Twin UT's of J&K, Ladakh to have a common high court
Jammu: The Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh will have a common high court, State Judicial Academy's Director Rajeev Gupta said on Sunday.
He also said 108 Central Laws would be applicable for the two UTs while 164 state laws would be repealed and 166 state laws will continue to be applicable.
The Centre had on August 5 nullified Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of the state.
Parliament approved the resolution in this regard and also passed the bill on the bifurcation of the state into two UTs.
Later on August 9, President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, bifurcating the two Union Territories, which will come into existence on October 31.
Speaking at a refresher programme, organised by the SJA on topic "Appreciation of evidence with specific reference to Dying Declaration, Accomplice Statement and Confessional Statement for Session Judges of Jammu province here, Gupta discussed the effects of J&K Reorganization Act, 2019 on State Laws in Jammu and Kashmir and the pending cases.
He said the legislative Assembly will be formed in J&K as UT but there will be no legislative Assembly in the Union Territory of Ladakh as it will be directly controlled by the Union government.
"There will be a common High Court for the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Existing law and procedure for practice in the high court will remain the same," he said.
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Private bus operators in Karnataka to hike fares by 20-30 pc after fuel price rise
Bengaluru (PTI): In the wake of the hike in fuel prices, private bus operators have decided to increase fares by 20-30 per cent, depending on the route, effective from Friday midnight.
They have also called for government subsidies, a reduction in cess, and lower road taxes to improve the situation.
"The situation for bus owners in the state is already distressing due to high road tax and the impact of the Shakti scheme (free bus travel for women in government buses). On top of this, fuel prices have increased," Karnataka State Bus Owners’ Association President S Nataraj Sharma said.
"This will impose a burden of Rs 15,000 per vehicle per month on bus owners. If an owner has three buses, the burden will be Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 per month," he added.
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Speaking to reporters, he said the situation has made it inevitable for owners to increase fares by 20-30 per cent, depending on the route, under current conditions.
The increase may be roughly Rs 200 per seat, he added.
"For example, the current bus fare from Bengaluru to Belagavi is around Rs 1,000–Rs 1,200, which is likely to rise to Rs 1,350–Rs 1,400. Similarly, fares from Bengaluru to Mangaluru or Udupi currently range from Rs 900–Rs 1,000 and are expected to go up to Rs 1,100–Rs 1,200," he said.
Petrol and diesel prices were each hiked by Rs 3 per litre on Friday, the first rate increase in more than four years, amid mounting losses for fuel retailers due to surging global crude prices in the wake of the West Asia conflict.
The increase comes a couple of weeks after the Assembly elections concluded in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry.
