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Friday, January 3, 2025

No rush for Jan 1 birth date this time: Docs

Pearl.Dsouza@timesofindia.com 03.01.2025

Bengaluru : With awareness mounting about the risks of pushing pregnancy beyond a certain time or inducing it before due date, city doctors say fewer parents rushed for a Jan 1 delivery this time around. There were 14 babies born in Manipal Hospitals across the city on the first day of 2025 (as per data received up to Wednesday evening). Of these, eight were C section deliveries. The highest number of deliveries — five — was at the Whitefield branch. Dr Spurthy G Janney, consultant — obstetrics & gynaecology, Manipal Hospitals-Whitefield, said in the past, there we re requests for time-bound deliveries for Jan 1, but this year there were none.

“Most of the pregnancies were indicated inductions, which means water was less around the baby. We wanted the mothers to keep the pregnancy till at least 38 weeks so the babies were term babies, and we tried to improve the water with medication and injections as it tends to redu ce around the baby with the advancement of pregnancy. However, this time, there was no one seeking a fancy date,” she said. Of the five deliveries there, two were C-sections. Dr Kavitha Kovi, head of the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Aster Women and Children Hospital, Whitefield, said just two out of five pregnant women at her hospital were looking for a Jan 1 delivery, as more parents are now sensitised about the pitfalls of timed elective sections. “Which parent would want the baby to go to NICU? Nobody. They all want a healthy baby. All you have to tell them is that’s the most important thing, a healthy baby and healthy mother,” she said.

However, Dr Aparna Jha, senior consultant, obstetrics & gynaecology and laparoscopic Surgeon, Apollo Cradle and Children’s Hospital, Brookefield, said the trend of having elective sections on auspicious days is actually increasing. Of the three techie couples that came to her on Jan 1 for delivery, two wanted an elective. “Nothing auspicious, but more a celebratory date. We had a similar number last year too, ”she added.

Dr N Sapna Lulla, lead consultant, obstetrics and gynaecology, Aster CMI Hospital, agreed there were requests for elective delivery. “However, we recommend abstaining from C-sections... Women should be motivated to give labour a chance,” she explained

New Bihar governor Arif Khan defends meeting Lalu, cites old acquaintance

Madan.Kumar@timesofindia.com 03.01.2025

Patna : Bihar governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday justified his meeting with RJD president Lalu Prasad, asking reporters, “If you visit a city to attend a function and you have old acquaintances there, would you not like to visit them? What is special if I called on one of my old acquaintances?” Khan went to 10, Circular Road, the official residence of former chief minister Rabri Devi, in the state capital on Wednesday evening, a day after he arrived to take oath as the governor, and met the RJD chief Lalu Prasad, his son and the Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.

Asked about his meeting with Lalu soon after he took oath as the governor at the Raj Bhavan, Khan said, “You tell me one thing. If you visit a city to attend a function and you have old acquaintances there, would you not like to visit them? What is special if I called on one of my old acquaintances? I wonder what is questionable in this matter.” Khan also clarified that he knew Lalu Prasad since 1975. “I have come to his city with a new responsibility. Why should I not visit him to express my feelings for him?” Khan asked. He also suggested the reporters “not to view all things through the prism of politics”.

Int’l flyers dropped at domestic terminal SHUTTLE MIX-UP

03.01.2025

Chennai : It was complete chaos at T4 domestic terminal of Chennai airport on Wednesday as passengers of an Air India Express flight from Singapore were dropped at the domestic arrival terminal instead of the international terminal. Anantha Raman, a passenger who arrived on the flight, took to X to post a video of passengers stranded at the domestic terminal with no one to assist them. "After more than an hour, they made us pass through the security check again and then sent us to T2 for immigration, customs, etc," he said.

While passengers were trying to leave without clearance by immigration and customs, the airline realised the blunder. Passengers were stopped and taken to the international terminal. Airport sources said the shuttle service operator mistook the flight for a domestic flight as it came to a stop at the T4 terminal. Sources added that Air India Express always parks their international flights at T4 instead of T2 for ease of operation. Air India Express officials were not available for comment.

