HK accuses Taiwan of ‘interfering’ in its internal affairs

Hong Kong on Friday said it has pulled all of its staff out of Taiwan and accused it of having “grossly interfered” in the Chinese city’s internal affairs. Taiwan said Hong Kong had politicised a connection that was dedicated to serving the public, and that it supports universal values of free speech and assembly. Hong Kong said its Economic, Trade and Cultural Office will remain closed while it closely monitors development and considers the way forward “in a holistic manner”.

HONG KONG:

duction goes to the Union government that sends vials to states to vaccine people above the age of 44 for free.

The remaining half is split between the state governments and private hospitals. Only the doses acquired by the state government are offered for free to the under-45 group – at private hospitals, these can cost between ₹900-1,250 depending on the facility and the vaccine.

According to an affidavit filed by the Union government to the Supreme Court on May 9, the Centre has allocated 360,530 doses for Delhi government to acquire from the vaccine makers for administration to people below 45. This is separate from the doses acquired by private hospitals directly from the vaccine makers.

On Friday, the Delhi government said that vaccination has been suspended in 235 of the 368 centres meant for the 18-44 age group. This includes 140 centres where Covaxin was being administered and had to be shut last week when the vaccine ran out.

The remaining centres are likely to run out of doses within a few hours when they open on Saturday, Atishi said. “Collectively, these 133 centres have Covishield stocks which will not last for more than a few hours on Saturday. And we will be forced to suspend them too,” Atishi said.

She added that for the 45-andabove age group, only second doses of Covaxin were being given. “We technically have Covaxin doses that would last for less than a day (for the 45 and above age group). So, we are managing things by vaccinating only people arriving at the centres for second doses. For this beneficiary group, we have eight days’ Covishield stock left. I urge the central government to intervene in this regard and ensure that we do not have to suspend vaccine centres for any group,” she said.

At least three states -- Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan -- too halted vaccinations for the 18-44 age group earlier in the month after a surge in demand meant the limited doses were quickly used up. Karnataka too suspended the drive for this age group but said on Friday it will resume it from the weekend. Tamil Nadu, which was short on doses for this category, began inoculating this category only on Friday.

Experts said accelerating the vaccination drive is crucial in order to stave off another wave of cases. “In several states across the country, including Delhi, the case trajectory and positivity rates are going down at this point. This is the time to boost the vaccination drive. This period of decline in cases is an opportunity to increase vaccine coverage and protect large share of the population against potential waves in the coming days,” said Dr Lalit Kant, former head of the epidemiology and communicable diseases division at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

“A state like Delhi has seen the terrible consequences of a recent Covid-19 wave. We can’t let that happen again. Governments should take all possible steps to ensure increased production of vaccines, more supply and enable opening of more vaccine centres across the country to widen the drive and increase vaccine coverage at this point,” he added.

provision against the guarantors of companies going through insolvency proceedings, if the debt owed by such a company is not repaid under the resolution plan, the personal guarantor could be forced into bankruptcy proceedings by the creditors.

Reacting to the verdict, Faisal Sherwani, Partner, L&L Partners law firm, said: “It is time for promoters who furnish personal guarantees lightly to wake up and smell the coffee. From a jurisprudential perspective, it is now clear that mere approval of a resolution plan relating to a corporate debtor would not mean that the personal guarantor is also off the hook. After all, the object sought to be achieved by the amendment was permissible and aimed at maintaining the financial health of the banking sector.”

However, advocate Soumya Dharwa, who represented one of the petitioners in the matter, apprehended that the judgment may result in further concentration of powers with the lender banks by opening another avenue for recovery of their loans apart from SARFAESI Act, debt recovery proceedings, and other civil remedies already available. This, the lawyer said, will also open the floodgates for multiple litigations between the lenders and corporate borrowers and their personal guarantors.

While the petitions alleged that the Centre did not have the power to bring in IBC provisions selectively to personal guarantors of corporate debtors, the top court underscored that “there is no compulsion in the Code that it should, at the same time, be made applicable to all individuals (including personal guarantors), or not at all”.

“The intimate connection between such individuals and corporate entities to whom they stood guarantee, as well as the possibility of two separate processes being carried on in different forums, with its attendant uncertain outcomes, led to carving out personal guarantors as a separate species of individuals, for whom the adjudicating authority was common with the corporate debtor to whom they had stood guarantee,” said the bench.

