Tamil Nadu's Attempt To Circumvent NEET

Tamil Nadu's Attempt To Circumvent NEET: Lately, the State of Tamil Nadu had been mulling over on the aspects of circumventing the NEET exams to enable admissions in medical institutions. However, such an object of the State is most...

Right To Be Forgotten- An Acquitted Accused Entitled To Redact His Name From The Judgment, To Protect His Privacy: Madras High Court

Right To Be Forgotten- An Acquitted Accused Entitled To Redact His Name From The Judgment, To Protect His Privacy: Madras High Court: The Madras High Court observed on Friday that an accused person who is eventually acquitte

Pondicherry University to conduct all examinations online from July 19

Pondicherry University to conduct all examinations online from July 19

The university has directed principals to send question papers through e-mail. After three hours, students are expected to scan the papers written by them and send them to the principals.

Published: 16th July 2021 07:18 PM 

By Express News Service

PUDUCHERRY: Pondicherry University on Friday announced that it would conduct all theory examinations scheduled from July 19 online.

According to a release from the Controller of Examination of the University, this will not be applicable to undergraduate and post graduate medical and dental courses as well as examinations which are not yet to be scheduled. The practicals can be conducted online, only when simulation is possible, otherwise practical exams are to be conducted offline.

The university has directed the principals to send question papers through e-mail and students can write in A4 size white paper with black ink. After three hours, students are expected to scan the paper written by them and send it to the principals within 30 minutes of the scheduled time of examination.

The principals have to print out the papers submitted, authenticate by affixing the college seal on the first page, bundle them and sent them to the university on the same day, said the release.

Private colleges fixing targets for faculty to enrol students?

Private colleges fixing targets for faculty to enrol students?

Exploiting their ‘helplessness’, several private colleges are allegedly forced their faculty members to enroll students through telecalling and have fixed targets for each of them.

Published: 17th July 2021 04:02 AM

By Express News Service

COIMBATORE: Exploiting their ‘helplessness’, several private colleges are allegedly forced their faculty members to enroll students through telecalling and have fixed targets for each of them. A faculty member of a private college, on condition of anonymity, said, “Violating State government order, many private colleges are conducting student admission on seat-booking basis and collecting fees ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 depending on courses.

Besides, authorities have given target of calling at least 100 parents daily and ensure at least three students are admitted every day. Professors have turned into telecallers in second-grade colleges, and are chasing students and parents for admission.”

Saying that telecalling was stressful, he said the authorities treated them badly in front of others if they did not meet their target. “The Higher Education Department should intervene in this issue and protect us,” he demanded. A woman faculty member said, “When we call parents and solicit admission, they invariably scold us for disturbing them during work hours. Some even abuse us. As a result, a few professors felt depressed. If we took it up with the authorities, they would say the target should be completed. We continue work here as we don’t have other options to earn a livelihood.”

A HoD in a private college said, “We face this issue every year. Colleges treat us like slaves, and State government is silent.” According to sources, online classes have been stopped temporarily for the second and third-year students, as professors are engaged in admission work.

NR Ravishankar, a former professor and president of Consumer Awareness and Protection Association, said, “Director of Collegiate Education should send a circular that colleges should not involve professors in admission work and conduct an online meeting with the principals about it. The Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education should monitor and inspect the colleges directly to check whether professors are involved in the admission work or not.”

He alleged that many joint directors were being lethargic in their duty without inspecting the colleges, and if it continued, a bad name would come up on the new government. When asked about it, Higher Education Secretary D Karthikeyan said that he would look into the issue through Director of Collegiate Education.

TNSTC bus conductor uses saliva to tear ticket, passengers create ruckus

TNSTC bus conductor uses saliva to tear ticket, passengers create ruckus

Old habits die hard, some could prove deadly in this pandemic situation.

Published: 17th July 2021 04:28 AM 

By Express News Service

TIRUPPUR: Old habits die hard. Some could even prove fatal during an ongoing pandemic. Passengers travelling on a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus from Coimbatore on Friday freaked out on seeing the conductor wet his finger using saliva to tear up the tickets. Driven by fear of Covid spread, the passengers reported the incident to the health officials, who warned him and collected his swab samples.

