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Saturday,
November 17, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Source of
property to decide inheritance: SC BJP in
search of Dalit leader Chautala
for states’ say in central schemes India’s
do’s and don’ts for G-21 meeting |
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Ban
Bajrang Dal, says Cong Vice-President
for relief to scribes in conflict zones ISRO
steps to counter meteoroid shower PM to
visit Japan in Dec Christians
hail amendments to succession Act
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Source of property to decide inheritance: SC New Delhi, November 16 “It is the source from which the property was inherited by the female, which is more important for the purpose of devolution of her property,” a Bench comprising Mr Justice U.C. Banerjee and Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan said in a recent ruling. Kehar Singh was the owner of a land at Antowali village in Pakistan. He died before Partition. His widow Kirpo and two daughters Shanti and Indro migrated to India. In lieu of the property owned by Kehar in Pakistan, Kirpo was allotted some land in India. Kirpo died in 1951 and the two daughters inherited the property equally. Shanti died in 1960 and her property was mutated in the name of her surviving sister Indro. Teja Singh, brother of Shanti’s husband, claimed that the property of Shanti should be given to him under the Hindu Succession Act. The trial court decreed in favour of Teja Singh. The high court confirmed the decree. However, the Supreme Court held that Teja Singh had no right in the property left by Shanti and that it would only devolve on her sister Indro. Mr Justice Balakrishnan, writing the judgement for the Bench, said admittedly that Shanti inherited the property in question from her mother. “If the property held by a female was inherited from her father or mother in the absence of any son or daughter of the deceased including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter, it would only devolve upon the heirs of the father and, in this case, her sister Indro was the only legal heir of her father,” he said. “The intent of the legislature is clear that the property, if originally belonged to the parents of the deceased female, should go to the legal heirs of the father,” Mr Justice Balakrishnan said. So also under clause (b) of sub-section 2 of Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act, the property inherited by a female Hindu from her husband or her father-in-law, shall also under similar circumstances devolve upon the heirs of the husband, he said. The Bench said, “We do not think that the fact that a female Hindu originally had a limited right, and later acquired the full right, in any way, would alter the rules of succession given in sub-section 2 of Section 15.” “The source from which she inherits the property is always important and that would govern the situation. Otherwise persons who are not even remotely related to the person who originally held the property would acquire rights to inherit the property,” it said.
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BJP in search of Dalit leader New Delhi, November 16 The party high command along with the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh is drawing out an ambitous plan to identify Dalit leaders at the grass-sroots level and to develop them on a long-term basis and to give Mr Laxman an enhanced role for the short term objectives. Identified leaders from the Dalit section of the society will be given positions of responsibility at various levels of the BJP so that the party does not have to depend upon leaders like former UP Chief Minister Mayawati or Union Coal Minister Ramvilas Paswan, sources said. The issue came up for discussion at the recently held two-day National Executive Committee meeting in Amritsar when BJP General-Secretary Pyarelal Khandelwal drew party’s attention towards it saying that the BJP did not have credible Dalit leaders. Barring Mr R.L. Kataria, state president of the Haryana BJP, the party had no other Dalit leader of prominence, Mr Khandelwal said, adding that the party might also work to develop women leaders. Mr Khandelwal said the party lacked a natural Dalit leadership and that was why the BJP was failing to attract the Dalit section towards it. He further stressed that the party should make sincere efforts to build a Dalit leadership for its future growth, the sources said, adding that he was indeed pleading for bringing back Mr Laxman in the interest of the party. The sources said Mr Khandelwal was asked to prepare the ground for the return of Mr Laxman by none other than the Prime Minister’s camp. While Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was said to be of the view that Mr Laxman should be rehabilitated and used for the party campaign, there was a little hesitation in the camp of BJP President K. Jana Krishnamurthi over the former president being given a formal position in the party, the sources said. Mr Vajpayee was convinced that entire Tehelka episode was a handiwork of a particular industrial lobby and it was far from facts. In this background, the Prime Minister felt that Mr Laxman should be given a chance again, the sources said. |
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Chautala
for states’ say in central schemes New Delhi, November 16 The Chief Minister was speaking at a meeting of the Inter-State Council presided over by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee here today. He said that re-engineering of government organisations would involve commissioning of studies, reorganising government structures, introduction of new technology, reorientation training and, in some cases, payment of severance packages to redundant personnel. Mr Chautala insisted that the central government should provide financial support for such initiatives. The Haryana government had decided to constitute a State Economic Renewal Fund for the purpose, and hoped that the central Government would support this endeavour suitably. He said the Central government should let states draw up schemes that would be relevant to their conditions. This, he said, would mitigate a long pending grievance of state about lack of space for local initiative in centrally sponsored schemes. He suggested a floating