Lawyer uses filthy language in ‘virtual court’, fined

Lawyer uses filthy language in ‘virtual court’, fined

A.Subramani@timesgroup.com

Chennai:11.06.2020

Call it the perils of virtual courts. A lawyer of 30-year Bar experience uttered a filthy phrase in Tamil, instinctively on seeing a rashly driven car on road, forgetting the fact that he was still in the middle of his argument in a virtual court. He was pulled up by the judge for it and fined, too.

G Samwell Rajendran was arguing a bail case from near a road on Monday, when he spotted a dangerously driven car whizzing past. He exclaimed, using a filthy phrase in Tamil, as to how reckless the driver was. That he uttered it in virtual court while the judge and other court employees were watching, was the offence.

Irked by the ‘filthy, offensive and intimidatory’ words, the principal district and sessions judge of Thoothukudi, N Logeswaran, initiated summary contempt proceedings against the lawyer and issued him a show-cause notice. On Tuesday, not satisfied by the explanation offered by the lawyer, the court slapped ₹200 as fine for causing ‘intentional interruption to judicial proceedings.’ The fine is to be paid by June 10.

“This court is of the view that even an uneducated village man will not utter the filthy language in a public place... This court finds that the accused has insulted the principal district judge sitting in the judicial proceedings during working hours, and committed an offence under Section 228 (intentional insult or interruption to public servant sitting in judicial proceedings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” said sessions judge Logeswaran.

The order was communicated to Rajendran through email and to his Whatsapp number, and it will be uploaded to the official website of the district court.

The judge, who himself lodged the complaint, mentioned how the prosecutor, woman stenographer, protocol officer and a couple of other court officials who were present in the virtual court and witnessed the ugly incident too gave a ‘written report’ to the judge about the incident.

In order to pre-empt any penal action, Rajendran wrote to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry explaining the incident. It, however, did not help, as the court concluded that the remarks were an ‘intentional insult in the course of judicial proceedings.’

OBJECTION OVERRULED: G Samwell Rajendran, who has 30 years of law practice behind him, uttered a filthy phrase in Tamil when a car sped past him, forgetting the fact that he was in an ongoing virtual hearing. His explanations cut little ice with the judge

Govt hires 1.2K more doctors, health workers

Govt hires 1.2K more doctors, health workers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.06.2020

As Covid-19 cases continued to surge in Tamil Nadu, the government on Wednesday announced recruitment of 1,239 doctors and 2,834 healthcare workers on a contract basis for a three-month period.

This is in addition to the 530 doctors, 4,893 nurses, 2,715 health inspectors and 1,508 lab technicians the health and family welfare department hired earlier.

An official release said chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has ordered the appointment of 574 post-graduates at a monthly salary of ₹75,000 and 665 more doctors (graduates) at ₹60,000 a month. The lab technicians and 1,230 multipurpose healthcare personnel will be paid between ₹12,000 and ₹15,000. Orders were being issued and they are in the process of joining duty, health minister C Vijayabaskar told mediapersons on Wednesday and added that this would lessen the burden of doctors and other healthcare workers. Beds in government hospitals in Chennai will also be increased from about 5,000 beds to 10,000.

City cut off, no mad rush for train tickets

MANY SEATS AVAILABLE

City cut off, no mad rush for train tickets

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.06.2020

There was no mad rush to book tickets when reservations opened on Wednesday for the additional trains on Chengalpet-Trichy-Chengalpet and Arakonam-Coimbatore-Arakonam routes scheduled to run from Friday.

Railway officials say the sluggish demand for seats is because the trains do not touch Chennai, because it is a red zone and the state government has requested railways to operate services within the state without touching the state capital.

Tickets are sold out in minutes for trains during summer but around 1,000 second sitting seats are available on Chengalpet-Trichy train and 146 sleeper class seats on Chengalpet-Trichy train via Mayiladuthurai for travel on Friday. However, there was demand for second seating on the train via Mayiladuthurai as booking status touched waitlist 2 by Wednesday evening. Officials say this could be because several people from southern suburbs of Chennai may be travelling to Kumbakonam or Mayiladuthurai. There are several seats vacant for trains scheduled to depart on Saturday and Sunday. There are hardly any takers for the Arakonam-Coimbatore intercity train as 1,545 second sitting seats and 90 AC chair car seats are available for travel on Friday. The train has around 1,700 second sitting seats.

A railway official said, “Reservations is likely to pick up in the coming days. The services were started after a request from the state government because there was a feedback that there will be demand on these routes. The government wants to start trains within the state in a phased manner. A request was sent to the railway board and the routes were approved.” Several people who live in southern suburbs of Tambaram and Chengalpet often travel to Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai and Trichy.

Though the idea behind starting the service from Chengalpet is to discourage residents of Chennai from travelling, people can still board the trains as cabs are available. “These trains will be useful for people as more lockdown relaxations are expected,” he added.

Southern Railway, following the state government’s request, is already operating some special trains connecting cities like Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy. The Chennai to Delhi Rajdhani specials from Chennai is the only popular train.

City girl, a budding pilot, dies in plane crash in Odisha

City girl, a budding pilot, dies in plane crash in Odisha

A.Selvaraj@timesgroup.com

Chennai:11.06.2020

Airborne, Anis Fathima flashed a smile and waved to her friend on the ground, and that was the last time the 20-year-old girl was seen alive. Aspirations of the young pilot trainee, daughter of a city cop who himself died while on duty, came to an abrupt end when her training flight crashed in Dhenkanal, Odisha. Her remains were brought to Chennai with great difficulty.

Her trainer Sanjib Kumar Jha of Bihar also perished in the accident.

It was perhaps the name of her locality – Vimanam (means aircraft) Nagar – and proximity to the airport that gave wings to her teenage dreams of becoming a pilot. “I want to fly high, and be one of the top-class pilots in India. I also want to build a house for my mom and brother,” Anis told this correspondent during a meeting at Theosophical Society in February.

The two-seater training aircraft did not fly for almost two months due to lockdown, a co-trainee told TOI over phone. “As per protocol, the trainer should fly the aircraft first before allowing trainee pilots to take off. And, the trainer shall also have control the bird on flight. This accident is due to technical snag,” she said.

