आओ सुधारों की बात करें

नई दिल्ली। उच्चतम न्यायालय के फैसले से भारतीय नागरिकों को नकारात्मक मतदान का अधिकार मिलने के बाद अब ‘राइट टू रिकॉल’ (निर्वाचित प्रतिनिधियों को वापस बुलाने का अधिकार) की मांग तेज होने के बीच कानूनविदों एवं विशेषज्ञों ने भारत में लोकसभा क्षेत्रों के लिए मतदाताओं की संख्या अधिक होने, प्रक्रियागत जटिलताओं आदि के कारण इसे अव्यावहारिक बताया है।

लोकसभा के पूर्व महासचिव सुभाष कश्यप ने कहा कि भारत जैसे बड़े देश में यह व्यवस्था स्थानीय निकाय के स्तर पर तो ठीक है लेकिन राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर यह व्यावहारिक नहीं है। अमेरिका में भी ‘राइट टू रिकॉल’ कुछ राज्यों में ही लागू है।

उन्होंने कहा कि भारत में एक लोकसभा सीट में मतदाताओं की संख्या 8 से 15 लाख तक होती है। अभी जिन देशों में ‘राइट टू रिकॉल’ का जो प्रावधान है, उसके तहत प्रक्रिया शुरू करने के लिए कहीं 50 प्रतिशत और कहीं 10 प्रतिशत पंजीकृत मतदाताओं के हस्ताक्षर की जरूरत होती है। इतने हस्ताक्षर जुटाना बड़ी समस्या है।

पूर्व मुख्य चुनाव आयुक्त एन. गोपाल स्वामी ने कहा कि ‘राइट टू रिकॉल’ को भारत में लागू करना बहुत बड़ा कार्य है। इस प्रक्रिया के तहत सही मतदाताओं की पुष्टि करना आसान नहीं है।

उन्होंने कहा कि भारत में एक लोकसभा सीट के तहत 10 से 15 लाख मतदाता आते हैं और औसतन 50 प्रतिशत मतदान करते हैं। अगर किसी सदस्य को वापस बुलाना है तो ‘राइट टू रिकॉल’ की प्रक्रिया को शुरू करने के लिए हस्ताक्षर की पुष्टि करना बहुत जटिल कार्य है।

बहरहाल, कश्यप ने कहा कि अगर हस्ताक्षर की पुष्टि हो भी जाएगी तब भी यह आसान नहीं होगा। रिकॉल के लिए 50 प्रतिशत वोट की जरूरत होगी और यह कई चुनाव का मार्ग प्रशस्त करेगा।

हमारे यहां चुनाव पर आने वाला खर्च पहले ही काफी अधिक हैं और करीब 1,340 राजनीतिक दल हैं, ऐसे में यह अव्यावहारिक है। उन्होंने कहा कि एक अध्ययन के अनुसार लोकसभा में 83 प्रतिशत ऐसे सदस्य हैं जिन्हें प्राप्त वोट से अधिक मत उनके विरोध में पड़े हैं।

राइट टू रिकॉल' का प्रावधान अमेरिका के लॉस एंजिल्स, मिशिगन, ओरेगन जैसे कुछ प्रांतों में लागू है। लॉस एंजिल्स में यह 1903 में और मिशिगन एवं ओरेगन में 1908 में लागू किया गया था। कनाडा में इसे 1995 में लागू किया गया था।

स्विट्जरलैंड की संघीय व्यवस्था में बर्न, सालोथार्न, थर्गउ, उड़ी प्रांत में यह व्यवस्था लागू है जबकि वेनेजुएला में अनुच्छेद 72 के तहत किसी सदस्य का आधा कार्यकाल पूरा होने के बाद उन्हें वापस बुलाने की प्रक्रिया शुरू की जा सकती है और इसके लिए 25 प्रतिशत पंजीकृत मतदाताओं का मत जरूरी होता है। ऑस्ट्रेलिया में भी यह व्यवस्था अमल में है।

