HC confirms dismissal of judge on graft charge

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, JULY 17, 2018 00:00 IST


He had received illegal gratification to grant bail

The Madras High Court on Monday confirmed the dismissal of a principal district judge from service after finding him guilty of having received illegal gratification to grant bail to an accused in a child sexual abuse case. The court held that the punishment imposed on him was commensurate with the seriousness of the misconduct committed by him.

A Division Bench of Justices M. Venugopal and N. Nirmal Kumar rejected a writ petition filed by K. Ganesan, challenging a Government Order issued by the Public Department on April 24, 2017, dismissing him from service. They pointed out that the G.O. had been issued only on the basis of a recommendation made by a majority of the Madras High Court judges.

The Bench said the petitioner had joined judicial service as a district munsif-cum-judicial magistrate through the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission in November 1988, and had served in various districts over a period of 24 years. He was holding the post of the principal district judge, Tirupur, when he was about to complete 58 years of age on November 30, 2012.

Nevertheless, considering his past records of service, the High Court, on November 23, 2012, extended his service for two more years, and on September 16, 2014, suspended him from service, pending an enquiry into allegations of corruption against him. The action was initiated on the basis of a complaint lodged by the father of a victim of child sexual abuse.

Subsequently, Justice K. Ravichandrabaabu of the High Court was appointed as the enquiry officer, and he found the writ petitioner guilty on August 10, 2016. The enquiry officer found the district judge to have granted bail to the accused on the ground that the public prosecutor had not raised any serious objection, though the reality was otherwise.

Filing of chargesheet

On perusing the records, the officer found that the prosecution had filed a counter-affidavit, vehemently objecting to the grant of bail. He also summoned and recorded the statement of the public prosecutor that the latter did raise strong objections to the grant of bail. The writ petitioner did not submit any evidence to disprove the statement.

Further, the petitioner, during the enquiry, claimed to have granted bail only because a chargesheet had been filed in the case. But a bare reading of the bail order clearly showed that he was not even aware of the chargesheet having been filed. The petitioner was also found guilty of having granted bail with simple conditions for extraneous considerations.

The enquiry officer’s report was placed before the High Court’s Administrative Committee (comprising seven senior judges) which, on August 30, 2016 decided to dismiss the petitioner from service. The decision was approved by a majority of judges in the full court meeting held on January 10, 2017, and forwarded to the government for necessary action.

Now, authoring the judgment for the Division Bench, Mr. Justice Venugopal said the punishment was neither irrational nor disproportionate. He said a charge need not be proved with rigid mathematical demonstration, as it was impossible to do so. It was sufficient to prove a charge with evidence that would induce a reasonable man to come to a particular conclusion, he said.

Homage paid to Kumbakonam fire victims on 14th anniversary

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Trichy:17.07.2018

Parents and relatives of the 94 children who were charred to death in the 2004 Kumbakonam fire tragedy have appealed to the state government to announce July 16 – the day the accident happened – as ‘Children Protection Day.’ They also requested that a local holiday be announced in view of the anniversary, every year.

K Inbaraj, a parent and a native of Kumbakonam, who lost his two sons I Aanadharaj and I Praveenraj, who studied in Class V and III respectively, told TOI that announcing July 16 as Children Protection Day would create awareness among parents as well as school authorities on the protection of wards. “I lost both my kids and that should not happen to anyone.”

Parents, relatives and Tamil and political outfits paid homage to the deceased children on Monday, the 14th anniversary of the tragedy. They paid floral tributes to the portraits of the kids placed in front of the school, which has remained closed since the accident. They also lit candles in front of the flex banners and parents offered various treats like sweets and chocolates, which were liked by their wards.

Kumbakonam tahsildar Venkatachalam, municipality commissioner K Uma Maheswari and functionaries from various political parties also participated at the event and paid their tributes.

A total of 94 children were charred to death and 18 were grievously injured in the fire that broke out on July 16, 2004 at Krishna English Medium School in Kasiraman Street in Kumbakonam. Three children escaped with minor injuries. The school functioned from a building with a thatched roof.

TT player moves HC seeking MBBS seat in sports quota

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:17.07.2018

A 19-year-old table tennis player from Palani in Dindigul district, who has won medals in district and divisional level competitions, has approached the Madurai bench of the Madras high court seeking its intervention to get her MBBS admission in any of the government colleges in the state.

N Cheral Yazhini, who completed Class 12 in 2016, had written the national eligibility cum entrance test (NEET) this year and scored 163 marks. Contending that there has been no transparency on how the directorate of medical education selected eligible candidates under sports quota, the petitioner sought the court’s help. She claimed that those who scored lesser marks than her under the sports quota scoring system for admission to MBBS/BDS courses in the state had been included in the list, but not her.