An official from the health department said that the bus was moving towards Tiruppur city and the conductor used his saliva to tear the tickets. The passengers reportedly asked him not to do that but he refused and continued with his work. Following this, health officials arrived intercepted the bus in front of the Collectorate and collected swab samples from the conductor.

The results would be announced in two days, the official added. An official in TNSTC (Coimbatore) said, “We have instructed about the Covid norms to conductors and drivers to be implemented in the bus. Besides, we have also issued instructions not to tear tickets with saliva. But the conductor has violated the instruction. An inquiry will be formed.”

Exams will be conducted in offline mode too

Exams will be conducted in offline mode too

However, some students were willing to write the paper in offline mode. Taking note of it, the university has taken such a decision.

Published: 17th July 2021 05:47 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University has decided to conduct all its semester examination for 2020-21 in offline mode also, said the university in a statement. Earlier, in view of the prevailing Covid- 19 situation, the university had announced to conduct all semester examinations through online mode from July 19.

However, some students were willing to write the paper in offline mode. Taking note of it, the university has taken such a decision. The university has said in its statement, that candidates who have already registered for online semester examinations may take their online examinations as per schedule.

If any of the registered candidates not willing to appear in the online examinations due to various reasons, candidate is permitted to write their examinations through offline mode, as and when the university schedules the examinations, after normalcy returns. Such candidates will not have to pay any additional fee to appear in the offline examinations as and when conducted.

Madras HC fixes error after ‘semen’ mistype gets man acquitted

Madras HC fixes error after ‘semen’ mistype gets man acquitted

The petitioner said her two-year-old daughter was sexually abused by her neighbour in 2017, after she left the girl with him and went to buy groceries.

Published: 17th July 2021 05:53 AM 

Madras High Court

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Observing that a typographical error in recording the word ‘semen’ as the Tamil word ‘semmann’, meaning red soil, cannot contribute to the acquittal of a man booked under the POCSO Act for sexually assaulting a child, the Madras High Court has set aside a trial court order that acquitted him of all charges. The issue pertains to the victim’s mother moving a plea in the High Court, seeking for the trial court order to be set aside.

The petitioner said her two-year-old daughter was sexually abused by her neighbour in 2017, after she left the girl with him and went to buy groceries. The weeping child told her the neighbour “kissed” her on her private parts. The victim’s mother found semen on the child’s underwear, and then called her husband, who was out of station at the time.

The trial court in 2018 misinterpreted an error made by a typist during the trial. The word ‘semen’ was mistakenly written as ‘semman’. The defence counsel exploited the technical error to suggest that no semen was found in the girl’s undergarments, and the accused was acquitted on those grounds. Justice P Velmurugan, who heard the appeal, in his orders lamented the investigation and the trial court verdict.

“The trial courts also, sometimes not applying their minds and exercising their inherent or discretionary power, either to direct for reinvestigation or summon relevant records... are searching for proof beyond reasonable doubt, and taking advantage of the flaw in the investigation, giving the benefit of doubt to the accused. But (in) cases like this, we cannot give much importance to the technical ground of proof,” he said. The court further said that under Section 29 of the POCSO Act, 2012, it is for the accused to defend himself once the prosecution proved the offence and the court had drawn its presumption.

This Act stands in contrast to the general principle of criminal law, which says a person is innocent until proven guilty. The judge stressed that, “... the trial court misinterpreted the typographical error of ‘semman’ and attributed a wrong meaning to it. Hence, there is danger in writing an English word in Tamil, which totally turned the case of the prosecution, and admittedly, the defence side has taken flimsy defence that the mother stated as “semman colour,” the court observed.

The court added that no mother of a victim, especially an illiterate woman in a rural area, would immediately go to the police in such cases and the prosecution and court failed in their duties when they stressed technicalities such as a delay in lodging the complaint. The high court, ordering the accused to be present before it for sentencing, observed, “... the mere defect in the investigation is not fatal to the case of the prosecution and the second respondent/accused cannot be acquitted on the sole ground of defective investigation.”