Guv will wait for SC ruling, claim Rajiv blast victims’ kin
‘Decision On Cabinet Move After That’
Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:27.09.2018

Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit will not take any decision over the cabinet resolution to release the seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case until the Supreme Court pronounces its verdict in a case filed by the families of people who died along with the former PM in an explosion set off by a suicide bomber, said victims’ kin on Wednesday.

Retired ADSP Anushya, who was injured in the bomb blast, along with the family members of those killed, including inspectors U Rajaguru and Edward Joseph, police constable J Dharman and Congress functionary J Shamthani Begum met the Governor on Wednesday.

They submitted petitions, requesting him not to take any decision on the cabinet’s recommendation to release the life convicts , A G Perarivalan, Sriharan (alias) Murugan, his wife Nalini Sriharan, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and P Ravichandran, as per provisions of Article 161of the Constitution. The Tamil Nadu cabinet passed a resolution to this effect on September 9.

“The governor responded to our plea in a positive manner and assured us he will not take a call until the Supreme Court pronounces its verdict in our case filed in 2014,” said Abbash, coordinator of the victims’ families. He along with 11 family members of victims met the governor on Wednesday. Abbash’s mother Shathani Begum was one of the victims. Begum was the president of South Chengalpet Mahila Congress.

The family members, in a petition, requested the Governor to send a committee to study the ‘indescribable sufferings’ of their families. “Can we get back our dear ones who died on May 21, 1991? We sincerely feel that terrorism should not be condoned,” the petition reads Showing the disturbing pictures that displayed the gravity of the explosion, Anushya said, “I suffered a lot and still feel unbearable pain due to the pellet injuries. Many have lost their beloved ones, but they (life convicts and their families) are seeking freedom and talking about their rights. What about the rights of the real victims like us?”

Begum’s daughter, Afsari, said they had not opposed when the convicts’ death sentences were commuted to life. “Now, they are asking for freedom, and it is not acceptable,” she said.

“We have aired our grievance to the governor. We are satisfied with his positive response,” said Afsari.

A G Perarivalan’s advocate S Prabhu claimed the cabinet decision is beyond judicial review. The cabinet recommendation was under Article 161 and the case filed by the victims’ families in the SC was not relevant, he claimed.

On Monday, Arputhammal, the mother of one of the life convicts, Perarivalan, submitted a petition to the governor and requested him to respond positively to the cabinet’s recommendation to release all the seven convicts in the case. After the meeting, Arputhammal told reporters that she was “confident” that the governor would accept the cabinet recommendation and approve her son’s release.


Twelve members from the families of six victims come out of the Raj Bhavan after meting governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday

DMK CHARGE

Corruption plaint on CM: DVAC says no proof found

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:27.09.2018

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Wednesday reiterated that the agency could not find any proof for violation of World Bank guidelines in allotting highway contracts, as alleged by the DMK.

Advocate-general Vijay Narayan made the submission on the plea moved by DMK alleging charges of corruption against chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami in awarding highway contracts.

“The successful contractors are not close relatives of chief minister and hence, there is nothing wrong in assigning the work to them,” Narayan said. The contractors are distant relatives, not within the family of chief minister and they had been in the profession since 1991, he added.

As to the charges that the contractors had quoted exorbitant rates for laying the roads, Narayan said, it might be true that roads cost ₹2.2crore per km as contended by the petitioner. But the expenditure differs from one place to another based on different factors. If the expenditure of the road laid by Union of India is considered it costs more than ₹30 crore in some places. Replying to a query raised by Justice A D Jagadish Chandira with regard to the details of amounts paid to the contractors, Narayan submitted that all the details were given in the sealed cover, which was already submitted to the court.

Asserting that there is no violation of the guidelines framed by the World Bank for award of contracts, the advocate general submitted that the petitioner's prayer had already been met with by the DVAC by undertaking preliminary probe into the charges. The inquiry report had

also been forwarded to the Vigilance Commissioner for appropriate action, he added.

As the petitioner sough time to file its response, the judge posted the matter for further hearing on October 5.

According to the petitioner R S Bharathi, organising secretary of DMK, the chief minister, who is also holding the portfolio of the state highway ministry, had abused his power to allocate five highway laying and maintenance projects worth ₹3,500crore to firms owned by his relatives and benamis.

