HC: Submission doesn’t mean consent for sex

HC: Submission doesn’t mean consent for sex

Kochi: 20.11.2021

Consent for sex cannot be presumed just because a girl or a woman is in love with a man, the Kerala high court has held.

It also explained the difference between consent and submission and said helplessness in the face of inevitable compulsion can’t be considered consent.

“There is gulf of difference between consent and submission. Every consent involves a submission but the converse doesn’t follow. Helplessness in the face of inevitable compulsion cannot be considered to be consent as understood in law. Exercise of intelligence based on the knowledge of the significance and the moral effect of the act is required for consent. Merely for the reason that the girl was in love with the accused, it can’t be presumed that she had given consent for sexual intercourse,” Justice R Narayana Pisharadi said.

The court was considering an appeal filed by a 26-year-old man who forced his lover  (17) to elope with him by threatening that he would commit suicide in front of her. He took her from Kayamkulam to Alappuzha and then to Bangalore. After raping her in a Bangalore hotel room, he took her to Goa and raped her there too. He had sold her gold ornaments on the way to make money. The girl had deposed that he had forcibly undressed her and raped her in Bangalore. After returning to Kayamkulam a week later, he gave Rs 50 to her and sent her away with a promise to marry her. By then, police had registered a missing case on the girl’s father’s complaint. It was later converted to a rape case. The HC upheld his conviction for rape. TNN

With 22cr unused vax doses, govt may allow commercial exports

With 22cr unused vax doses, govt may allow commercial exports

Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 20.11.2021

The government may soon give a major push to export of Covid vaccines with states and UTs having stocks of more than 22 crore unutilised doses, a top official source said.

While the government recently resumed supplies to Covax, it is now also considering allowing commercial exports.

The health ministry recently gave permission to the Serum Institute of India to export one crore doses of Covishield through Covax — an international vaccine-sharing alliance supported by GAVI, the World Health Organisation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

India has also resumed supplies to Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh and Iran, almost eight months after it stopped exports in the wake of rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country.

“The production of the vaccine is swiftly increasing. The country will soon have a surplus supply of vaccine. What are we going to do with it if we do not allow exports?” the source said.

A total of 30 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been delivered in November, whereas only 8.8 crore doses have been administered in the month so far. In December, supplies are expected to increase further. Around 31 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin are scheduled to be received in December, while an additional two crore doses of Cadila Healthcare’s ZyCoV-D are also expected by the end of the year.

Besides, new jabs like Biological E’s Corbevax are also expected to come up for emergency use authorisation in December.

On the other hand, the consumption pattern is not expected to witness any significant rise with over 81% of the adult population already covered with at least first dose. This would also mean the demand for new vaccines will be very limited, unless they are approved and used as a third dose or for use in children. While vaccination is now largely driven by the coverage of the second dose, it will move according to schedule. Around 42% of the adult population in the country is now fully vaccinated with both doses.

Fully vaxxed woman dies of Covid

Fully vaxxed woman dies of Covid

Bhopal: 20.11.2021

A second Covid-19 death in Madhya Pradesh in less than a week — after a lull of over three months — came as an ominous sign on Friday at a time when Covid curbs have been lifted across the state.

The victim, the wife of a Bhopal based radiologist, was fully vaccinated, as is her husband, who recovered and has been discharged from hospital. The couple had tested positive on November 14 and was admitted to AIIMS-Bhopal the next day. The woman, a 54-year old, died early Friday.

“She had no comorbidities, apart from slight obesity. On November 11 and 12, she and my brother had a mild fever. They gave their samples on November 13 and tested positive on November 14. At the time of admission, she had 70% lung infection,’’ the radiologist’s brother, who is also a doctor, told TOI. TNN

Issuing false medical certificates for leave is an offence, says HC

Issuing false medical certificates for leave is an offence, says HC

19/11/2021

Staff Reporter Madurai

Coming across a case where a false medical certificate was issued by a doctor to a person who was facing serious allegations, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court observed that doctors were issuing such certificates for the purpose of leave without realising that it was an offence.

