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Indian Express 01 October 2012 9
Indian Express 01 October 2012 9
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TheIndian EXPRESS
NATIONAL NETWORK
SCARE
PART V
MUZAMIL JALEEL
NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 30
The SIMI
N the circles of polices SIMI investigations, the name Maulana Naseeruddin comes up often. Sometimes he has been charged, sometimes his sons, sometimes his acquaintances. In one such case against an associate of his son, the Hyderabad police filed an affidavit before the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal calling Pakistans ISI a front of SIMI. Asked by the tribunal to explain his claim, P Devender, then inspector in Saidabad police station, reiterated that it is correct that in my affidavit when I referred to Inter Service Intelligence, I am referring to Inter Service Intelligence of Pakistan and that the nodal officer of Andhra Pradesh will be filing a secret note on the basis of which this statement has been made. DEVENDERS affidavit, filed on June 11, 2010, was part of the governments evidence to justify the continuance of the ban on SIMI. To substantiate his claim that SIMI was functioning under various fronts like the ISI, Devender cited a case registered in March 2008 at the Saidabad police station when he was an inspector there. It concerned Moutasim Billa, 22, of Jevan Yar Jung Colony, Saidabad, who had been arrested on March 5, 2008, from near his residence. Devender claimed that Billa was arrested because he had been booked in an FIR (198/2007) at the Gopalapurram police station. Devender also called him a close associate of the son of Maulana Naseeruddin, who is a SIMI activist. Naseeruddin and Billas father, Mohammad Aleem Islahi, are well-known clerics in Saidabad and their families used to be close then. Along with Naseeruddins, Islahis is the other ad-
THE WOMEN
MOUTASIM BILLA
PRADEEP YADAV
MAULANA NASEERUDDIN
my signature asked me to wait, saying a senior officer wanted to talk to me. Naseeruddin said he was taken to the IG, who told him a warrant for his arrest had come from Gujarat. A contingent of Guajarat Police led by then ACP Narendera Amin (now in jail over the murder of Sohrabuddin and Kousar Bi in a fake encounter) were waiting for Naseeruddin, accused of a role in (former Gujarat minister) Haren Pandyas murder. People from our neighbourhood collected outside the gate, Naseeruddin said. They didnt allow the Gujarat police vehicle to leave and there was a scuffle. Narendra Amin opened fire. Mujahid Saleem, 26, Billas elder brother, was killed, protests followed, and the Andhra government promised amagisterialinquirybesidesfilingacase against Gujarat police. Police registered a case of rioting against Billa, too.
The maulana was taken to Gujarat and was initially arrested on charges of instigating Pandyas killers, and subsequently booked in the Ahmedabad conspiracy case an alleged conspiracy to avenge the Gujarat riots. On January 12, 2010, a designated POTA court acquitted the maulana along with others and he was released. A lot had happened during those five years. My three sons had all been arrested, Naseeruddin said. He said the two elder sons were framed but added that the youngest, without the familys knowledge, had gone to Pakistan for arms training. When the Gujarat police shot Mujahid Saleem, my youngest son Raziyuddin Nasir was there. He saw Saleem die. This affected him deeply. When I was in jail in Gujarat, my wife
S H KAPADIA
Justice Jain, who retires in January next year, is the judge who authored the 145-page majority opinion that was delivered on Thursday. Jain, the third senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, was also part of the Constitution bench that decided the Balco case.
D K JAIN
The soft-spoken judge, who is in line to take over as countrys first Sikh CJI in January 2017, is known for his grasp of constitutional issues. While the main part of the opinion in the presidential reference was authored by Justice Jain, Justice Khehar wrote a further 63 pages that, among various things, categorically said that no part of the natural resource can be dissipated as a matter of largess, charity, donation or endowment, for private exploitation.
