Supreme Court notice to anna hazare following PIL

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued notices to social activist Anna Hazare on a public interest litigation, seeking direction to CBI to investigate 'financial irregularities' in his trust. The court also sought response from Hazare on the plea seeking his prosection for alleged siphoning of funds. A bench comprising Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Desai also sought responses from the Centre, CBI and the Maharashtra Government on the PIL filed by advocate ML Sharma.

"This court be pleased to issue direction for CBI Investigation against Capart's (Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology) officials, 833 (black-listed) NGOs, including Kishan Baburao Hazare, for recovery of money as well as prosecution," said advocate Sharma in his petition.

He said Hazare and his associates had floated the Hind Swaraj Trust in Ralegon Sidhi in 1995, with a capital of just Rs 500 and received Rs 45 lakh from the Centre in 1994-95, even before the trust was registered. It was followed by Rs 65.85 lakh from the state government in 1995-96, it said. "This is a clear case of fraud and criminal breach of trust involving public funds, as how could a trust, which was not born and having funds not more than Rs 500 as capital for registration on February 21, 1995, be spending Rs 45 lakh in 1994-95," the petitioner asked.

Despite irregularities pointed out by Justice Sawant Committee's report, no action has been taken by the authorities. "The report said that in 1994, Hazare had secured another Rs 75 lakh from Capart. In 2001, Capart released Rs 5 crore to Hazare in the name of rural help," the petition said. The petitioner placed on record of the apex court the portion of the Sawant Committee report.

"Petitioner is seeking CBI investigation for further collection of details of amount siphoned by the respondent no.4 (Hazare) and his friends as well as their criminal prosecution under Section 409, read with Section 420 of IPC, coupled with recovery of money he and his group of friendsa¦succeed to siphona¦from the Consolidated Fund of India," PIL said.

Petitioner Sharma further said the extent of utilisation of funds given to the trust from the Consolidated Fund of India could be found only if the apex court orders a probe and closely monitors it. He alleged that a case of misappropriation of money and cheating was made out against Hazare and his trust.

According to the petition, in July 18, 2010, Capart released a list of NGOs black-listed by it for fund misuse, but the central government did not initiate any action or criminal investigation into the role of these bodies.

"Hazare is only an example; more than 10 thousand crores funds from the Consolidated Fund of India has been siphoned to various NGOs/Trusts in the name of public welfare and used for own family/political development," the petition alleged.

There are more than 22,000 NGOs and various other trusts in the country utilising grants from governments and enjoying complete tax exemption, running into thousand of crores every year, the plea alleged.

Anna Hazare disowns Prashant Bhushan's J&K remarks

NEW DELHI: Faced with embarrassment over Prashant Bhushan's remarks advocating referendum for deciding the status of Jammu and Kashmir, Team Anna on Friday distanced itself from the lawyer-cum-activist's remarks and maintained that the northern state was an "integral'' part of India.

That Bhushan Junior's remarks had rattled the other members of the team was evident when their leader Anna Hazare while asserting that Jammu and Kashmir was very much a part of India dropped hints to suggest that the Supreme Court lawyer's continuance in the group was now under a cloud.

"Woh aage jaake hum log tay karenge, rakhna (hai), nahi rakhna (hai) (We will decide later whether he will remain with the team or not)," he told newspersons in his village, Ralegan Siddhi, in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, when asked whether Bhushan, a key member of the team cobbled together by the anti-graft crusader to lead his campaign, will continue to be a part of the group.

"Whatever views he has articulated, that is not right," he said, two days after the junior Bhushan was attacked by three youth in his New Supreme Court lawyer's chamber.

The other members of the team too echoed similar sentiments, even though they clarified that Prashant Bhushan would remain a part of their group. A meeting of their core committee was held during the course of the day in Noida, in which a resolution stating that Kashmir was an integral part of the country was adopted.

Arvind Kejriwal, a key member of the group, later held a press conference in the Capital in which he clarified Anna's remarks on the Supreme Court lawyer. "He is an integral part of the team. He is a much respected citizen who has worked in several areas, including environment and human rights. He has played a crucial role in the anti-corruption movement also," Kejriwal said.

He said he had spoken to Anna over phone. "He told me that he did not say that. What he told me was that the committee will decide who should be in or out,'' Kejriwal said.

The core committee meeting could not be attended by Prashant Bhushan, who had since then left for the US, retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi, who was away in Amsterdam, besides Anna.

