Governor returns TN’s anti-NEET bill

 Governor returns TN’s anti-NEET bill

Parties To Meet On Saturday To Mull Next Steps

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

04.02.2022

Chennai: Asserting that the anti-NEET bill passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly was against the interests of students, especially those from rural areas and economically poorer sections, governor R N Ravi returned the bill to Speaker M Appavu.

Chief minister M K Stalin, however, said the governor’s remarks were unacceptable to the people of Tamil Nadu. He announced a meeting of all legislature parties on Saturday to decide the next course of action.

An official release from Raj Bhavan said the governor took the decision after a detailed study of the Bill for admission to UG medical courses seeking exemption from NEET, and the report of the high-level committee constituted by the state in this regard, which was the basis for the bill and examined the preNEET status of social justice in medical admission especially for students coming from socially and economically poor background.

“The governor returned the bill to the speaker, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on February1, 2022, giving detailed reasons for its reconsideration by the House,” the release said.

The governor was of the opinion that the bill was against the interests of stu- dents, especially the rural and economically poor students of the state. The Supreme Court in the Christian Medical College, Vellore Association Vs Union of India case (2020) had comprehensively examined the issue, particularly from the social justice perspective, and upheld NEET, as it prevented economic exploitation of poor students and is in furtherance of social justice, the release said.

In a statement, the chief minister said,“The government will make every effort to examine the views expressed by the governor and clarify the factual position and pass the Bill again. ”

Clarify If Removal Of Upper Age Limit For NEET-UG Is Under Consideration: Supreme Court To NMC

Clarify If Removal Of Upper Age Limit For NEET-UG Is Under Consideration: Supreme Court To NMC

Sohini Chowdhury

Live law

1 Feb 2022 10:41 AM

The Supreme Court, on Monday, asked the National Medical Council to clarify if they are considering to remove the upper age limit of 25 years and 30 years for candidates eligible for reservation, for NEET-UG, as was inserted by way of amendment to the Medical Council of India Regulations on Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 1997 vide notification dated 22.01.2018.

Petition was filed before the Delhi High Court challenging certain provisions of the amendment of the Regulation, including the insertion of the age limit. The Delhi High Court held the age cap to be valid. A plea assailing the same was filed before the Apex Court. Pursuant to an interim order of the Supreme Court, there is no upper age limit for appearing in the NEET-UG examination, until it decides the issue.

Advocate, Mr. Zoheb Hossain informed a Bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai that the National Medical Council was considering removing the age cap and therefore, they should come back to the Court with their firm stand on the issue.

"One of the issues is the upper age limit. That part of the controversy may get resolved because recently the National Medical Council has said they are considering removing that cap. Milords can put to them to come back with a firm stand."

The Bench asked Advocate, Mr. Gaurav Sharma appearing for NMC to take instructions and convey the same to it on Friday.

On Monday, the Bench was hearing a petition wherein the petitioners, though allowed in the counselling, were eventually asked to submit their Class 11 marksheets. Senior Advocate, Mr. Gangele, appearing for the said petitioners, informed the Bench that since the petitioners had passed their 10+2 as private students they were not separately issued a marksheet for Class 11.

"The petitioners have been admitted in Counselling, because they have passed 10+2 as private students, hence the Director asked them to submit 11th class marksheet. For private students 11th class marksheet is not issued. They have passed the 12th exam with subjects Chemistry, Maths, Biology, Physics with practical exams."

The Bench asked Mr. Sharma, "what do you have to say about this?"

Mr. Sharma argued that as per the main judgment of the Supreme Court as well as that of the Delhi High Court one has to undergo two years of study, which includes 11th and 12th, to be eligible.

Mr. Gangele asserted that they have already been admitted in counselling, and had completed two years of study as required, but they were not issued the marksheet for Class 11. He informed the Bench that states other than Madhya Pradesh and Punjab have already allowed candidates to take part in counselling without submitting the Class 11 marksheet.

The Bench asked Mr. Sharma to find out if that was the case and directed the registry to list the said petition on Friday, while the other matters would be taken up sometime in March.