Another trainee, Akash of Bihar, said Anis was one among the seven trainees pilots and she usually preferred to take to the skies last. On Monday, however, she chose to fly first, at 5.30am, he said.

Anis’s father, an assistant commissioner of police in Tamil Nadu, Mohammad Gori, too had a sudden death in 2011. Gori, whose family hails from Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district, died in a road accident when he was with the Tamil Nadu Police Academy in 2011. Moments before he breathed his last, Gori clutched the then DGP Anoop Jaiswal’s hands and requested him to take care of his family. It was Jaiswal who helped Anis join the pilot training course. Jaiswal said: “I lost my child Anis. I considered her as my daughter and provided all support in her studies and extra-curricular activities.” On Tuesday night, her elder brother Anup and friends brought Anis’ remains by air to the city. After final rites at their house in Vimanam Nagar in Polichalur near Pallavaram, she was laid to rest near Rahim Masjid in Nagalkeni on Wednesday.

The mangled body of the plane that crashed carrying Anis (inset)

Govt docs, nurses worried about working conditions

Govt docs, nurses worried about working conditions

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.06.2020

As cases in government hospitals increased, more doctors have tested positive for the viral infection and government doctors and nurses expressed concerns about working conditions.

“As of now 60 of our doctors in Rajiv Gandhi Government General and related institutes have tested positive and are under treatment at ESI Hospital in Aynavaram. Five doctors have been asked to share a room. We have asked the government to provide them with separate rooms,” said TN Government Doctors Association president Dr K Senthil.

While staff nurses at Omandurar Medical College Hospital went on a short-lived flash strike on Wednesday, seeking nurse appointments to share the increasing workload, doctors’ bodies also asked for more staff at Women and Children’s Hospital in Egmore.

“We are now heavily short staffed as doctors and nurses are on quarantine.” said a doctor adding, “We worked for the government but did not get separate rooms to sleep when we have been infected. At the women's hospital many gynecs are at risk because they work closely with women in labour. They scream when they have pain and chances of droplet infections are very high,” a senior doctor undergoing treatment said. At Omandurar hospital, the nurses strike was called off after dean Dr Narayana Babu promised them to resolve the issue. According to sources, there are about 140 nurses attached to the hospital and half of them are in quarantine.

“For the 400 patients in the Covid ward, just 20-23 nurses are not enough and while on night duty, timings some time increase up to 12 hours. When we get affected, our families too are at risk,” said a nurse.

College holds convocation online to honour students

College holds convocation online to honour students

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.06.2020

There were no laughter, no claps, only silence as 453 engineering students received their certificates during a ‘virtual graduation day’ on Wednesday.

The function continued for more than an hour and students sat in front of their computers at homes peering into the screen as their images popped up on screen when their names were read out.

Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology, the college which held virtual graduation day sent an email of scanned copy of graduation certificates to all students. Students and parents were asked to log on at the specific time on a web platform to watch the live event.

“It is entirely a new experience for me. We looked forward to our graduation day where we put on a convocation robe and cap flanked by friends and family. I missed my friends on graduation day,” said Aswathi Muralidharan, one of the two rank holders who received their degrees in person.

But, she said her college organised the virtual graduation day well. “They have collected photographs of all students and used Instagram filters to put graduation day caps to the pictures. It is the new form of graduation,” she added. Another student Muthuvel C said it was a new experience for all students.

“Because of Covid-19, we were not able to conduct an inperson graduation day. So, we thought of holding virtual graduation day. We sent a scanned copy of certificates to all students,” said Thangam Meganathan, chairperson of Rajalakshmi Institutions.

Of 453 students, only seven could not login. More than 600 students and parents watched the event. Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan was the chief guest.

ALL VIRTUAL: Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan (bottom left) and others at the online graduation day of Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology on Wednesday

Citing COVID-19 Risk, Parents Move SC Against CBSE Decision To Hold Class XII Exams In July

Citing COVID-19 Risk, Parents Move SC Against CBSE Decision To Hold Class XII Exams In July 

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

10 Jun 2020 10:24 AM 

Raising concern about the safety of their wards and other students due to COVID-19, a group of parents from Delhi -NCR have approached the Supreme Court seeking quashing of CBSE notification to conduct remaining Class XII board examination from July. 

On May 18, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had issued notification announcing to hold the remaining examination of CBSE Board (Class XII) from July 1-15. 

In the PIL, the parents have cited the data of All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), according to which, the pandemic would be in its peak in July and there will be about 3,00,000 COVID 19 cases. 

The petition, filed through Advocate Rishi Malhotra, raised concern about the safety students saying "millions of students would be exposed to COVID-19 pandemic if they have to appear in the said examinations." 

"This situation coupled with the fact that cases in India are rising dramatically and as on date there are almost 3,00,000 cases of COVID-19 patients. 

Even if it is to be assumed that 50% of the cases are asymptomatic then, the said students appearing for these exams could also be potential careers themselves posing a great risk to the other family members and themselves", read the plea. 

"Moreover, to assume that the students in the month of July where the temperature touches almost 45 degree C and humidity around with students wearing gloves and masks sitting in examination centres for 4 hours at stretch would be a task which would be completely hazardous to everyone", added the petition. 

Earlier, respondent/CBSE considering the gravity of this pandemic has themselves cancelled the examinations of Class X and XII for its 250 odd schools which are situated abroad and has adopted criteria in awarding marks on the basis of either Practical exams conducted or internal assessment marks. 

"It is highly regretful that the respondents herein have no genuine concern about putting the lives at peril of all the students pan India and have no explanation whatsoever in insisting upon holding the said examination in India," as stated in the plea while seeking quashing of the CBSE notification. 

Delhi residents Col (Retd) Amit Bathla, Poonam Singla, Charu Singh and Sunitha are the petitioners. 

Earlier, the High Court of Kerala had dismissed a challenge against the State Government to hold exams for Class X under the State Board. 

A similar decision of the Tamil Nadu Government was however questioned by the Madras HC, following which the move was dropped. 