Kejriwal claimed that he had shown the resolution to Bhushan last evening and during his conversation, the lawyer told him that he has no problem with the movement taking a stand on Kashmir, even though he had his own views on the subject.

"Bhushan's statement (on Kashmir) is not the views of the team. He has never asked the team. These are his personal views. The team is not responsible for the comments. We are not in agreement with him," Kejriwal said, adding, "We did not like this (statement). It is not our view.''

Hazare, earlier in the day, had reiterated that Kashmir was an integral part of the country and he would do whatever he could do for the state. "Kashmir is an integral part of the country and it will remain so and we will have to do whatever we have to ensure this. This mindless argument on the issue should stop,'' he told newspersons in his village.

A day earlier, Bedi too had said the remarks made by Bhushan Jr were his personal views. "This is Bhushan's personal view. I am for better governance and integration of the people with Jammu and Kashmir," the retired police officer said.

Prashant Bhushan: Anna Hazare condemns attack, asks for security

RALEGAN SIDDHI (MAHARASHTRA): Anna Hazare Wednesday condemned the attack on his team member and senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan and demanded security for his aides for "some time."

"I condemn the attack in the strongest terms. This is not the way. This is not right. The youths should not take law into their hands," Hazare told reporters here.

He said the youngsters are the hope of this nation.

"They will take care of our country. But the youths should not take law in their hands. I will pray for this. This is not our culture," he added.

He added that as they were "anti-social elements", his team members should be "given security for some time".

Bhushan was bashed up by some youths at his Supreme Court chamber in New Delhi. He blamed the attack, captured by a TV crew, on the rightwing Sri Ram Sene.

Hazare said he was not aware about the reason behind the attack.

Asked whether his team members should be provided security, he said they should be for some time.

"It does not matter if they get security but there should be a change in mindset. This has been proven by the assassination of India Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi," he added.

Then prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh guards Oct 31, 1984. Her son Rajiv Gandhi, the seventh prime minister of the country, was killed by a suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on May 21, 1991.

Modi most communal, ready to defend Bhatt: Shanti Bhushan

Key Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan on Tuesday called Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi “the most communal person” and said he was willing to appear for “persecuted” IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in the Supreme Court if the latter approached him. Not long ago, Anna Hazare had praised Modi for his development initiatives in rural areas of Gujarat which opened himself to criticism that he was soft on the BJP.

The Bhushan senior, when asked about the BJP’s anti-corruption campaign, also said “there are lots of leaders in the BJP who are corrupt and had taken advantage of corruption”. He referred to Karnataka and asserted that the BJP could not take a high moral ground.

His other team members — Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia — are working over time to ensure the defeat of the Congress in Hisar byelection which could ironically benefit the BJP.

On a day Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh claimed the Bhushans were always opposed to the Congress, Bhushan said nobody could say he and his son Prashant were supporters of the BJP. “Everyday we are arguing in the court against (Narendra) Modi and against Hindutva ideology of RSS.”

Elaborating, he said, “Modi is the most communal person and he was responsible for the killing of a large number of Muslims.” The Bhushan senior alleged that Bhatt was being persecuted by Modi and said “we are supporting him”. Asked how he planned to support Bhatt, he said “if the matter comes to the Supreme Court, then we would be quite willing to appear for him if he approaches us”.

“I had represented Teesta Setalvad earlier. So, therefore, let us see how the situation develops.... We can’t, of course, solicit his brief. That will be professional misconduct. But if he approaches us, we will certainly appear for him,” he said. Bhushan said Bhatt was being persecuted only because he had filed an affidavit against Modi.

When pointed out that Hazare had earlier praised Modi, he said Anna had clarified after visiting Gujarat. “He was initially informed that some good development work is happening in Gujarat’s rural areas. When he visited Gujarat, he understood it was only a propaganda. He had then said liquor flows more than milk in Gujarat and had commented about non-appointment of Lokayukta.”

Significantly, Bhushan said “we are not against the Congress”. In his words, “we are against the Congress’s act of not supporting, not making a commitment to support the Jan Lokpal Bill”. “Therefore, we are telling the electorate that you must punish them so that they learn a lesson and revise their thinking and start quickly enacting the Bill if they don’t want to be defeated in UP elections also.”

