Month: August 2017

Calcutta High Court Lashes Out At Centre Over Judges’ Shortage

Introduction

                                                          Coming straight to the nub of the matter, in a scathing attack on the Centre for delaying the appointment of Judges, the Calcutta High Court Bench comprising of Justices Dipankar Datta and Debi Prosad Dey onJuly 12 while hearing a bail plea for actor Vikram Chatterjee involving the death of a model Sonika Chauhan termed the shortage of Judges as a “very major problem” that the oldest high court of the country was encountering. The observations came as the Bench noted that the actor’s bail application could not be listed on time by the court due to which he was arrested leaving his plea infructuous. The Calcutta High Court while casting Centre’s nonchalant approach on such a key issue said it was working with a little less than 50 percent strength as the functional strength of Judges in the court was only 34, while the sanctioned number was 72.
Calcutta High Court Lashes Out At Centre Over Judges’ Shortage

                                               Appoint More Judges

                                                      Neeedless to say, the Calcutta High Court has warned of “appropriate action” if urgent steps are not taken on it, while asking whether the nation could think of the Parliament functioning with half its strength. The Bench did not hesitate in making it absolutely clear that, “The time is now ripe for speaking our mind out or else this premier institution, which has stood tall despite several odds, would gradually cease to lose its efficacy. The Bar and the litigant public have been tolerant so long, but this Bench cannot remain a silent spectator waiting for the inevitable ire to explode.” Centre must stop coughing up a long list of excuses and should immediately sit on the drawing board and draw up plan to fill up all the vacancies of Judges in different High Courts without wasting any more time! There are more than 400 posts of High Court Judges that lie vacant across the country.  

                                             Not The First Time

                                           Without mincing any words, let me say this point blank: This is not the first time  this concern has been expressed. We all know it fully well that how earlier also former Chief Justice of India TS Thakur had expressed his utmost unhappiness over delay in appointment of Judges and said courts in the country now require more than 70,000 Judges to clear the pending cases. “While we (judiciary) remain keen to ensure that Judges appointments are made quickly, the machinery involved with the appointment of Judges continues to grind very slowly. The confidence of people on the judiciary has, over the years, multiplied. Over three crore cases are pending in various courts across the country,” said former CJI TS Thakur  while speaking on the opening day of the centennial celebration of the Odisha High Court at Cuttack. A standoff between the judiciary and the government in the last 18 months over drafting of the new Memorandum of Procedure, the guidelines for appointing Judges, has further added to the problem. It is pending mainly due to differences on its content between the executive and the collegiums. It is a matter of grave concern that the friction between the two sides which repeatedly hit the headlines during the previous Chief Justice of India TS Thakur’s time is continuing even till now!
                                                        Be it noted, the former CJI TS Thakur said around 170 proposals for appointment of High Court Judges were now pending with the government. “Access to justice is a fundamental right and the government cannot afford to deny the people their fundamental right,” he said. Former CJI Thakur said shortage of Judges was one of the formidable challenges faced now. Of some 900 sanctioned posts of Judges in different High Courts of the country, there are over 450 vacancies, which need to be filled up immediately. He said while the Law Commission of India in 1987 had suggested having 44,000 Judges to effectively tackle the then number of pending cases, the country today has only 18,000 Judges. He also lamented earlier at a function in Delhi that the judiciary had been made the scapegoat for the mounting pendency of cases.   

                               Fill Vacancies In All High Courts

                                     It must also be reiterated here that the Judges shortage problem is not just confined to Calcutta High Court alone. It is also spread over all other major states barring one or two smaller high courts in smaller states. Why even in UP we see that Allahabad High Court has sanctioned strength of 160 Judges yet not even half the vacancies are filled up? This has been going on for many decades. This must end now and vacancies must all be filled up on a war footing!
                                                        Truly speaking, Centre cites hundred reasons as to why more benches cannot be set up in big states like UP like the one that there is lot of opposition from the High Court itself. Agreed! But who will dispute that the huge vacancies in all big courts like Allahabad High Court where more than 10 lakh cases are pending must be filled up completely. Not even one seat should be left vacant! But what we see instead is that more than half seats keep lying vacant and Centre is always ready to cite hundred reasons for not filling up the vacancies! This is just not in order! There is no shortage of talented lawyers who are fit to become High Court Judges. But Centre is not ready to fill the vacancies. Centre is also the biggest litigator due to which we see so many cases piling up in courts! Though there are no official figures, the government is the country’s biggest litigator, being a party in about half of the country’s 27 million pending cases.

                                        Immediate Action

                                               Now coming back to the main subject, the Calcutta High Court has criticized the Centre over alleged delay in appointment of Judges, while asking whether the nation could think of the Parliament functioning with half its strength. A Division Bench of Justices Dipankar Dutta and DP Dey said that, “Immediate action is called for to appoint maximum number of Judges to prevent the justice delivery system from collapsing, which seems to be imminent.” At the first place such a despicable situation should never have cropped up!

                                Top Priority To Appointing Judges

                                                      While craving for the exclusive indulgence of my esteemed readers, let me inform them that the Bench of Calcutta High Court has said that the functional strength of Judges in the Calcutta High Court was 34, while the sanctioned strength was 72. It said that, “The present functional strength is, therefore, a little less than 50 percent of the sanctioned strength.” The Calcutta High Court asked the Union Law Minister to intervene and give top priority to appointing Judges in the Calcutta High Court.
                                                       As things stand, the Bench observed that, “With less than half the sanctioned strength, the Calcutta High Court is reeling under an acute shortage of Judges to carry out judicial operations.” It also observed that, “The sanctioned strength of Judges in this Court is 72. Till a couple of years ago, the sanctioned strength was 58. Today, this Court has a functional strength of 34 Judges only. The present functional strength is, therefore, a little less than 50 percent of the sanctioned strength.”

                                  Centre Must Act And Not Remain Silent

                                                   For my esteemed readers exclusive indulgence, let me also inform them that the Calcutta High Court minced no words in making it absolutely clear that, “The politeness of this Bench may not be understood as weakness on its part to be firm. It is made clear that continued silence of the central government in the matter of appointment of Judges in the near future, despite the concerns expressed in this order, would certainly be viewed seriously as interference in the course of administration of justice and followed by appropriate action as authorized in law”. Very rightly said!

                        Thought Provoking Questions On Vacancies

                                            Let me be direct in asking: Why Centre is not ensuring that the vacancies of High Court Judges are not filled up completely? Why is Centre not serious on this? Why Centre does not realize that just paying lip service alone that it is dedicated to reduce the huge pending cases by appointing more Judges without translating it into action will lead the nation to nowhere except disaster as we are seeing right now which alone explains why Calcutta High Court felt constrained to speak out so hardly?
                                                      Let me also be direct in asking: Why Centre does not realize that the judicial system ,ay lose its efficacy if urgent measures were not taken as pointed out by Calcutta High Court? Why Centre does not realize that Calcutta High Court is reeling under an acute shortage of Judges which should have been filled up a lot earlier? Why Calcutta High Court is compelled to slam Centre for neglecting the so sensitive issue due to which it has accused the executive of being “authoritarian”?
                                                        To put things in perspective, the Calcutta High Court Bench’s observations came after it could not hear an anticipatory bail plea for more than a month after it was filed on June 5. The petitioner was arrested on July 6 and the plea was junked by the Bench on July 12 as infructuous. The Bench said that by February 2018, 10 Judges of the Calcutta High Court will retire, cutting the strength to 24 if no fresh appointment is made by that time.      
                                             Truth be told, the Calcutta High Court Bench very rightly asserted that, “Working at less than 50 percent strength, disposal of proceedings in this court have been quite high in the sense that it is complete with disposals of High Courts functioning with greater strength of Judges.” Having said this, it also made it amply clear that, “Nonetheless, it cannot be doubted that whatever is being achieved is far below the expectation of the litigants”. There can be no denying this.

                                        Dearth Of Judges

                                                       The billion dollar question that the Bench of Calcutta High Court asked and then itself replied while pulling up Centre for continued neglect was “Can the nation think of the Lok Sabha in a functional state with half of its elected members? Similarly, can legislative assemblies function at half-strength? The answer cannot be in the affirmative.” Very rightly said. It also rightly said that, “The Lok Sabha and/or the Legislative Assemblies are important Constitutional entities and it would be a disgrace for the largest democracy of the world if elections were not conducted on time.” The Bench very rightly observed while slamming Centre for “neglecting” the problem for long and accusing the executive of being “authoritarian” that, “It does not require one to be super intelligent to make the right guess. It is the problem of dearth of adequate number of Judges in this Court. It has continued from yesteryears and assumed the character of a perpetual concern, which the powers that be having the wherewithal to address and resolve have neglected by their various shades of authoritarianism.”               

                               High Courts Being Left In Lurch

                                                    It also cannot be lost on us that the Bench of Calcutta High Court said the Centre wastes no time in filling up vacancies in bureaucratic posts. It also hammered home the crucial point that, “This Bench is thus left to wonder as to why only in respect of filling up of vacancies in the High Courts, which are also high Constitutional authorities, there is such a brazen apathy and indifference of the political executive.” We thus see that the Calcutta high Court rebukes the Union Law Ministry for “brazen apathy, indifference”. Why only High Courts are being left in the lurch?                

                            Independence Of Judiciary

                                                    Calling out the “brazen apathy and indifference of the political executive”, the Calcutta High Court Bench argued very strongly and effectively that, “The independence of the judiciary is regarded as a basic structure of the Constitution, rendering a particular High Court ineffective by adopting a step-motherly attitude cannot but draw the frown of a civilized society.” While delivering a stern warning for the Centre to pull its act together, the Court also asked the Registrar General to intimate the Union Law Ministry about the order on priority. The Court also directed that a copy of the order must be sent to Union law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad “so that the matter relating to appointment of Judges in this court is given topmost priority”.             

                                               Conclusion

                                                  It needs no rocket scientist to conclude that there is lot of merit in what the Calcutta High Court Bench has said. Centre must take immediate action in this regard and fill up all the vacancies of Judges not just in Calcutta High Court but also in other High Courts. It is the common man especially undertrials who suffers the most due to lack of Judges and often end up being in jail for more the time than the offence which they are accused of and which if they had committed would still have come out of jail after completing their jail term! No more excuses! No more delays! The vacancies in High Courts must be filled up in all States without exception. This is the bounden duty of the Centre and it is not doing any favour on anyone by filling up the vacant posts.       
Written by:
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut  – 250001,
Uttar Pradesh.     

