Clean sports
To ensure transparency in administration, the Supreme Court on Monday accepted the recommendations of Justice Lodha panel including a bar on ministers and civil servants from holding any post in the BCCI and a cap of 70 years for every post.
Referring to the board’s resistance to change, a bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Ibrahim Kalifulla said, “The truth is that resistance to change stems partly from people getting used to status quo and partly because any change is perceived to affect their vested interest in terms of loss of ego, status, power or resources. This is true particularly when the suggested change is structural or organisational which involves some threat, real or perceived, of personal loss to those involved. No wonder, therefore, that the portents of change which the recommendations made by the Lodha Committee symbolises are encountering stiff resistance from several quarters interested in continuance of the status quo.” The CJI pointed out that the committee came to the definite conclusion that the BCCI has been suffering from many ills that had become endemic due to the apathy and involvement of those at the helm.
Setting a new adarsh
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the defence ministry to take possession of the Adarsh Housing Society apartments in Mumbai and the land on which the building stands and secure it from encroachment.
A bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and A.M. Sapre asked the Mumbai municipal authorities not to carry out the demolition of the building, though it did not pass a specific order to this effect.
On the Adarsh Housing Society’s persistence that the Bombay High Court decision ordering demolition be stayed, the bench said the word “secure” meant there would be no razing.
Green move
In a major setback to owners of diesel vehicles in New Delhi, the National Green Tribunal on Monday directed that diesel vehicles older than 10 years will have to be de-registered with immediate effect. The tribunal had banned the diesel vehicles older than 10 years in its order in April last year.
After the Delhi Police told the green tribunal that its efforts to curb diesel vehicles have not been successful, the NGT directed the RTO to take charge and de-register these vehicles and issued a public notice.
The tribunal had on April 7, 2015 held that all the diesel vehicles more than 10 years old will not be permitted to ply in Delhi-NCR. However, the green court has now pulled up the city authorities for failing to implement its order.
A bench headed by the NGT chairperson, Justice Swatanter Kumar, ordered the RTO of the transport department in Delhi to issue public notice in this regard that after de-registration of these diesel vehicles and supply the list to the Delhi traffic police, which will take appropriate steps in consonance with directions of the tribunal.
According to the green court, its directions have to be implemented with immediate effect.
Mind your language
The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his election speech in March 2014 alleging that the RSS was responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and indicated that he may have to face trial in the defamation complaint filed against him by an RSS activist.
A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Rohinton Nariman told senior counsel Harin Raval, appearing for Mr Gandhi who has challenged the defamation proceedings, “There is a difference between Nathuram Godse killing Mahatma Gandhi and the RSS killing him. You can’t make a collective denunciation of an organisation. It must stand the test of public good. Otherwise it has to go for trial.”
During an election speech in March 2014 in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, Mr Gandhi is alleged to have said that Gandhiji was shot dead by RSS people and yet their people talk of Gandhiji. The comment led to a criminal complaint being filed by an RSS activist.
The activist termed Mr Gandhi’s comment “false, frivolous, baseless and wanton allegations, imputations against the RSS and its people with mala fide motive to harm the reputation of the RSS, its followers, people, swayamsevaks”. The Bombay HC had dismissed his plea for quashing the case, following which he had filed another plea.
In the last hearing in 2015, the Supreme Court had offered Mr Gandhi an opportunity to express regret over the remarks and give the issue a “decent burial”. But his counsel Kapil Sibal had said that Mr Gandhi would not offer an apology and was ready to argue the matter.