[Cause Title: Jalaudheen T. & Anr v MCI & connected pleas]

Salary only after precaution dose: Indore collector to staffers

 Salary only after precaution dose: Indore collector to staffers

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01.02.2022

As many as 1,678 police personnel didn’t get their January salary on the last day of the month. They make up the biggest chunk of those being penalised, followed by 1,486 employees of Indore Municipal Corporation, 1,289 personnel of other forces and 742 health employees. Among the others are 354 revenue staffers, 212 from the MP electricity board, 178 panchayat officials, 46 court staff and even 731 private employees.

The collector has ordered that their salary for January will be released only after they submit a copy of their precaution dose certificate. When the Covid vaccination  drive started, the Indore administration had identified employees of several departments as frontline workers and they were administered the vaccine in the first phase (alongside healthcare workers), the collector reminded on Monday, adding that they are supposed to take their precaution doses as well. Among the departments he listed are zilla panchayat, municipal corporation, police, security forces like BSF, cooperatives, agriculture and horticulture, apart from the health department.

Instructions had been issued to the treasury earlier to release the salaries of these employees only after they receive their due third dose, Singh said. As per official records, the In- dore treasury releases salaries of around 27,000 government employees of 45 departments. On Saturday, treasury officials compiled data on employees who have missed their precaution dose schedule. And at a review meeting on Monday, the health department said 18,831 eligible employees have received the precaution dose, and10,455 employees are yet to.

The collector has ordered that employees of private hospitals, pathology laboratories and diagnostic centres are also required to get their due precaution dose, or else their salary would be stopped by their employers. Action will be taken against private hospitals and labs if there is any neglect on this count.

TNN

2 jailed for 7 yrs in Vyapam police exam scam

 2 jailed for 7 yrs in Vyapam police exam scam

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

01.02.2022

Bhopal: A CBI court in Bhopal has convicted two persons and sentenced them to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment in a Vyapam scam in a 2013 police constable recruitment test.

The convicts have been identified as Satya Narayan Yadav, a candidate, and Laxmi Narayan Yadav, who impersonated him in the exam.

CBI had registered a case on September 2, 2015, in compliance with a Supreme Court order and taken over investigation of the case that had been registered the previous year at Jehangirabad police station in Bhopal.

The duo was among those accused of being part of a conspiracy of cheating, forgery and impersonation  in the police constable recruitment test-II in 2013, conducted by Vyapam.

It was alleged that Satya Narayan had used unfair means to pass the test, and the state police filed a chargesheet against him in the court of Bhopal chief judicial magistrate. Further investigation in the case was kept open. During the CBI investigation, Laxmi Narayan was identified as Satya’s impersonator in the examination.

A forensic report said that Laxmi Narayan’s thumb impression matched with the thumbprint on the OMR sheet that Satya was supposed to have filled.

CBI then filed a supplementary chargesheet against Satya and Laxmi Narayan on July 1, 2016, in a special court, which eventually found them guilty.

HC: Being govt employee no ground for bail in rape case

 HC: Being govt employee no ground for bail in rape case

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

01.02.2022

Bengaluru: The petitioner may be a government employee but that is not a ground to enlarge him on bail when he is accused of a serious offence like rape, the high court observed in a recent order. It denied bail to an assistant executive engineer from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL).

Dismissing the petition filed by assistant executive engineer HN Srinivas Murthy, justice HP Sandesh pointed out that prima facie, medical evidence as well as the CrPC section 164 statement made before the magistrate disclosed the fact that he had sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman.

The judge noted that the woman clearly stated before the magistrate that the petitioner subjected her to a sexual act against her wish and had also threatened her.

“She said her marriage had been fixed but the accused after sexually assaulting her, promised that he would marry her and also issued her a life threat.

Besides, medical evidence too is clear that her hymen was torn and the doctor is of the clear opinion that she was subjected to sexual act and material collected does not rule out the same,” the judge added.

Srinivas Murthy, who is accused of raping the woman at a homestay on September 14, 2021, had claimed he is a government employee and there had been a delay of one and a half months in lodging the complaint. According to him, the incident was alleged to have taken place on September 14, 2021, but the complaint was lodged before Kumaraswamy Layout police on November 3 and he has been in custody since November 14.

His counsel claimed no force was used in the alleged sexual act and if the petitioner continued to be in custody, it would affect his career.

