Sunil Goel's Blog

HC quashes FIR against Russian photojournalist Ms.Olga Timoshik

2012-01-28T04:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,
Its a matter of pride for me personally to inform that the FIR against Russian photojournalist Ms. Olga Timoshik has been quashed yesterday by the Punjab & Haryana High Court on a writ petition prepared by me. This girl's story of torture for last more than 2 years during which she was implicated in a criminal case in punjab and accused of being a russian spy and forbidden from going back to russia is like a tale from a bollywood blockbuster. I am very happy for her. Its a proud feeling.....
Log in to the news here : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120128/punjab.htm
HC quashes FIR against Russian photojournalist

Lokpal Bill 2011

2011-12-28T23:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Today 29.12.2011 is historic day for India. The Lokpal & Lokayukta Bill 2011 (Bill No.134) has been passed by Indian Lok Sabha on 27.12.2011 and the same will be debated throughout the day today in Rajya Sabha. It remains to be seen whether this Bill will be passd by the Rajya Sabha also in its present form.

This Bill has generated lots of controversy forcing Anna Hazare to sit on fast and dharna. I am sure we all are curious to know as to what are the contents of this Bill.

The text of the Bill as passd by Lok Sabha and as introduced in Rajya Sabha, is available with me. Those interested may send request.

Sunil Goel advocateB.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

Indian Supreme Court lift ban on Hindi movie Aarakshan directed by Prakash Jha

2011-08-28T03:59:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, those of you who are interested in reading the text of Hon'ble Supreme Courts judgment dated 19.8.2011 whereby the Supreme Court lifted ban on exhibition of hindi movie AARAKSHAN in state of UP may log on to http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/imgs.aspx

A Bench of Justice M.K.Sharma and Anil Dave set aside the order passed by State of UP whereby the State Government had imposed ban on release of the said hindi film movie in the State.

Sunil Goel advocateB.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

National Heritage Trek Expedition in Udhampur District, Jammu & Kashmir

2011-06-10T06:31:00.000-07:00

Trek to Pancheri - Sankri Devta - Natha Top – Sanasar – Patnitop - Gauri Kund - Shudh Mahadev - Mantalai in Jammu & Kashmir
By Sunil Goel with YHAI from 28 May to 4th June 2011

28th May 2011 Saturday
I, my cousins Kamal and Anshul started from our home in Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi at about 7.30 pm with our ruck-sacks resting on our back. We boarded Metro Train from Punjabi Bagh and got down at Kashmere Gate station. From there, we took an auto and reached the Bus Operators shops near LalQuila. Bought bus tickets for Jammu from Solanki Travels, Shop No.26 (they charged Rs.2500/- for 2 sleeper berth and Rs.1000/- for a seat). They transported us, alongwith 6-7 other passengers, in a matador jeep to a spot in Wazirabad where the buses were parked. We boarded the sleeper coach bus. It was a big bus having several births for sleeping and several seats for sitting. This was my first experience to travel in a bus having sleeping facility.
The bus started at about 9 pm from Wazirabad. There was huge traffic within Delhi (probably due to Saturday) and it took more than an hour to come out of Delhi itself. The bus stopped for dinner on the way at Kurekshetra at about 1.30 am in the night. Thereafter, the bus continued its journey to Jammu.

29th May 2011 Sunday
The bus reached Jammu bus stand at about 10 am. We got down there (the bus was going to Katra and our tickets were also valid till Katra). We spotted a good looking restaurant (Khana Khazana) nearby on the road itself. We were feeling hungry and it was already 10 am. We freshen up in the restaurant itself and took breakfast.
At about 11 am, we took another bus from there for Udhampur. It cost us Rs.40/- per person. The bus waited for the bus to be filled in by passengers. During this time, the hawkers came one by one in the bus and displayed their items. One hawker was selling one chain with ring for just Rs.10/-. Another hawker was selling a small equipment for juice extraction directly from juicy fruits for just Rs.20/- ! I was surprised by their marketing skills.
The bus proceeded to Udhampur via Nagrota village. After about 15 km from Jammu, there was a spot where there was diversion : one way was going to Katra and other way was going to Udhampur.
At about 1.30 pm, our bus reached Udhampur. We got down at ARTO, near Devak (1/2 km short of Udhampur bus stand). It was hot and humid here and we were disturbed by this fact as we had expected pleasant / cold weather here. We walked about 2 minutes to our base camp which was housed in community hall, Devak (across nalla). Greeted by incharge/cook Pawan Sharma (cell: 9697137409, 9697137206). He belongs to village Landhar near village Pancheri. He served us with lunch. Thereafter, Mr. Vikas Sharma (camp leader) (cell : 9419918283) arrived. He is from Deptt. of Youth & Sports and is a volunteer here. We submitted our YHAI forms to him and paid fees of Rs.2500/- per person. Kamal and Anshul took YHAI ruck-sacks on rent of Rs.25/- each. I decided to carry my own ruck sack brought by me. We met fellow participants. They were Mr. Sudhir Bagade (Asst. Professor in SNDT College, Mumbai, cell : 09869374600) and 7 school students of Class VIII from some Jammu School (at Ghordi) accompanied with their teacher Mr. Vishwand Singh (09858022829).
At about 3.30 pm, we 12 persons with guide Mr. Jagdish Lal Sharma boarded a bus from the road and started our journey to Pancheri. The route was dotted with Chir trees. Local people extract resin from it. I could notice cut in down arrow shape in several trees with a metal sheet at the bottom of arrow and the resin through sheet getting collected in container tied below.
At about 5.45 pm, we reached Village Pancheri. Met guide Mr.Rakesh there (he is teacher in some local school). We got down from the bus there (the bus was going ahead to Village Lander). Pancheri is a hill resort / village perched with Deodar forest on one side and a small hilltop township on the other. We came down from the road to the village for sightseeing and walked about 2 km to reach Dak Bangla (Forest Rest House). It was vast meadow surrounded by gigantic Deodar trees. On the way, Mohd. Shafi, Head constable from Pancheri police station JK Police was deputed to escort us through the next phase of the trek. After enjoying there, we returned back to the road.
At about 7 pm, we started our climb from Pancheri to Sankri Devta. It was getting dark. It started drizzling accompanied with thundershowers. Seeing this, we increased our speed to avoid getting wet on a difficult terrain having no shelter and with weather becoming darker and darker. Few hundred meters short of Sankri, it got windy accompanied with lightening.
At about 8.15 pm, we reached Sankri Devta camp. It was housed in a small school building. There was a small shop for biscuits etc. Sankri Devta is famous as the abode of Lord Shiva. Our accommodation was arranged in the community hall which was recently constructed and resembled like a 2 star hotel. The camp leader was one Gopal who was a locale. The electricity had just went off due to high velocity winds and downpour. We were served with tea and pakora. Another participant Mr. Shubhendu Konar (Software engineer from Bangalore, cell : 09741392422) joined us there at about 9 pm. The weather became pleasant. At 10.30 pm, we were served dinner. It was simple nutritious food : rice, potato/paneer, salad, chapati. We all moved to big room in the community hall building for sleeping. There were 10 beds. There were also 10 mattresses placed on floor. All these were provided with blankets. We slept on beds, children slept on mattresses on floor. There were 4 attached toilets and 4 attached bathrooms. The weather got cold outside. There was thunderstorm, hailstorm and rains accompanied with high velocity winds in the night at 1 am. Nature’s fury was at its worst. However, we made ourself cozy inside the blankets.

