New Delhi: The Home Ministry on Friday made it clear that former President APJ Abdul Kalam's acceptance of the mercy petition of an Assam death row convict was conveyed to his successor Pratibha Patil and she was not kept in the dark. In a statement, the Home Ministry said the entire file related to death row convict Mahendra Nath Das, including the minutes recorded by the previous President, were placed before the then President Pratibha Patil for her consideration.
The clarification came after the Supreme Court observed that Patil was "kept in the dark" by the Home Ministry about the view of her predecessor Kalam, who had ordered commuting the death sentence of Das to life imprisonment.
The Ministry said when a mercy petition is considered, a basic note is prepared by the division concerned and the Joint Secretary concerned submits the same through the Additional Secretary and the Home Secretary to the Home Minister. In the case of Mahendra Nath Das, a basic note was prepared on September 30, 2010. Paragraph 10 of the basic note extracted the view recorded by Kalam. The Joint Secretary who submitted the note to the Home Minister also referred to the view of Kalam at para 4 of his note.
The Home Minister recorded his advice to the President on October 12, 2010. "Thereafter, a summary for the President was prepared and submitted to the President on October 18, 2010. President Patil gave her decision on May 8, 2011....
07:33 PM, May 03, 2013
Amid demands of death for rapists, a Parliamentary panel today suggested that President should not consider clemency pleas in rape and murder cases and said mercy petitions should be disposed of within three months and reasons for granting clemency should be made public. ...
11:49 AM, Mar 02, 2013
Notwithstanding a huge controversy over expenditure on her foreign travels, the then President Pratibha Patil ran up a bill of Rs 18.08 crore on her last trip abroad shortly before demitting office, according to official information accessed through RTI. ...
09:57 PM, Jan 13, 2013
Former President Pratibha Patil on Saturday expressed her grief at the demise of the 23-year-old girl who was gangraped in a moving bus in the national capital, terming it as a very sad incident. Paying her homage to the family of the braveheart, the former President said that the incident had shaken the minds of the citizens of the country. ...
07:26 PM, Dec 29, 2012
Delhi government has turned down Delhi Lokayukta's request to send its report against Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to the president for review of an earlier decision in a case relating to alleged misrepresentation of facts by her on construction of low-cost flats. In an order in July last year, Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin had recommendation to the president to censure Dikshit for allegedly misrepresenting facts on construction of flats for...
10:45 PM, Dec 11, 2012
New Delhi: Former president Pratibha Patil has courted controversy yet again. This time, she is under the scanner for taking a range of expensive gifts she had received as President to her hometown Amravati. It is being seen as an aberration of sorts by Constitutional experts. Patil reportedly received more than 150 gifts during her tenure as President. These included a gift from US President Barack Obama and a gold-plated...
01:47 PM, Aug 02, 2012
New Delhi: After five years of stay in the 340-room Presidential mansion, Pratibha Patil on Wednesday moved to a four bedroom bungalow in New Delhi at a high-security area in the heart of the capital. President Pranab Mukherjee escorted his predecessor to 2, Tughlaq Lane bungalow located at a posh area in Lutyens' Delhi also housing VIPs including Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Union Ministers Veerappa Moily and Krishna...
07:14 PM, Jul 25, 2012
New Delhi: In his first speech as President, Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday touched almost every grave issue prevailing in the country ranging from poverty, terrorism, economy and social equality, saying "We should learn from our past and must remain focused on the future." Mukherjee, who on Wednesday became the 13th President of India, did not forget to share his traumatic days as a child in West Bengal. "I have seen...
02:46 PM, Jul 25, 2012
New Delhi: Pranab Mukherjee took over as the thirteenth President of India on 25th July 2012. In his first speech as the 13th President of India, Pranab Mukherjee vowed to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of India. Here's the full text of the speech: Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Shri Hamid Ansari, Smt. Meira Kumar, Shri Justice S.H. Kapadia, Members of Parliament, Your Excellencies, Friends and fellow citizens, I am...
