TN selection panel gets SC nod for mop up counselling

TN selection panel gets SC nod for mop up counselling

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:29.01.2021

The state selection committee has invited applications students who have qualified NEET 2020 and are willing to take the NRI lapsed seats under the management quota in self-financing medical and dental colleges.

At least five MBBS seats in government medical colleges and 112 seats in self-financing medical institutions were vacant in TN this year after two rounds of counselling. The committee said it has now got approval from the Supreme Court to allot these seats to students within a week during the mop up as the NMC deadline for admission ended on January 15. There are 12 undergraduate dental seats in government colleges and 447 management seats in self-financing dental colleges vacant.

On Thursday, committee secretary G Selvarajan did not say what it would do about the five government seats, but has asked more candidates to apply.

Chidambaram institute is now a govt med college

Chidambaram institute is now a govt med college

Cuddalore:  29.01.2021 

Nearly 50 days after students of Rajah Muthiah Medical College Hospital attached to Annamalai University in Chidambaram began their protest demanding the state to reduce fee to bring it on a par with other government medical colleges, TN on Wednesday brought it under the health and family welfare department to treat it as a government medical college for Cuddalore district. TNN

Fresh order to be issued on status of staff, fee structure

The college management had suspended classes and closed hostels from January 21 and told students to vacate the hostels.

Other RMMCH institutions Rani Meyyamma college of nursing and Rajah Muthiah dental college and hospital too were handed over to the department.

The order issued by principal secretary Apoorva said the health and family welfare department will issue a separate order on fee structure, filling up of seats, status of existing staff members and changing the affiliation to Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University from Annamalai University after obtaining concurrence from the state finance department.

Hitherto, the institutes were under the control of TN higher education department. There were 332 teaching faculty,1,426 non-teaching faculty members, and 287 pensioners and family pensioners as on November 30 last year. The students strength for the academic year was 2,293. The value of movable and immovable assets of the institutions spread across 113.21 acres was ₹249.99 crore while liabilities, including salaries, pension, stipend, PF and loans, was ₹840.93 crore.

The protesting students pointed out that RMMCH charged ₹5.6 lakh per annum for MBBS course and ₹9.6 lakh per annum for MD/MS while private unaided self-financing medical colleges charge ₹3.8 lakh per annum for MBBS and ₹3.5 lakh for MD/MS courses.

Similarly, Rajah Muthiah dental college and hospital charged ₹3.5 lakh per annum for BDS course and 7.8 lakh per annum for MDS course whereas private unaided selffinancing medical colleges charge ₹2.5 lakh per annum for both BDS and MDS courses.Other TN government colleges charge₹13,000 per annum for MBBS course, ₹30,000 per annum for MD/ MS and ₹11,610 per annum for BDS and ₹30,000 per annum for MDS.

Salary, pension bills eat up 38% revenue

Salary, pension bills eat up 38% revenue

T Expected To Complete Promotions By Jan 31

Jump In Spend On Welfare Schemes In Last 4 Yrs

Koride.Mahesh@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:28.01.2021

The state government has been spending about 38% of its revenue expenditure on payment of salaries and pensions to the government employees along with other establishment expenditure. The amount is nearly 40% of the state’s own revenues that is generated through GST, excise, property registration and other sources.

The figures have been incorporated and shown in the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) report that was made public on Wednesday. “Compared to other states such as Punjab (49.3%), Kerala (48%) and Maharashtra (41.7%), Telangana expenditure on salaries and pensions is less as the per the figures available of 2016-2017 financial year. While revenue expenditure was ₹81,432 crore, about ₹31,000 crore was spent on salaries and pensions (38%),” the PRC committee headed by retired IAS officer CR Biswal stated in the report.

Official sources said the expenditure on salaries is directly related to the revenue of the government and expenditure. “If the revenue dwindles, the per cent of the salaries of revenue expenditure goes up. Similarly, when revenue is more, the salaries and pension component goes down. For instance, in 2017-2018, the salaries per cent was 41% due to growth in the state revenues, the 2019-2020 budget estimations projected it as 38%, which may change after getting actuals,” a senior financial official explained.