30th May 2011 Monday : Sankri Devta to Natha top
At 6.15 am in the morning, I got up. I went to the terrace and enjoyed the view of the valley all around. I got freshen up, heated the water on the gas, shaved and took bath. There were intermittent rains. Took photos at Sankri Devta mandir in the compound. Then we took breakfast.
At about 9 am, we 13 participants accompanied by Mohd Shafi (J&K police Head constable) and Mr.Kuldeep Singh (guide) started from Sankri Devta for our next camp at Natha Top. It was a strenuous and hard trek : hard, because it was a fairly long trek and we were not mentally prepared for it. The trek from Sankri Devta to Natha Top was about 22 km ! The entire route was up down up down. There were some breathtaking views, meadows on the way. We filled our bottles with water on the way. There was underground natural water source at one or two places on the way. We took packed lunch on way at about 1.30 p.m. There was no place for shelter on the way. I was wearing half sleeve t-shirt. Due to intensity of sun rays, I suffered sun burn on my arms and face. Once should always wear full sleeve t-shirt and proper hat to avoid sun rays on the face. About 2 km before the Nath top camp, I and kamal gave our ruck sacks to the guide as we were not able to move further with rucksacks.
By the time we reached Natha Top camp at about 5 pm, we all were totally tired and exhausted. Natha top is the highest point of this trek and is at a height of 2648 meters or say 9000 ft above sea level. It offers scenic views of peaks like Brahma and other surrounding peaks and valleys. There was no shop or habitation. It was a small plain area where building of Agricultural deptt was located. The tents were perched adjoining this building. There were four huge towers of mobile companies at this spot. Due to these huge towers, this point is visible from all over the J&K valley. Nearby, on the top of Natha top, there is Indian Air force installation with radars who keep an eye on the JK highway. It is an important location strategically from security point of view. We were told that it is due to this reason that the Govt. do not encourage tourist activities and hotels etc. at this place despite the fact that the weather here is more pleasant and cooler than Patnitop. This place was quite windy. The source of water was a natural source (called chashma in local language) at this spot. Even the CRPF (located 1 km away) draws water from this source through pipeline.
We changed our clothes which had become wet from inside due to sweating. We were served with tea and pakoras. The camp leader was Mr.Bittoo sharma (local school teacher). We were issued sleeping bags and blankets. We spread the blankets on the rubber sheets already lying inside the tents. We enjoyed dance of the school kids in the tent on local folk songs. At 9 pm, we were served with dinner. It was quite cold here. At about 10.30 pm, we went to sleep. I could not sleep properly as I had taken blankets which turned out to be insufficient due to too much cold in the night. The sleeping bags were of cloth (and not of nylon).

31st May 2011 Tuesday : Natha Top to Sanasar
I got up at 5 am in the morning. Since it is the highest point, the sun rays had already started kissing this area. We all went a little down amidst shrubs to answer the call of nature. I took bath at the water point. The water felt too cold but I still braved and managed to take bath. Inspired by this, few others also mustered courage to take bath.
After taking breakfast, at about 9.45 am we started our trek for the day to the next camp at Sanasar. We were accompanied by another constable from J&K police and the camp leader. It was a downward journey. The entire route is almost on the motorable coaltar road. However, to give us some joy of trekking, we were taken through short cuts at certain places by walking through the hills / jungle /shrubs. The entire route is dotted with trees – chir, saru, kail and some deodar trees. The trees were very lofty. We suffered sun burn on this stretch also. I could feel the intensity of the sun rays.
At about 2 pm, we reached Sanasar after trekking for about 10 km. From Sanasar bus stand, it was about ¾ km walk down to our camp which comprised of tents perched amidst several cottages. Some school groups were also staying in the cottages. Near to bus stand is the building of Jawahar institute of Mountaineering (JIM). We could see several boys and girls taking training there.
We were greeted on arrival by none other than Shri KK Gandotra (cell: 09419194527), Project Director, YHAI. He was joined by the camp leader Mr.Vijay Kumar (of Jammu) (cell: 07298020420). We sat there in shade and chatted with Mr.Gandotra. There are few shops of daily utilities, snacks, fruits etc. and 2-3 dhabas there. We went to the jungle meadow on the back of our camp (basically a natural park) and took packed lunch there. Bought and ate fruits (banana, water melon).
It is a beautiful picturesque spot. The main attraction is a vast meadow amidst lofty devdar trees with mountains in the background. It reminded me of Khajjiar, another beautiful hill station in Himachal Pradesh (also called Switzerland of India). Sanasar is quite popular station here, though not as popular as Patnitop. This is probably because the road to this place is not very good and accommodation choice is very limited. Amidst the vast meadow, there is a golf course which is not being used nowadays. Till 2 years back, this place also boasted para-gliding but to some incident 2 years back, there is no para-gliding as of now here.
We went down to the vast ground / meadow and played cricket there alongwith guides and locals. Some of us also enjoyed horse riding there. There is a small lake nearby which appear to be stagnating. There were several tourists enjoying there. It appeared to me as if the whole ground was a stage and the mountains and trees at the back was stage background and we were watching the show from near huts as spectators. As the day progressed, school children of other schools calos came on to the ground and played. At 5 pm, we returned to the camp. We were served with tea and pakoras. The kitchen was erected at the back of the tents outside the complex. Suddenly, there were dark clouds and it started raining accompanies with strong winds. I and anshul put on our rain sheets and enjoyed strolling in the rains. There was hailstorm. The weather became pleasant and cooler. The electricity suddenly went off due to constant rains and wind (which could not be restored till morning). We made use of our torches. At 9 pm, we took dinner inside one of the tents as it was raining outside. We enjoyed the dish prepared from Kasrode (local vegetable grown here in plenty). The dish looked and tasted like fried ladyfinger. We felt cold. We slipped into our sleeping bags provided at this camp and went to sleep at 11 pm.

1st June 2011 Wednesday : Sanasar to Patnitop

We woke up at 5.45 am. The sun rays had already kissed the mountains around. YHAI had put up two temporary commodes in the jungle at the back of the camping complex. We answered the call of nature and got freshen up near big water tank nearby besides the wooden hut / cottage. Water is being fed into this tank from some natural source. The tank was overflowing. Everyone brushed teeth and washed hands mouth. The atmosphere was very calm and quiet with no wind flowing; we were standing in the open with just a t-shirt. I took tea and biscuits while others took breakfast. Suddenly, it started drizzling. We bid good bye to the cooking and other staff and Mr.Gandotra and walked to the bus stand.
At 8 am, we reached the bus stand. Last bus from here is at 8 am. We 13 persons got in. The bus charged Rs.10/- per person upto Patnitop. The bus went via Natha top. It started raining and frizzling on the way which continued upto Patnitop. This place is dominated by gujjars. On the way, the gujjars kept getting in to the bus. After about 5-6 km, the bus got filled to the brim by locals / gujjars with their milk containers. There was so much crowd inside that I could not even move my body. I was sitting in front near driver seat. Today, there was unusual crowd in the bus as the 7 am bus did not arrive today. I realised as to how the mobile telecom revolution has changed the lives of the people here. I could see even the bus driver talking on mobile as also the local gujjars.
At about 9.45 am, we reached Patnitop which was a 19 km road journey from Sanasar. It is a world famous hill resort and is at a height of 2024 meter above sea level. It is perched on a beautiful plateau across which Jammu Srinagar highway passes. It comprises of several meadows enveloped by thick forests of Deodar and Kail. It is managed by Patnitop Development Authority (PDA). It was still drizzling. Then it started raining. Everyone of us put on the rain coats. We walked one km upto reach the camp. The trail leading to the camp was dotted with lofty trees on both sides. The camp comprised of the tents perched up a little ahead of the Patnitop youth Hostel building. The weather became foggy and windy. It became very cold. We were allotted tents. We put our ruck sacks in the tents and spread the blankets and sat inside tents waiting for the rain to stop. The camp leader was Mr.Yashpal Mehra (from R S Pura, Jammu. Cell : 09596696770). At about 12 o’clock, when the rain stopped, we ventured out of our tents. Walked down to the children park. Shawl shops and other shops there. Then we walked about 2 km to the Green Park (GP). It is a hustling bustling point with tourists thronging this place in large numbers enjoying eateries and horse riding. The vehicles were lined up on both sides of the road. We took breakfast in a restaurant just short of hotel holiday Inn. We looked for Kaladi (sort of cheese) but could not get it in any shop. We walked inside the Park upto the apple Garden. From there, we saw good view of the entire valley. Then we came down. There are stalls of tea, paan, fruit chaat, golgappe, chole kulche etc. We walked back to the camp. Reached back the camp at about 4.30 pm. We enjoyed tea and pakoras and enjoyed chat with Yashpal Mehra. He incidentally is also the supplier of cooks and ration at other camps in this prog. We then played cricket in the open ground between our camp and Youth hostel building. We played upto 7.30 pm and had to stop playing as it became dark.
The camp leader had 5 speaker set and audio system with him. We attached our mobile to his system and played songs at loud sound and danced. At 8.15 we took dinner. After dinner, we again danced on latest songs upto 10 pm at the demand of the kids participants. Thereafter, we played cards and then went to sleep at 11.30 pm.

