The Delhi high court on Monday granted anticipatory bail to Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, accused of spreading communal enmity by writing an “inflammatory” article in a newspaper, after he gave an undertaking that he will not write any such articles in future.
Granting anticipatory bail to Mr Swamy, Justice M.L. Mehta said, “I appreciate that you acted responsibly today by giving an undertaking. Though writing an article based on a book is a fundamental right of a citizen but this right has to be observed with certain reasonable restrictions which have to be taken care of.” The court also asked Mr Swamy to furnish personal and security bonds of `25,000 each.
The Harvard-educated economics scholar had moved the high court earlier January seeking anticipatory bail in the case.
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MoEF letters to kerala, TN
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 30
In a bid to strengthen tiger reserves in south India, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has shot off letters to the Tamil Nadu and Kerala chief ministers highlighting the failure of the state governments to acquire private estates which are part of the core Periyar and Kalakad-Mundanthurai tiger reserves.
These private estates need to be acquired in order to secure wildlife habitats and also ensure better corridors for the animals in the entire southern Western Ghat region.
Jagdish Kishwan, member secretary of the National Board for Wildlife, said in a meeting chaired by minister of environment Jayanthi Natarjan that he was awaiting an early reply from both the chief ministers.
While the private estate in Tamil Nadu comprises largely of cardamon forests, the Downton (Panchakanam) estate in the heart of the Periyar Tiger Reserve also consists of 200 hectares of prime forest.