The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that no citizen should be deprived of any benefit or service for not possessing Aadhaar card, which the Centre claimed was voluntary.
Passing an interim order, a bench of Justices B S Chauhan and S A Bobde also directed that Aadhaar card should not be issued to illegal migrants as it could be linked with certain advantages for residents of the country.
Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran and Additional Solicitor General L Nageswara Rao insisted that no interim order was required in the matter since Aadhaar was not a proof of citizenship.
They also contended that Aadhaar was purely a voluntary scheme.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by Justice K S Puttaswamy, a retired judge of the Karnataka High Court challenging the legal validity of the Aadhaar scheme.
The petition raised questions not only over the government's authority to implement the scheme, but also highlighted the perils in the manner of its implementation, including distributing it to illegal migrants.
"You cannot give it to an illegal migrant. Do you verify the details before you issue an Aadhaar card to a person? Don't you verify whether the person is an Indian or not? We should clarify that Aadhaar card cannot be issued to an illegal migrant. The card has its own advantages," the bench said.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior counsel Anil Divan pointed out that the government claimed that Aadhaar was voluntary but different states had embarked upon making it compulsory for a range of formalities, including marriage registration, disbursal of salaries and provident fund, among other public services.
He also pointed out that the Bombay High Court registrar had issued a notification directing court employees to have Aadhaar card for the purposes of disbursal of employment-related benefits.
On this, the court said an interim order was required in the matter. It brushed aside the opposition by the law officers.
The bench said, "We are also saying the same thing that you said, besides asking you not to issue Aadhaar to illegal migrants."
The court also asked the senior counsel to make categorical request if any state government decided to link transfer of a particular scheme with Aadhaar card.
Can we not track it using radio collars, manage or monitor who is going in and out using this technology ? Why the ambiguity that it "could have crossed from KA"...
Read on....
Hosur (Krishnagiri): Bringing back horrors of the Veerappan reign, the carcass of an eight-year-old tusker was found in the Anchetty reserve forest in Krishnagiri district on Saturday morning, riddled with bullets, its tusks sliced off. Forest officials suspect that the elephant was shot dead by poachers from Karnataka a few days ago.
Forest bandit Veerappan had ruled over the Sathyamangalam forests in Erode district poaching several hundred elephants for their ivory. But, after the slaying of Veerappan in 2004, there have been few instances, if none at all, of elephants killed for their tusks.
"We got a tip-off about the elephant death on Saturday morning and visited the spot," said Krishnagiri district forest officer A K Ulaganathan. "The body had been spotted at Yanai Vizhuntha Maduvu in Keratti forest in Anchetty. As it is located deep in the forest, our officials could reach the spot only on Saturday noon," the DFO said. The poachers had fired shots at the elephant's forehead, killing it perhaps instantly. "The poachers could be involved in poaching for many years. This is evident from the manner in which they have sliced off its tusks. It is a clean job," Ulaganathan said.
Based on preliminary investigations, forest officials believe that the poachers could have been from Karnataka. Later, forest veterinarians conducted the post-mortem examination at the spot and buried the carcass in the forest area.
Suspecting the involvement of local villagers, the DFO has initiated an inquiry. "Based on information, we have picked up five villagers from Anchetty for questioning," said a forest department official on condition of anonymity. As news about the five men being held for questioning spread, about 500 Anchetty villagers laid siege to the forest office in the hamlet. "Our villagers are innocent and they don't have any links with the poachers," said K Pasavappa. The villagers blocked the Anchetty-Hosur state highway for a few hours. Forest officials warned mediapersons against photographing or taking videos of the elephant carcass.
A M Shudhagar
The carcass of the eight-year-old elephant was found in the Anchetty reserve forest, riddled with bullets and tusks sliced off
Forest officials suspect that the poachers who killed the elephant could have crossed over from Karnataka
A 14-year-old boy was trampled to death at Dodda Maranahalli in Tavarekere police limits on Sunday morning.
The victim was identified as Karthick. He was a class VII student at Government Primary school at Dodda Maranahalli and was the youngest son of Srinivas and Vasanthamma, both workers at a brick kiln.
Police said the village was buzzing with the news that a wild elephant had been spotted in the fields on the outskirts of the village. An official said as it was a holiday a gang of young boys gathered in the fields to catch a glimpse of the elephant.
One of the boys who was with Karthick told police that while others were standing some distance away, Karthick reportedly held the elephant's tail and tried to pull it. The elephant lost cool and kicked the boy.
He said they were shocked to see the turn of events and fled the spot. Karthick also tried to flee. However he fell into a ditch. The jumbo trampled him in the ditch. The boy died on the spot.
Villagers soon gathered in the fields. Though they tried to spot the elephant, it was nowhere to be seen. The villagers soon alerted the local police and the forest department. The police and forest officials scoured the entire area for the elephant. It was spotted at an abandoned bungalow nearby by late afternoon.
