Name those who stashed black cash: SC‘Issue Beyond That Of Dodging I-T’Dhananjay Mahapatra TNNNew Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday demanded the identity of 18 Indians who had allegedly parked Rs 43.83 crore illegally in a German bank and criticized the government’s reluctance do so, saying the seriousness in tackling the black money issue went beyond income tax demands slapped on defaulters. Solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam’s stand—government is not ready to divulge the names—forced a bench of Justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar to counter: “Can you (government) claim privilege? What is the difficulty in disclosing the information.” Faced with the court’s readiness to debate the validity of the government’s stand, Subramaniam sought time to consult the government on the issue. But he said the government was willing to show the status of the probe against individuals under the black money scanner. The solicitor general’s attempt to brand the illegal deposits as a mere tax issue evoked a sharp response. It said: “Issues involved in the case are serious and of larger dimension. It’s not only about tax avoidance.” Petitioner and former law minister Ram Jethmalani had requested the highest court to direct the government recover an estimated Rs 70 lakh crore stashed illegally by Indians in foreign banks, especially in tax havens. Jethmalani’s counsel, senior advocate Anil Divan, accused the government of doing little on the alleged illegal transfer of huge sums from UBS Bank by Pune-based Hasan Ali Khan and his associate Kashinath Tapuria. The Enforcement Directorate and the I-T department are investigating an alleged transaction of $8 billion in the name of Rheema Khan, wife of Hasan Ali Khan. The court asked Subramaniam to take instruction on Hasan and other individuals accused of dealing in black money being joined as parties to the pending parties.  Supreme Court: Do not drag case for yrs, go for mediation or arbitration New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday asked advocates to follow Mahatma Gandhi and persuade their clients not to go in for litigation and instead resolve the disputes through arbitration and mediation. A few passages of Mahatma Gandhi’s book, ‘My Experiments With Truth’, on the futility of litigation impressed the bench. A bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Mishra said court cases drag on for years ruining both parties. “Lawyers should advise their clients to try for mediation for resolving disputes, especially where family and business relationships are involved,” it said. The bench asked two brothers, B S Krishna Murthy and B S Nagaraj, to appear before the Bangalore mediation centre for settlement. |
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Supreme Court: Do not drag case for yrs, follow Mahatma Gandhi and go for mediation or arbitration
‘Mahatma Gandhi is still relevant for understanding commons’
‘Mahatma Gandhi is still relevant for understanding commons’
Nobel Laureate and proponent of the polycentric approach to management of common pool resources Dr Elinor Ostrom on Wednesday said Mahatma Gandhi was “important and relevant” in understanding of commons. “
If we go into historical contexts and philosophy,” she said, “Gandhi is still important.”
The market economy of consumption for consumption’s sake is a key part of problem in the way we manage our commons, 77-year-old professor in ecological economics said in an interaction with media persons here on the sidelines of the 13th biennial conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons.
“We need to develop mechanism of communities and learn from the successful institutions that manage their commons,” she said.
“Officials got to learn from the hard work of the people all over,” she said, rejecting the theory that either the state or private players were best institutions to manage commons. There are communities, she elucidated, that have enhanced the commons - such as forests - they live in, so Gandhi still remains very important (in developing an understanding of our commons). Global climate change commons is extremely important, she said.
The risks are huge.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
'Gandhiji changed my life'
11.12.2010
Gandhiji changed my life'
T.V. Sivanandan
Ex-convict Laxman Gole shares his experiences with Gulbarga prison inmates
Telling tale: Laxman Tukaram Gole spins a charkha to produce yarn during a demonstration to mark Human Rights Day at Gulbarga Central Prison on Friday.
GULBARGA: This is a story of the transformation of a man from a hardened criminal to an ambassador of Gandhian philosophy and principles.
Thirty-one-year-old Laxman Tukaram Gole spent nearly seven years in different jails in Maharashtra, facing charges ranging from assault, attempt to murder and extortion. However, after coming under Mahatma Gandhi's spell, he became an apostle of truth and non-violence. He has now taken it upon himself to transform the lives of inmates in jails across the country.
I completed my last jail term from Nasik prison after being booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act on extortion charges. It was there that I came across My Experiments With Truth, the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi given by Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal, that changed the course of my life, said Mr. Gole, who was in Gulbarga to speak to the inmates of Gulbarga Central Prison and share his experiences with them.
In a chat with The Hindu, Mr. Gole said that he was drawn to the world of crime at the age of 17 when he stabbed a local goonda during a petty quarrel. That was the beginning of my journey into the world of crime. I was abandoned by my parents after several failed attempts to reform me, he added.
Change
But all this changed after I read the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. His honesty in accepting his follies and apologising for them moved me. I decided to follow Gandhian principles from that day, he said.
Mr. Gole said that he took an oath that he would only speak the truth from then on. The greatest challenge to my resolve came when I was produced before a judge in a court in Nasik. I confessed to my crime. The judge informed that I could be sentenced for upto seven years for the charges I faced. But I stuck to my resolve and told the judge that I wanted to serve the jail term.
After completing four years of the term, I came out and took up the task of going around prisons throughout the country and sharing my experiences with the inmates in an effort to change their lives too. Mr. Gole has already visited the high-security Tihar Jail and all jails in Maharashtra. He is visiting Karnataka for the first time.
Courtesy: http://hindu.com/2010/12/11/stories/2010121152680300.htm
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