POLITICIAN-LITIGANT
A former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Gogoi is in line to succeed Justice Dipak Misra as CJI in October 2018, the first one from the Northeast. GOOLAM E VAHANVATI The Attorney General carried out the task of convincing the five-judge bench that the presidential reference was maintainable in law. To stress the need to improve the investment climate, Vahanvati quoted US President Barack Obamas remarks on the issue of FDI in India, telling the court that the country would become a laughing stock if auction was made the only route for allocation of natural resources. Why will anybody come to India if it is going to be challenged in the Supreme Court (if any other method is adopted for allocating resources)? Vahanvati said, a stand that found support from industry bodies such as CII and FICCI. It was Vahanvati who told the court that revenue maximisation could not be the sole objective in allocating natural resources. SOLI SORABJEE Appearing for the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, the Constitution expert and former attorney general raised the issue of the reference being an attempt by the government to question the correctness of the judgment by a two-judge bench in the 2G case. Under the garb of the presidential reference, you (government) are seeking to question the correctness of the judgment and seeking to overrule the judgment which has reached its finality, Sorabjee said in court. PRASHANT BHUSHAN The activist-lawyer, who was instrumental in getting the court to set aside the 122 2G licences allotted by the A Raja-headed telecom ministry, opposed the presidential reference. He told the court that while the government clearly understood that the 2G judgment had laid down the procedure to be followed while alienating precious natural resources, it was trying to use the advisory jurisdiction of the court as an appeal against the 2G decision. During a hearing in July, Bhushan told the court that the governments objective in filing the reference was to continue with this opaque, non-competitive and arbitrary method of allocation of natural resources and contended this malafide reference should be rejected. However, CJI Kapadia remarked that the court couldnt reject the reference on the ground that it was malafide and misleading. T R ANDHYARUJINA He represented the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries. While raising the issue of apparent conflict between provisions of the statutes and the 2G judgment, he asked the bench to dispel all uncertainties regarding the position of law. Andhyarujina told the court that apart from its direction that spectrum should be sold by way
RANJAN GOGOI
A former chief justice of Delhi High Court, Justice Misra will be the CJI after Justice Khehar. He is currently part of the bench hearing the Koodankulam nuclear plant matter. of auction, the other observations made in the 2G judgment was obiter and per incuriam and the court could overrule the verdict in its advisory jurisdiction. HARISH SALVE He argued that the under the Constitution, the President can seek an opinion from the court on any question of law or fact that has arisen, or is likely to arise, adding that there is no additional condition that there should be any doubt in the mind of the President. Appearing for CII, Salve asserted the 2G verdict was specific to spectrum allocation and it couldnt be applied to all natural resources. He said allocation of natural resources should be decided case by case. C S SUNDRAM The counsel for FICCI urged the bench to respond favourably to the presidential reference, saying the opinion of the apex court would clear the uncertainty prevailing in the industry over the issue of allocation of natural resources. He told the court that the 2G verdict had international implications and that the court had entered the domain of policy-making by holding the firstcome-first-served policy illegal. DARIUS KHAMBATA The Maharashtra advocate general told the court the observations by the twojudge bench in the 2G judgment were made only with regard to spectrum, thereby leaving it open to the fivejudge bench to examine the issue with regard to alienation of other natural resources. Pointing to some state laws, which provide for methods other than auction, he urged the court to say the 2G judgment doesnt pertain to alienation of all natural resources through auction only.
DIPAK MISRA
The Janata Party chief, who was one of the petitioners in the 2G case and argued in person, told the bench that the presidential reference was yet another attempt to delay the implementation of the directions in the 2G case.
SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY
THE LAWYERS
SUNIL GUPTA Appearing for Uttar Pradesh, the senior advocate said the issue of a reference being maintainable at the instance of the President was different from the judicial power of the court to answer or not to answer the questions posed in the reference. RAVINDRA SHRIVASTAVA Arguing for Chhattisgarh, he told the bench that neither history supports nor reality warrants auction to be a rule of disposal of all natural resources in all situations. The counsel for the BJP-ruled state said the state must be allowed the choice of methodology of allocation, especially in cases where it intends to incentivise investments and job creation in backward regions that would otherwise have been left untouched by private players if resources were given at market prices.