Appoint legal advisor in every district to assist Education Department: HC

Appoint legal advisor in every district to assist Education Department: HC

‘Due to lack of proper legal advice, wrong orders are being passed by authorities affecting government’s interest’

22/10/2020

Staff Reporter MADURAI

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has suggested that the State government appoint a qualified legal advisor in every district to provide proper assistance to educational authorities.

It has pointed out to a number of cases related to the Education Department being filed before the Madras High Court and its Madurai Bench.

A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and B. Pugalendhi observed that the Revenue Department has a personal assistant (legal) to assist the Collector. Every Commissioner of Police is provided with a legal advisor. Similarly, every District Chief Educational Officer should have a legal officer to advise them.

It is appropriate to have a legal advisor so that proper counsel can be obtained before the educational authorities pass any order. Due to lack of proper legal advice, many a time wrong orders are being passed by the authorities and the interest of the department is affected, the court said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by educational authorities to condone the delay of 543 days in filing a writ appeal preferred against a single judge order.

Considering the issue involved in the writ appeal, the court said it was constrained to condone the delay and officials responsible for the delay should be taken to task.

No proper explanation was given by the department for the huge delay, except mentiong various dates. The lethargic attitude of the authorities cannot put the department as well as the State’s interest in jeopardy. The officials are expected to act swiftly, especially when it affects the State’s interest, the judges said.

In many cases, fearing action under contempt of court, officials file appeals before the High Court, which will definitely cause loss to the state exchequer and also affect the government’s interest. Some kind of responsibility should be fixed on the officials.

The court suo motu impleaded the Secretary to the School Education Department and the Director of Elementary Education as respondents in the case.

It directed the respondents to take a decision in this regard and file a report to the court. The case was adjourned to October 28.

Phones worth ₹15 crore looted from truck

Phones worth ₹15 crore looted from truck

Drivers were attacked by assailants

22/10/2020

DIG Pradip Kumar inspecting the spot where the truck was found. N.Bashkaran

Special Correspondent HOSUR

Mobile phones were looted off a container truck and its drivers attacked in Melumalai, Shoolagiri, during the early hours of Wednesday.

The Mi mobile phones, estimated to be worth ₹15 crore, were looted by a suspected gang from Madhya Pradesh. It is believed that the gang may have carried out similar attacks in districts of Andhra Pradesh.

The consignment, which originated at the Sriperumpudur Industrial Estate, was crossing Shoolagiri when the truck was reportedly stopped on the highway around 2 a.m. The drivers, Arun, 26, and Kumar, 29, were attacked by a gang and tied up. The consignment, which included 15 cartons of 960 mobile phones each, besides a few more phones, was shifted to another vehicle. The gang then fled the spot with the phones.

A total of 14,500 mobile phones are suspected to have been looted. The container, that belonged to DHL courier, was retrieved from the spot.

Speaking to The Hindu, Superintendent of Police Bandi Gangadhar said the truck was stopped by the gang, which is believed to have followed it from its starting point.

Five teams have been set up to trace the consignment.

Headmistress, husband held for sexual harassment of girl

Headmistress, husband held for sexual harassment of girl

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Coimbatore: 22.10.2020 

Police on Wednesday arrested the headmistress of a government middle school in Pollachi and her husband after registering a case in connection with the sexual harassment of a minor girl on the school premises.

The accused were identified as Ayyammal, 55 and her husband, Thangavelu, 56, a retiredemployeeof theTamilNadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC). “The survivor, a 10-year-old student, has been refusing to attend online classes and demanding her parents to admit her to a new school. When her parents visited the schoolto getthetransfer certificate, Ayyammal advised them to let their daughter continue her education. When her parents asked her the reason for her reluctance to attend classes, the girl told them that she was subjected to sexual harassment,” a police officer said.

“Till the lockdown was imposed, Thangavelu used to pick up and drop Ayyammal at the school. In March, Thangavelu took the girl to an isolated place on the school premises and sexually harassedher.He alsothreatened her and forbade her to disclose the matter to anyone. When the girl told her about the incident, Ayyammal also warned her not to discuss the matter,” the officer said.

Based on the complaint of the girl’s parents, the Pollachi All Women Police Station (AWPS) arrested the accused. Ayyammal was booked under the Pocso Act. They were remanded in judicial custody.

