Dr Devi Shetty offers to sponsor SSLC topper Greeshma’s studies

Dr Devi Shetty offers to sponsor SSLC topper Greeshma’s studies

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:13.10.2021

It was double joy for Greeshma Nayak, who topped the SSLC supplementary exam after being denied a hall ticket for the main exam over non-payment of fees. A day after it emerged that she had scored 599 out of 625, Dr Devi Shetty on Tuesday offered to sponsor her studies. The renowned cardiologist also sought a mechanism to raise funds for all such students in the future.

“I would support anyone who wants to become a doctor. I want her to become a cardiologist. She must commit herself to secure a seat in a government medical college,” Shetty said. “I will work hard to study well in PUC, and get a seat in MBBS,” a jubilant Greeshma responded. “I believe that every student has the right to study.”

In July, following a distraught email from Greeshma, whose father is a farmer, former school education minister S Suresh Kumar had visited her family to assure the teenager that she would not lose the entire year due to non-payment of fees. “I rushed to her home, consoled her and told her to get ready for the supplementary exam and that I will take the responsibility of ensuring she gets the chance to appear for it. I am happy that she aced the exam. I congratulate her,” Kumar said. Greeshma took the supplementary exam in September as a fresh candidate.

Denied hall ticked for main exam, Greeshma Nayak scored 599 out of 625 in SSLC supplementary exam

‘Can raise funds for fees if govt gives data’

The family lives in Hanumanthapura in Tumakuru district, and Greeshma was enrolled in a residential school in Dakshina Kannada. She was denied a hall ticket for SSLC as she had not paid the Class 9 fee and was not officially enrolled in Class 10. The teenager had scored 96% in Class 9. Greeshma’s father, Narasimha Murthy, had told TOI he had merely sought more time to pay the fees due to financial difficulties in the pandemic, not a waiver.

Greeshma was taught at home by her 19-year-old sister, a BSc agriculture student. “My sister taught me core subjects in front of a board in simulation of classroom experience,” she said.

A day after TOI frontpaged Greeshma’s feat, Shetty said he was moved by her plight. “There has to be a structure. Data on how much money is pending must be announced before students are barred from exam halls. How much can it be? Rs 20 lakh, Rs 30 lakh, or Rs 1 crore? It’s not difficult to raise. The government need not divulge names or details of the children or their parents. We don’t need to know. Just the amount of school fees pending can be announced. Many of us will be able to pay fees and help these children take the final exams.”

Shetty said people erroneously think the brightest kids who score the highest marks go on to become outstanding doctors. “It’s the kids who have the passion, fire in the belly to learn the skill for 24 hours a day, who go on to change the rules of the game. That kind of passion is seen in children who come from disadvantaged families,” he said.

Mad midnight rush as Sydney exits one of world’s strictest lockdowns

Mad midnight rush as Sydney exits one of world’s strictest lockdowns

Priyanka Chokhani TNN

Melbourne:13.10.2021

Restaurants and pubs opened at midnight and retail stores witnessed long queues as a four-month lockdown — among the world’s harshest — was eased in Sydney, Australia’s largest city.

A drizzle did little to dampen spirits as fully vaccinated people rushed to restaurants and cafes just as the lockdown was lifted at midnight on Sunday. Many eateries offered discounts as high as 49% to tempt customers. Indoor gyms recorded full bookings for group classes and offices reopened.

Reservations at major restaurants were hard to come by, so were appointments with the hairdressers. Videos showed queues outside retail stores just past midnight. Resident Shreyasi Sircar, too, went shopping on Monday. “Of course, everywhere I went, I had to show my vaccination certificate,” she said. Sydney, capital of the state of New South Wales, had become the epicentre of the third Covid wave driven by the Delta variant in June. Since then, harsh restrictions were put in place, including banning people from venturing farther than 5km from home.

The city has now reopened after touching a full vaccination rate of 70%. Melbourne, though, has been under lockdown for 254 days now. With New South Wales recording nearly 400 cases a day, this is Australia’s first attempt at living with the virus. This comes just days after Australian PM Scott Morrison said that a ban on Australians travelling abroad would be lifted. The PM had said that it was “time to give Australians their lives back”.