Gang rape of minor: Five of 17 accused move high court against Goondas Act

Say No Need To Detain Them Under It
Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:27.09.2018

Five of the 17 men accused of raping a minor girl over several months at an apartment complex in Ayanavaram have moved the Madras high court to quash their detention under Goondas Act.

Admitting their pleas, a division bench of Justice C T Selvam and Justice M Nirmal Kumar ordered notice to the Chennai Commissioner of Police and Inspector of the Ayanavaram All Women Police Station returnable in three weeks.

When the pleas came up for hearing on Wednesday, counsel for the petitioners said the September 5 order detaining them under the Goondas Act was illegal, arbitrary and against the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.Counsel for the petitioners said there was “no urgency, need or necessity for such detention”.

The accused were arrested on July 15 and produced before the Mahila court on July 17 and remanded in judicial custody. Subsequently, the accused were detained under the Goondas Act on September 5.

Pointing out that their bail applications were dismissed by the Mahila court on September 16 in view of their detention under Goondas Act, the petitioners alleged that the detention order was contrary to law, weight of evidence and probability of the case, and against the principles of natural justice.

Advocate P Pugalenthi pointed out that under the Goondas Act, a person could be detained for one year. This was on the ground that heinous crimes such as rape could be checked if such persons were kept under detention.

To get the detention revoked, an accused could approach the Goondas Advisory Board, which could give relief after due hearing normally within 45 days of detention. Or the person could approach the high court through a habeas corpus petition to quash the detention. This process could take four to six months.

In this case, besides habeas corpus petitions, on September 20, 14 of the accused moved the high court seeking transfer of the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation. They claimed they had lost trust in the state police and feared a free and fair probe would not be done because of “the hype created by the media”.

The petitioners also wanted the court to pass an interim stay against the present investigation pending hearing of their plea. Admitting the plea, the court decided to hear it incamera.

The petitioners alleged that the detention order was contrary to law and against the principles of natural justice.

FEARS PERSIST

Activists who fought against Aadhaar rush to apply for card

Komal.Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 27.09.2018

Activists who fought against UIDAI will finally apply for Aadhaar following the Supreme Court verdict.

In October 2017, Preeti Mohan, a 34-year-old advocate, filed a petition in the Madras high court and got an interim stay to file her I-T returns without linking her PAN card to the Aadhaar number. Having closely followed the scheme, she believed that the law was framed in a hurry just to see the project through.

“There were several serious flaws in it, including the threat to privacy, and beyond this, the complete power that the state would have over citizens. I filed the writ petition just before the deadline for my tax filing to avoid having to obtain an Aadhaar. The petition subsequently came to be dismissed,” she said.

Rahul Unnikrishnan, an advocate at the high court, filed nearly 10 petitions over the

last two months. “The main opposition was that the Aadhaar act by itself did not make it mandatory for all citizens to apply for it. Later, they amended the income tax act and included section 139AA saying we should quote Aadhaar when filing I-T returns. The act had serious security issues. We did not know what the government would do with our biometric [information]. That is the main reason many people did not take Aadhaar,” he said.

Preethi said she would soon apply for the Aadhaar card asshehadtofileher returnsby October end. Rahul added that his clients too were rushing to send in their applications. “The SC has substantially diluted what data can be collected, and how it can be stored and used. But I am not completely in agreement with the reasons for upholding it for tax purposes and welfare schemes,” Preethi said.

Meanwhile, M K Stalin of DMK has welcomed the verdict, saying, “While upholding sections that enables social inclusion, it has struck down provisions curbing citizens’ rightsto privacy andconsent.”

Aadhaar Stays, Minus Fangs And Pangs

SC Upholds Constitutional Validity Of Unique ID, Dissenting Judge Calls It A ‘Violation Of Fundamental Rights’

You Don’t Have To Link Phone Or Bank A/c; Pvt Cos Can’t Demand No.

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:27.09.2018

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the validity of the Aadhaar Act, terming it a beneficial legislation, but weeded out provisions which had the potential for misuse. Aadhaar will no longer be mandatory for opening bank accounts, buying mobile phone SIM cards, getting school admissions, or for appearing in boards or common entrance examinations.

The SC also ruled that Aadhaar would be voluntary for those who do not intend to receive any subsidy, benefit or services under welfare schemes, and should only be given to Indian nationals. However, those filing income tax returns must link their Aadhaar with their PAN.