As per the budget reports, the state revenue in 2014-2015 was ₹51,000 crore including the state’s own revenue and central share, now it is likely to touch ₹1,13,100 crore in 2019-2020, going by the government’s estimations. But the government is expecting a huge dent in the revenues due to Covid-19 and lockdown. “The commitments of the state government are likely to increase significantly following the introduction of new welfare schemes, financial restructuring of discoms and implementation of Right to Food Act. The financial requirements for new commitments on welfare schemes and infrastructure projects pose a major challenge to the state finances,” the committee said in its conclusion.

Meanwhile, chief secretary Somesh Kumar directed secretaries of various departments to complete the promotions by January 31 as per the directions of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Court upholds death penalty for rape and murder convict

Court upholds death penalty for rape and murder convict

Kota Man Had Killed Mentally Challenged Minor Daughter

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kota:28.01.2021 

A Pocso court in Kota on Wednesday upheld the conviction of death penalty of a 45-year-old man for raping and murdering his 15-year-old mentally challenged daughter in his house in Nayapura police station area of Kota city five years ago. The court also slapped a penalty of Rs 10,000 upon the convict.

However, the Pocso court-1 in Kota on January 20, 2020, terming the crime ‘most heinous’ and ‘shameful for human society’, had convicted the man to death sentence by hanging him till his last breath and had also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000, following which the convict appealed in the high court against the conviction. The high court directed the Pocso court for cross examination with the deceased minor’s mother in the court.

As per the directions by the high court, the cross examination with the deceased minor girl’s mother was carried out in the court where the statements of the mother remained the same and unchanged and the three witnesses produced in defense also could not state significantly in the case, public prosecutor (PP), Pocso court–1 Premnarayan Namdev said.

The Pocso court judge Ashok Choudhary on Wednesday upheld his previous decision and convicted the 45-year-old man to life sentence by hanging and also imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000, he said.

“If the crime is committed by accused father as a result to satisfy his lust, it is apt to shake internal social bondage of a particular man, family and society,” the Pocso court judge observed in his judgment.

The 15-year-old mentally challenged girl was found murdered on May 13, 2015 in her house. The postmortem report revealed she was 4 months pregnant. When the DNA report of the samples of deceased minor girl disclosed her father was the father of the 4 month foetus and later, when the statements of deceased minor’s mother verified that the father had been raping the daughter for long and that resulted in the pregnancy, the Nayapura police two months later filed a chargesheet against the father in the court.

The Pocso court-1 in the city on January 20, 2020, following hearing and examination of the statements of 18 witnesses in the case, had convicted the accused man to death.

The convicted man, father of 6 children, including the deceased minor girl, worked as a guard at a warehouse in the city and he himself lodged a report in Nayapura police station on May 13, 2015 and alleged that when he returned home in the evening, he found his daughter brutally murdered in the house. The mother of the deceased minor ran a tea stall outside the warehouse and her younger brother would attend the mother at the tea stall.

Sasikala released from jail, to stay in Bengaluru hospital

Sasikala released from jail, to stay in Bengaluru hospital

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:28.01.2021

Former AIADMK secretary VK Sasikala was released on Wednesday, ending a four-year jail term in a disproportionate assets case. She will continue to be treated at Victoria Hospital for Covid-19 for the next few days and is free to walk out on discharge.

Hundreds of Sasikala’s supporters, including nephew TTV Dinakaran, were seen waiting oustide the hospital ahead of her release. However, doctors and police refused to let the supporters in. Dinakaran was seen entering the hosptial after prison officials completed the formalities. A close aide of late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, Sasikala was lodged at the central prison in Parappana Agrahara along with her sister-in-law J Elavarasi and nephew VN Sudhakaran in the case. Charges against the prime accused and Jayalalithaa lapsed as she had passed away by the time the Supreme Court upheld the trial court judgment.

