New Delhi, May 2, 2009
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Centre files affidavit on black money in SC
New Delhi: The government of India on Saturday
filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on the steps taken by it on the black
money stashed by Indian nationals in Swiss banks. The Centre assured the apex
court that it was doing its level best to retrieve the amount of over Rs. 70 lakh
crore in black money believed to be stored in foreign banks by rich Indians. The
affidavit was filed in response to a public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by
former Law Minister and reputed jurist Ram Jethmalani, former Lok Sabha General
Secretary Subhash C Kashyap and former Punjab Police chief KPS Gill, who have
been seeking court's direction to the government to bring back the black money.
In the affidavit, the government has claimed that the lawsuit filed against it
was " politically motivated". Doubting the intensions of filing the lawsuit in
the middle of the general elections, the Centre sought the dismissal of the PIL.
Jethmalani and others had mentioned the petition in front of the Court on April
22. They had alleged that the government was taking no action on the black money
issue. Though the apex court had not issued notice, it had posted the matter for
hearing on May 4 after the ASG had promised to file the affidavit within 48 hours.
Dismissing the charges by the petitioners, the ASG had pointed out that Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh, in his opening speech at the recent G-20 submit in London,
had said that "there should be an absolute transparency and banking secrecy should
be over". The Swiss banks are said to have the highest deposits by Indians. This
fact was exposed after Swiss banks were forced by the US and other Western countries
to disclose the details of their nationals who maintain accounts with them. The
issue has recently been raked up by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who have
demanded an immediate action to bring back the unaccounted money from the foreign
banks.
Court
rejects Kasab's request to see X-ray plates Top
Mumbai: A special court dismissed the plea of
Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone survivor of Mumbai terror attacks, for permission
to access the X-ray plates of his dental and bone tests to seek medical opinion
regarding his age. Earlier, a special court had ruled that Kasab is not a minor.
The court ruling was based on ossification and blood tests submitted to it. The
reports claimed that Kasab is aged above 20 years. Rejecting the plea of the accused,
Judge M L Tahiliyani held that this opportunity was given to Kasab's lawyer Abbas
Kazmi, but he did not opt for it then. The court had earlier allowed Kazmi to
call an expert to examine 16 X-ray plates presented by the prosecution regarding
ossification and dental tests of the accused. Kazmi contended that in such vital
cases, the apex court allows the accused to examine the X-rays by medical experts.
However, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam opposed his plea saying it cannot
be allowed at this point in time. He further blamed that the accused was trying
to delay the trial.
Tamil
protesters attack 5 army trucks in Tamil Nadu Top
Coimbatore:
Tamil protestors on Saturday ransacked five army trucks at Neelambur area near
Coimbatore, following rumours that the weapon laden trucks were meant for Sri
Lankan Army. Around 80 trucks laden with weapons and other army supply was heading
towards Thiruvananthapuram. "More than 80 trucks of war material including weapons
meant for Sri Lanka are being dispatched by the Indian government. And we have
stopped these," said Ramakrishnan, General Secretary of Periyar Dravida Kazhagam,
a pro-Tamil group. Several defense documents were also torched during the attack.
"We found that there are some small arms and some big arms and rocket launchers
out there. 82 trucks and so much of arms together, movement of it is suspect and
we demand an explanation from the Indian government," said Ponchandran, a human
rights activist. Police have detained four protestors including Ramakrishnan,
and further investigation is on. Tamil Nadu has seen a series of protests to protect
Sri Lanka's Tamil civilians since the Lankan army mounted its latest offensive
to oust the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) from their last stronghold.
Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in a tiny strip of coastline studded
with coconut groves, a former army-declared no-fire zone that has become the final
conventional battleground in Asia's longest-running war. Diplomatic pressure over
the war boiled over the past week with the UN Security Council, the United States
and others demanding Sri Lanka stop its offensive and the LTTE surrender to avert
rising civilian casualties.
Rajasthan
Royals clinch victory from Deccan Chargers Top
Port Elizabeth: Rajasthan Royals on Saturday
beat Deccan Chargers by three wickets with two balls of the 20 overs remaining
to be bowled in a match of the Indian Premier League tournament here . Deccan,
which scored 141 for 5 wickets in 20 overs, had its chances but poor fielding
proved too costly for the team. However, for the Rajasthan Royals, Carseldine,
Raut and Pathan played well. Abhishek Raut, who played an anchoring role with
an unbeaten 36 off 23 balls, was joined by Shane Harwood in the middle and Dwayne
Smith fumbled a run-out chance with 10 needed off 10. Today's match included the
disciplined spells of bowling, followed by some nerveless batting. But it was
misfields and dropped catches from Deccan Chargers contributed to the close finish.
Yusuf Pathan, who earned Man of the Match, having starred with the ball early,
took Rajasthan Royals to within 11 of victory with two overs to go. "I enjoyed
it well, Carseldine and Raut played well, It was a good wicket to bat and I was
able to strike well," Pathan was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.com after the match.
Some anxious moments ensued as Deccan argued that only one of the two runs that
Raut and Harwood ran during the run-out attempt could be counted since the umpire
had already signalled a referral at the end of the first run. But the deduction
did not amount to much after Rohit Sharma failed to collect a ball and let it
go for four instead. That eased the pressure on Rajasthan, who needed only two
off the final over. Fidel Edwards bowled two dot balls but messed up a possible
run-out of the third. Raut and Harwood took two singles to finish the game with
two balls to spare. Rajasthan won the match scoring 142 at the loss of seven wickets
in 19.4 overs at a run rate of 7.22 per over. "A great game of cricket, so exciting,
tight finishes, both the teams had the opportunities to win it. There is bit more
in the track and they bowled well to restrict us to 141, we would have like some
more," said Gilchrist of the Deccan Chargers after the match.
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