The petition said she has been participating in zonal, district and divisional level table tennis tournaments since 2012 until she finished school in 2016. In the four years that she played the sport, she secured seven gold medals in district-level tournaments and two silver and two bronze medals in divisional-level tournaments. “It is my ambition to become a doctor. Hence, though I completed school in 2016, I waited for two years to join MBBS without joining any other course,” the petitioner stated.

After passing NEET this year, the petitioner was awaiting the list of sports quota candidates.

The directorate of medical education had put up a list of candidates eligible under the sports quota for counselling on its website on June 30. However, much to her chagrin, her name was missing from the list.

The girl, in her petition, said that according to the admission prospectus published by the DME, she had secured 465 marks based on marks allotted for individual medals in district and divisional tournaments.

Claiming that the list had only 44 eligible candidates, some of whom scored less than her, the petitioner sought the court’s intervention to declare the list as illegal. Justice M S Ramesh admitted the petition and sought a response from the concerned authorities.

Coversation ON Education

‘NEET has ensured level playing field for students from all boards’
Controversies involving NEET have been neverending. It is now drawing flak because students with negative marks in a subject have also managed to get admission. It is the faulty implementation of the exam that is to blame, says Medical Council of India vice-president Dr C V Bhirmanandham , who was part of the team that recommended introduction of NEET two years ago. In an interview with Pushpa Narayan , he says though there is room for improvement in NEET it has ensured meritorious students are not left out and forced states to revamp the school curriculum

It’s been two years since NEET has been implemented. Do you think it has improved the quality of students in medical education?

NEET was brought in to ensure meritorious students get into medical colleges. It has brought a level playing field for students from all boards. It has also made states to rethink the quality of school education they provide. States are now revising syllabus and improving teaching quality. Unfortunately, we are seeing drawbacks during implementation. One of the biggest criticisms is that students who scored negative marks in one or two of the subjects tested for NEET have got admission this year. Most of these admissions are in deemed universities. This happened because in online counselling the student with the highest rank locks the seat. Many students who scraped through NEET got admissions. There is a discussion now whether we should have a minimum mark for each of the subjects. There were also errors in the paper. Students should be evaluated properly. They should also be allotted seats carefully. For instance, instead of counselling for deemed universities along with all-India quota (AIQ) in government colleges, the directorate general of health services can do AIQ seats first. Students with high marks should be given the option to get into deemed universities first.

If students with poor marks enter college won’t it affect the quality of doctors?

The course offers rigorous training with a year’s internship. We monitor course content and ensure students are taught everything they need to study. Nevertheless, it is important to have an exit exam before they are allowed to register themselves as doctors. This will ensure the quality and standards of medical colleges in government and private sector. It is mandatory in most countries. The exam is a part of the National Medical Commission Bill and will be made mandatory once the bill is passed. It took us five years to implement NEET across the country. Exit exam may face similar hurdles, but like NEET it will soon be inevitable.

Isn’t the high fee structure in deemed universities one of the reasons why some meritorious students are kept out?

Yes. Fee structure in some universities is very high. And most students who enter these colleges must be willing to pay up to ₹1 crore towards course fee. Some of these students may not have high ranks. But I think we should accept it the way it is because medical education in many universities across the world is expensive. The overheads such as salaries for senior professors in private sector are high.

Do you think such institutions have no scope to reduce fees?

Of course they do. They can increase bed charges and cost of treatment for patients who opt for private and luxury rooms to subsidise education. They can also offer scholarships to meritorious students. This way, students with high marks, who can’t afford high fee, can study medicine in those colleges. But these can’t be forced on the colleges. They have autonomy to fix fee and they must be judicious.

Why can’t MCI allow government colleges like the Madras Medical College to triple their MBBS seats?

That’s not as simple as it sounds. The government will have to triple their faculty requirements. They will need more doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff to run these colleges. The reason students prefer government colleges is not just because the fee is low, but because the teaching quality is high. With 250 students in one classroom, it’s already crowded.



TESTING TIMES: NEET needs to be implemented properly by mandating careful allotment of seats, error-free question papers and meticulous evaluation

Bank told to pay customer ₹25k for holding pension

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:17.07.2018

The district consumer redressal forum of Madurai has slapped a fine of ₹25,000 on State Bank of India, KK Nagar branch, Madurai, as compensation to a retired central government employee for holding his pension for five months in 2013.

The petitioner U Ramu of Iyer Bungalow in Madurai is a retired employee of the commercial taxes department. He approached the consumer forum seeking compensation of ₹2 lakh after the bank officials held his pension amount as he delayed paying the education loan of his daughter.

In February 2013, Ramu attempted to withdraw money from an ATM, but the machine response was ‘unable to process’.

Ramu found that the bank authorities were holding his pension amount due to delay in repayment of the education loan his daughter took in September 2011.