Mamata blocks Dhankar on Twitter over ‘unethical acts’

 Mamata blocks Dhankar on Twitter over ‘unethical acts’

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01.02.2022

TIMES N EWS N ETWORK

Kolkata: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she had blocked governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Twitter to protest against his “unconstitutional and unethical acts” that were encouraging “BJP goondas” to kill TMC workers.

The remark was made hours after TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay approached President Kovind in Parliament with a request to remove Dhankhar from Bengal governor’s post. State Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury supported the demand.

Dhankhar was quick to respond. “Mandated under Article 159 of the Constitution to ensure none in the state ‘blocks’ constitutional norms and rules of law and those in authority, bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution,” he tweeted.

Banerjee said she was forced to block him on Twitter. “His acts are instigating BJP goondas to kill our workers,” the CM said, referring to the killing of a TMC member near Barrackpore on Saturday.

She also alleged that he was using Raj Bhavan to “snoop on Bengal and tap phones”. “Pegasus is being run from Raj Bhavan. We have an all-India Pegasus there (Delhi),” she said. “We have Pegasus in Delhi,here we have a super-paharadar (super guard) in Bengal. ” She said she had asked PM Modi many times to “remove this governor”. “An elected government has become bonded labourers to a nominated governor,” Banerjee said, alleging that Dhankhar was denying civic services to people of Howrah and Bally.

The governor and the TMC government had several run-ins in the past. For his part, Dhankhar reminded the CM on Sunday that “democracy survives on the rule of law, not the rule of an individual”. He also summoned the state chief secretary to Raj Bhavan on Monday.

Dhankhar questioned why the state government had “blocked information for two years”.

 DEADLY US DREAMS

Grooms have to pay dowry to NRI girls

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01.02.2022

Neelam Patel, a resident of Karjisan village in Kadi taluka of Mehsana district. added, “The expenditure depends on the route taken to the US. The dowry is higher if the woman has entered the US  through Canada, and lesser if she has taken the Mexico route. ”

As per estimate, the sex ratio in the Patel community is 650 to 700 females as against 1,000 males.

Arpit Patel,a residentof Kalol, said that the lack of resources in the state has forced residents of the 42 Gaam Patidar Samaj to immigrate to the US or Canada through any means possible.

“The trend of settling in the US has been increasing among community members over the past 10 years. Mainly landowners or farmers, themen are facing trouble because land parcels are shrinking and there are not many job opportuni- ties for us. So, parents look for a suitable boy from the US or Canada. While NRI families pay dowry in lakhs if the girl is already settled in these countries,even if it is through illegal means,” said Arpit.

A suitable boy? Only if you are an NRI

Girls From 42 Gaam Patidar Samaj Prefer NRI Boys

Ahmedabad: When a man enters the marriage market, he faces inquiries about his house, job, and salary. But anyone looking to marry a girl from the ‘42 Gaam Patidar Samaj’ usually needs to answer one more question: “Do you or your relatives live in the US, or at least Ca- nada?” If the answer is no, then his chances of making the match plummets. 

The skewed sex ratio and ambition to get a life partner settled abroad has led to the emergence of two new trends among this sub-sect of the Patidar community which comprises of people from 42 villages in Gandhinagar and Mehsana districts. While women prefer to marry men with NRI status, the men who are already settled in the US are paying ‘dowry’ to girls settled in the US. This usually includes the expenditure incurred by the girl’s family to help her im- migrate illegally.

One of these villages is Dingucha, a village in Kalol taluka of Gandhinagar which recently came into limelight after a family of four from the village froze to death while trying to illegally cross into the US from Canada.

Bhavin Patel, a resident of Dingucha, said, “In my com- nity, if a man has not gone to the US nor has any relative abroad, then it becomes difficult for him to find a match. There are many men who have remained unmarried because they had no way of settling in the US. This is one of the reasons that some men go to the US through dangerous, illegal routes.”

According to members of the 42 Gaam Patidar Samaj, the parents of NRI men living in the US or Canada also desperately seek women who are already in the US or Canada. “We prefer to marry within the  community, but we are plagued by skewed sex ratio. This combined with the need for a partner already settled abroad means that the prospective groom’s family is ready to pay ‘dowry’ to cover the money spent by the girl’s family to send her abroad illegally. This can range anywhere between Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh,” said Neelam Patel, a resident of Karjisan village in Kadi taluka of Mehsana district.