2nd June 2011 Thursday : Patnitop to Mantalai via Gauri Kund & Shudh Mahadev
I could not sleep properly in the night as the sleeping bag was very thin and of poor quality. It did not warm up and I felt cold throughout the night. I got up at 5 am and went outside in the jungle to answer the call of nature. Brushed teeth and washed hands and mouth. I performed pranayam for about ½ hour in the lap of nature. At 8.45 am, we were served with breakfast : Biryani and paneer subzi.
At 9.45 am, we started our journey for today to reach the next camp at Mantalai. We were accompanied by guide Mohan Lal (volunteer of Panther Party). We walked through jungle to the Green Park. From there, we trekked down to the Nag mandir. It has its historical importance and tourists visiting Patnitop often visit this temple. We further trekked down, up and down to reach Gauri kund. There is a cave here. As per the local legend, goddess Parvati prayed here for hundreds of years to please Lord Shiva to marry her. Legend has it that she used to take bath in this kund. There is a small temple here. It is managed by J&K Trust, chaired by Dr. Karn singh (MP). I took bath in the kund and then wear new clothes. The water was cold. The Patnitop to Gauri Kund trek was about 8 km.
After taking bath, we resumed our trekking. We reached the road and walked about ½ km on the road. Spotted a snack point. Sat there and took cold drinks. We took a matador (mini bus) from there and got down 3 km away at Shudh Mahadev. The bus charged Rs.4/- per passenger from us. We did darshan of the temple. This temple also has mythological importance and is connected with lord shiva and goddess parvati. It is said that a bad man Shudhant was a devotee of lord shiva but he used to tease parvati. Parvati complained to shiva. Shiva threw his trishool to kill Shudhant who got killed. Shiva realised that he was his devotee. Shiva asked him to ask for any reward. Shudhant asked to connect his name to shiva. This is how this place was started being called as Shudh Mahadev. The trishool of shiva is still lying at this place. We took lunch in a dhaba there near bus stop. I, anshul ate fruits : mango and banana. We all waited for the bus to Mantalai to come.
At 5.30 pm, the bus came. We all boarded the bus for Mantalai. The mini bus driver was kind enough to drive from village Mantalai bus stand (last stop) to our camp about 1 km down drive. It was ½ hour drive from Shudh Mahadev. The Mantalai camp was in the ashram complex of the legendry Swami Dhirendra Brahmchari (DB) who got killed in an air crash here on 9th June 1994. He established world class Yoga Centre here and was establishing world class hospital and health resort before he died in a tragic air crash here. It is spread in 1002 kanal. We met the camp leader subhash chander (teacher, local from Mantalai), cook Arjun Rana (from Jammu) and his Assistant Kulbir. Also met Vijay here who was the camp leader at Sanasar. We were given a hall (carpeting done) which was supposed to be Yoga hall but could not take shape due to untimely death of DB. We were served with tea and pakoras. Mantalai is at a height of 1450 meter above sea level. Lord Shiva was married to Goddess Parvati at this place.
At 7 pm, the camp leader and others took us for a round of the entire complex. We walked through the complex. The building in which we dtayed in hall on ground floor is a 4 storeyed building plus basement. It had a reception area. There was a lawn and even a swimming pool in the complex. There was big apple orchid. We also saw decaying and rusting cars, jeeps, trucks, road roller, JCB. There was another 6 storey structure standing there. It contained the wreckage of the aeroplane in which DB died 17 years back. Another building was meant for housing the animals : cows, buffalos, horses. Another building for their feed. One building housed transformer, DG sets. One building was DB’s residence. At the end of the complex, we came to a point from where we could see the entire valley. Very beautiful picturesque view from there. There was good landscape all around. The name of DB’s organization was Aparna : Aparna Air Ltd., Aparna Centre for scientific Yoga. This place was called Aparna Ashram. Aparna is another name of goddess Parvati. We were told that DB was one man show. His org was not professionally managed. Nobody took over the ashram after him. It is lying almost closed. The prime property is getting wasted. It was very sad. Forest Deptt, PDA, Revenue Deptt and tourism deptt are locked in litigation to acquire this property. Nobody does anything to improve this place thinking it may go to the other. This complex is also used as a throughfare by the locals for going from one place to another. Two J&K police personnel are posted at the main entry gate of the Ashram.
At 8.30 pm. We were served with the dinner. Thereafter, we played cards and went to sleep at 11.45 pm.

3rd June 2011 Friday : Mantalai to Udhampur
I woke up at 6.30 am. The 7 kids and their teacher Vishwanand were getting ready to catch 7.30 bus to Udhampur. They took breakfast and at 7.15 am, they left to board the bus by walking about 1 km to the bus stand.
We got ready leisurely as the trek was practically over. The volunteer Mr.Vijay Kumar showed as the hall on 1st floor. It houses the rare photographs of Swami Dhirendra Bharamchari (DB) with his deciples and pupils doing asanas in this ashram several years back. It also contained old articles of DB. Even the log book of the Plane M-5 9in which he died) and its electronic parts / instruments were there in this hall. It was a very good experience. We were instantly transported into the old era when this place must be bubbling with energy. This is worthy of being converted into a museum. The photos showed that once this ashram was lively and hundreds of sadhaks and sadhikas used to throng this place, live here and do yoga.
At 10.10, ater getting freshen up, we started our journey from the Mantalai camp. We walked and climbed on a small hillock to reach the Air runway track which was used by DB for landing and taking off of his planes. From there, we walked for 10 min to reach the holy Talab (Talai, in local language). In took dip in this holy water source. As per locals, Shiv Puran says that unless you take dip in this talab, your 4 dham yatra is not successful. I did darshan in the adjoining temple. We all relaxed under the tin shed sitting on beautiful benches. Mantalai is also managed by PDA.
At 11.30 am, we reached Mantalai bus stand. The beauty of this place is that from here one can see the bus coming which is actually 4-5 km away. You can even hearn the horn when the vehicle is actually 4-5 km away. This is because it’s a zigzag route in the valley. We can even see Shudh Mahadev temple from here. We waited in a small shop for the bus as it was hot and sunny outside.
At 12.30 am, the bus came. The bus are very scarce here. The bus was proceeding to Udhampur. It took its route via Shudh Mahadev (bus waited here for 20 min) and Cheneni (a bustling town here). The bus charged Rs.35/- per person from Mantalai to Udhampur.
At 3.30 pm, we reached Udhampur and got down at ARTO near our base camp. Relaxed in the base camp. Met Shri KK Gandotra, Balwan singh (Secy, YHAI, J&K), Vishal sharma. Also met 2 participants of the new group leaving tomorrow : Mr. Naphade (from Nasik) and Ms. Maanavi chauhan (from Mathura). Sat with them and enjoyed tea and pakoras.
We also called Vishwnand (who lives nearby) and at 6 pm he, me, anshul, Shubendu and Sudhir Bagade went to see the movie “READY” (starring Salman khan) released today, at Raj Theatre (Kamal rested at the base camp). We enjoyed the movie. After the movie, we walked through the market and took dinner in a good dhaba. I get shave in a saloon in the market. We walked our way to the base camp and reached at the camp at about 10.15 pm. At 11.15 pm, we went to sleep. We used the matterresses for sleeping in the hall.

4th June 2011 Saturday
We woke up at 6 am. At 7.30 am, Sudhir Bagade boarded bus for Udhampur because he has his train for Mumbai from Jammu at about 11.30 am. We accompanied him to the bus stand and see him off. I took bath and got ready. Took tea and biscuits. Shhubendu’s flight was on Tuesday 7th Junr from Delhi to Bangalore and he still had 3 days left. I suggested to him to go with the new group to Pancheri and Sankri Devta as he could not enjoy this route earlier due to darkness.
At 9.45 am, the new group (Group No.23) led by Maanavi and Naphade with 7-8 school children boarded bus for Pancheri from road outside Base camp. I, Anshul and shibendu also boarded same bus. Udhampur to Pancheri is about 37 km distance. After ½ hour, I and anshul got down on the way at Krimchi village to see the PAndava temples. One should not get down at Krimchi village bus stand. Rather, one should get down further after about 1 km from the village after crossing the forest deptt check post near a ASI board showing arrow towards Pandava temples. These temples are about 1 km on right hand side off the road. We walked to the said temples. This is a protected monument under the control of Archelogical Survey of India (www.asi.nic.in). According to legendry accounts, Raja Kichak of Mahabharta period was the creator of the town Krimchi and the kingdom and the pandavas while in exile remained there for a long period. There was no other tourist there other than we two. It was hot and sunny out there.
We walked back to the road. At about 12.15 pm, we caught a matador (mini bus) from there and got down at Udhampur near our base camp. We walked to the Singh Restaurant on the main road itself. I, anshul took breakfast/lunch and tea. It was a AC restaurant. We heaved a sigh of relief as it was very hot outside. We rested there till 2 pm. Then we walked to the bus stand to go to the ISKCON temple but could not locate it. Already feeling the brunt of the sun heat, we decided to return to the camp. Accordingly, we reached back the camp at 2.45 pm. We rested there. We took our Trek Certificates from Mr. Vikas sharma. A new grouo of school children was already there to go on trek tomorrow.
At 5.20 pm, I checked status of our train tickets. 2 out of 3 seats were confirmed thanks to my friend in the ministry. This was great news and a great relief. We hired an autorickshaw from there and reached Udhampur Railway station at 6 pm. Our berths were no.25 and 28 in Coach B1.
At 7.05 pm, the train started.
At 6.05 am, the next morning i.e. on 5th June 2011 Sunday, our train finished its journey at New Delhi Railway station. From there, we hired an auto and reached our homes at 7 am.
…. And in this manner another trek came to an end.