A five-judge constitution bench of CJI Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan upheld the NDA government’s Aadhaar legislation by a 4-1 majority, but said its insistence on linkage to bank accounts and mobile phones was disproportionate and every citizen could not be suspected of acquiring black money. Justice Chandrachud, in a strong dissenting judgment, described Aadhaar as unconstitutional.

“The portion of Section 57 of Aadhaar Act which enables corporate bodies and individuals to seek authentication is held to be unconstitutional,” the majority verdict said, agreeing with the petitioners that such a provision could lead to sharing of protected data and privacy of citizens with private bodies.

The court, while taking note of apprehensions expressed by opposition parties and other opponents of Aadhaar about its potential misuse, rebuffed their opposition to passage of the Aadhaar Bill as a money bill and said it was perfectly justified.

The opposition, which had the numbers in Rajya Sabha, could have stalled the bill in the upper House. However, the government got around the potential roadblock when the Lok Sabha Speaker upheld categorisation of the Aadhaar legislation as a money bill — a ruling which reduced Rajya Sabha’s role to rendering a mere advisory on corrections required in the bill.

Of the total 1,448-page judgment, Justice Sikri wrote the majority judgment for himself, CJI Misra and Justice Khanwilkar, running into 567 pages. Justice Bhushan penned a separate but almost concurrent 400-page opinion.


More ease of life, but less ease of business

The SC’s verdict could spell trouble for business models of finance firms . The ability to pull up an individual’s details in an instant had dramatically reduced the time and cost of acquiring customers. Not only private enterprises like Paytm’s e-wallet but government entities like SBI and India Post Payment Bank have built their digital accounts around Aadhaar. P18

Both BJP, Oppn claim victory

Both BJP and opposition hailed the SC’s Aadhaar verdict as a vindication of their stand. BJP chief Amit Shah said it was a strong validation of Aadhaar as an instrument of service delivery and mocked the Congress chief, saying, “Yes, the Congress won today, just like they won Lok Sabha polls in 2014.” Earlier, Rahul Gandhi thanked apex court “for supporting the Congress vision”. P 13

You can ask telcos to delete UID data

The SC’s verdict on Aadhaar empowers you to seek removal of your personal information from the records of telecom, banking, mutual funds and insurance firms which had earlier demanded biometric authentication. With the SC making it clear that Aadhaar linkage with firms is not must, customers who have parted with the information have the right to demand details be withdrawn or deleted. P 18

21cr PAN-Aadhaar linkages till now

More than 21.08 crore permanent account numbers (PANs) have been linked with Aadhaar till now, a latest data revealed as the SC upheld the validity of the linkage between the two databases on Wednesday. The total operational or issued PANs are more than 41.02 crore as per the same timeline, the data said. Of the 41.02 crore PANs issued, 40.01 crore PANs are held by individuals. P 13

Need legislative mechanism for protection of data, says SC

Delivering a powerful 481-page dissent judgment, Justice Chandrachud said categorization of an ordinary Aadhaar bill as money bill was wrong and its passage without voting in Rajya Sabha rendered it unconstitutional. Justice Chandrachud also raised serious issues about Aadhaar having the potential to turn India into a surveillance state.

The scathing observations, however, paled before the pat the NDA government got, with the majority judgment endorsing the idea of Aadhaar as advantageous to the underprivileged millions. “We have come to the conclusion that Aadhaar Act is a beneficial legislation which is aimed at empowering millions of people in the country,” the court said. However, it added, “We are of the view that there is a need for a proper legislative mechanism for data protection.”

It also turned down the contention of the petitioners, 31 in all, that Aadhaar was a means to convert India into a surveillance state. “The architecture of Aadhaar as well as the provisions of the Aadhaar Act do not tend to create a surveillance state. This is ensured by the manner in which the Aadhaar project operates,” Justice Sikri said and detailed Aadhaar’s embedded security and safety measures narrated by UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

It also did not find evidence to suggest, as argued by petitioners, that Aadhaar was meant to create 360 degree profiles of individuals. “We are of the view that it is very difficult to create profile of a person simply on the basis of biometric and demographic information. Insofar as authentication is concerned, the Centre and the UIDAI rightly pointed out that there are sufficient safeguard mechanisms,” the SC said.

However, the bench struck down Regulation 27(1) of Aadhaar which provided that authentication records were to be stored for five years. Drastically reducing this, the SC said storing Aadhaar authentication records for six months would serve the purpose.

