IITian creates apps for fast rly booking, held

IITian creates apps for fast rly booking, held

Users Could Get Confirmed Train Seats, Even Under Tatkal, For A Fee

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 25.10.2020  

What a tardy IRCTC website could not do, an enterprising IIT Kharagpur postgraduate did and has landed in jail. Tirupur native S Yuvarajaa, who created android-based apps ‘Super Tatkal’ and ‘Super Tatkal Pro’ — lightning fast methods of booking confirmed tickets — was arrested because he had bypassed the railway system to offer an online platform for passengers, in return for payments through a ‘coin’ system.

Sources said Yuvarajaa, who graduated from Anna University, created the apps in 2016 when he found a slow IRCTC website made it difficult for people to book confirmed tickets. The apps became so popular that they garnered around one lakh end-users in a short time but have since been taken down from the app store.

The Cyber Cell of Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Chennai tracked him down using server source code, application source code, end-users list and his bank statements.

The apps were available at the android app store for download for a fee. People had to purchase a coin pack (10 coins worth ₹20) which was pre-paid. After each booking, five coins were deducted from the coins balance. The payment for both apps was through Instamojo gateway that credited money to Yuvarajaa’s bank account.

Southern Railway principal chief security commissioner Birendra Kumar said, “He created a software to book tickets faster and he was not even an authorised agent of IRCTC.” Bypassing the railway system and making money illegally was the crime, he added.

The speed of the application enabled customers to obtain confirmed tatkal e-tickets.

RPF has registered a case under section 143 (2) of the Railways Act (penalty for unauthorised carrying on of business of procuring and supplying of railway tickets).

In another incident in which software was used, RPF had arrested the employee of an agency in Vellore for using an auto-fill software to buy railway tickets faster before genuine passengers could login and key in details.

In both cases, many people using IRCTC site were deprived of a chance to buy tickets, said an RPF official.

Tirupur native S Yuvarajaa was arrested for bypassing the railway system and making money illegally, Southern Railway principal chief security commissioner Birendra Kumar said

Matters Of Education Must Be Left To Educationists: SC Holds M.Ed Is A Postgraduate Degree

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK13 Oct 2020 11:49 AM

Matters Of Education Must Be Left To Educationists: SC Holds M.Ed Is A Postgraduate Degree [Read Judgment]

Matters of education must be left to educationists, observed the Supreme Court while setting aside an Allahabad High Court judgment which held that an M.Ed. qualified person could not be appointed to the post of Assistant Professor in Education.

A three judge bench held that the M.Ed. degree is a postgraduate degree.

Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Service Selection Commission invited applications for the post of Assistant Professors in various subjects, including 'Education'. Later, the UPHESSC issued a corrigendum which clarified that M.Ed. Degree can be treated as an equivalent degree to M.A. (Education) for the purposes of appointment to the post of Assistant Professor. The High Court, allowing the writ petition filed by a few candidates, quashed the corrigendum and observed that while M.A. (Education) is a master's degree in the subject concerned, M.Ed. is not so, as it is only a training qualification.

In appeal, the bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari noted that M.Ed. qualifies itself as a master's programme in Education and is even recognised by the UGC and NCTE as such. The Court said:

"There is no doubt about the M.Ed. degree being a post graduate degree, in view of not only what the UGC stated before us, but having promulgated the relevant Regulations as far back as 2010 as amended from time to time. The issue of equivalence has been rightly considered by the NCTE and while recognising some distinct aspects of two the degrees, it has clearly stated that for the job of Assistant Professors (Education), both are eligible."

The court, however, clarified that it is not as if a person with an M.Ed. degree is eligible for all the posts which were advertised for Science, Arts and others. The court said:

"Their eligibility has been found only for the post of Assistant Professor (Education), which is directly relatable to the subject to be taught. We do not think the fact that both M.Ed. and M.A. (Education) degree-holders have to take a common test for the purposes of NET is conclusive, but it is one of the factors to be considered, and once the expert body being the NCTE, inter alia, has taken that aspect into consideration apart from other factors to opine equivalence for the purpose of appointment to the post of Assistant Professor in Education, it would not be appropriate to take a contra view."

The court noted that UPHESSC had sought the opinion of the expert panel, and thereafter took a decision, permitting M.Ed. degree as an eligible qualification for appointment. While setting aside the High Court judgment, the bench further remarked:

"We say so in view of the fact that matters of education must be left to educationists, of course subject to being governed by the relevant statutes and regulations. It is not the function of this Court to sit as an expert body over the decision of the experts, especially when the experts are all eminent people as apparent from the names as set out. This aspect has received judicial imprimatur even earlier and it is not that we are saying something new."

