• NATIONAL

SC grants bail to Ketan Parekh in Canfina MF scam

Supreme Court has granted bail to stockbroker Ketan Parekh in the Canfina Mutual Fund scam case. He had been held guilty in the case related to 1992 stocks scam, duping Canbank Financial Services of more than Rs 47 crores.

Supreme Court offers relief to MF Husain

Noted painter MF Husain got a major relief from the Supreme Court, which refused to initiate criminal proceedings against him for allegedly hurting public sentiments through some of his paintings that were dubbed as obscene.

Court endorses lowering age bar for recruiting teachers

The Delhi High Court upheld a government notification of reducing the age limit for appointment of assistant teachers in state-run schools in the national capital. With the latest notification, minimum and maximum eligible ages are 20 and 27 years respectively for the post. Earlier the maximum age limits were 32 for male and 42 for female candidates.

Court to hear developers' plea in Goa SEZ muddle

The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court scheduled to hear a bunch of petitions filed by SEZ developers against cancellation of land allotted to them in Goa. The Goa government, under public pressure, was forced to take a policy decision to scrap the mammoth SEZ projects, but the central government has refused to allow the same. The union commerce ministry has maintained that once the Board of Approvals, a nodal agency for SEZs, notified a project, the state has no powers to scrap it.

Cabinet nod for Delhi branch of Permanent Court of Arbitration

The Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to set up a regional branch of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in New Delhi, a move that will help local and foreign companies as well as the government to resolve disputes through arbitration. The proposed branch would provide a forum for international arbitration in India for disputes arising in the country and the region. It would reduce cost of arbitration, encouraging frequent recourse to the alternative method of settling disputes. The facility would benefit both state as well as non-state entities, such as foreign companies, which have made investments in the region.

Apex court suggests expert member on patent board

The Supreme Court suggested that the Centre should consider having an expert member on the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) that reviews decisions of the Indian patent office. The case went to the apex court after the Madras High Court had asked the government to hear an appeal from Swiss pharmaceutical major Novartis against the rejection of a patent for its cancer medicine Glivec, without the panel having an expert member.

• INTERNATIONAL 

China approves law to promote sustainable economy

China's legislature passed a law calling for fiscal spending, tax breaks and other measures to promote sustainable economic growth via resource conservation and pollution control.

The law will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2009 and it calls for closer monitoring of resource-intensive and heavily polluting industries such as steelmaking, non-ferrous metal production, power generation, oil refining, construction and printing, Xinhua said.

Israel cabinet backs bill restricting Supreme Court review power

The Israeli cabinet voted 13-11 in support of a bill to restrict the ability of the Israeli Supreme Court to overturn laws passed by the Knesset and granting the Knesset authority to revise laws overturned by the court.

Three judges reappointed to Pakistan high court

Three judges ousted from the Pakistani Supreme Court by former President Pervez Musharraf took new oaths. Justices Mian Shakirullah Jan, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and Syed Jamshed Ali rejoined the court with seniority retroactive to their removal in November.

Mexico Supreme Court orders Wal-Mart to stop paying workers in store vouchers

The Mexican Supreme Court of Justice ruled that Wal-Mart de Mexico may not pay employees in part with vouchers redeemable only at its stores. The court nullified the employment contract of a worker who challenged the voucher payments, finding that they violated Article 123 of the Mexican Constitution, which guarantees the right to "dignified and socially useful work."