Apex Court Reserves Order On Bail Plea Of Lt Col Purohit

It is the worst travesty of justice that a serving Army officer – Lt Colonel Shrikant Purohit with impeccable track record of more than 14 years before he was wrongly framed in 2008 by those as a “terrorist” who didn’t like his going after terrorists who were planning to carry out the Mumbai terror attack as we saw also on 26/11! For being an upright officer what he got in reward was more than 9 years in jail and custodial torture to the extent that we can’t even dream of and yet even till now charges have not been framed against him! This is because there was no “hard evidence” against him and ATS with connivance of a senior Army officer spared no opportunity to implicate him falsely!
Apex Court Reserves Order On Bail Plea Of Lt Col Purohit

                                            I am sorry to say but his plight is worse than even Kulbhushan Jadhav who too was wrongly implicated as a terrorist but this happened in Pakistan and not in India which is his own country!  Not one or two or seven but seventy six Army officers who had served with him earlier testified to his being an upright and committed officer but India trusted Mumbai ATS who are notorious for wrongly implicating innocents and here they didn’t spare even an honest and committed Army officer like Lt Colonel Shrikant Purohit! What has happened with Lt Colonel Purohit should not happen even with a terrorist! Even Nasik Police Chief whose jurisdiction extended to Malegaon had commended Lt Col Purohit for actively working to expose terrorists funded directly from Pakistan! Can all this be dismissed lightly? NIA too it must be said with dismay has not crowned itself with glory by keeping quiet for 9 years which is a very long time!
                                          Needless to say, Lt Colonel Purohit was regularly informing his superiors in Army informed about what all he was doing yet NIA didn’t care to listen his version properly! Is it a coincidence that Mumbai terror attack of 26/11 happened just months after his arrest? Why such a senior Army officer was treated so shabbily? Why was he wrongly framed as a terrorist without any valid reason?
                                       More intriguingly, why when he was working to expose those who supported terrorism locally was he himself arrested, tortured and branded a terrorist and for 9 years not a single evidence was produced before any court? All this must be investigated impartially and truth must come out! The bold Army officer who was the only one to help Mumbai ATS in falsely implicating Lt Colonel Purohit and get him arrested breaking all norms and who has not produced a single shred of evidence in any court even after 9 years must be taken to task and not allowed to go scot free!
                                                  Let me be direct in asking: Who will compensate him for the 9 years that he, his wife and his children have suffered endlessly? There can be no compensation that can compensate for the terrible sufferings he and his family had to undergo! His wife and children had to hear “She is a wife of terrorist and they are children of terrorist”! I am sorry to say but even Army has not held his hand when he needed it most to which he was fully entitled also thus letting him down most unfairly and this is the worst tragedy! However, I am extremely happy to note that one of the most reputed and trustworthy lawyer of our country who is also a former Solicitor General – Harish Salve who recently took up Kulbhushan Jadhav case at ICJ in Hague and defended it successfully has taken up his case and I am sure that now at least he will get justice from the highest court!  
                                               Be it noted, Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on a plea of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit seeking interim bail in the 2008 Malegaon blast case after Bombay High Court had earlier dismissed his bail plea. A Bench of Justices RK Agarwal and AM Sapre said it will pass an order on the plea. During the hearing, senior advocate and former Solicitor General Harish Salve who just some months back had successfully defended Kulbhushan Jadhav in ICJ said that he has been in jail for the past nine years but charges have still not been framed against him! He said the MCOCA charge has already been dropped against him and therefore he is entitled to get interim bail! Our whole judicial system should be ashamed that a serving Army Officer is designated a terrorist by Mumbai ATS but for last nine years no charges have been framed against him! This itself is the strongest testimony to prove that how strong case Mumbai ATS has against Lt Col Purohit!
                                        To put things in perspective, while seeking bail in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, Lt Col Shrikant Purohit made it clear to the Supreme Court that he was caught in a “political crossfire” and was falsely implicated. But the NIA while opposing his plea accused him of running Abhinav Bharat which NIA alleged is an outfit promoting fundamentalism and unlawful activities. One is tempted to ask here: Is Abhinav Bharat an unlawful organisation? Also, why Hurriyat leaders who openly rant against India, chant anti-India slogans, indulge in unlawful activities and get funded hugely from Pakistan due to which they have amassed huge money empire and purchased properties all across the country have not been sent to jail for 9 years as we see in case of Lt Col Shrikant Purohit? Why those Hurriyat leaders who had a hand in murder of Kashmiri Hindus when they fled Kashmir in lakhs way back in 1989 were all released from jail and till now they are roaming scot free?
                                        Anyway, coming back to Lt Colonel Purohit’s case, his senior counsel Harish Salve contended that the officer attended meetings of Abhinav Bharat as an “Army mole” and was not involved in terrorist activities. He rightly said that there were “big holes” in the probe which is why another accused Pragya Singh Thakur was granted bail. Harish Salve made a strong case for bail to be granted to Lt Col Purohit by pointing out that, “My client has been in jail for nine years but charges have not been framed. Since 2001, he has got numerous recommendations (as intelligence officer). I am not asking for discharge but give interim bail after nine years of incarceration till framing of charges in the case.”  He also pointed out that Purohit had informed seniors about inputs that he received from the meetings of Abhinav Bharat and there were infirmities in the probe conducted by the Maharashtra ATS and NIA. Why was all this overlooked?
                                        Of course, senior advocate Harish Salve also pointed to several glaring inconsistencies in the Bombay High Court verdict of April 25 that denied bail to his client – Lt Col Purohit. He said a Court of Inquiry (COI) had confirmed that his attendance at the Abhinav Bharat organisation’s meetings was to gather intelligence  inputs about its activities. “It was not a banned organisation under the law,” Salve told a Bench headed by Justice RK Agrawal that reserved its verdict on the bail application.
                                       Be it noted, Salve said that the NIA chargesheet had virtually absolved his client and the High Court of Bombay had erred in holding that the COI documents could not be relied upon at the stage of bail. Why could the COI documents not be relied upon? COI was conducted properly as per rules and regulations and no rule was broken anywhere in conducting it!
     