The author has done several treks in the past including the following :
1.Sar Pass (1991 & 1998) (YHAI)
2. Dalhousie (YHAI)
3. Nainital (YHAI)
4. Pindari Glacier (2001) (self, with CEC)
5. Goa trek (Dec 2004) (YHAI)
6. Chandrashila (June 2006) (Self)
7. Leh Ladhakh (November 2006) (self)
8. Jaisalmer trek, Rajasthan (November 2007) (YHAI)
9. Munnar trek, Kerala (January 2008) (YHAI)
10. Kedarkanth trek (Valley of Flowers) (June 2008) (YHAI)
11. Sandakphu trek (Darjeeling) (November 2009) (YHAI)

The author can be reached at :
Sunil Goel
38/7 East Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi – 110026 India
Email : sunilgoel@rediffmail.com cell : 09810215488

Hindi Movie ‘Thank You’ being released on 8th April 2011 survived court case

2011-04-08T04:43:00.000-07:00

On 4th April 2011, the Delhi High Court (Justice Gita Mittal) restrained cable operators nationwide from distributing, telecasting and broadcasting the movie ‘Thank you’ and/or otherwise infringing the copyright. The Case Suit No.821/2011 was filed by UTV Software Communications Limited. The order restricts 1,600 known cable operators and unknown persons also from telecasting the film. The SHO/superintendent of concerned police stations have also been directed to render assistance to UTV for the purpose of enforcement of the order.

It is to be noted that Piracy has been plaguing the entertainment industry for decades and is one of the biggest impediments to the growth of the business. Film piracy has reached gargantuan proportions, causing tremendous leakage in revenues of film producers. Cable operators have been exploiting the movie industry by illegally screening films on their networks almost immediately after theatrical release of a film. This decision by the Delhi High Court is a milestone judgment in tackling piracy and is expected to be a huge deterrent to cable piracy. The court's decision to grant pre-emptive relief from piracy to a plaintiff is being considered an important step forward in the ongoing battle against copyright infringement.

The film, directed by Anees Bazmee, has been produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Hari Om Productions. Releasing Friday 8th April 2011, "Thank You" stars Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Suniel Shetty, Irrfan Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Celina Jaitly and Rimmi Sen.

In another case (Suit No. 850/2011) filed by Bollywood music composer Anandji Virji Shah, the Delhi High Court (Justice Sunil Gaur) on 6.4.2011 declined to grant a stay on the release of Akshay Kumar-starrer movie. But he sought a response from the film producer. In the civil suit, the music composer has said the re-mix version of the song 'Pyaar do pyaar lo' from the movie 'Jaanbaaz', released in early eighties, has been used in the Anees Bazmee-directed movie 'Thank You' without obtaining his permission

2011-04-08T02:14:00.000-07:00

This is a blog dedicated to the cases pertaining to the Bollywood movies and artists. Watch out this space every week for latest updates. Sunil Goel advocateB.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

2011-04-08T01:06:00.001-07:00

FEMA violation case against singer Adnan Sami

2010-12-30T00:08:00.000-08:00

The Enforcement Directorate has confiscated eight flats and five car parking spaces of singer Adnan Sami in a high rise building in Mumbai and slapped a Rs 20 lakh fine on him for acquiring assets without permission of Reserve Bank of India as he was a Pakistani national. The properties, located in Oberoi Sky Garden Housing Society in posh Lokhandwala complex in suburban Andheri, were allegedly acquired by Sami in 2003 in violation of Foreign Exchange Management (acquisition and transfer of immovable property in India) Regulations, 2000. Under these regulations, any person, who is a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanisthan, China, Iran, Nepal or Bhutan cannot purchase or transfer any kind of immovable property in India without taking permission of RBI. The properties were confiscated following an order passed by Foreign Exchange Management Act adjudication authority.

Sami had purchased these properties in 2003 for Rs 2.53 crore. In 2008, he gifted five flats and three parking slots to his wife Sabah Galadari, a UAE national. Later, his relations with Sabah turned soar and she filed a divorce case against him. Sabah claimed that the flats gifted by Sami now belonged to her, although he disputed her plea in the court which declared their marriage null and void.

ED said that Sami had not taken approval of RBI to buy these properties and after acquiring them when he applied for the permission, the RBI had rejected his plea. ED claimed that while taking loans to buy properties, he had misled banks by declaring that he was an Indian national.

Sami had taken a stand before the FEMA adjudication authority that RBI had powers to grant ex-post-facto permission to acquire the properties and such an application made by him is pending before the apex court. He urged that till RBI decides his application, the authorities should not pass any order but his plea was rejected. The singer pleaded that he had taken loans from Axis bank to buy these properties and there was no question of foreign exchange violation and hence FEMA rules were not violated. He also told the FEMA adjudication forum that he had applied for Indian citizenship and his application was pending before authorities. The singer pleaded that he had got a PAN card and was paying income tax in India since last ten years. His mother was from Jammu and he had roots in India.

ED confiscated the flats saying purchase of all the properties as well as transfer of five flats and three parking slots to Sabah were illegal and violated FEMA laws.

Adnan Sami has a right to appeal before the appellate forum of FEMA i.e. appellate Tribunal foreign Exchange (ATFE) New Delhi.

Bombay High Court orders attachment of Sanjay Dutt's properties

2010-12-29T23:31:00.000-08:00

Recently, on 27.12.2010, the Bombay High Court ordered the attachment of two properties of Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt. The case appears to be like this : a film producer Mr. Shakeel Noorani in 2002 had paid Sanjay Dutt a signing amount of Rs.50 lakh for his film Jaan Ki Baazi. But Dutt failed to complete the shooting. As per the claimant Shakeel Noorani, it was only in 2008 that Dutt finally told Noorani that he will not be completing the film, causing financial losses to Noorani. This led Noorani to invoke arbitration and he filed a claim of Rs. 3.28 cr against Sanjay Dutt with the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA). In January 2010, the IMPPA passed an arbitration award in favour of Noorani. He sent the award to Sanjay Dutt and asked him to pay the amount within 90 days but Dutt failed to pay. As per Section 36 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act 1996, the Award can be executed like a decree after the time period for challenging the award (90 days + 30 days) expires. Thus, Noorani filed case No. Ex.A/972/2010 in Bombay High Court for execution of the award/decree. The execution department of the Bombay High Court issued a warrant of attachment under Civil Procedure Code against Dutt and on 27.12.2010 Tuesday the notices of attachment of his properties in Bandra and Santa Cruz were pasted on the premises by the bailiff of the Sheriff's court.

Producers of 'Dabaang' and 'Teesmaar khan' dragged to court

2010-12-25T01:55:00.000-08:00

As per some news reports, a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed by one Nutan Thakur (wife of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer) before the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on 23.12.2010 Thursday alleging obscenity in Bollywood films 'Dabangg' and 'Tees Maar Khan'.
The petition sought the deletion of popular songs 'Munni Badnaam Hui' from 'Dabangg' and 'Shiela ki Jawani' from 'Tees Maar Khan'. The PIL seeks action against 'Dabangg' producer Arbaz Khan and co-producers Malaika Arora Khan and Dhillin Mehta and also its director Abhinav Kashyap, besides 'Tees Maar Khan' producers Twinkle Khanna, Ronnie Screwvala and director Farah Khan for violating various provisions of the Indian Cinematography Act of 1952.
As per the allegations in the petition, said both the movies have 'several indecent, immoral and vulgar songs, dialogues and visual representations in total violation of sections 3(1), 4, 5(A), 5(C) and 5(E) of the Cinematography Act 1952'.
The petitioner prayed to the court to ask the Censor Board and ministry of information and broadcasting to issue directives to the filmmakers and TV channels, audio and video cassette companies etc. not to broadcast promos and songs of the films. The matter would come up for hearing on Jan 3, 2011.