சென்னைக்கு வர டாக்டர்களுக்கு உத்தரவு

சென்னைக்கு வர டாக்டர்களுக்கு உத்தரவு

Added : ஜூன் 10, 2020 00:31

சென்னை; முதுநிலை மருத்துவம் முடித்த டாக்டர்கள், மூன்று மாதம் சென்னையில் பணியாற்ற வரும்படி, தமிழக அரசு உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.

தமிழகத்தின் பல மாவட்டங்களில், கொரோனா பாதிப்பு கட்டுக்குள் உள்ளது. ஆனால், சென்னையில் பாதிப்பு அதிகரித்து வருவதால், புதிதாக டாக்டர்கள், மருத்துவ பணியாளர்கள் பணியமர்த்தப்பட்டு வருகின்றனர். தமிழக முழுவதும், அரசு மருத்துவமனைகளில், முதுநிலை மருத்துவம் முடித்த, 2,000க்கும் மேற்பட்ட டாக்டர்கள் பணியில் உள்ளனர். அவர்கள் அனைவரும், கொரோனா தடுப்பு பணிக்கு, இன்றே சென்னைக்கு வரும்படி உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

மருத்துவ பணியாளர் தேர்வு வாரியம், அந்தந்த மருத்துவ கல்லுாரி வாயிலாக, டாக்டர்களுக்கு உத்தர விட்டுள்ளது. அதை ஏற்று, அனைத்து டாக்டர்களும், சென்னைக்கு வருகின்றனர். 'அந்த டாக்டர்கள் ஓட்டல்களில் தங்கும் வகையில், வசதிகள் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன' என, சுகாதாரத்துறை அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவித்தனர்.

No rush as Guruvayur temple opens for devotees

No rush as Guruvayur temple opens for devotees

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thrissur:10.06.2020

Devotees entered the Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple on Tuesday, after a gap of about 80 days, following the relaxation of the lockdown rules.

However, contrary to the popular assessments that there will be a heavy rush of devotees to enter the temple, much less than the permitted number had turned up on the first day.

According to the devaswom administrator, S Sisir, only 88 devotees had come to the temple, though 284 had booked online requesting for darshan. The devaswom had in fact announced its decision to allow 600 devotees to enter the temple each day. Three marriages were also held on Tuesday at the temple kalyanamandapam. The devaswom had in fact decided to give sanction to conduct 60 marriages per day at the temple.

The bookings for darshan in the coming days are also reported to be not high. The devaswom has so far received only less than 1,000 requests for free darshan till June 13, when the present online registration will continue.

Devaswom sources said suspension of private buses and campaigns by some Hindu outfits against opening of the temple could have contributed to the dip in the arrival of devotees. But more than anything else, apprehensions about the possibilities of getting infection appear to be a major reason which deters the heavy flow of devotees to the temple. They are also worried of the need for going under quarantine if any of the devotees tests positive later.

The devaswom had put in place elaborate systems for ensuring that the devotees adhere to the norms of physical distancing and sanitisation to avert Covid-19 infection.

Only 88 devotees visited Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple on Tuesday

42K students require facilities to attend online classes: Govt

42K students require facilities to attend online classes: Govt

Kochi:10.06.2020

State government has informed the high court that the number of students requiring facilities to attend online classes has been reduced from 2.61 lakh to 42,412.

As per the report submitted by the state project director on May 10, 2.61 lakh out of the 41.3 lakh students in the state did not have the facilities. By June 1, the number reduced to 1.15 lakh and it further declined to 42,412 students as per the report filed on June 8.

Efforts are being taken to address the problem faced by the remaining students on a warfooting basis and the aim is to provide access to online classes to all students by the time classes begin on a regular basis on June 14, the court was told.

Government was responding to a petition questioning hurried implementation of online classes without providing the necessary facilities. TNN

Relief for parents as many schools give fee concession

Relief for parents as many schools give fee concession

AnanthaNarayanan.K@timesgroup.com

Kochi:10.06.2020

After the decision to drop fee hikes in the new academic year, many city schools are now taking initiatives to give fee concessions to ease the financial burden of parents amid lockdown.

Besides the waiver on computer fee, lab fee and bus fee, some schools have even cut the one-time annual fee by up to 50%. Also, a few schools have reduced the term fees by up to 10% in addition to allow parents to remit the fees in extra instalments. Moreover, a few school managements have empowered the principals to grant extension of fee payment deadline and also allow additional concession in tuition fee to needy parents, who have valid reasons.

Earlier most schools informed parents that there would not be a fee hike in the new academic year considering humanitarian concerns so that it would not be an overburden for parents who could be struggling with their jobs. Schools are planning to compensate the deficit in their revenue by cutting operational cost to balance financial security.

Schools which initiated such measures include schools run by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Kochi Kendra), Global Public School, Rajagiri Public School, Toc H Public School, Al Ameen International Public School, Gregorian Public School, Assisi Vidyanikethan among others. All these schools have given the option for parents to ask for extension of deadline.

While Toc H reduced the annual fee by 40%, Global Public School has reduced it by 25%. In Gregorian, 50% of annual fee has been waived off for all classes. All those who have paid annual payments can get it deducted during next term fees. All schools have decided not to charge bus fee till schools reopen.

“Bhavan’s schools have increased the number of instalments to five from three. Also, parents who want additional relaxations or extension in deadline can personally approach the principals of respective schools,” said E Ramankutty, director of Bhavan’s Kochi Kendra.

Juby Paul, principal of Toc H, said the school has withdrawn fee hikes implemented before the lockdown. “Around 4% to 6% of fee hike was announced earlier but has been withdrawn due to the pandemic. Regarding the concessions, there will be a reduction of around Rs.7000 on an average,” he said.

T P M Ibrahim Khan, president of Kerala CBSE schools management association, said the decision may affect schools’ revenue considering the rising expenditure and teachers’ salary increment. “But in this present situation, it is ideal to reduce the fee and the decision is at the discretion of each school management,” he said.

A few schools have reduced the term fees by up to 10% in addition to allow parents to remit the fees in extra instalments

Ward boy held for blackmailing nurse

Ward boy held for blackmailing nurse

Sushil.Rao@timesgroup.com

10.06.2020

Hyderabad: A youth from Warangal was arrested for allegedly stalking a nurse, blackmailing her and demanding that she send her nude photograph to him.

