Tata Motors penalised Rs 50,000

Chandigarh, June 4
The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission while upholding the decision of the district forum-1 has increased the fine from Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 on Tata Motors for its failure to rectify the fault in a newly purchased vehicle of a Mohali resident.
The respondents, Tata Motors, had gone in an appeal against the forum's order which had directed them to rectify all defects present in the Tata Indigo CS car by repairing/replacing the parts as per a report prepared by an engineering college within a month. In case, they are unable to rectify the defects as per the report, they may then refund the value of the vehicle paid by the complainant after deducting depreciation at the rate of 10 per cent per annum from the date of purchase till the date of the order. They were further directed to pay Rs 20,000 to the complainant as compensation along with Rs 5,000 as costs of litigation.
The state commission comprising president justice Sham Sunder and member Neena Sandhu directed the respondents to rectify the defects in the car/replace the defective parts thereof, as ordered by the district forum.
The respondents were also told to pay a sum of Rs 50,000 to the complainant as compensation for mental agony and harassment instead of Rs 20,000 as awarded by the district forum. The respondents will also have to pay Rs 10,000 instead of Rs 5,000 as costs of litigation. The direction given by the forum for deduction of depreciation value at the rate of 10 per cent per annum from the date of purchase of the car till the impugned order passed by it was set aside.
The complainant, Chetan Gill, submitted that on their recommendation, he had bought a car for Rs 4,80,573 from Joshi Autos Zone Pvt. Ltd (opposite party number 3) with a warranty till December 12, 2009. It was further stated that the car started giving trouble from the very first month of purchase and, consequently, the same was taken to the workshop of the opposite parties, a number of times, for major repairs, including excessive engine noise and clutch problem on September 15, 2008, excessive noise caused due to faulty fan/alternator belt on December 23, 2008, and Camshaft drive belt along with belts broke down on April 7, 2009. The car was, thereafter, handed over
to him, as fully repaired but when it was taken for test drive, he realised that the problems still persisted. He alleged that the opposite parties sold a defective product, which was not working properly, and was continuously causing him mental pain and agony.
The council for the chairman and deputy general manager, Tata Motors Limited (opposite parties), respectively, stated that there was no manufacturing defect in the vehicle and the complainant had not produced any expert opinion, or evidence, to prove the defects pointed out by him, in the same. It was further stated that the averments of the complainant stood contradicted, by the job cards, which did not mention any abnormal noise or defect in the vehicle. Whenever the complainant visited the workshop, the vehicle was fully repaired to his satisfaction, as per the conditions of warranty. It was further stated that the vehicle had already covered over 20,000 km, and the faults, if any, were because of excessive use as the vehicle was used as a commercial vehicle. The opposite party number 3 denied that the complainant was compelled to buy the vehicle and added that whenever the complainant brought the vehicle for service, his complaint was well attended to, as per the conditions of warranty. It was denied that the vehicle had broken down, due to any manufacturing defect, or that there was any engine noise, in the same.

DC says he has no authority to cancel Sadique’s certificate

Chandigarh, May 17
A month after the SC Commission directed the Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana to cancel the Scheduled Caste certificate issued to Mohammad Sadique, the bard-turned-Congress legislator from Bhadaur, the DC has referred the matter back to the Directorate of SC and ST Welfare, Chandigarh.
Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari said the authority to cancel the certificate rested with the state board constituted for the welfare of SCs and BCs.
“The board will conduct an indepth inquiry into the issue. It will issue a show-cause notice to the candidate and give him time to file a representation and appear before the board. If he is found practising Islam as his religion, his certificate will be cancelled,” Tiwari said.
Lakha Singh, Deputy Director, Welfare Department, said they were yet to receive any communication from the DC.
The SC Commission had on April 24 directed the DC to cancel Sadique’s certificate as he was a Muslim and could not be certified as an SC. It had also directed that all such certificates issued earlier be cancelled and the compliance report sent every month.

Sadique won from the Bhadaur (reserve) seat defeating retired bureaucrat Darbara Singh Guru in the recent assembly poll. Guru challenged his election in the High Court, saying that Sadique was not eligible to contest from the Bhadaur (R) seat as he was a Muslim. Interestingly, the commission had directed the DC to cancel Sadique’s certificate despite a set procedure in such cases. Sadique says he is being targeted as he had defeated an Akali heavyweight and a senior bureaucrat. 

Looking back

n The Scheduled Caste Commission had on April 24 directed the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner to cancel Mohammed Sadique's certificate as he was a Muslim and could not be certified as an SC

n It had directed that all such certificates issued earlier be cancelled and the compliance report sent every month

n Sadique, Bhadaur MLA, says he is being targeted as he had defeated Akali heavyweight DS Guru

n Guru had challenged his election in the High Court

Delhi High Court has ordered removal of objectionable blog against Art of Living (AoL) founder and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The Delhi High Court has ordered removal of objectionable blogs and remarks posted by a man against Art of Living (AoL) founder and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Google's website www.Blogger.Com.