2010-12-25T00:37:00.000-08:00

FAITH makes all things possible,
HOPE makes all things work,
LOVE makes all things beautiful.
May you have all the three for this Christmas.
*MERRY CHRISTMAS*

Supreme Court of India orders for fast-tracking IPR cases

2010-05-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

In a significant decision given by the Supreme Court of India recently, it has been held that the matters relating to Trademarks, copyrights and patents should be decided by the trial courts very expeditiously. This judgment is very important as it will instill sense of confidence of multinational companies in the Indian judicial system for Redressal of their grievances relating to instances of infringement and passing off of their intellectual property rights. They will have a confidence that their cases relating to IPRs would be decided expeditiously and they would not have to wait for several months and years to get a judgment in their case. The case is reported as M/s Shree Vardhman Rice & General mills vs M/s Amar Singh Chawalwala. For complete text of this judgment, you may email me at sg@sgsolicitors.com.

Supreme Court rejects petition of Reliance Natural Resources Ltd. in Ambani brothers dispute over gas from KG Basin

2010-05-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court of India today on 7.5.2010 pronounced judgment in the much awaited Reliance case titled as "Reliance Natural Resources Ltd. vs Reliance Industries Ltd. and others" SLP (Civil) No. 14997/2009 (the arguments in this case were over and matter was reserved for orders on 18.12.2009). The Supreme Court ostensibly rejected the petition of Anil Ambani led Reliance Natural Resources Ltd. petition and upheld the order of Bombay High Court. The Court held that family MoU is not binding and directed RIL and RNRL to renegotiate Production Sharing Contract (PSC) within 6 weeks and to submited the renegotiated contract to the Company Court.
For the text of the judgment, you may kindly email me at sg@sgsolicitors.com

Copyright infringement alleged in the recent movie 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge'

2010-05-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

As per a news report, a controversy has erupted now regarding the movie 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge' which was released in February/March 2010, starring Ajay Devgan, Konkana Sen Sharma and Paresh Rawal. Noted novelist and write Mr.Aabid Surti has alleged that the story of the said film has been lifted from his Gujarati novel 'Bauter Varas No Babo'. He has filed a complaint with The Film Writers Association (FWA), demanding Rs.1.15 crore as compensation.
On the other hand, the film's producer said that his film is inspired not from his novel but from another acclaimed writer Sharad Joshi's short story titled 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge'.
Only time will tell who is right.

Calcutta High Court stays release of film HOUSEFUL with offending song from yesteryear blockbuster Laawaris

2010-05-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

Calcutta High Court on 29.4.2010 stayed the release of latest movie 'HOUSEFUL' with the offending song 'apni to jaise taise'. The film starring Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone. This film produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by Sajid Khan is entangled in legal controvery over its song “apni to jaise taise” which is apparently lifted and remixed from the old blockbuster Laawaris which was produced by Prakash Mehra.

Punit Mehra, son of Prakash Mehra has filed Suit No.112/2010 in Calcutta High Court against Sajid, objecting to this song and asking for removing this song from the movie on the ground that the said song was written by Prakash Mehra and he had copyright in the lyrics of said song. Earlier, music director Anandji and heirs of music director Kalyanji also filed Suit No.109/2010 claiming that producers of Housefull used the song without having any copyright. The Court (Justice Nadira Patherya) stayed the movie with said song on 29.4.2010. However, Sajid still released the movie with offending song on 30.4.2010 Friday.

On 30.4.2010, the case was mentioned before the Court and the producer, director and SAREGAMA (Music company) sought time for compliance of the stay order. They were restrained from exhibiting the said offending song in the film. As they expressed inability to stop the release in view of unavailability of the stay order, the Court directed them on 30.4.2010 to file in court on 3rd May 2010 the statement of collections made on 30th April, 1st May and 2nd May 2010.

Sunil Goel advocateB.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

Text of Judgment of Supreme Court of India in the case of Khushboo, Indian Actress

2010-05-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

The judgment given by Hon'ble Supreme Court of India on 28th April 2010 exonerating Indian actress Khushboo from all criminal charges regarding her comments on extra marital affairs is now available with me. It's a 17 page judgment. It's not possible to write 17 pages on this post. Anybody who wants the text of this judgment can email me at sg@sgsolicitors.com.

Sunil Goel advocateB.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

Supreme Court quash cases against Khushboo, Indian actress

2010-04-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court of India has yesterday quashed all criminal complaints lodged in various parts of the country few years back against South indian actress Khushboo on her remarks on extra marital affairs. The judgment was pronounced by Bench comprising chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, Justice Deepak Verma and Justice BS Chauhan. Keep watching this space for complete text of this judgment.

Sunil Goel advocateB.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

Happy New Year 2010

2009-12-31T05:02:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010 TO YOU

keep visiting the Blog for some interesting articles and news

2009-10-17T02:14:00.000-07:00

WISHING YOU ALL THE VERY BEST ON THIS JOYOUS OCCASION OF THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS.
MAY THIS DEEPAWALI BRING HAPPINESS, JOY, GOOD HEALTH, PROSPERITY AND PEACE OF MIND TO YOU AND THE FAMILY.

BEST WISHES AND REGARDS

SUNIL GOEL
Advocate
9810215488
www.sgsolicitors.com

A330 Air Frane during a trans Atlantic flight between Rio to Paris

2009-06-20T03:53:00.000-07:00

The world saw the disappearance of an A330 Air Frane during a trans Atlantic flight between Rio to Paris a few days back.Two shots taken inside the plane before it crashed. Unbelievable! Photos taken inside the GOL B 737 aircraft that was involved in a mid air collision and crashed..... A B737 had a mid air collision with the Embraer Legacy while cruising at 35,000 feet over South America . The Embraer Legacy, though seriously damaged with the winglet ripped off, managed to make a landing at a nearby airstrip in the midst of the Amazon jungle. The crew and passengers of the Embraer Legacy had no idea what they had hit. The B737however crashed, killing all crew and passengers on board.The two photos attached were apparently taken by one of the passengers in the B737, just after the collision and before the aircraft crashed. The photos were retrieved from the camera's memory stick. You will never get to see photos like this. In the first photo, there is a gaping hole in the fuselage through which you can see the tailplane and vertical fin of the aircraft. In the second photo, one of the passengers is being sucked out of the gaping hole. These photos were found in a digital Casio Z750, amidst the remains in Serra do Cachimbo. Although the camera was destroyed, the Memory Stick was recovered. Investigating the serial number of the camera, the owner was identified as Paulo G. Muller, an actor of a theatre for children known in the outskirts of Porto Alegre . It can be imagined that he was standing during the impact with the Embraer Legacy and during the turbulence, he managed to take these photos, just seconds after the tail loss the aircraft plunged. So the camera was found near the cockpit. The structural stress probably ripped the engines away, diminishing the falling speed, protecting the electronic equipment but not unfortunately the victims. Paulo Muller leaves behind two daughters, Bruna and Beatriz.
Sunil Goel advocate
B.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

Supreme Court rejects Writ Petition of Ram Gopal Varma, regarding forthcming movie 'RANN'

2009-05-27T02:53:00.000-07:00

Supreme court of India on 25.5.2009 dismissed as withdrawn the writ petition filed by Bollywood Director Ram Gopal Varma in which he had challenged the decision of Censor Board to not to grant Certificate to exhibit his forthcoming movie RANN. The Censor Board had raised objections that in the said movie, the national anthem of India has been materially tinkered with, which is not permissible under law. The Court asked him to approach the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal for relief. THe Court directed the Tribunal to decide the matter in one month. The Court made it clear that Mr. Ram Gopal Verma could approach the Supreme Court again, if he was not satisfied with the tribunal’s decision. The decision was given by a vacation Bench comprising of Justice V.S. Sirpurkar and Justice R.M. Lodha.

