Notice to Centre, J&K on plea for probe into leader death

The Supreme Court has sought the Union government's response on a plea for CBI probe into the mysterious death of National Conference leader Mohd Yusuf Shah Haji.

A bench of justices Altamas Kabir and S S Nijjar on Monday issued the notice also to the Jammu and Kashmir government seeking their replies within two weeks.

The bench was initially reluctant to entertain the plea as doctors had certified that heart attack was the cause of death.

Appearing for the petitioner, counsel Bhim Singh told the bench that the incident ought to be probed by the CBI as Yusuf had died after visiting the chief minister's residence.

"Doctors have certified that he had died of heart attack. So where is the question of an FIR?," the bench asked him.

Singh, however, insisted that the matter should be probed by an independent agency as the death had occurred under mysterious circumstances.

He cited the apex court's earlier ruling in the D K Basu case wherein guidelines have been laid down on probing such mysterious deaths in alleged police custody.

The bench later relented and directed issuance of notices.

The petition was filed for a CBI probe into the death of Haji allegedly in police custody under mysterious circumstances in Srinagar.

The petition filed by Balwant Singh Mankotia, a sitting MLA of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, had sought a direction to the state government to hand over the probe into Haji's death to the CBI.

The petition said the 61-year-old activist was arrested allegedly on the orders of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on 29^th September and he died next morning.

The state police have reportedly said that Haji died due to 'cardio respiratory arrest'.

India's baby Nargis one of world's seven-billionth inhabitant

The world's population touched another milestone on Monday as India and the Philippines welcomed "symbolic" seventh-billionth babies.

A baby girl, born to 23-year-old Vinita and Ajay at a local community health centre at 7.20 am in Mall (UP) on the outskirts of Lucknow, was welcomed as the seventh-billionth baby, Bhagyeshwari, executive director of NGO Plan India, which is conducting the exercise, said on Monday. The girl has been named Nargis, she said.

The Philippines also welcomed a seven-billionth baby at a government hospital in Manila. Danica May Camacho was born just after midnight.

Meanwhile, as the world readies to welcome its seventh billion inhabitant on Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for "unity of purpose" among people across nations to address problems of climate change, economic crisis and inequality.

"Some say our planet is too crowded. I say we are 7 billion strong. But we will only be able to use that strength for the benefit of all if our societies are built on mutual respect and understanding," Moon said.

The world's population will reach the landmark seven billion mark on Monday. Moon said the world must come together "on this special day... in the name of the global common good."

He said while the world has made remarkable progress as it has aged, with more of its children surviving and more people living under democratic rule of law, the progress cannot be taken for granted.

The world is "under threat from climate change, economic crisis, joblessness, inequality and intolerance. Around the world, too many people live in fear. Too many people believe their governments and the global economy can no longer deliver for them," he said.

The answer to the current turbulent times is "unity of purpose."

"Global problems demand global solutions. They compel all nations to unite in action on an agenda for the world's people."

The UN Chief said the challenge for nations is to build a more just, tolerant and inclusive world.

"We all have something to give and something to gain by appreciating each other's diversity and working together in common cause."

Meanwhile, UN Population Fund's (UNFPA) Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin said actions taken now will decide whether the future of the seventh billion baby will be healthy, sustainable and prosperous or marked by inequalities, environmental decline and economic setbacks.

"The world must seize the opportunity to invest in the health and education of its youth to reap the full benefits of future economic development or else face a continuation of the sorry state of disparities in which hundreds of millions of people in developing nations lack the most basic ingredients for a decent life," Osotimehin said.

He said planning and the right investments in people will empower them to make choices that are not only good for themselves, but also for a world of seven billion.

Assad warns of 'earthquake' if West intervenes in Syria

Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad has warned that Western military action against his country could cause an "earthquake" that could create "another Afghanistan" and burn the whole of the Middle East.

His warning came hours after UN chief Ban Ki-moon asked Syria to "immediately" end attacks on civilians, saying the violence is "unacceptable."

Western countries "are going to ratchet up the pressure, definitely," Assad told the UK's Sunday Telegraph newspaper in a rare interview.

