High Court rejects plea for release of Indians from Pakistan jails

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a PIL seeking direction to the Centre to take steps for setting free more than 50 Indians lodged in the Pakistani jail quoting the government of India continue its efforts to release them.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw accepted the Centre's submission that all possible steps in this regard have been taken with Islamabad at all levels and dismissed the two PILs filed by Madangopal Khushiram Paul, an advocate and human rights activist, seeking the release of Indian prisoners and also awarded compensation for them.

The bench while accepting the argument that the government has implemented the NHRC's directions passed in 2007 said that they do not find any merit in these petitions and therefore they are dismissed and asked the Government to continue their efforts for release of these prisoners.

 The court also dismissed the petitioner's plea for compensation to the prisoners who have been released from the Pakistani jail but not yet financially compensated by the Indian government.

 The court further accepted the Centre's argument that none of the prisoner's was either a soldier or government of India employee, and it was not binding on the centre to pay compensation.

The court said that the Centre, the respondents in the instant cases deny that any of the persons for whose benefit the petitions have been filed, were either soldiers or employed by the Indian Government. If they were arrested and imprisoned by the Pakistani authorities owing to have intentionally or mistakenly crossed the border and the government of India cannot be directed to pay compensation.

News reported by AR for News vision online news blog

Crime against children highest in Delhi: most rapes in MP

According to a recent survey, Delhi tops the list of states where the highest number of crimes against children was committed in 2011 while Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of murder and rape cases respectively.

A total of 33,098 cases of crimes against children were reported in 2011 as compared to 2010, suggesting an increase of 24 per cent.

According to National Crime Records Bureau, the rate of crime against children was recorded the highest in Delhi with 25.4 per cent followed by Andaman and Nicobar Islands with 20.3 per cent, Chandigarh and Chhattisgarh with 7 per cent each, Madhya Pradesh with 6 per cent and Goa with 5.1 per cent.

A total of 1,514 cases of murder of children, including infanticides were reported in the country in the year 2011 against 1,508 in the year 2010. Uttar Pradesh has reported the highest number of such cases, accounting for 22.9 per cent of the total murder cases reported in the country.

States like Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry did not report any cases of child murder in the year 2011.

Survey also depicted an increase in the number of child rape reporting a total of 7,112 child rape cases in the year 2011 compared to 5,484 in the year 2010.

Madhya Pradesh has reported the highest number of rape cases followed by Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. These three states altogether accounted for 44.5 per cent of the total child rape cases reported in the country.

News reported by AR for Newsvision online news blog

Sunita Williams, Indian-American astronaut takes off for second space journey

Today morning a Russian Soyuz craft has been launched into the skies over Kazakhstan, carrying three astronauts on their way to the International space station.

The astronauts namely NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian astronaut Yury Malenchenko and Japan's Akihito Hoshide are set to travel for two days before meeting their three colleagues already at the permanent space spot.

Liftoff took place at 8:40am wherein the families and colleagues watched the launch of the craft from an observation platform in the Russian-leased cosmodrome.

Despite the intense G-force pressure, the three astronauts looked relaxed in television footage doing their routine activities.

The Soyuz dropped three rocket booster stages as it was propelled into orbit, which just takes around nine minutes.

The shell that is surrounding the capsule during the launch phase also peeled away, drenching the astronauts in bright yellow sunshine.

The solar arrays that have been installed on the Soyuz after the orbital entry will provide the craft with requisite power that is needed for 2 days trip.

Malenchenko, the Russian astronaut who is piloting the Soyuz, is one of the most experienced astronauts and is making the fifth space trip.

Sunita Williams, the 46-year old astronaut, who is of Indian-American heritage has spent 195 days at the space station in 2006-07. And now she is on her second mission and further will break the record for the longest halt in space for a female astronaut.

The Soyuz is scheduled to reach the space station by Tuesday at 8:52am Moscow Time.

Russians Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin and US astronaut Joseph Acaba, who make up the crew of Expedition 32, have been working at the space station since mid-May.

Japan's HTV3 Cargo ship will dock the space station next week and will be the first of nine craft making contact with the orbiting satellite over a span of 17-days.

Expeditions 32 and the incoming Expedition 33 have 33 experiments planned for their stay at the orbiting laboratory.

News reported by AR for Newsvision online news blog