Nalgonda police arrested the accused, a ward boy who created a fake Facebook account on her name and befriended her friends too. The nurse, a native of Khammam district and was providing home care to a patient in Nalgonda.

“The victim was on the verge of committing suicide because of the harassment. Before she could take the extreme step, she sent a WhatsApp message to SHE Teams, who acted quickly on her complaint. As she gave the mobile number of her harasser, he was traced in Nalgonda,” Nalgonda superintendent of police (SP) A V Ranganath said on Tuesday.

The accused hails from Chennaraopeta Warangal was working as a ward boy for a home care giving organisation at Addagutta in Secunderabad and came in contact with nurses. He would take their numbers and also of their friends to contact them.

In the case of the girl, he first sent her a WhatsApp message saying that she should call back and there would be a surprise in store for her. The nurse ignored the message as it was from an unknown person. After repeated requests, he himself made a WhatsApp video call.

According to the SP, the man showed himself nude in the video call even as the shocked girl disconnected the call. He saved a video and threatened her that he would circulate the video of she looking at him nude.

Police, said there were several other cases against as the accused as he had resorted to the same modus operandi with about 30 other girls too.

However, many did not come forward to lodge a complaint. Those instances would also be probed and he would be prosecuted, the SP added

City homes struggling to find tenants

City homes struggling to find tenants

Sudipta.Sengupta@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:10.06.2020

Homes in the city are having a tough time finding takers, according to property brokers. They say that the flood of enquiries during what is usually their peak season — April to June — has been reduced to a trickle due to the coronavirus pandemic. Complicating matters further is the return of the city’s sizeable migrant workforce to their native places which have led many properties to put up their ‘to-let’ boards.

“Our business is down to just 10% of what we otherwise register during this time,” said Rizwan Khan a Begumpet-based broker. “Most hirings happen between April and June so people move to the city either to join a new job or on transfer from their old job. That is the trend. Since hirings have almost come to a halt due to the lockdown, it has affected us immensely,” he added.

Brokers said that while they would usually attend to as many as 40 calls per day for homes during this period, they are now receiving barely five to six calls. This has been the case for brokers even when it comes to the city’s most sought-after locations such as Madhapur, Jubilee Hills and Somajiguda.

“We are getting some local enquiries but that is limited. Most of our business usually comes from the migrant workforce,” said Mohammed Ibrahim of Ideal Homes in Jubilee Hills. In fact, many have even reduced their commission from one month’s rent to half-amonth’s rent, to lure customers. However, takers have been few and far between.

A broker who had cracked the deal for staffers at a popular city restaurant said: “The employer had rented out flats in two buildings in Kundanbagh to accommodate them. There were about a 100 people living in these houses. Now, they have vacated all but two flats as the workers have returned home. The employer was paying over ₹1lakh a month in rent.”

But will this slowdown lead to cheaper rentals? “Not really. Though some property owners are willing to offer discounts, many others are in the wait-and-watch mode. Maybe if things don’t start looking up for another few months, they will consider a cut in rents,” said Khan.

Covid-19 has had an impact on broader residential market. Rents usually go up by 3-5% per annum but the current market conditions don’t support a growth in short term given uncertainty prevailing in the job market

Veera Babu | MD, CUSHMA AND WAKEFIELD (HYDERABAD)

Inter admissions: All-pass SSC students a new challenge for BIE

Inter admissions: All-pass SSC students a new challenge for BIE

Ratio Of Students For A Seat Higher

Preeti.Biswas@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:10.06.2020

Authorities at the Telangana Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) on Tuesday said their task to accommodate seven lakh students in junior colleges will be a herculean task, specially with social distancing norms reducing the number of seats in each class by almost half.

Every year, close to five lakh students take admission in junior colleges, both government and private, but with the government deciding to promote all class X students, close to seven lakh students, including those passing out from schools affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council of Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (CICSE), this year, will be trying to get into junior colleges.

“We have a sanctioned strength of 8.75 lakh. However, accommodating these students, keeping in view social distancing norms, may emerge as a challenge as we may have to put a cap on the class strength the way AP government has done,” TSBIE secretary Omar Jaleel told TOI. In May, AP had issued a government order (GO) putting a cap of 40 students per class. Even TSBIE is now in the process of framing similar guidelines on accommodation of studentstion.

“Earlier, we used to sanction 88 students in each class. Now, we might have to bring it down. We are also exploring options such as introducing shifts. Second year students can attend classes in the morning shift, while the first year ones in the afternoon shift or vice versa,” Jaleel said, adding different combinations were being worked out and would be presented before the state government for a final call.

Allotment of students would also be a major challenge for TSBIE as the government has decided to promote students based on their performance in internal assessments. TSBIE fears that the ratio of students vying for a seat might be higher this year.

“If we get more applications for one seat, we will give it to meritorious students. And, if candidates score same marks, then the older candidate will be considered. We have to work out provisions for admitting students,” Jaleel added. TSBIE has also decided to expedite the admission process now, which they had earlier anticipated would commence only by August.

Dentist suffocated to death in OT; clinic staff booked for negligence

Dentist suffocated to death in OT; clinic staff booked for negligence

Kiran.Parashar@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:10.06.2020

Eighteen days after a 26-year-old dentist died in a Sarjapur Road clinic where he worked, city police on Monday booked a case of death due to negligence.

The development came in the wake of the postmortem finding that carbon monoxide, emitted by a generator in the building, could be the cause of the dentist, Dr Nithin Shetty’s death and his family members filing a police complaint.

The family members identified as suspects two individuals connected to the clinic, which is part of a large dental healthcare network in South India.

Nithin was from Mangaluru and got married on February 7. He joined the clinic at Kaikondarahalli on Sarjapur Road on May 21 but did not go to work due to the lockdown.

He resumed duty on May 20. The next day, he left for work by 9.30am. At 2.35pm, Nithin called his wife Deepthi Alva over the phone and told her that there was no electricity in the building as well as the clinic. Nithin then told his wife that he did not know where the generator was installed and that he would be calling the attender to find out where the generator switch was located, according to the complaint.