"But Syria is different in every respect from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen. The history is different. The politics is different. Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake. Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans? "Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region."

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators took to the streets in two Syrian cities on Friday to demand the imposition of a Libyan-style no-fly zone over the country, as the bloodiest clashes left 40 people dead on the same day.

According to the United Nations, at least 3,000 civilians, including 187 children, have been killed during the seven-month long protests against the regime.

Thousands more have been imprisoned. The Syrian government says 1,200 members of the security forces have also died.

The paper said 46-year-old Assad admitted that "many mistakes" had been made by his forces in the early part of the uprising, but insisted that only "terrorists" were now being targeted.

"We have very few police, only the army, who are trained to take on al-Qaeda," Assad said.

"If you sent in your army to the streets, the same thing would happen. Now, we are only fighting terrorists. That's why the fighting is becoming much less."

On Friday alone, opposition groups claimed that 40 people were killed in clashes.

Seventeen soldiers also died in overnight clashes with suspected army deserters in the city, which foreign journalists are forbidden to enter.

Syria was condemned on Saturday by Arab League foreign ministers for its "continued killings of civilians".

Assad claimed that he had responded differently to the Arab Spring than other, deposed Arab leaders.

"We didn't go down the road of stubborn government," he said.

"Six days after (the protests began) I commenced reform. People were skeptical that the reforms were an opiate for the people, but when we started announcing the reforms, the problems started decreasing. This is when the tide started to turn. This is when people started supporting the government."

Some Damascus-based opposition leaders say the reforms, which include laws ostensibly allowing demonstrations and political parties, are a start, but not enough.

However, the leaders of the main protests say they are meaningless and President Assad must go, the newspaper reported.

Assad said: "The pace of reform is not too slow. The vision needs to be mature. It would take only 15 seconds to sign a law, but if it doesn't fit your society, you'll have division... It's a very complicated society."

He described the uprising as a "struggle between Islamism and pan-Arabism (secularism), adding: "We've been fighting the Muslim Brotherhood since the 1950s and we are still fighting with them."

Commonwealth group initiated steps towards reform

The Commonwealth nations agreed to adopt one third of the 106 recommendations of an eminent persons group to make the grouping more relevant in current times, but virtually rejected the proposal for a human rights commissioner.

Faced with a tough task of ushering in reforms, leaders of the 54-nation bloc had asked their foreign ministers to work overnight on recommendations of the 11-member Eminent Persons Group (EPG), which had gone public with its criticism.

Both Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma sought to dub the three-day summit meeting a success and cited the reform of the Ministerial Group and strengthening management and delivery of Commonwealth programmes as cases in point.

On the much-talked about recommendations of the EPG, chaired by former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Gillard said that the CHOGM had agreed to a third of their suggestions, including having a charter of values.

"We have agreed there should be a charter of the Commonwealth to bring together the Commonwealth values, principles and aspirations in one clear and powerful statement," Gillard said on Sunday.

She said the leaders also decided to adopt without reservation 30 recommendations of the EPG and another 12 recommendations would be adopted subject to consideration of financial implications.

While leaders rejected 11 recommendations of the EPG, 43 others, including the proposal for a human rights commissioner, were sent to a taskforce of ministers for "detailed advice".

India was represented at the meeting by Vice President Hamid Ansari.

A section of the delegates who attended the deliberations ruled out setting up of the commissioner and stressed on the development initiatives of the Commonwealth.

With many of the Commonwealth nations being low-lying islands, the CHOGM agreed on a slew of measures to promote action on climate change, including a push to find better ways to fund mitigation and adaptation projects.

Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed said a number of the EPG recommendations touched upon the issue of climate change and all have been accepted by the Heads.

"The issue of climate change is not of the future. It is happening now and we must deal with it now," Nasheed, whose country faces one of the gravest threat from global warming, said.

He appreciated the Australian initiative to impose carbon tax as a measure to tackle climate change.

"I think these are the kinds of measures that we would like to see from the rest of the developed world," he said.