While Nitin Gadkari has given in writing that his party supports the Jan Lokpal Bill, Bhushan said the assurance given by the BJP chief had been taken at the face value. “But if he goes back on his word and doesn’t support (the Bill) in the winter session, then we will campaign against them and we will ask the people to defeat them in the elections.”

What Team Anna is missing on poll reform

It is safe to say Anna Hazare has never heard of Kuttiamma. The cashew nut factory worker was inconsolable on the day Kerala went to elections in 1991. Her name was missing in the voters list in the Mavelikkara constituency. A vote for the Congress candidate would have been a slap on the wrist of her daughter-in-law, a CPM activist. A show of defiance. But it was not to be.

Kuttiamma died three months after the elections. Her name never made it to the voters list. The debate over electoral reforms has all of a sudden come alive after Anna Hazare and his team announced their plan to pursue the introduction of recall of candidates in the voting system.

Law Minister Salman Khurshid told ET (Saturday, September 3) the government is preparing an ambitious law to bar individuals named in criminal chargesheets from contesting elections. Will it work? Is the right to recall feasible? Truth is agreeing on the infirmities of the election system and remedies have seldom yielded simple answers.

In Bangalore, Janaagraha, a civil society organisation, has been working for years to ensure that people like Kuttiamma exercise their right to vote. The organisation's MoU with the Election Commission last year for a project titled Bangalore Electoral System Transformation, or BEST, looks to increase voter registration and eliminate errors of omission, commission and spelling mistakes in electoral rolls. The pilot project in Shanthi Nagar, a constituency of 2 lakh voters, found that 60,000 names have to be transposed, 45,000 have to be added and another 30,000 have to be deleted.

Vote For Voting

The findings will be officially announced on Monday. Ramesh Ramanathan, co-founder of Janaagraha, says his organisation is looking to change the way voter rolls are generated in India. "We want to extend the MoU with the EC and take it across India."

In Delhi, the Association of Democratic Reforms along with National Election Watch work with at least 1,000 other partners to improve the electoral system. On top of the organisation's to-do list is educating citizens about candidates. "People at the grass roots should be informed about a candidate's background and assets," says ADR director Trilochan Sastry.

Complementing these efforts is the Central Election Commission. Tales of booth capture and bogus votes, once rampant, are seldom told anymore. The focus has shifted to the selection of candidates and campaign finance.

Politicians, too, have been doing their bit. Earlier this year, the government raised the spending limit for candidates in the assembly polls to Rs 16 lakh from Rs 10 lakh and Rs 40 lakh from Rs 25 lakh for the Lok Sabha elections. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2010 on August 31, 2010 allows the place of residence as mentioned in a passport to determine which constituency a citizen can get enrolled in. Prior to that, the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Bill, 2008 that banned exit polls was passed.

Govt back to dirty tricks, says Team Anna

NEW DELHI: Less than a week after Anna Hazare broke his fast with much fanfare, Team Anna is claiming that government is back to its 'dirty tricks' and is victimizing them for their campaign. Hazare's aide Arvind Kejriwal has received an income tax notice for dues of over Rs 9 lakh, a charge that he has hotly contested, saying it was not the I-T department but "political bosses" that have made them do this.

His colleague, Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, linked the renewed urgency behind I-T department's move with MPs' complaints against Kiran Bedi's "ghoonghat act" and the police claim that the CD with a purported conversation between his father Shanti Bhushan and Mulayam Singh Yadav was genuine.

Bhushan said, "This shows that the government has not learnt the lesson. There is a notice against Arvind. Delhi Police has closed the investigations in the CD case saying the disc is genuine. There is also a privilege notice against Bedi. They are back to the dirty tricks department." Bhushan plans to move court against Delhi Police's closure report and will ask for an independent probe by a court appointed special investigative team.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal questioned the timing of the notice coming 11 days ahead of Hazare's fast. Chief commissioner of income tax issued the notice to Kejriwal to clear the dues, claiming that he violated the bond clauses under which he went for study leave for two years. Kejriwal claimed he "did not violate" any bond provision and he resigned from his Indian Revenue Service job after the stipulated three years of rejoining duty after study leave. "It is not the I-T department's decision. They are doing what government is saying. The I-T officials have no role in this notice. They are doing because of the pressure from political bosses," Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal said he had taken study leave on full pay for two years from November 1, 2000 and he rejoined work on November 1, 2002 after signing a bond that he would refund the salary if he resigned or retired or failed to resume duty within three years of his study leave. "I have not violated any provisions. What government is saying is wrong. After over one year of rejoining, I took leave without pay which was sanctioned by my superiors. I worked for RTI. I was not into any wrongdoing. I have not signed any bond that I will not take leave after rejoining," he said.