Justice B. Pugalendhi observed that the court respected doctors and it relied on the medical certificates issued by them for taking certain decisions. If such false certificates were being issued, the court would not be in a position to rely on them, the judge said. It was the duty of Tamil Nadu Medical Council to eradicate such an impression created by some doctors and take appropriate action to ensure that doctors did not indulge in such activities, the court said.

The court was hearing the anticipatory bail petition filed by Gopinath of Thanjavur district. He was in possession of 1.20 kg of ganja. He was arrested by the police and then remanded in judicial custody in February.

However, considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the petitioner was granted interim bail by a special court and was asked to surrender after a month in March. He failed to surrender before the court concerned. A warrant of arrest was issued.

He then filed a plea seeking anticipatory bail before the High Court. He said that he suffered a fracture in his leg. He also produced certain medical records. It was said that the petitioner had obtained the certificate stating that it was for the purpose of seeking leave.

After ascertaining the fact that the medical certificate was false and the doctor had only issued it for the purpose of leave, the court recommended that appropriate action be initiated against the doctor, C. Balaji.

Police register case against 41 YouTube channels

Police register case against 41 YouTube channels

19/11/2021

Staff Reporter Coimbatore

The Cyber Crime Police Station here has registered a case against 41 YouTube channels on the charge of disclosing the identity of the girl who ended her life on November 11, allegedly following sexual assault from her teacher.

The case was registered by the police for offence under Section 23 (4) (procedure for media - any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be liable to be punished with imprisonment of either description for a period which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to one year or with fine or with both) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

According to the police, the YouTube channels published details such as the deceased girl’s parents’ photos, videos, name of her school and other details which could lead to her identity.

(Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies could seek help and counselling by dialling 'Sneha' 24X7 helpline at 044-24640050)

PIL hearing on govt servants who died during Damoh poll

PIL hearing on govt servants who died during Damoh poll

Bhopal:19.11.2021

The counsel for the state government told a division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court during hearing of a PIL charging that more than 100 government servants died due to Covid-19 during election duty in the Damoh bypoll that the list of deceased persons submitted in the court has not been provided to the government.

Following this, the bench of Chief Justice R V Malimath and Justice V K Shukla ordered that a copy of the list be provided to the government counsel as well, while deferring hearing of the case to November 23.

The petitioner Jaya Thakur claimed that more than 100 government servants on election duty died of coronavirus during election duty in the bypoll to Damoh assembly seat and 66 of them were teachers. The district education officer has confirmed the death of 66 teachers, who were on election duty, due to Covid infection. No compensation has been paid to dependents of these employees despite the Election Commission notification saying that a compensation of Rs30 lakh would be given to dependents of a government servant, who dies of Covid infection while performing election duty.

The court had asked the petitioner to present a list of employees who died of Covid infection during the election.

In the previous hearing of the case, the petitioner had submitted a list of 65 teachers who died due to Covid during election duty in Damoh before the court.

The counsel for the state government on Thursday told the court that the list has not been provided to the state government, following which the court directed to provide a copy of the list to the government counsel. Advocate Varun Thakur appeared in the case on behalf of the petitioner. TNN

Covid test lapses by 1 min, pregnant woman & 2 others denied boarding

Covid test lapses by 1 min, pregnant woman & 2 others denied boarding

Petlee.Peter@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:19.11.2021

A family of three, including a pregnant woman, was denied boarding an Indi-Go flight to Dubai, citing that the 48-hour validity of their RT-PCR negative test reports had lapsed by one minute. They were not allowed to board the flight even though they took Rapid RT-PCR tests at the airport for ₹3,000 each.

All Indian passengers headed to the UAE must clear this pre-departure test, besides carrying RT-PCR negative reports not older than 48 hours. Rukhsar Memon, 28, husband Suhail Syed, 39, and his mother Mamtaz Munawar, 63, had come to Bengaluru for their annual holiday at their Nandidurga Road home on October 9 this year.