interest regime for small savings, linked to prime lending rates. He reminded that Haryana government had been demanding a suitable compensation package for the loss suffered during the period of terrorism in and around Punjab. Such a package would be a just compensation for the part played by the government and the people of Haryana in containing terrorism in the region, he said. However, if there was a policy deadlock, he would expect at least a five year rescheduling of state’s debt repayments to the central government. Speaking at the meeting, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal pleaded for setting up north-west Himalayan council on the pattern of North East Council to act as a single body for speedy development of entire Himalayan belt of the country. He requested for immediate establishment of such a council comprising Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh to boost economic activities in the region. Mr Dhumal demanded representations of state government in various committees and boards to manage Doordarshan and All India Radio. He said that standing stock of forest wealth in Himachal Pradesh was worth Rs 1,00,000 crore and silviculture harvesting alone could yield Rs 300 crore revenue per annum. Mr Dhumal requested proper compensation for state government to meet revenue loss due to complete ban imposed on green commercial felling in the state and asked the Inter-State Council to come up with recommendation in this regard. Mr Dhumal requested the Union Government to levy generation tax on hydro electricity to accelerate the exploitation of hydel potential in the state. He requested the Prime Minister to give directions to the Union Power Ministry for an early settlement the state’s share in B.B.M.B. power system and free power on all projects irrespective of their dates of commissioning. |
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India’s do’s and don’ts
for G-21 meeting New Delhi, November 16 It is against this backdrop that India approaches the Group of 21 meeting which began in New York to decide the future set-up of Afghanistan. As military results preceded political resolution in Afghanistan, stage is now being set for crucial diplomatic and political round of parleys which will decide the future set-up of the beleagured country. A notable feature, according to diplomatic observers here, is that while the official 6+2 group is still functional, India is backing efforts to create a parallel group to counterbalance Pakistan and neutralise Islamabad’s say over the political set-up in Kabul. But so far India has not been able to make a dent into Pakistan’s diplomatic leverage over Afghanistan. It is clear from the fact that Pakistan figures in both 6+2 (which has six Afghanistan neighbours Pakistan, China, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and two important powers Russia and the USA) and G-21 groups, but India figures only in G-21. The G-21 meeting in New York is to decide whether the UN should send its peacekeeping force in Afghanistan and if so what should be the identity of the troops and from where they should be drawn. The Northern Alliance has already negatived suggestions for a UN peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, saying that the UN could send “observers”. |
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Ban Bajrang Dal, says Cong New Delhi, November 16 Party spokesperson Anand Dharma created a flutter at the party briefing today when the produced the trishul covered in a pouch of Bajrang Dal Sanskar Seva Suraksha, with a couplet, “Ram ka kinahe bina, mohe kahan vishram,” written on it. Accusing the Bajrang Dal of misusing religion for political ends, the Congress demanded that the organisation should be banned under the Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act. Mr Sharma said lakhs of such trishuls had been distributed in villages of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The party said the trishul had been made using sophisticated technology, Mr Sharma said the Bajrang Dal was trying to link the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya with its campaign of distributing
trishuls. |
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Vice-President for relief to scribes in conflict zones New Delhi, November 16 “There is an urgent need to minimise the risks mediapersons face in conflict situations and that requires deep thinking and consensus among nations,’’ Mr Kant observed while inaugurating the day-long National Press Day seminar, organised by the Press Council of India (PCI) at Vigyan Bhawan here. Jurists, editors and social activists participated in the seminar on “Projection of Women by Media in Present Day Context’’ and “Occupational Hazards Faced by Mediaperons in Conflict Situations: Relief and Rehabilitation Measures in Fatal Cases’’. Earlier, in his presidential address PCI Chairman K. Jayachandra Reddy also called upon the Government to review the existing legislation to provide sufficient monetary benefits, as well as adequate relief and rehabilitation, to mediapersons working in dangerous situations. The Vice-President wanted to know if the international community had, so far, laid down any internationally accepted rules and norms for treating mediapersons covering conflicts. “I would very much welcome that something like the Geneva Convention or the Red Cross Convention should be agreed upon to give mediapersons the freedom and the space to function during conflicts,’’ he said. Only the other day, some journalists representing a few western newspapers lost their lives in Afghanistan while on duty. On projection of women in the media, Mr Kant observed that it either showed intellectual and political concern about the status of women or it commodified women. He advised the journalists to rather play a salutary and a liberating role to give the women the distinctive and the exclusive space. On relief for scribes, Justice Reddy stressed that all newspapers establishments and media organisations also owed moral and professional obligation to offer solace — not by empty words but constructive means — to the families of those who died while covering conflicts. On projection of women in media, PCI Chairman cautioned that any deviant or negative projection of women by the media would result in severe repercussions.
