MUMBAI: Controversy seems to be following Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray even after his death. Two girls who commented against the "Bandh" following Thackeray?s demise on social networking site Facebook were arrested and later released on bail, enough fodder for liberals to voice their strong opinions.

Former Supreme Court judge and Press Council chairman Justice Markandey Katju has protested against the arrest of these two girls and demanded the suspension of the cops who arrested them.

Katju first wrote to the chief minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan questioning the authority on why the girls were arrested. He also demanded suspension and arrest of the police officers responsible for this.

"To my mind it is absurd to say that protesting against a bandh hurts religious sentiments. Under Article 19(1) (a) of our Constitution, freedom of speech is a guaranteed fundamental right. We are living in a democracy, not a fascist dictatorship. In fact this arrest itself appears to be a criminal act, since under Sections 341 and 342 it is a crime to wrongfully arrest or wrongfully confine someone who has committed no crime," the letter stated.

He also wrote that if the facts reported are correct, the chief minister is requested to immediately order the suspension, arrest, chargesheeting and criminal prosecution of the police personnel (however high they may be) who ordered as well as implemented the arrest of that woman. "Failing this I will deem it that you as chief minister are unable to run the state in a democratic manner as envisaged by the Constitution to which you have taken oath, and then the legal consequences will follow."

On not receiving any reply from Chavan, he wrote a second letter that silence was not an option. "I once again request you to tell me, and through me the entire nation, why this arrest of a woman was made in Mumbai just for putting up an apparently innocuous material on the Facebook, and what action you have taken against the delinquent policemen and others involved in this high handedness and blatant misuse of state machinery."

The girl, a resident of Palghar Mumbai, was arrested for posting a comment that read "People like Bal Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a bandh for that." A friend who liked this comment on Facebook was also arrested. However, they were released on bail on Monday.

NEW DELHI: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court is to hear on 17 May a petition charging Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju and Secretary Vibha Bhargava of contempt of court by observing that the Court?s directive to ensure the print and electronic media do not report about troop movements.

In response to a directive sent to it by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for compliance of the High Court order, Justice Katju was reported to have said on 12 April that ?With great respect to the High Court, I am of the opinion that the order of the High Court is not correct.?

The Council has also filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court challenging the directive of the Allahabad High Court seeking to stop reporting of troop movements in the print and electronic media.

The order by Justice Uma Nath Singh and Justice V K Dixit of the High Court had come on 10 April following a public interest litigation by National RTI Forum Convener Dr Nutan Thakur praying to get an enquiry conducted about two news articles related with Army movement published on 4 April 2012.

The Judges had directed the Secretary in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and others to ensure that there was no reporting of any news item by the Print and Electronic Media relating to the movement of troops and the Ministry had sent a letter to that effect to the Council. The Ministry had also published the order on its website www.mib.nic.in

In her contempt petition, Thakur says the Press Council did not comply with the High Court order. This constitutes Contempt of Court.

She says if the Press Council of India was aggrieved by such an order, it had every right to file a Special Leave Petition but as an implementing authority, the Press Council Chairman did not have a legal authority to term it ?not correct? and to decide by himself that they would not comply with this High Court order.

"If every implementing authority starts behaving in the same manner, it would completely prejudice the judicial process," she said in the petition for initiating contempt proceeding against Justice Katju and Bhargava.

NEW DELHI: Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju has said interest of 12 per cent should be levied if payment for government advertisements is not made to newspapers within a month.

In a letter to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry cabinet secretary and chief secretaries of all states, Justice Katju noted that newspapers and periodicals are made to run from "pillar to post" to get the dues from Government Departments in Central and State Governments and the Union Territories and other authorities.

"Non-compliance of this directive will be taken very seriously by me, and the person or authority concerned will have to face the consequences," Katju said, asking Government departments to make the payments within a month of their advertisements being published in newspapers.

He stressed that the levy of interest per annum should not be taken as "penalty or punishment" and it is the normal accretion of capital. "It may be mentioned that interest is not a penalty or punishment at all. It is the normal accretion on capital. Hence for delayed payment, interest has also to be paid."

Katju said he had noticed a case where no payment was made by Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) till date to a newspaper for an advertisement published in 1997.

"In my opinion, this is most improper and unfair. The government or the statutory authority must behave as a role model for the citizens and must make prompt payments for goods or services they receive. If the management of a newspaper or journal receives prompt payment, they can invest it elsewhere and keep the money in circulation. If that is not done, the money is blocked," Katju wrote.

NEW DELHI: Justice Markandey Katju, retired judge of the Supreme Court, has been appointed chairman of the Press Council of India.

Katju succeeds Justice G N Ray, whose term has come to an end.

The appointment has been made under sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Press Council Act, 1978.

Justice Markandey Katju was born on 20 September 1946. He is son of the late Justice S.N. Katju who was a former judge of the Allahabad High Court, and grandson of Dr. Kailash Nath Katju one of India?s leading lawyers who participated in the country?s freedom movement. Dr. K N Katju later became the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, the Governor of West Bengal and Orissa, as well as the Union Law, Home and Defence Minister at various times.

After practicising law in the Allahabad High Court, Justice Markandey Katju was appointed Judge of the Allahabad High Court in 1991. He became its acting chief justice in August 2004, and was the chief justice of Madras High Court in November 2004. He became the chief justice of Delhi High Court in October 2005. He was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of India in April 2006 and retired on 19 September this year.

Justice Markandey Katju has written several books which include publications such as ?Law in the Scientific Era?, ?Interpretation of Taxing Statutes?, ?Mimansa Rules of Interpretation? and ?Domestic Enquiry?.