                                         Not stopping here, Harish Salve said on behalf of his client that, “The allegation against me is that I supplied explosive material on the conspiracy hatched by Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. Now if she is enlarged on bail and given a clean chit by the NIA, then the link between me and her is snapped.” Bombay High Court on April 25had given bail to Sadhvi Pragya who was the main accused and who headed Abhinav Bharat but rejected his plea even though he was just an “Army Mole”! Why this glaring disparity? Salve also rightly pointed out that, “My client has got himself caught in political crossfire. He has been in jail for nine years but still he is serving in the Indian Army. Since 2001, he has got numerous recommendations for infiltration. From an unsung hero, he has been now called an incarcerated hero.” Most shameful!
                                        Think logically: If he was a terrorist would he still be serving in the Indian Army? Would he not have been dismissed? Did he not pass all information about activities of Abhinav Bharat group who allegedly masterminded Malegaon bomb blast on September 29, 2008 in which seven people were killed and about 100 injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded to his seniors? Have his seniors not testified about it? Still why he is being made the scapegoat? Why was he arrested at the first place? Why he was kept in illegal detention? Why was he not informed of being arrested for a terror offence and why was he deceived? Why was he brutally tortured? Why initially he was arrested for something else?
                                  While arguing brilliantly, Harish Salve said the Maharashtra ATS mentioned in its charge sheet that he had attended the meetings of Abhinav Bharat. Going forward, Salve asked: “Yes, I attended certain meetings, but as a military mole. I was doing my duty. The court says it will look into the ATS chargesheet at the stage of trial and refuses interim bail even as charges are not framed against me. What kind of criminal justice system is this?” Very rightly said! Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur who was also a co-accused and headed meetings of Abhinav Bharat was granted bail by Bombay High Court but Lt Colonel Purohit who attended meeting as “Army Mole” was refused bail even after nine years! This is really atrocious!
                                          What is even more unfortunate is that many newschannels left no stone unturned in showing it in their Primetime News shows that how Purohit was trying to make India a Hindu country, how he was trying to overthrow democracy and what not nonsense! Disgraceful! Is this is how journalism is done without even investigating properly the whole matter? Why the real truth was not brought out before the public? The real truth must come before the people!
                                           The billion dollar question that arises here is: Does an Army Officer of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel enjoy no reputation? Should his past track record not have been taken into account? Salve rightly said that, “After nine years, a man is entitled to see the sun outside the jail.” He argued that Purohit was falsely implicated by the ATS and no report was filed after eight years of a Court of Inquiry.
                                      To put it mildly, we all know that Lt Col Purohit was exonerated of all charges by Court of Inquiry! Still he was treated as if he was a terrorist and just some time back one terrorist it was reported in a newschannel had confessed that the Malegaon attack for which Lt Col Purohit was jailed for 9 years was carried out by a Pakistan based terror outfit! Should all this not be investigated impartially?
                                     As things stand, while denying his involvement in the incident, Purohit told the court that even assuming that the charges that he had supplied the bomb were true, even then he would have to be out of jail as the offence attracted a maximum of seven years imprisonment. Why is he still in jail after nine years when no charges have been proved against him and even a chargesheet has not been filed against him? Why his arrest was not carried out as per procedure? Why he was deceived and then arrested by another Army Officer who it is alleged had even tortured him and till now has not produced even a single shred of evidence against him? Why Lt Col Purohit has been made to suffer so much that he is in jail for nine years even though the maximum term for the offence for which he was charged was just seven years? Who are the powerful forces who are not allowing truth to come out?
                                          There are many unanswered troubling questions that must be answered: Why NIA had to file a separate chargesheet stating that ATS had planted the RDX found from Purohit’s house? Why ATS planted RDX  found from Purohit’s house? What does all this prove? Why ATS was hell bent in implicating Purohit as a terrorist? Was it at the instance of some political party? Why MCOCA charges were also dropped? Why it has taken 9 years for the case to move at snail’s pace and still till date no charges have been framed against him as Harish Salve has pointed out? Truth must come out finally!
                                    As it turned out, it was most dismaying to see that some news channels even before the case is pronounced by the Courts not just labelled him a “Hindu Terrorist” but also levelled many other serious charges against him and they have not been able to substantiate it in any court! They were nothing but a bunch of lies that were bundled together! But it certainly served to tarnish his image because very few know the real truth! It is a national shame! Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh while appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), said there was some evidence against him which would help in framing of charge! Even an illiterate person will have the common sense to ask: Why no charge framed against him for 9 years if there was evidence against him?
                                             We all must ask: Why for nearly nine years a serving army officer of the armed forces and that too of the intelligence wing was made to suffer all sorts of humiliation along with jail and yet not even chargesheet has been filed against him leave alone trial being started! Is this the way a nation treats its officers? What message is being sent to future aspirants who want to join the Indian Army?
                                 It must be asked: If there was an open and shut case against him as those who arrested him projected then why after nine years they have not been able to even file a  chargesheet and why they have not produced any evidence before the court? How can any person leave alone army officer be made to wear the tag of a terrorist without giving him any opportunity to defend himself in last nine years? Why the Mumbai ATS did not frame charges for 9 years if they had evidence to prove that Lt Colonel Purohit is a terrorist? Why RDX was planted in his house as NIA alleged?
                                          It must also be asked: How long will police keep the nation waiting? Who will be responsible if it is found that there is no evidence against Purohit and others? Why a UN report which mentioned that a Pakistan based terror group was responsible for the terror attack yet Purohit who as intelligence officer was providing information on terrorist was himself implicated instead? Why no evidence has been produced against him?
                                    May I ask here: Why even a bench of Supreme Court comprising of Justices FMI Kalifulla and Abhay Manohar Sapre said that, “There was no concrete evidence to show their involvement in any other criminal case and the trial court should decide their bail plea on merit, preferablywithin one month”? Was it just for fun that two Judges and that too serving judges of our highest court – Supreme Court are saying that there was no concrete evidence to show their involvement in any other criminal case? Why Supreme Court said there was considerable doubt about the involvement of those charged under the MCOCA?
                                          May I also ask here: Why trial court didn’t decide their bail plea nearly nine years back and why Lt Col Purohit was made to suffer along with Sadhvi Pragya Thakur in jail where their health deteriorated thus grossly violating their legal rights? What was the compelling circumstance that police decided to keep a serving army officer of the rank of Lt Colonel in jail for nearly nine years without producing any evidence against him in any court? Why even the Court of Inquiry (CoI) conducted by Army found Lt Col Purohit not guilty as Harish Salve rightly pointed out? This itself proves that there is more to it than meets the eye and his arrest along with others was done as part of a grand political conspiracy to keep the ruling elite happy and to be on their right side!             
                                       It also must be asked: Why for nearly nine years Lt Colonel Purohit was not shown even the army documents which he had a right to see? Why it is that only  after the ex Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar  himself personally intervened to make it clear that the main accused in the Malegaon and Samjhauta blasts, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, would be given access to documents he had sought to enable him to prove his innocence? Why was he denied even his basic legal right for such a long time? Who were those army officers who didn’t want that he should be shown any documents and why? They must explain!
                                          Let me also be direct in asking: Why such a senior army officer of the rank of Major General and having an impeccable reputation whom we keep listening in most of the news channels speaking always about defence and our national interests – GD Bakshi keeps crying foul on the ghoulish manner in which Lt Colonel Purohit was falsely implicated and he was made a fall guy while the real culprits were allowed to run away? Why so many other Army officers 76 who had earlier served with him have all hailed him as “a man of courage, conviction with firm uprighteousness”? Are they all speaking lies and only Mumbai ATS and one odd Army officer who falsely implicated him and who has kept quiet for 9 years by not producing any evidence in any court speaking truth? 
                                          Why RSN Singh a retired officer of RAW whom again we keep listening in various news channels talking always about our national interests writes in his cover story titled “Col Purohit : A Victim Of Hindu Terror Industry” published in Uday India magazine dated March 22, 2014 that, “It is a travesty to paint Purohit as the Indian Osama Bin Laden. Going by the selective and flip-flop leaks by the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra, and the manner in which the media is lapping it up, it appears that there is a concerted bid to make an ‘Osama bin Laden’ out of Lt Col Purohit, and prove that Sadhvi Pragya and her accomplices are the new ‘Hindu jihadis’. The credulity of the general public is being stretched on various scores. Firstly, the speed at which fresh revelations are being disseminated by the ATS, is in complete disregard to professional propriety. Secondly, the unprecedented number of narco tests the accused are being subjected to. Thirdly, there is a total blankout with regard to the version of the accused. Fourthly, with every passing day, the network is being enlarged; as if to suggest that the entire country is being consumed by ‘Hindu terrorism’, and has pan-Indian dimension. Fifthly, if intercepts of some of the accused were available prior to the blasts, why were no pre-emptive measures taken? Sixthly, no army representative has been included in the interrogation team. Seventhly, the most intriguing aspect is the timing of the investigations—on the eve of elections.”
                                              Truth be told, Lt Col Purohit claimed that he had been framed in the Samjhauta blasts while he had successfully infiltrated various terror groups such as the Indian Mujahideen and the SIMI. He said with tears in his eyes that, “I have been robbed of honour, dignity and rank and punished for serving the nation”. Why Army has not spoken openly in his defence even though CoI conducted by Army found him not guilty? Why politicians are silent on this? Why Army Generals except one or two like GD Bakshi (retd) are silent on this? What a tragedy that Indian politicians go out of the way to invite Pakistani invaders like Gen Pervez Musharraf who masterminded Kargil war in which we lost officially more than 600 soldiers and treat him like a royal emperor but care two hoots for Indian officers like Lt Col Purohit who at the risk of their own lives penetrate inside enemy camp only to be themselves labeled a terrorist! Captain Saurav Kalia was brutally tortured by Pakistani soldiers and terrorists but Lt Col Purohit is even more unlucky as he was tortured most brutally not for just 22 days but for nearly 9 years to force him to give a confession not by any Pakistani army or terrorist or ISI but by Indian police, Indian intelligence and all donning uniform of India which is his own nation and not Pakistan! Kashmiri separatists leaders openly rant against India, wave flags of ISIS and Pakistan, are known for their proximity to terror leaders but yet they are not arrested but an army officer with a distinguished track record like Lt Col Purohit is arrested and kept in jail without even filing a chargesheet for nearly 9 years! Disgusting!
                                         Anyway coming back to the main subject, incidentally, NIA Director General Sharad Kumar had clarified that Lt Col Purohit was never an accused in the Samjhauta blasts case. However, he had been charge-sheeted by the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad in the Malegaon blast case, and the NIA was investigating the matter. Does it take nine years to file chargesheet?
                                             I am hundred percent convinced that he is not a terrorist rather is “a victim of most dangerous political conspiracy hatched up in cahoots with some senior police officers and some in the army”. If there was even an iota of proof against him that proof would not have been taken to any temple or any other religious place for some hawan or puja for nearly nine years but produced before the court! Just because a person sets up an organization or even has hardline views is no ground to send him to jail and keep him languishing there for nearly 9 years without even showing him the chargesheet and without producing him even before the lowest court!
                                         You can dismiss what I say lightly but certainly not what Supreme Court says or a senior army officer of the stature of Gen GD Bakshi or a former RAW officer Col RSN Singh or 76 Army officers says and whom we always love to hear in various news channels because they always speak keeping in mind our national interests first and not any regional or religion interest first! Even the seniors of Lt Col Purohit confirm him as “over zealous officer” and profusely praised him but in his bad days he was left in the lurch to suffer all alone by himself with no one standing near him to defend! If this is the way in which an intelligence officer is treated for doing his duty then who will like to take risk only to be himself labelled a terrorist? This is terrible!
                                           It needs no rocket scientist to conclude that justice must not only be done in Lt Col Purohit’s case but also seen to be done! By not filing even a chargesheet in last nearly 9 years several questions have been thrown up and all those who are responsible for this needs to be taken to task! NHRC must itself also investigate the matter and all those who tortured Lt Col Purohit must themselves be sent behind bars and taken to task for their misdeeds and misdemeanours!
                                        Here it must be said:  What Lt Col Purohit’s family is bearing and what he himself is bearing that only they themselves can understand best! Punish them with the strictest punishment if they are terrorists but facts on ground indicate otherwise! I have not seen one Army Officer speaking against Lt Col Purohit till now openly in any news channel not even that Army Officer who it is alleged was hands-in-glove with Mumbai ATS in falsely implicating him because of the personal grudge that he held against him! Why deafening silence? It is because there is no strong case against him!
                                               In the ultimate analysis, it will not be an exaggeration if I say that this case is not just of Lt Col Purohit alone! This is attached directly with Army’s impeccable reputation which has unnecessarily been sought to be damaged by those having vested interests without producing any hard evidence for 9 years and worst of all, by not even filing any charges against him till now! If Lt Col Purohit is given bail it will not be any big favour to him but he will get what he should have got 9 years back!
                                             In hindsight, it must be said that he has been in jail for last 9 years without committing any crime except his job with supreme dedication so much so that he didn’t care even for his own personal safety! All those who are responsible for torturing him and for ensuring that he be wrongly framed as a terrorist and planted RDX in his house as NIA itself alleged must be arrested, probed independently by CBI and punished strictly once found to be involved neck deep in getting Lt Colonel Purohit falsely implicated in a terror case with which he was not even remotely connected! They should not be allowed to get away just like that as this sends a very wrong message that they can armtwist law and frame anyone as a terrorist without being questioned by anyone!
                                  All said and done, I am sure Supreme Court will consider all facts on the ground and deliver justice to Lt Colonel Purohit by not only granting him bail but also ordering inquiry against those who have played an instrumental role in getting him falsely implicated as a terrorist and destroyed his whole career and reputation which he earned in his entire lifetime! Nine years in jail for a serving Army officer without dismissing him or producing any evidence against him and not even filing chargesheet against him for 9 years speaks volumes of how strong the case is against Lt Col Purohit! The jury is still out! Let’s wait and watch what happens! Truth must finally prevail! Justice should not be subverted! After a gruelling wait of 9 long years at least now Lt Colonel Shrikant Purohit must get bail which has been due since such a long time! I have no doubt whatsoever that it is an open and shut case which is too palpable!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.   

SC Reserves Ruling On Privacy Being A Fundamental Right

To start with, the 9-Judge Bench of Supreme Court after hearing both sides reserved its verdict on the question whether privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution or not. The marathon arguments that begin on July 19 lasted for six days. The judgment is likely to be pronounced before August 27, the date when the incumbent CJI JS Khehar demits office.
SC Reserves Ruling On Privacy Being A Fundamental Right

                                    There is no definite legal definition of privacy. It can be interpreted to mean various things like bodily integrity, protection from state surveillance, personal autonomy, dignity, confidentiality etc. Briefly stated, it has to be determined separately from case to case. It is not explicitly mentioned in Constitution but deemed to be included in Article 21.
                                 Now coming to international arena, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 and Article 17 of the Internmational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966, which India signed And ratified on April 10, 1979 in totality legally protects persons against “arbitrary interference with one’s privacy, family, home, correspondence, honour and reputation”. Also, Article 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2012, recognizes the respect for private and family life, home and communications. Article 8 specifically stipulates protection of personal data and its collection for a specified legitimate purpose.
                                     Coming back to main subject, the 9-Judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar included Justices DY Chandrachud, J Chelameswar, SK Kaul, SA Bobde, RF Nariman, AM Sapre, RK Agarwal and Abdul Nazeer reserved the order after petitioners’ counsels replied persuasively to the cogent arguments by the Centre and some States that privacy must be protected through statutory enactments and there was no need to elevate it to a fundamental right. Centre led by Attorney General KK Venugopal and a battery of senior lawyers appearing for BJP-ruled States who submitted that privacy need not be given a separate status of a fundamental right. Centre claimed that privacy was vague and amorphous and when a right is not defined, it cannot acquire status of a fundamental right.
                                              Be it noted, Venugopal argued that privacy is not a fundamental right and even if so assumed, it is a qualified right which must be subservient to the higher right of citizens to life. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana followed suit by claiming that privacy is a facet of liberty and violation of right to privacy will necessarily be traced to infringement of any of the existing fundamental rights.
                                           Be it also noted, Venugopal also asserted that even if privacy is assumed to be a fundamental right under right to liberty of citizens, it must yield to the right to life of 270 million citizens who will receive the benefit of social welfare schemes with Aadhaar. He said, “A large section of the people would be deprived of their basic needs and rights if the claim of the petitioners to a fundamental right to privacy is accepted…Even otherwise, there can be no claim to a privacy right against identification for the purposes of public welfare and social schemes of the Government, and to plug leakages and corruption in the administration of such schemes.” He also said that, “In a developing country where millions of people are devoid of the basic necessities of life and do not even have shelter, food, clothing or jobs, and are forced to sleep on pavements even in  the height of winter, and perhaps, to die no claim to a right to privacy of the nature claimed in this case, a fundamental right would lie. Any such claim…would be based on an approach which is esoteric and elitist, in the light of allegation that Aadhaar would convert India into a totalitarian state.”
                                    To put things in perspective, Venugopal asserted that right to privacy could not be bundled as a single right in a developing country like India where a few persons claiming right to privacy override the fundamental rights of 60-70 million people who did not have access to basic amenities like food and shelter. He said: “We are a poor country. In Kalahandi, a mother is forced to sell her girl child for Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 who will eventually be taken to a brothel where her privacy and bodily integrity will be taken away.” Does this confer an unfettered licence on Centre to not grant right to privacy? Can poverty be a ground to deny right to privacy to citizens?
                                     Stretching his argument further, Venugopal contended that, “Under the MNREGA scheme, the government is giving money for the work done by people through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into their bank accounts. The money now goes directly into their bank accounts after being linked to Aadhaar which they never got earlier. Even the World Bank has appreciated the effort and said that this model should be adopted by other countries.” The Bench then rightly said that, “You want to make the DBT reach the beneficiaries. It’s alright as that can be the legitimate interest of the government.” Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman was more direct in saying that, “Don’t forget the little man’s right to privacy. Everything is not Aadhaar-centric. We are going to consider all aspects and give you a comprehensive judgment for conceptual clarity of the nation.”
    
