Contempt law needs to be amended,says Katju

This law was made during the British rule.

Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju on Wednesday advocated amendments in Contempt of Court Act,1971,with an aim to enable the media to write about the court happenings.

This law was made during the British rule. In democracy,people are superior to anyone else and have a right to criticise the court as even judiciary is here to serve the people. The Contempt to Court Act needs to be drastically amended to enable journalists to perform their duties, Katju said. He was interacting with the media during his visit to the city.

Asked whether the proposed Supreme Court reporting norms that those covering the SC must have a law degree and at least seven years of experience are acceptable,Katju said that there was no need for such norms and that the PCI would take it up with the SC if it receives written representation from the journalists.

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Katju said the profit-making tendency of the media owners and contractual-basis hiring of journalists is hampering the quality of journalism.

Bangla aircraft crash-lands in Murshidabad

Kolkata: A Bangladesh military training aircraft that took off from Jessore airport strayed into the Indian airspace and crash-landed at Salar in Murshidabad on Wednesday evening. The pilot,Rashid,was traced by police and taken into custody. According to Home Department sources,the pilot seemed to have made a mistake in bad weather and strayed into Indian airspace. Two Bangladeshi aircraft had taken off from Jessore to trace the China-made plane after it went missing from radar. The MEA has been informed and action will be taken according to the rules and norms, Basudev Banerjee,West Bengal Home Secretary,said.

Ranbaxy launches Indias first anti-malaria drug

New Delhi: Drug major Ranbaxy Laboratories on Wednesday launched the first indigenously developed anti-malaria drug,Synriam. It is a combination of two molecules,arterolanemaleate and piperaquine phosphate,and will need to be taken once a day by patients for three days.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh were present at the launch.

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Last year the company had received permission from the Drug Controller General of India to manufacture and market this drug in India.