When Nithin did not respond to her calls later, Deepthi alerted her family members and friends. At 9.30pm, Nithin’s friend Dhawan went to the hospital and found that the former had collapsed in the operation theatre and was bleeding from the mouth. He was taken to Columbia Asia hospital where he was declared brought dead.

After the postmortem report suggested he suffocated to death due to carbon monoxide, Bellandur police registered a case under IPC section 304 (a) (causing death by negligence). Nithin’s family suspects he had switched on the generator and returned to the OT which had no ventilation and carbon monoxide from the generator might have filled the building, leading to his death.

Deepthi’s brother Akash filed a complaint against two clinic officials. “We’ve questioned them and sent evidence for forensic examination,” police said.

Nithin Shetty, who had gone to the clinic on May 21, called his wife to tell there was no electricity. He reportedly switched on the generator and carbon monoxide filled the building. He was found bleeeding from the mouth in the OT which had no ventilation

₹268cr in CM’s Covid relief fund lies unused

₹268cr in CM’s Covid relief fund lies unused

Kiran.Parashar@timesgroup.com

10.06.2020

Bengaluru: The state government has not utilized even a single rupee of the Rs 268 crore collected under the Chief Minister’s Covid-19 relief fund to tackle the pandemic in Karnataka, a reply to a Right To Information (RTI) query has revealed.

In response to questions raised by T Narasimha Murthy, an RTI activist, the government said that it received Rs 267,72,37,574 through donations to tackle the spread of Covid-19, but the money has been kept aside as an emergency fund. The money was donated by individuals, institutions and boards and corporations apart from others across the state between March 25 and May 19.

Murthy suggested he was flummoxed with the replying, saying, “I am unable to fathom what constitutes an emergency according to the government. We saw the plight of migrant workers, many of whom walked back to their hometowns and how they suffered. The state government could have arranged vehicles for them using this money. But it chose to save the money for reasons best known to them.”

Officials said the government expected more money to flow into the fund but that did not happen. At the same time, funds allocated to the disaster management authority and money of various departments was abundantly used to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Though the government claims that funds spent by the departments would be reimbursed from the relief fund corpus, it’s unlikely to happen given the state’s dismal financial condition.

Upgrade facilities

The chief minister’s office has a different argument. CMO officials say departments have been utilizing their funds to tackle Covid-19 and the CM’s relief fund could be utilized for other purposes.

Besides Bengaluru Urban, there are other districts like Kalaburagi, Raichur, Belagavi, Yadgir and Bidar where the number of cases has been spiking. “We want to upgrade health facilities and are coordinating with the health department to prepare a plan,” sources said.

Asked about the propriety of the departments using their funds and not the Covid-19 relief fund to battle the pandemic, the CMO said departments have used a limited part of their allocations and money from the CM’s relief fund would be released to them in the near future.

Varying corona packages lead to wrangle between insurers, hosps

Varying corona packages lead to wrangle between insurers, hosps

Rachel.Chitra@timesgroup.com

10.06.2020

With metro cities seeing an increasing number of Covid-19 patients availing treatment in private facilities, insurers and hospitals are wrangling over bills which range between Rs 1lakh and Rs 8.5 lakh.

Insurers say they do not make a judgment call on whether the patient requires hospitalisation, which increases prospects for “soft fraud” through unjustified charges. There have been over10,000 private healthcare claims. The average bill of a Covid-19 package in India is Rs 1.56 lakh so far, as per IRDAI data. Insurers say that claims range from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 8 lakh but pay only what has been agreed upon in insurance contracts with the rest borne by the insured.

“You see hospitals billing patients for sanitising equipment. Does that mean they were using unsanitised equipment earlier? With Covid-19 we are seeing hospitals billing anything and everything,” said the CEO of a private general insurance company. Insurers say that where the bill is borne by the patients, the charges are higher as there is no insurance company to negotiate.

Delhi resident Surender Gaur claims his brother’s bill of Rs 4.08 lakh had Rs 70,900 earmarked for PPEs. He alleges that his brother was billed for 22 visits by a specialist doctor as against seven visits.

Guj has lowest treatment cost for Covid-19

Chennai resident B Manikandan alleges that his father was billed Rs 4.8 lakh for Covid treatment of which Rs 75,000 was charged for a ventilator, which was never used. Insurers are also disputing add-on charges to the Covid test. The average Covid-19 claim size is highest in Kolkata (Rs 2.5 lakh per patient), followed by Delhi (Rs 2.41 lakh). Hospitals in Mumbai and Pune are reporting claims of much lower value at Rs 1.19 lakh per patient. In Surat and Ahmedabad, the average cost of Covid-19 treatment is the lowest in India at Rs 97,000.

Insurers also say that for cities like Mumbai and Chennai, initially hospitals were charging a lot but have now reduced rates due to various reasons. The Tamil Nadu government has capped daily charges at Rs 5,000 a day for Covid-19 patients, which has reduced the average claim size to Rs 1.93 lakh.

VTU: Call on exams, academics after talks

VTU: Call on exams, academics after talks

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:10.06.2020

After the department of primary and secondary education, Visvesvaraya Technological University has decided to seek stakeholders’ opinion before taking a call on conduct of exams and other academic matters.

In a virtual meeting with college principals on Tuesday, VTU vice-chancellor Karisiddappa asked affiliated institutions to gather opinion from students, parents and teachers on many issues, including exams, and submit it to the university. Opinion of recruiters, industry experts and educationists will also be taken into consideration. Karisiddappa has said exams will be not conducted without at least 25 hours of physical classes for each course.

Students have been knocking on all doors requesting their exams be scrapped, stating online classes have been irregular. However, the university has denied the charge and quoted a survey to say 85% of the students have digital access and 75% portions have been completed.

Students conduct a survey, say in 63.6% of the cases, colleges didn’t ask students if they had access to gadgets or internet

21 Notable Judgments/Orders Delivered By Courts During COVID-19 Lockdown

21 Notable Judgments/Orders Delivered By Courts During COVID-19 Lockdown: The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in lockdown across the country in all spheres of activities. However, even during such challenging times, the judiciary has continued its function

[Breaking]All Law Students Except In The Final Semester Will Be Promoted On The Basis Of Marks Received On Previous Years And Internal Marks This Year : BCI

[Breaking]All Law Students Except In The Final Semester Will Be Promoted On The Basis Of Marks Received On Previous Years And Internal Marks This Year : BCI: In view of the ongoing pandemic, the General Council of the Bar Council of India recently issued certain guidelines with regard to conducting of online Examinations by Universities.Final Year...