                               In this context, it would be pertinent to note that Justice RF Nariman who is a member of the Bench led by CJI JS Khehar rightly posed a question to the Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who opposed privacy being recognized as a fundamental right. Justice RF Nariman asked: “A one whole chapter in the Aadhaar Act deals with privacy interest. Is this not another legitimate recognition of it (privacy) being a fundamental right?” Earlier Justice SA Bobde wondered whether the Aadhaar Act of 2016 itself had any provisions to protect privacy. To this, Venugopal then pointed to Section 28 of the statute dealing with “security and confidentiality of information”. To this, Justice Bobde again shot back asking “So does this mean you do recognize privacy as a fundamental right?” The palpable answer is yes.    
                                      Also, I would like to point  out here that over the course of the various hearings in this landmark case, many thought provoking questions have been posed by the Supreme Court itself and they are as follows: What are the specific rights that come under the right to privacy? Does the right include family, sexual orientation, gender identity, surveillance, property, data protections, bodily integrity etc? What are the limitations that a state can pose on the right? It still remains to be seen as to what exactly the Supreme Court finally rules on this as the decision has been reserved. But one thing is clear: It is not so easy to answer all these with precision!        
                                                                                                  
                                             Challenging the stand of the Centre and States, senior advocate and former Law Minister Kapil Sibal appearing for Opposition-ruled States of West Bengal, Karnataka, Punjab and Union Territory of Chandigarh said that in this day and age the need for privacy is all the more essential considering the fact how technological advancement can allow State and non-State actors to pervade into private space of individuals. He said that, “Privacy cannot be an absolute right. But it is a Fundamental Right. This court needs to strike a balance. In the light of technological development, the court should take a fresh look on the Right to Privacy and its contours in the modern day.” He was supported by senior advocates Gopal Subramanium, Arvind Datar, Shyam Divan and Anand Grover who urged the Court to lay down privacy to be at the core of the Constitutionally recognized principles of liberty and dignity, and hence a fundamental right. No doubt, they argued exceptionally well to push forward their point.
                                  Truly speaking, the Bench then did ask the petitioners that if privacy essentially was liberty, then why distinguish it as a fundamental right. The Bench understood privacy to fall into three zones – intimate, private and public, and said that Government control would increase from the first to the last zone. Senior counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan who appeared for the think tank Centre for Civil Society raised the point about apps. He said that, “When we use an app, it asks us whether it can access the contact list, pictures etc and we invariably say yes. Thus, we are waiving our privacy. But if we raise privacy to the status of a fundamental right, it cannot be waived”. A valid point.
                                             It may be recalled here that an eight-Judge Bench comprising the then Chief Justice Mehar Chand Mahajan and Justices B Jagannadhadas, Ghulam Hasan, Natwarlal H Bhagwati, TL Venkatarama Aiyyar, BK Mukherjea, Sundhi Ranjan Das and Vivian Bose in MP Sharma & Others v Satish Chandra, District Magistrate, Delhi & Others [1954 SCR 1077] dated March 15, 1954, it was held that, “A power of search and seizure is, in any system of jurisprudence, an overriding power of the State for the protection of social security and that power is necessarily regulated by law. When the Constitution makers have thought fit not to subject such regulation to constitutional limitations by recognition of the fundamental right to privacy, analogous to the American Fourth Amendment, there is no justification for importing into it, a totally different fundamental right by some process of strained construction.” Privacy was not recognized as a fundamental right.
                            Similarly in Kharak Singh v The State of UP & Others [1964 1 SCR 332] dated December 18, 1962, the writ petition was adjudicated by a six-Judge Bench comprising the then Chief Justice Bhuvaneshwar P Sinha and Justices N Rajagopala Ayyangar, Syed Jaffer Imam, K Subbarao, JC Shah and JR Mudholkar , the Bench struck down Clause (b) – domiciliary visits at night – of Regulation 236, but upheld the rest. The Bench also held that, “The right of privacy is not a guaranteed right under our Constitution, and therefore the attempt to ascertain the movements of an individual is merely a manner in which privacy is invaded and is not an infringement of a fundamental right guaranteed in Part III (fundamental rights).”
                                         In this case the petitioner Kharak Singh was challaned in a case of dacoity, but was released as there was no evidence against him. Uttar Pradesh Police subsequently opened a “history sheet” against him and brought him under “surveillance”. This was done in exercise of the powers under Chapter XX of the Uttar Pradesh Police Regulations. Regulation 236 authorised six measures of “surveillance”: (a) secret picketing of the house or approaches to the house of suspects; (b) domiciliary visits at night; (c) through periodic inquiries by officers not below the rank of Sub-Inspector into repute, habits, associations, income, expenses and occupation; (d) reporting by constables and chaukidars of movements and absence from home; (e) verification of movements and absences by means of inquiry slips; and (f) collection and record on a history sheet of all information bearing on conduct.
                                            In his writ petition, Kharak Singh had challenged the constitutional validity of Chapter XX, and the powers conferred upon police officials thereunder on the ground that they violated his fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(d) – right to freedom of movement – and Article 21 – protection of life and personal liberty. In this case also privacy was not declared to be a fundamental right.   
                                                            But in a later case a three Judge Bench verdict in 1975 in Gobind v State of Madhya Pradesh [(1975) 2 SCC 148] it was held that right to privacy was a fundamental right and this was followed by Supreme Court Benches over the last 40 years! In PUCL v Union of India, [(1997) 1 SCC 301], it was held by Apex Court that Courts can proceed on a case by case basis to determine which rights come under the aspects of privacy and which don’t. Justice J Chelameswar of Supreme Court said: “In a Republic founded on a written Constitution, it is difficult to accept there is no fundamental right to privacy…There is a battery of judgments saying privacy is a fundamental right. We have to give serious thought to this question.”                          
                                          Truth be told, Justice DY Chandrachud cautioned that “those adjudicating on privacy must ensure that our quest for innovation is not stifled”. Intervening during the arguments by senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, who appeared for the Gujarat government, Justice Chandrachud aptly said that, “We are a knowledge-based society and privacy cannot be raised to a level where we stifle innovation. Innovation in India is happening in services…data.” He also said that for understanding individual privacy, it would be helpful to envisage three zones – intimate, private and public. In the intimate zone, which encompasses family, personal relationships etc, state interference will be minimal. The second was the private zone where an individual shares personal data with others, like on the social media or for using a service.”
                             Elaborating further, it must be pointed out that Justice DY Chandrachud set out the tentative thought process and drew support from Justice RF Nariman. He said, “The first zone could be the most intimate zone of privacy concerning marriage, sexuality, relations with family and the law should frown upon any intrusion. The state could still intrude into this intimate zone in extraordinary circumstances provided it met stringent norms.”
                             The Bench also elucidated further that, “The second zone would be the private zone, which involved parting of personal data by use of credit card, social networking platforms, income tax declarations. In this sphere, sharing of personal data by an individual will be used only for the purpose for which it is shared by an individual. The third is the public zone where privacy protection requires minimal regulations. Here, the personal data shared will not mean the right to privacy is surrendered. The individual will retain his privacy to body and mind”. This clearly implies that the right to privacy may not be unfettered.   
                                    Needless to say, Justice Chandrachud also sought to make it clear that, “The data so submitted must be used only for the purpose for which it is given”. He added that, “When a person goes from zone one to zone three, the privacy right remains. When it is balanced against state interests, that state interests will have to satisfy the tests of that zone.” There can be no denying it.
                                        As it turned out, Dwivedi said his point was that everything depended on circumstances and hence it would be sufficient if tested on a case-by-case basis, instead of making it a fundamental right. He also said the discussions on privacy will also have to take note of large corporations outside India “which are more powerful that the Indian state” and controlling the information flow. He also wanted to know that, “How does one control Google which has servers outside India?”
                                        Let me bring out here that to this Justice DY Chandrachud answered that, “Yes, you are right that privacy as a practical notion has broken down to a large extent. But let us not use that argument to defeat privacy as a Constitutional notion.” The Bench also realized the difficulty in straitjacket interpretation of constitutional status of right to privacy, it being linked to liberty which has visible footprints on several fundamental rights guaranteed in Part-III of the Constitution.
                                  Let me also bring out here that Justice Chandrachud said, “We are dealing with an issue that has an impact on what constituted India as a powerhouse for growth of service sector. The analysis of choices and personal preferences of 1.4 billion and the analysis of this generates demand in the service sector. In defining the right to privacy, we must keep in mind this critical sector which depends on personal data of Indians using a particular service.” There is a great risk of personal information falling into the hands of private players and service providers. On this, Justice Chandrachud rightly said: “I don’t want the state to pass on my personal information to some 2,000 service provider who will send me Whatsapp message offering cosmetics and air conditioners…That is our area of concern. Personal details turn into vital commercial information for private service providers.” As both the government and service providers collect personal data, the chances of data leakage become increasingly more!
                                     It also cannot be missed out here that when the Bench was emphasizing on the sacrosanct tag attached to the right to privacy in the US Constitution, Rakesh Dwivedi while arguing for Gujarat government said that, “If right to privacy was so sanctified in the US Constitution, how could US forces invade privacy of a house (in Pakistan) to eliminate Osama bin Laden? Privacy is a fluid term incapable of being defined, for it changes contours depending on situations.”
                                Not stopping here, Dwivedi also asked that, “If privacy is intrinsic to many fundamental rights, where is the necessity of defining it as a standalone fundamental right? Can the SC fathom all hues of privacy to present it as a homogeneous right capable of standing alone and aloof from other fundamental rights.” It remains to be seen as to what the Apex Court finally rules on this. All factors will have to be taken into account and Apex Court will certainly do this and deliver a very landmark decision that will be always read very curiously.
                                   Be it also noted, senior advocate CA Sundaram appearing for the Maharashtra government while asserting that privacy would always take a back seat to securing basic needs of people quipped: “What is better, two square meals or right to privacy?” Pat came the reply by Bench that people’s economic rights could never be a ground to undermine fundamental rights. Justice DY Chandrachud rightly asked: “Does it mean the cherished constitutional rights are subservient to certain economic developments? Can two square meals be promised in return for barring people from protesting, forming association or giving up other fundamental rights? This can never be. We must guard against this tendency.” Absolutely right!
                                       Justice J Chelameswar also said on the same lines as that of Justice DY Chandrachud while observing that, “It is a very cruel choice one can give to citizens – two square meals or right to privacy.” Justice RF Nariman also questioned that, “In the era when personal liberty and fundamental rights are being given a wider meaning, how can you argue for contracting the width of fundamental rights?” Sundaram sought to repeatedly clarify that he was not against right to privacy as a statutory right. He said that, “Privacy is, in fact, protected by several statutes in several forms, be it Indian Post Office Act, Aadhaar Act, Income Tax Act or others. I am all for statutory protection to privacy. But, giving it a homogeneous shape as right to privacy and introducing as a standalone fundamental right would not be proper. It was one thing for the Supreme Court to interpret an existing fundamental right to rule that right to privacy was part of it, but quite another to rule it as a standalone fundamental right. The Supreme Court must remember that interpretational route to specify a right is far apart from introducing right to privacy in the Constitution despite the Constitution-makers specifically considering, debating and then rejecting it. Parliament alone can consider, debate and elevate a common law right as fundamental right in the Constitution not the Supreme Court.”
                                     When the Bench pointed out that India had an obligation to respect the right to privacy as it had signed the UN declaration on Human rights, Sundaram said India’s obligation to respect international treaty mandates was under Article 61 of Directive Principles of the Constitution, which was not an enforceable right.” Appearing for Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the petitioners apprehension that personal data collected for Aadhaar would be used by the government to track activities of citizens is unfounded. He argued that, “Aadhaar Act is an exemplary piece of legislation that protects personal data zealously and punishes data leakage. The personal data protection regime is so stringent that even if the government attempts to know where Aadhaar card has been used, it would be able to get only general data which would not pinpoint the location of the citizen. If a person opens bank account, the government would come to know which bank the citizen has opened the account but not the branch location.”                    
                                          All said and done, Government has every right to promote Digital India but it should not come at cost of citizens privacy being fully breached! Government must come up with a strong law protecting data privacy so that citizens don’t always live in the shadow of fear of their privacy being breached! In this context, Justice DY Chandrachud rightly pointed out that, “There is no denying that it [Aadhaar] is a social welfare scheme, but you [the government] must first concede that the state is obliged to put a robust personal data protection mechanism in place. There may be a billion Aadhaar card holders. I don’t want the state to pass on my personal information to some 2,000 service providers who will send me Whatsapp messages offering cosmetics and air conditioners… That is our area of concern. Personal details turn into vital commercial information for service providers. Have you got a robust protection mechanism?”  Also, it has to be borne in mind that privacy is not just about Aadhaar or data protection alone, it’s about allowing people to make free choices like what to eat, what to drink, whom to marry, right not to be disturbed of sleep by loud speakers etc and not violating their right not to be coerced what they don’t like. I have not even an iota of doubt that the Supreme Court will soon pronounce the right and a very landmark judgment on this so important issue concerning us all which it has reserved now to be decided later!  

