Madras High Court notice to mobile companies for extra SMS charging

Posted on December 29, 2011 by bizandlegis

The Madras High Court Bench at Madurai has issued notices to as many as ten companies while considering a petition presented before the court seeking a direction to the mobile phone service providers and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) not to charge extra tariff during festivals and other important days.

The companies include Bharti Airtel, Aircel, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea Cellular, Unitech, Tata Docomo, MTS mobile, BSNL mobile and Videocon.

Petitioner Arunachalam alias Arun also sought an interim stay on undue and sudden hike on SMS charges during important festivals and special occasions like New Year’s Eve on December 31 2011 and January 1 2012. He contended that mobile companies offered attractive packages while enrolling customers, including 200 Free SMS for one rupee a day, 50 paise per SMS but later announced they would maintain special SMS tariffs on December 31.

This hike in the costs forced users to restrict SMS and curtailed private space and free communication on significant festival days. He alleged that the TRAI was also not taking steps to prevent this abuse by the companies. He further stated that the mobile operators, regardless of tariff plans would charge Rs 1.50 per SMS on Dec 31, “which is unfair.” Due to the imposition of the hiked charges, he claimed that the previous year SMS revenue of the companies was Rs 100 crore on the New Year’s Eve. The petitioner said users are being charged extra at a time when they would desire to use their mobile phones the most, violating the natural justice and other rights guaranteed under the constitution. Among important days on which extra tariff was collected was Pongal, Christmas, New year, Valentine’s day, Independence day and Diwali.

The bench after giving due consideration of his arguments, issued notices to the TRAI chairperson and Zonal/Regional Managers of 10 companies Bharti Airtel ltd, Aircel Ltd, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea Cellular, Unitech, Tata Docomo, MTS mobile, BSNL mobile and Videocon.

The case has been posted for further hearing on January 21 2012.

Madras High Court notice to mobile companies for extra SMS charging

Legal News Report by Radhalakshmi R

Lokpal Bill passed: No constitutional status for the bill

Posted on December 28, 2011 by bizandlegis

The much awaited Lokpal bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday after a lengthy debate session of 11 hours that lasted almost till the stroke of the midnight hour by a voice vote after the government agreed to 10 amendments. The House also passed the Lokayukta Bill and Whistleblowers Bill were also passed successfully. However, the UPA government failed to garner the support of two-thirds majority which was required for the passage of the legislation designed to grant constitutional status to the ant-graft watchdog. Finance Minister lamented the failure to pass the bill that confers the constitutional status and said that it was “a sad day for India, a sad day for democracy.” It was Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s vision to establish the Lokpal as a constitutional body.

At least 15 Congress members and close to a dozen belonging to UPA allies were not present at the time of voting, contributing to the defeat of the brainchild legislation of Rahul Gandhi, who had termed it a “game-changer” in August, which proposed to make the Lokpal a constitutional body. The government needed a majority of 288 votes out of the 432 members present in the House. It could manage only 249, though there were 275 UPA members present in the Lok Sabha in the morning. The defeat led BJP leader Yashwant Sinha to demand that the government quit as it had lost moral authority. “Say bye, not aye,” he quipped.

Lokayuktas will not be notified until states concur according to the amended version of the Bill and the ruling party had already been warned by the UPA allies such as Trinamool Congress against the impressing Lokyuktas on states.

The amendment made to the selection panel for the Lokpal would now comprise of leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha in place of an eminent jurist – a suggestion by leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.

The armed forces would be specifically excluded from the purview of the lokpal – a lacuna pointed out by RJD chief Lalu Prasad.

Government also agreed to the amendment put forth by the BJP leader Sushma Swaraj to water down the provision which required three-fourths of Lokpal to agree to commence proceedings against the Prime Minister. The requirement has now been reduced to an agreement among two-thirds of the anti-corruption body. Section 24 which required presiding officers of legislatures to report to Lokpal action taken on reports filed against their members has been taken away.

The several amendments to the Bill appear to have left the bill as a feeble piece of legislation rather than the stringent legislation proposed by Team Anna. The legislation has already been rejected by anti-corruption campaigners led by Anna Hazare as “weak”.

Hazare has sought at least four key changes before his agitation could be withdrawn.

The bill will also have to get the approval in Rajya Sabha where the ruling alliance does not have a majority, before it becomes a law so the outcome of the anti-graft Bill will be at the clemency of the Opposition.

