Supreme Court refuses to stay FDI policy in retail

October 15, 2012

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New Delhi, October 15: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Centre’s decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail sector.

A bench of justices R M Lodha and A R Dave, however, said that the policy suffers from “curable” irregularity of want of legal sanction and asked the RBI to amend the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations to allow implementation of the government’s policy.

The bench said the RBI should have amended the FEMA regulations before the implementation of FDI policy and asked the banking regulator to take steps to remove the lacunae in the way of giving a final shape to the policy.

The court observed that the regulations should have been amended before the Centre issued the notification, but clarified that the irregularity can now be cured with RBI amending FEMA regulation.

“At least it can be said that it is an irregularity that is curable and as soon as amendment is brought, it would be cured,” the bench said.

During the argument, the court said the policy cannot be stayed just because of this irregularity.

Attorney General G E Vahanvati submitted that he would talk to the RBI Governor to take immediate steps for bringing amendment in the FEMA regulations.

The bench after hearing his submission adjourned the matter for further hearing on November 5.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by lawyer M L Sharma, who has said that RBI’s nod was missing from the Centre’s policy allowing FDI in retail sector.

The apex court on October 5 had sought the assistance of top law officers in hearing the PIL filed by Mr Sharma against opening the multi-brand retail sector to the FDI saying there was a need for clarification since some link is missing pertaining to the RBI regulation on the issue.

Mr Sharma has said in his petition that that retail trading is strictly prohibited under the law of FEMA under which the power to come out with a circular is vested with the RBI which has not issued any regulation after 2008.

He has alleged in his PIL that the Centre’s notification was issued without the authority of law as approval of of neither the President nor the Parliament was secured.

The apex court had, however, rejected the allegation saying “this assumption that the policy has to be in the name of the President is flawed and unfounded.”

“The Constitution does not provide that the policy should be in the name of the President.”

It further said a policy is never required to be placed before Parliament.

The apex court had also said that correctness of the policy has to be challenged on the touch stone of the circular whether it is ultra vires of the law or not.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Mar 4: Twenty-one Italian tourists and three Indian tour operators have been sent to an ITBP quarantine facility in Delhi on Tuesday for suspected coronavirus exposure, official sources said.

Health Ministry sources said these foreigners, 13 women and eight men, were in the same group of which an Italian and his wife have tested positive in Rajasthan capital Jaipur.

“His (Italian in Jaipur) condition is stable,” a source said.

Three Indians, who were accompanying this Italian group as tour operators, have also been sent to the ITBP facility in Chhawla area of south-west Delhi, they said.

All these people, staying at a five-star hotel in south Delhi, have been put in “preventive isolation” at the ITBP camp and their samples will be taken on Wednesday, sources said.

The centre already has 112 people, 76 Indians and 36 foreigners, since February 27 after they were evacuated by an IAF plane from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the coronavirus.

The first samples of these 112 people had tested negative when reports came in last week.

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News Network
April 20,2020

Mumbai, Apr 20: At least 53 media persons from Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus, a city civic official said on Monday.

During a special camp organised at the Azad Maidan here on April 16 and 17 for COVID-19 testing of scribes, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) collected swab samples of 171 mediapersons, including electronic and print media journalists, photographers and cameramen.

“Out of the 171 mediapersons, 53 tested positive for coronavirus,” BMC spokesperson Vijay Khabale said, adding that most of those who tested positive are asymptomatic at present.

All the mediapersons found infected with coronavirus will be kept in isolation and a process was underway to find out suitable places to the purpose, he said.

Efforts were also on to trace their high and low risk contacts.

Till Sunday, Mumbai recorded 2,724 coronavirus cases and 132 deaths due to the disease.

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Agencies
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: With Election Commission">Election Commission's trends indicating a landslide victory for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), party chief Arvind Kejriwal expressed his gratitude towards the people of the national capital and said that this is the victory of the people who consider him as their son.

Making his first public appearance after the day's results, Kejriwal made a brief address to supporters in which, AAP chief thanked supporters, outlined his personal connection with citizens and party workers as well as credited his family for their continued support.

"I thank people of Delhi for reposing their faith in AAP for the third time. This is not my personal victory, this is the victory of Delhiites. This the victory of the people who consider me as their son and voted for us," Kejriwal said at party office here.

He also referred to the trends of the assembly polls, as the beginning of a new kind of politics.

"This is the beginning of a new kind of politics. This is a new sign. Only the party will get vote who will built mohalla clinics and good schools... This is the victory of mother India and India. Today is Tuesday, Hanuman-ji's day. Hanumanji ji blessed Delhi today, I thank him. We pray that Hanuman Ji keeps showing the right path to us so that we continue to serve people for the next five years," he said.

According to Election Commission", AAP won 5 seats while the party is leading on 58 seats in 70-member Delhi Assembly. 

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