On Tuesday morning, the family went to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) to board the IndiGo flight 6E 95 from Bengaluru to Dubai scheduled to take off at 1.15pm. As per pre-departure requirement for UAE travellers, the three, including13-week pregnant Rukhsar, took Rapid RT-PCR tests outside KIA and secured negative reports for ₹9,000 before reaching the IndiGo check-in counter around 10am on Tuesday. Then came the shocker.

“We were denied boarding for the 1.15pm flight on Tuesday as the IndiGo ground staff said our initial RT-PCR test reports showed that our samples were collected at 1.15pm on Sunday,” recalled Suhail, who works as a sales executive with a Dubai-based health insurance firm. The airline calculates the 48-hour validity period from the time of sample collection.

The IndiGo ground staff told the family that by the time the flight takes off at 1.15pm, their RT-PCR reports will be “aged one minute over the mandated 48 hours”. “We requested the IndiGo manager at the airport to kindly consider us since we were well within the 48-hour validity when we reached the airport. My pregnant wife and my elderly mother were travelling with me. The employees were rude to us, especially the airline manager, as they dragged us for three long hours and finally denying us boarding,” said Suhail on his family’s ordeal.

Full report on www.toi.in

Govt offices go dark over unpaid bills

Govt offices go dark over unpaid bills

Shiva kumar Pinna

Jangaon:19.11.2021

Government offices in the district headquarters are struggling without electricity as staff and officers were seen carrying out their work under the mobile phone light.

Due to non-payment of electricity bills, the electricity department disconnected the power to the district medical and health office, district superintendent office, irrigation office, district agriculture office, Jangaon deputy commissioner of police office, Jangaon town police station, Lingalaghanpur police station and Bachannapet police station on Thursday morning.

The staff approached the electricity officials, however they were asked to clear the dues first. The NPDCL officials informed that power supply will be restored only if pending dues are cleared.

In 9 mins, donor’s heart beats traffic to beat again in recipient

In 9 mins, donor’s heart beats traffic to beat again in recipient

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:19.11.2021

A donor’s heart reached the beneficiary 12 km away in flat nine minutes through a green channel created by the traffic police on Thursday morning. The heart was being transported from the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) hospital in Punjagutta to AIG Hospital in Gachibowli, a usually busy stretch prone to traffic blocks.

The donor was a 31-yearold brain dead patient, Nakirakanti Shekhar, who hailed from Nadimpally village in Mahabubnagar. The recipient of the heart was a 45-yearold from the city.

Shekhar had been injured in a hit-and-run accident near Achampet in Mahabubnagar on November 13 while he was on his way home after work. He was rushed to the local government hospital first and later shifted to NIMS.

“He was in the intensive care unit for four days. His condition deteriorated and was declared brain dead on the night of November 18. Jeevandan appreciates the donor family members for their noble act,” said Dr G Swarnalatha, head of state-run Jeevandan organisation.

Dr Swarnalatha said that a Jeevandan coordinator had provided grief counselling to the family and also explained the importance of organ donation. Following the counselling, Shekhar’s brother and sister consented to donate his organs under Jeevandan programme for patients who may be in need.

Apart from the heart, seven other organs were retrieved from Shekhar. These organs were sent to the Osmania General Hospital (liver and a kidney), another kidney was kept in NIMS for a transplant, two lungs were sent to KIMS hospital and two corneas given to the Sarojini Devi Eye bank.

Incidentally, this was the first heart transplant taken up at AIG Hospitals, according to Jeevandan officials.

NEET solvers’ gang mastermind ‘PK’ & aide arrested in Varanasi

NEET solvers’ gang mastermind ‘PK’ & aide arrested in Varanasi

Arrests Came After ₹1 Lakh Reward Announcement On Kingpin

Rajeev.Dikshit@timesgroup.com

Varanasi:19.11.2021

The Commissionerate police on Thursday arrested Pravin Kumar alias ‘PK’ alias Neelesh, the Patna-based mastermind of the solvers’ gang busted during NEET (UG)-2021 here on September 12, and his close aide Ritesh.

Their arrest took place a few hours after the announcement of a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh on PK, against whom a local court had issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW).