गौरतलब है कि अमेरिका के उत्तरी डकोटा क्षेत्र के गवर्नर लिन जे. फ्रेजर ‘राइट टू रिकॉल’ के पहले शिकार बने। इसके दायरे में आने वाले दूसरे व्यक्ति कैलीफोर्निया के गवर्नर ग्रे डेविस थे जिन्हें 2003 में बजट कुप्रबंधन की शिकायत पर वापस बुलाया गया था।

भारत में सबसे पहले एमएन राय और इसके बाद जयप्रकाश नारायण ने संपूर्ण आंदोलन के दौरान ‘राइट टू रिकॉल’ पर जोर दिया था। हाल के वर्षों में अन्ना हजारे ने ‘राइट टू रिकॉल’ पर जोर दिया है। (भाषा)

Court attaches assets worth Rs 27 crore of former UP MLA in NRHM scam

NEW DELHI: A penthouse and lands worth over Rs 27 crore belonging to a former Uttar Pradesh MLA have been ordered to be seized as "proceeds of crime" by a special money laundering court here in connection with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam.

The assets of ex-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA from eastern UP's Deoria Ram Prasad Jaiswal include lands and immovable properties in his constituency, Varanasi, Mirzapur, Gorakhpur and a duplex penthouse in Ghaziabad's Indirapuram area.

Jaiswal, considered a close aide of former state health minister Babu Singh Kushwaha, was arrested alongwith him by the CBI last year for alleged irregularities in the NRHM scheme that was being implemented in the state.

The enforcement directorate (ED), through its zonal office in Lucknow, had slapped money laundering charges against Jaiswal and his son Shyam Sunder after taking cognizance of the CBI FIR registered in this case.

Shyam Sunder was booked under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in this case as he was officiating as a director of some companies which were receiving the alleged laundered funds sourced through bribes obtained in lieu of getting work done under the flagship health scheme of the central government.

"Ram Prasad Jaiswal, who is accused of commission of scheduled offences and a receiver of bribe/commission, primarily cash, against allotment of contract under NRHM, has used his companies for parking of bribe money through paper based companies at Kolkata.

"I carefully perused the CBI chargesheets... the detailed investigation carried out by the complainant (ED in this case) and the facts they have thrown up (against Jaiswal and his son). I am convinced that properties provisionally attached by the complainant, are, prima facie, involved in money laundering," K Raamamoorthy, acting chairman of the adjudicating authority of PMLA said in his latest order.

The ED had provisionally attached these properties, with the total value of Rs 27,78,47,159, in March this year and armed with this order the agency will take the possession of these assets as they have been termed "proceeds of crime" by the court, which is a judicial authority for laundering crime cases.

Indian-origin scientist develops 'brain' for robots

WASHINGTON: Robot brain! An Indian-origin scientist in US has developed a new feedback system that allows robots to operate with minimal supervision and could eventually lead to autonomous machines.

The system may lead to robots that think for themselves, learn, adapt and use active critique to work unsupervised.

Developed by Dr Jagannathan Sarangapani, from Missouri University of Science and Technology, the system makes use of current formation moving robots and introduces a fault-tolerant control design to improve the probability of completing a set task.

The new feedback system will allow a "follower" robot to take over as the "leader" robot if the original leader has a system or mechanical failure.

In a leader/follower formation, the lead robot is controlled through a nonholonomic system, meaning that the trajectory is set in advance, and the followers are tracing the same pattern that the leader takes by using sonar.

When a problem occurs and roles need to change to continue, the fault tolerant control system comes into use.

It uses reinforcement learning and active critique, both inspired by behaviourist psychology to show how machines act in environments to maximise work rate, to help the new, unmanned robot to estimate its new course.

Without this, the follower wouldn't have a path to follow and the task would fail.

"Imagine you have one operator in an office controlling 10 bulldozers remotely," said Sarangapani, the William A Rutledge - Emerson Electric Company's distinguished professor in Electrical Engineering at S&T.