12:00 PM, Jul 25, 2012
New Delhi: Pranab Mukherjee was on Wednesday sworn in as the country's 13th President at an impressive ceremony in the packed and historic Central Hall of Parliament. Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia administered the oath of office to Mukherjee in the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Ministers, Governors and a host of dignitaries. Dressed...
11:57 AM, Jul 25, 2012
New Delhi: He has walked the corridors of power for almost 40 years. It's a journey which has ensured that today Pranab Mukherjee has friends in every party and it's the one advantage which he is counting on as he prepares to become India's next President. "He represents unique repository of the history of our party who sees him as part of the landscape. He inspires like a teacher, friend,...
10:09 AM, Jul 25, 2012
New Delhi: 11:40 am: In his first speech as the 13th President of India, Pranab Mukherjee vowed to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of India. "I will strive to preserve, protect and defend our constitution not just in words but also in spirit," said President Pranab Mukherjee. Talking of poverty in India, Pranab said, "Trickle down theories do not address legitimate aspirations of the poor. We must erase poverty...
09:15 AM, Jul 25, 2012
New Delhi: Pranab Mukherjee will be sworn in as the 13th President of India on Wednesday. He will take oath in the Central Hall of Parliament. But before that, he will pay respects at Rajghat, Shakti Sthal and Veer Bhumi. After that he will meet outgoing President Pratibha Patil, who will preside over her final guard of honour. Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia will administer the oath to Mukherjee...
07:15 AM, Jul 25, 2012
New Delhi: On the eve of demitting her office, President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday highlighted the scourge of corruption saying it is the enemy of good governance and asked government and people to collectively fight it. "Corruption is the enemy of development, and of good governance. It must be got rid of. Both the Government and the people at large must come together to achieve this national objective," Patil said...
02:59 AM, Jul 25, 2012
Pune: Even before the city was chosen by Pratibha Patil recently as her retirement destination, it seems to have been her preferred place for a visit during her five-year tenure as president of the country. A reply to an application filed by MiD DAY with the outgoing presidents secretariat under the Right to Information (RTI) Act reveals Patil made 13 visits to the city during her tenure. The information provided...
02:02 PM, Jul 24, 2012
New Delhi: With the stand-off between her party and the NCP continuing, Congress President Sonia Gandhi was on Monday heard asking NCP leader Praful Patel to "do something" to end the crisis. Gandhi's remark in half-jest at the tea party after the farewell function held for outgoing President Pratibha Patil drew an instant reaction from Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, who was also having a chat with the Congress chief....
09:59 PM, Jul 23, 2012
New Delhi: As Pranab Mukherjee gets ready to be sworn in as the 13th President of India, the farewell ceremonies for the outgoing President Pratibha Patil have begun. Pratibha gave her farewell speech in the Rajya Sabha earlier on Monday evening. The Prime Minister is hosting a farewell dinner for President Pratibha Patil at Hyderabad House in the capital. Pratibha will host a dinner for President-elect Pranab Mukherjee and Prime...
08:42 PM, Jul 23, 2012
Pune: With her earlier choice of post-retirement home mired in controversy, President Pratibha Patil, whose term ends on July 24, will now settle down in a consideably smaller bungalow in this city, popularly known as Maharashtra's pensioners' paradise. The house is however not yet ready and she will temporarily move to a bungalow at 2 Tughlaq Lane in New Delhi before shifting to Pune. Raigad, a bungalow on the busy...
08:15 AM, Jul 23, 2012
New Delhi: Members of both Houses of Parliament are expected to give a warm send-off to outgoing President Pratibha Patil on Monday. A programme is scheduled to take place in Rashtrapati Bhawan's historic Central Hall. Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday scripted history by becoming the first person from West Bengal to be elected as the President of India. He defeated his opponent, former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma, with a...
06:17 AM, Jul 23, 2012
New Delhi: After the 340 rooms of Rashtrapati Bhavan, a four bedroom bungalow in New Delhi will be President Pratibha Patil's temporary residence after she steps down July 24 before moving into her retirement home in Pune in about a month. "Bungalow No.2 on Tughlaq Lane has been allotted to Pratibha Patil and she is scheduled to move in on or before July 25," an official of the Central Public...
11:49 AM, Jul 22, 2012