Encashed leaves akin to salary, denying it violates rights: HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 03,012025

Ahmedabad : Depriving an employee of leave encashment earned by him is a violation of constitutional rights, the Gujarat high court said, dismissing a petition by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) against a labour court’s order directing the civic body to pay leave encashment due to a retired employee. Upholding the labour court’s order, Justice M K Thakker said: “Leave encashment is akin to salary, which is property, and depriving a person of his property without valid statutory provision is a violation of the provision of the Constitution of India. If an employee has earned the leave and chosen to accumulate his earned leave to his credit, then encashment becomes his right and in the absence of any au thority, that right cannot be infringed by the petitioner corporation.” Sadgunbhai Solanki had joined AMC as a technical department employee in 1975.

He was a junior clerk in 2013, when he was demoted to the post of helper as he did not clear a departmental exam for promotion. Solanki tendered his resignation on March 5, 2013, but AMC did not respond to his resignation for seven months. It set a one-month notice as a condition to accept his resignation. However, no resolution was reached and Solanki superannuated on April 30, 2014. When Solanki demanded encashment of his earned leave, which came to about ₹2.80 lakh, AMC refused to pay. The civic body said he remained on unauthorised leave after tendering his resignation, and therefore was not entitled to the benefit. Solanki approached a labour court, which ruled in his favour and directed AMC in 2018 to pay him ₹1.60 lakh towards leave encashment. AMC challenged the order in HC, where Solanki, through his counsel Nirav Sanghavi, argued that the corporation gave all the retirement benefits to him by treating him as retired from March 2013, and not 2014. Hence, AMC’s argument of the employee remaining absent and not having

enough earned leave did not hold water, he said. Since AMC did not respond to Solanki’s resignation, he was deemed to have retired within three months, according to the service rules, the lawyer submitted.

HC: A woman’s no to ‘purdah’ is not a ground for divorce

Rajesh Kumar Pandey TNN 03.01.2025

Prayagraj : An educated woman’s refusal to be in ‘purdah’ (veil) doesn’t constitute cruelty towards her spouse and can’t justify dissolution of their marriage, Allahabad high court said recently while granting divorce to a couple on grounds other than what the husband alleged was his ex-wife’s ‘free-spirited behaviour’. The division bench of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Donadi Ramesh was hearing a case involving a couple estranged for 23 of the 35 years of their marriage. The husband wanted a divorce but his wife didn’t, leading to a protracted litigation. The man contended that his wife not adhering to the traditional custom of ‘purdah’ and ‘interacting independently in society’ amounted to mental cruelty towards him. The bench said neither of these acts could be deemed cruel in the modern context, and certainly not given the couple’s professional credentials. The man is an engineer and his estranged wife a govt teacher. The judges pointed out that ‘differing perspectives and behaviours do not automatically meet the legal threshold for cruelty’. Allegations of verbal insults and the woman’s alleged relationship with someone outside marriage were dismissed due to insufficient evidence. While dismissing ‘vague and unsupported claims’ as grounds for divorce, the court acknowledged that the long period of separation and the woman’s refusal to reconcile legally tantamounts to desertion. The judges cited Supreme Court guidelines, which recognise long-term separation and the absence of cohabitation as factors contributing to desertion. The court also said alimony wasn’t necessary in this case as both parties were financially independent. The estranged couple’s only child, now an adult, was in the mother’s custody all these years and no financial claim was made. In 2004, a family court dismissed the man’s divorce petition, prompting him to approach HC.

HC relief for student who was denied AIIMS PG seat

NOT ON TIME DUE TO MISSING HER FLIGHT

Vaibhav.Ganjapure@timesofindia.com 03.01.2025

Nagpur : Bombay high court on Thursday came to the rescue of a postgraduate medical aspirant who was denied participation in counselling for admission to AIIMS Kalyani in Bengal for not reporting on time due to a missed flight last year.Terming the case ‘exceptional’, HC’s Nagpur bench of justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi directed AIIMS authorities to allow 27-yearold petitioner Kalyani Chakrawar to participate in the ongoing admission process. Chakrawar, with an all-India rank of 119, was allotted a seat in general medicine at AIIMS Kalyani. She was required to complete admission formalities by 5pm on Dec 24. However, she missed her scheduled 7.30am flight from Nagpur to Kolkata, failing to report in time.

After AIIMS refused to consider her requests to allow her to take part in the second round of counselling, she moved HC, challenging the stringent counselling rules. Despite Christmas vacation, HC prioritised the case and held an emergency hearing on Dec 31, asking AIIMS authorities to file a response. After reviewing arguments from both sides, the court ruled in her favour, allowing her to join the second round of admissions.