Lokpal Bill passed: No constitutional status for the bill

Report by Radhalakshmi R

400 arrested following protests over Mullaperiyar

Posted on December 27, 2011 by bizandlegis

The founder-president of Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK), Seeman, was arrested along with 300 of his party men at Walayar on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border for striking on the road voicing the demand that the Centre should without delay find a method to settle the row over the Mullaperiyar dam.

Seeman, who is also a well known actor-director of the Tamil film industry, disrupted the traffic by picketing on the Palakkad-Coimbatore highway along with his party men. The group raised slogans against the Kerala government and demanded the implementation of the Supreme Court decision.

The Supreme Court had ruled in favor of Tamil Nadu by allowing the storage capacity of the Mullaperiyar dam to 142 ft which the neighbouring state had not implemented.

The police said that the picketing on the road which caused traffics to stop for nearly three hours had to be eventually met with security arrangement.

In addition to the NTK partymen, police said, about 130 workers of Socialist Democratic Party of India were also arrested at the city railway station when they attempted to stage a “rail roko” to protest the Kerala’s government’s stand over the Mullaperiyar dam issue.

The protestors attempted to enter the station and block Kerala-bound trains, but were prevented from doing so, police said.

From the way the scenes have been unfolding, it appears that if a solution to the dispute over the dam issue is not reached at the earliest, there could be aggravation of the violence that has already been sought to by the people of both the states.

400 arrested following protests over Mullaperiyar

Report by Radhlakshmi R

Lokpal Bill: Govt asks Hazare to wait for outcome of Parliament debate

Posted on December 26, 2011 by bizandlegis

A day prior to Hazare commencing his fast against the unsatisfactory Lokpal Bill, the Government has asked him to wait for the results of the debated in the Parliament on the contentious anti-graft bill before he launches his protest.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said that the Parliament should be left to decide what the shape of the bill would be as it is now under consideration in the Parliament.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla said “The Government has already piloted the Bill in Lok Sabha. It is a very strong and effective Bill. So, I think we will go by the decision of Parliament. Everybody will be deliberating upon that”. Shukla also said that the Parliament is the body that should decide the final fate of the bill.

Hazare has announced a 3-day fast which is expected to be launched on 27the December in Mumbai to voice his protest over the “weak” Lokpal Bill introduced by Government in Lok Sabha. The very same day deliberations on the bill are anticipated in the Lok Sabha.

The Government is introducing both Lokpal Bill 2011 as well as amendment for giving constitutional status to Lokpal simultaneously due to which it requires both simple majority to pass the bill as well as 2/3rd majority for constitutional status.

The government will also push for the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, 2010 (also known as whistle-blowers Protection Bill).

UPA has the numbers in the Lok Sabha so it is under pressure to get it passed in Rajya Sabha where the UPA is in minority. The Opposition will have to face the blame if the bill fails to be passed as it may move smoothly in the Lok Sabha.

Team Anna had on Sunday shot off an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and MPs wanting enactment of “real and best possible” anti-corruption law which should also provide for an independent investigative department for the Lokpal.

Lokpal Bill: Govt asks Hazare to wait for outcome of Parliament debate

Report by Radhalakshmi R

Gita ban: HC ask Centre to consider representation in Russia

Posted on December 23, 2011 by bizandlegis

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Roshan Dalvi of the Bombay High Court has asked the central government to consider representing the Indian position before the Russian court which is to settle on outlawing of the Bhagwad Gita.

The court directed the government while it was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Wadala resident Vijay Dave and Santa Cruzbased Rasendu Nanavati, stating that the Indian government, through its embassy in Russia, has not taken any action to enlighten the Siberian court about the accurate interpretation of the holy text.

The petitioners have cited newspaper reports that a prohibition has been sought on Gita dubbing it as a literature spreading social discord.

The court has also asked the Centre to report to the court about what action it has undertaken to check the issue on the next date of hearing on January 9, 2012.

M I Sethna, counsel for the petitioners has criticized the movement of the government requesting Iskcon to defend the sacred text “as a grave insult to our culture” since they are of the opinion that the government should defend the Gita in the Russian court.

The PIL states that, Gita is a sacred text, and attempts to ban it would have far-reaching implications not only in India but also internationally. It contends that the subject concerned not just the Indians in Russia, but had world-wide significance. Any failure on Indian government’s part to intervene, supported by in-depth research, scholastic views and analysis, would cause irretrievable damage to our rich culture and heritage, the petition contends.

