Ansal Brothers surrender in Court

Real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal on Thursday surrendered before a Delhi court in compliance with the Supreme Court order cancelling their bail in the case of Uphaar fire tragedy which claimed 59 lives.

Ansal brothers surrendered before Additional Sessions Judge I K Kochhar at the Patiala House district courts.

Two managers of the Uphaar theatre, Ajit Chowdhary and Nirmal Chopra, also surrendered before the court.

On Wednesday all the four were directed by the apex Court to surrender before the trial court by 4 pm on Thursday.

An apex court bench comprising Justices BN Agrawal and GS Singhvi had ordered their arrest after cancelling their bail. 

The apex Court while cancelling the bail of the convicts had taken a strong exception to the alleged tampering with the judicial records of the case by the accused persons.

The bail of the convicts were cancelled on a petition filed by Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) challenging the order of the Delhi High Court.

The trial court on November, 20, 2007 had convicted the Ansal brothers along with three others under Section 304-A IPC (causing death due to rash and negligent act) and had sentenced them to two years imprisonment.

Seven others including Ajit Chowdhary and Nirmal Chopra, managers of the theatre whose bail was also cancelled yesterday, were convicted under Section 304 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

Others convicted under section 304 IPC were – Radha Krishan Sharma, Manmohan Unniyal (cinema's gatekeeper), Brij Mohan Satija, A K Gera and Bir Singh (all DVB officials).

The other three convicts - SS Sharma and ND Tiwari of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and HS Panwar of Delhi Fire Service - were also granted two years term as the offences were similar to that of the Ansal brothers.

Fiftynine cinegoers were killed in the blaze in the theatre on June 13, 1997 during the screening of Hindi blockbuster 'Border'.

The High Court had granted bail to the Ansal brothers and two other accused on January 4. 

Sanjeev Nanda gets five years jail term in BMW case

Sanjeev Nanda, grandson of former Naval Chief S M Nanda, was on Friday sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court for mowing down six persons, including three policemen, with his BMW car in 1999.

"Sanjeev Nanda, I award you five years jail term and the time earlier spent by you inside the jail would be deducted," said Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar, who had earlier convicted him under a stringent penal provision which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years' imprisonment.

The court, however, did not impose any fine on him. It sentenced co-convict and businessman Rajeev Gupta to one year rigorous imprisonment for destruction of evidence.

His two employees - Bhola Nath and Shyam Singh - were however awarded six months' jail terms each for washing off blood stains and pieces of victims' flesh from the offending vehicle after the incident.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Gupta and Rs 100 each on his two employees, who were held guilty under Section 201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC.

The court had on September two convicted Nanda under Section 304 Part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC prescribing a jail term of up to 10 years or fine or both as punishment.

Nanda had crushed six persons to death while driving the BMW car in an inebriated condition in the wee hours of January 10, 1999 at Lodhi Colony in south Delhi. 

Nanda, 30, looked emotionally drained when brought to the court by the Delhi Police constables around 2.55 pm. He raised his hand after the judge called his name before pronouncing the sentence.

No yatra by Praveen Togadia would be allowed in Kandhmal : Orissa to SC

New Delhi, September 4, The Orissa government has informed the apex court on Thursday that no yatra would be allowed to be carried on in the state. The State Government's response came after the apex court asked the state government to put on affidavit whether any permission has been granted to VHP leader Praveed Togadia for his yatra carrying the ashes of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati. After the assurance the court directed the state government to see that no untoward incidents takes place in riot hit district.

When the matter came for hearing before a three judge bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Central Government's counsel, Gopal Subramanium informed the court that the Home Minister, Shivraj Patil has visited the violence hit places in the state and the situation in the state is tense. The ASG however maintained at the same time that the differences between the CRPF and the state have been resolved and the centre is satisfied with the arrangements made in the relief camps. The central government also assured the court that they are ready to provide any assistance if needed by the state. The Centre however was sceptical about the proposed yatra by VHP leader Praveen Togadia."The state government should not permit any inflammatory speeches to be made and it should also be kept in mind that any yatra will have serious consequeces", said Gopal Subramanium appearing for the centre.

After the centre concluded, the petitioner archbishop of Cuttack Raphael Cheenath represented by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves contended that the VHP and RSS men are going in the camps and there is no safety in these refugee camps.According to Gonsalves, when the home minister Shivraj Patil was visiting violence hit areas, 80 more houses were burnt down Gonsalves also referred to newspaper reports that situation in the area is tense. The Orissa government on the other hand maintained that they will utilise the the paramilitary forces to prevent any yatra from taking place. Representing the state government, senior advocate K K Venugopal assured the court that the state government will do its best to maintain law and order in the state. Venugopal however demanded that they should be provided with four more companies of paramilitary forces to control the situation. The court directed the centre to provide the same.

Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack had filed the petition in the Supreme Court demanding a CBI inquiry into Kandhmal violence after which the court asked the state government if they have taken any steps to control the situation in violence hit district. The court also wanted to know if the state government has granted any permission to VHP leader Praveed Togadia for his yatra carrying the ashes of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati.