"In the event that the lead one suffers a mechanical problem, this hardware allows the work to continue," said Sarangapani.

The innovative research can be applied to robotic security surveillance, mining and even aerial manoeuvring.

Sarangapani believes that the research is most important for aerial vehicles. When a helicopter is in flight, faults can now be detected and accommodated.

This means that instead of a catastrophic failure resulting in a potentially fatal crash, the system can allow for a better chance for an emergency landing instead.

The fault tolerance would notice a problem and essentially shut down that malfunctioning part while maintaining slight control of the overall vehicle.

"The end goal is to push robotics to the next level," said Sarangapani.

"I want robots to think for themselves, to learn, adapt and use active critique to work unsupervised. A self-aware robot will eventually be here, it is just a matter of time, he said.

Four SC verdicts that will change the way we vote

NEW DELHI: The combined effect of four landmark judgments from the Supreme Court, delivered in a span of just 80 days, has triggered a massive debate by touching crucial aspects of elections — from credentials and criminal antecedents of candidates to the right of voters.

The SC's focus in these judgments — the first two delivered on July 10 by a bench of Justices A K Patnaik and S J Mukhopadhaya — was the voter.

The first verdict came on a petition filed by advocate Lily Thomas, which was argued by noted constitutional expert Fali S Nariman. Much to the discomfort of the political class, the court ruled that if an MP or MLA was convicted in a serious offence and sentenced to two years imprisonment or more, he would lose his seat immediately.

Through this judgment, the court took away the cushion provided by Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act that allowed netas to keep their seats in legislatures if they appealed in a higher court within three months of the pronouncement of order of their conviction and sentence.

The bill to nullify the judgment was referred to a parliamentary standing committee following differences between the ruling coalition and the opposition. Interestingly, the government lost patience and took the ordinance route to circumvent the SC order only to be slammed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

But the political class was unanimous in taking prompt steps to nullify the other July 10 judgment on a petition by Jan Chowkidar that had banned arrested persons from contesting elections. Politicians felt that the judgment would provide a handle to ruling dispensation to arrest potential winners from opposition on the eve of filing nomination to bar them from the contest.

In another important judgment on September 13, the court had ruled that no one could contest elections without making a full and honest disclosure about his/her assets and educational and criminal antecedents.

On Friday, the SC ruled that voters had an intrinsic right to cast a negative vote, telling parties that none of the candidates fielded by them were worthy of votes.

Source:  TOI 28th September, 2013

Will implement voters' right to reject candidates straight away: Election Commission

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Friday said it would straight away implement the Supreme Court judgment directing it to provide a "None of the Above" button on electronic voting machines (EVMs). The button can be pressed by a voter to reject all the candidates in a poll in case he finds them unsuitable.

"The EC welcomes the Supreme Court order, which has upheld its long-pending proposal in this regard. It will help maintain the secrecy of ballot for those who want to record a negative/neutral vote on the EVM," a senior EC functionary told TOI. The functionary added that the 'None of the Above' (NOTA) option will be displayed on EVMs in all future elections, the first being the assembly polls to five states due in November.

"In accordance with the order of the Supreme Court, 'NOTA' shall be printed in a separate panel on the ballot paper below the name of the last contesting candidate. This ballot paper shall be affixed on the ballot unit of the EVM. If the voter presses the button next to NOTA, his desire not to vote for any of the candidates in the fray will get recorded in the EVM in secrecy," the EC said in a press release on Friday.

"Commission shall also make appropriate changes in Part-2 of Form 17C used during counting and the result sheet in Form 20 to separately compile the number of persons who used the option not to vote for any of the candidates in the fray," the EC said, adding that it would issue detailed instructions to ensure compliance with the order of the court as expeditiously as possible.

Incidentally, commission sources explained that the NOTA option would not effect the result of an election where over 50 per cent of the electorate chose to cast negative/neutral votes. As former CEC N Gopalaswami explained to TOI, "Even if 90 voters in an electorate of 100 persons press the NOTA button, the poll will be decided in favour of the candidate who gets the maximum of the remaining 10 votes".

