Friday, January 29, 2021

ராஜா முத்தையா மருத்துவ கல்லுாரி: அரசு மருத்துவ கல்லுாரியாக மாற்றம்

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ராஜா முத்தையா மருத்துவ கல்லுாரி: அரசு மருத்துவ கல்லுாரியாக மாற்றம்

Added : ஜன 28, 2021 23:02

சென்னை:அண்ணாமலை பல்கலையுடன் இணைந்த, ராஜா முத்தையா மருத்துவ கல்லுாரியை, கடலுார் மாவட்டத்திற்கான, அரசு மருத்துவ கல்லுாரியாக மாற்ற, அரசாணை வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

'அண்ணாமலை பல்கலையுடன் இணைந்த, ராஜா முத்தையா மருத்துவ கல்லுாரியை, அரசே ஏற்று, கடலுார் மாவட்டத்திற்கான அரசு மருத்துவ கல்லுாரியாக்கப்படும்' என, 2020 - 21ம் ஆண்டிற்கான பட்ஜெட்டில், துணை முதல்வர் பன்னீர்செல்வம் அறிவித்தார்.

அதன்படி, ராஜா முத்தையா கல்லுாரியை, அரசு மருத்துவ கல்லுாரியாக மாற்ற, அண்ணாமலை பல்கலை பதிவாளர், சுகாதாரத் துறைக்கு கருத்துரு அனுப்பினார். அதை ஏற்று,ராஜா முத்தையா மருத்துவ கல்லுாரியை, சுகாதாரத்துறையிடம் ஒப்படைத்து, கடலுார் மாவட்ட அரசு மருத்துவ கல்லுாரியாக மாற்ற, அரசு அனுமதி அளித்துள்ளது. இதற்கான அரசாணை வெளியிடப்பட்டு உள்ளது. இதற்கான நடவடிக்கைகளை, உடனடியாக எடுக்கவும் உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

Copy-paste tweets ‘used to mfg opinion’ during march

Copy-paste tweets ‘used to mfg opinion’ during march

New Delhi:29.01.2021

At least a dozen profiles posing as journalists posted the exact message, word for word, on Twitter on Tuesday, claiming that they had been harassed and abused during the farmers’ tractor march on Republic Day. This copypaste technique, experts say, is commonly used to create a false narrative and manufacture opinions.

“I saw the violence by these so-called farmers while reporting today. I have never seen this in my journalism career. Farmers tried to attack me with a tractor and a sword. Obscene acts and abuses were made. My mic was snatched and almost destroyed. Is this a farmer organization or some other organization?” the tweet read in Hindi. It was shared by several handles.

TOI has screenshots of these accounts and shared them with Twitter. Twitter also did not respond to TOI’s questionnaire. TNN

Maha best state in justice delivery again, TN a close second: Report

Maha best state in justice delivery again, TN a close second: Report

Swati.Deshpande@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:29.01.2021

Maharashtra ranks first in the second edition of the India Justice Report (IJR) 2020, that judges states on delivery of justice to people. Released on Thursday, the report said Maharashtra retained its number one position among 18 large and mid-sized states — each with a population of over one crore — followed by Tamil Nadu, which improved its ranking from its previously third position in 2019, and Telangana.

The IJR tracked the rise and fall in each state’s structural and financial capacity to deliver justice, using the latest available government figures from budgets, human resources, infrastructure, workload, and diversity across police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid in 25 states.

Telangana showed the highest improvement in justice delivery and ranking as it rose to the third position from the 11th it held in 2019 while Kerala slipped from the second position in 2019 to fifth in 2020. The list of seven small states (population of less than one crore each) was topped by Tripura (2019: seventh), followed by Sikkim (2019: second) and Goa (2019: third).

The report, an initiative of Tata Trusts in collaboration with Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, DAKSH, Tiss-Prayas, Vidhi and How India Live 2020, highlights stark conclusions when aggregated for an all-India picture. The report said, “Two-thirds of the country’s prisoners are yet to be convicted” or acquitted. In the last 25 years, only 1.5 crore people have received legal aid, though 80% of the population is entitled to it, and women comprise only 29% of judges in India.