On Monday, Dominic Perrottet, the new premier for New South Wales, said “efforts people have made to go and get vaccinated had allowed this day to occur” . He admitted that there may be challenges and case numbers might increase, but added the opening was extremely important for the economy. “NSW is leading Australia out of this pandemic,” he said.

Mask mandates will be in place till 80% of the state is fully vaccinated. Some social media users, however, were upset that only fully vaccinated people can enjoy full mobility. “October 11 will be remembered as discrimination day and segregation day in Australian history,” wrote a user online.

International students in front of Sydney Opera House on Tuesday

CONFLICTING ORDERS

CONFLICTING ORDERS

Husband gets divorce, wife conjugal rights!

Guj HC Set To Hear Appeals Together Now

Saeed.Khan@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad: 13.10.2021

In what has ended up as one big paradox, one family court granted a divorce decree to the husband, while another court on the same campus has allowed the wife’s request for restitution of conjugal rights thereby directing the husband to dispense his matrimonial duties.

This marital dispute which got conflicting orders has now ended up in the Gujarat high court which admitted the case. During proceedings on Monday, the bench of Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice V D Nanavati questioned the reason for the contradictory orders by the family courts.

In reply, it was submitted that the husband’s suit for a divorce decree was going on in court No. 2, where the wife could not remain present as she had received the court summons. At the same time, the wife's application filed under section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act for restitution of conjugal rights was underway in court No. 3, where the husband was absent. Though the courtrooms existed side by side and both the parties were litigating for a few years, the courts passed ex-parte orders in litigants’ favour in 2018.

It was obviously difficult to execute the conflicting orders at the same time. The husband approached the high court and challenged the family court’s order directing him to perform his matrimonial duty. While the husband’s appeal was pending, the wife also moved the HC recently and challenged the divorce decree stating that it was passed without hearing her.

The husband’s advocate argued that the wife had known about the divorce proceedings, but she chose not to appear in the proceedings and went on to demand restitution of conjugal rights in another court. The wife’s advocate, on the other hand, claimed that the woman had no inkling about the divorce suit and the summons was served in the form of a public notice, which was published in a newspaper.

The couple got married in 2008 and have been living separately since 2013. They have an 11-year-old girl, who lives with her father. The woman also has a grievance about the custody of the child.

The high court admitted the wife’s petition and decided to hear the appeals filed by both the parties together.

Part Time employees not entitled to Regularisation. SC

Part-time employees not entitled to regularisation: SC

‘They are not working against any sanctioned post in Govt.’

19/10/2021

 

Legal Correspondent NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court has held that part-time employees are not entitled to seek regularisation as they are not working against any sanctioned post in the Government.

A Bench of Justices M.R. Shah and A.S. Bopanna clarified in a recent judgment that there cannot be any permanent continuance of part-time temporary employees.

“The status of permanency cannot be granted when there is no post. It is further observed that mere continuance every year of seasonal work during the period when work was available does not constitute a permanent status,” Justice Shah noted.

The judgment came on a plea concerning the regularisation of part-time sweepers at a post office in Chandigarh. The court said it was a settled proposition of law, that regularisation could be only as per the policy declared by the State/Government and “nobody can claim the regularisation as a matter of right”.

The court ruled in favour of the Government which had appealed against the Punjab and Haryana High Court decision to regularise the part-time employees.

“There are no sanctioned posts in the post office in which the respondents were working, therefore, the directions issued by the High Court in the judgment and order are not permissible,” the Court said.

Plane crashes in US shortly after take-off, all 21 on board exit safely

Plane crashes in US shortly after take-off, all 21 on board exit safely

Houston:12.10.2021

A plane crashed at takeoff on Tuesday in Texas, with all 21 passengers and crew on board scrambling to safety before the aircraft burst into flames. Television images showed fire fighters spraying water onto the burning remains of the plane, which came to a halt across a track in a field, surrounded by trees and bushes. The fuselage was reduced to ashes, with only the tail section surviving as black smoke poured from the wreckage.

