NEWS

The Calcutta HC said on Friday that the Central Administrative Tribunal's decision transferring former Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay's petition against the Centre from its Kolkata bench to Delhi "shocks the judicial conscience... and poses a threat to the (country's) federal structure".

A division bench comprising Justices Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Rabindranath Samanta transferred the case back to CAT's Kolkata bench and asked it to hear the case "expeditiously'. "The entire modus operandi adopted by the Union of India reeks of mala fides. It is unfortunate that the CAT's principal bench nurtured (those) efforts, paying obeisance to the diktat of the Union of India," the order said, stressing that the SC and various HCs had repeatedly said the Union government could not be treated as a "favoured litigant".

Noting that its order to ban polluting firecrackers is not being implemented by state governments and the fireworks are still being manufactured and sold, the Supreme Court on Friday said top bureaucrats, including chief secretaries and police commissioners, shall be held personally liable for violation of its order in "true spirit and in toto".

Ahead of the festive season, a bench of Justices M R Shah and A S Bopanna warned any violation of its order would be taken very seriously and said it is the duty of all the states and state agencies to see that directions issued by the court are strictly complied with.

"No authority can be permitted the violation of the directions issued by this Court and permit banned firecrackers under the guise of celebration. Celebration cannot be at the cost of the other's health. Under the guise of celebration, nobody can be permitted to infringe the right to health of others...(under Article 21)...and nobody can be permitted to play with the lives of others, more particularly senior citizens and children," the court said.

Whether it is the BJP, Congress or Aam Aadmi Party, dadagiri from Delhi simply cannot be tolerated, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Friday calling for greater unity and a strong union of states with a strong federal structure.

Banerjee lashed out at her critics who have accused the Trinamool Congress of trying to split the opposition vote in order to favour the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2022 state assembly polls.

“Delhi’s dadagiri has to stop. Goa should stand on its own feet and we will help it fight. We will make a system, mechanism (for it),” Banerjee said.

All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) in a letter to R K Singh, Union power minister on Thursday has expressed concern that electricity cost may increase at least by 30% due to the blending of imported coal with domestic coal.

Notably, the Union ministry of power has advised all the coal-based thermal generating stations to maintain adequate coal-stock according to their obligations.

In the case of domestic coal shortage,the generators can blend the imported coal up to 15% with domestic coal, to meet the increased power demand in the country.