Justice Sirpurkar told senior counsel Arun Jaitley (who appeared for Ramgopal Varma): “We have read it. It [the national anthem] has been distorted, and it gives a totally negative sense. It seems every line of the national anthem has been filmed wrong. Nobody has any right to tinker with the national anthem. You go to the tribunal.”
In his petition, Mr. Verma said: “This song is part of a promotional film, which was submitted for certification to the Board for release on May 6. The Central Board of Film Certification, through the impugned order of May 8, has denied certification.”
He said the petition raised important questions of law: whether the impugned order takes a narrow, constricted and perverse ground of alleged distortion of the national anthem in the petitioner’s promo/song, more so when flags of such political parties as the Indian National Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party are tricolour and can be said to be distortion of the national flag?; can a song be composed in a respectful manner with the words of the national song, ‘Vande Maa Taram’ or the national anthem?; can there be a flag with the same colours as the national flag, but having other symbols in place of the Ashoka Chakra at the centre?; and can a citizen be prohibited from using the national symbol/anthem/song for artistic expression in a respectful manner?
He sought the order quashed and a directive to grant certification for the film.
(I will post the Text of the Order shortly).
Sunil Goel advocate

Supreme Court of India rejects Sanjay Dutt's application for permission to contest Lok Sabha Polls

2009-04-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

Sanjay Dutt, the famous Indian cine star was convicted by the court of Special Judge under the Arms Act in the infamous Mumbai Blast case that rocked Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, in 1990s. He filed an Appeal in Supreme Court of India against his conviction and sentence which is pending. During pendency of his appeal, he applied for bail and the Supreme Court granted him bail on 28.2.2007. Reently, Sanjay Dutt filed application in said Appeal in the Supreme Court of India praying that execution of the order of conviction and sentence be suspended pending final hearing of the appeal so that he can contest Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow. Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 bars a person from contesting elections who has been convicted and sentenced by a court for more than two years. The Supreme Court of India rejected his application on 31.3.2009 which dashed his hopes to become a Member of Parliament on Samajwadi Party ticket. Here is the complete text of the Supreme Court’s order dated 31.3.2009 :

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRL.M.P. NOS. 4087, 5229, 5230,5237 & 5314 OF 2009 IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1060 OF 2007 SANJAY DUTT ...PETITIONER/APPELLANT VERSUS STATE OF MAHARASHTRA ...RESPONDENTTR. CBI, BOMBAY J U D G M E N T K.G. BALAKRISHNAN, CJI : The petitioner herein, the 117th accused in Special Case No. 1/93 (Bombay Blast Case) before the Special Judge, TADA (Mumbai), was charged under various Sections of Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) such as Section 3(3), Section 5 and Section 6 and also for the offence under Section 3 and Section 7 read with Sections 25(1A) and 25(1B) of the Arms Act, 1959. The petitioner was found guilty of offences punishable under Section 3 and Section 7 read with Sections 25(1A) and 25(1B) of the Arms Act and was sentenced to six years rigorous imprisonment. The petitioner has filed appeal against his conviction and sentence and that appeal is pending consideration before this Court. Pending consideration of that appeal, the petitioner was granted bail on 28.2.2007. Crl.M.P. No. 4087 of 2009 has been filed by the petitioner under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.) praying that execution of the order of conviction and sentence be suspended pending final hearing of the appeal. In the petition it is stated that he belongs to a family which has been in long public service in the country and the petitioner is now desirous of contesting election to the House of People from Lucknow Parliament Constituency and in view of Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, he has incurred disqualification from contesting the election for becoming a member of either House of Parliament. Therefore, it is prayed that the conviction and sentence of the petitioner be suspended to enable him to contest the election. We have heard Shri Harish N. Salve, learned senior counsel, appearing for the petitioner and Shri Gopal Subramanium, learned Additional Solicitor General of India, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)opposing the petition. Some third parties have also filed intervention applications. These parties were given opportunity to address their arguments even though we have not allowed any of these intervention applications as it is a Criminal Miscellaneous Petition. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner drew our attention to the extracts of the judgment passed by the learned Special Judge and elaborately argued that the petitioner was not part of the criminal conspiracy charged against him. He has been acquitted by the Special Judge for the offence under Sections 3 and 5 of the TADA and no appeal has been filed against that by the State and the conviction is only under Sections 3 and 7 read with Sections 25(1A) and 25(1B) of the Arms Act. It was argued that the conviction itself for the above offences are based on alleged confession made by the petitioner which was not strictly admissible under the law. It was also contended that the alleged possession of the weapon by the petitioner was much prior to the criminal conspiracy allegedly hatched by other accused. The learned counsel for the petitioner also drew our attention to the fact that though under Section 12 of the TADA the Designated Court, when trying any offence, was competent to try any other offence with which the accused may, under Cr.P.C., be charged at the same trial if the offence is connected with such other offence. It was argued that the finding of the Designated Court would show that offence, if any, allegedly found against the petitioner was not even connected with other offences for which other accused were charged and, in that event, Section 15 of the TADA itself would not be attracted and the confession allegedly made by the petitioner to the police officer was not admissible. The learned counsel further argued that some of the observations made by the Constitution Bench of this Court in Prakash Kumar vs. State of Gujarat, (2005) 2 SCC 409, require slight clarification. The learned counsel further pointed out that the petitioner has got fair chance of appeal filed by him being allowed and, if the conviction and sentence is not suspended, he would be seriously prejudiced. He placed reliance on the decisions of this Court in Navjot Singh Sidhu vs. State of Punjab & Anr, (2007) 2 SCC 574, and Rama Narang vs. Ramesh Narang, (1995) 2 SCC 513. The learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for the CBI contended that the conviction and sentence could be suspended only in exceptional circumstances and the petitioner in this case is not entitled to any such relief in view of the serious crime allegedly committed by him. It was argued that under Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, any person who has been convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years, except any offence referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release. Therefore, it is argued, when there is an express prohibition of law from contesting the election, the relief prayed for by the petitioner may not be accepted in the facts and circumstances of the present case. We have carefully considered the contentions advanced by the petitioner. The petitioner has been convicted for serious offences. Of course, his conviction and sentence have been challenged before this Court in an appeal. Though our attention was drawn to the various findings recorded by the Special Judge and also the nature of evidence adduced by the prosecution, we do not propose to consider these facts at this stage as it may seriously prejudice either of the parties when the appeal filed by the petitioner is considered by this Court. The petitioner is a well-known cine artist and because of his contribution to art and cinema he has got large number of fans throughout the country and abroad. His father was also a well-known film actor and he was deeply involved in politics. At one point of time, petitioner's father was Minister in the Union Cabinet. The petitioner is not a habitual criminal nor it has been brought to our notice that he had involved in any other criminal case. Despite all these favourable circumstances, we do not think that this is a fit case where conviction and sentence could be suspended so that the bar under Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 will not operate against the petitioner. Law prohibits any person who has been convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years from contesting the election and such person shall be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release. In the face of such a provision, the power of the Court under Section 389 Cr.P.C. shall be exercised only under exceptional circumstances. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has placed reliance on the decision of this Court in Navjot Singh Sidhu's case (supra). But in that case, the petitioner was a sitting MP and he could have continued as an MP even after his conviction and sentence in view of Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act, 1951. The petitioner in Navjot Singh Sidhu's case (supra) resigned and expressed his desire to contest the election. In fact, that was a case where the trial court acquitted the petitioner and the High Court, in reversal, found the petitioner guilty. It was in those circumstances this Court granted stay of the order of conviction and sentence in that case. In the present case, no such circumstances are in favour of the petitioner. In view of the serious offence for which he has been convicted by the Special Judge, we are not inclined to suspend the conviction and sentence awarded by the Special Judge in the present case. We make it clear that we do not express any opinion on the merit and, if any of the observations made in this order, even it has remote possibility to prejudice either parties, we state that the same is only made for the purpose of disposal of Cr.M.P. No. 4087 of 2009- application for suspension/stay of conviction. In the result, Cr.M.P. Nos. 4087/2009, 5229/2009,5230/2009, 5237/2009 and 5314/2009 are dismissed. .......................................CJI ( K.G. BALAKRISHNAN) .........................................J. ( P. SATHASIVAM ) .........................................J. ( R.M. LODHA ) NEW DELHIMarch 31, 2009
Sunil Goel advocate
B.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

I am Back

2009-04-11T00:51:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends. I am back !
Sorry, I could not blog for last several days.
Watch out for this space for some interesting things very shortly.
Sunil Goel advocate
B.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

2008-12-30T04:20:00.000-08:00

It's the time of the year we find time to remember friends we have met, not met, spoken to, not connected at all, some whom we remembered and some just old memories. Thank god its time to say Season's Greetings!

May you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Great New Year 2009.
WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Keep in touch and
Cheers! God bless.