On Wednesday, prison officials completed the release formalities at the hospital. Sasikala signed the prison register, which she had last signed while entering the jail on February 15, 2017, hours after the SC judgment. “With love, blessings and good wishes of her supporters, Chinnamma (Sasikala) is recovering and she will be discharged soon. She is getting good treatment here and we are happy with it. Doctors have to decide when to discharge her. Merging of political parties and other decisions on Tamil Nadu politics will be taken soon,” Dinakaran said. A bulletin released by Victoria Hospital on Wednesday said Sasikala will be discharged on the tenth day of her admission if she is asymptomatic and free of oxygen support for at least three days.

With a week to go for her scheduled release, Sasikala was shifted to Bowring hospital on January 20 following fever and breathlessness. The next day, she was shifted to Victoria Hospital, where her second RT-PCR test showed she was Covid-positive. “Sasikala, convict number-9234, has completed her four years of term and paid the fine. Today, she will be released. If she is to be treated further, please treat her as general patient. She need not come back to prison,” read a communication from the chief superintendent of police, central prison, to the medical officer of Victoria Hospital.

SC stays Bombay HC’s acquittal of man who groped 12-year-old girl

SC stays Bombay HC’s acquittal of man who groped 12-year-old girl

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:28.01.2021 

The Supreme Court on Wednesday took just two minutes to stay a Bombay High Court order, which had acquitted a man of charges under the POCSO Act on the specious logic that groping a 12-year-old girl without removing her clothes was not sexual assault though it convicted him under the Indian Penal Code provision for outraging her modesty.

The Nagpur bench of Bombay HC had sparked outrage on January 19 by acquitting the accused under Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, while maintaining his conviction for outraging the modesty of the minor girl under Section 354 of the IPC.

In February last year, a Nagpur trial court had sentenced the 39-year-old man to three years imprisonment under Section 8 of POCSO Act for groping the girl as also under Section 354 of IPC.

Attorney general K K Venugopal termed the order “unprecedented and disturbing”, adding that it would set a bad precedent.

"It is a very disturbing judgment that sets a new rule that in the absence of skin-to-skin contact, that is groping a child without removing her clothes, would not amount to sexual assault under Section 8 of the POCSO Act. It sets a dangerous precedent. Please take suo motu cognisance of the judgment and stay its operation," he said.

How could the HC rule that there was no sexual intent as there was no skin-to-skin contact, the AG asked. The SC permitted the AG to file an appeal against the HC judgment. Two days ago, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Priyank Kanoongo had written to the Maharashtra government asking it to appeal against the HC judgment before the SC.

After hearing the AG, a bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said, "In view of what is stated, we permit the attorney general to file an appropriate petition against the said judgment. In the meantime, we stay the acquittal of the accused in respect of the offence under Section 8of POCSO Act. Issue notice to the accused and the state of Maharashtra returnable in two weeks."

Justice Pushpa Ganediwala had ruled that groping the breasts of the 12-year-old girl without removing her top would not amount to an offence under Section 7 of POCSO Act, punishment for which is prescribed under Section

8. "Admittedly, it is not the case of the prosecution that the appellant removed her top and pressed her breast. As such, there is no direct physical contact ie skin-to-skin with sexual intent without penetration," the judge had said.

Full report on www.toi.in

8 docs reject Covishield, opt for other shot

8 docs reject Covishield, opt for other shot

Sumitra.DebRoy@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:28.01.2021 

In a twist to the Covaxin story, eight doctors from the Mumbai region rejected the Serum Institute's Covishield vaccine and took shots of Covaxin instead at JJ Hospital on Wednesday.

Hospital authorities, who have struggled to persuade potential recipients to accept Covaxin, were enthused by the incident. They said they will henceforth allow voluntary walk-ins for the Bharat Biotech-manufactured vaccine so long as names are registered on the Co-Win app which is used to monitor the immunisation programme. The arrangement, though, is a oneway street for now – such flexibility is not on offer for those allotted Covaxin but show preference for Covishield.

Dr Vivek Giri, the port health officer, said he opted for Covaxin as he is more confident of the technology, which uses an inactivated virus.