New Delhi Apr 25 PTIThe Delhi High Court on Monday sought the Centres stand on a PIL that the benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana which was introduced as a relief package for the poor in 2020 after the first COVID-19 lockdown should be extended to those who are not the subscribers of the Ujjwala scheme or possess an active Jan Dhan account A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla issued notice on the petition by Aakash Goel and asked the Centre to file its response Central government lawyer Anil Soni sought time from the court to file a status report on the matter The petitioner represented by lawyer Prashant Bhushan has claimed that the scheme is exclusionary because it leaves out of its ambit the below poverty line families who are not subscribers of the Ujjwala scheme or have an active Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana PMJDY account The grant of Rs 500 under the relief scheme was limited only to PMJDY account holders Having an active PMJDY account is a pre-requisite for availing benefit of this ex-gratia amount announced by the Union Government however this criterion is exclusionary because crores of poor women do not possess an active PMJDY account the petition stated It is further pertinent to note that the relief package granting three free gas cylinders was made available exclusively to subscribers of the Ujjwala Scheme while again arbitrarily excluding equally disadvantaged below poverty line women who were not subscribers of the said scheme it added The petitioner has argued that the classification of poor based on being PMJDY account holders or being Ujjwala subscribers is absolutely arbitrary discriminatory and devoid of reason It has further said that it is absurd that the authorities view the hardships faced by non-Ujjwala BPL households or non-PMJDY account holders as less serious than those being faced by an Ujjwala BPL households and PMJDY account holders The disbursement of relief to the people essentially belonging to same economic class and facing similar financial hardships cannot be in the absolute discretion or according to the whims and fancies of the Government It is further submitted that grant of relief under the Relief Package ought to not be allowed to become distribution of government largesse to a favoured few the petition has said It is thus prayed that a direction be issued to the authorities to conduct an identification exercise concerning the non-PMJDY account holders as well as non-Ujjwala subscribers who are eligible for the benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana package and to extend the benefits to those eligible The matter would be heard next on October 28 PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Apr 20 PTI The Delhi High court on Wednesday sought the Centres stand on a petition concerning the disclosure of information about the selection committee meetings held for the selection of the Chairperson and members of the LokpalJustice Yashwant Varma granted time to the central government counsel to seek instructions and listed the petition by activist Anjali Bhardwaj for further consideration in MayThe petitioner has challenged a January order passed on her RTI application by the Central Information Commission CIC which upheld the decision of the First Appellate Authority FAA denying the supply of the minutes of the meetings of the selection committee constituted under the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 for the selection of the Chairperson and members of the LokpalThe Central Public Information Officer CPIO of the Department of Personnel and Training DoPT had refused to provide a copy of the minutes on the ground that the authorship of such documents by high-level dignitaries did not vest in the DoPT and that the same had been shared as secret documentsThe petitioner represented by lawyer Prashant Bhushan has contended that withholding information related to the selection of the Lokpal chairperson and members is against the letter and spirit of the Lokpal Act and the RTI Act as the purpose of the ombudsman legislation is to enhance accountability in the functioning of public offices and to effectively contain and punish acts of corruptionThe petitioner has submitted that the access to information can be rejected only on the grounds mentioned in the RTI Act and there is no basis to deny the information sought merely because the authorship vests in high-level dignitaries and not in the public authority or because some document is shared as secretThe petition has further said that transparency in appointment to such oversight bodies is a crucial safeguard against arbitrariness and ensures their independent functioningThe impugned order negates the peoples fundamental right to information regarding the functioning of the State and all its instrumentalities as has been recognized as part of Article 19 I a of the Constitution of India Transparency is the most important value for the functioning of a healthy democracy the petition claimedIt added that the denial of information in the present case is in complete violation of the RTI Act and the principles of transparency in the selection process PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Apr 20 PTIThe Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the Centres stand on public interest litigation seeking the constitution of an expert committee for the realisation of the promises made by India at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC in 2021 A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla asked the Centre to file a status report on the plea by lawyer Rohit Madan who has asserted that it is the Indian governments duty to honour its