Gillard has promised to take up Commonwealth issues at the G20 summit in Cannes next week.

The final CHOGM communique noted the "impasse" in the Doha round and urged the trade ministers' World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in December to commit to make "substantive progress" as well as make a formal "anti-protectionist pledge".

The communique also called for "accelerated efforts" to conclude negotiations on a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).

It endorsed India's position that seeks a quick conclusion to the negotiations on the CCIT at the UN.

The leaders also agreed to reduce the cost of remittance transfers by removing barriers to remitting and encouraging greater competition in the transfer market, by endorsing the World Bank's General Principles for International Remittance Services.

They also agreed to improve gender equality and empowerment of women by supporting national programmes to this effect, including initiatives to eliminate gender-based violence.

The leaders agreed to intensify efforts to promote women's decision-making roles at all levels and continuing to improve advocacy for women's leadership and the empowerment of women as leaders.

The leaders also agreed to combat people smuggling and human trafficking by clamping down on illicit criminal organisations and bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice, while protecting and supporting the victims of trafficking.

Over 50 feared killed in bridge collapse in Arunachal

Over 50 people were feared dead after a wirerope suspension bridge over the swift Kameng river collapsed this evening at Seppa in Arunchal Pradesh's East Kameng district. 

The hanging bridge at the entrance to Seppa town, the district headquarters, collapsed as people were crossing it, with 50 feared dead, East Kameng SP Kime Aya said.

Five bodies were found by rescue teams comprising the CRPF, ITBP and the district police, he said.

The swift current in the river and darkness was impeding the search and rescue teams, the SP said.

"Two people who swam back to safety informed that there were over 100 people who had gone on the hunt for 'teri', an insect which is a delicacy for the tribals, at around 5:30 pm which was not the right time," Aya said.

The exact toll can be ascertained only tomorrow, he said.

Comm'wealth leaders adopt a declaration on food security

Seeking coordinated action, the Commonwealth nations on Saturday called for elimination of trade barriers on food exports to address the issue of food security. 

The Commonwealth Heads of Government, at their summit meeting here, adopted the "Perth Declaration on Food Security Principles", that calls for coordinated and timely regional and global emergency relief efforts to deal with immediate food crises.

The Perth declaration was "a significant response to the food security challenge", Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma told reporters in Perth.

Australian Prime Minister and Commonwealth Chair Julia Gillard said the declaration was important since the world faces the challenge of increasing agriculture productivity by 70 per cent over the next few decades.

The declaration lists a 12-point agenda for the 54-nation grouping, to deal with the issue of food security.

It also called for improving market access for food producers, including small holders and women, through trade liberalisation measures such as elimination of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers and avoidance of restrictions on food exports.

The declaration also calls for "delivering practical measures over the medium-term to make agriculture, including irrigated agriculture, and fisheries more productive and sustainable; strengthening support to government-led programmes and initiatives; developing country-led strategies to improve food security, and scaling up nutritional interventions, including those that target mothers and young children."

The leaders of Commonwealth countries on Saturday are holding informal discussions on various issues in what are called retreat sessions today.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers had examined the proposal of a human rights commissioner, as suggested by the 11-member Eminent Persons Group (EPG), but there were "broad range of concerns" over it.

Trying to put up a brave face, Gillard said the leaders had examined the proposal and suggested "further procedure" by asking the Secretary General and the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) chair look into it and report back to them.

The leaders had yesterday agreed to strengthen the CMAG by empowering it to engage member nations veering off the track of democracy.

The 11-member EPG chaired by former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi was invited for a retreat lunch of the leaders for an informal interaction.

The leaders accepted the EPG recommendation to have a Charter of the Commonwealth which would weave together several declarations issued by the leaders since 1971 that represent the values and principles of the association.

Gillard said the leaders have asked their foreign ministers to meet in 2012 and come out with a "clear and powerful statement" for the charter.

Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said that the charter will reflect the aspirations of the member countries.

The leaders have also asked the foreign ministers to work overnight and examine other 102 recommendations made by the EPG.

The ministerial report is expected to be taken up at the concluding session tomorrow.

