Common Cause updates

COMMON CAUSE UPDATES

We present here a recapitulation of the activities of Common Cause and the significant developments in its various initiatives since the publication of the last issue of the journal.

- Editor

1. ADVOCACY INITIATIVES:

I. Police reforms

The Director attended a national workshop on `Paradigm Change in Community Policing' organized by Kerala Police during November 13-14, 2014 at Thiruvanathapuram. He took part in a panel discussion on `Changes Required In Community Policing & Managing The Changes'.  

The workshop provided a platform for highlighting the work of Common Cause and its partners in the field of police reforms and networking with the heads of police establishments across the country. It also offered an opportunity to sound the participants about the scope and methodology of the proposed State of Policing Survey and elicit their cooperation for the undertaking.

II. Mining Sector reforms

Common Cause has been urging the Ministry of Mines to adopt a transparent system of competitive bidding/auction for the grant of mining leases in areas of known mineralization. The Director has been in constant contact with Secretary, Ministry of Mines, and other senior functionaries of the Ministry on this issue.

After the lapse of the MMDR Amendment Bill of 2011, which had sought to streamline the regulatory framework for exploration and attribution of minerals, the Ministry of Mines formulated the Draft Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2014. Though limited in scope, the Bill seeks to address the core concerns of the regulatory regime. In response to a Public Notice, inviting comments/suggestions from the stakeholders on the Draft Bill, Common Cause has submitted its comments and suggestions to the Ministry of Mines. III. Regulation of Multi Level Marketing Schemes The inclination shown by the UPA government to proceed against disguised money circulation schemes got dissipated in its final years and the labours of the working groups constituted by the various Ministries did not lead to any tangible outcomes. Meanwhile, the Indian Direct Selling Association could make considerable headway in its lobbying efforts aimed at excluding its constituents from the ambit of the Prize Chits & Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978. The Association went an overdrive after the arrest of the Managing Director of Amway in Andhra Pradesh in July 2014 and the clamour for an amendment of the Banning Act became more strident. Against this backdrop, the Director, met the Secretary, Consumer Affairs on October 15, 2014 and sought to enlist the support of the Ministry in blocking the concerted moves to legitimise the operations of Amway and such like companies. The Secretary gave a categorical assurance that a final decision on the regulation of the direct selling industry will only be made after extensive stakeholder consultations and appraisal of international best practices.

Common Cause is collaborating with Vidhi Legal Centre with a view to collating information on international best practices in the regulation of multi-level marketing and direct selling operations and proactively drafting a model legislation to be proposed to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

IV. Prevention of accidents caused by uncovered manholes, etc.

Despite repeated admonitions and directions from the Courts, fatal accidents caused by open manholes, sewers, pits and drains have continued unabated. The National Crimes Record Bureau puts the death toll across India in the year 2013 at 1981. There have been recurrent fatalities in the National Capital region as well. In this context, the civic authorities concerned have been requested to place in the public domain full information on the safety measures instituted by them for preventing accidents of this kind and to enforce the accountability of the officers responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the manholes in the areas under their jurisdiction.

V. Development and regulation of the real estate sector

The Director represented the interest of consumer associations in the committee constituted by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation to give a final shape to the legislation for development and regulation of the real estate sector and took an active part in the stakeholders' consultations on the subject.

2. PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION

New interventions:

WP (C) 976/2014: Preventing the export of logs of red sandalwood

The intervention of the Supreme Court was sought to foil a determined bid by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to export a huge quantity of confiscated red sandalwood, an endangered species, in the form of round logs fancied by international traders. This move flies in the face of international conventions, express provisions of the Import-Export Policy and repeated admonitions of the Ministry of Environment & Forests. It also runs counter to a commitment made by the DGTD in the High Court of Madras. The Government of India has done a complete volte face and actively collaborated with the state government. The auction lot is far in excess of the State government's own estimates of the global annual demand.

The Forest Bench of the Supreme Court issued notice to the respondents on November 21. There are no further orders of listing. Developments in earlier interventions:

Supreme Court

1. WP(C) 387/2000: Crime and Violence on TV

At the hearing on September 25, the respondents were granted four weeks' time to indicate the steps proposed to be taken by the Union of India and the timeframe for implementation of the policy on the subject. There are no further orders of listing. 2. WP(C) 330/2001: Slaughter House Pollution At the hearing held on September 2, 2014, the Court deplored the inaction of the state governments and directed the defaulters to ensure compliance of its orders within four weeks. There are no further orders of listing.

3. WP(C) 13/2003: Large scale government advertisements

The three-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court submitted its guidelines for regulating publicly funded government advertisement campaigns in October 2014. The matter is to be heard on January 13, 2015.

4. WP (C) 122/2008: Judicial Reforms

The Apex Court in its order dated December 10, 2014 has disposed of the petition on the basis of the Solicitor General's statement that most of the issues raised in the petition are also involved in Criminal Appeal nos. 254-262/2012 Imtiyaz Ahmad Vs. State of U.P. & Ors. The Court has also held that the Judiciary has already considered most of these issues independently and finally.

5. WP(C) 536/2011: Combating the Criminalization of Politics

The petition has been tagged with WP (Cr.) 208/2011: J. M. Lyngdoh & Ors. Vs. UOI & Ors., and listed for hearing on January 2, 2015.