SC Very Rightly Gives Bail To Lt Col Shrikant Purohit

It is the worst travesty of justice that a serving Army officer – Lt Colonel Shrikant Purohit with impeccable track record of more than 14 years before he was wrongly framed in 2008 by those as a “terrorist” who didn’t like his going after terrorists who were planning to carry out the Mumbai terror attack as we saw also on 26/11! For being an upright officer what he got in reward was more than 9 years in jail and custodial torture to the extent that we can’t even dream of and yet even till now charges have not been framed against him! This is because there was no “hard evidence” against him and ATS with connivance of a senior Army officer spared no opportunity to implicate him falsely!
SC Very Rightly Gives Bail To Lt Col Shrikant Purohit
                                            I am sorry to say but his plight is worse than even Kulbhushan Jadhav who too was wrongly implicated as a terrorist but this happened in Pakistan and not in India which is his own country!  Not one or two or seven but seventy six Army officers who had served with him earlier testified to his being an upright and committed officer but India trusted Mumbai ATS who are notorious for wrongly implicating innocents and here they didn’t spare even an honest and committed Army officer like Lt Colonel Shrikant Purohit! What has happened with Lt Colonel Purohit should not happen even with a terrorist!
                                          Even Nasik Police Chief whose jurisdiction extended to Malegaon had commended Lt Col Purohit for actively working to expose terrorists funded directly from Pakistan! Can all this be dismissed lightly? NIA too it must be said with dismay has not crowned itself with glory by keeping quiet for 9 years which is a very long time!
                                          Is it a coincidence that Mumbai terror attack of 26/11 happened just months after his arrest? Why such a senior Army officer was treated so shabbily? Why was he wrongly framed as a terrorist without any valid reason?
                                       More intriguingly, why when he was working to expose those who supported terrorism locally was he himself arrested, tortured and branded a terrorist and for 9 years not a single evidence was produced before any court? All this must be investigated impartially and truth must come out! The bold Army officer who was the only one to help Mumbai ATS in falsely implicating Lt Colonel Purohit and get him arrested breaking all norms and who has not produced a single shred of evidence in any court even after 9 years must be taken to task and not allowed to go scot free!
                                                  Let me be direct in asking: Who will compensate him for the 9 years that he, his wife and his children have suffered endlessly? There can be no compensation that can compensate for the terrible sufferings he and his family had to undergo! His wife and children had to hear “She is a wife of terrorist and they are children of terrorist”!
                                   I am sorry to say but even Army has not held his hand when he needed it most to which he was fully entitled also thus letting him down most unfairly and this is the worst tragedy! However, I am extremely happy to note that one of the most reputed and trustworthy lawyer of our country who is also a former Solicitor General – Harish Salve who recently took up Kulbhushan Jadhav case at ICJ in Hague and defended it successfully has taken up his case and here too has got him bail!
                                             I had not even an iota of doubt in my mind that finally Lt Col Shrikant Purohit would get bail from the highest court of our nation even though the lower courts disappointed him. After being in jail for nearly nine years Supreme Court ultimately decided to release Lt Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit from jail on bail in the 2008 Malegaon blast case in which seven people had died and about 100 injured. There were many things that ultimately worked in Lt Col Purohit’s favour.
                                               Writer Madhu Kishwar tweeted “Thankfully Col Purohit finally got bail. His imprisonment is one of the most dangerous games played by the Congress to protect Pakistan backed terror groups”. After getting bail, Lt Col Purohit merely said that, “I do not want to say anything now about politics. I would not like to comment anything on the investigation as the matter is sub judice. All I want to say is that I remain a simple soldier who loves his uniform and the Indian Army. I thank the Army for standing by me.”
                                    We all must ask: Why for nearly nine years a serving army officer of the armed forces and that too of the intelligence wing was made to suffer all sorts of humiliation along with jail and yet not even chargesheet has been filed against him leave alone trial being started! Is this the way a nation treats its officers? What message is being sent to future aspirants who want to join the Indian Army?
                                         It must be asked: If there was an open and shut case against him as those who arrested him projected then why after nine years they have not been able to even file a  chargesheet and why they have not produced any evidence before the court? How can any person leave alone army officer be made to wear the tag of a terrorist without giving him any opportunity to defend himself in last nine years? Why the Mumbai ATS did not frame charges for 9 years if they had evidence to prove that Lt Colonel Purohit is a terrorist? Why RDX was planted in his house as NIA alleged?
                                           It must also be asked: How long will police keep the nation waiting? Who will be responsible if it is found that there is no evidence against Purohit and others? Why a UN report which mentioned that a Pakistan based terror group was responsible for the terror attack yet Purohit who as intelligence officer was providing information on terrorist was himself implicated instead? Why no evidence has been produced against him?
                          May I ask here: Why even earlier a bench of Supreme Court comprising of Justices FMI Kalifulla and Abhay Manohar Sapre said that, “There was no concrete evidence to show their involvement in any other criminal case and the trial court should decide their bail plea on merit, preferably within one month”? Was it just for fun that two Judges and that too serving judges of our highest court – Supreme Court are saying that there was no concrete evidence to show their involvement in any other criminal case? Why Supreme Court said there was considerable doubt about the involvement of those charged under the MCOCA?
                                        May I also ask here: Why trial court didn’t decide their bail plea nearly nine years back and why Lt Col Purohit was made to suffer along with Sadhvi Pragya Thakur in jail where their health deteriorated thus grossly violating their legal rights? What was the compelling circumstance that police decided to keep a serving army officer of the rank of Lt Colonel in jail for nearly nine years without producing any evidence against him in any court? Why even the Court of Inquiry (CoI) conducted by Army found Lt Col Purohit not guilty as Harish Salve rightly pointed out? This itself proves that there is more to it than meets the eye and his arrest along with others was done as part of a grand political conspiracy to keep the ruling elite happy and to be on their right side!             
                                       It also must be asked: Why for nearly nine years Lt Colonel Purohit was not shown even the army documents which he had a right to see? Why it is that only  after the ex Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar  himself personally intervened to make it clear that the main accused in the Malegaon and Samjhauta blasts, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, would be given access to documents he had sought to enable him to prove his innocence? Why was he denied even his basic legal right for such a long time? Who were those army officers who didn’t want that he should be shown any documents and why? They must explain!
                                         Why RSN Singh a retired officer of RAW whom again we keep listening in various news channels talking always about our national interests writes in his cover story titled “Col Purohit : A Victim Of Hindu Terror Industry” published in Uday India magazine dated March 22, 2014 that, “It is a travesty to paint Purohit as the Indian Osama Bin Laden. Going by the selective and flip-flop leaks by the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra, and the manner in which the media is lapping it up, it appears that there is a concerted bid to make an ‘Osama bin Laden’ out of Lt Col Purohit, and prove that Sadhvi Pragya and her accomplices are the new ‘Hindu jihadis’. The credulity of the general public is being stretched on various scores. Firstly, the speed at which fresh revelations are being disseminated by the ATS, is in complete disregard to professional propriety. Secondly, the unprecedented number of narco tests the accused are being subjected to. Thirdly, there is a total blankout with regard to the version of the accused. Fourthly, with every passing day, the network is being enlarged; as if to suggest that the entire country is being consumed by ‘Hindu terrorism’, and has pan-Indian dimension. Fifthly, if intercepts of some of the accused were available prior to the blasts, why were no pre-emptive measures taken? Sixthly, no army representative has been included in the interrogation team. Seventhly, the most intriguing aspect is the timing of the investigations—on the eve of elections.”
                                                  Garima Aggarwal in her enlightening editorial titled “Colonel Purohit’s Case – Did UPA  Manufacture Political Conspiracy Of Hindu Terror” dated August 24, 2017 in Hindu Post rightly points out that, “The history of this case reflects how an accused can actually be tortured crossing all boundaries of Human Rights and can end up serving more jail term than actually prescribed by law as punishment for a certain crime (if proven). There are more than a dozen accused in this case, and it can be fairly concluded that most others must have been tortured too. Another major accused, Sadhvi Pragya has already been given bail. Sadhvi Pragya had disclosed parts of her torture story mentioning the cruelties that she went through that have rendered her spine permanently damaged. Colonel Purohit had an exemplary performance record. He was a top notch intelligence officer, and this is clear from this report. He had created an effective intelligence network and was probably gathering the kind of intelligence that was beyond the expectations of various in the army and politics. It may never be known but it can be logically speculated that it may have been any of his intelligence inputs, either regarding the fake currency racket or the extent to which Dawood and ISI had penetrated our systems / organizations, or Kashmiri terrorists travelling in the cars of politicians, which may have led to his incarceration in this case. The way it all began is in itself a story of great injustice and the detention was actually illegal to begin with. Not only his movement order  paper was hidden from him, the first violence in the custody was carried out by none other than a fellow military officer, Colonel Shrivastav. Colonel Purohit was told that he was to go to Delhi but later he was diverted to Mumbai and wasn’t even allowed to inform a single member of his family. In fact, Colonel Purohit filed RTI application to understand the rules and procedures of how and who can modify the travel orders. But the information that came about was not satisfying going by the old reports. The fact that he was a serving officer at that time was not paid heed to, he was bluffed and taken to Mumbai and what followed there was a series of severe torture. Madhu Kishwar, founder of Manushi.in had interviewed Col Purohit’s wife, who had narrated the kind of torture he went through. From 29th Oct 2008 to 4th Nov 2008, Col Purohit was illegally detained and severely tortured. The pattern was repeating itself, Sadhvi Pragya too had said that she was illegally detained from 10th Oct 2008 to 23rd Oct 2008 and was severely tortured. This detailed report carries various statements, letters and complaints by Colonel Purohit himself, here is an extract of how he himself explains the start of the torture :
“I was interrogated by this combined team for almost two hours on the night of 29/30 Oct 2008. Till then all the members of interrogating team was talking to me with a respect deserved by an army officer. After initial two hours of questioning, it was Colonel Shrivastav (Director Military Intelligence – 9) who suddenly sprung from his chair and initiated a brutal physical assault on me. He slapped me on my face at will and continued slapping me and started kicking me all over the body with his shoes on. Colonel R K Shrivastav then started pulling my hair on head and chest as well. At this stage the other interrogators, including the Indian Police Service cadre officers of Anti Terrorism Squad and Intelligence Bureau officers, joined him in physically assaulting me. My face was totally swollen then. Colonel R K Shrivastav’s actions of physical assault on me made the Police and Intelligence Bureau officers shed their inhibition of carrying out physical torture of mine, a serving army officer. Colonel R K Shrivastav then stood on my feet and legs as I was tied to a chair and inhumanly started twisting my nipples and my private parts (genitals) with all his strength. Colonel Shrivastav once again started hitting me on my face and even boxing me with tight fists on my back. Colonel Shrivastav was holding and pulling my hair on head while the other Indian Police Service officers tortured me. I was in absolute state of shock and totally shattered by this physical assault carried out by Colonel R K Shrivastav, (Director Military Intelligence – 9). This nightmare of physical assaults hitting, slapping, twisting of private parts, tying me to a chair, standing on my legs, feet coupled with dirtiest possible abuses on my mother, wife and sister continued unabated. After four days of continuous beating and torture, on 02 Nov 2008, Colonel Shrivastav ordered the Police to handcuff me. This was breach of privilege for a serving army officer and it was not police officers but insistence of Col Shrivastav which caused the same. I was handcuffed and remained in that condition till 04 Nov 2008. The sequence of beating and brutal torture was intermittently on with Colonel Shrivastav abusing me about my mother, wife and sister. He kept on threatening me that if I don’t own up my involvement in the Malegaon Bomb Blast, he (Colonel Shrivastav) would strip my mother, wife and sister and make them parade naked in front of me. Police officially arrested me on 05 Nov 2008.” After this, the case shifted from one investigation agency to another, without a final charge sheet and trial never began for more than 8 long years. In fact, after this illegal detention, when Col Purohit was checked in military hospital, the reports mentioned permanent damage to his knees, his knee reconstruction surgery had fallen apart because of torture, parts of his hands had lost sensation because of nerve damage. One more essential link in this case, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, still awaits bail. He was a registered intelligence operator which Col Purohit had cultivated. He was accused of keeping RDX at his home which was allegedly supplied by Purohit. I have had various discussions with the lawyer of Sudhakar Chaturvedi over last 2 years, needless to say that he was also tortured like all other accused. However, not only this detailed report on Manushi.in explains how other army personnel caught the planting of RDX at Sudhakar’s house, there are other witnesses also who later claimed that they were coerced to give statements that Maharashtra ATS sought. There were very serious allegations raised by Col Purohit’s wife, Aparna Purohit that she was also severely humiliated and threatened of dire consequences by Hemant Karkare and Col Shrivastav to give ‘required’ statements. Another serious allegation was that Col Purohit was pressurized into making a confessional video (probably passed on as narco tests going by old news reports, it seems mostly lead by Tehelka & Times Now then, a lot of such news pages have gone into archives / proxy servers now), which was shared with media without first testifying the confession in front of a magistrate. Most of the idea of ‘Hindutva Terror’ and Col Purohit being guilty was based on Swami Aseemanand’s ‘confession’, from which he retracted more than once later. Below is the short jaw-dropping interview of Colonel Purohit by NewsX, where he says ‘torture is a sober word for what he was put through’, and throws light on various other aspects of the case. No wonder his knee reconstruction surgery ( done before his arrest in 2008) fell apart, he says that he was suspended from horizontal bars and stretched on opposite sides  : Two major things that glaringly point out that this narrative of ‘Hindu Terror’ may have a political conspiracy manufactured by UPA, under Sonia Gandhi in center and Sharad Pawar in state of Maharashtra are, the illegal detention and severe torture.  It must be noted that several Muslim accused in Malegaon Blasts 2006 were acquitted in April 2016 because both the NIA and Court said that there was no suficient evidence to implicate them. They spent 10 years in jail, but nobody was illegally detained and went missing for days, nor were they tortured like Colonel Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya and others. Who can forget that Sharad Pawar openly took ‘credit’ for coining ‘Hindu Terror’ in a political speech in 2009!”  
                                            Here it must be said:  What Lt Col Purohit’s family is bearing and what he himself is bearing that only they themselves can understand best! Punish them with the strictest punishment if they are terrorists but facts on ground indicate otherwise! I have not seen one Army Officer speaking against Lt Col Purohit till now openly in any news channel not even that Army Officer who it is alleged was hands-in-glove with Mumbai ATS in falsely implicating him because of the personal grudge that he held against him! Why this stony, deafening silence? It is because there is no strong case against him!
                                       During the hearing, senior advocate and former Solicitor General Harish Salve who just some months back had successfully defended Kulbhushan Jadhav in ICJ said that he has been in jail for the past nine years but charges have still not been framed against him! He said the MCOCA charge has already been dropped against him and therefore he is entitled to get interim bail! Our whole judicial system should be ashamed that a serving Army Officer is designated a terrorist by Mumbai ATS but for last nine years no charges have been framed against him! This itself is the strongest testimony to prove that how strong case Mumbai ATS has against Lt Col Purohit!
                                To put things in perspective, while seeking bail in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, Lt Col Shrikant Purohit made it clear to the Supreme Court that he was caught in a “political crossfire” and was falsely implicated. But the NIA while opposing his plea accused him of running Abhinav Bharat which NIA alleged is an outfit promoting fundamentalism and unlawful activities. One is tempted to ask here: Is Abhinav Bharat an unlawful organisation? 
                                Lt Col Purohit’s senior counsel Harish Salve contended that the officer attended meetings of Abhinav Bharat as an “Army mole” and was not involved in terrorist activities. He rightly said that there were “big holes” in the probe which is why another accused Pragya Singh Thakur was granted bail. Harish Salve made a strong case for bail to be granted to Lt Col Purohit by pointing out that, “My client has been in jail for nine years but charges have not been framed. Since 2001, he has got numerous recommendations (as intelligence officer). I am not asking for discharge but give interim bail after nine years of incarceration till framing of charges in the case.”  He also pointed out that Purohit had informed seniors about inputs that he received from the meetings of Abhinav Bharat and there were infirmities in the probe conducted by the Maharashtra ATS and NIA. Why was all this overlooked?  
                                       As it turned out, the Supreme Court also while granting bail noted that there were glaring contradictions between the positions of Maharashtra’s Anti Terrorism Squad and the National Investigating Agency (NIA) about his role. A Bench of Justices RK Agrawal and AM Sapre were unanimous in concluding that, “Keeping in view the fact that NIA’s supplementary chargesheet is at variance with the chargesheet filed by ATS and that the trial is likely to take a long time and Purohit has been in prison for about eight years and eight months, we are of the considered view that Purohit has made out a prima facie case for release on bail and we deem it appropriate to enlarge him on bail.”    
                                   The Bench also said that, “At the stage of granting bail, a detailed examination of evidence and elaborate documentation of the merits of the case has not to be undertaken. The grant or denial (of bail) is regulated, to a large extent, by the facts and circumstances of each particular case. But at the same time, right to bail is not to be denied merely because of the sentiments of the community against the accused.” No one can dispute this!
                                       The Bench also pointed out that, “Liberty of a citizen is undoubtedly important, but this is to balance with the security of the community. A balance is required to be maintained between the personal liberty of the accused and the investigational rights of the agency. It must result in minimum interference with the personal liberty of the accused and the right of the agency to investigate the case.”
                                       Be it noted, the Supreme Court also ordered him to appear before the trial court as and when summoned, make himself available for investigation by the NIA, not influence witnesses directly or indirectly, surrender his passport and not leave the country without the trial court’s prior permission. The Court asked Purohit to furnish a personal security of Rs 1 lakh, two additional sureties of the same amount. But the Apex Court also clarified that bail to Purohit would not automatically entitle other accused to get bail and said their applications would be decided on merit.
                                    Salve said that the NIA chargesheet had virtually absolved his client and the High Court of Bombay had erred in holding that the Court of Inquiry (COI) documents could not be relied upon at the stage of bail. Why could the COI documents not be relied upon? COI was conducted properly as per rules and regulations and no rule was broken anywhere in conducting it!
     