While ordering removal of his "defamatory" blogs, Justice Manmohan Singh also restrained blogger Jitender Bagga from sending objectionable emails and publishing blogs on the website against the AoL founder.

The court order came on an NGO's civil suit, seeking damages of over Rs 5 crore from the blogger and the website.

"It appears that the plaintiffs (NGO and its volunteers) have been able to make out a strong prima facie case for passing an ex-parte interim order. The balance of convenience also lies in favour the plaintiff and against the defendants (Bagga and the website).

In case, interim order is not passed, the plaintiffs will suffer irreparable loss and injury. Thus, till the next date, the defendant 2 (website) is directed to remove all defamatory contents about the plaintiffs posted by defendant 1 (Bagga) on website www.Blogger.Com," the court said.

"Bagga is restrained from sending any email or posting any material over the website which has a direct or indirect reference to the plaintiffs or the Art of Living Foundation or any member of AoL or His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar," the court said.

Filing a civil suit through its trustee Mahesh Gupta, the NGO Vyakti Vikas Kendra, India Public Charitable Trust has sought a damage of Rs 5.9 crore from Bagga and the website.

It alleged Bagga has created and published various materials against the volunteers of this NGO, which promotes spiritual, educational, cultural and social developmental activities and also runs the programme called AoL. It added Bagga has published materials against its founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and his family members.

U.S. Suit Says Arizona Sheriff Discriminated Against Latinos

PHOENIX — A federal lawsuit asserting a “pattern of unlawful discrimination” by law enforcement officials here claims that Latinos at the county jail were often referred to as “stupid” or addressed with a coarse ethnic slur. It also says that an e-mail circulated among jail officers contained a photograph of a Chihuahua in a swimsuit, over the words, “A rare photo of a Mexican Navy Seal.”

On the streets, Latino drivers were five to nine times more likely than their non-Latino counterparts to be stopped or searched, the suit asserts, for appearing disheveled or dirty or if it was deemed that too many people were in the back seat. Some were detained because they were said to have looked nervous or avoided eye contact.

The accusations are among those included in a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department on Thursday against Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, who, calling himself “America’s toughest sheriff,” has waged a relentless crackdown on illegal immigrants.

The litigation, in an election year, escalates a politically charged fight over local enforcement of federal immigration laws and the civil rights of Latinos. The suit asks a federal judge to issue an order against discriminatory practices by sheriff’s deputies, and to require the Sheriff’s Office to eliminate a “pattern or practice of unlawful conduct.”

Sheriff Arpaio is accused of running an agency where suspicion and grounds for arrest have been heavily influenced by ethnicity or poor English skills.

In a 32-page complaint, the Justice Department contends that he and his deputies waged a campaign against illegal immigration — through sweeps of homes and workplaces, and in traffic stops and jail practices — aimed at Latinos, regardless of status or citizenship.

Sheriff Arpaio also sought to silence his opponents — lawyers, judges and private citizens — through retaliation, at times filing lawsuits against them that were later found to be baseless, the complaint says.

“At its core, this is an abuse-of-power case involving a sheriff and sheriff’s office that disregarded the Constitution, ignored sound police practices, compromised public safety, and did not hesitate to retaliate against his perceived critics,” Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general at the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said at a news conference here.

Sheriff Arpaio has engaged in an increasingly bitter conflict with the Obama administration, including questioning the authenticity of the president’s birth certificate and portraying the civil rights investigation that preceded the lawsuit as politicized.

In a news conference at his office, Sheriff Arpaio said he would not allow his office to be "taken over by some bureaucrats in the federal government."

“I will fight this to the bitter end,” he said. He also said: “They’re using me for the Latino vote. I hate to say this is political, but the timing is suspect.”

In what was seen as a pre-emptive move, his office distributed a 17-point plan on Wednesday that promised to “establish and maintain specific bias-free law enforcement and detention” through better policies and training.

“We’re just doing our jobs enforcing illegal immigration laws,” the sheriff said Thursday. “We’re not racist.”

Mr. Perez said the document validated the lawsuit’s claims and was “largely an admission” that problems existed, but came too late to change the Justice Department’s course of action.

Portraying Sheriff Arpaio’s roughly 900 deputies as poorly trained and supervised, the suit contends that they are far more likely to stop and search Latinos than non-Latinos. Further, the complaint asserts, there is a “culture of bias” against Latinos among the 1,800 officers in the county jail system.

The federal government and Arizona officials have been feuding on many fronts about immigration enforcement. State officials contend that the government has failed to police the southwestern border, leading to a flood of illegal immigrants who have strained state services and created other problems.