6. WP(C) 194/2012: RTI Rules of the Allahabad High Court

The matter was heard on September 9, 2014. Fresh notices were issued to the unserved respondents in the matters tagged with the petition.

7. WP(C) 463/2012:Illegal allocation of captive coal blocks

At the hearing on September 19, 2014, the Court directed the Union of India to submit the Income Tax Department's appraisal report on the raid conducted at the premises of Moin Qureshi on October 17. In the mean time, the CBI was asked not to file any charge sheet or closure report in the ongoing investigations.

Producing the appraisal report in the Court, the Attorney General stated that it did not mention any conversation between Qureshi and Ranjit Sinha, Director CBI, and that the latter's name always came up with reference to something else or as hearsay. Emboldened by this statement, Sinha moved an application on November 17, praying for registration of an FIR for perjury against Kamal Jaswal, Common Cause and Prashant Bhushan for false statements made in the affidavit and in course of the Court proceedings.

We filed an additional affidavit on December 4 to submit an investigative report published in The Indian Express of October 30, 2014, which substantiated the references in the appraisal report to Qureshi's dealings with Ranjit Sinha. The affidavit also underlined Sinha's determined efforts to subvert the investigation and prosecution of the Coal Scam cases and sought a court-monitored investigation by a Special Investigation Teams or by the Ant-corruption Bureau of Delhi Police in the entire matter. Our contention was that the CBI could not be trusted with this task since two of its former Directors and other senior functionaries would be the subject matter of the investigation.

However, the Court did not pay heed to this argument and returned the appraisal reports to the Government at the hearing on December 8. The embargo on filing of charge-sheets and closure reports by the CBI was also lifted. The matter is now listed for January 12, 2015.

8. WP(C) 21/2013: Challenging the provisions of the IT Act, 2000

Our PIL challenging the vires of Sec. 66A, 69A and 80 of the Information Technology Act, 2000,has been clubbed with a group of petitions challenging various provisions of the Act. The petitioners were heard at length on December 17, 2014. The matter is to be listed as part heard for January 13, 2015.

9. WP (C) 728/2013: Mala fide favours to RIL in KG Basin contract

The Court has directed the Solicitor General to place on record the New Domestic Natural Gas Pricing Guidelines, 2014 and respond to our IA of July 11, 2014 regarding the draft report of the CAG on the subject. The matter has been listed for January 16, 2015.

10. WP (C) 880/2013: News broadcast by private radio stations

At the hearing on September 25, 2014, the Court directed the Union of India to file an affidavit reflecting the steps intended to be taken and the time frame for implementation of such policy, if any, with reference to news broadcast by private radio stations. There are no further orders of listing. 11. WP(C) 114/2014: Illegal Mining in the State of Odisha

The Court granted the Government of Odisha further time of 3 months from November 21 to comply with the interim order of May 16, 2014, with leave to the respondents to file their objections to the orders that might be passed by the former. The reports of the Shah Commission and the CEC are to be put up for the Court's consideration. The matter is now listed before the Green Bench for January 16, 2014.

12. WP(C) 204/2014: Mismanagement of Defence Lands:

Counter affidavits have been filed by the UOI and the Directorate General of Defence Estates. The matter is now listed for January 12, 2015.

13. WP(C) 245/2014: Challenge to the Lokpal Search Committee Rules:

The Union of India has virtually conceded the case made out in our PIL. There are no further orders of listing.

Delhi High Court:

1. WP(C) 3791/2000: Animal hazard on roads

The Court disposed of the matter on September 23, 2014 with liberty to the petitioners to approach it in the event of contempt of the order of 2007 by the respondent authorities.

In the light of the above direction, the Society conducted an impressionistic survey of the Ghogha Dairy Establishment (GDE) on November 12, 2014. It was observed that there has been no substantial improvement over the state of affairs which had been brought to the notice of the Apex Court in October 2013. In this connection, factual information regarding the development of infrastructure in GDE has been sought under the RTI Act.

2. WP(C) 866/2010: Post-retirement activities of judges

The petition was heard on September 17, 2014. The Court was informed by the ASG, that the Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and other Authorities (Conditions of Service) Bill, 2014, prohibiting members of a tribunal or a statutory body from acting as arbitrator has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha and referred for consideration by the Standing Committee. The Court has posted the matter for February 25, 2015.

3. WP(C) 8363/2010: Misuse of BSP reserved symbol

At the hearing on October 13, parties were directed to bring their written submissions on record. The matter was adjourned at the BSP's request for January 8, 2015.

4. WP(C) 2992/2013: Strengthening the institution of the Lokayukta, Delhi

The Chief Justice's Bench directed the parties on September 26, 2014 to address the question whether the Lt. Governor, Delhi, in exercise of the powers under Section 12 of the Delhi Lokayukta Act, is required to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. Thereafter, the matter has repeatedly been adjourned. It is now listed for January 22, 2015.

5. WP (C) 7240/2013: Evidence of corruption by Shri Virbhadra Singh

The matter was heard on October 16, 2014. The Hon'ble High Court took notice of the judgment of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla, dated October 15, 2014 produced before it by the respondent. At the next hearing held on December 10, the Court ordered that the Income Tax and CBI reports be tabled for examination in the next hearing. The matter is now listed for January 29, 2015.

October December 2014