                                         Not stopping here, Harish Salve said on behalf of his client that, “The allegation against me is that I supplied explosive material on the conspiracy hatched by Sadhvi Pragya Thakur. Now if she is enlarged on bail and given a clean chit by the NIA, then the link between me and her is snapped.” Bombay High Court on April 25 had given bail to Sadhvi Pragya who was the main accused and who headed Abhinav Bharat but rejected his plea even though he was just an “Army Mole”! Why this glaring disparity?
                                          While arguing brilliantly, Harish Salve said the Maharashtra ATS mentioned in its charge sheet that he had attended the meetings of Abhinav Bharat. Going forward, Salve asked: “Yes, I attended certain meetings, but as a military mole. I was doing my duty. The court says it will look into the ATS chargesheet at the stage of trial and refuses interim bail even as charges are not framed against me. What kind of criminal justice system is this?” Very rightly said! Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur who was also a co-accused and headed meetings of Abhinav Bharat was granted bail by Bombay High Court but Lt Colonel Purohit who attended meeting as “Army Mole” was refused bail even after nine years! This is really atrocious!
                                     Why bail to a Sadhvi but not to a serving Army officer with more than 14 years of distinguished service who even got Army Chief’s commendation card for the bravery he demonstrated in various military intelligence operations in Kashmir? Even Nasik Police Commissioner – Himanshu in whose jurisdiction Malegaon comes had commended and lauded Lt Col Purohit for penetrating into terrorist outfits cadre and providing him valuable inputs that helped him in checking terror outfits carrying out more terror attacks! Salve also rightly pointed out that, “My client has got himself caught in political crossfire. He has been in jail for nine years but still he is serving in the Indian Army. Since 2001, he has got numerous recommendations for infiltration. From an unsung hero, he has been now called an incarcerated hero.” Most shameful!
                                   Supreme Court while granting bail also took into account what was alleged about how he was tortured. It was alleged by his wife Aparna that, “He was subjected to gruesome third-degree torture. He was beaten up and hung upside down. His feet were tied and pulled apart. All this was done to get a confession out of him. When he was produced in court he could not even walk properly. Later [on our request to the court] he was taken to the naval hospital in Colaba and a complete examination was done. The doctors said two nerves in his hand were severed. When he was serving in Jammu and Kashmir, he had suffered an injury so his knee had to be reconstructed. Those ligaments were torn again.”
                                       Think logically: If he was a terrorist would he still be serving in the Indian Army? Would he not have been dismissed? Did he not pass all information about activities of Abhinav Bharat group who allegedly masterminded Malegaon bomb blast on September 29, 2008 in which seven people were killed and about 100 injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded to his seniors? Have his seniors not testified about it? Still why he is being made the scapegoat? Why was he arrested at the first place and that too not according to proper rules?
                                       Why he was kept in illegal detention? Why was he blindfolded and taken to unknown destination and tortured mercilessly? Why was he not informed of being arrested for a terror offence and why was he deceived? Why was he brutally tortured? Why initially he was arrested for something else? Why was he taken to Khandala and brutally tortured after making him naked for many days not sparing even his penis and why that senior Army officer at whose instruction all this happened could not give any convincing reply for all this? Why was that senior Army officer not taken to task?
                                      Why 76 Army officers deposed in his favour and hailed him as an outstanding officer totally committed to his job? Why even Maj Gaurav Arya, Maj Gen GD Bakshi, Col RSN Singh of RAW Intelligence Branch and others too spoke strongly in his favour and pointed to deep conspiracy to implicate him for the role he was playing in exposing the corrupt nexus between politicians and terror outfits based in Pakistan which includes Dawood group? Why there are no material witnesses against Lt Col Purohit? Why three such witnesses who earlier claimed to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) that Purohit was integral to the conspiracy which includes one Captain Joshi backtracked when confronted by NIA and even alleged pressure and torture by ATS? Why Mumbai ATS kept on torturing him who is a serving senior rank Army officer for 9 years yet could not even file chargesheet against him?
                                     Why the report of the Court of Inquiry by the Ministry of Defence which is before the trial court now also confirming that Lt Col Purohit had briefed his superiors in the Army about details of the three Abhinav Bharat meetings that he had attended in January 2008 as he himself alleged? Why it was overlooked that Lt Col Purohit would never do so if he was really indulging in a terror conspiracy? Why NIA failed to prove that the two men who planted the bomb in September 2008 and are absconding till now – Ramji Kalsangre and Sandeep Dange were part of any meetings attended by Purohit or had any telephonic contact with him ever?
                                        Why ATS alleged that Purohit supplied RDX for blasts but NIA report showed that ATS officer planted RDX in house of one of the accused? Why that ATS officer who planted RDX has not been arrested and interrogated seriously? Does this not smell of deep conspiracy that ATS officer is himself planting RDX and ATS was trying its level best to falsely implicate him ?
                                           Most important of all, why charges have not been framed against Lt Col Purohit till now after 9 long years? Why Mumbai ATS and investigating agencies slept for 9 long years if there was an open and shut case against him? Why he with more than 14 years of distinguished service was tortured worse than a terrorist and beaten black and blue and yet could not extract anything out of him? All this must be investigated impartially and truth must come out!
                                        On a concluding note, Supreme Court very rightly granted bail to Lt Col Purohit while taking into account his otherwise unblemished track record with many citations lauding him unequivocally and giving credence to the indisputable fact that he was planted as a mole in Abhinav Bharat by Army itself and he was keeping his seniors in the loop about everything and did not hide anything! Even Nasik Police Commissioner Himanshu had thanked him for his untiring and unstinted efforts in helping them to nab many terrorists yet all this was overlooked and he was incarcerated himself as a terrorist for 9 long years and yet charges were not framed against him because all charges against him were fabricated, concocted and maliciously framed to get him hanged for being a terrorist involved in Malegaon blast case in which 7 Muslims had died and about 100 injured! I am sure that this case too will be decided on merits, not on media reports alone which left no stone unturned in wrongly branding him a Hindu terrorist about to turn India into a Hindu country without bringing out that he had been planted as a mole by the Army itself and he was briefing his seniors about everything going on! Truth will ultimately prevail!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi, A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera, Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Popular Agriculture Related Schemes of Central and State Government in India