The Supreme Court is weighing a federal challenge to a 2010 Arizona law that requires state law enforcement officials to determine the immigration status of people they stop and suspect are in the United States illegally.

But even by Arizona’s strict standards, Sheriff Arpaio, a media-savvy figure who is known as Sheriff Joe, has been aggressive. The Justice Department’s investigation of his policing practices began during the administration of George W. Bush but eventually stalled.

In December, the Justice Department released a highly critical report laying out what it said were violations by Sheriff Arpaio and his office. The department moved to negotiate a settlement, but the sheriff refused to acquiesce to its demand to place an independent monitor in his office, saying it would give the federal government too much power over a local law enforcement agency.

The standoff suggests that it may take a trial to resolve the matter.

Anand Marriage Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi, May 7
The government today brought before Parliament a Bill to amend the 103-year-old statute that hitherto allowed solemnisation of Sikh marriages but not their legal validation.
The Anand Marriage Amendment Bill:2012, introduced in the Rajya Sabha today by Law Minister Salman Khurshid, amends the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, by inserting a new Section enabling registration of marriages performed as per the Sikh rituals (Anand Karaj).
The amendment Bill defines the Sikh marriage ceremony as “Anand Karaj” instead of “Anand” as in the old law. Once passed by both Houses of Parliament, it will give the Sikhs the liberty to register their marriages separately and will exempt them from registering these under the Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths Act, 1969 (which the government plans to amend to provide for religion neutral registration of marriages across India).
The Sikhs would continue to have the option of registering their marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, as before. It was registration under this Act that had been causing confusion about their religious identity abroad with their marriage certificates describing them as Hindus.
Importantly, the amendment Bill doesn’t provide for divorce among Sikh couples. For a divorce, they would have to use the Hindu Marriage Act.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer HS Phoolka, commenting on the matter, said: “Because the amendment Bill serves a limited purpose of giving Sikh religion a separate identity by allowing marriage registration under a pre-existing law, it is not a complete marriage law.
“Any religion to be recognised must have its separate ceremony of births, deaths and marriages. Sikhs didn’t have a separate marriage law so far and they wanted the Anand Marriage Act amended for the purpose. For divorce, Sikhs can use the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.”
The amendment Bill clearly states that “parties whose marriage has been registered under this Act won’t be required to get marriage registered under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, after the enactment of the proposed amendments in this Bill.” “Today we have won the battle for a separate identity as a religion,” said former MP Tarlochan Singh who led the movement for the Bill. “The SGPC is also against any divorce provision under the Anand Marriage Amendment Bill,” he said. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law had approved these amendments in 2007 when Veerappa Moily was Law Minister. “The Bill need not go again to the standing committee and can be simply taken up and passed,” Tarlochan Singh added.

No provision of divorce in the new BillFor seeking divorce, Sikhs would have to use the Hindu Marriage Act. The Union Cabinet had approved amendment to the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, on April 12 this year.

ਜਸਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਐਡਵੋਕੇਟ ਦਾ ਐਡਮਿੰਟਨ, ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਵਿਖੇ ਨਿੱਘਾ ਸਵਾਗਤ

ਜਸਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਐਡਵੋਕੇਟ ਨੂੰ ਸਨਮਾਨਿਤ ਕਰਦੇ ਵਿਧਾਇਕ ਪੀਟਰ ਸੰਧੂ, ਵਿਧਾਇਕ ਨਰੇਸ਼ ਭਾਰਦਵਾਜ

