Jessica Lal Murder Case: Manu Sharma convicted(19,
Dec 2006)
The Delhi High court convicted Manu Sharma, son of former
Haryana minister and congress leader Vinod Sharma for the murder
of Jessica Lal. After he was pronounced guilty, Manu Sharma was
immediately sent to Tihar Jail. Jessica Lal was shot dead at
South Delhi's restaurant Tamarind Court in 1999. Like in the
Priyadarshini Mattoo case, the acquittal of all raised a huge
public outcry. The sentence for Manu Sharma is due on 20dec.
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Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi acquitted(19,
Dec 2006)
RJD chief and Railway minister Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi were
acquitted in the 7 year old disproportionate asset (DA) case.
Lalu Yadav was accused by BI of amassing property worth over 46
lakh beyond his known source of income when he was the CM of
Bihar between1990-1997. His wife Rabri Devi was made a
co-accused in the case. The DA case was an offshoot of the
fodder scam of 1998 and the duo had to surrender in court and
Yadav even had to go to jail. With their acquittal, it was
celebration time at the official residence of Rabri Devi in
Patna.
Jessica Lal Murder Case: False Evidence, Said Ram Jethmalani
15, Nov 2006
In the enduring Jessica Lal murder case, on behalf of the prime
accused Manu Sharma, lawyer Ram Jethmalani told the Delhi High
Court Division Bench, comprising Justices R.S. Sodhi and P.K.
Bhasin that much of the two thirds of the evidence produced by
the prosecution are false and fabricated, which have created
doubts.
- Ram Jethmalani contented to reject the testimonies of
socialite Bina Ramani, her husband George Mailhot and their
daughter fashion designer Malini Ramani as their statements
contradicted one another.
- The Bench rejected Mr. Jethmalani's plea for a direction
to the Delhi police to hand over to him copies of three
reports made by the Special Investigation Team about lapses
in investigation so that he could defend his client better.
Joint Panel With Pakistan Discussed Anti-Terror Mechanism
Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Pakistani Foreign
Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan, in a joint panel held positive
discussions in New Delhi on setting up an anti-terrorism
mechanism.
- The discussion included "complete achievement" of Jammu
& Kashmir related confidence-building measures agreed to in
the past.
- The discussion incorporated that the two countries will
sign agreement on measures to reduce the risk of nuclear
war, in the impending future.
Investment Protection Agreement With China
16, Nov 2006
India approved signing an Investment Protection Agreement with
Beijing, before Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to India
i.e. on November 20, 2006 This will increase the investment
between China and India and would be in force for 10 years,
according to the Information & Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan
Dasmunsi.
- Trade between the two countries is expected to touch 20
billion dollars this fiscal, against 18.7 billion dollars
last year.
- India has similar bilateral protection agreements with
Britain, Russia, Germany, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Spain and
Thailand.
Senate Clears Bush Administration's Indo - US Nuclear Deal
(17, Nov 2006)
By a vote of 85-12, the US Senate voted to support a Bush
administration's nuclear plan to sell nuclear technology and
fuel to India, which was the most important strategic diplomatic
initiative undertaken by President Bush.
- In exchange, India is supposed to open some of its
plants to international inspections to prove that the fuel
won't be diverted for weapons.
- With this, the US aim to expand strategic ties with
India, the fastest-growing major economy after China.
Centre To Lay Norms For Regulating Ads Soon
The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Y. K.
Sabharwal has asked the government to lay the guidelines for
regulating the advertisements containing political content
issued by various government departments.
- The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has
convened meetings of states and various departments in
December to come out with guidelines on the issue.
Indian Navy To Induct US-Made Helicopters
Indian Navy, for the first time would induct US-made
helicopter with the government giving the go-ahead for purchase
of six Sikorsky-Seaking Helicopters.
- The six helicopters are part of the package deal for the
purchase of the Landing ship tank USS Trenton, from which
the choppers operate. While, the Cabinet Committee on
Security (CCS) had cleared the purchase of Trenton at a cost
of Rs.200 crores, the sale of helicopters was being
negotiated.
Muslims Lagging Behind Other Groups, Says Sachar Committee
The seven-member committee headed by Rajinder Sachar, a
former chief justice of the Delhi High Court, that was set up to
go into the social, economic and educational status of Muslims,
submitted its report to the Prime Minister, which said the
community was "lagging behind" other religious groups in
development indicators and asked the government to frame
appropriate programmes to address its educational and economic
backwardness.
- In its report, it said the community was "relatively
poor, more illiterate, has lower access to education, lower
representation in public and private sector jobs and lower
availability of bank credit for self-employment".
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