“Fortunately all 21 passengers including three crew members were reported as safely evacuated from this twin-engine jet before it was fully engulfed in flames,” the Katy fire department said in a statement. The McDonnell Douglas MD-87 plane was taking off from Houston Executive Airport, Brookshire, bound for Boston when it crashed, officials said. Local reports said it was taking fans to watch a play-off baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday evening.

Tim Gibson, director of the Waller Harris county emergency services, said the passengers and crew “were stunned... but they did all self-extricate.” Officials said one passenger was a 10-year old child, and one person was treated for back pain after the crash. AFP

Man gets 1 year’s RI for pulling hand of 8-yr-old neighbour

Man gets 1 year’s RI for pulling hand of 8-yr-old neighbour

Mumbai:12.10.2021

A 31-year-old man was recently sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment (RI) for pulling his 8-year-old neighbour’s arm when drunk during Diwali last year. The court reasoned that while the act of holding hands did not reflect any sexual intent, there is cogent evidence to show that the accused used criminal force by pulling the hand of the girl. “The accused had knowledge that such acts will amount to outraging the modesty of the victim,” the special Pocso court said.

While the accused was also booked for touching the minor’s body inappropriately, he was acquitted on those charges. “As far as the accused touching the chest of victim, there is no cogent evidence on record. There is material variance in the evidence and statement of the victim before the police, Metropolitan Magistrate Court and also in the history narrated at the time of medical examination,” the court said. The court further said that there was no evidence on record to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed sexual assault and caused sexual harassment. The court added that as far as act pulling hand of the victim, there is consistent and cogent evidence and it has gone unchallenged.

The accused was also fined Rs 10,000, out of which Rs 8,000 will be given to the child as compensation. The accused was in jail since November 12, 2020, and his sentence will be set off against the period of detention undergone by him during investigation and trial.

While the maximum sentence for outraging modesty is two years imprisonment, the court said that considering the nature of offence, age of the accused and that his mother is dependent on him, a year’s sentence will meet the ends of justice .Among the four witnesses was the child, her mother, a neighbour and a police officer. The child told the court that the incident took place in November 2020 at 8.30 pm. Referring to the accused as “bewda uncle” (drunkard uncle), she confided in her mother. The father confronted the accused and then went to the cops. The neighbour told the court that on the day of incident he had seen the accused very drunk, hence, asked him to go home. Relying on the witness statements, the court said, “The evidence on record reflects that the accused was in an inebriated state at the time of incident. The accused has pulled the hand of the victim and the victim felt bad and therefore she has immediately informed her mother and the report came to be lodged.” TNN

Rape-accused juvenile given bail with education rider

Rape-accused juvenile given bail with education rider

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:12,10,2021

The Punjab and Haryana high court has granted bail to a juvenile, who was accused of raping a woman older than him, after the legal and probation officer’s report stated that the alleged offence had been committed by him “under the influence of his company”. The court, however, allowed this concession on the condition that his parents would provide him education to enable him to get gainful employment.

The HC also directed the parents to ensure that the boy does not “come in association with a person of criminal antecedents” and is not exposed to any physical, moral and psychological danger. “The parents of the petitioner shall file an affidavit to this effect before the Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board, Nuh,” observed the HC.

The court, however, made it clear that if the parents failed to comply with these conditions, the bail granted to the boy would be cancelled.

Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul of the HC passed these orders while allowing a revision petition filed by the child from Haryana’s Nuh, seeking release on bail in the rape case. The allegation is that in March 2020, he along with others had allegedly dragged a womaninto a car and raped her.He was arrested in this case and his plea for bail was rejected by the JJB and the district court Nuh after which he had approached the HC.

Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the victim in this case had attained the age of majority and was in a relationship with the petitioner. She had accompanied him of her own accord on the date of the alleged crime. Despite the name of the petitioner having been told to the family by her sister-in-law, they kept quiet and it was only after the prosecutrix (victim) allegedly returned home after two days of the alleged kidnapping, they chose to report the crime to police.