The proposal for negative/neutral voting was first made by the commission in December 2001, during the tenure of JM Lyngdoh, and then reiterated and pushed by the then chief election commissioner TS Krishnamurthy in July 2004. As per the EC's proposal, though the facility of registering a negative/neutral vote was already provided under Section 49-O of the conduct of election rules, secrecy was maintainable only in a ballot system. The system in the EVMs, which has now become the mainstay of elections, however was different and tended to compromise the secrecy of vote in as much as the polling officials and polling agents got to know about the decision of the voter not to cast this vote.

It was to ensure secrecy of neutral/negative votes in the age of EVMs that the EC made this proposal first to the law ministry, former CEC N Gopalaswami told TOI. He said the government, however, sat on the proposal, which then became the matter of a PIL filed by PUCL. The government, however, submitted in the apex court that the writ was not maintainable as 'right to vote' was neither a fundamental nor a constitutional right, but only a statutory right.

"The government had probably sensed the potential of the proposal being upgraded to a 'right to reject' all candidates in the future, which would invalidate any election where the negative voting option has been exercised in over 50% cases," a former bureaucrat pointed out.

The EC, on its part, backed the PUCL prayer to the apex court. This was in line with the view taken by its proposal submitted in 2004, recommending that the law be amended to specifically provide for negative/neutral voting. "For this purpose, Rules 22 and 49B of the conduct of election rules, 1961, may be suitably amended, adding a proviso that in the ballot paper and the particulars on the ballot unit, in the column relating to names of candidates, after the entry relating to the last candidate, there shall be a column 'none of the above' to enable a voter to reject all the candidates," the EC proposed.

However, Gopalaswami said the "right not to vote" was different from " right to reject" as the neutral votes cast would be set aside while deciding the result of an election. "At most, neutral voting is a step closer to 'right to reject', which may necessitate a re-election if a majority of candidates choose to reject all the candidates," he noted.

वोटर को मिला 'राइट टू रिजेक्ट'!

नई दिल्ली। उच्चतम न्यायालय ने एक ऐतिहासिक फैसले में शुक्रवार को कहा कि मतदाताओं के पास नकारात्मक वोट डालकर चुनाव लड़ रहे सभी प्रत्याशियों को अस्वीकार करने का अधिकार है। न्यायालय का यह निर्णय प्रत्याशियों से असंतुष्ट लोगों को मतदान के लिए प्रोत्साहित करेगा।

निर्वाचन आयोग को उच्चतम न्यायालय ने आदेश दिया कि वह इलेक्ट्रॉनिक वोटिंग मशीनों में और मतपत्रों में प्रत्याशियों की सूची के आखिर में ‘ऊपर दिए गए विकल्पों में से कोई नहीं’ का विकल्प मुहैया कराएं ताकि मतदाता चुनाव लड़ रहे प्रत्याशियों से असंतुष्ट होने की स्थिति में उन्हें अस्वीकार कर सकें।

प्रधान न्यायाधीश न्यायमूर्ति पी. सदाशिवम की अगुवाई वाली पीठ ने कहा कि नकारात्मक मतदान (निगेटिव वोटिंग) से चुनावों में शुचिता और जीवंतता को बढ़ावा मिलेगा तथा व्यापक भागीदारी भी सुनिश्चित होगी, क्योंकि चुनाव मैदान में मौजूद प्रत्याशियों से संतुष्ट नहीं होने पर मतदाता प्रत्याशियों को खारिज कर अपनी राय जाहिर करेंगे।

पीठ ने कहा कि नकारात्मक मतदान की अवधारणा से निर्वाचन प्रकिया में सर्वांगीण बदलाव होगा, क्योंकि राजनीतिक दल स्वच्छ छवि वाले प्रत्याशियों को ही टिकट देने के लिए मजबूर होंगे।

