1.

New UK norms asking Indians to furnish visa bonds

The decision of the UK government to press ahead with new visa norms that would
require “high risk” visitors from India to furnish a £3,000 bond to obtain a six-
month visitor visa has elicited sharp reactions. The controversial move — which is to
be implemented as a pilot — is discriminatory and borderline racist, raising the
possibility of the matter being referred to the European Court of Human Rights.

2. Aam Aadmi Party Gets Broom as Symbol

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday decided on a 'broom' as its election symbol
for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls. The party said the symbol suits the purpose
for which they have entered politics - cleaning the filth which has permeated into the
government and legislature.

[Debajyoti Note: Please keep other important parties election symbols in mind.]

3. Eid Mubarak

Eid-ul-Fitr arrived in great pomp and show. At the end of the month of Ramzan, the
holiest month in the Muslim calendar is the day of feasting and festivities. Fitra or
Zakat is the part of Muslims savings that are given away as charity to the poor. The
charity done on this day is the highest charity done across the world every year.

[Debajyoti Note: Also know basics of Eid- Ul – Adha or Bakr-Eid.]

4. Kerala HC slaps Management Quota admissions

A student who joins a self-financing college under management quota has to pay
tuition fee in full if he decides to discontinue after closure of admissions, the Kerala
high court has held. The ruling by Justice P R Ramachandra Menon came while
considering a petition filed by Divya Sasi of Pathanamthitta questioning the demand
to pay tuition fee in full by West Fort College of Nursing at Pottore in Thrissur when
she chose to discontinue MSc nursing.

5. Citing Supreme Court order, UP bars VHP’s 84 Kosi Parikrama Yatra

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday said it will not allow the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) to hold its proposed '84KosiYatra' passing through six districts
surrounding the disputed structure in Ayodhya. The government said the yatra will
be a new tradition and also in violation of the Supreme Court order dated May 9,
2011 which directs that status quo be maintained at the disputed site inAyodhya.

Reports from Faizabad said the district administration had already started
preparations to seal the district borders in order to make sure there was no attempt
to defy the stance of the state government on the yatra.
 Later the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court has directed the state government
to release top VHP leaders Ashok Singhal, Praveen Togadia and Swami
Rambhadracharya. The release order was passed by a division bench of
Justice Imtiyaz Murtaza and Justice DK Upadhayaya on a habeas corpus petition
filed by local lawyer Ranjana Aginihotri. The court said that if there is no other case
pending against the three leaders, the state government should release them
immediately.

6. HC gives directions to protect identity of HIV+ people

Gujarat high court on Thursday directed that the identity of HIV positive people
should not be disclosed by hospitals, as it could deter other patients from coming for
treatment. The bench of Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B
Pardiwala called for strict concealment of the HIV positive person's identity in
response to a PIL filed by advocate Vijay Nangesh. The PIL objected to a 2009
incident, at the Guru Gobindsingh Government Hospital in Jamnagar, when a sticker
bearing 'HIV positive' was stuck to the forehead of a 25-year-old pregnant woman,
and she was paraded in the hospital.

Terming the incident unfortunate and in violation of human rights, the court called
for more awareness programmes in rural areas so people can use preventive
measures. The court also asked for a proper rehabilitation scheme for HIV positive
persons and AIDS patients. The court also asked the media to show restraint and not
reveal the identity of such patients, as was done in that particular case. Moreover, the
court emphasized the education of HIV infected patients that they don't,
inadvertently or innocently, be responsible in spreading the disease.

[Debajyoti Note: Please read about Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice
Altamas Kabir controversy about appointment in the context of Judicial
Appointment Bill.]

7. Snickers Ads shut down by HC!

Advertisement for 'Snickers' candy bar stating "Now Rs 15 onwards" without

specifying the quantity should be removed, the Kerala high court has ordered. In
relation to the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, dismissing the company's argument, the
court held, "When the petitioner gives advertisement to the effect that the product is
available "Now Rs 15 onwards", it naturally proclaims the existence of a package
having the retail sale price of Rs15. When the advertisement refers to such retail sale
price of the package concerned, it necessarily has to contain a declaration as well,
with regard to the actual quantity/number of the commodity contained in such
package."

[Debajyoti Note: Hook or cook, finally some restrictions on the Ad madness in

India.]
8. Suicide Note is not enough!

The Bombay high court has observed that a suicide note alone was not enough
proof in a case of abetment of suicide and dismissed an appeal against acquittal in
one case. In the absence of independent evidence to prove a case of abetment, Justice
A H Joshi dismissed the appeal filed by the victim's family.

WHAT THE SC HAS HELD

"If it appears to the Court that a victim committing suicide was hypersensitive to
ordinary petulance, discord and difference in domestic life quite common to the
society to which the victim belonged and such petulance, discord and difference were
not expected to induce a similarly circumstanced individual in a given society to
commit suicide, the conscience of the Court should not be satisfied for basing a
finding that the accused charged of abetting the offence of suicide should be found
guilty."

9. Where are the Coal Files..? Tell us or we will find out: Supreme Court!

The Supreme Court on Thursday severely criticized the CBI for dragging its feet in
investigating coal block allocations during 2006-09, when Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh held the coal portfolio, and hit out at the coal ministry for
losing crucial files saying the disappearance of documents reflected criminality.
Virtually accusing the coal ministry of doing everything to stall the court-supervised
investigation into the coal scam, the bench gave the government two weeks to
provide the CBI with all documents that the agency may need. The CBI was given five
days to prepare a list of documents that it would need to conduct the investigation.

The bench also sounded a tough warning — failure to furnish all documents would
trigger a CBI investigation to nail those responsible for disappearance of crucial files.
"The disappearance and non-furnishing of documents (by the coal ministry) have an
element of criminality in it. The court cannot be a catalytic factor for the coal
ministry to make available documents and files to the investigating agency. The
investigation is hampered because certain documents, which the CBI considered
vital, are not provided."