Centre promised to notify CWDT decision by December-end

The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up the Centre for dilly-dallying on notifying the final decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) dated February 5, 2007, even though it informed the court on December 5, 2012 that it would notify the decision by the end of December. When Additional Solicitor General Harin P. Raval sought four weeks time for the Centre to take a decision whether to notify the ‘final decision’ or not, a Bench of Justices D.K. Jain and Madan B. Lokur told him: “It is strange. We are to be told you will take a decision in four weeks.”

Pulls up Centre for failure to check malpractices by MNCs

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed that until further orders all clinical trials on drugs will have to be conducted under the direct supervision of the Union Health Secretary to prevent illegal trials by pharmaceutical companies. A Bench of Justices R.M. Lodha and Anil R. Dave expressed serious concern over the menace caused by uncontrolled clinical trial of drugs on humans by multinational companies and pulled up the Centre for failing in its duty to control this menace and putting in place an effective mechanism.

In the Kudankulam case, the argument was that the plant could not be commissioned without resolving the issue of the Russian government’s liability in case of a nuclear accident and without putting in place 17 safety measures. The state contended these safety measures were only additional steps to be implemented over a period of time. The commissioning of the plant depends on the court verdict.

The Supreme Court has upheld the acquisition of 673.29 acres of land by the Haryana government in Panchkula district for the Kalka-Pinjore urban complex project.

A Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadaya dismissed a batch of special leave petitions and lifted the stay on the construction by several developers. The Supreme Court had stayed the project for over eight months.

Apex court calls upon Delhi, Roorkee directors as other efforts bear little fruit

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the directors of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Roorkee to find out measures to check pollution of the Yamuna. The river was becoming dirtier with each passing day despite several governments and civic bodies having spent Rs.12,000 crore so far, the Court noted.

Moves fresh petition in Supreme Court for direction to neighbouring State

Tamil Nadu on Thursday filed a fresh petition in the Supreme Court for a direction to Karnataka to release 52.8 tmcft of water till February 2013 to save crops raised on 15 lakh acres. The State also wanted the court to properly define the ‘season’ to ensure that adequate water was released to protect the interests of farmers.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) on Wednesday asserted in the Supreme Court that no danger will be caused by spent fuel from the Kudankulam nuclear reactor.

Making this submission before a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra, Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman said the spent fuel, after being discharged, is reused for generating electricity.

It will be a blow to Indian science, it says

The Centre on Friday informed the Supreme Court that the recommendations of the Technical Expert Committee (TEC) seeking a 10-year moratorium on field trials on Genetically Modified (GM) crops will be highly detrimental and will not be in national interest. “Based on current overall status of food safety evaluation of Bt. Transgenics, including the data on Bt. Cotton and Bt. Brinjal examined by the TEC, and in accordance with the precautionary principle, the TEC recommends a 10-year moratorium on field trials of Bt. Transgenics in all food crops,” the TEC said in its interim report submitted to the Supreme Court. “Another factor is the possibility of contamination of non-GM food by GM food.”

The Centre on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that Tamil Nadu has to be blamed for the power crisis it is facing as it had not strengthened the grid for receiving surplus power.

Attorney General G. E. Vahanvati, appearing for the Centre, told a three-Judge Bench of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justices S.S. Nijjar and J. Chelameswar that as far as the power surrendered by the National Capital Territory of Delhi was concerned, the Centre in 2011 had tried to allocate Tamil Nadu additional power. For this year, he said, according to the Union Power Ministry every grid had certain capacity. The southern grid did not have the capacity to receive the available surplus power.

The Centre on Wednesday maintained in the Supreme Court that for establishment of a desalination plant for Units 1 and 2 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, no fresh environmental clearance was required.

Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran made this submission before a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra, hearing the Kudankulam case.

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