Commissioner of police A Satish Ganesh said, “PK and Ritesh were arrested from the Ring road under the limits of Sarnath police station area. Ritesh, a clerk in culture and youth affairs department and posted at the secretariat of Bihar government in Patna, is married to PK’s sister Priya, who is a doctor at a PHC in Chhapra. Her involvement in the gang has also come to light in the ongoing investigations.”“PK, who belongs to Chhapra district and posed as a doctor, had settled in Patna following the retirement of his father from the industry department in 1990,” police said. “He had formed the solvers’ gang about six years ago. With the help of Ritesh he used to get the exam papers of different competitive examinations of UP, Uttarakhand and Bihar or arrange impersonators for gullible aspirants after charging huge amounts — from Rs 30 lakhs to Rs 49 lakh. With the wealth created from these illegal activities, he had constructed several multi-storied buildings in Patna, Danapur, purchased plots and luxury SUVs,” the police added.The process for announcing the cash reward on PK had been initiated after issuance of NBW against him and it was approved on Thursday morning. Before announcing the cash reward on PK, the CP said that cash rewards of Rs 20,000 had also been announced on each s accomplices — Mrityunjay Debnath and Dr Afroz — as they were also absconding .

Solver from Rajasthan arrested while taking SI exam for UP man

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:

A Rajasthan native landed in police net on Wednesday while he was helping a UP resident become a sub-inspector. The solver was held while taking an exam in the place of a candidate for UP police sub inspector (SI) recruitment exam at a centre in Gudamba on Wednesday. The exam of recruiting SI is being organised by Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB).

On November 14, also two examinees -Dinesh Chandra, Amit Kumar were nabbed using foul means while taking the examination for SI. Two aides of Dinesh- Saurabh Tiwari, and Rahul Rathi were also arrested by the police on the same day for helping him in the examination. An invigilator developed doubt over the solver, and he alerted senior officials. The accused was later arrested by a police team which reached the scene on information.

The accused was identified as Ashok Kumar (24) of Rajasthan. It was found that he was taking an exam at the place of one Dharmendra Singh of Mathura. “On Wednesday, the centre manager of Chhatra Shakti Info Solutions, Deepak Yadav, in Gudamba police station area developed doubt when he was matching the faces of examinees with the photos pasted on their admit cards. He found that the photo pasted on admit card did not match with the suspect and he alerted the police officer supervising the exams at the centre,” said ADCP, North Zone, Prachi Singh.

ADCP Singh, said that it has come to the fore that solver Ashok Kumar was a member of a gang which rigged the exams.

Cellphone fight with mom ends in suicide

Cellphone fight with mom ends in suicide

Monotosh Chakraborty & Tamaghna Banerjee

Kolkata:19.11.2021

A Class-X student of a Budge Budge school was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her room at Balurghata on Thursday after her mother had reportedly stopped her from taking her cellphone to school.

The eldest among three siblings, the girl used to attend her online classes on her mother’s cellphone as the parents would leave the phone with her when they went out to work. However, since the physical classes began from Tuesday, the mother insisted on taking her cellphone to work and didn’t allow the girl to keep it with her any more. This apparently led to a bitter fight with her mother on Wednesday.

The mother took away the cell phone from her on Wednesday and on Thursday she took the cellphone to her workplace. The 14-year-old girl was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her room by her younger brother after both the parents had left their home.

“My daughter had become addicted to the cellphone. As Madhyamik exam was due shortly and since the physical classes had begun, my wife had rebuked her on Wednesday for being hooked on to the cellphone and took it away from her. On Thursday, both of us had left for work by 6.15am. My son found her hanging around 7am,” said the father, who works at a local jute mill.

The incident has brought to focus the dangers associated with over-dependence on electronic gadgets, which children had been forced into since the start of the pandemic. “It was pretty much expected that once the pandemic and the lockdown restrictions ease down, the dangers of over-reliance on digital media will turn out to be a serious concern and tackling the withdrawal symptoms will become a major challenge. The entire problem has been triggered by unrestrained screen addiction,” said child psychologist Devika De.