Gita ban: HC ask Centre to consider representation in Russia

Report by Radhalakshmi R

Lok Sabha passes Bill to digitalize cable TV

Posted on December 14, 2011 by bizandlegis

The Lok Sabha passed a Bill with an aim to digitalize the cable TV. The government said that this Bill would prove very beneficial to the viewers and also lead to better and more meaningful content being shown on the television. The Information and Broadcasting Minister Amibka Soni said that the government aims at full digitalization by December, 2014. It intends to complete this process in four phases and this digitalization would bring India on par with countries like the UK, US, Korea and Taiwan.

The minister said that an all party meeting would be held to discuss the broadcast regulation Bill. A Group of Ministers on media has been set up and all the views of the various parties would be taken down in writing and only after an open debate on it will a law be made and passed.

This legislation would end the fight for TRPs among various channels. It gives the government the authority to cancel licenses of cable operators who do not follow the laws laid down. This legislation would benefit the viewers as well because it would provide them with a range of channels to choose from and also video on demand. The broadcasters and cable operators would also benefit because there would now be transparency and also the dependency on TRP and ad revenues will be reduced. The government will also now be able to ensure a proper tax collection mechanism.

Lok Sabha passes Bill to digitalize cable TV

Report by Priyanka S Menon

Indian billionaire Ravi Ruia charged over mobile licenses

Posted on December 13, 2011 by bizandlegis

The Indian billionaire, and former Vodafone business partner and chairman of London blue chip stock Essar Energy, Ravikant Ruia, has been charged with “criminal conspiracy” and “cheating” as a probe into the alleged corruption in India’s mobile telecoms sector goes in-depth.

On Monday charges were filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation on matters relating to the allegations against Ruia who is at present the vice chairman of Essar Group, which is an Inidan multinational and also a member of India’s fourth most affluent family. Anshuman Ruia who is the nephew of Ruia is the board director responsible for the telecoms business of the Essar Group. Anshuman and three other executives at Essar and at another company, Loop Telecom are also suspected to be involved in the current issue.

The Essar Group is allegedto have violated the license guidelines that prohibit an operator from owning more than 10 percent of a different mobile network which has licenses in the same service locale.

The Essar Group made it evident that they will “take legal recourse” and that there are “no charges of corruption or involvement in the 2G scam” against them.

The company has maintained it stand that it holds only 2.15 percent in Loop and that it has not violated any guidelines thereof.

The Ruia brothers are the most recent addition to the famous names in the ongoing telecom investigation in which fourteen people, including two former billionaires, have been jailed. However the 11 out of the 14 were finally released on bail in late November after having spent more than a few months in custody.

Indian billionaire Ravi Ruia charged over mobile licenses

Report by Radhalakshmi R

Debate continues over bringing the Prime Minister under the ambit of Lokpal

Posted on December 8, 2011 by bizandlegis

After three long months of discussions the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice finally met on Wednesday to examine the various provisions of the Lokpal Bill. The Congress president Sonia Gandhi who was speaking at a National Conference in New Delhi on Tuesday had asserted that her party is taking all steps possible to overcome the ‘plague’ of corruption and has said that she seeks the help of the Opposition to pass the Lokpal Bill.

The Standing Committee after its meeting seems to have agreed to some of the recommendations made by the veteran social activist Anna Hazare and his team. Group C government employees will now be included under the Lokpal. On the issue of including the lower bureaucracy and the citizen’s charter, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, chairman of the Standing Committee said that the Opposition does not agree to it and thus he has asked them to record their dissenting notes and submit to the committee.

Inclusion of the CBI under the Lokpal was also a point of contention put forward by Team Anna. The committee has agreed that the appointment of the CBI director be made independent of any government’s influence and a selection committee was suggested for the appointment of the CBI director. Kiran Bedi, a former Police Officer and a key aide of the anti corruption crusader Anna Hazare has expressed her disagreement on the Standing Committee not including the anti-corruption wing of the CBI under the Lokpal.

The committee seems to have achieved a consensus on the issue of the exclusion of the judiciary from the Lokpal. But no consensus has been reached on the issue of including the Prime Minister the anti-corruption bill. The debate still continues on this point. The committee members are divided on this issue. There are a few who believe that the PM must be included under the Lokpal.

The government had assured a strong Lokpal bill in the Parliament and this would not be achieved without bringing in the Prime Minister and other MP’s under the ambit of the Lokpal Bill.

The Lokpal bill is to be passed in the winter session of the parliament as promised by the Prime Minister, failing which Anna Hazare and his team members have threatened to go on an indefinite strike.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee is said to be submitting its report before December 7^th.