulmarg is aworld famous tourist destinationand it is responsibility of every-one to protect and look-after itsecosystem and environment andobserved "The laws have to beimplemented without any dis-crepancy and breach".
Court was hearing a PIL onsaving of famous tourist resortGulmarg from all encroach-ments which have taken placefor the last more than twodecades in and around it.
Earlier, High Court receivedthe record of Gulmarg LandScam case from the trial court.The record pertaining to the infa-mous Gulmarg Land Scam casewas called from the Court ofSpecial Anti-corruptionBaramulla on previous date ofhearing when Advocate Generalsubmitted that the case is pendingbefore the Court of SessionsJudge Baramulla (Special Anti-corruption) in which ChiefSecretary was directed what stepshas been taken on vesting of own-ership rights to persons in respectof properties situated at Gulmarg.
Pargal gets ‘Journalist of the Year’ awardTop journalists of the coun-
try formed the Panel, whichscreened entries for ‘Journalistof the Year' award and selectedthe entries of Pargal and Vivekas the best. The Panel hadreceived large number of entriesfor the award.
While presenting award toSanjeev Pargal and Vivek Singh,Vohra congratulated and compli-mented them for the honour.
Several distinguished per-sonalities of Jammu especiallythose from media fraternityattended the function.
Aneesh Bhanot, who hasbeen affiliated with journalism atthe national level and happens tobe brother of Neerja Bhanot, anairhostess, who was shot andkilled by the terrorists onSeptember 5, 1986 but not beforeshe had saved 359 lives and onwhom recent Movie Neerja waspicturized, also attended thefunction and stressed for trans-parency in the journalism.
Bhanot said today's awardswere being given for excellingin the field of political reportingand investigative journalism.
Pargal is already the recipi-ent of State award, `BestLegislature Coverage Award'(twice) and Reliance People'sChoice Award.
Prof Sushil Chhibber, wife ofProf RK Chhibber, Ved BushanGupta, Secretary of the Trust,Press Club president AshwaniKumar and Secretary GeneralZorawar Singh also addressed
the gathering.Meanwhile, Kamal
Rohmetra, Editor-in-Chief,Daily Excelsior and NeerajRohmetra, Executive Editor,have congratulated SanjeevPargal on receiving the'Journalist of the Year' award.
In his address at the function,the Governor observed that themedia is a vital organ and has anextremely crucial role in sustain-ing and strengthening democra-cy. He urged journalists to bedetached, objective and fair andfree from political biases whilewriting on sensitive issues andmatters of public importance.
Vohra urged the journalisticfraternity to powerfully projectissues relating to corruption,misgovernance, poverty, illitera-cy, safety and security of womenand children, upliftment of therural areas etc. and help theGovernment to effectively dis-seminate development and wel-fare programmes as enhance-ment of awareness would bene-fit the targeted segments of thepopulation and, besides, pro-mote accountability.
The Governor noted that ifour print and electronic mediawork responsibly within parame-ters of positivity and productivi-ty it can be extremely effective inspreading awareness and focus-ing critical attention on impor-tant issues. He said that journal-ists have an important role whichthey can play for building abright future for our country.
Minor reshuffle in judiciaryhas been transferred and postedas President, DivisionalConsumer Protection ForumJammu vice Shahzad Azeem.
Rajesh Kumar Abrol, SubJudge (presently attached withthe Registrar Judicial), has beentransferred and posted as SubJudge Chadoora vice VinodKumar, who has been posted asSub Judge, Leave Reserve Postin the High Court of J&K,Jammu Wing.
Additional charge of theCourt of Chief JudicialMagistrate Kargil for the timebeing has been given to theChief Judicial Magistrate Lehwith the direction to hold thecourt of Chief JudicialMagistrate at Kargil for oneweek in a month keeping inview the workload and urgency.