The CHOGM also came out with a Perth Declaration on Food Security Principles that reflect the shared approach to addressing the challenge of food insecurity and are focussed on meeting the needs of the most vulnerable, particularly women and children.

Seventeen more babies die in WB govt hospitals; toll 30

Thirteen newborns died in the Burdwan Medical College and four more at Kolkata's B C Roy Children's Hospital, which has witnessed a series of crib deaths, taking the toll in the two government hospitals in West Bengal to 30 today. 

Though the deaths have raised a question mark on the standard of healthcare in paediatric hospitals in the state, authorities claimed that it was not unusual.

Since yesterday, four babies died at the B C Roy Children's Hospital and 12 at the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, which also saw a death today.

"The one-to-three day-old babies were underweight and suffering from jaundice, encephalitis and septicaemia," Burdwan Medical College and Hospital Deputy Superintendent Tapas Kumar Ghosh said.

Deputy Director of Medical Education Susanta Banerjee and Health Commissioner Dilip Ghosh were sent by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the hospital.

Banerjee said that there was no medical negligence in the death of the babies as they were referred in a moribund stage and that one or two deaths occurred daily.

He said that in two and half months the number of beds would be increased to 190 from the current 60.

Centre opposes commuting sentence of Rajiv Gandhi's assassins

Madras high court on Friday extended the stay on the execution of death sentence on three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case even as the centre stuck to its stand that the trio should be hanged. 

Strongly opposing the petitions by three Rajiv Gandhi assassins challenging their death sentences, the Centre on Friday said the delay in the disposal of the clemency pleas was not a valid ground for commutation of capital punishment.

"However long it may be, is not a mitigating circumstance or can be construed as a valid ground for commutation of death sentence and in any event does not reduce the gravity of the crime," the Centre said in its counter-affidavit in response to the petitions filed by Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan.

On August 30, a division bench comprising justices C Nagappan and M Satyanaryanan, had stayed for eight weeks the execution of the trio.

When the petitions came up today, the judges adjourned the hearing on the petitions to November 29 as the Supreme Court was hearing a plea for transferring the petitions to another High Court.

CAG to audit rural development expenditure: Ramesh

All expenditure incurred in rural development works would come under the CAG's scrutiny from next week because people have a right to know how the money was being spent, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday.

"This is absolutely essential when hundred thousand crore of rupees are spent by the government all over the country for rural development. The people have a right to know...So the expenditure has to be subjected to CAG audit," the Union Rural Development Minister said.

"An announcement to this effect will be made next week," Ramesh told reporters in Guwahati.

Stating that he had three rounds of discussions with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Ramesh said special accountant generals would be assigned for auditing rural funds.

The CAG would also conduct a performance audit of NREGA scheme in eleven states irrespective of the political party in power there, Ramesh said.

"I will demand the highest standards of transparency and accountability in the expenditure of rural development funds," the minister said.

Ansari in Perth for CHOGM summit

Leaders of over 50 commonwealth countries will begin their three day deliberations on Friday on the major challenges confronting the world besides seeking to make the commonwealth more responsive to the concerns of member countries.

Ansari and his wife Salma were received at the airport in Perth by Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith and Brenden Grills, the Regional Development Minister of Western Australia.

On demands by a section of members to reconsider Sri Lanka as the host of the next CHOGM summit, Ansari a decision to hold the next CHOGM in Sri Lanka was already taken in 2009.

"Well, as far as we are concerned, the decision to have the next CHOGM in 2013 was taken at the meeting in Port of Spain. That is a decision and that is the end of the matter," Ansari told reporters accompanying him to Perth.

The demands for change in venue of the next summit in Sri Lanka has been raised by an influential section of members who have questioned the island nation's record on alleged war crimes during it's fight against LTTE.

Ansari also pitched for an international mechanism to check the scourge of terrorism.

Grand plan to solve euro crisis in doubt

A grand plan to resolve Europe's escalating debt crisis is once again in doubt after officials decided that key parts of the package will not be ready in time for a leaders' summit on Wednesday.

