HC: Employee dismissal unsustainable if reasons for no inquiry not recorded

HC: Employee dismissal unsustainable if reasons for no inquiry not recorded

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:08.09.2020

The Punjab and Haryana high court has made it clear that the order of dismissal of an employee in absence of sufficient reasons recorded in writing dispensing with the requirement of holding inquiry into the person’s alleged misconduct is not sustainable.

The high court clarified that “the authority empowered to dismiss or remove a person or to reduce him in rank has to record reasons in writing as to why it is not reasonably practicable to hold such inquiry”.

“Such satisfaction has to be a subjective satisfaction of the authority so empowered. Mere observation that the departmental enquiry at this stage does not appear to be justified is not sufficient to invoke powers under Article 311(2) of the Constitution of India to dismiss an employee,” Justice Anil Kshetarpal of the high court held. He passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Sarabjit Singh, a dismissed Punjab police constable.

The petitioner had joined Punjab police in March 2011. Two FIRs have been registered against the petitioner. The first FIR was registered in February 2020 on charges of rape and criminal intimidation over allegations that in 2010, before the petitioner joined police service, he had an affair with the complainant and the couple had a physical relationship. It was alleged that after getting the job, the petitioner stopped talking to the complainant. Therefore, she had reported the matter after remaining silent for over a period of nine years. The second FIR was registered against him in March 2020 for evading arrest and related charges when the cops tried to arrest him in relation to the first FIR.

After this, the petitioner was dismissed by the state government under clause (b) of the 2nd proviso to Article 311(2) of the Constitution from the service while dispensing with the requirement of holding departmental enquiry. Challenging the dismissal orders, the petitioner argued that the state police authorities did not record the reasons for dispensing with the requirement of holding inquiry and, therefore, the order is not sustainable.

COURT OBSERVES

What has been recorded is ‘it does not seem justified to conduct departmental inquiry at this stage.’ .... On careful reading of clause (b) of 2nd proviso, it is apparent that the authority empowered to dismiss or remove a person or to reduce him in rank, has to record reasons in writing as to why it is not reasonably practicable to hold such inquiry

Class 5 girl murdered for beating 11-year-old boy at online game

Class 5 girl murdered for beating 11-year-old boy at online game

Both Hooked On Survival Shooting Game Since Start Of Lockdown

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Indore: 08.09.2020

A 9-year-old girl was bludgeoned death in Indore, allegedly by an 11-year-old boy, who was furious that she had continuously beaten him in an online game on Monday.

The suspect has been taken into custody and is being questioned. Police sources say he has admitted to hitting her on the head with stones. After killing her, he shut himself in his bathroom for hours.

They are neighbours in Lasudia, a northern suburb of Indore, and had been playing an online game — where contestants have to kill each other to survive on an island — since the beginning of lockdown, police said. “The boy became furious after constantly losing to the girl at the online game on Monday. He took her to a nearby field, where he hit her in anger in the head and face with three stones,” said DIG Harinarayanchari Mishra. “After she collapsed, the boy ran back to his house and locked himself in the washroom for hours,” added Mishra.

The victim studied in Class V. It was towards the afternoon that the family realized she was missing and began looking for her. Some witnesses said they had seen her at 10.30am walking towards a field with a boy. The family rushed there and found her body, Mishra said.

Police examine the site in Lasudia where the girl's body was found on Monday

‘Parents need to keep vigil on kids’ e-activities’

Police examined the crime scene and had barely begun their investigation when the boy’s family approached them to say he was missing too. Police didn’t see him as a suspect until one of his family members told them that they had located him — he had locked himself in the washroom and wasn’t coming out. A police team rushed there and gently counselled him into unlocking the door. After he stepped out, police spoke to him and he narrated the murder, leaving officers shocked.

“The girl had also killed a pet rat of the boy and teased him when he lost to her. This triggered the incident,” Mishra said, cautioning parents to be aware of their children’s online activities. “Parents should realise that these days, because of online classes, there are more chances of children being involved in such online games, making them aggressive,” he said. TNN

Former IIMC DG is new VC of Makhanlal varsity

New Delhi: 08.09.2020

Senior journalist and former IIMC Director General Professor K G Suresh was on Monday appointed Vice-Chancellor of Bhopal's Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, an institution funded by the MP government. Professor Suresh was appointed to the post for four years by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in his capacity as the chairman of the General Council of the University, a state government order said.

Suresh is currently serving as the Dean of the School of Modern Media, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun. Earlier, he has served as the Director General of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) -- the country's premier media training institution; and also as a senior consulting editor with the public broadcaster Doordarshan News. Suresh is a Member of the Academic Council of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University; Society of Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata and Research Committee of Indian Council of Social Science Research. PTI

Karnataka HC says Gandhi statue not place of worship

Karnataka HC says Gandhi statue not place of worship

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:08.09.2020

By no stretch of imagination can a statue of Mahatma Gandhi be called ‘a place of worship’, the Karnataka high court observed on Monday, turning down a PIL questioning the grant of licence to Tonique, a liquor boutique on MG Road.

Bengaluru-based advocate AV Amarnathan had filed the PIL, saying the liquor vend is 30 metres from the Gandhi statue. Stating that Rule 3(3) of under Karnataka Excise Licences (General Conditions) Rules, 1967, prohibits liquor vends near places of worship and similar places, he had said the Gandhi statue falls in that category as citizens visit his statue every year to pay respects to the father of the nation.