However, the government has said that unpaid leave can't be recognized as active service and Kejriwal should've worked in the department for three years before resigning. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had, in fact, recommended in 2008 that dues against Kejriwal be waived but the Department of Personnel and Training did not agree. In a letter dated April 22, 2008, the government asked the I-T department to "kindly recover pending dues from Shri Kejriwal as per leave rule and furnish a no dues certificate so that his resignation may be submitted for approval of competent authority".

Kejriwal said he had informed the government that he did not have funds to pay off Rs 9.27 lakh dues as he had donated all his savings. Referring to media reports linking his uncle with RSS, he asked what his relatives had to do with the movement.

Preventive arrest only when peace is in imminent danger: Supreme Court

Otherwise, it could be deemed violation of fundamental rights

Even as the correctness of the preventive custody of social activist Anna Hazare under Section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code is being questioned, the Supreme Court has cautioned the police to invoke this provision only when there is an imminent danger to the peace or likelihood of breach of peace under Section 107 Cr.PC.

Such a preventive arrest could be made only if it “appears to the police officer concerned that the commission of an offence cannot otherwise be prevented,” said a Bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan

Writing the judgment, Justice Chauhan pointed out that Section 151 Cr.PC “lays down conditions” and “expressly lays down the requirements for exercise of the power to arrest without an order from a magistrate and without a warrant”. But, the Bench said, “if these conditions are not fulfilled and a person is arrested under Section 151 Cr.PC, the arresting authority may be exposed to proceedings under the law for violating the fundamental rights inherent under Articles 21 and 21 of the Constitution”.

The object of Sections 107 and 151 is “preventive justice and not punitive. Section 151 should be invoked only when there is an imminent danger to peace or a likelihood of breach of peace under Section 107. An arrest under Section 151 can be supported when the person to be arrested designs to commit a cognisable offence. A further condition for the exercise of such power, which must also be fulfilled, is that the arrest should be made only if it appears to the police officer concerned that the commission of the offence cannot otherwise be prevented.”

The Bench said: “The jurisdiction vested in a magistrate to act under Section 107 is to be exercised in an emergent situation.”

Order set aside

In the instant case, Virender Kumar and two other police officials were directed by the Delhi High Court to pay a compensation of Rs.25,000 each to Sanjeev Kumar Singh and Dalip Gupta for having taken them into preventive custody under Section 151 Cr.PC after the CBI submitted a report. The present appeal by Rajender Singh Pathanian, who conducted the enquiry, is directed against this order.

The Bench set aside the impugned order on the grounds that the High Court had passed the order merely on the basis of a status report from the CBI without hearing any of the persons against whom the allegations of abuse of power had been made.

Govt doing difficult job in handing Anna's stir: Khurshid

New Delhi: Union minister Salman Khurshid on Wednesday contended that the government was doing a difficult job in handling the situation arising out of the agitation led by Anna Hazare and defended the administration's role in dealing with the protest.
"Administration has to negotiate what are the limits of your dissent and protest, how much is the carrying capacity of a place where you want to do it and what is the apprehension," the Law and Justice minister told Karan Thapar in an interview.
"We had a difficult job to do, and nobody else could have done it for us and we have done a difficult job to the best of our ability. How it plays itself out is what's important," he said.

On whether the government was going in circles on the issue, Khurshid said, "This is something that happens all the time. I have myself as a political leader in UP have been through this, perhaps not in the same iconic coverage that Anna Hazare's got, but it happens all the time."
Asked if the government has bungled the issue, Khurshid said, "It's an impression some people have. I am not sure that everyone has this impression."
"I wouldn't be bogged down with impressions of today, let's see what happens as we move on," he said. Asked if this issue was the worst low the Government had seen, he said, "That is what you have said."
Justifying Anna's arrest by the Delhi Police, Khurshid said, "We didn't arrest him without reason because if we had arrested him without reason, they would have rushed to the Supreme Court or the High Court and got themselves released."
He added that the civil society members did not go to court on Anna's arrest as "the court would have imposed conditions and those conditions would have come from court not from us and this is all part of the process of law."