Bank manager, his friend held for fraud

Bank manager, his friend held for fraud

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  27.11.2020

A bank manager and his friend were arrested on Wednesday for swindling Rs 48 lakh from the dormant bank accounts of 18 deceased customers. Police said B Vinod, 33, of Vettuvankeni, the manager of Erukkancherry branch of Indian Bank at Kodungaiyur, conspired with his friend S Nataraj, 35, of Ennore to swindle money from dormant bank accounts by issuing fresh ATM cards of these accounts. The duo then spent the stolen cash lavishly. Based on the complaint of Indian Bank manager P D Rajendra Babu, the police registered a case and arrested Vinod and Nataraj. They were remanded in Puzhal prison after being produced before a magistrate court.

Central Crime Branch additional commissioner P C Thenmozhi said that people should keep a tab on their bank accounts.

Food delivery costs more with surge fee

Food delivery costs more with surge fee

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

27.11.2020

Finding food was both difficult and expensive on Wednesday as eateries across the city shut early and food apps started charging bad weather fees.

“To order a dosa worth ₹80, I had to pay ₹60 surge fee,” said S Ravikumar, a resident of T Nagar.

The food apps charged at least ₹25 more, but said they were giving all that money to men who delivered the food because they had to struggle through flooded streets.

Even on these online platforms, users were left with very limited options. For instance at Maadipakkam, 54 out of the 86 food outlets were marked as unavailable for service from 6pm.

Bachelors residing at paying guest (PG) accommodations and mansions, particularly those residing along Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and Triplicane had a tough time getting food.

Hoteliers complain that since it was also a public holiday, they did little business. Hafeez, who runs a private restaurant at Thilai Ganga Nagar said, “Since morning, only 30 people came for breakfast. For this, I had to pay ₹2,000 for the cook, servers and electricity”.

The frequent powercuts too made food preparation very difficult in the evening, said Hafeez, who wound up his business after 6 pm. However, tea shops in the city were largely functional throughout the day and attracted a decent crowd.

In some areas such as Nanganallur and Guindy, volunteers and NGOs distributed free food at doorsteps of those, who found it difficult to find food.

Re-employing ex-judges in SC & HCs: Court seeks Centre’s view

Re-employing ex-judges in SC & HCs: Court seeks Centre’s view

SC Bench Gives 4 Weeks To Govt To Respond To PIL Filed By NGO

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 27.1.2020

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde on Thursday sought responses from the SC and the Union government on a PIL seeking re-employment of retired judges in the SC and high courts by using existing constitutional provisions to fill the large number of vacancies and speed up justice delivery.

The bench, comprising the CJI and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, gave four weeks to the Centre and the SC to respond to the PIL filed by NGO ‘Lok Prahari’ after its general secretary S N Shukla said Articles 128 and 224A of the Constitution allowed recalling retired judges to function in the SC and HCs, respectively.

The NGO said given that over 43 lakh cases were pending in HCs, which were functioning at just 40% of the sanctioned strength, the SC and the Centre should resort to the two constitutional provisions to bring in retired judges to decide pending matters, thus allowing regular judges to concentrate on deciding petitions raising important constitutional matters.

Article 128 says, “Chief Justice of India may at any time, with the previous consent of the President, request any person who has held the office of a judge of the Supreme Court (or who has held the office of a judge of an HC and is duly qualified for appointment as a judge of the SC) to sit and act as a judge of the SC.” Article 224A provides a similar mechanism for appointment of retired HC judges to sit as judges of the HC.

Before declaration of Emergency in 1975, there were instances of retired SC judges getting re-appointed for a specific tenure to help dispose of cases.

Appearing for the SC, senior advocate Atmaram NS Nadkarni said it was a complex question that needed detailed deliberation by the SC on the administrative side. The CJI-led bench said, “We would like to hear the views of the Supreme Court and the Union government.” Appearing for the Centre, solicitor general Tushar Mehta sought four weeks to file a response to the PIL.

However, understanding the difficulty in resorting to the two constitutional provisions to re-appoint retired judges, the CJI said, “It may appear easy from outside.” Given the partisan utterances of judges, soon after their retirement, either pro- or antigovernment, it would be a herculean task for the CJI-led collegium to select neutral retired judges for re-appointment. Most retired judges also take up arbitration matters or get close to corporate houses, further complicating the process of selection.

Given the partisan utterances of judges, soon after their retirement, either pro- or anti-government, it would be a herculean task for the CJI-led collegium to select neutral retired judges for re-appointment

Scheduled int’l flights suspended till year-end

 Scheduled int’l flights suspended till year-end

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: 27.11.2020

The Union government has extended suspension of scheduled international flights till December 31, 2020. However, Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) and scheduled flights under the travel bubbles India has created with several countries like the US, UK, Germany and France will continue and people eligible as per government norms can fly to and from India on them.

“This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo and flights specifically approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis,” a DGCA circular issued on Thursday said.

Schedule international flights were suspended on March 23 due to the Covid pandemic. Since then, India has been operating VBM flights to many places and has formed air bubbles with over 20 countries.

International air travel is happening on both VBM and air bubble arrangements for allowed categories of travellers.

Under Article 32 We Can't Go Into Issues Of Facts: Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain Bank Employee's Challenge To 'Vindictive' Transfer

Under Article 32 We Can't Go Into Issues Of Facts: Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain Bank Employee's Challenge To 'Vindictive' Transfer: 'Under Article 32 jurisdiction, we cannot go into issues of facts. If we function like this, our court system will collapse', said the Supreme Court on Tuesday.The bench of Justices U. U. Lalit,...

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Will be first doctor in village, says Tamil Nadu govt school student who got MBBS seat

Will be first doctor in village, says Tamil Nadu govt school student who got MBBS seat

Sifaya graduated from the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Ashok Nagar in 2019.

Published: 24th November 2020 10:49 AM |

For representational purpose

By Sushmitha Ramakrishnan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: My village has no doctor and I will be first, assures Afrin Sifaya, who hails from a small village called Mayakulam near Keezhakarai in Ramanathapuram district. Benefitting from the 7.5 per cent reservation for government school students, she will be pursuing her MBBS at Stanley Medical College this year.

Her father works as a labourer at a hardware store and her mother is a housewife. When she was all of 12-years-old Sifaya decided that she would be neither, but only be a doctor. "I want to go back to my village and be a doctor. If that's not possible, I will go to some other village like mine that is in dire need of health care," she asserted.Afrin Sifaya

Sifaya graduated from the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Ashok Nagar in 2019. Last year she scored 221 in NEET and decided to take a gap year and managed to score 340 out of 720 in 2020.

"I asked my parents if they will enroll me in a coaching during the gap year. Even though the six months coaching cost nearly a lakh, they got the help of a Trust and obtained loans and arranged the remaining funds," she said adding that she was unsure if she would have been able to pay for medical college without the government offering to pay up.

Sifaya said that to crack any competitive exam, one must come up with a routine to avoid distractions. "You must draw a time table and stick to it. Use phone or laptop only when absolutely necessary. Have a dedicated study space. And make a list of subjects you have covered and keep taking tests on them," she advised medical aspirants.