CPI State Secretary Pannian Raveendran files writ petition challenging maintainability of a complaint before the Kerala Lok Ayukta seeking inquiry into the allegation of corruption levelled against party leaders in connection with Bennet Abraham's candidature

State secretary of the Communist Party of India, Mr. Pannian Raveendran on Tuesday filed a writ petition in the Kerala High Court challenging the maintainability of a complaint before the Kerala Lok Ayukta seeking an inquiry into the allegation of corruption levelled against party leaders in connection with the fielding of Bennet Abraham as its candidate in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency and the consequential Lok Ayukta order directing an investigation by the Inspector General of Police into the said allegations. He pointed out that the Lok Ayukta had dismissed his plea against the maintainability of the complaint.

CPI State Secretary, Pannian Raveendran

The investigation officer had now directed the petitioner to produce certain documents before him on December 19, averred Mr. Raveendran in his writ petition. Mr. Raveendran said the complaint pending before the Lok Ayukta was not at all maintainable in law.

The petitioner, Mr. Pannian Raveendran said the Kerala Lok Ayukta Act 1999 did not empower the Lok Ayukta to inquire into the internal affairs of a political party. The purpose of the Act was to inquire into the actions taken by the government or public authorities or public servants.

He also pointed out that, in fact, the petitioner did not come under the definition of a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act as he was not a government employee or discharging any public duty as defined in the Act.

That apart, it was absolutely clear that the candidature of Mr. Abraham had been decided by the State Council of the CPI. Therefore, the petitioner or other respondents could not legally be made accountable.

As per the constitution of the party, the State secretary was one of the members of the secretariat of the party. He could not exercise any independent power. He needed to implement the decision of the party’s highest decision-making body only.

The writ petition is expected to come up for admission before the Kerala High Court today.

24.8% of sanctioned posts in the country's police force vacant as on January 1, 2013, says the Union Home Ministry

The Union Government on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that there is a 24.8 per cent vacancy against the sanctioned posts in the country's police forces, including both state and Centre, as per the latest records compiled in this regard till 2013.

 

"As per data compiled by the Bureau of Police Research and Development, as on January 1, 2013, against total sanctioned strength of 22,09,027 posts of police personnel in all the states and Union Territories, 16,60,666 personnel were in position leading to a shortfall of 5,48,361 personnel, which is about 24.8 per cent of the sanctioned posts," Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibai Chaudhary said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

He added that as of the same date, the "sanctioned and actual strength of police personnel at all India level per one lakh population in India is 181.47 and 136.42 respectively. The police-population ration has shown wide variations across the country. Sparsely populated states such as Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram among others have the maximum police-population ratio as compared to the national average of 181 police personnel per lakh of population. 

Lok Sabha passes Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2014

The Lok Sabha on 15 December 2014 passed the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2014, which seeks to amend the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.  The Act provides for the speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from public premises, including those of government companies and corporations. 

  Salient Provisions of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2014

The Bill proposes to make suitable amendments in Sections 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9 of the 1971 Act.

The Bill redefines public premises to include companies in which at least 51 percent of the paid-up share capital is held by Central and state governments.

The Bill seeks to bring the properties of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and other Metro Rails which may come up in future and also the properties of New Delhi Municipal Council within the ambit of the 1971 Act.

The Act outlines the process that must be followed by Estate Officers in determining whether the premises are in unauthorised occupation.  The Bill outlines time limits for certain actions to be followed while evicting unauthorised occupants:  

If the Estate Officer is satisfied that premises are in unauthorised occupation, he may order the eviction of the premises.  This should be done within 15 days from the order.  The 15 day period may be extended if the Estate Officer feels there are compelling reasons which prevent a person from vacating the premises in 15 days. 

If an Estate Officer receives information that a person is in unauthorised occupation of the premises, he must make an order, within seven days of receiving this information, directing persons who have occupied the premises to show cause as to why they should not be evicted.  However, any delay in issuing this order will not invalidate proceedings.

When a person is in arrears of rent payable, the Estate Officer may order that he pay rent or damages, after issuing a notice asking the person to explain why such as order should not be made.  The explanation must be provided within seven days of the notice.  

The Act states that every appeal to the Estate Officer’s orders must be disposed off as quickly as possible.  The Bill states that appeals must be disposed off within one month, as far as possible.

The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 was enacted to provide for speedy machinery for the eviction of unauthorised occupants from public premises. The Act has been amended previously in 1980, 1984 and 1994.

The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 was enacted to provide for speedy machinery for the eviction of unauthorised occupants from public premises. The Act has been amended previously in 1980, 1984 and 1994. 

100 MILLION AADHAR NUMBERS LINKED TO BANK ACCOUNTS THUS FAR, SAYS UIDAI

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Monday said the number of Aadhar numbers that have been linked to bank accounts had touched 100 million, enabling these individuals to digitally receive subsidies and benefits under government schemes.

   

Issuance of Aadhars crossed the 720 million-mark as on December 12. The individuals can benefit from this system as it is portable across any bank in the country and the beneficiaries can access these subsidies even if they move to another part of the country, making the whole process hassle-free.

 As many as 333 banks are live on Aadhar platform. These are using Aadhar payment bridge for financial transactions. UIDAI said establishing a link between an Aadhar number and a bank account makes it easy for the Government to identify genuine beneficiaries and route welfare payments and subsidies directly into their bank accounts.

As on December 9, the Aadhar Payment Bridge saw transactions crossing the 7.94 crore-mark across government welfare programmes such as Direct Benefit Transfer for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA) scheme, Tribal welfare schemes and Pensions, amounting to Rs 5,151.5 crore, it said.

The Aadhar identity platform is the largest biometric database in the world and serves users ranging from LPG consumers, MNREGA workers, public distribution system, remittance and scholarship beneficiaries, etc. - all using their Aadhar number to avail benefits.

For linking Aadhar number to their bank account, the residents need to provide a copy of their Aadhar letter or their e-Aadhar to the bank branch in which they maintain the account.

Once the account is seeded with Aadhar number, it will be used by government departments to transfer subsidies directly into Aadhar linked bank account, the statement issued by UIDAI added.

Residents can check status of the Aadhar-Bank account linkage by dialling *99*99# on their mobile phone. This facility is provided by National Payments Corporation of India at a cost of Rs 1.50 an enquiry.