ਐਡਮਿੰਟਨ, 3 ਮਈ - ਪਿਛਲੇ ਦਿਨੀਂ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਦੀ ਫੇਰੀ 'ਤੇ ਆਏ ਐਡਵੋਕੇਟ ਜਸਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਘਾ ਪੁਰਾਣਾ ਐਡਮਿੰਟਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੀ ਸ਼ਮਸ਼ੇਰ ਬਰਾੜ ਦੇ ਸੱਦੇ 'ਤੇ ਐਡਮਿੰਟਨ ਪੁੱਜੇ। ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਸਵਾਗਤ ਲਈ ਬਰਾੜ ਪਰਿਵਾਰ ਨੇ ਸਥਾਨਕ ਮਹਾਰਾਜਾ ਹਾਲ ਵਿਖੇ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਕੀਤਾ। ਸਮਾਗਮ ਦੀ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨਗੀ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਐਡਵੋਕੇਟ ਜਸਵਿੰਦਰ ਨੇ ਪੁੱਜੇ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਵਾਸੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਗੰਭੀਰਤਾ ਨਾਲ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ਜਦੋਂ ਵੀ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ਾਂ 'ਚ ਵਸਦੇ ਭਾਈਚਾਰੇ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੀ ਚੱਲ-ਅਚੱਲ ਜਾਇਦਾਦ ਨੂੰ ਵਿਕਰੀ ਕਰਨ ਦਾ ਹੱਕ ਆਪਣੇ ਰਿਸ਼ਤੇਦਾਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਨਹੀਂ ਦੇਣਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਸਿਰਫ਼ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੀ ਜਾਇਦਾਦ ਨੂੰ ਲੀਜ਼, ਸਾਂਝ ਸੰਭਾਲ ਸਬੰਧੀ ਹੱਕ ਦੇਣੇ ਚਾਹੀਦੇ ਹਨ। ਅੱਜਕਲ੍ਹ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਵਿਖੇ ਜਾਇਦਾਦਾਂ ਲੱਖਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਕਰੋੜਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਬਣ ਚੁੱਕੀਆਂ ਹਨ। ਇਥੇ ਵਸਦਾ ਭਾਈਚਾਰਾ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਆਪਣੀ ਜਾਇਦਾਦ ਨੂੰ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਬੈਠੇ ਪਰਿਵਾਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਹਾਇਤਾ ਵਜੋਂ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਆਮਦਨ ਵਰਤਣ ਲਈ ਦਿੰਦਾ ਹੈ ਪ੍ਰੰਤੂ ਬਾਅਦ ਵਿਚ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਵਸਦਾ ਪਰਿਵਾਰ ਉਸ ਜਾਇਦਾਦ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੀ ਹੀ ਸਮਝ ਬੈਠਦਾ ਹੈ ਜਿਸ ਕਾਰਨ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਜਾਇਦਾਦਾਂ ਉੱਪਰ ਕਬਜ਼ੇ ਆਮ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ। ਇਸ ਕਰਕੇ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ੀ ਬਾਅਦ ਵਿਚ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੁਬਾਰਾ ਜਾਣ ਦਾ ਨਾਂਅ ਤੱਕ ਨਹੀਂ ਲੈਂਦੇ। ਸਮਾਗਮ ਵਿਚ ਐਡਵੋਕੇਟ ਜਸਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੂੰ ਵਿਧਾਇਕ ਪੀਟਰ ਸੰਧੂ, ਸਿੱਖ ਫੈਡਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਦੇ ਕਰਨੈਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਿਉਲ, ਵਿਧਾਇਕ ਨਰੇਸ਼ ਭਾਰਦਵਾਜ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਸਨਮਾਨ ਚਿੰਨ੍ਹ ਵੀ ਭੇਟ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ। ਇਸ ਮੌਕੇ ਸ਼ਮਸ਼ੇਰ ਬਰਾੜ, ਹੈਰੀ ਬਰਾੜ, ਤੀਰਥ ਬਰਾੜ, ਬਲਦੇਵ ਧਾਲੀਵਾਲ ਤੋਂ ਇਲਾਵਾ ਦਰਜਨਾਂ ਨਿਵਾਸੀ ਹਾਜ਼ਰ ਸਨ।

Sarabjit case: Indian advocates file mercy plea with Zardari

Amritsar, April 29
A delegation of Indian advocates has filed a mercy petition for Sarabjit Singh, lodged in Kot Lakhpat Rai jail, before Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari.
Talking to The Tribune, BM Vinayak, a member of the delegation, here today said they also met Sarabjit Singh and Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
Vinayak, a member of the Punjab and Haryana Bar Council, said Sarabjit was lodged in a solitary confinement cell number E-7. Sarabjit had grown his beard and was wearing a skullcap, he said. "He was happy to see us and expressed his desire to meet his daughters," said Vinayak.
He said, "We took up Sarabjit's case with Interior Minister Malik during a lunch hosted by him. He informed us that Presidential pardon is the only way now. We requested him to arrange a meeting with Sarabjit and he happily obliged us."
He said they wrote the mercy petition citing humanitarian grounds. "Sarabjit has served 22 years in jail. His family too has suffered a lot. Further, his confinement will serve no purpose. But the President can grant him a pardon as a good will gesture to built cordial relations," said Vinayak adding that Malik had promised to follow up the matter with President Zardari.
Vinayak claimed that 33 Indians, including three women, were lodged in Kot Lakhpat Jail. "Two more Indians, excluding Sarabjit, have been sentenced to death. We have confirmed that 17 more Indians are in other district jails," said Vinayak.
The Interior Minister has extended visa for a year to all the 15 members of the delegation.
A resident of Bhikhiwind in Tarn Taran district, Sarabjit was convicted for the 1990 serial bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan in which 14 people were killed. Sarabjit was to be hanged in 2008. His execution was put off indefinitely following intervention of Pakistan Prime Minster Yousuf Raza Gilani.
However, his family members, especially his sister Dalbir Kaur, said that Sarabjit was wrongly convicted and the case was that of a "mistaken identity".