TIMES NATION

TIMES NATION THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017

WILL REHABILITATE THOSE WHO LOSE JOBS DUE TO NEW CATTLE SALE RULES: RAJE | 16

‘NO SINGLE FORCE CAN WIN A WAR ON ITS OWN’: NAVY CHIEF URGES JOINTMANSHIP | 15

SC judges have to do this as well Iran threatens to oust desi Supervise Furniture Replacement, Security Arrangement, Chamber Allotment... Dhananjay.Mahapatra @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Within a month of coming to power, the Modi government scrapped over 50 groups of ministers (GoMs) as well as empowered GoMs (EGoMs) set up by UPA-II with the intention of injecting transparency in decision-making, but in the Supreme Court, the number of committees has spiralled over the years. The Chief Justice of India and the judges have a hands-on approach, and supervise a wide spectrum of activities — from replacement of furniture, arrangement of security, allotment of chambers to lawyers, and functioning of the court museum, to tracing the history of the SC and high courts. Given the number of committees — 39 comprising judges and 14 made up of se-

JUDGES & THE PANELS ➤ The Supreme Court has 39 panels comprising judges ➤ CJI J S Khehar heads six, including two on computerisation and use of IT in the judiciary ➤ The SC’s second most senior judge, Justice Dipak Misra, heads 6 as well, including one supervising the construction of the SC’s new building at Pragati Maidan nior officers designated as registrars — the judicial work of judges pales before the enormous administrative work each one is saddled with. The SC has a pendency of around 60,000 cases. Of the 39 panels comprising judges, CJI J S Khehar heads six, which deal with law reporting council, desir-

ability of continuance of senior officers of the SC beyond the age of 55 years, computerisation and the use of information technology in judiciary (two panels), restatement of Indian law projects that deal with studies in various aspects of law, and supervision of the functioning of the CGHS first aid post in the SC.

The SC’s most senior judge after the CJI, Justice Dipak Misra, too heads half a dozen committees, supervising the construction of the SC’s new building at Pragati Maidan, regulating purchases, welfare measures for staff and grievance redressal, allotment of lawyers chambers, sensitisation of family courts, and overseeing implementation of suggestions by the SC Bar Association. Justice J Chelameswar chairs five committees, which look after the selection of law clerks (who assist judges in research work), library, maintenance of SC transit home-cum-guest house, bringing improvement in the SC’s functioning, and one which deals with amendments to SC rules. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Madan B Lokur head four panels each, including those on promotion of SC offi-

This year to see highest-ever yield of fruit, spices, flowers & veggies TOI

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: India is likely to have the highest ever production of horticulture crops, including fruit and vegetables, in the 2016-17 crop year, ending June. The total production is estimated at 295 million tonnes, 3.2% higher than in 2015-16. The estimate shows that 2016-17 will be the fifth straight year when India’s horticulture production will outstrip that of foodgrains. The foodgrain production for 2016-17 is estimated at 273.38 million tonnes. The agriculture ministry released on Tuesday the second advance estimate for horticulture production, noting that even the area under horticulture crops had recorded an increase — from 245 lakh hectares in 2015-16 to 249 lakh

formation provided by states and Union territories, fruit production for 2016-17 is estimated at 93 million tonnes, 2.9% higher than the previous year, and vegetable yield at 175 million tonnes, 3.5% higher than the 2015-16 production. Most vegetables, including onions, potatoes and tomatoes, will The production of flowers is estimated to be around 2.9% higher than in 2015-16 record an increased production this year. Production of onions hectares in 2016-17. The second advance estimate has, is estimated at 21.6 million in fact, revised the produc- tonnes, an increase of 3% tion figure upward from the over the yield for 2015-16. Simfirst, which had put the fig- ilarly, potato production will ure at 287 million tonnes in increase from 43.4 million February. The higher pro- tonnes in 2015-16 to 46.5 milduction this year is attributed to a good monsoon in 2016. According to the ministry’s estimate, based on in-

lion tonnes — a rise of 7.2%. “During the current year, tomato production is estimated to be around 19.7 million tonnes, which is 5.1% higher than the previous year,” said the ministry. The second estimate shows that the production of flowers is estimated to be around 2.2 million tonnes, which is 2.9% higher than the previous year, while the production of aromatics & medicinal plants is estimated at around 1.03 million tonnes, marginally higher (0.8%) than the previous year. The production of spices is also likely to report an increase, estimated to be around 7.1 million tonnes, 1.3% higher than in 2015-16.

