There is a need to look into anti-dumping duty being conducive or non-conducive to competition, said Ajay Kumar Chauhan, the director general (DG) of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Citing the ongoing investigation by the office of the director general against the man-made fibre manufacturers in Surat, Mumbai and other centres across India for alleged anti-competitive practices as a case in point, Chauhan noted that the manufacturers are manoeuvring the selling prices against the landed cost of imports. [Policy and Regulatory Report (PaRR), an analytical news service that is part of mergermarket]

RTI application queries must adhere to the newly notified word limit of 500, though the application cannot be rejected for exceeding the word limit (!?!), according to newly notified RTI rules. A July 31 notification of Department of Personnel and Training under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, has added new clauses to RTI Rules. In addition to word limit, the new rules include additional postal charges requirements, additional accompanying documents with RTI appeals, and representation by an advocate in case of an appeal under Rule 13 – a rule RTI crusaders are most bitter about [The Hindu/ RTI India][Notification]

SC says that unreasonable and unreasoned delay in communicating grounds of detention vitiates the order of detention under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act 1974 (COFEPOSA). The court set aside Bombay HC’s detention order against Shahroz Malik due to an “inordinate and unreasonable delay” of 15 months. The state blamed the delay on Malik absconding while on bail since a year before the detention order. But the SC noted that had the state authorities been “sincere and anxious” about serving the detention, they would have taken steps to cancel the bail and forfeit the security amount deposited [IANS]

Bombay HC rules that once corruption is proven, no leniency or sympathy can be given, even if the accused is dead. Therefore, if the facts and circumstances of the case merit no benefit of doubt for acquittal of the dead accused: “Courts cannot be swayed by sympathy, emotions or moral approach” and grant a “wrong acquittal” which “will send a wrong signal to the society”. The court disallowed the accused’s employment benefits to his daughters and wife. The accused was charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act for taking a bribe of Rs 50 for sanctioning a loan of Rs 2500 while working at the Khadi Gram Udyog Bank in 1988 [TOI]

Legal NGO Nyaya Bhoomi brings contempt proceedings against the Delhi government in the Bus-Rapid-Transit (BRT) corridor case. The contempt petition allege that despite a Delhi HC order, the gov’t had been “cagey” in facilitating flow of mixed traffic in reserved bus lanes. BRT lacked signboards indicating that bus lanes were open to other vehicles too now, and has also not changed the traffic signals accordingly. Commuters were still following the old rules leading to the usual BRT choke. Delhi gov’t alleges “fanciful interpretation of court orders” against Nyaya Bhoomi’s president B B Sharan [TOI]

Madras HC denies three 57-year-old women judges of fast track courts (FTCs) in the state to become district and additional sessions judges in the re-designated FTCs which were converted to district and additional sessions courts. The women were not district and additional sessions court judges at the time of appointment to the FTCs but were appointed from the bar, and on a contractual basis. Since their contract came to an end and the FTCs were re-designated, the Madras HC held that the women would have to take the written exam and interview route if they wished to apply for the post of judge in the newly designated courts [The Hindu]

Pondicherry gets a separate labour court, as the union territory aims for rapid industrialisation which, according chief minister N Rangaswamy depends on “cordial labour-management relations”. Madras HC chief justice urge lawyer to treat labour disputes as “god sent opportunity”, and avoid seeking adjournments in helping workers oppressed by their management [PTI]

189 GNLU Gandhinagar students go to ‘unauthorised’ party, administration forces them to do gardening work, but not as punishment, says college director Bimal Patel. “These 189 students have violated the rules and regulations. We were only concerned about their safety. Girls were also there. This was only sought as a helping hand to make our campus a green campus and cannot be seen as a punishment. Most of them were happy to do this.” In a letter Patel told students:

any student who refuses to do the community work will be entitled to deduction of “1 mark of goodness” in each subject of the current semester. Two students who have organized the event have been penalized with deduction of “3 goodness marks” in each subject and 4 hours of community work. The GNLU Director’s email also raises concern over the dress code of the students, saying “some students were very poorly dressed.” [Bar & Bench]