Sunil Goel advocate
B.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

प्राणायाम क्यों करें

2008-11-28T03:46:00.000-08:00

प्राणायाम क्यों करें।

संसार की समूची वस्तुएं जिनमे शक्ति व् गति है, जिनमें मनुष्य भी शामिल है, प्राण उनका आधार है। प्राण आप energy के रूप में मान सकते हैं। रेल के इंजन में पानी, कोयला, अग्नि एवं वायु के मिश्रण से जो भाप बनती है, इस भाप से जो धक्का देने की शक्ति (energy) पैदा होती है, वह प्राण है।

इसी प्रकार हमारे शरीर में वायु तथा अन्य तत्व - जल, आकाश, पृथ्वी व् अग्नि (जठराग्नि) के मिश्रण से प्राण-उर्जा पैदा होती है।

हमारा शरीर सुचारू रूप से चलता रहे उसके लिए जरूरी है की हमारे अंदर प्राण उर्जा भी सम्पूर्ण मात्रा में उपलब्ध रहे। परन्तु हम नित जो कार्य करते हैं उसमे प्राण उर्जा खर्च होती रहती है। परिणामस्वरूप हमारे शरीर में प्राण उर्जा की हमेशा कमी बनी रहती है। यह जानकर हैरानी होगी की यदि हम साधारण स्वास लेते रहें, तो शरीर के पूर्ण अंग प्रभावित होना तो दूर, फेफडे भी पूरी तरह से प्रभावित नहीं होते। फेफडों के साथ साथ शरीर के अन्य अंगों की क्रियाशीलता (activity) व् क्षमता (capacity) तो घटती ही है, मन की शुद्धि भी नहीं हो पाती।

प्राणायाम का अर्थ है : प्राण + आयाम अर्थात प्राणों का आयाम अर्थात प्राणों का संचय यानि प्राण-उर्जा (energy) को अपने शरीर में करना।

जिस तरह हम अपने बैंक अकाउंट में पैसे जमा करते रहते हैं ताकि जरूरत अथवा मुसीबत के वक्त उस पैसे का इस्तेमाल कर सकें तथा जिस तरह बैंक अकाउंट में जमा पूँजी हमें जरूरत के वक्त सहारा देती है, ढीक उसी प्रकार प्राणायाम द्वारा जमा की हुई प्राण उर्जा हमें किसी भी बीमारी, विकार आदि को दूर करने में सहायक होती है।

प्राणायाम करने से प्राण शक्ति धीरे धीरे नाडयों में प्रवाहित होती हुई, नाडयों के माध्यम से शरीर के एक एक अंग में store होती रहती है। इससे शरीर की समस्त processes (प्रणालियों) व् अंगों की सक्रियता (activity ) सम्भव होती है।

प्राणायाम के अभ्यास से प्राणशक्ति शरीर में एकत्रित होने से धीरे धीरे चेहरा कांतिमय हो उठता है, चेहरे पर एक अलग glow आ जाता है, कार्य कुशलता व् सफुर्ती बढ़ जाती है तथा चेहरे पर तृप्ति एवं प्रसन्नता अलग ही दिखाई दिखाई देती है। (इसके विपरीत साधारण स्वास लेने वाला व्यक्ति शिथिल अस्वस्थ तथा तनावपूर्ण स्थिति में रहता है।

प्राणायाम के द्वारा अर्जित व् संचित प्राण शक्ति शरीर में किसी विकार व् बीमारी को उत्पन्न होने नहीं देती तथा जो भी विकार पहले से हैं उन्हें धीरे धीरे शरीर से निकाल फेंकती है।

प्राणायाम के गहन अभ्यास से धीरे धीरे विचारों की गहनता बढती जाती है तथा प्राणी के विचारों में आश्चर्यजनक रूप से परिवर्तन आता है, वह भला सोचने लगता है, क्रोध कम हो जाता है, संसार को देखने का नजरिया बदल जाता है, मन में परोपकार की भावना उत्पन्न होने लगती है तथा स्वार्थ की भावना कम होने लगती है, मन पर नियंत्रण बढ़ने लगता है।

यदि हम बैंक में जमा धन को केवल खर्च करते रहें और बैंक खाते में और धन नहीं डालें तो एक दिन बैंक बैलेंस जीरो हो जाएगा और परिणामस्वरूप सुरक्षा चक्र खत्म हो जाएगा। ठीक इसी प्रकार यदि हम प्राणायाम करना बंद कर देते हैं तो पहले प्राणायाम द्वारा जमा हुई प्राण-शक्ति कुछ दिन तो हमारी रक्षा करती है पर शरीर में धीरे धीरे कम होने लगती है जिसके फलस्वरूप विकार पुनः उत्पन्न होने लगते हैं, चेहरे की आभा कम होने लगती है, शरीर की activity व् capacity घटने लगती है तथा मन चंचल व् विचलित होने लगता है।

अतः प्राणायाम का निरंतर अभ्यास करने से हमारी प्राण शक्ति का bank balance बढ़ता चला चला जाएगा जिसे हम मुसीबत के वक्त (जब हमारा शरीर ज्यादा मेहनत करने लायक नहीं रहता अथवा गंभीर बीमारी से ग्रस्त हो जाता है) इस्तेमाल करके quality life जी सकते हैं।

यदि कुछ बातों का विशेष ध्यान रखें तो प्राणायाम बहुत जल्दी results देता है : -

(१) ब्रह्मचर्य का ज्यादा से ज्यादा पालन

इस से वीर्य की बचत होती है जिस से शरीर में चमक दमक, उत्साह, आनंद, बल दिखाई देता है तथा प्राणायाम के समय ध्यान लगाने में कम कठिनाई आती है।

(२) खान- पान

सादा भोजन करें व् समय पर करें। असमय न खाएं। रात का खाना ७-८ बजे तक खा लें। सुबह ४.३० तक उठ जाएँ। तला व् मसालेदार भोजन कम से कम खाएं। सफ़ेद चीनी का त्याग कर दें। मीठे का मन हो तो गुड अथवा शहद लें। मौसम का फल लें। जितना हो सके फलों व् सब्जियों को natural रूप में लें। भोजन चबा चबा कर करें। पानी का सेवन ज्यादा से ज्यादा करें। जितनी भूख हो उससे थोड़ा कम खाएं।

Hello Friends

2008-11-08T00:52:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends.
How are you.
A Very Happy and Prosperous Diwali to All of You.

Court Case of Bollywood Actress Ms. Rani Mukherjee

2008-10-17T07:05:00.000-07:00

The case :
Bollywood actor Rani Mukherjee purchased some land in Ningaonkovali village, on the border of Nasik and Ahmednagar districts, Shirdi, Maharashtra. Earlier, there was a sugar factory on the said land that was subsequently closed. Since the factory had excess land, the government took it over in accordance with the Urban Land Ceiling Act (ULCA) and handed it over to the Maharashtra State Farming Corporation (MSFC). As the land remained unused for a long time, the MSFC sold it to the original owner, a farmer who worked in a hotel in Shirdi town. From the farmer, Rani bought the plot in December 2005 for Rs.3.3 million. However, when she applied for registration of the plot in her name, the revenue department refused permission and stressed that as it was an agriculture land, only a farmer could buy it. The deputy collector of Ahmednagar district conducted an inquiry and Rani was asked to pay penalty for buying a farmland. Since the actress failed to pay the penalty, the Shrimanpur SDO ordered her name be deleted from the sale deed.

Against this decision of the Shrirampur Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) canceling jher ownership of the said land and direting her to surrender the said land, Rani Mukherji, through her father Shri Ram Mukherjee, filed a petition in the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court in June 2008, challenging the cancellation of her ownership of a piece of land in Maharashtra.

Her petition challenging the Shrirampur sub-divisional officer’s (SDO) Mr. Nandkumar Suryavanshi’s order, came up for hearing before Justice Naresh H.Patil who passed order on 19.6.2008 thereby staying the SDO's order and said that Rani Mukherjee ws entitled to get her name recorded in the Revenue Records.

For the exact Text of said order of the High Court, kindly email me. I will email the Text of the Order, which is in Pdf format.

Eureka! I Found the Formula To Convert PageMaker File to PDF file

2008-10-17T03:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

For last few days, I was searching on the internet for some method to convert my files in PageMaker format (these files contain the Book authored by me) to more conveniently readable Adobe PDF format. However, throughout the internet, I could not locate any free software to do this task. Then, I hit upon an idea and, believe me, it worked ! You do not even need Adobe Acrobat or any other Adobe software to do so. Infact, even the Adobe site does not give you option to do this conversion with the software available for free download (despite the fact that PageMaker and Acrobat PDF both are produts of Adobe). Infact, by this method, mot of the file formats can be converted into PDF.

It goes like this :

-- Download CutePDF Writer from the site http://www.cutepdf.com/ and install it on your computer.

-- Open the Original Document which you want to convert.

-- Select PRINT command in File Menu, so as to open PRINT dialog box.

-- Select CutePDF Writer as the Printer to print (DO NOT select "Print to file").

-- You get a SAVE AS dialog box for saving the created PDF file. Select a folder to save it and enter a file name.

-- Then click SAVE.

-- Go to that folder to find your PDF file.

I hope you all benefit from this. If you find it useful, kindly convey this to your friends.

Sunil Goel

A blog by Sachin Palewar: Talking flash characters for your website

2008-10-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

A blog by Sachin Palewar: Talking flash characters for your website

BEST OF HEALTH TO AMITABH BACHCHAN

2008-10-12T05:38:00.000-07:00

I heard the news today that Shri Amitabh Bachchan is not well and has been admitted to a Mumbai Hospital. I am his keen admirer, for many reasons. One is that we share the same alma mata (we both are from Kiroromal College, North Campus, Delhi University). Secondly, we did the same course at the said college i.e. B.Sc.(General) Group 'A'. Thirdly, he issued a nice and encouraging appreciation letter for my book "COURTS, POLICE, AUTHORITIES & COMMON MAN' (see at www.sunilgoel.org) and fourthly, he is a wonderful person and a versatile actor.