A meeting of European Unions finance ministers, which was to be held just before the summit, was called off.

A summit of EU and eurozone leaders planned for Wednesday evening will still be held, but its conclusions on the grand plan may remain vague without the technical work concluded.

The euro and stocks on both sides of the Atlantic took a dive on the news amid fears that Europe would prove unable, after two years, to get a grip on its debt crisis.

The 17 eurozone countries have not reached final agreement on the details of two key elements of the plan reducing Greece's massive debts and boosting the firepower of the bailout fund, two European officials said.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were confidential. Because of that, the 10 EU countries that do not use the euro won't sign off on a plan to force banks across the continent to raise billion of euros in capital and insisted the meeting of finance ministers be called off, the officials said.

One of the officials said that the eurozone was also still waiting for Italy to take concrete action to control its debts and kick start growth.

"It's a real mess once again," the other official said.

The eurozone is locked into negotiations with banks and other private investors to take losses of as much as 60 per cent on their Greek bond holdings, but negotiators for the banks have indicated that they will no accept losses of that magnitude.

Forcing losses onto banks could trigger big payouts of credit insurance and cause huge turbulence in global markets, analysts warn. At the same time, two schemes to give the USD 612 billion European Financial Stability Facility more firepower by using it to guarantee bond issues from shaky countries like Italy and Spain also still lack detail.

India asks Australia to withdraw travel advisory

Taking serious note of the travel advisories against it, India on Wednesday raised the issue with Australia, asking it to withdraw issuance of such notices which have "disproportionate" language and were contrary to the current tourist trend.

Minister of External Affairs S M Krishna, who is in Perth to attend the CHOGM Foreign Ministers Meeting, held talks with his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd and raised the issue in detail.

Krishna asked Rudd to withdraw issuance of travel advisory for tourists travelling to India.

"The language in these advisory is rather disproportionate and contrary to the current trend of tourism to India," he told Rudd.

Responding to Krishna, Rudd said such advisories were "routine" advice and "we do not have any information of any specific threat to share with India."

According to officials, Krishna is also expected to raise the issue with his other counterparts including Canada and New Zealand.

In the wake of many countries, including US and Australia, issuing travel advisories to their citizens, New Delhi has taken a serious note of the issue, maintaining such notices do not reflect the reality and have adverse affect on the tourism to the country.

India beat England by 95 runs in fifth and final ODI

India win the fifth and final ODI of the five match series against England by 95 runs to clinch a 5-0 win at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday. 

Earlier, Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed an unbeaten 75 off 69 balls to power India to 271-8.

England, hoping to avoid a 5-0 series

whitewash after losing the first four games, grabbed wickets at regular intervals after skipper Alastair Cook asked India to bat in the day-night match.

India were reduced to 123-4 before Dhoni hit his way out of trouble, pounding four sixes and three boundaries, to help the world champions put up a challenging total on a sluggish wicket.

The late flourish led by the captain saw India plunder 84 runs in the last eight overs, including 39 off the final 12 balls.

Left-arm seamer Samit Patel claimed three for 57, while Steven Finn took 2-47.
Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane put on 80 runs in 17 overs when England hit back with three wickets without a run being added.
Finn, England's most impressive fast bowler in the series, bowled Gambhir (38) and the in-form Virat Kohli with the first and last deliveries of his sixth over.
In the next over, Tim Bresnan forced Rahane (42) to edge a ball to wicket-keeper Craig Kieswetter, who dived to his right to pick up a superb catch.
Kolkata local Manoj Tiwary, making his first appearance in the series in place of opener Parthiv Patel, scored 24 with the help of four boundaries when he was caught behind off Stuart Meaker.
Suresh Raina helped Dhoni lift the total to 162-4 in the 37th over, before he was run out for 38 by a direct throw from Ravi Bopara.
Patel dismissed Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in successive overs, but Dhoni stepped in to steer India to a competitive total.
England gave seasoned batsman Ian Bell his first game in the series in place of Kevin Pietersen, who has a fractured thumb.

