Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s decision to cancel his visit to Ladakh last week proved to be a blessing for the four IB officials against whom prosecution sanction was denied by the MHA to the CBI in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. Singh was scheduled to visit ITBP posts on Friday-Saturday last week, but could not do so due to inclement weather there. Instead, he went to office and decided to deal with the pending file. Officials said the cancelled visit appears to have expedited the process. Centre Of Attention The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) case appears to be the most keenly-watched legal battle. The court hall in the Supreme Court is crammed with lawyers, researchers and journalists, even though vacations are on. Seeking to carve out an exception, advocate Mathews Nedumpara made a request to the Constitution Bench to allow live telecast of the proceedings. But the Bench said it was an administrative order and only the Chief Justice of India could approve it. Nedumpara said he would try his luck once the CJI is back. No Respite Whether the HRD Ministry relieves IIT-Delhi director R Shevgaonkar on June 12 — when he completes his notice period — remains to be seen. The ministry seems to be in no mood to drop the inquiry on the MoU between IIT-D and Mauritius Research Council for setting up an International Institute of Technology Research Academy in Mauritius. In a note recommending that Shevgaonkar be relieved, the ministry also said the inquiry against him can continue since he will remain within the IIT system. He is to go back to IIT-Bombay after June 12. New Role Special Director in the ED Karnal Singh is likely to be posted as Additional Director General in the NIA to replace N R Wasan, who has recently been shifted as DG of the Bureau of Police Research and Development. Singh has handled several terror cases during his stint with the Delhi Police Special Cell.