I wish Amitabh ji a speedy recovery.

Supreme Court : Police bound to register the Complaint else face action

2008-10-12T03:59:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court of India recently passed an order thereby alleviating the often made grievance of the public that their compaint is not registered in the form of FIR by the police officers and they have to run from pillar to post for getting the FIR registered.

The relevant part of the said Order reads as under :
“The grievance in the present writ petition is that the occurrence had taken place in the month of May and, in that very month, on 11th May, 2008, the written report was submitted by the petitioner before the officer In-charge of the concerned Police Station, who sat tight over the matter. Thereafter, when the Superintendent of Police was moved, a First Information Report (for short "F.I.R.") was registered.Even thereafter, steps were not taken either for apprehending the accused or recovery of the minor girl child. It is a matter of experience of one of us (B.N. Agrawal, J.) while acting as Judge of Patna High Court, Chief Justice of Orissa High Court and Judge of this Court that in spite of law laid down by this Court, the concerned police authorities do not register F.I.Rs unless some direction is given by the Chief Judicial Magistrate or the High Court or this Court. Further experience shows that even after orders are passed by the concerned courts for registration of the case, the police does not take the necessary steps and when matters are brought to the notice of the Inspecting Judges of the High Court during the course of inspection of Courts and Superintendents of Police are taken to task, then only F.I.Rs are registered. In large number of cases investigations do not commence even after registration of F.I.Rs and in case like the present one, steps are not taken for recovery of the kidnapped person or apprehending the accused person with reasonable despatch. At times it has been found that when harsh orders are passed by the Members of the Judiciary in a State, the police becomes hostile to them for instance in Bihar when a bail petition filed by a police personnel, who was accused was rejected by a member of Bihar Superior Judicial Service, he was assaulted in the Court room for which contempt proceeding was initiated by Patna High Court and the erring police officials were convicted and sentenced to suffer imprisonment. On the other hand, there are innumerable cases that where the complainant is a practical person, F.I.Rs are registered immediately, copies thereof are made over to the complainant on the same day, investigation proceeds with supersonic jet speed, immediate steps are taken for apprehending the accused and recovery of the kidnapped persons and the properties which were subject matter of theft or dacoity. In the case before us allegations have been made that theStation House Officer of the concerned Police Station is pressurising the complainant to withdraw the complaint, which, if true, is a very disturbing state of affairs. We do not know there may be innumerable such instances. In view of the above, we feel that it is high time to give directions to Governments of all the States and Union Territories besides their Director Generals of Police/Commissioners of Police as the case may be to the effect that if steps are not taken for registration of F.I.Rs immediately and copies thereof are not made over to the complainants,they may move the concerned Magistrates by filing complaint petitions to give direction to the police to register case immediately upon receipt/production of copy of the orders and make over copy of the F.I.Rs to the complainants, within twenty four hours of receipt/production of copy of such orders. It may further give direction to take immediate steps for apprehending the accused persons and recovery of kidnapped/abducted persons and properties which were subject matter of theft or dacoity. In case F.I.Rs are not registered within the aforementioned time, and/or aforementioned steps are not taken by the police, the concerned Magistrate would be justified in initiating contempt proceeding against such delinquent officers and punish them for violation of its orders if no sufficient cause is shown and awarding stringent punishment like sentence of imprisonment against them inasmuch as the Disciplinary Authority would be quite justified in initiating departmental proceeding and suspending them in contemplation of the same. Keeping in mind these facts, we are of the view that notices should be issued to Government of all the States and Union Territories besides Director Generals of Police/Commissioners of Police as the case may be. Issue notice to the Chief Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories and the Director Generals of Police/Commissioners of Police,as the case may be, to show cause as to why aforesaid directions be not given by this Court. Notices may be sent to the parties by Fax and it should be mentioned therein that the order has been put on the Website of the Supreme Court of India so that they may file response without loss of time.”

Browsing The Web

2008-10-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hi, I was browsing the web. At some sites, I was asked to copy some HTML language code and paste it on my webpage. Accordingly, I am doing the same to see the results.

Supreme Court on Liability in case of acident by minor

2008-10-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Recently, the Supreme Court of India has passed a judgment in motor accident claim case, which tends to mark a deviation from Court's earlier approach. The Court ruled that if a minor causes an accident by driving a vehicle, then even if the offending vehicle is insured, the liability to pay compnesation can not be passed on to the insurance company and it has to be borne by the parents of the minor child who caused the accident. This judgment seems to have been influenced by the recent trend of young brats of influential parents causing accidents recklessly. This judgment is a step in the right direction as the parents will think twice before allowing their kids to take the keys of the vehicle and drive the same before they attain the age of 18 years.

Courts Police Authorities & Common Man

2008-07-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

This book deal with the problems which a common man faces in every day life concerning the courts and the police and various Government machinery and informs him about his rights and remedies in a simple-to-understand language.

This book explain in very simple layman language the working of criminal justice system in India. This book answers very basic queries like
§ What is FIR? How to lodge FIR? What to do if police do not register FIR?
§ Procedure followed on happening of crime.
§ Rights of an arrested person. Bail procedure, surety.
§ Bailable, non-bailable offences. Warrants. Investigation, search & seizure
§ What to do if police or govt. authorities harass you?
§ Duties of police. Rights of citizens.
§ What is the procedure in different Courts? What are different type of cases? What are different laws? Why a person is hanged in death sentence?
§ Interpol. CBI. CVC. Delhi Police. Corruption law. Cheque dishonor. Writ.
§ Website addresses and telephone numbers of important organizations including High Courts and police deptt. of various States
§ Performas of various types of petitions filed in different courts.
§ Different kinds of judges. How judges are appointed ?

A vary valuable and rare book. Useful for all citizens, professionals, organizations, embassies, foreign nationals etc. It is an ideal book to be included in every library and is extremely useful for the readers. It is a utility book concerning all - whether it be students, professionals, citizens, foreigners, embassies, officials, etc. The Book running into 333 pages and modestly priced at Rs.395/-. Appreciated by various legal luminairies and eminent personalities like the Hon'ble President, Vice-President, Prime-Minister of India, Chief Justice of India, Justice P.N.Bhagwati, Shri Amitabh Bachchan, Mrs.Sonia Gandhi, etc.

This book is already available for purchase at leading online stores like jainbookdepot.com, flipkart.com, shopping.rediff.com, ebay.in ( formerly baazee.com), indiatimes.com and all leading book stores. To see more details about this book or to download this Book, go to http://www.sunilgoel.org/.

In case of any difficulty in getting this book, you may contact :
Mr.Ashok Bhutani, Promila & Co., C-127 Sarvodya Enclave, New Delhi – 110017 Tel : 9899192862, 26864124, 55284748 (www.biblioasia.com)

Court Cases of Indian Film Stars

2008-07-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

This is about the forthcoming book from Mr.Sunil Goel, advocate.

This book is about the various judgments delivered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and various High Courts in India involving the movies, films, TV serials, film stars, actors and actresses etc.

People in India, in particular, are fascinated by the film world. Infact, it is said that the two things which keep India moving are films and cricket. The history of films in India dates back to 1920s when the first talkie titled ‘ALAM ARA’ was released. Prior to that, the films used to be silent with no sound track. Every year, lots of movies are churned out by the film industry in India. The film industry is based mainly at Bombay and is aptly called BOLLYWOOD.

People are always interested in knowing about the film personalities. I felt that one aspect of the film industry and its artists is the various cases which are filed by or against them in the courts of law in India. There is little or no awareness or information readily available to the general public about these cases and ABOUT the ultimate decision in those cases by the courts. People rely mainly on the news reports, which at times, are spiced up to entertain their readers. I thought why not identify certain select judgments and bring the whole text of these judgments, unedited, before the public so that they get to know as to what was the controversy or issue in a particular case involving the film world and what was the view and decision of the Court on such issue or controversy. It is really exciting to read these judgments in detail. I, for one, am thrilled and excited to read these judgments and fascinated by reading about film world. I tried but could not locate any single source where the judgments related to Indian film industry are available.

This book deal with the cases involving movies like Jodha Akbar, Krazzy 4, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam, Aashiq Banaya Apne, Bandit Queen, Ganga Jal etc. It also deals with cine artists like Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan, Shilpa Shetty, Fardeen Khan, Raima Sen, Sri Devi, Mamta Kulkarni, etc.