Wheat MSP hiked by Rs 115/qtl, pulses by up to Rs 700

In a Diwali bonanza to farmers, the govt on Tuesday hiked the support price of wheat by Rs 115 per quintal to Rs 1,285 per quintal for the 2012-13 procurement season.

"This decision has been taken after a thoughtful consideration. We hope that this will be a good news to all our farmer friends at the time of Diwali," Law Minister Salman Khurshid told mediapersons after a meeting of the the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in New Delhi.

The minimum support price (MSP) for wheat was Rs 1,170 per quintal (inluding the Centre's bonus of Rs 50 a quintal) in the 2011-12 procurement season (April-June).
The support price of other rabi crops such as barley, gram, masur, mustard seed and safflower has also been hiked by up to Rs 700 per quintal.
Khurshid said the government raised the MSP of rabi crops in a bid to offset the impact of higher input cost, like the hike in labour wages and increase in fertiliser and electricity prices.
He said that the government has attempted a "difficult balance" while fixing the MSP in the wake of high food inflation which is in double digits (10.6 per cent) for the week ended October 8.
"We cannot be completely blind to the fact that there is inflationary pressure. While we balance to farmers, we also ensure that inflation does not get out of hand. This is also the very serious concern for us," he said.
The government increased wheat MSP, notwithstanding opposition from ministries of food and finance which had said the hike could lead to a rise in retail prices.

2G case: CBI does not oppose bail of Kani, 4 others

Bail prospects of DMK MP Kanimozhi and four other accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case appeared to have brightened with the CBI not opposing their being freed by a Delhi court which has reserved its orders for 3rd Nov.

Kanimozhi, Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar, Directors of Kusegaon Fruits & Vegetables Asif Balwa, Rajiv Agarwal and Bollywood producer Karim Morani, on Monday moved their bail plea in the wake of framing of charges against them in the case.

CBI, which did not oppose the plea of the five accused, however, chose to raise objections on the bail plea of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa and former telecom minister A Raja's former private secretary R K Chandolia, saying specific charges framed against them carry seven years jail term as maximum sentence.

Giving reasons for not opposing the bail, Special public prosecutor U U Lalit said Kanimozhi and four others faced "specific" charges, apart from the "umbrella section" of 120-B (criminal conspiracy) IPC, which entail only five years sentence as maximum punishment.

"Lets put Shahid Balwa and Chandolia in different category at this stage...I submit, one can make distinction so far as those for whom maximum punishment can be five years and those against whom maximum punishment can be seven years.

"At this juncture, I am opposing the bail pleas of accused Chandolia and Shahid Balwa," Lalit told Special CBI Judge O P Saini on Monday.

Regarding Kanimozhi and four others, Lalit said, "Of course, bail should be granted to them subject to discretion of the court which may impose certain conditions to ensure their presence during the hearings."

On the charges framed against Kanimozhi and four others under section 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the IPC, which carries life term sentence as maximum punishment, Lalit said it was accompanied by the charge of criminal conspiracy as well.

CBI is categorising the five accused as distinct from Shahid Balwa and Chandolia on the basis of maximum sentence carried by the specific charges framed against them apart from the "umbrella section" of criminal conspiracy, Lalit said.

He said the specific charges framed against Kanimozhi and four others, includes offences under provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, which carries five years as maximum sentence.

"As a public prosecutor, this is my duty to see that the offences for which these accused (Kanimozhi and four others) are charged carries a maximum punishment of five years. We have no objection. We are not opposing their bail pleas.

"I would humbly submit and request the court to consider the bail pleas of these five accused," Lalit said.

He added, "I do not know how much time each accused has spent in custody but they have at least spent 5-6 months. This court might consider their bail pleas."

The court would pronounce the order on all the seven bail pleas on 3^rd November after advocate Vijay Agarwal, appearing for Shahid Balwa and Chandolia, wrapped up his arguments on their bail pleas.

Senior advocate Altaf Ahmed, appearing for Kanimozhi and Kumar, said as per the 22^nd June order of the Supreme Court, both of them could approach the special court seeking bail after framing of charges.