Case name: ANAND YADAV vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

Case no. : CIVIL APPEAL NO. 2850 OF 2020

Coram: Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari

Counsel: Sr. Adv P.S. Patwalia and Sr. Adv Meenakshi Arora

Panel awards compensation to woman denied info under RTI Act

Panel awards compensation to woman denied info under RTI Act

Her plea seeking husband’s pay details was rejected as ‘third party’ information

23/10/2020

A view of the State Information Commission.

S. Vijay KumarCHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu Information Commission has awarded a compensation of ₹10,000 to a woman whose petition under the Right to Information Act seeking her husband’s pay particulars was rejected as “third party” information.

The case relates to the petition filed by A.V. Sukanya of Madurai who sought pay details of her husband, a Professor in the Alagappa University, Karaikudi.

The information was required to support her alimony claim in court. However, the varsity’s Public Information Officer rejected her petition stating that it was “third party” information.

Aggrieved over the response of the PIO and the First Appellate Authority, the petitioner moved the TNIC.

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, State Information Commissioner S. Muthuraj heard both parties over the phone. Passing orders in the case, he held that the PIO had deliberately denied information to the petitioner. Knowing well that the details called for by the woman were required to get legal remedy for herself and her son, the public authority refused to part with the same.

Directing Alagappa University authorities to pay ₹10,000 as compensation to the woman, Mr. Muthuraj reminded the public authority the order of the Madras High Court asking the Chief Secretary to issue a circular to all Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, and Corporations warning them of the legal consequences of not furnishing information under the RTI Act, 2005.

He also directed the PIO to provide the three month’s pay slips of the employee, legal heir particulars as entered in the Service Report and other data sought by the petitioner. The Deputy Registrar was told to send an action taken report at the earliest.

Furnish scanned copy of answer sheet, says HC

Furnish scanned copy of answer sheet, says HC

23/10/2020

Staff Reporter Madurai

Considering the plight of a Class XI student, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Directorate of Government Examinations to see to it that a scanned copy of the economics answer sheet is furnished to him and the same is re-evaluated.

The court was hearing the petition filed by G. Ramesh who sought a direction to the authorities concerned to furnish a copy of his son G.R. Balaji’s economics answer sheet and to re-evaluate the same. The grievance of the petitioner was that his son had secured 506 out of 600 marks in the Class XI examinations for the 2019-2020 academic year. However, he had only secured 55 out of 100 marks in economics.

The petitioner said that his son was a bright student and had applied for a scan copy of the answer sheet through his school so that he could apply for revaluation. However, due to network connectivity issues, the school could not upload the application.

During hearing, the State submitted that a G.O. had made it clear that the application for a scanned copy of the answer sheet should be uploaded within a prescribed time, otherwise the request will not be entertained. Taking into account the good marks secured by the student in other subjects, Justice S. Vaidyanathan directed the Directorate of Government Examinations to furnish scanned copy of the economics answer sheet within 10 days and to re-evaluate it within a month.

‘Courts must presume innocence’

‘Courts must presume innocence’

Judge comes to rescue of a person holding two passports

22/10/2020

Mohamed Imranullah S.CHENNAI

“It is legitimate for the police, given the kind of training imparted to them, to distrust and suspect everyone but courts must always start with a presumption that all persons are honest and innocent,” the Madras High Court has said.

Justice P.N. Prakash made the observation while quashing an FIR booked against a 35-year-old clinical psychologist by Greater Chennai police for having possessed Indian and Swiss passports. The FIR had been booked in 2018 at the insistence of a Deputy Passport Officer who accused the petitioner of having made a false declaration in 2006 that he did not possess citizenship of any other country. The judge found that the petitioner had actually grown up in an orphanage in Chennai. He was given in adoption to a childless couple in January 1986.

His adopted father was an Indian national and mother a Swiss national. He grew up with his father, a nationalised bank employee, who had obtained an Indian passport for him when he was less than 10-months-old and continued to renew it periodically.

His mother had also obtained a Swiss passport for him when he was a four-year-old and continued to renew it periodically. The petitioner had never used his Swiss passport to travel to any country. As a 19-year-old in 2006, he got his Indian passport renewed after giving an undertaking that he did not hold any foreign citizenship. He was reportedly not aware of the Swiss passport, he claimed.

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.