For complaints regarding newspaper delivery or AdvertisementProduction. Contact: 9419157374, 9419111428
Edited, Printed, Published by Kamal Rohmetra andowned by Daily Excelsior. Executive Editor NeerajRohmetra. Printed at Daily Excelsior and ExcelsiorPrinter Pvt Ltd, Janipura, Jammu and published fromEXCELSIOR HOUSE, Janipura, Jammu 180007 (J&K).Phones: 2537055, 2537901, 2539178. Fax: 0191-2537831and 2530272 Editor's Residence: 2431830, 2433288.E-mail: [email protected]. Advertisement ManagerAjay Mengi 9419187959. For Advertisement queries:[email protected]. Residence Nos: Jammu BureauChief: Sanjeev Pargal (2538475), Special Correspondents:Anil Sharma (2435602), Gopal Sharma (9419180803),Mohinder Verma (9419185803), Avtar Bhat (9419142184),Srinagar Office: 2 Pratap Park Srinagar. Phone: (O)2450213, New Delhi Advertisement Office: 3/15, INSBuilding, Rafi Marg. Chief: H.S. Paul 9810068545 (M),25465596, 23327178 (O), 23350331 (Fax). MumbaiAdvertisement Office: C/o S. J. Business Centre, IslamBuilding Room No. 17/18, Ist Floor, 46 Veer NarimanRoad. Chief: K.S. Nitin 9322509953 (M) 22883904,22821859 (O) 22845484 (Fax).To subscribe Excelsior Internet Edition, send-e-mail at:subscribe @dailyexcelsior.com
CINEMAINDIRA AUDI- 1: 1. UNDERWORLD BLOOD- 9:45 A.M., 2. MOANA-3D (HIN) - 11:35 AM., 3. UNDERWORLD BLOOD- 1:35P.M., 4. MOANA-3D (HIN)- 3:25 PM, 5. UNDERWORLD BLOOD- 5:25 PM, 6. MOANA-3D (HIN)- 7:15 PM., 7. KAHAANI-2-9.45 P.M.INDIRA AUDI-2: 1. KAHAANI-2- 9:45 A.M., 2. KAHAANI-2- 12:15 PM, 3. KAHAANI-2 - 2:45 P.M., 4. KAHAANI-2 - 5:15 P.M,5. KAHAANI-2 - 7:55 P.M., 6. KAHAANI-2- 10.25 P.M.INDIRA AUDI-3: 1. FORCE 2- 09:45 A.M., 2. DEAR ZINDAGI- 12:10 PM, 3. DEAR ZINDAGI- 3:00 P.M. 4. DEAR ZINDA-GI- 5:50 PM, 5. DEAR ZINDAGI- 8:40 P.MAPSARA AUDI -1 KAHAANI-2 - 09.45 AM, 12:45 P.M., 03:45 A.M., 06:45 P.M.APSARA AUDI-2 FORCE- 2 - 10:00 A.M., 12:30 P.M., 3:30 P.M., 6:30 P.M.KC THEATRE AUDI-1: KAHAANI-2 - 10:00 A.M, 12:40 P.M., 3:40 P.M., 6:30 P.M, 9.15 P.MK C THEATRE AUDI-2: UNDERWORLD BLOOD - 10.00 AM, 12.30 PM, 03:30 PM, 6.30 PM, 9:15 PMHARI THEATRE: DONGRI KA RAJA - DAILY 4 SHOWSWAVE CINEMA-1: 1. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A) - 10.15 AM, 2. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A) - 1:15 PM, 3. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A) -4:15 PM, 4. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A) - 7.15 PM, 5. DEAR ZINDAGI (U/A) - 10.20 PMWAVE CINEMA-2: 1. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 9.40, 2. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 12:15 PM, 3. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 2:50 PM, 4. KAHAANI2 (U/A) - 5.25 PM, 5. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 08.00 PM. 6. KAHAANI 2 (U/A)- 10:45 P.M.WAVE CINEMA-3: 1. KAHAANI 2 (U/A) - 10:30 AM, 2. UNDERWORLD 5 -3D- (U/A) HINDI - 1:05 PM, 3. MOANA 3D (U)HINDI - 3.00 PM, 4. UNDERWORLD 5- 3D- (U/A) ENG 5.10 PM 5. MOANA 3D (U) ENG - 7.00 PM, 6. DEAR ZINDAGI(U/A)- 9.15 PM.
