No changes in ACB: Govt clarifies to HC
Bengaluru, June 1: The state government on Friday gave a clarification to the Karnataka High Court that there would be no changes in the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the JDS-Congress coalition government is committed to the decision taken by the previous government.
The Divisional Bench of the Karnataka High Court headed by Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Shamprasad closed the case filed against the formation of the ACB. During the hearing, Additional Advocate General AS Ponnanna said that the government is committed to its earlier argument.
Meanwhile, advocate M Arun Sham appealed the court for a stay order against submitting any report by the ACB in related to a case against applicant Shivakumar H Pulse.
Responding to the appeal, the Bench observed that there is an interim order saying any process about this would be subjected to the final verdict.
As there was no argument from the advocate in favour of the applicant, the Divisional Bench closed the case pending the final decision.
Samaja Parivathana Trust and Bengaluru Bar Association have filed PILs in the High Court saying that as the formation of the ACB is against the Anti-Corruption Act, all cases filed by the ACB should be transferred to Lokayukta.
Along with these PILs, the High Court also heard other 11 applications filed against registering FIRs by the ACB. According to Lokpal Act, all states should set up Lokayukta and only Lokayukta should handle all cases related to elected representatives and government officials in related to corruption, they demanded.
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We need to recognise we have problem with Security Council: UN SG Guterres
United Nations (PTI): In a sharp critique, UN chief Antonio Guterres said there is a need to recognise “we have a problem with the Security Council”, which does not reflect the current world and is not allowed to stop conflicts because of the use of veto by its permanent members.
“I think we need to recognise that we have a problem with the Security Council. The Security Council today no longer represents the world as the world exists. It represents the world after 1945,” Guterres said at a press conference in Beirut on Saturday in response to a question.
He pointed out that three permanent members of the 15-nation Council are from Europe, one from Asia, and one is the United States, while there are no permanent members from Africa or Latin America.
Even from Asia, that “obviously is a continent with an enormous weight in global population and global wealth”, there is just one permanent member - China.
“And so, the Council has a problem of legitimacy and a problem of efficiency because of the vetoes. And what we have witnessed is that time and time again, when we have situations of conflict and when it's necessary to stop the conflict, there is a veto that emerges, and that does not allow the Security Council to act. That, unfortunately, is something that we are witnessing time and time again, and I am not hoping that in the short term, things will change,” he said.
The Council is made up of five veto-wielding permanent members, China, France, Russia, the UK and the US, while 10 non-permanent members are elected to serve two-year terms at the horseshoe table and do not have veto powers.
India has been at the forefront of decades-long efforts calling for reform of the Security Council, including expansion in both its permanent and non-permanent categories, saying the 15-nation Council, founded in 1945, is not fit for purpose in the 21st Century and does not reflect contemporary geopolitical realities.
India has underscored that it rightly deserves to sit as a permanent member in the Security Council.
India last sat at the UN high table as a non-permanent member in 2021-22. A polarised Security Council has failed to deal with current peace and security challenges, with Council members sharply divided on conflicts such as the Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas conflict and the latest US-Israel war against Iran.