The SC also struck down Section 33(1) of Aadhaar which permitted a joint secretary level officer to permit release of biometric and demographic data of a person from UIDAI for the purpose of national security.

However, it clarified that non-possession of Aadhaar could not be a ground to deny benefits to the needy under a social welfare scheme provided s/he furnished other identification documents.

For full report, www.toi.in

FULL COVERAGE: P 12, 13, 18

Centre picks board for running MCI

Members Asked To Vacate Offices Immediately; Jaitley Bats For New Panel
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 27.09.2018

The government on Wednesday superseded the Medical Council of India appointing a board of governors (BoG) to take over the council’s powers and functions pending passage of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, which seeks to replace the MCI with a freshly constituted regulatory body.

Following an ordinance that empowered the government, the health ministry issued a notification asking the president, vice-president and other members of the MCI to vacate their offices immediately. The notification also stated that until a new council was reconstituted, a BoG would be constituted to take over the functioning of the MCI. The NMC Bill is pending in Parliament.

The new BoG consists of members of the earlier oversight committee (OC) appointed by the ministry following a Supreme Court order and two fresh names, Dr Balram Bhargava, the director general of the Indian Council for Medical Research, and Dr S Venkatesh, the director general of health services (DGHS). Of the earlier OC members, Niti Aayog member Dr Vinod Paul will be chairperson of the BoG, while directors of AIIMS-Delhi, PGIMER Chandigarh and the National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Bangalore, Dr Randeep Guleria, Dr Jagat Ram, Dr B N Gangadhar respectively, as well as Dr Nikhil Tandon, professor in AIIMS, will be members. Dr Sanjay Shrivastava, former deputy director general of health services in the health ministry has been appointed secretary general to the BoG.

The OC had resigned earlier this month. While the stated reason was that its one-year tenure had ended, sources had told TOI that the committee was also unhappy with the lack of cooperation from the MCI.

Interestingly, after the NMC Bill could not be taken up in the monsoon session of Parliament that ended on August 10, the health ministry wrote to states and universities to start the process of electing new members to the MCI as the tenure of 80 of the 103 council members would end in November or December. When the tenure of the current MCI ended on November 4 last year, it had been given an extension of a year.

Briefing the media on Wednesday, finance minister Arun Jaitley said that since the term of the elected body of the MCI was ending shortly, a need was felt to run it by a committee of eminent persons. Thus an ordinance to enable this was cleared by the cabinet on Wednesday morning and subsequently signed by President Ram Nath Kovind.

With the ordinance being promulgated, secretary general Dr Shrivastava along with local police and an SDM reached the MCI office in Dwarka to seal the premises and asked the staff to vacate the building taking their personal belongings with them. They were told that only those specifically asked to do so need to come to office from now on.

The MCI had been superseded through an ordinance in May 2010 as well after then president Dr Ketan Desai was arrested in April 2009 on bribery charges. The BoG constituted at the time was supposed to be only for a year as the government planned to bring in the National Council for Human Resources in Health Bill within that time to subsume MCI and all other regulatory bodies related to health. However, a year later, the Bill had not been cleared by the cabinet and hence the term of the BoG was extended one-year at a time by amending the Ordinance till the MCI was reconstituted with people nominated by central and state governments constituting almost 50% of the council on November 6, 2013 as per provisions contained in the IMC (Amendment) Second Ordinance 2013. The proposed Bill remained on paper.

முதுமை

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*என் சொந்த வீடே... எனக்கு அனாதை  இல்லமாகிப் போனது...*

*ஏதோ... வாட்சப்... Facebook... இருப்பதால் பைத்தியம் பிடிக்காமல் இருக்கிறது...!*

*மகனும், மகளும் போடும் Status-தான்... என் அன்றாட சுவாரசியங்கள்...*

*"எப்படிப்பா இருக்கே?" என்று மற்றவர்கள் கேட்கும்போது...*

( விட்டுக் கொடுக்க முடியுமா... என் பிள்ளைகளை...)

*"எனக்கென்னப்பா... ஜாம் ஜாம்ன்னு... பசங்களோட..., பேரனுங்களோட... அட்டகாசமா..."*
( மனதுக்குள் *ஏதோ...*)
*வாழ்கிறேன்!*

🤔🤭🤫😰😥😓😦😪

*பல குழந்தைகளின் தாத்தா, பாட்டிகளுக்கு... இது சமர்ப்பணம்!*

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