Maharashtra saw a decline in women police officers — less than 10% are women — but a rise in women overall. Gujarat was the only state that saw a rise in women’s employment across departments of police, prisons and judiciary in 2020.

“In 27 states, the share of women judges in subordinate courts has improved. However, in high courts, the increase is seen less, and the glass ceiling remains,” said the report. Andhra Pradesh has the highest percentage of women HC judges at 19%, followed by Haryana with 18.2%, and Tamil Nadu in the third place with 16.7%.

Eleven out of the 18 large and mid-sized states have more than 33% women in the subordinate judiciary as judges; four states (Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab) have more than 40%.

Times View:

That 2/3rds of the prisoners are undertrials is a telling commentary on hiw slowly the wheels of justice grind in India. These detainees are trapped in a helpless limbo. This is a human rights issue. Such a high number of undertrials only highlights the crying need for speeding up the judicial process, which translates into more judges and more benches.

Man can’t commit rape on his own without scuffle: HC


Man can’t commit rape on his own without scuffle: HC

Acquits Accused Sentenced To 10 Years RI Under Pocso Act

Vaibhav Ganjapure TNN

Nagpur:29.01.2021

The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court acquitted a man of rape charges while ruling that he alone cannot commit a sexual act without any scuffle. He was accused of raping a 15-yearold girl.

“It seems highly impossible for a single man to gag a survivor’s mouth, remove her and his clothes, and perform the forcible sexual act, without any scuffle. Had it been a case of forcible intercourse, there would have been a scuffle. Medical evidence also doesn’t support the survivor’s case, as no injuries from a scuffle could be seen,” Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, who was made HC’s permanent judge by the Supreme Court collegium on January 20, held.

On March 14, 2019, petitioner Suraj Kasarkar (26), who belongs to Yavatmal, was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by the Yavatmal sessions court after being convicted for a rape of the minor. He was also convicted for criminal trespass for having entered her home. He was charged under Sections 376(1) and 451 of IPC along with Section 4 of Pocso Act. The complaint against him was lodged by the survivor on July 26, 2013.

Kasarkar challenged the trial court’s verdict in HC, contending that it wasn’t rape but a consensual act and the survivor lodged the complaint after her mother found him fleeing her house. He also said that the girl was “habituated to sexual acts”. Additional public prosecutor MJ Khan argued that the survivor couldn’t have given a false deposition.

Justice Ganediwala observed that the testimonies of the girl and her mother could not prove that she was below 18 years when the offence was committed. Moreover, in her cross-examination, she admitted that she declared her age as 15 years in the FIR on the mother’s insistence. Even the birth certificate submitted in court isn’t in the specified format and couldn’t prove the survivor’s age. “The defence of consensual physical relations does appear probable. The accused could bring on record probable doubt with regard to consensual relation. The girl admitted that she wouldn’t have lodged a complaint if her mother hadn’t arrived,” the judge said.

Quoting settled law in such cases, Justice Ganediwala added that stricter the sentence, stricter proof is required. “Sole testimony of prosecutrix in rape cases is sufficient to fix criminal liability against accused. However, considering the sub-standard quality of the girl’s testimony, it would be grave injustice to send the petitioner behind bars for 10 years. The prosecution miserably failed to fix criminal liability of rape against him by criminal trespassing in the survivor’s house,” she said, while quashing the sessions court order convicting the accused.


Justice Ganediwala said that considering the sub-standard quality of the girl’s testimony, it would be grave injustice to send the petitioner behind bars for 10 years

HC: Holding hand, unzipping before girl not sex assault

HC: Holding hand, unzipping before girl not sex assault

Order By Judge Who Ruled In Groping Case

Vaibhav.Ganjapure TNN

Nagpur:29.01.2021

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Thursday reversed the conviction of a 50-year-old man under Pocso Act for allegedly molesting a 5-year-old girl ruling that holding her hands and unzipping his pants in front of her “cannot be defined as sexual assault”. The order was given by Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, whose recent ruling that groping a girl’s breasts without removing her clothes was not sexual assault as there was no skinto-skin contact was stayed by the apex court following an uproar.