cers, accreditation of legal correspondents, SC legal services committee, expansion plan, PIL matters, mediation and conciliation project, process of scanning, digitisation and preservation of case records, and study on constitutional laws and allied subjects. Justice R K Agrawal chairs three — one that chooses furniture to be purchased for the court, another for studying pollution within the SC premises and recommending preventive measures, and the third on maintenance of the court building. Apart from these, Justice N V Ramana heads the security committee, the lone woman judge in the SC, Justice R Banumathi, heads the gender sensitisation and internal complaints committee, and Justice S A Bobde chairs a committee set up to trace the historical background of the SC and high courts.

Naik ‘seeking Malaysia citizenship’ New Delhi: Controversial preacher Zakir Naik, wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on terror charges, has applied for Malaysian citizenship, according to sources in the agency. Naik has been shifting base frequently ever since the NIA moved Interpol for a red corner notice (RCN), an international arrest warrant, against him, they said. The preacher is believed to have ‘permanent resident’ status in Malaysia. No decision has reportedly been taken so far on his citizenship application, the sources said. India is planning to use diplomatic channels to frustrate Naik’s attempts to get citizenship in any country, they added. PTI

cos from Farzad-B gas field

Hits Back At India For Plan To Cut Oil Purchase Sanjay Dutta & Sachin Parashar TNN

New Delhi: Iran has threatened to rope in Russian oil companies for developing Farzad-B, replacing the consortium of Indian state-run entities that discovered the gas field, in retaliation against New Delhi’s move to cut the purchase of Iranian oil over Tehran’s delay in awarding the block. Reports from Vienna quoted Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zanganeh saying he expected Russia to enter the field if the Indian consortium failed to come up with a satisfactory offer. Indian officials here sought to play down statements made by Iranian authorities recently, and said the two countries remained positive about India’s role in developing the offshore field. But sources said Tehran has for some time now been toying with the idea of carv-

ing the block for companies from other countries and leave a small part for the Indian consortium. While the two countries share a “cautious closeness” in the geopolitical arena, they have been in a stalemate over awarding the field since it was discovered in 2008 by a consortium led by ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas acquisitions arm of flagship explorer ONGC. India had stood by Iran

FUEL FIGHT through the sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear programme, and continued to buy its crude after securing a US waiver, citing its rising appetite for oil. The two sides have missed several deadlines to strike a deal for Farzad-B, in spite of last year’s visit to Tehran by oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan. New Delhi has blamed Iran’s flip-flop over the terms of the delay, while Teh-

ran holds the Indian consortium’s offer “unsatisfactory”. India had, in March, submitted a revised plan for developing the field, reducing the proposed investment from $4 billion earlier to $3 billion. Iran, however, is still not satisfied. As reported by TOI, miffed with the delay, New Delhi has asked its refiners to reduce oil imports from Iran by a fifth. Iran hit back by reducing the payment window from 90 days to 60 days for Indian refiners. Simultaneously, National Iranian Oil Company has also cut the discount on ocean freight it offered to Indian buyers, from 80% to nearly 60%. Iranian news agency IRNA quoted the country’s oil minister Zanganeh as saying in April that Iran was not going to respond kindly to any language of threat or intimidation. “We cannot enter deals under threats,” he was quoted as having said.

Top Himachal official in CBI net for seeking bribe TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The CBI arrested on Tuesday a joint director in the Himachal Pradesh industries department, Tilak Raj Sharma, and one more person, identified as Ashok Rana, for allegedly accepting Rs 5 lakh in bribe. The CBI claimed Sharma told the complainant that a portion of the bribe would go to the Himachal Pradesh CM’s private secretary. The agency, however, said it would verify the allegation. CBI sources said Rana act-

ed as an agent for Sharma. It has been alleged that a private pharma company, Medicef Pharma, sought a

15% capital investment subsidy, which was around Rs 50 lakh, on the purchase of new machinery. Sharma, joint director in the industries department at Baddi (HP), and Rana allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 10 lakh to clear the claim, CBI spokesperson R K Gaur said. On the complainant’s request, Rs 5 lakh was agreed upon as the first instalment, he added. Gaur said the CBI laid a trap in Chandigarh and the two accused were caught while accepting the bribe.