[Breaking]All Law Students Except In The Final Semester Will Be Promoted On The Basis Of Marks Received On Previous Years And Internal Marks This Year : BCI

[Breaking]All Law Students Except In The Final Semester Will Be Promoted On The Basis Of Marks Received On Previous Years And Internal Marks This Year : BCI 

Radhika Roy

9 Jun 2020 8:42 PM 

In view of the ongoing pandemic, the General Council of the Bar Council of India recently issued certain guidelines with regard to conducting of online Examinations by Universities. 

Final Year Students 

Final year students of 3 Years LL.B and 5 Years LL.B courses may be allowed to appear for online examinations 

Alternatively, for Final year LL.B students as mentioned above, the Universities may adopt any other appropriate method which they feel is adequate to satisfy the requirements of regular examination. Under this system the University may allow students to write a project report/research paper for each paper of final year or they may adopt a full proof method to double the internal marks of the semester exams already held for such year. 3. In case of Final Year LL.B students, who have not cleared all papers of previous years and are required to sit in the supplementary examination, but, who have been promoted to final year, such Final year LL.B students may be allowed to write a project report or appear in online examination with regard to the pending/supplementary papers, so that they could also pass within time. 

Intermediate Semester Students 

All Students, except Final year students, will be promoted on the basis of performance of previous year's marks and marks obtained in the internal examination of the current year. However, it is clarified that after reopening of the colleges/Universities, the Universities shall conduct the end semester examination with respect to the year from which they have been promoted, within a reasonable period of time, though, such promoted students shall continue to study in the year to which they have been promoted, and in case, they are unable to pass/clear any such paper of such end semester exam of the year from which they have been promoted, they shall have to clear the same, before they are granted the degree. In the case of students who have been promoted to the final year as LL.B students, they shall have to pass all papers in order to obtain their degree/s 

Universities must adhere to Covid-19 protocol and ensure that the norm of social distancing is followed in the campus and all class rooms and examination halls are properly sanitized from time to time. The safety and health of the students should not be compromised at any cost. 6. Universities are instructed to maintain the highest academic standards while conducting the examinations.

CM tests negative for Covid, advised to take rest by doctors

CM tests negative for Covid, advised to take rest by doctors

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:10.06.2020

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has tested negative for Covid-19. Two days after developing Covid-like symptoms, he underwent the test on Tuesday morning.

“The result of the Covid-19 test is out, and the chief minister has tested negative,” said an official. Kejriwal reported mild fever and sore throat on Sunday afternoon and has since gone into self-isolation.

Since fever and sore throat are among the symptoms of corona infections and Kejriwal has a long medical history of diabetes, one of the comorbidities, the doctors advised him to undergo the test.

The CM is feeling better and his health condition is improving, said an official. “The doctors have advised the chief minister to take proper rest,” he added.

The test result relieved Aam Aadmi Party functionaries and well-wishers of Kejriwal. “Due to the power of prayers of the people, the Covid test of CM has come negative. The CM is working day and night to serve the people of Delhi in this time of crisis. We pray to the God that he recovers fast,” said AAP MP Sushil Gupta.

In Kejriwal’s absence, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia participated in Tuesday’s meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority chaired by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal to assess the Covid situation in the national capital.

Delhi has been reporting more than 1,000 cases almost daily for the past several days, with its corona tally crossing the 30,000 mark on Tuesday.

Arvind Kejriwal has reported mild fever and sore throat

10L take JEE, NEET practice tests on app

10L take JEE, NEET practice tests on app

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:10.06.2020

In an encouraging development, close to 10 lakh engineering and medical aspirants used the “National Test Abhyas App” to test their preparedness for JEE (Main) and NEET-UG and data reveal a significant 45% are from semi-urban, rural and under served areas and 37% have no access to private coaching.

The results suggest that while there are concerns over post-Covid stress on digitalisation leaving out a section of students, the use of the App showed that online tools can be enabling as well for a large segment with limited access to expensive private coaching. Stranded in their homes, candidates spent over 7 lakh hours between May 19 and June 4, taking the free online practice tests offered by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the competitive entrance exams.

The big plus of the tests is that not only the candidates get to know their scores, but are provided a detailed analysis of where they went wrong.

‘App really helpful for poor students from rural areas’

The online practice tests provided a detailed analysis of where students went wrong, how much more time they have taken in each section than advisable and are compared to their peers so that they can work on these areas. The approach can be expected to improve the test-taking ability of these candidates.

With the nationwide lockdown, the campus academic activities of coaching institutes as well as regular schools have been disrupted. The HRD ministry launched the practice test mobile application which came in handy for candidates like Lakhan Singh of Rajasthan. “This app is really helpful for JEE aspirants. And mostly for those students who belong to rural area and whose income is not enough,” he said.

The test is not just about answering the questions and getting a score. “Concepts are cleared with the question. I think no other application can be comparable,” said another test-taker, Joshita J.

The app offers a practice test on JEE (Main) and NEETUG every day and a candidate can take as many per choice. At the end of the test, the candidate gets a score card, the questions where she went wrong and an explainer on why it is wrong. The candidate also gets a hand of time management – how much time for a correct and incorrect answer as compared to others.

Based on the first 16 days of data, a total of 9,97,904 candidates have taken the practice tests. Nearly 60% of these are NEET-UG test-takers. UP and Maharashtra have the maximum number of candidates, 1.3 lakh and 1.1 lakh, respectively.

For those who scored 99 percentile and above, for JEE (Main), average time taken for a correct answer is 112 seconds and for NEET-UG, it is 37 seconds. As per the national average, candidates spent maximum time for the mathematics section (67 minutes), while biology (48 minutes) and chemistry (37 minutes for JEE and 48 for NEET) questions were solved well under an hour.