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ISRO steps to counter meteoroid shower Bangalore, November 16 In case of INSAT satellites the Gyros on board would be kept continuously on to detect any disturbances due to the meteoroids’ impact and in case of any disturbance, the spacecraft would be brought back to their proper orientation, it said. The Leonid meteoroids shower is expected to reach its peak between 2.30 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. and again between 10.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m. on November 18. So far, Leonid showers have not affected any ISRO satellite. At present, ISRO has five satellites in operation — IRS-1C, IRS-1D, IRS-P3, IRS-P4 and TES — in the polar sun-synchronous orbits and five satellites — INSAT-2C, INSAT-2DT, INSAT-2E, INSAT-3B and GSAT-1 — in the geo-stationary orbit. Every 33 years, the Leonid Tempel Tuttle makes its closest approach to the Sun and when in proximity to the Sun, the sublimation of its ice and dust content results in the spewing of low intensity debris. These tiny particles seem to emanate from the constellation of Leo and hence the name Leonid meteoroids whose hyper velocity motion make it unique.
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PM to visit Japan in Dec New Delhi, November 16 The visit was originally scheduled in February this year but had to be postponed due to the devastating earthquake that struck Gujarat on January 26. A spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said today that the Prime Minister’s visit would strengthen Indo-Japanese partnership that was established during the visit of the then Japanese premier Yoshiro Mori during his visit to India in August, 2000. Mr Vajpayee will be received in Tokyo by the Emperor who would also be hosting a luncheon in his honour. The Japanese premier would holding discussions with Mr Vajpayee and host a dinner in his
honour. |
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Christians hail
amendments to succession Act New Delhi, November 16 The Indian Cabinet approved two amendments to the Indian Succession Act, which the Christian community had been seeking from the Government for quite sometime now. At a meeting with a delegation led by Secretary-General of the CBCI, Archbishop Oswald Gracias, the Union Law Minister, Mr Arun Jaitely, discussed in detail the discrepancies in the Act introduced during the British rule. The two anomalies in the Act, which discriminated against Christians were that a Christian needed a probate of the will from a court before he or she could inherit an ancestral property, a process that often took years. The other was with regard to the denial of a widow’s right to inherit her husband’s property, if the couple had mutually entered upon a contract to do so, a provision which could be used against the widow if the husband’s family would wish to do so. “We are extremely pleased with the Cabinet’s decision to approve the said amendments,” the Archbishop said. |
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M. S. Gill
elected
honorary fellow New Delhi, November 16 When contacted, Dr Gill termed the fellowship as “something special and a great honour for whatever work we had attempted to do in the Election Commission”. |
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Tolerance
Day celebrated New Delhi, November 16 “Democracy is the only way to teach tolerance and peace. We must not only tolerate but also accept each others’ culture and civilisation,” Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla said during a seminar on “Tolerance in the Time of Terrorism”, organised by the United Nations Information Centre. Ms Heptulla, the president of the Council of Inter-Parliamentary Union, was joined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Mary Robinson. “In a world growing ever more interdependent, tolerance is not a luxury. It must become our way of life,” Ms Robinson said at the function. Ms Heptulla said the day had assumed further significance after the September 11 attacks. “The war begins in the minds of men,” she said, quoting from her grandfather Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad’s address to the UNESCO General Assembly.
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