Appoint legal advisors for edu dept: HC

Appoint legal advisors for edu dept: HC

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai:

The Madras high court has suggested the state government to consider appointing legal advisors for the school education department in all districts, to obtain proper legal advice before the authorities pass any orders.

A division bench of justices N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi observed that it is an admitted fact that in cases filed before the principal seat as well as the Madurai bench, majority of them are related to the education department. Because of lack of proper legal advice, many times, wrong orders are being passed due to which the interest of the department is affected. Therefore, it is appropriate to have a legal advisor.

The judges also suo motu impleaded the secretary of the school education department as a respondent and directed to take a decision in this regard and file a report before the court on October  28.

The court was hearing a petition filed by the school education department to condone the delay of 543 days in filing a writ appeal with regard to surplus teachers challenging a single judge’s order, which was passed in 2018.

Illegal claimants of Kisan scheme may lose all aid

Kisan Gate

Illegal claimants of Kisan scheme may lose all aid

Bosco.Dominique@timesgroup.com

Cuddalore:

Agriculture department officials in Vridhachalam block in Cuddalore district have told ineligible beneficiaries of the PM Kisan scheme to return the financial assistance they had received before October 22, failing which they would be removed from the list of beneficiaries under all other state and central government schemes.

A CBCID probe had revealed that more than 61,000 ineligible beneficiaries have received financial assistance to the tune of ₹13 crore under the centrally sponsored scheme in Cuddalore district alone. The agriculture department, with the help of the revenue department and CBCID sleuths, has so far recovered ₹11.5 crore and is taking efforts to recover the balance ₹1.5 crore from the remaining 6,000 ineligible beneficiaries.

A senior agriculture department official said the diktat issued by authorities in Cuddalore district was specific to Vridhachalam block and it was not a common directive for the entire state.

“The agriculture department officers in Vridhachalam block wanted to expedite the recovery of money swindled by ineligible beneficiaries. Vridhachalam block accounted for one of the highest instances of PM Kisan scheme scam,” said the official.

Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme implemented in Tamil Nadu from January 2019. Underthe scheme, income support of ₹6,000 a year is provided in three equal instalments to all small and marginal farmer families.

Don’t treat Covid based on CT scan alone: Govt to docs

Don’t treat Covid based on CT scan alone: Govt to docs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:22.10.2020

The state health department has asked doctors not to treat patients for Covid-19 based on CT scan reports alone.

Patients are being rushed to government hospitals with serious complications including septic shock because diagnosis and treatment is delayed, said health secretary J Radhakrishnan.

Several patients with symptoms such as fever, sore throat, cold and fatigue are treated for Covid-19 without undergoing RT-PCR test based on results of CT scan. Many patients refuse tests because they don’t want to be isolated as they think they could be ostracised by their neighbours. “Chances of missing diagnoses are higher when people are not tested,” he said.

Senior doctors say when tests and treatment delayed, risk of complications and death increase.

“Most deaths at our hospitals happened because tests were delayed. Many people, particularly the elderly, delayed tests as they were scared of being isolated,” said Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital dean Dr Therani Rajan. Complications and death in Covid-19 patients increase with age and among patients with comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. “We have saved many patients with cancer, kidney and heart diseases as they came in early. We don’t treat patients based on just a scan report. Physical examination, patient history and lab reports all play a key role,” he said.

National Institute of Epidemiology deputy director Dr Prabhdeep Kaur said CT scan exposes patients to radiation. “It is required in patients who need it. But most patients don’t know that needless exposure can increase risk of cancer,” she said.

Many patients refuse RT-PCR test because they don’t want to be isolated as they think they could be ostracised by their neighbours

Admission to government BEd colleges in TN deferred

Admission to government BEd colleges in TN deferred

Chennai: 22.10.2020 

Citing shortage of faculty members in all seven government BEd colleges in Tamil Nadu, the southern region committee of National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has deferred admissions to all colleges for 2020-21.

“The committee deliberated upon the issue of the existing continuation of recognition to all government colleges in Tamil Nadu. It is observed that the government institutions are running for the past two years without sufficient faculty members. In order to make a quality in teacher education human resource plays a vital role,” the committee said in its meeting minutes.

It said the committee has given ample time to the authorities with a requt to provide all the required number of faculty members. TNN