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CPM files plea for Lokayukta in Tamil Nadu
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has moved the Madras High Court seeking to fix a time frame to establish Lokayukta in Tamil Nadu.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
CPI (M) State secretary G Ramakrishnan in his plea submitted that the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act were passed by the Parliament in 2013 in a bid to fight corruption in public offices and ensure accountability of public officials, including the Prime Minister.
Stating that Section 63 of Part III of the Act very clearly indicates that every State shall establish Lokayukta within one year from the date of commencement of the Act, the petitioner said while 20 other states have constituted Lokayukta, the TN government is yet to do so. Alleging that it is a disgrace that Tamil Nadu is yet to establish Lokaykta, Ramakrishnan said the inaction of the Government in this aspect has emboldened a large section of politicians and bureaucrats of the State to participate, promote and propagate corruption on a large scale.
He also noted that the Act came into being on December 18, 2013 and as per that, the State ought to have established Lokayukta within a period of one year, which meant that it should have come into being by December 17, 2014. But till date, setting up the ombudsman exists merely as announcements and failure to establish it is arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. The plea as an interim measure sought the court to direct the State to file a status report about the action taken so far to set up Lokayukta in the State.
CBI probe sought into milk adulteration
KT Rajenthira Balaji, Minister for Milk and Dairy Development, has accused private firms of mixing harmful chemicals to increase the shelf life of milk. Following this, an advocate has approached the Madras High Court seeking a probe into the allegation of milk adulteration. He wanted action to be initiated against adulterators if the allegations are found to be true.
A P Suryaprakasam in his plea submitted that the minister’s statement that private milk firms were using chemicals like hydrogen peroxide and chlorine capable of causing cancer in children has come as a shocker. Moreover, the minister has attributed his claim to a thorough check of packaged milk of private firms for over five months. But what is worse is that the minister despite being aware of the adulteration and vested with the powers to curtail this dangerous criminal act has failed to act.
Citing a Supreme Court order wherein “by their mere inaction they are playing with the life of citizens creating reasonable apprehension in the minds of right thinking citizens that empty threat is being made with ulterior motive,” he said and added, “It is unfortunate that the minister’s claims that milk samples have been sent to the Pune Laboratory have been refuted by the lab.”
Under such circumstances with claims and counterclaims dogging the issue and with most of the factories supplying milk located outside Tamil Nadu, it is pertinent that the CBI is asked to investigate as it pertains to public health at large, the advocate pleaded.
IIT-M director’s appointment upheld
The Madras High Court has upheld the appointment of Dr Bhaskar Ramamurthi as Director of IIT Madras, Chennai even while calling for more transparency in the shortlisting of candidates.
Justice M Sathyanarayanan, while dismissing a petition of writ of quo Warranto moved by Dr E Muralidharan to show on what authority Dr Bhaskar Ramamurthi can hold the post of the director, said, “In the considered opinion of this court the selection and appointment of Dr Bhaskar Ramamurthi to the post of the Director of IIT, Madras has been done in accordance with the provisions of the Institute of Technology Act, 1961 and Statutes.” But the judge in his order on observing that a transparent procedure should be followed in the short listing of candidates, said, “Insofar as short-listing of candidates is concerned more transparency should be in place.
In the present case out of 64 applications, five were short listed and insofar as the requirement of the person who was appointed as Director is concerned it appears to be subjective in all fairness and the Union Ministry of HRD should have put the candidates on notice as to how the short listing has been done.”
Dr Muralidharan, in his plea, had submitted that the Union Minister for HRD in his capacity as the Chairman of IIT Council took a unilateral decision and appointed Dr Bhaskar Ramamurthi without the knowledge and approval of the council and the same is in clear contravention of Section 17 (1) of the Institutes of Technology Act 1961.
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