Citing various pertinent provisions of IBC, the bench noted that there was “sufficient legislative guidance” for the central government to distinguish and classify personal guarantors separately from other individuals and provide the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) as a common forum for the financial institutions and other lenders to seek recovery of their debts.

“The NCLT would be able to consider the whole picture, as it were, about the nature of the assets available, either during the corporate debtor’s insolvency process, or even later; this would facilitate the Committee of Creditors (COC) in framing realistic plans, keeping in mind the prospect of realizing some part of the creditors’ dues from personal guarantors,” highlighted the bench, finding justification in merger of proceedings against personal guarantors with that of corporate debtors.

It shot down another contention by the petitioners that since an approved resolution plan in respect of a corporate debtor amounted to extinction of all outstanding claims against that debtor, the liability of the personal guarantor must also go.

Referring to a few judicial precedents as well as provisions of the Contract Act, the bench held that the approval of a resolution plan did not discharge personal guarantors of their liabilities under the contract of guarantee.

Representing the Centre, attorney general KK Venugopal and solicitor general Tushar Mehta defended the November 15, 2019, notification that came into force from December 1 that year on the grounds that the objective was to have a unified adjudication through the same forum (NCLT) for resolution of issues concerning corporate resolution processes, as well as bankruptcy and insolvency processes in relation to personal guarantors.

The notification, the law officers claimed, would ensure a more optimal resolution process and the total debt servicing of the corporate debtor might be lowered if the personal guarantor’s assets were also taken into account to mitigate the corporate debtor’s liabilities.

In June 2020, State Bank of India moved NCLT, Mumbai, to recover more than ₹1,200 crore from Anil Ambani as he had given a personal guarantee for loans extended to Reliance Communications Ltd and Reliance Infratel Ltd. Soon thereafter, several promoters and directors challenged the 2019 notification, prompting the Supreme Court to transfer all matters to itself last year.

In view of the nationwide challenges to the notification, the top court, in October 2020 asked the high courts across the country not to pass any order in such cases. It had also passed an interim order, staying the insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings against the personal guarantors, which will revive after the verdict on Friday.

ers led by DGSS, to threaten to hug the trees and prevent them from being felled by Symond’s agents.”

But the root cause of the movement was the reckless cutting of trees in the 1970s in the upper reaches of now Uttarakhand by timber merchants. From Raini village, the movement spread to several other villages as women hugged trees to protect them. Bahuguna gave a national voice to the movement, and wrote a letter to then PM Indira Gandhi.

Bahuguna with other activists such as Shekhar Pathak and Chandi Prasad Bhatt started a statewide campaign to protect the forests and people’s livelihood. “He was able to give direction and words to people’s sentiments in the hills. He understood their pain. Nobody could match his dedication to the Himalayas,” Pathak said.

Rajendra Singh, water conservationist and founder of Tarun Bharat Sangh, said Bahuguna took the Chipko movement, started by Gaura Devi and other women from Raini village, into global spotlight. Guha summed the movement by quoting a peasant of Badyagarh on the Chipko movement: “We got only little food from our fields; when we could not get wood to cook even this paltry amount, we had to resort to a movement.”

Bahuguna also opposed the construction of the Tehri Dam by fasting for 75 days, and was able to convince the authorities to reduce the dam height, thereby saving hundreds of trees. He broke his fast at the insistence of then PM HD Deve Gowda.

Remembering Bahuguna, Ravi Chopra, director, People’s Science Institute, said: “At this time when all environmental regulation and caution has been abandoned by those in power, Bahuguna ji’s voice was a great encouragement to those struggling on behalf of the environment. His passing is a step back for environmental struggles.”

Bahuguna’s tireless dedication and perseverance paved the way for those who came after -and inspired by him, many did.

“My life’s vision was shaped by Bahuguna ji. I have been working with him since the 1960s. In 1974, I joined him on the Asakot Arakot padyatra. He has taught many of us the way of life. How can I sum him up in a few words? In a way he instilled the will power to fight in all of us who worked with him -- the fight to protect our forests.,” said Vijay Jhardhari (69), Chipko movement member and founder of

search is underway,” Patil added.

It is believed that all the rebels killed in the encounter belonged to Kasansur dalam (squad). According to the district police, divisional committee member of the Maoists, Satish Mohanda, who was carrying a reward of ₹16 lakh on his head, was among the deceased. Deputy commander of Kasansur dalam, Rupesh Gawde, was also reportedly killed in the gun battle.

District police superintendent Ankit Goyal said several armed Maoists escaped with a few bodies of their colleagues.

Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil praised the police for the operation.