“The acts of ‘holding the hands of survivor’, or ‘opening zip of the pant’, in the opinion of this court, doesn’t fit in the definition of ‘sexual assault’,” said Justice Ganediwala, who was appointed district judge in 2007 and elevated as HC’s additional judge in February 2019. She was made permanent judge of HC by the Supreme Court collegium on January 21.

“Considering the nature of offence and sentence prescribed, the aforesaid acts aren’t sufficient for fixing criminal liability on accused for alleged offence of ‘aggravated sexual assault’. At most, the minor offence punishable under Section 354-A (1)(I) of IPC (outraging modesty) read with Section 12 of the POCSO Act is proved against the petitioner,” she added, before quashing charges under Sections 8 and 10 of POCSO Act slapped against Libnus Kujur from Gadchiroli and maintaining conviction under outraging of modesty.

On January 19, Ganediwala had held that groping a 12-yearold’s breasts without removing her clothes wasn’t a ‘sexual assault’ as there was no skin-to skin contact between them. This verdict triggered an uproar in the country with women rights’ organizations protesting. On Wednesday, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde stayed the verdict after attorney general KK Venugopal made a request to the apex court, warning that it may have wider ramifications and set a dangerous precedent. In the latest case, Kujur had challenged the Special POCSO court verdict of October 5 last year, where he was awarded five years rigorous imprisonment (RI). The case against him was filed on the basis of a complaint lodged by the girl’s mother on February 12, 2018, accusing him of holding hands of her elder daughter, unzipping his pant in front of her and asking her to join him in bed, when both parents were away from home for work.

The case against him was filed on the basis of a complaint lodged by the girl’s mother on February 12, 2018, accusing him of holding hands of her elder daughter, unzipping his pant in front of her and asking her to join him in bed, when both parents were away from home for work

Stay on inquiry proceedings against ex-VC

Stay on inquiry proceedings against ex-VC

Bengaluru:29.01.2021

The high court has granted interim stay on the inquiry proceedings initiated against S Japhet, former vice-chancellor of the newly founded Bengaluru City University.

Justice M Nagaprasanna noted that prima facie, under section 28 of the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000, the syndicate does not have the power to constitute a oneman committee to conduct an inquiry against a former vicechancellor.

Japhet had challenged the December 28, 2020 notification and the inquiry notice issued on January 18, 2021. The next hearing is on February 15.

Japhet was appointed VC in 2017 and demitted office in November 2020. Thereafter, the syndicate resolved to set up the committee to look into various works entrusted to contractors during his tenure. TNN

Dubai reduces validity of RT-PCR tests to 72 hours

Dubai reduces validity of RT-PCR tests to 72 hours

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mangaluru: 29.01.2021

Travellers to UAE now have to produce a negative RT-PCR test conducted 72 hours prior to departure, after authorities reduced the timeframe from the previous 96 hours. All those with work permits and tourists, barring UAE nationals, must present a valid negative Covid 19 RT-PCR test certificate on arrival.

The mandatory 72-hour time frame begins from the time the swab is collected for the test. Authorities also said flights from January 31 to February 2 from Mangaluru will land in Sharjah instead of Dubai, due to technical issues and cautioned travellers to follow the 72-hour window since they have not received any communication from Sharjah authorities regarding test validity.

The new protocols also state passengers arriving in Dubai will be required to take an RT-PCR test on arrival regardless of the country they are coming from. Also, arrivals from some countries, depending on the Covid situation there, may be required to undergo additional tests when landing in Dubai, according to Air India Express officials.

AI Express again cautioned passengers to present original test reports (printed form), from a governmentapproved lab. All passengers are also required to download the Covid-19 Dubai smart app and generate a QR code on their devices.

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