Rejecting the plea, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka said even Gandhi would not have reconciled to the thought of him being worshipped.

Though the petitioner orally mentioned about rule 5 (2)(a) of the said rules of 1967 wherein the authority can reject a licence if there is a likelihood of peace, tranquility and morality getting breached or affected, the bench noted that though the rules provide for that, he had not pleaded it in his petition.

The court perused the report submitted by the local tahsildar, who undertook a spot inspection on July 23, following a July 9 order of the court. The inspection was carried out in the presence of the petitioner and representative of Tonique liquor vend.

As per the tahsildar’s report, St Mark’s Cathedral is 144 metres from the vend and the deputy commissioner of police office 126.5 metres away — well beyond the 100-metre minimum distance prescribed for granting of licence.

Though Amarnathan claimed the tahsildar did not properly conduct the inspection and he had submitted a protest regarding the report, the bench said the petitioner has not shown any material to indicate the church and DCP’s office are within the prohibited distance of 100 metres.

The petitioner had pointed about the existence of Bal Bhavan, a children’s play centre, within 50 metres. The petitioner had sought withdrawal of licence granted to the vend and action against officials responsible for granting it.

In the earlier proceedings, the challenge on that ground was given up after he could not show Bal Bhavan was in the category of institutions notified under the excise rules.

An advocate had filed a PIL against the grant of licence to a liquor boutique, just 30 metres from the Gandhi statue

4,000 more to take NEET this year

4,000 more to take NEET this year

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: 08.09.2020

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam to be held on September 13 will see participation from at least 80,000 candidates from Gujarat. This year higher number of students have registered amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

In 2019, about 76,000 students had taken NEET exams. The NEET score is taken into account for candidates seeking admission in medical colleges across the country.

The district collectors have been asked to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) laid down by the Centre for conducting these exams. Every student will be checked using a thermal gun at the time of entry to the examination centre and every exam centre will be completely sanitized before and after the test. District authorities have been instructed to avoid crowding at test centres and to implement social distancing during the test.

There are at present about 5,400 medical seats, 1,200 dental seats, 3,600 in ayurveda programme and about 3,300 in homeopathy course in Gujarat. It has been quite some time now that a proposal for setting up a brownfield medical college is pending. It is unlikely that any new medical college proposal will be cleared this year, said sources.

The deadline for inspection of medical colleges ends in October. The Medical Council of India cannot approve any new colleges after the inspection period as it will be too late, said sources. Registration and formal admission process is expected to be carried out by the admission committee next month.

The lockdown gave an opportunity for candidates as they could take more time in preparation for the test. Many students had also started taking online coaching classes during the lockdown period.

Gandhi statue not place of worship: K’taka HC on PIL

Gandhi statue not place of worship: K’taka HC on PIL

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:08.09.2020

By no stretch of imagination can a statue of Mahatma Gandhi be called ‘a place of worship’, the Karnataka high court observed on Monday, turning down a PIL questioning the grant of licence to Tonique, a liquor boutique on MG Road.

Bengaluru-based advocate AV Amarnathan had filed the PIL, saying the liquor vend is 30 metres from the Gandhi statue. Stating that Rule 3(3) of under Karnataka Excise Licences (General Conditions) Rules, 1967, prohibits liquor vends near places of worship and similar places, he had said the Gandhi statue falls in that category as citizens visit his statue every year to pay respects to the father of the nation.

Rejecting the plea, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka said even Gandhi would not have reconciled to the thought of him being worshipped.

No material submitted to prove liquor vend within prohibited distance: HC

Though the petitioner orally mentioned about rule 5 (2)(a) of the said rules of 1967 wherein the authority can reject a licence if there is a likelihood of peace, tranquility and morality getting breached, the bench noted that though the rules provide for that, he had not pleaded it in his petition.

The court perused the report submitted by the local tahsildar, who undertook a spot inspection on July 23, following a July 9 order of the court. The inspection was carried out in the presence of the petitioner and representative of Tonique liquor vend. As per the tahsildar’s report, St Mark’s Cathedral is 144 metres from the vend and the deputy commissioner of police office 126.5 metres away — well beyond the 100-metre minimum distance prescribed for granting of licence.

The bench said the petitioner has not shown any material to indicate they are within the prohibited distance. The petitioner had sought withdrawal of the vend’s licence.

KPSC told to give info on visually impaired

Bengaluru:

The high court on Monday directed Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) to furnish information as to how many visually impaired candidates had appeared for the gazetted probationers preliminary exam held on August 24.

A division bench headed by chief justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka also sought details of visually impaired candidates who were provided with scribes and their qualifications.

Earlier, the petitioners’ counsel claimed though 20-minute grace time per hour was provided as per the court’s direction, the scribes provided were not conforming to guidelines issued by the Centre. TNN

JNU convocation in Nov, virtually

JNU convocation in Nov, virtually

08.09.2020

New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University on Monday announced that it would hold its convocation ceremony virtually this year in view of the Covid-19 situation. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the varsity has decided to hold the convocation to make it a memorable event for the students, said JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar. “A convocation is a special moment in the life of a student. It is all about celebrating the scholarly achievement of a student after years of hard work by the university, family members and friends,” he added. TNN