This section provides you useful links to avail various Citizen Services being provided by the Central and State/UT Governments in India. The list, however, is not exhaustive, as we are committed to adding more and more information about other services for which citizens and other stakeholders need to interact with the Government.
Popular Agriculture Related Schemes of Central and State Government in India
Schemes related to central ministries
Central
Schemes related to state departments
State Schemes
Andaman and Nicobar Island
Andhra Pradesh
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Himachal Pradesh
Haryana
Jammu and Kashmir
Kerala
Maharashtra
Meghalaya
Manipur
Madhya Pradesh
Mizoram
Odisha
Punjab
Puducherry
Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
Tripura

Schemes for Development of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare

The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation was earlier implementing 51 schemes for development of agriculture and welfare of farmers in the country.  These schemes have recently been restructured into 5 Centrally Sponsored Missions, 5 Central Sector Schemes and 1 State Plan Scheme as given below:
Schemes for Development of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare

I.                    Centrally Sponsored Missions
1.         National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
2.         National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
3.      National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP)
4.      National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET)
5.      Mission of Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
II.                 Central Sector Schemes
6.      National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP)
7.      Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Cooperation (ISAC)
8.      Integrated Scheme for Agriculture Marketing (ISAM)
9.      Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics & Statistics (ISACE&S)
10.  Secretariat Economic Service (SES)
III.               State Plan Scheme
11.  Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY)
The schemes are constantly reviewed and evaluated at National, State and Zonal levels and taken up during meetings with States and during Zonal and National Rabi/Kharif season Conferences to identify the deficiencies in the implementation of the schemes. The deficiencies so identified are taken up with the State Governments concerned for remedial measures, viz modification of the schemes and/or its guidelines, for effective implementation.
Brief Details of Missions/Schemes
I.       Missions
1.      National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
NFSM aims to increase the production of rice, wheat, pulses and Coarse Cereals through area expansion and productivity enhancement; restoring soil fertility and productivity; creating employment opportunities; and enhancing farm level economy.  The basic strategy of the Mission is to promote and extend improved technologies, i.e., seed, micronutrients, soil amendments, integrated pest management, farm machinery and resource conservation technologies along with capacity building of farmers.
2.      National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
NMSA has been formulated to make agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient by promoting location specific integrated/Composite Farming Systems; conserve natural resources through appropriate soil and moisture conservation measures;  adopt comprehensive soil health management practices; optimize utilization of water resources through efficient water management to expand coverage for achieving ‘more crop per drop; develop capacity of farmers & stakeholders, in conjunction with other on-going Missions and pilot models in select blocks for improving productivity of rainfed farming by mainstreaming rainfed technologies.
3.      National Mission on Oil seeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP)
The Mission aims to expand area under oilseeds, harness the potential in the area/ districts of low productivity, strengthening inputs delivery mechanism, strengthening of post harvest services besides a focus on tribal areas for tree bourn oilseeds.
4.      National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (NMAET)
                        The Mission has four components viz : Sub Mission on Agriculture Extension, (SMAE)  Sub Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP),  (iii) Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) and (iv) Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine (SMPP).  The Mission aims to disseminate information and knowledge to the farming community in local language/ dialect in respect of agricultural schemes.
5.      Mission of Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
The Missions aims to promote holistic growth of horticulture sector, including bamboo and coconut through area based regionally differentiated strategies, which includes research, technology promotion, extension, post harvest management, processing    and    marketing,  in  consonance   with  comparative  advantage  of  each State/ region
and its diverse agro-climatic features; encourage aggregation of farmers into farmer groups like FIGs/FPOs and FPCs to bring economy of scale and scope; enhance horticulture production, augment farmers, income and strengthen nutritional security and improve productivity by way of quality germplasm, planting material and water use efficiency through Micro Irrigation.
II. Central Sector Schemes
1.      National Crop Insurance Scheme (NCIP)
The Scheme aims to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of crops failure as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases as also to encourage farmers to adopt progressive farming practices, high value inputs and higher technology in agriculture.
2.      Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Cooperation (ISAC)
The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance for the activities of cooperatives like agro-processing, marketing of food grains, input supply, development of weaker section cooperatives, computerization of co-operatives etc. as also to develop cooperative awareness amongst the people and to cater to the education and training requirements of cooperative personnel and State Government officials. 
3.      Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Marketing (ISAM)
The Scheme aims to to promote creation of agricultural marketing infrastructure by providing backend subsidy support to State, cooperative and private sector investments; to promote creation of scientific storage capacity and to promote pledge financing to increase farmers’ income; to promote Integrated Value Chains (confined up to the stage of primary processing only) to provide vertical integration of farmers with primary processors; to use ICT as a vehicle of extension to sensitize and orient farmers to respond to new challenges in agricultural marketing; to establish a nation-wide information network system for speedy collection and dissemination of market information and data on arrivals and prices for its efficient and timely utilization by farmers and other stake holders; to support framing of grade standards and quality certification of agricultural commodities to help farmers get better and remunerative prices for their graded produce; to catalyze private investment in setting up of agribusiness projects and thereby provide assured market to producers and strengthen backward linkages of agri-business projects with producers and their groups; and to undertake and promote training, research, education, extension and consultancy in the agri marketing sector.
                                 
4.      Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census, Economics and Statistics (ISACE&S)
    The Scheme aims to collect/ compile data of operational holdings in the country to provide aggregates for basic Agricultural Characteristics for use as the benchmark for inter-census estimates.
5.      Secretariat Economic Service (SES)
The Scheme aims to provide support and services to the employees/ officers of the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation including provision of office equipments, furniture, office accommodation, renovation of rooms, transport services, newspaper, Magazines, Publicity and Advertisement expenditure, etc.
III.  State Plan Scheme
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
    The Scheme aims to incentivize the States to increase investment in Agriculture and allied sectors to achieved 4% growth in agriculture sector. The scheme is available for any agriculture activity that can increase production growth in the agriculture and allied sectors.
            This information was given today by the Minister of State for Ministry of Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan in a written reply to Lok Sabha question.

How to make agriculture a profitable sector

The agriculture sector contributed 51.9 percent to India’s GDP in 1950. Since then it has been on a downside and it currently stands at 13.9 percent. However, a change from an agrarian-centric economy to an industry-centric economy is inevitable with the advent of industries. With industries growing at a faster pace than the rate at which trees are being planted, will there be a time when agriculture’s productivity dwindles to a null? If yes, is it already here?
Living in a country where the cattle is worshipped as a goddess, about 60 percent of the population was banking on agriculture for their main source of income during the 1950s. Despite half of the population still continuing with the profession, the returns are low. While urbanisation might be cited as a reason, it is hard not to neglect the fact that agriculture is no more a profitable sector. Infrastructure costs have started running high, with its maintenance cost and capital investment only adding on to the farmers’ misery. According to an article by The Hindu, the average recovery rate of the investments made by Indian farmer is only 30 percent.
Another cause for low productivity is small holdings of land with farmers. By owning a fragmented land, effective irrigation and optimum usage of fertilisers for crops becomes difficult, thus resulting in lower yields. In India, more than two-thirds of the crops lack proper irrigational facilities, albeit India being the second largest irrigated country after China. But improper irrigation can also lead to other problems affecting yield like soil erosion, salinity, etc.
In the wake of agriculture losing its lucrative appeal, budget 2016-17 has proposed to bring 2.85 million hectares under irrigation, Rs 2,87,000 to be donated and 100 percent electrification to all villages by May 2018. The government has also announced a couple of initiatives to resolve the farmers’ plight.
Some of the recent developments in the agriculture and allied sector are enumerated below:

Launch of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana 

Farming has become an unreliable sector. Farmers are always unsure of the yield they’ll reap, but strive to draw the maximum benefits out of their investments and effort. Often farmers might be at the receiving end, with natural calamities like droughts and floods affecting their yield adversely. To resolve the problem of unpredictable nature of farming and prevent farmer suicides in the country, the Government launched PM Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana in early 2016. It’s a crop insurance policy with relaxed premium rates on the principal sum insured for farmers. Implemented with a budget of Rs 17,600 crore, this scheme will provide financial support to farmers and cover for their losses. This initiative is expected to go on floors from the next Kharif season of farming, that is from June 2016.

After green, white, and golden, it’s time for blue

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Blue Revolution in India. It’s an integrated scheme designed to increase the productivity and profitability from aquaculture and fisheries resources, inclusive of both inland and marine. With a budget of Rs 3,000 crore offered by the government for the next five years, this scheme aims to maintain an annual growth rate of six to eight percent of the agriculture and allied sector.

Government to invest Rs 221 crore to improve milk productivity

India boasts of being the largest producer of milk in the world with an annual output of 130 million tonnes. However, with a milk-producing animal population of more than 118 million, the milk yields per animal is very low. To meet the steadily growing demand for milk, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has announced 42 dairy projects, under a budget of 221 crore. These projects shall focus on improving the milk productivity of major milk-producing states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and the likes.

Energy-efficient irrigation to be implemented

A report says that in India more than two-thirds of the arable area lacks proper irrigational facilities. Taking note of this, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said that the government is planning on investing Rs 75,000 crore to provide energy-efficient irrigational facilities to farmers, over the next three to four years. Under this scheme, close to 30 million energy-saving pump sets would be given to farmers and this cost would be recovered via savings in the electricity consumed. This would result in about 46 billion kWh of power being saved and creation of 20 lakh jobs.