पीठ ने कहा कि नकारात्मक मतदान की अवधारणा 13 देशों में प्रचलित है और भारत में भी सांसदों को संसद भवन में मतदान के दौरान ‘अलग रहने’ के लिए बटन दबाने का विकल्प मिलता है। व्यवस्था देते हुए पीठ ने कहा कि चुनावों में प्रत्याशियों को खारिज करने का अधिकार संविधान द्वारा भारतीय नागरिकों को दिए गए बोलने एवं अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता के मौलिक अधिकार का हिस्सा है।

पीठ के अनुसार, लोकतंत्र पसंद का मामला है और नकारात्मक वोट डालने के नागरिकों के अधिकार का महत्व व्यापक है। नकारात्मक मतदान की अवधारणा के साथ, चुनाव मैदान में मौजूद प्रत्याशियों से असंतुष्ट मतदाता अपनी राय जाहिर करने के लिए बड़ी संख्या में आएंगे, जिसकी वजह से विवेकहीन तत्व और दिखावा करने वाले लोग चुनाव से बाहर हो जाएंगे।

पीठ ने हालांकि इस बारे में कुछ स्पष्ट नहीं किया कि ‘कोई विकल्प नहीं’ के तहत डाले गए वोटों की संख्या अगर प्रत्याशियों को मिले वोटों से अधिक हो तो क्या होगा। आगे पीठ ने कहा कि ‘कोई विकल्प नहीं’ श्रेणी के तहत डाले गए वोटों की गोपनीयता निर्वाचन आयोग को बनाए रखनी चाहिए।

उच्चतम न्यायालय ने यह आदेश एक गैर सरकारी संगठन ‘पीयूसीएल’ (पीपुल्स यूनियन फॉर सिविल लिबर्टीज) की जनहित याचिका पर दिया, जिसमें कहा गया था कि मतदाताओं को नकारात्मक मतदान का अधिकार दिया जाना चाहिए। गैर सरकारी संगठन के आग्रह पर सहमति जताते हुए पीठ ने यह अहम फैसला दिया और यह कहते हुए चुनाव प्रक्रिया में नकारात्मक मतदान की अवधारणा को शामिल करने को कहा कि इससे मतदाताओं को अपने मताधिकार का उपयोग करने का और अधिकार मिलेगा।

यह फैसला चुनाव प्रक्रिया के बारे में उच्चतम न्यायालय द्वारा दिए गए कई फैसलों का हिस्सा है। पूर्व में, न्यायालय ने हिरासत में लिए गए लोगों के चुनाव लड़ने पर रोक की व्यवस्था दी थी।

न्यायालय ने यह भी व्यवस्था दी है कि गंभीर अपराधों में दोषी ठहराए जाने के बाद सांसद और विधायक अयोग्य हो जाएंगे। इस फैसले के तहत निर्वाचन कानून का वह प्रावधान रद्द हो जाएगा जो दोषी सांसदों विधायकों को तत्काल अयोग्य होने से बचाता है। न्यायालय की इस व्यवस्था को निष्प्रभावी करने के लिए सरकार एक अध्यादेश लेकर आई है।

हालांकि यह हकीकत के धरातल पर कब तक आएगा फिलहाल कहना मुश्किल है क्योंकि कोई भी राजनीतिक दल शायद से इस निर्णय को पचा पाएगा। उल्लेखनीय है कि शीर्ष अदालत ने चुनाव सुधार के मद्देनजर पहले भी एक अहम फैसला दिया था, जिसमें दागी सांसदों की सदस्यता रद्द करने तक की बात कही गई थी।

...लेकिन सरकार ने इस बात का पूरा इंतजाम कर लिया कि कानून बनाने वाले खुद कानून की पकड़ से बच निकलें। कैबिनेट ने अध्यादेश के माध्यम शीर्ष अदालत के उस आदेश को पलट दिया है, जिसमें कहा गया था कि अगर किसी नेता को दो साल या उससे ज्यादा की सजा होती है तो उसे चुनाव लड़ने के अयोग्य करार दिया जाए। अत: सुप्रीम कोर्ट के इस आदेश का भी पालन होगा, इसमें संदेह ही है। सरकार और राजनीतिक दल इसका भी कोई न कोई तोड़ निकाल ही लेंगे।

संकट में दोषी सांसद, अध्यदेश से राष्ट्रपति सहमत नहीं...