Full report on www.toi.in

No Class X Boards, TN promotes all 9L pupils

A day after drawing flak from opposition parties and the Madras high court over its move to conduct Class X board exams from June 15 amid the pandemic, the Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday cancelled the exams and promoted over nine lakh students. The final marks for Class X students will be based on their performance in quarterly and half-yearly exams and their attendance. No one will fail, however, as a matter of policy.

Full report on www.toi.in

Class XII boards: Parents move court against CBSE’s decision

Class XII boards: Parents move court against CBSE’s decision

New Delhi:10.06.2020

A group of parents on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against CBSE’s decision to hold the remaining papers of Class XII board exams from July 1 and pleaded the court to direct students be given marks on the basis of internal assessment in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Alleging that students would be exposed to the pandemic if they come out of their houses to appear in the examination to be conducted at 15,000 centres across the country, a group of four parents pleaded the apex court to stay the decision.

The petition, filed by advocate Rishi Malhotra, contended that many reputed educational institutions and universities, including Delhi University and IITs, have decided not to conduct any examination and CBSE be also directed to not conduct examination for the remaining papers of Class XII Boards. He said some state boards, including Chhattisgarh, have decided against holding any examination to protect students from being exposed to the deadly virus.

“CBSE’s notification for holding of the remaining examination is discriminatory and arbitrary and that too in the month of July when, as per the AIIMS data, the Covid-19 pandemic would be at its peak.... As done by CBSE in its other 250 schools abroad and various state boards, the examination scheduled to be conducted in July, should be cancelled and marks could be allotted on the basis of internal assessment,” the petition said. TNN

Private buses to start operations from today

Private buses to start operations from today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Trichy:10.06.2020

Federation of Bus Operators Associations of Tamil Nadu (FOBTN), the apex body of private bus operators across the state, will resume private bus services from Wednesday. However, private buses will not be operated in Covid-19 hotspots -- Tiruvallur, Chengalpet and Kanchipuram districts. The federation said private buses -- both city and mofussil fleets -- will operate with existing ticket fares.

FOBTN said there were 4,600 private buses in the state but they do not operate in Chennai, Madurai city, Nagercoil and Ooty. Since March 24, the fleets were grounded due to the lockdown. After 78 days, private bus operators will resume services by adhering to precautionary measures as instructed by the government. However, 200 buses in the hotspot districts will stay grounded.

To ensure social distancing, the buses will operate with less than 60% occupancy, like the state-run TNSTC. Crew members of private mofussil and city buses will be provided with safety gears, including facemasks. Seats will be allotted to passengers ensuring social distancing.

“We will operate our buses within the zones classified by the state government. For the routes connecting destinations in other zones, we will end our service at the final most major bus stops near to the boundary of other zones,” D R Dharmaraj, secretary, FOBTN told TOI. Buses on their return to the bus stands will be sanitised by the crew. The district-level private bus operators associations will bear the expenses in sanitising the fleets. “People have to adhere to the restrictions by wearing facemasks, our crew members were told not to overcrowd the fleets,” Dharmaraj added.

Private buses will not be operated in Covid-19 hotspots --Tiruvallur, Chengalpet and Kanchipuram districts. They do not operate in Chennai, Madurai city, Nagercoil and Ooty

Name change: When Saidapet becomes Saithappettai

Name change: When Saidapet becomes Saithappettai

Julie Mariappan TNN

Chennai:10.06.2020

Are you a resident of Mylapore? Get ready for a name change in documents, as the state government has renamed the popular neighbourhood Mayilappoor. And that’s only one of the 1,018 place names it has reverted. That turns Tondiarpet into Thandaiyaarpettai, Purasawalkam into Purasaivaakkam and Adyar into Adaiyaaru.

It is the culmination of an initiative in 2018 to have Tamil equivalents or original Tamil names of Anglicised names of places across the state. The changes have been notified in the gazette to be in effect from April 1, though rewriting the boards would have to wait till Covid-19 goes away.

“A group of language experts, representatives of Tamil organisations and professors, along with government administrators finalised the names at the district level and later at the state level, said Tamil development director G Vijayaraghavan. “It took almost two years.”

So, V O C Nagar in north Chennai has been renamed ‘Va Oo Si Nagar,’ while Aminjikarai has become Amaindhakarai. Egmore has regained its Tamil name Ezhumboor and Thiruvanmiyur is now spelled Thiruvanmiyoor. The ‘pettais’ of Chennai will no longer have their names ending with ‘pets’. Hence, Saithaappettai, Chinthadharipettai and Jalladiyaanpettai.

Tamil language experts said people would soon get accustomed to the changes. “Trivandrum became Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore became Bengaluru and Madras became Chennai. It took time, but people did accept them. Originality brings the places closer to the people,” said V Jayadevan, former head of the department of Tamil language at University of Madras, who was involved in the exercise.

Thoothukkudi is now spelled Thooththukkudi. Trichy has become Thiruchirappalli and Srirangam is now Thiruvarangam. Dharmapuri has been renamed Tharumapuri.

Long hours in PPE without breaks, no family time — lab technicians toil to get results right

THE INSIDER

Long hours in PPE without breaks, no family time — lab technicians toil to get results right

TOI Takes A Look At Struggles Of These Frontliners

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:10.06.2020

For the past three months, MM Vidya, 24, from Vyasarpadi, leaves her home early every morning and slips into a three-kg heavy Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as soon as she enters the lab.

“It’s so hot inside the PPE that one of us got heat boils,” said Vidya, a microbiologist at the government’s public health lab in Teynampet, who braves the relentless summer heat without even drinking water for eight to ten hours straight.

In the initial phase, Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) extraction from samples was done manually. Technicians had to sit for three hours in the same position causing a penetrating pain in their bones, Vidya added. An automatic extractor, procured three weeks ago, has made their lives better.

However, other jobs like sample and reagent preparation, actual PCR tests and analysis of results keeps them occupied throughout the day giving them no time to interact even with those seated next to them.

They take five-minute breaks in turns at the end of every session to sit and relax their muscles so that their concentration levels don’t drop.

Even when doctors and nurses had breaks after working at Covid wards for a week, this team, which is also dealing with live viruses, has been working 24/7 in three shifts as there was no replacement for them.

