Last Modified: Mon, Mar 07 2016. 10 49 AM IST
Legal wrap: The week gone by
Among last week’s significant developments on the legal front were the introduction of Aaadhaar bill and call drop penalty case in Supreme Court
Priyanka Mittal
Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint
New Delhi: Among last week’s significant developments on the legal front were the introduction of the Aaadhaar bill, the call drop penalty case in Supreme Court and the bail of JNSU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar. Read about these and other developments below:
Aadhaar bill
Setting the ball rolling on the long pending Aadhaar Unique Identification (UID) scheme and clearing the path for the so-called JAM trinity—Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile—the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) tabled the Aadhaar bill as a money bill in the Lok Sabha on 3 March.
The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill seeks to make the use of Aadhaar mandatory for availing of government subsidies but at the same time tries to address concerns regarding privacy and protection of personal information. Read more about it here
Cement trucks
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices to 13 cement companies following a petition that they were violating its earlier orders prohibiting overloading vehicles. The 13 cement manufacturers include Shree Cement Ltd, J.K. Cements Ltd, ACC Cements Ltd, Binani Cement Ltd, Birla Corp. Ltd, Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd etc. The petitioner claimed cement companies were overloading trucks by 200-250% to save on toll. In October 2015, NGT had directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to institute a proper mechanism to check emission levels of moving, overloaded, heavy vehicles, which is still to be done. Read more on
Red FM’s Phase-III licence
It will soon be decided whether Digital Radio Broadcasting’s Red FM can finally migrate to a Phase-III licence. Last year, the information and broadcasting ministry had refused to allow the channel to participate in the Phase-III FM auctions for want of a security clearance from the home ministry. The Delhi high court, however, allowed it to participate as an interim measure. Accordingly, the court has asked the home ministry to decide within two weeks. Read more here and here
Rule of law for sustainable development
During an international conference organized by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Union home minister Rajnath Singh stressed on the importance of rule of law for sustainable development. He held the rule of law and sustainable development to be inseparable. The need to reduce violence in all forms and promote the rule of law at both the national and international level was also discussed. Read more
Bail for JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was granted interim bail by the Delhi high court on 2 March. The court, however, made some stern observations while granting bail. Although it was noted that his name does not appear on the posters of the controversial event and he was not seen raising anti-national slogans in any of the video footage, strong observations against his alleged ‘anti-national’ behaviour were made.
“It is a case of raising anti-national slogans which do have the effect of threatening national integrity,” was one such observation. Read more here and here
Call drop penalty
Telcos, which opposed compensation to subscribers for call drops under new regulations in the Delhi high court have approached the apex court for clarity on the issue. Prima facie, the court has noted that regulations penalizing telcos for call drops are valid. “If call drop fault is on your (telecos) part, you will have to pay for it,” the court said. The court will hear the matter on 10 March.
Vijay Mallaya and wilful default
The Delhi high court refusing to hear a plea by Vijay Mallaya against State Bank of India’s (SBI) decision to name him a “wilful defaulter”, even as the state-owned lender’s efforts to have an arrest warrant issued against him threatened to derail his sweetheart deal with Diageo Plc. Meanwhile, Mallaya is seeking a one-time settlement with banks while holding that he is not a wilful defaulter. The tragic journey of the tycoon and his inheritance can be read here