The bank authorities, in their counter petition, cited the same reason for ‘holding’ the pension amount. “They had promised to repay the amount within three months,” the bank authorities said in their counter.

However, the Madurai bench of the Madras high court which heard the petition asked the bank authorities to end the hold-up.

Ramu did not receive pension from February 2013 until July 2013. After hearing both the sides and also taking into account the HC ruling on the same issue, the district consumer forum ruled in favour of the pensioner. The bench comprising members C Packialakshmi, M Maraikamalai and V Balasundarakumar directed the bank authorities to compensate ₹25,000 to the retired government staffer for the mental agony caused to him.

WOMEN UNDER ATTACK

12-year-old girl in flats is gang-raped for 7 mths, 18 held
Cops: Suspects Videographed Act, Blackmailed Child, Probe On

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:17.07.2018

At least 22 men including security guards, elevator operators and plumbers at an apartment complex in Purasawalkam here sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl with a hearing disorder for more than seven months, police said on Monday.

Investigators apprehended 18 suspects on Monday, arresting six later in the day and detaining 12. They are searching for others involved in the horrific crime in the heart of the city.

The perpetrators sedated the Class VII girl with injections, drug-laced soft drinks and a powder that they made her sniff before sexually assaulting her and videographed themselves in the act, an investigating officer said.

They blackmailed the child into silence for a prolonged period with the threat of releasing the videos and by menacing her with violence, he said. “This continued till the girl on Saturday told her older sister, a college student on a visit home from Delhi, about the trauma she was going through,” officer said. “The sister informed their parents, who filed a complaint with the Ayanavaram all women police.”

The girl told police that Ravi Kumar, 66, an elevator operator in the largely unoccupied 300-flat complex, first sexually assaulted her. Three days later he brought two men reeking of alcohol from outside the complex who videotaped themselves raping her. Other men soon joined in, sexually assaulting the child repeatedly.

‘Mother thought girl was playing with friends in the building complex’

“Ravi would lead away the child as soon as she alighted from her school van to the basement, public washrooms, the terrace and gym, where he and his accomplices raped her,” the officer said. “Many of the flats were vacant, so the suspects had little hindrance while committing the crime.”

The suspects were all employees FOCUS, a security firm, and UK Facility Services. “The girl’s father was away at work through most of the day,” the officer said. “Her mother, a homemaker, did not think anything was amiss when the girl came home late. She assumed that her daughter was playing with friends in the complex.”

The girl’s parents took her to Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital for treatment on Sunday. After examining and speaking to the girl, doctors at the hospital found that several men had raped her.

Police on Monday had her statement recorded in a mahila court after detaining 18 suspects and charging them under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. “We have sent seized syringes and an empty soft drink bottle to the forensics laboratory to determine what drugs they used,” the officer said, adding they had also sent seized condoms for tests.

Police formally arrested Ravi Kumar, the main accused; security guards Abhishek, 23, Sugumaran, 60, and Prakash, 58; a plumber, Suresh, 32; and a housekeeping employee, Rajasekar, 40.

“We have detained 12 others and are likely to arrest them on Tuesday, after a magistrate records their confessions,” the officer said, naming these suspects as security guards Murugesh, 54, Palani, 40, and Umapathy, 42; elevator operators Paramasivam, 60, Dheenadayalan, 50, Srinivasan, 45, and Babu, 36; plumbers Jaiganesh, 23, Raja, 32, and Surya, 23, an electrician, Jayaraman, 26; and a gardener, Gunasekar, 55.

DMK moves HC seeking DVAC probe against OPS

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:17.07.2018

DMK has approached the Madras high court seeking direction to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a case and investigate the complaint made by the party alleging amassment of assets and wealth disproportionate to the known source of income of deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam.

Moving the plea on behalf of the DMK, its organising secretary R S Bharathi submitted that he had made a complaint to the DVAC on March 10 seeking probe into the assets amassed by Panneerselvam in his name and in the name of his benamis and family members.

“Panneerselvam has gained unlawfully and has amassed wealth and invested the same in companies and properties either in his name or in the name of his benamis. He has thus rendered himself liable under the Income Tax Act, Representation of the People Act, Indian Penal Code, Prohibition of Benami Transactions Act, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and Prevention of Corruption Act,” Bharathi added.

Alleging that till date the DVAC has not acted upon his complaint, the petitioner said the high court had already made it clear that when a complaint was given against a public servant the DVAC had to inquire.

Referring to the declaration made by Panneerselvam before the election commission in 2014-15 that he had an income of ₹5.80 lakh, the petitioner said in the same period he had bought a car worth ₹17.85 lakh. The petition filed in the high court is likely to be heard by Justice P N Prakash on Tuesday.