SC asks for status report on Kandhmal violence

The Supreme Court today directed the Orissa government to place its report relating to steps taken to protect lives of people belonging to the Christian community in riot-hit Kandhamal district. A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan posted the matter for further hearing at 2 pm on Thursday. 

The court also wanted to know if the state government has granted any permission to VHP leader Praveed Togadia for his yatra carrying the ashes of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati. The petitioner in the case, archbishop of Cuttack Raphael Cheenath also demanded that the proposed yatra of Praveen Togadia be stopped as it is likely to cause further trouble in the area which is already witnessing a tense situation. 

Cheenath who filed the petition in the apex court on Tuesday had alleged that the state government is not doing anything to prevent the houses of Christian community from being torched. The Central Government's counsel, Gopal Subramanium informed the court that the central government is keeping a close eye on the happenings in Kandhmal and Home Minister has also visited Orissa to assess the situation. 

The state government on  the other hand refuted all the allegations in the petition saying the government is trying its best to control the situation.

SC notice to Gujarat on "fake encounters"

The Supreme Court has issued notice to Gujarat government on a petition filed by noted poet Javed Akhtar asking for an independent inquiry by special investigation team (SIT) into all the encounters during the tenure of former DGP of Gujarat D G Vanjara. A two judge bench headed by Justice Tarun Chaterjee gave three weeks time to the state government to file its status report.

When the hearing started before the Supreme Court, Arguing for Akhtar, lawyer Prashant Bhushan pressed for issuing notice to Gujarat government as the petition filed by Akhtar was pending in the court for more than a year. Opposing the arguments, Gujarat's lawyer Hemantika Wahi informed the court that the matter relating to alleged fake encounter of Sameer Khan is already pending before Chief Judicial Magistrate in Gujarat and a petition has also been filed in Gujarat High Court. Wahi tried to pursue the court that as the matter pending in Gujarat's courts, the petitioner should be asked to go to the High Court. 

The petitioners however contended before the court that the state government should file its reply. "Let the state government file its reply on what is the status of the case in High Court and lower court" said lawyer Prashant Bhushan arguing for the petitioner. The court was quick to ask the state government counsel what is the status of investigation in this cases. "Have you filed any charge sheet yet?" asked Justice Tarun Chaterjee hearing the petition.

The petitioners referred to the encounters of Sameer Khan and Ishrat Jahan as fake while demanding the inquiry into all the encounters between 2002 to 2007 when D G Vanjara was the DGP of the state. 

Orissa violence : SC to look into demand for CBI probe

The Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday, a petition filed by Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack demanding a CBI inquiry into Kandhmal violence. When senior advocate Colin Gonzalves mentioned the matter before the Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, the Chief Justice asked the petitioner to move to the Orissa High Court. The petitioner however contended before the court that it is not possible as he feels there is a treat to his life there.

The Additional solicitor General of India Gopal Subramanium intervened in the matter saying that the matter should be heard on Wednesday. He also assured the court that he will speak to the home secretary and appraise the court about the situation in Kandhmal. After hearing the arguments from both the sides, the Chief Justice listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday.

According to the petition, the situation in Kandhmal is tense and paramilitary forces should immediately be sent to the affected areas where more than 4000 villages have been burnt. The petition alleges that Orissa government has failed to maintain law and order situation in Kandhmal. The petition also accused the state government of turning a blind eye to human rights violation in the state after the brutal killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. According to the petition, although, Union Government has sent RAF and CRPF, the state government is not taking the forces to the affected areas.

The petition which would be taken up for hearing on Wednesday, demands that adequate police force should be deployed in places where violence is taking place. The petition also demanded that CBI inquiry should be initiated to probe into the violence. NHRC should also be directed to see which are the political organisations and who are the persons spearheading the violent activities.

The petitioner also demanded that a compensation of Rupees four lakhs should be paid to those whose houses have been fully destroyed and a compensation of Rupees two lakhs should be paid to those whose houses have been destroyed partially.

SC upholds Maharashtra's power to tap phones

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the constitutional validity of section 13 to 16 of MCOCA. These sections authorise the state government to intercept telephonic conversations of certain people as decided by the state government from time to time. The sections also provided that the intercepts recorded by the state government can be used as evidence in the court of law. The Bombay High Court had earlier struck down these provisions terming as unconstitutional. The Maharashtra Government had moved to the apex court saying that the Act was necessary to counter organised crime and syndicates run by the underworld.

The state government had contended before the apex court that section 13 to 16 of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act, which authorises the state government to intercept telephonic conversations, are necessary to counter organised crime and syndicates run by the underworld. The Bombay high court while upholding the constitutional validity of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, had struck down its crucial provisions which authorise interception of telephonic conversations by the state.

The High Court judgment was in response to petitions filed by diamond merchant and film financier Bharat Shah, who was facing trial under MCOCA. According to Bharat Shah, the state government could not have enacted such a law as the making such a law comes under exclusive domain of the central government.

The Indian Telegraphs act provided for interception of telephonic conversation but it could have been done only in the cases of emergency and public safety. But now the state government can intercept the conversations even when it is done in a casual manner.