Geographical Indication for an Indigenous product - Toda Embroidery

Toda embroidery Got Geographical Indication

                             

Toda are a small Indigenous community who live on the isolated Nilgiri plateau of Southern India. Before the 18th century, the Toda coexisted locally with other communities in a loose caste-like community organization in which the Toda were the top ranking. The Toda population has hovered in the range 700 to 900 during the last century.

The Toda embroidery art, known as ‘pukhoor,’ has been passed on to generations and now they got Geographical Indications for their Embroidery work so, from now no one can use the word "Toda embroidery" other than these indigenous people. 

The GI status was given in March by Registry of Geographical Indications, Chennai. The recognition came after five years of effort by Toda Nalavaazhvu Sangham, Key Stone Foundation and Poompuhar (Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation).

The status not only ensures uniform pricing for Toda embroidery products but also insulates the art from being duplicated. 

Of the nearly 1,600 tribal people in nearly 69 hamlets, a little more than 400 are said to be actively involved in embroidery. The product range has now widened from Pootkhulu (shawl) to wall hangings, table mat, shoulder bags and gents and ladies shopping bag. Organisations such as the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India have been facilitating training programmes.

Compulsory license - first case in Indian Legal history

Land Mark Decision by Supreme Court - Compulsory License

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected pharma giant Novartis AG’s plea to preserve its patent over a life-saving cancer drug, Glivec, drawing a huge sigh of relief from thousands of patients in India and in dozens of developing countries as the fear of an almost 15-fold escalation of drug costs receded. It is the biggest setback for multinational pharma companies, which have been denied patent protection for a series of life-saving drugs in recent years. 

Invented in 1991, Glivec is a miracle cure for a type of blood cancer called chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). In this form of cancer, certain bone marrow cells go rogue and produce excessive white blood cells, causing mild fatigue and hip pain initially, but slipping into an out-of-control crisis of zooming platelet and white cell counts. It used to be fatal, but with Glivec, the survival rate is over 95%. Imanitib, the active component, is on the National Essential Drugs List in India. 

India has an estimated 3 lakh CML patients, with 20,000 added every year. Glivec is sold by Novartis for about 1.2 lakh per month. Indian manufacturers sell the same drug for 8,000. This was the reason why Novartis launched a seven-year-long legal battle to protect its patent on the drug.

CASES OF DEATH SENTENCES

Execution of Veerappan’s four aides stayed

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of four associates of slain forest brigand Veerappan till Wednesday. This follows a petition filed on their behalf by advocate Shamik Narain, seeking commutation of their death sentence to life imprisonment. It will be heard on Wednesday.

Their mercy petitions had been rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee.

A Bench of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justices Anil R. Dave and Vikramajit Sen granted liberty to the petitioner to amend the petition by making the four convicts parties.

Earlier, the Chief Justice told senior counsel Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Mr. Narain, that the petition in the present form was not maintainable. Counsel said he had received photo copies of the authorisation and the convicts’ vakkalatnamas. Their families had also given vakkalatnamas and the originals sent through courier would be received in a day or two and he should be permitted to amend the petition. Simon, Gnanaprakash, Madaiah and Bilavendra, who were convicted of killing 22 persons in landmine blasts in Palar, are in the Hindalga Central Jail in Belgaum since 2004.

Mr. Gonsalves pointed out that a Bench headed by Justice Singhvi had reserved judgment in the Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar case, whose mercy plea has suffered a long delay. The court in that case had appointed senior counsel Ram Jethmalani and senior counsel T.R. Andhyarujina as amicus curiae to assist it. The case of killers of Rajiv Gandhi was transferred to this court to be heard after the judgment, Mr. Gonsalves said. The judgment would have a bearing on all similar matters, he said and prayed for commutation of the death sentence of the four convicts to life imprisonment on the ground of an inordinate nine-year delay in disposal of their mercy petitions.

When the Chief Justice asked Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati to examine the question of delay in disposal of mercy petitions, the latter said the petition was not maintainable. The petitioner had not even mentioned why the four convicts were convicted, he said and added “they were sentenced for a crime against the state.” When the Chief Justice said “what is important is the question of delay,” Mr. Vahanvati said “the President cannot forecast [the Bhullar judgment] and decide an issue.”

Mr. Andhyarujina told the court that the Justice Singhvi Bench had called for files relating to all mercy petitions and reserved judgment in April 2012 and the decision would have a bearing on all cases.

Mr. Jethmalani urged the court not to stand on technicalities and pleaded for a stay on the execution. He said in ‘death cases’ a two-judge Bench headed by Justice Chinnappa Reddy had laid down a proposition of law that the whole process of trial, appeals and mercy petitions should be decided within two years and this judgment was followed by the Privy Council and House of Lords. However, this judgment was whittled down by a three-judge Bench. Until the judgment was pronounced in the Bhullar case, all executions must be stayed.