नई दिल्ली। दोषी सासंदों और विधायकों की सदस्यता खत्म वाले सुप्रीम कोर्ट के फैसले को पलटने के लिए लाए गए अध्यादेश से राष्ट्रपति प्रणब मुखर्जी सहमत नजर नहीं आ रहे हैं। इस सिलसिले में उन्होंने गुरुवार को कानून मंत्री कपिल सिब्बल, लोकसभा में सदन के नेता एवं गृहमंत्री सुशील कुमार शिंदे और संसदीय कार्यमंत्री कमलनाथ से बातचीत की।

राष्ट्रपति प्रणब मुखर्जी ने गुरुवार को तीन केन्द्रीय मंत्रियों को बुलाकर दोषी सांसदों और विधायकों से संबंधित अध्यादेश की जरूरत को लेकर सवाल पूछे।

समझा जाता है कि तीनों मंत्रियों ने राष्ट्रपति को बताया कि अध्यादेश के जरिए सिर्फ उन सांसदों और विधायकों को मौका दिया जा रहा है, जो उच्च अदालत में अपील करेंगे। इस दौरान उनकी सदस्यता भले ही नहीं जाए, लेकिन उन्हें संसद या विधानसभा में वोट देने का अधिकार नहीं रहेगा।

गौरतलब है कि केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडल की मंगलवार को हुई बैठक में इस अध्यादेश को मंजूरी दी गई थी। भाजपा समेत कई पार्टियां इसके विरोध में हैं। भाजपा ने इस संबंध में राष्ट्रपति से मुलाकात कर बिल पास नहीं करने की अपील भी की थी। (एजेंसी)

Rs 3,000cr lost as tax rebates to NGOs, trusts: CAG

NEW DELHI: The government has given away more than Rs 3,000 crore by way of tax exemptions to some non-deserving big charitable organizations and trusts.

The revelations were made in a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report which was submitted to the government for tabling in the monsoon session of Parliament but it was deferred by the government.

Sources said the auditor has covered almost all big trusts and charitable organizations and has audited at least 80,000 of the six lakh registered trusts. The audit found undeserving exemption provided to the tune of more than Rs 3,000 crore.

The CAG audit covered an income tax (I-T) scrutiny report pertaining to accounts of several NGOs and charitable trusts that had received foreign contributions in the past decade. A foreign contributors list was obtained from the home ministry by the I-T department and tallied with the returns of income filed by these trusts and detailed scrutiny of suspect cases were carried out. All suspect cases pertain to assessment year up to 2009-10.

The federal auditor has taken up all these cases and audited the accounts of many of these organizations in its report named "Exemptions to Charitable Trusts and Institutions" on direct taxes.

To deal with some charitable and religious organizations that had been diverting their accumulated income to acquiring new assets, such as in the case of Baba Ramdev where his trust had bought properties abroad and expanded his empire in India, the government had devised a fresh levy of 15% on the accumulated income of NGOs and trusts.

Since 2011, it has been made compulsory for all non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and charitable trusts to file details of foreign contributions received in their income tax returns along with their Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) number. A revised I-T return form was notified for this purpose.

The new return form for NGOs has additional columns for mentioning their FCRA number and another column for providing details of overseas contributions received. Earlier, there was only one return form that was applicable for all NGOs and trusts, including non-charitable organizations that were not qualified for exemptions.

The necessity to devise a new form arose after it was found during scrutiny of some NGOs that they had received a lot of foreign contributions but failed to mention them in their return of income filed with the I-T department.

Source TOI 23rd Sep, 2013

Japan to be nuclear free as last reactor switched off

TOKYO: Japan is to start the process of switching off its last working nuclear reactor on Sunday for a scheduled inspection with no restart in sight due to public hostility towards atomic power.

