• NATIONAL NEWS

No hurry in changing anti-gay law: Govt

A decision on repealing a colonial-era law which criminalises homosexuality would be taken only after consulting "all sections" of the society, Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily said on Sunday.

The gay community demands repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which provides imprisonment of 10 years for unnatural sex, including that of homosexual nature, even between two consenting adults.

Home Minister P Chidambaram, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Moily are to hold a joint meeting to discuss the law, but Moily appeared cautious about repealing it.

Premji sends legal notice to board and former directors of Subhiksha

The Azim Premji-owned Zash Investments has upped the ante in its dispute with the board of troubled retail firm Subhiksha by

sending a legal notice to all its current and former directors over their alleged failure to perform their duties.

Zash, which owns 10% of Subhiksha, has said that the directors, including those belonging to ICICI Venture, another leading shareholder, did not fully probe the retail firm's financials and did not provide proper numbers when Zash bought a stake in the company last year.

The move threatens to further derail Subhiksha's attempts to extricate itself from an overdose of debt and unwise investments. At the heart of the dispute is Zash's purchase of 10% in Subhiksha from ICICI Venture in 2008 for Rs 230 crore. A few months after the deal, Subhiksha ran out of cash and asked its banks to moderate its debt obligations. It also shuttered all its 1600 shops across the country and could not pay its salaries. Zash is now demanding answers, saying that it was misled on the true financial position of Subhiksha.

RIL, NTPC to sign new gas deal despite legal dispute

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is likely to sign a gas sales and purchase agreement (GSPA) with state-owned power major NTPC to supply gas at the government-mandated price of $4.2 per million metric British thermal unit (mmBtu).

RIL will supply 2.67 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas from its Krishna-Godavari (K-G) basin for NTPC's plants at Anta, Dadri and Faridabad in Uttar Pradesh.

The significance of this agreement is that it has been signed despite a continuing case in the Bombay High Court between RIL and NTPC for supply of 12 mmscmd gas to the power major's Kawas and Gandhar plants in Gujarat for 17 years at a price of $2.34.

This supply was to start in 2007 but a dispute arose over a clause on the liability of either of the two companies in the event of a failure to supply or receive gas. RIL wanted the liability to be limited if it had to make up for any supply gap by paying NTPC a price difference for alternative fuel.

CPA Global's India arm to handle legal work of Rio Tinto

The UK-based mining company Rio Tinto has entered into a legal services outsourcing agreement with CPA Global, which is projected to save the company up to 20 per cent annually in legal costs.

Under the agreement, the UK-based provider of outsourced legal support services will give Rio Tinto a dedicated team of lawyers in India through its Indian outfit to support the company's in-house legal function on a global basis.

The CPA Global Director and Country Head of Indian operations, Mr Bhaskar Bagchi, said: "CPA Global's India team will serve as an extension of Rio Tinto's internal legal department. They are handpicked, well-trained legal professionals who will work on a whole range of Rio Tinto's legal matters from across the globe."

• INTERNATIONAL NEWS

BNP dismisses legal action threat

The British National Party has dismissed threats of legal action over its membership policies by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The commission said it had written to the party over possible breaches of the law in the BNP's constitution, membership rules and recruitment.

It asked the BNP to pledge to comply with the Race Relations Act by 20 July or face a potential legal injunction.

But BNP leader Nick Griffin said the party's rules were "entirely legal".

Mr Griffin - who was elected as an MEP for the North West on 4 June - said the BNP was an exempted organisation under Section 25 and Section 26 of the Race Relations Act.

Indonesia legal system under fire over e-mail case

An Indonesian mother who was fined, jailed and put on trial after sending an e-mail to friends complaining about her treatment in a private hospital, has become a rallying point for reform of the country's legal system.

Indonesia's unpredictable legal system is one of the main deterrents to much needed investment.

While President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is seeking re-election next month, has pushed through some reforms and made inroads tackling graft in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, reform of the legal system has lagged.

The defamation case against Prita Mulyasari has sparked a public uproar over a perception that she has been miserably treated by a legal system that often favours the rich and well-connected in the world's fourth-most populous country. "It's a very important case because it has to do with freedom of speech, freedom of expression," said Todung Mulya Lubis, a prominent Indonesian lawyer and rights campaigner.