JOIN USThe High Court on Monday directed the State government to appoint presidents and members to Karnataka State Consumers’ Commission and district consumer forums.
Hearing a petition by Basavanagouda Patil and others, the division bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice B V Nagarathna ordered that these appointments be made within next two months.
The petitioners submitted that the post of district consumer forum presidents were vacant in Kolar, Bidar, Hassan, Kodagu, Bangalore II Additional District Consumer Forum, Shimoga and Yadgir. The petitioners, furnishing the information obtained under the Right to Information Act, submitted the list of 18 positions that are vacant in various forums.
They also pointed out that some of these forums are defunct as there post are vacant. Due to these vacancies, cases which should have been disposed off within three months have prolonged for about two years.
When the bench sought the government’s intent on filling up the vacancies, the government’s counsel submitted that the vacancies cannot be filled up in view of the Assembly elections. However, the bench, in its interim order, directed the State to fill up all vacancies within June 3, 2013.
Stay on ED notice
The High Court has ordered a three-week stay on the notice issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to former minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, his wife and two others to vacate their properties. The notice had been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Justice S Abdul Nazeer passed the order on a petition filed by Naidu, his wife K Sowbhagya, G Jagadish Chandra Prakash and his wife K S Jalaja, challenging the notice.
The court also issued notices to the Joint Director of the Bangalore zonal office and the Deputy Director of the Directorate of Enforcement, Bangalore and directed them to file objections.