DISCLAIMER‘‘Daily Excelsior’’ doesnot take responsibility forthe contents of the adver-tisements (Display/Classified) carried in thisnewspaper. The paperdoes not endorse thesame. Readers arerequested to verify thecontents on their ownbefore acting there upon.’’
BJP Ministers under fire inMadhav-office bearers’ meeting
Some of the office bearerswent to the extent of saying thatdespite giving their life to BJP,the Ministers even refused torecognise them with the resultthey are facing humiliation inthe public, sources added.
Sources said though BJP wasgiven massive mandate inJammu region and people havemany expectations from theparty but the Ministers havefailed to maintain a liaison withpublic with the result workershad to face the wrath of people,sources added
Sources said BJP State presi-dent Sat Sharma and other sen-ior office bearers were present inthe meeting.
Ram Madhav was alsobriefed about the mobilization ofparty activities at different levelsto highlight the achievements ofthe BJP led NDA Government atthe Centre and the BJP coalitionin Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing the meeting,Madhav said that the BJPGovernment under PMNarendra Modi, during the lasttwo and half years, has taken anumber of bold decisions whichhave long bearing consequencesand aimed to make India one ofthe leading countries of theworld. Not merely reformativebut it has taken transformativedecisions to put India on thetrack of rapid developmentwhile meeting the aspirations ofcommon masses, down troddenand under privileged classes, he
added.“The goal of the present
NDA Government is not toenjoy power but to ensure coun-try’s dignified place at the inter-national level. Its decisions withregard to empowering the com-mon masses, providing theessential facilities to the peopleand in the matter of defence, for-eign affairs, communication sec-tor and in the economic fieldsare commendable”, Madhavadded.
He said that demonetizationin India is one of the bold andtransformative decision whichwill serve multiple purposes likebreaking the back of blackmoney, diminish fake currency,hawala transactions, give severeblow to drug mafia and the fund-ing to terrorists and anti-nationalelements. It is true that people ingeneral have to face little incon-venience at few places but forthe good of the country, thecountrymen should be preparedto face some hardships.
He said that it was a majorand courageous step that no pre-vious Government ever dared totake. He stressed upon the partyleaders to devote more time tothe party and reach out the mass-es to educate them about thebenefits of demonetization anddozens of Centrally SponsoredSchemes and expose the opposi-tion parties for their misinforma-tion campaign unleashed to tar-nish the image of the ModiGovernment.
Justice Khehar to be new CJIoffice on January 3, 2017.
Justice Khehar, who will besworn in on January 4, will holdthe tenure for over seven monthstill August 27, 2017.
Besides heading the bench inNJAC matter, Justice Kheharhas also headed a bench whichhad set aside the imposition ofPresident’s Rule in ArunachalPradesh in January this year.
He was also a part of thebench which sent Sahara chiefSubrata Roy to jail while hear-ing the matter relating to therefund of money invested bypeople in his two companies.
Justice Khehar also headed abench which recently gave a sig-nificant verdict holding that theprincipal of ‘equal pay for equalwork’ has to be made applicableto those engaged as dailywagers, casual and contractualemployees who perform thesame duties as the regulars.
While the turf war betweenthe judiciary and the executiveover the appointment of Judgesfor higher judiciary has intensi-fied, Justice Khehar on the occa-sion of Constitution Day onNovember 26 had responded tothe tirade from Attorney GeneralMukul Rohatgi by saying thatthe judiciary was working with-in its “lakshmanrekha”.