international commitments Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma appearing for the Centre said that the Union India is alive to the issue raised in the petition and has already set up several committees such as the Prime Ministers Council on Climate Change which is focusing on meeting the international obligations In the petition filed through lawyer Akshay R the petitioner has said that like several other countries India made certain commitments during the 2021 UNFCCC in Glasgow also known as COP-26 which included reaching 500GW non-fossil capacity by 2030 fulfilling 50 of energy requirements from renewable sources by 2030 etc and the same must be fulfilled These commitments were made before a formal international forum of which India is also a member and a signatory These commitments involve a shift to renewable and green energy from current coal-based energy All businesses in India will have to adjust their practices and make necessary changes anticipating the shift The State is bound by the promises it made and must deliver on the same the petition said It is the petitioners concern that the commitments should not be lost with efflux of time and groundwork needs to be laid down to avoid any delay To meet such deadline which is only eight years away groundwork needs to be laid down immediately and coordinated action has to be undertaken by various departments of Government of India In view of the commitment made by India to reduce its carbon footprint by 2030 by 50 per cent and reduce the energy consumption and dependency on fossil fuels by 2030 a clear roadmap needs to be prepared now considering the fact that fossil fuels still dominate our energy needs the petition said The petitioner has thus prayed for the constitution of a committee of eminent jurists technical experts management experts who can propose suggestions for taking all measures including any legislative amendments for following up on the promises made in COP 26 The committee should be tasked with laying out a roadmap for achieving the commitments and keeping an oversight on its implementation the plea has stated The matter would be heard next on July 27 PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Sep 30 PTI The Delhi High Court Thursday sought the Centres response on a plea challenging the appointment of Sujan R Chinoy as Director General of Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis MP-IDSA A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Director Appointments Committee of the Cabinet Ministry of Personnel Public Grievances and Pensions as well as MP-IDSA and the incumbent Director General on the public interest litigation PIL by lawyer Subhash Chandran KR Additional Solicitor General ASG Chetan Sharma appearing for the Centre opposed the petition and said the challenge is being mounted two years and eight after the appointment Let the reply come If it is a hopeless useless matter it will go away with costs Chief Justice Patel said The petitioner has alleged that the institute did not follow the norms required for a public appointment which is an act of lawlessness cutting at the very root of the strict mandate of Articles 14 and 16 of the constitution The guiding principles with respect to the appointment of Chief Executives in autonomous organizations clearly stipulates that it has to be carried out by a Search-cum-Selection Committee should mandatorily include at least one outside expert of eminence from the field and it is also mandated that the committee should also include the Chief Executive of the autonomous institution unless the selection is for the Chief Executive himself and none of these criteria has been met in the appointment of Respondent No2 the petition reads The respondent no 2 was never known to be in any entity in the field of Defence studies and analysis throughout his career in foreign services it is further alleged It is argued that the appointment of the incumbent Director General is patently illegal mala fide arbitrary and is thus liable to be set aside The matter would be heard next on November 29 PTI ADS SA

New Delhi Sep 22 PTI The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought the Centres stand on a plea seeking framing of guidelines to regulate the activities of private detectives Justice Rekha Palli who was hearing a plea by a woman aggrieved by an allegedly illegal investigation carried out by a private investigator granted six weeks to the Centre to file its response and said that she was inclined to examine the issue If you Centre dont regulate today even after Puttaswamy judgement on right to privacy You have to take a balanced view You have to take care the judge observed Central government lawyer Amit Mahajan stated that the petitioner was free to take action under Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act which were applicable to any offence committed by private detectives These are professionals We cant have a guideline for everything All professionals have to follow the law There is IPC IT Act FIR or complaint can be filed he stated The court clarified that it was not going to examine any other issues raised in the plea and the petitioner was free to seek appropriate remedy in accordance with the law The counsel for the petitioner stated that a private detective shared certain personal information about his client with a foreign national after conducting an illegal investigation into life He claimed that there were several private detectives in the country operating without being subjected to any oversight He added that although a bill was introduced before the Rajya Sabha in 2007 on this aspect no progress was made ultimately The matter would be heard next on January 10 PTI ADS SA