The move will leave the world's third largest economy without atomic energy for the second time since the Fukushima crisis erupted in March 2011.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has openly supported the use of nuclear energy, but the public has remained largely opposed to it for fears of possible serious accidents following the world's worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

Kansai Electric Power will gradually take offline the No. 4 reactor at its Oi nuclear plant in Fukui prefecture in western Japan.

The work is scheduled to start Sunday evening, with the reactor expected to stop power generation after several hours before coming to a complete stop early Monday, according to the utility.

Japan previously was without any nuclear energy in May 2012, when all of the country's 50 commercial reactors had stopped for scheduled checkups, with utilities unable to restart them due to public opposition.

It was the first time in more than four decades that Japan was without nuclear power.

Last year, government officials and utilities voiced concerns that Japan could experience major blackouts without nuclear power, particularly in the western region that relied heavily on nuclear energy.

Their fears proved to be unfounded but the government quickly gave approval for Kansai Electric to restart No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Oi plant, arguing that nuclear energy was necessary to meet increased electricity demand during the winter.

The two reactors came fully online in August 2012, while other reactors have remained idled all along.

Japan has turned to pricey fossil-fuel alternatives to fill the gap left by the shutdown of atomic plants, which had supplied about one-third of the resource-poor nation's electricity before the Fukushima disaster.

Utilities have raised power fees to cover increased fuel costs for thermal plants while reactors remain offline.

Radiation was spread over homes and farmland in a large area of northern Japan when the massive tsunami swamped cooling systems at Fukushima Daiichi on March 11, 2011.

No one is officially recorded as having died as a direct result of the meltdowns at Fukushima, but tens of thousands of people were evacuated and many remain so, with some areas expected to be uninhabitable for decades.

Source AFP | Sep 15, 2013, 03.47 PM IST

World's oldest man dies in New York at age 112

NEW YORK: Guinness World Records says the former musician and coal miner certified as the world's oldest man has died. Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez was 112. 

Guinness consultant Robert Young says Sanchez-Blazquez died on Friday at a nursing home in Grand Island, New York. 

Nicknamed "Shorty", Sanchez-Blazquez became the world's oldest man when Jiroemon Kimuradied in June at age 116. 

Sanchez-Blazquez was born June 8, 1901, in the village of El Tejado de Bejar, Spain. He moved to Cuba at 17, then to the United States in 1920 where he worked the coal mines of Lynch, Kentucky. He eventually moved to New York. 

He had two children, seven grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

The need for judicial independence is for the people.

New Delhi, September 14

Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam on Saturday defended the collegium system of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary, but said it is the prerogative of the Centre to bring in a Bill to change it.

"Now, as the CJI, I am not going into the contents of the Bill and how it was passed, as it is the prerogative of the government and it is for the people to accept it or not. It is too early for me to say anything on the Judicial Appointment Commission or Committee," Justice Sathasivan said while inaugurating a seminar on rule of law.

His remarks came after Bar Association of India president Anil Divan raised questions on the way the Centre brought the Bill "without" taking members of the judicial fraternity into confidence and "rushed" it through the Rajya Sabha. He said they did not receive a response from the Law Minister to a letter by the country’s top jurists (dated April 17) seeking a draft copy of the Bill.

The CJI said the government and its agencies have a say in the present collegium system and their views were also taken into consideration for the appointment of judges. He said no name is finalised until it gets clearance from the Law Minister, the Prime Minister and the President and in the whole mechanism, inputs from the Intelligence bureau, respective high courts and eminent people such as sons of the soil, are taken into consideration. He said judicial function is universally recognised as distinct and separate in the system of government and is the "very heart" of the republic and the "bulwark" of democracy.

He said judicial accountability is fostered through the process of selection, discipline and removal found in the Constitution.

Stressing the need for an independent judiciary, he said, without it, there is a little hope for the rule of law.

"The need for judicial independence is for the people," he said. — PTI