“Judiciary is mandated toshield all persons, citizens andnon-citizens alike, against dis-crimination and abuse of Statepower. Liberty, equality and dig-nity of citizen have flourishedsubstantially in India due to thepro-active role of judiciary inthe country,” he had said.
Justice Khehar was also apart of the five-Judge Benchwhich answered the PresidentialReference whether all naturalresources have to be alienatedthrough auction.
The issue had arisen in wakeof 2G spectrum allocation mat-ter in which all 122 licenceswere quashed by the ApexCourt.
Justice Khehar, writing aseparate judgement, had opinedthat no part of natural resourcecan be dissipated as a matter oflargesse, charity, donation orendowment for private exploita-tion.
He had held that each bit ofnatural resource expended mustbring back a reciprocal consider-ation.
The consideration may be inthe nature of earning revenue ormay be to ‘best subserve thecommon good’, he had said,adding, it may well be the amal-gam of the two.
Justice Khehar was also theChairman of the Rajya Sabhaappointed Inquiry Committeefor investigating the grounds onwhich the removal of Justice P DDinakaran, Chief Justice of theKarnataka High Court, wassought for alleged corruption.
Justice Khehar had assumedoffice as Judge of the SupremeCourt on September 13, 2011.
Before his elevation to theapex court, he was the ChiefJustice of High Court ofKarnataka, where he assumedhis office on August 8, 2010.
He was also the Chief Justiceof Uttarakhand High Court andwas the Acting Chief Justice ofPunjab and Haryana HC twicewith effect from August 2, 2008,and again, from November 17,2009.
He became a Judge of thePunjab and Haryana High Courton February 8, 1999.
An LLM from PunjabUniversity, he was enrolled as anadvocate in 1979, was appointedas Additional Advocate Generalin Punjab, in January 1992, andthen as Senior Standing Counsel,Union Territory, Chandigarh.
He was designated as senioradvocate in February, 1995 andremained Standing Counsel forUniversities, Corporate Bodiesand a large number of compa-nies and cooperative organisa-tions. (PTI)
MSME Ministry wants withdrawal limit for units hiked to Rs 2 lakh
NEW DELHI, Dec 6:
The MSME Ministry willseek from the Finance Ministryhigher withdrawal limit of Rs 2lakh per week for small andmedium enterprises to ease theircash crunch that has followed thegovernment's demonetisation ofhigh value currency notes.
"We are having a discussionwith MSME associations and thesuggestions that we havereceived such as increasing thewithdrawal limit from Rs 50,000to Rs 2 lakh, removal of penal-ties and interest, will be putbefore the Finance Minister andthe Prime Minister," Minister ofState for Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises HaribhaiParthibhai Chaudhuri said on thesidelines of a conference organ-ised by Assocham.
The weekly withdrawal limitfor current accounts is Rs 50,000at present.
The Minister also suggestedto businesses to go in for digitaltransactions, observing "demon-etisation will help to control thefiscal deficit".
Chaudhuri further said thatthe government is witnessing anew trend with many MSMEstaking the e-commerce route toestablish themselves in theIndian market and they are usinginternet not only as a marketingtool but also as a tool to enablethem to understand if a uniqueproduct has high demand in themarket.
By adopting e-commerce, hesaid, MSMEs will achieve sig-nificant advantages such asincreased revenues and margins,improved market reach, accessto new markets, cost savings inmarketing and communicationspend, customer acquisition andimproved customer experience.
Meanwhile, an ASSOCHAMstudy on MSMEs has said theGovernment must realise that thesmall scale sector will certainlymove to e-payments.
It is important to acknowl-edge that money generated inbusiness is not irregular, it said,adding that certain issues cannotbe pushed so much that the sys-tem chokes and the outcome isdistorted.
Inadequacy of bank branchesis one primary reason why cashdominates small businesses, itsaid.