"As per the Supreme Court order on June 22 in the case of Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, liberty was given to them to file fresh application for bail before the special court after framing of charges," Ahmed said, adding, even the CBI has not apprehended that they could tamper with evidence or influence the witnesses.

Senior advocate Sidhartha Luthra, appearing for Morani, said his health condition is not good, the probe against him is complete and charges too have been framed, so there is no requirement for keeping him in custody.

Chandolia's counsel pressed for his bail saying there is a "social stigma" and if he is kept in jail for long, it might affect the marriage prospects of his two daughters.

Rajeev Agarwal and Karim Morani too endorsed the same plea that their daughters are of marriageable age.

The defence counsel said that after framing of charges, the circumstances have changed as section 420 (cheating) of the IPC has been diluted and after considering this aspect, court should grant Chandolia bail.

The counsel, arguing for Shahid Balwa, Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal, said, "Earlier the court had rejected their bail pleas by citing the reason of magnitude of crime but now the charges have been framed against them and the bail cannot be opposed on this ground."

The counsel said when charge sheet was filed, Shahid Balwa was booked for forgery but the court while framing charges against him has dropped this charge.

Balwa also said he was willing to deposit his 55 percent share in Etisalat DB with the court as prerequisite condition for bail.

"The allegation against me (Shahid Balwa) is that I had off-loaded 45 per cent of my share in Etisalat DB. My equity in the company is much more than that i.e 55 per cent and I am ready to deposit it with the court. Then where will I flee?," he said.

Arguing on bail pleas of Asif and Rajeev, the counsel said these are two persons who are in custody for the longest time as far as supplementary charge sheet is concerned.

"Considering their (Asif and Rajeev) period in custody and that the charges are already framed, court... should grant them bail," he said.

Cash-for-vote scam: HC releases Amar Singh on bail

In a relief to Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, the Delhi High Court on Monday granted bail to him in the 2008 cash-for-vote case but restrained him from leaving the country without its permission.

While granting bail to 55-year-old Singh, who was undergoing treatment at AIIMS under judicial custody, the court asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50 lakh and two sureties of like amount.

Justice Suresh Kait also asked Singh to surrender his passport before the trial court which is hearing the cash-for-vote case. The court passed the order on an appeal filed by Singh challenging the lower court's order rejecting his bail plea.

The lower court had granted interim bail to Singh on 15^th September on medical grounds, which continued till 28^th September when the judge ordered his re-arrest while dismissing his regular and interim bail pleas on the ground that he was "stable".

Singh has been booked under under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code in the cash-for-vote case.

(AKS-24/10)

HC stays summoning order against SP MP Rewati Raman Singh

The Delhi High Court has stayed a trial court order issuing summons to Samajwadi Party MP Rewati Raman Singh to appear as an accused in 2008 cash-for-vote scam case.

"The proceedings before the trial court shall be stayed till the next date of hearing that is November 15," Justice Suresh Kait on Monday said while allowing Rewati Raman's plea that he be not forced to appear as an accused before the trial court.

The court, which issued a notice to Delhi police after taking note of the petition, said the "audio-video CDs of the sting operation" be also submitted to it on the next date of hearing.

Earlier, the lower court had brushed aside the clean chit given to Singh in the scam and issued a summon as an accused to him for 3^rd November, saying "there was sufficient material to show that he was a part of alleged criminal conspiracy."

During the day, Justice Kait granted bail to Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, a co-accused, after taking note of his critical health conditions.

Senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for Rewati Raman, said the order of the trial court amount to review of its 24^th August order, which is beyond its jurisdiction.

Opposing the trial court order, he said Rewati Raman is an MP and prior sanction of the Speaker is required to prosecute him, which has not been done in this case.

He further said that as he has been summoned only on the charge of criminal conspiracy under Section 120-B, prior sanction of the state government was also a must.

Challenging the order, he said the court can make a person an accused during the trial or investigation if there was sufficient/substantial evidence against him or her.

However, in the present case, no evidence is available after taking cognisance of the offence.