Launch of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana

The government has launched Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana in order to address the critical importance of soil and water for improving agricultural production. The government would support and improve the organic farming practices prevalent in India. Following cluster approach mode of farming, at least 50 farmers would form a group having 50 acres of land to implement organic farming. The government aims to cover 10,000 clusters and five lakh hectares of arable land under organic farming within three years.
Recently, the government has been active in investing in agricultural infrastructure such as irrigational facilities, mechanised farming, and warehousing. The growing use of genetically modified crops will also improve the sector’s contribution to GDP. While all of these initiatives look promising, in what way are they going to affect the current scenario is something interesting to watch out for.

Programmes & Schemes for Agriculture in India

Post-Colonial English Literature: Theory and Practice » Edupedia Publications- The Book Publisher

Post-Colonial English Literature: Theory and Practice » Edupedia Publications- The Book Publisher: Authentic, scholarly and unpublished research papers are invited from academicians and writers for publication in an edited volume. The volume will be published with an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) by Edupedia Publications Pvt Ltd, New Delhi. Authors are requested to strictly follow the submission guidelines mentioned herewith in their papers. Only electronic submission via email will be accepted for publication. The proposed title of the volume which is below may subject to change: “Post-Colonial English Literature: Theory and Practice” Submission may include but are not limited to the following post-colonial writers: South Asia: Mulk Raj Anand, Kamala Das, Nissim Ezekiel, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kamala Markandaya, Rohinton Mistry, Arundhati Roy, Michael Ondaatje, Salman Rushdie, Nayantara Sahgal, Raja Rao etc. Africa: Chinua Achebe, Nadine Gordimer, Wole Soyinka, Buchi Emecheta, Doris Lessing, V.S. Naipaul, Jean Rhys, Derek Walcott etc. Canada: Margaret Atwood, Rohinton Mistry etc. Australia: Peter Carey, A.D. Hope, David Malouf, Judith Wright etc. New Zealand: Keri Hulme, Alan Duff etc. England: Hanif Kureishi, Graham Swift, Buchi Emecheta etc. Ireland: Seamus Heaney etc.   Submission Guidelines • Manuscript must be written in English language. • File must be in Microsoft Word format (Preferably Word 2007). • Paper size: A4, Font & size: Times New Roman 12, whereas the title must be in 14 point size, bold. • Word limit: Minimum 2500 and Maximum 4000 • Abstract: 300 words • The authors will have to strictly follow MLA 7th edition in their papers. • Each manuscript must carry a self declaration that it is an original work and has not been published/ sent for publication anywhere else. • A brief bio-note of 150 words of the respective authors should be attached towards the end of the paper. Authors are requested to submit their manuscript to editor@edupediapublications.org The last date of submission: 30th October, 2017 Acceptance or rejection of the paper will be intimated within 15 days after the deadline. A publication fee of Rs. 500 will be chargeable after the selection of paper. Each contributor will get a complimentary copy.

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Romanian Military Thinking

Romanian Military Thinking

Publisher Romanian Armed Forces General Staff
E-ISSN 1842-824X
Print ISSN 1841-4451
URL http://www.mapn.ro/smg/gmr/Engleza/
Chief Editor Dr. Mircea TANASE
Contact email Mirceatanase2003@yahoo.com
Address 110 Izvor street, sector 5, zip 050564, Bucharest, Romania Phone:+40214104040 Fax: +40213195663
Country Romania
Impact Factor Or Status Awaiting
Journal Description
Military Theory and Science Journal Archive: http://www.mapn.ro/smg/gmr/arhiva_rmt.php
Journal Language
English
Accessibility Type (Free/Paid)
Free
Area of Specialization
Military Theory and Science Journal
Starting Year of the Journal
1864
Online Availability (Yes/No)
Yes
Content Accessibility (Full Text/Abstract/ Table of Content)
Full Text
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Aceh International Journal of Science and Technology

Aceh International Journal of Science and Technology

Publisher Graduate School of Syiah Kuala University
E-ISSN No
Print ISSN 2088-9860
URL http://jurnal.unsyiah.ac.id/AIJST
Chief Editor Sugianto, Ph. D Syiah Kuala University, Aceh – Indonesia
Contact email journal.aijst@unsyiah.net
Address Graduate School of Syiah Kuala University Kopelma Darussalam, Banda Aceh 23111, Aceh, Indonesia. Phone: 62-(0)651- 7407659. E-mail: journal.aijst@unsyiah.net Editor in chief: Sugianto, Ph. D Syiah Kuala University, Aceh – Indonesia journal.aijst@unsyiah.net Or muchlisinza@aijst.pps.unsyiah.ac.id Managing Editor Prof. Z.A. Muchlisin , Ph. D Applied Ichthyology – Faculty of Marine and Fisheries, Syiah Kuala University. Faculty of Marine and Fisheries Syiah Kuala University, Indonesia Kopelma Darussalam, Banda Aceh 23111, Aceh, Indonesia Email: muchlisinza@unsyiah.ac.id Support Contact Achmad muhadjier Phone: 085260912084 Email: achmad.muhadjier@gmail.com
Country Indonesia
Impact Factor Or Status 0.35
Journal Description
The journal is published by Graduate School of Syiah Kuala University (PPs Unsyiah) and Indonesian Soil Science Association (Himpunan Ilmu Tanah Indonesia, Korda Aceh). It is devoted to identifying, mapping, understanding, and interpreting new trends and patterns in science & technology development especially within Asian countries as well as other parts of the world. The journal endeavors to highlight science & technology development from different perspectives. The aim is to promote a broader dissemination of the results of scholarly endeavors into a broader subject of knowledge and practices and to establish an effective means of communication among academic and research institutions, policy makers, government agencies and persons concerned with the complex issue of science & technology development. The Journal is a peer-reviewed journal. The acceptance decision is made based upon an independent review process supported by rigorous processes, provides constructive and prompt evaluations of submitted manuscripts, ensuring that only intellectual and scholarly work of the greatest contribution and highest significance is published.
Journal Language
English
Accessibility Type (Free/Paid)
Free
Area of Specialization
Engineering and Sciences
Starting Year of the Journal
2012
Online Availability (Yes/No)
Yes
Content Accessibility (Full Text/Abstract/ Table of Content)
Full Text
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PhytoChem

PhytoChem

Publisher POSL Laboratory
E-ISSN 2170-1768
Print ISSN 2170-1768
URL http://pcbsj.webs.com/
Chief Editor Pr Cheriti Abdelkrim
Contact email phytochem07@yahoo.fr
Address Phytochemistry & Organic Synthesis Laboratory 08000; Algeria
Country Algeria
Impact Factor Or Status 0.43
Journal Description
PhytoChem & BioSub Journal (PCBS Journal) is a peer-reviewed research journal published by Phytochemistry & Organic Synthesis Laboratory. The PCBS Journal publishes innovative research papers, reviews, mini-reviews, short communications and technical notes that contribute significantly to further the scientific knowledge related to the field of Phytochemistry & Bioactives Substances (Medicinal Plants, Ethnopharmacology, Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry, Natural products, Analytical Chemistry, Organic Synthesis, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Computational Chemistry, Molecular Drug Design, Pharmaceutical Analysis, Pharmacy Practice, Quality Assurance, Microbiology, Bioactivity and Biotechnology of Pharmaceutical Interest )
Journal Language
English
Accessibility Type (Free/Paid)
Free
Area of Specialization
Phytochemistry
Starting Year of the Journal
2007
Online Availability (Yes/No)
Yes
Content Accessibility (Full Text/Abstract/ Table of Content)
Full Text and Abstract
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International Journal of Bioassays

International Journal of Bioassays

Publisher Dr. Varaprasad
E-ISSN 2278-778X
Print ISSN –
URL https://ijbio.com
Chief Editor Dr. Varaprasad Bobbarala
Contact email dr.prasad@hotmail.com
Address # 36-92-248/23, Sreenivasa Nagar, Kancharapalem, Visakhapatnam-530 008, Andhrapradesh, India.
Country India
Impact Factor Or Status Awaiting
Journal Description
International Journal of Bioassays [ISSN:2278-778X] is an Open access, Peer-reviewed monthly journal, circulated all over the world through different indexing agencies, Ulrichs Web, DOAJ, CAS, CiteFactor, WorldCat, Indian Science, ScienceCentral, Google Scholar, The Asian Education Index, Scientific Commons, Electronic Journal Library, Index Copernicus, New Jour, Electronic Journals WZB, Research gate etc…. Int. J. Bioassays aims to publish, full-length original Research Articles (RA), Short Communications (SC), Reviews (RevArt), Case Studies (CS) and Letters To Editor (LTE) in the areas of Ayurveda, Chemistry, Medical Sciences and Life Sciences, Botany, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Phytochemistry, Evolution and Ecology, Genetics, Immunology, Medical research, Molecular Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Systems Biology) Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biochemistry. This journal content is reviewed by most prominent experts in the respective field. Manuscripts with high quality will be published without delay. Highlights: Rapid publication system with precise review process Guaranteed paper acceptance / comments / rejection within a week Indexed in worldwide abstracting agencies Manuscript Submission: Authors can submit their manuscript/s prepared according to Author Guidelines and sending it to Editor In-Chief email addresses at: editor@ijbio.com and editor.ijbio@gmail.com
Journal Language
english
Accessibility Type (Free/Paid)
free
Area of Specialization
Multidisciplinary
Starting Year of the Journal
2012
Online Availability (Yes/No)
yes
Content Accessibility (Full Text/Abstract/ Table of Content)
Full
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European Journal of Molecular Biotechnology

European Journal of Molecular Biotechnology

Publisher Academic Publishing House Researcher
E-ISSN –
Print ISSN 2310-6255
URL http://ejournal8.com/en/index.html
Chief Editor Novochadov Valerii – Volgograd State University, Volgograd, Russian Federation
Contact email v.molchanova_1991@list.ru
Address 26/2 Konstitutcii, Office 6, Sochi 354000. Russia
Country Russian Federation
Impact Factor Or Status 0.34
Journal Description
The Journal publishes conference proceedings, articles and brief reports, concerning results of research in the field of Molecular Biotechnology in English language. The Editorial Board welcomes articles from both Russian and foreign researchers. This is an open access journal, which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking for prior permission from the publisher or the author. The journal is registered in the Federal Service for the Supervision of the Mass Media, Communications and the Protection of Cultural Heritage (Russia). Registration Certificate ПИ № ФС77-55114 26.08.2013.
Journal Language
English, Russian
Accessibility Type (Free/Paid)
free
Area of Specialization
Molecular Biotechnology
Starting Year of the Journal
2013
Online Availability (Yes/No)
yes
Content Accessibility (Full Text/Abstract/ Table of Content)
Full Text
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American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Publisher Science Publications
E-ISSN 1941-7039
Print ISSN 1941-7020
URL http://thescipub.com/journals/ajeas/
Chief Editor Prof. Mohammad A. S. Masoum
Contact email support@thescipub.com
Address USA S-207, 244, 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA F: +1 (866) 250 7082 E: support@thescipub.com
Country USA
Impact Factor Or Status 0.32
Journal Description
American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, an international journal publishes four times a year in print and electronic form. AJEAS is a peer reviewed technical journal publishes original research contributions and is an unparalleled resource for key advances in the field of engineering. Scope of the journal includes but not limited to applied physics and applied mathematics, automation and control, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, data engineering and software engineering, earth and environmental engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering and operations research, information technology and informatics, materials science, measurement and metrology, mechanical engineering, medical physics, power engineering, signal processing and telecommunications.
Journal Language
English
Accessibility Type (Free/Paid)
Free
Area of Specialization
Engineering and Applied Sciences
Starting Year of the Journal
2008
Online Availability (Yes/No)
Yes
Content Accessibility (Full Text/Abstract/ Table of Content)
Full Text
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