“The only break we took was this Sunday. Testing was put on hold for an hour so that we can have lunch together. This was to keep their spirits high,” said S Raju, their team head and deputy director at the Department of Health, who hasn’t seen his family in 40 days due to excess work.

Though some of his team members do go home, they don’t get time to interact with their families as they hardly have six or seven hours of sleep so that they can work the next day.

But they are advised not to watch TV channels back at home as news about doctors might create a mental block. Also, it is painful to see claims that our test results were dubious despite so much effort, Raju added.

“By the time we feel exhausted and pack up, we get 400 more samples. So we leave home only after clearing them,” said Vidya, who reaches home only after 9 pm everyday.

Men in her team take over and work all night to ensure that all test results are ready for the next day's report. The lab has so far tested ober 45,000 samples.

THANKLESS JOB: Laboratorians go about their work without even drinking water for long hours

Extended areas in north Chennai show steady rise

Extended areas in north Chennai show steady rise

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:10.06.2020

The extended areas to the north of the city continue to register a steady rise in cases with Tiruvottiyur zone nearing the 1,000 mark and Madhavaram and Manali zones too recording a cumulative total of about 1,200 cases, as on Tuesday. A month ago, the three zones shared less than 140 cases between them.

According to a zonal staff in Tiruvottiyur, the cases are scattered across the zone and not concentrated at a specific area or ward like in most affected zones such as Royapuram. “As far as the neighbourhoods which are most affected, Tsunami quarters in Ennore and the surrounding areas used to have more cases, but it has now come down. Now, our focus is on Tiruvottiyur.”

A month ago, there were only 64 cases in Tiruvottitur zone as against 870 now. At the beginning of May, Manali zone had recorded only 3 cases and now has more than 300.

“In Manali zone, most cases are in wards 19 and 18 - MMDA Mathur and Manali,” said an official with zone 2. Similar is the case with Madhavaram zone, which only had 9 cases at that time and now has 650 cases.

However, the officials are not quick to blame the Koyambedu cluster alone as the reason for the spread, suggesting that there might be community transmission too.

“What we have to do is cut off transmission,” said an official from one of the three zones, unwilling to be named.

One solace though is the less number of deaths in these zones. While Tiruvottiyur and Manali zones have recorded 3 deaths, Madhavaram zone has 2.

Number of elderly Covid patients on the rise in state

Number of elderly Covid patients on the rise in state

Mayilvaganan.V@timesgroup.com

10.06.2020

On Tuesday, 257 of Tamil Nadu’s elderly population were added to the nation’s Covid tally. This is perhaps the single-day highest spike in the number of people who are above 60 testing positive in the state. Twelve of the 21 people who died in the state on Tuesday were above 60.

A cursory look at the daily bulletins issued by the state health department shows that there is a slow but steady rise in the number of people above 60, categorised as vulnerable, getting infected by the virus.

The increase in Covid incidence among 60-plus people is not seen just in absolute numbers, but in proportion to overall spread of the virus too. On May 10, there were just 503 people in the 60-plus category who tested positive, accounting for 6.9% of the total Covid count in the state. But their share has surged to 10.9% of the cases across the state on June 9.

The state health machinery, perhaps, has taken cognisance of the fact that there is a disproportionate rise in Covid cases among the elderly population and have rolled out precautionary measures for the aged.

Health officials are on a mission to screen and provide special medical attention to the aged as well as other vulnerable sections like those with diabetes and hypertension.

In Chennai, Coimbatore and Salem, officials have collected data of vulnerable populations in April and will be providing them kabasura kudineer and immunity boosting tables. Madurai Corporation has started distributing kabasura kudineer and the tablets to the 1.5 lakh population identified as vulnerable. In addition to homeopathic immunity boosters like Arsenicum Album 30, multi vitamin tablets and zinc sulphate tablet, Madurai Corporation has planned to give ivermectin tablet to the elderly.

“Research has proved that the drug prevents replication of SARS – Cov 19,” said an official.

Health officials have started second round of enumeration of high risk group in Salem, where 1.05 lakh people above 60 were identified as vulnerable in the first round.

“We have simultaneously started distribution of kabasura kudineer and multi vitamin tablets with the help of anganwadi workers,’’ said Salem collector S A Raman.

Health officials in Chennai said they have begun distribution of kabasura kudineer and immunity boosting tablets in containment zones.

Officials, however, are uncertain if the vulnerable population could be constantly monitored. “The movement of frontline workers, who are also part of high risk group, could be tracked. But we are too short staffed to keep a tab on entire vulnerable population which comprises aged and comorbid people,” said a health officer.

Officials have insisted the elderly not to step out of their houses unnecessarily. “They can go out for morning walks, in places that are not crowded. If they go out of town, we have told them to inform us so that our workers could track them thereafter,” said the health officer.

(With Inputs from Pushpa Narayan, Senthil Kumaran, V Devanathan)

AIADMK moves SC against loss of NEET seats for OBCs

AIADMK moves SC against loss of NEET seats for OBCs

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:10.06.2020

Days after the opposition and the state government moved the Supreme Court, aggrieved over loss of NEET seats by Other Backward Classes (OBC) students, the ruling AIADMK on Monday filed a petition in the apex court seeking to restrain the Centre from proceeding with all India counselling for UG and PG medical courses, without following 50% reservation for OBC quota in TN.

In a petition, law minister C Ve Shanmugam, in his capacity as AIADMK Villupuram North district secretary, said the Centre failed to ensure adequate representation of OBCs in the All India Quota (AIQ) seats in UG, PG and diploma medical courses. “It is a fact that negligible number of OBC candidates were allocated any of the state-surrendered seats to the AIQ in noncentral government medical institutions,” the petition said. The party argued it was in contradiction to the reservation ethos in the state and the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, SC and ST (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State)Act,1993,that provided 50% reservation to OBCs.

It alleged that Centre was neither following its own policy of 27% reserved seats for OBCs under the Central educational institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2007, nor the state government’s 50% quota. “This has resulted in OBCs being robbed of 10,000 seats in the past three years and many more during the preceding years,” the petition said.

If the seat allocation is permitted without changes as many as 3,700 OBC candidates will have lost out seats to general category students.