Rohtagi also said that in the earlier order of trial court and in the charge sheet he was not an accused and only on the basis of the statement of co-accused, a person cannot be summoned as an accused by the trial court.

"When the impugned order was passed, there was no additional material," Rohtagi said citing various provisions of the law and said that in such a case the trial court cannot summon a person.

However, opposing the plea, the probe agency said the court order was not a review as it has not at any stage said that Rewati Raman Singh was not an accused.

He further said the sanction of the state can be obtained at any stage as Singh has not been charge sheeted by the probe agency but the court has taken cognisance of it.

He also said, citing various apex court judgements, that a court can issue summons against a person whose name is not an accused in the charge sheet or he has not been summoned earlier.

PM calls for co-ordinated action to calm global financial and capital markets

Cautioning that the Eurozone crisis could affect the developing countries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday asked Europe and other advanced economies to take "effective and early steps" to prevent the global economy from slipping into a double-dip recession.

He also said that India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA), three leading emerging economies, were united in their efforts to address the deficit in global governance and pressed for enlargement of the UN Security Council to reflect the present day reality.

"The sovereign debt crisis in Europe and recessionary trends in the traditional engines of the global economy - the US, Europe and Japan-- are sending negative signals to world financial and capital markets which are showing signs of distress," Dr Singh said addressing the plenary session of the IBSA Summit in Pretoria.

"Developing countries cannot remain untouched by the negative impacts of these developments. Their ability to address their developmental challenges has been adversely affected," he said.

"We hope effective and early steps will be taken by Europe and other advanced economies to calm the capital and financial markets and prevent the global economy from slipping into a double-dip recession," Dr Singh added.

With G-20 summit in the offing in Cannes early next month, Dr Singh said IBSA countries should cooridnate their positions in the run-up to it to ensure that priorities of the developing economies are adequately reflected in the deliberations of the grouping.

The economic and financial crisis being witnessed in the West was one of the main issues of discussion at the 5th IBSA summit along with reform of the international institutions of governance and the UN.

"We stand united in our efforts to address the deficit in global governance. The United Nations Security Council must be enlarged in order to reflect present day reality and to make it representative and effective in responding to global challenges," Dr. Singh said.

Noting the special salience of the fact that IBSA countries were at the same time non-permanent members of the UNSC, Dr. Singh said the three nations had demonstrated their "cohesion and coordination" on various issues under discussion in the UN, particularly in the context of the developments in West Asia and North Africa.

The visit of an IBSA delegation to Damascus in August this year and their interaction with the Syrian leadership demonstrated the political role which IBSA can usefully play, Singh said, adding "we should build upon this experience."

Talking about the synergies in the three countries, he said despite the global economic slowdown, the three economies have registered a steady growth rate with intra-IBSA trade almost touching the 20 billion dollar mark.

"This augurs well for realising our target of 25 billion US dollar by 2015, and for being even more ambitious," Dr. Singh said.

The Prime Minister described IBSA Trust Fund, to which each country of the grouping contributes USD one million, as a novel initiative through which IBSA countries have been able to share developmental experience with other developing nations in the true spirit of SouthSouth cooperation.

"We should strengthen IBSA's ownership of the projects executed under the Trust Fund and bring their focus back to what was originally envisaged i.e. hunger and poverty alleviation," he said.

"We could consider new projects in areas such as agriculture and agro-processing, environment and energy, including new energy resources. These will help our partner countries in addressing the challenges of food and energy security," he said.

The IBSA Trust Fund projects could also usefully focus on education and skill development, which is a key requirement of almost all developing countries, Dr. Singh said.

The early conclusion of India-SACU-Mercosur Trilateral Trade Arrangement would give a boost to South-South trade and Africa could emerge as a bridge linking South Asia and Latin America, he said.

Underscoring the significance of the IBSA cooperation on environment and climate change issues, Dr. Singh said the BASIC Group comprising Brazil, South Africa, India and China has proved to be an effective forum for projecting the viewpoint of the developing world.

"We should maintain the momentum of coordination and consultation in the run up to Durban" climate meet from 28^thNovember to 9^th December, he said.