All efforts of the police and forest department staff to move it out failed. It went towards Thippagondanahalli dam towards evening and stayed there for some time. Later, it went towards the Savanadurga forest.
"The officials have driven the tusker back to Savanadurga forest. We do not know how it strayed out of the herd," said PCCF, Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden G S Prabhu. He said that the department would get cracking on measures to ensure safety o.........
Obtaining new LPG domestic connections has become a lot easier. Ration cards are now no longer mandatory to get new connections in the state.
Both state government and oil marketing companies — IOC, HPCL and BPCL — have recently directed all LPG agencies not to push for ration cards for sanctioning new connections.
Instead, ration cards will be considered one of the identity proofs, Know Your Customer (KYC) documents.
But one has to submit the Revenue Register number (RR number) mentioned in the monthly power bill to get a connection.
The state government in 2004 made it mandatory to submit ration cards to get an LPG connection. This was done to prevent people from misusing ration cards to get both LPG cylinders and kerosene, which are highly subsidised. People are entitled to either of the fuels.
With ration card distribution becoming a mess, gullible people used to face a tough time obtaining new LPG connections.
"Now there is no need for ration cards to get new connections. RR number and one of the KYC documents are enough. All the agencies have been given a direction in this regard," said IOC Deputy General Manager (LPG) Dilip Rai....
MYSORE: Kabini, Dharmaraya and Nakula are restless and screaming. They are trying hard to free themselves - and getting hurt. Thick ropes around their legs and necks tightly bind the 20-month-old calves to tree trunks. The Sunkadakatte forest camp, in Nagarahole National Park, 50km from Mysore, is watching an elephant vs man struggle.
It is Wednesday, August 28, the beginning of a journey that will culminate in the pomp of Mysore Dasara. The mahouts complain the calves aren't enjoying the 'special food' - a substitute for milk - given to them. How will they? They need mother's milk. And they have been weaned away from their mothers.
The mothers have been chosen for jamboo savari, the Dasara's flagship event. The separation, however, is traumatic for calves and mothers. "Don't we feel bad if we are separated from our parents?'' asks the mahout Rama. "If you don't tie the calves, they won't listen,'' says an elephant handler. Calves typically feed on mother's milk for around four years.
After the painful separation, Varalakshmi (Dharmaraya's mother) and Sarala (Kabini's mother), along with Arjuna, Dharmaraya and Abhimanyu, are chained and loaded onto a truck to be taken to Mysore. There is a brief stopover at Veeranahosalli, in HD Kote, where the animals alight for a ceremony.
All five elephants are decked up while minister V Srinivasa Prasad and an entourage of politicians and bureaucrats perform a puja. After the function, the journey resumes. They party reaches Mysore by evening and is joined by Gajendra, an elephant who has come from the K Gudi camp. All six elephants are then chained and tied firmly to trees.
Sarala and Varalakshmi don't eat much. "It takes at least five days before they adjust to the changed environment. Till then, they eat less,'' says Rama. The elephants spend another day chained to the trees before they are taken to Mysore Palace for another puja.
It's Friday, August 30. Another batch of eight elephants will join them in a few days. The mahouts, their families and the elephants will remain in the palace premises till October 15, a day after the jamboo savari.
Elephants can put on up to 700 extra kilos when they are on a special diet. In 2012, Arjuna's weight (the elephant carried the golden howdah) went up by 250 kilos, from 5,520 to 5,770, in two months.
Veterinarian DN Nagaraj, who has monitored Dasara elephants for 13 years, says the animals lose weight after they return to the forest camps. To reduce the impact of the sudden change in diet, the forest department continues the special food at camps too.
It's the 750-kg golden howdah and the elephant chosen to carry it that is the centre of attention. And controversy. For over a month four elephants, all in chains, are trained to carry the howdah. They are also trained to live with the sound and smell of gunshots (a 21-gun salute is offered on Vijayadashami). A howdah and other paraphernalia, like cloth and thread, weigh more than a tonne.
As the ropes are tied tightly, the elephants get abrasions and swellings. To alleviate the pain, the animals are given medication and massage. And, once the jamboo savari is over, they are given whisky. "We dip bread in the whisky and feed it. It helps reduce body pain,'' says Dodda Masti, Arjuna's mahout. Arjuna carried the howdah last year and is the hot favorite this year too.
Elephant specialist Ajay Desai says the elephant's backbone is not geared to carry such things. "You cannot put 1 tonne on a 4-tonne animal. It's a criminal act,'' he fumes. A task force led by elephant expert and IISc scientist Raman Sukumar had suggested a lighter howdah. The state cabinet invoked tradition and rejected the recommendation.
"Where is the question of culture or tradition here? Historically, the maharajas rode in the howdah. When we have gotten rid of the maharajas, why should this be continued?'' asks Desai. Elephant-lovers like him are pinning their hopes on the Karnataka high court, which has served a notice to the government about reducing the weight of the howdah.
Desai and Sukumar are only showing us the other side of Dasara and how we can help make it an elephant-friendly occasion.
