Chidambaram to blame for midnight swoop. SC pulls up Delhi Police for Ramdev crackdown

Apex court questions Delhi Police on Ramdev crackdown

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) ::  The Supreme Court Monday asked Delhi Police to explain their behaviour and the need to use teargas and baton-charge in a closed enclosure when people were sleeping during yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s protest gathering at the Ramlila Ground here last month.

The apex court bench of Justice B.S. Chauhan and Justice Swatanter Kumar said there were documents and DVDs to show that yoga exercises were undertaken at the camp, and if that was so, what was the justification for police to resort to baton-charge.

Delhi Police chief B.K. Gupta, in an affidavit to the apex court, had said that the permission to use the Ramlila Ground was given for a yoga camp and not for any other purpose.

The court said that it would consider Ramdev’s plea to issue notice to union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on the grounds that the decision to use force against him and his followers at the anti-graft protest was not taken by Delhi Police June 4 but it was taken much earlier at the political level.

Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani, appearing for Ramdev, referred to a press release issued by the home ministry and an interview by Chidambaram to Doordarshan in support of his contention that the decision to use force was taken much earlier.

The case would next be heard July 25.

Jethmalani referred to the ministry’s press release June 8 in which Chidambaram said that ‘a decision was taken’ that Baba Ramdev would not be allowed to organise any protest fast or undertake any fast-unto-death at Ramlila Ground and that if he persisted in his efforts to do so he would be ‘directed to remove himself from Delhi’.

The senior counsel said that the minister nearly repeated the same words in his interview with Doordarshan on that day.

Jethmalani said the minister’s comment was nothing but a strong arm tactic of the government and an attempt to gag any protest against corruption.

He wondered how could there be a decision to extern the yoga guru from Delhi.

Jethmalani described the government’s decision and action as ‘murder of democracy in the country’.

He said that Baba Ramdev had the lawful permission to hold dharna and satyagraha.

Delhi Police’s senior counsel Harish Salve said that he was given the permission to hold dharna and satyagraha only at Jantar Mantar.

When Jethmalani pressed for the issuance of a notice to Chidambaram, the court said ‘let them file a rejoinder to your affidavit and at that stage we will consider your prayer to issue notice’.

The court was informed that Delhi’s chief secretary did not file an affidavit on the matter because he was abroad when police evicted the yoga guru.

The judges said that there must have been someone looking after his responsibilities in his absence and ordered that an affidavit should be filed stating what was the need for using force to disperse the gathering.

• Related reading ::  Chidambaram to blame for midnight swoop, Ramdev tells Supreme Court - India - DNA
• Court glare on force on ‘sleeping men’
• SC pulls up Delhi Police for Ramdev crackdown | Supreme Court | Ramdev | The New Indian Express
• SC pulls up Delhi Police for Ramdev crackdown 

Courtesy : All related sources. This is published in the National interest and under citizen's responsibility for awareness generation programme. 

Black Money Corruption : Bring back people's Money from Swiss Banks.

Black money issue : SC appoints SIT headed by Justice Reddy

Source: PTI  || Date: 7/4/2011 1:50:51 PM || eNews Bharati.

New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) : The Supreme Court today appointed a high-level Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former apex court judge B P Jeevan Reddy to monitor the investigation and the steps being taken to bring back black money stashed away in foreign banks.

Besides Justice Reddy, who will be the chairman of the SIT, the apex court also appointed its former judge, Justice M B Shah as the vice-chairman of the panel. A bench comprising justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar directed that the High-Level Committee (HLC) constituted by the government to look into the issue of black money would "forthwith" be a part of the SIT. The bench also directed the government to disclose the names of all the persons who have been issued show cause notices by the authorities in connection with the probe into the black money issue.

The court, however, made it clear that the authorities would not disclose the names of those who have not been investigated in connection with deposits made in foreign banks including Liechtenstein bank. The court passed the order on a petition filed by eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani and others seeking directions to the government to track black money stashed away abroad and bring it back.The apex court directed the government to issue notification forthwith regarding the appointment of SIT and ordered that government machinery to cooperate with it.

The bench, while passing the order, made some hard-hitting observation against the Centre for its "failure" to take proper action against people who have illegally stashed away money in foreign banks. Observing the phenomenon of black money as "extremely dangerous to the country", the court said the quantum of money in foreign banks is a rough measure of "weakness" and "softness" of the nation.The bench said that it was a serious lapse on the part of the government which will have implications on the country's external and internal security.

"We must express serious reservation on the steps taken by the government...It's clear to us that investigation was completely stalled and expedited only after the court's intervention. "It was only upon this court's insistence that proper investigation was conducted," the bench said while referring to Pune stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan's case. 

The court also asked the SIT to submit a comprehensive action plan to deal with cases relating to the black money issue. Justifying its decision to constitute the SIT, the bench said that in previous cases also the court has been passing such orders to fulfil its constitutional obligation. The court also said that it's not possible for it to be involved in day-to-day investigations in the case as the resources at its disposal were scarce.

The bench said the issue of black money has to be taken with a degree of seriousness and the state is primarily responsible to make all efforts to bring back into the country such wealth and punish people who have stashed away money in foreign banks.

Courtesy : PTI & News Bharati. This is published in the National interest and under citizen's responsibility.