"Many rural branches areopen for just a day or two in aweek. People consider bankpostings in rural India as a pun-ishment. The smaller the enter-prise, the bigger the problem,"said the study.
It said that irrespective of thebright side of upcoming GST,SMEs must be mindful of itsaccompanying challenges suchas increase in complicate costsand alignment of IT systemswith new processes.
For SMEs, GST throws a mixbag of opportunities and chal-lenges to explore, it added. (PTI)
NEW DELHI, Dec 6:Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley today appeared beforethe Delhi High Court and ten-dered evidence in support of hiscivil defamation suit againstChief Minister Arvind Kejriwaland five other AAP leaders.
The Union Minister came tothe court of a Joint Registrar at 2PM along with a battery of sen-ior lawyers and recorded his evi-dence during which he endorsedthe documents and annexuresfiled by him alongwith the civilsuit.
Jaitley, who has alreadydenied all allegations of financialbungling in the Delhi and DistrictCricket Association (DDCA),had filed the suit seeking Rs 10crore damages against the back-drop of attacks on him byKejriwal and other AAP leadersover alleged irregularities andfinancial bungling in the cricketbody of which he was the presi-dent for about 13 years till 2013.
The senior BJP leader, whoappeared before the high courtin the matter for the first timesince he had filed the suit inDecember 2015, corroboratedhis demand for Rs 10 crore asdamages from Kejriwal and oth-ers.
Senior advocates RajivNayar, Sandeep Sethi andPratibha M Singh, who appearedfor Jaitley, submitted the filesand documents during the one-and-a-half-hour long proceed-ings.
The court fixed the matterfor further hearing on March 6next year, when Jaitley will becross-examined by the counselfor Kejriwal and other AAPleaders.
Advocate Rishikesh, appear-
ing for the Chief Minister,sought a long date to cross-examine Jaitley as Kejriwal hasengaged senior advocate RamJethmalani who will not beavailable for two months.
Jaitley's counsel opposed thecontention and said thatKejriwal and the five AAP lead-ers -- Raghav Chadha, KumarVishwas, Ashutosh, SanjaySingh and Deepak Bajpai --were "unnecessarily delayingthe matter".
After the hearing was over,Jaitley, along with his lawyers,headed to the high court advo-cates' canteen.
The Minister appeared torecord his evidence after thehigh court on July 12 hadframed issues against Kejriwaland others in the matter,notwithstanding their claim thatthey had not made any defama-tory statement against him in theDDCA case.
The issues were framedagainst them after Kejriwal'scounsel had denied the allega-tions and submitted that whatev-er was said against the Ministerwas in public domain and he hasnot said anything on his own.
The court had framed issuesagainst all the six AAP leadersand fixed the matter before JointRegistrar to decide whether anydefamatory statements weremade by them.
In a civil suit, when oneparty affirms and other partydenies a material proposition offact or law, then only the issuesarise.
Some of the issues framed bythe court include whether Jaitleywas entitled for any damage forthe alleged defamatory statementsmade by AAP leaders and whatshould be the amount. (PTI)
DDCA defamation suit: Jaitleyappears in HC, tenders evidence
Uphaar fire tragedy:Ansals say will not leave India
NEW DELHI, Dec 6:Real estate barons - - Sushil
and Gopal Ansal - - gave anundertaking to the SupremeCourt today that they would notleave India till the hearings inthe review petition in connec-tion with the 1997 Upahaar firetragedy case been decided.
The Apex Court, also issuednotice to Ansal brothers on theplea of AVUT (Association ofthe Victims of the UphaarTragedy), which submitted thatthey might flee the country.
A three-Judge bench, head-ed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi andalso comprising Justices KurianJoseph and Adarsh Kumar Goelheard the plea from the AVUTand issued notice to real estatebarons.
December 14, Wednesday,was set for the next date ofhearing. The Supreme Courtalso made it clear that the Ansalbrothers could not leave thecountry till the petition was dis-posed off. (PTI)
