Sri Lanka not averse to using Indian rupee as common currency: President Wickremesinghe
Colombo (PTI): Sri Lanka would want to see the Indian rupee used as much as the US dollar, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, days ahead of his first official visit to New Delhi.
Wickremesinghe, also the cash-strapped country's finance minister, made this remark while addressing the Indian CEO Forum here this week.
"Just as East Asia, including countries like Japan, Korea and China, witnessed significant growth 75 years ago, it is now India's turn, along with the Indian Ocean region," Wickremesinghe said.
Wickremesinghe is expected to visit New Delhi next week, his first since becoming president a year ago amidst unprecedented economic and political turmoil in the island nation.
Wickremesinghe's comments were in response to the chair of the Forum, T S Prakash, who in his address had called for the enhanced use of the Indian rupee in the Sri Lankan economy.
"It makes no difference to us if India (the Indian rupee) becomes a common currency. We will have to figure out how to go about it. We must become more open to the outside world", Wickremesinghe said.
"The world is evolving and India is undergoing rapid development, particularly under Prime Minister Modi's leadership", he added.
He also said that Sri Lanka benefits from its proximity to India, coupled with a rich history, cultural heritage and longstanding trading relationships spanning 2,500 years, The Daily Mirror newspaper quoted him as saying.
Wickremesinghe has steered the island nation out of the economic crisis and said the economy is recovering despite its slowness.
"Once we complete debt restructuring our focus will shift towards a comprehensive growth agenda. This entails a massive overhaul of our economy, legal framework and systems aligning our path with that of India," he said. Wickremesinghe
The 74-year-old Sri Lankan politician was elected through parliament to fill in the rest of the term of the ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka-India relationship history points to that it was unusual that Wickremesinghe's tour to Delhi had taken a year to happen, analysts noted.
India had thrown a lifeline to the last days of the Rajapaksa presidency with an economic assistance package that amounted to 4 billion dollars.
Sri Lanka used the Indian credit lines to import essentials and fuel as the country was gripped in forex shortages which triggered massive street protests.
Meanwhile, the High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka Gopal Bagle who was at the July 13 event, said that the Indian government and the Indian business community have helped the island nation in recuperating from the last year's financial crisis.
"Even during the initial crisis, Indian businessmen began doing business in Sri Lanka to demonstrate to the rest of the world that the country's financial status is stable," Bagle was quoted as saying by the Sri Lankan media.
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Delhi HC restores ex-CISF officer's 'honour', quashes forced retirement
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court has restored the 'honour' of a 72-year-old former CISF officer, who was forced to retire 20 years ago over allegations of sexually harassing a woman colleague, saying the complaint appeared to be motivated.
The high court said the charge levelled against the petitioner was not proved, and even if it is presumed that it has been found to be proved by the enquiry officer, the punishment as grave as compulsory retirement ought not to have been imposed.
"Having regard to the fact that a period of about 25 years (since the allegation) has since passed and the petitioner has attained 72 years of age, we feel that the least we can do is, to restore his honour, which according to us, has been destroyed by the action of ordering 'compulsory retirement'," a bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vimal Kumar Yadav said in an order passed on December 19.
The bench said it feels that the letter by the complainant was motivated or actuated by some ulterior motive, maybe because of the fact that the petitioner had initiated action against her.
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"The possibility that the exaggerated, if not false, complaint was filed because of the warning issued to her cannot be ruled out. Such defence, which appeared plausible, has not been given any credence by the investigating officer," it said, adding the allegations "reek of vengeance rather than genuine harassment".
The court passed the order on a plea by the petitioner, ex-assistant commandant in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), challenging an October 2005 order of Deputy Inspector General (L&R) by which he was compulsorily retired from service. The petition was filed in 2006.
The court noted the petitioner prayed that, except for restoring the honour, he is not interested in any monetary gain, and he would not ask for any consequential benefits and remain satisfied with whatever pension or monetary benefits he is getting.
The high court quashed the 2005 order and also the enquiry report of 2004 while holding that the conducting of the third preliminary enquiry and consequential disciplinary enquiry was itself uncalled for and the finding recorded by the enquiry officer was not in accordance with the evidence.
“Consequent to the quashing of the order of compulsory retirement, the petitioner shall be deemed to have served the respondents until he attained the age of superannuation. The period between the date of compulsory retirement (October 26, 2005) and his date of attaining superannuation shall be notionally counted in his service. However, his pension shall be revised accordingly. Though he shall not get arrears of the pension, but shall be entitled to get consequential revised pension with effect from March 1, 2026," it said.
The bench noted that two of the three preliminary enquiries had exonerated the petitioner and said it did not find any sufficient reason or cause for the authorities to have ordered a third preliminary enquiry.
"The respondents ought to have given quietus to the issue, given the nature of allegations which reek of vengeance rather than genuine harassment. Moreso, there is no allegation of a serious nature," it said.
The woman constable had made a representation to the authorities in November 1999, levelling allegations against the petitioner of an attempt to develop an illicit relationship and passing inappropriate remarks against her.
The petitioner had claimed that the complaint was motivated and made with an attempt to falsely implicate him, because as a strict officer, he had tried to bring in discipline and curb theft and malpractices and had issued a warning letter to the complainant.