Psychiatrist Siladitya Ray pointed out that the incident proves two things — how increased screen time along with phone addiction can create mental instability leading to impulsive behaviour and how modern technologies of distraction can tear apart the cohesive fabric of human society.

“The most reliable way to tackle this crisis is to teach children and help them to develop an insight into the core issue that excessive screen time leads to addictive behaviour which eventually might go out of hand and generate frustration and disgruntlement. However, parents need to be patient, said Ray.

Woman to fly home on AI flight on Monday

TIMES IMPACT

Woman to fly home on AI flight on Monday

Ashish.Mehta@timesgroup.com

Jaipur:19.11.2021

The 85-year-old woman who was denied boarding the Air India Flight from San Francisco to New Delhi connecting Jodhpur on Monday would finally be able to travel to her home town. Air India has arranged for her tickets for the same destination for November 22.

TOI on November 17 had carried a story narrating the plight of the woman and her family.

As the matter has been resolved, the family is happy.

“On the day she was to board the flight, the seat on which she was supposed to travel had a snag. Since it was a 14-hour-long flight, the airlines seeing that the woman was an elderly woman, did not allow her to board. We objected to it,” said Sanjay Bhandari while talking to TOI from San Francisco.

“Now, I must appreciate the way issue was taken up. Air India authorities started looking up for better viable and available options. They have now booked my mother on an Air India flight from San Francisco to New Delhi connecting Jodhpur. The airport manager named Anju Sahani was very apologetic on what happened. She has been cooperative since we were waiting for the flight and she has now arranged for it. She has promised that she will follow up the issue until my mother reaches Jodhpur,” Bhandari added.

“I must thank Times of India for narrating our plight,” he said.

Pension A Deferred Compensation, Hard Earned Benefit For Employee' : Supreme Court Grants Relief To Widow

Pension A Deferred Compensation, Hard Earned Benefit For Employee' : Supreme Court Grants Relief To Widow

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK 19 Nov 2021 4:06 PM

The Supreme Court directed to disburse pension to a deceased employee's widow who has been litigating for over a decade.

"Pension as is well known, is the deferred portion of the compensation for rendering long years of service. It is a hard-earned benefit accruing to an employee, in the nature of property,", the bench comprising Justices R. Subhash Reddy and Hrishikesh Roy observed.

Following the employee's death on 12.01.2011, as per the Pension Scheme, 1998 the widow of the pensioner made claim for a sum equivalent to 100 times the full monthly pension of her husband. Vide letter dated 30.09.2012, she applied for payment of the lump sum amount in pursuance of para 15(1)(b) read with para 15(2) of the Coal Mines Pension Scheme, 1998.

As her representation was rejected, she approached the High Court by filing a writ petition. This petition was dismissed by the High court on the ground that no cause of action arose within the territorial jurisdiction of the High Court of Patna. It was observed that the services rendered by the pensioner were outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Patna High Court and hence the writ petition filed by the widow of the pensioner was not maintainable.

In appeal, the bench noted that that the Coal Mines Pension Scheme, 1998 was framed as a measure of social security for ensuring socio-economic justice for the employees in the coal sector under the powers conferred by Section 3-E of the Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1948.

Nevertheless, for over a decade, the widow of the employee is forced to litigate to secure the pension benefits, the court said.

"While considering the appellant's case, the High Court did not however consider her entitlement on merit, but had dismissed both the Writ Petition and the LPA, citing want of territorial jurisdiction. The employment of the appellant's husband with the respondent employer is however not in dispute. Nevertheless, for over a decade, the widow of the employee is forced to litigate to secure the pension benefits".

The court disposed the appeal by observing thus:

"In the above peculiar circumstances of this case, without commenting on the legality of the decision to discontinue the said provision in the pension scheme by the employer, as the pensioner was not alive on the date of discontinuance, we consider it appropriate to pass necessary orders in her favor in this proceeding itself. Resultantly, the sum due and payable under the Pension scheme be computed and the same is ordered to be disbursed to the appellant. The amount earlier refunded to the appellant be adjusted suitably during the remittance process. The respondent/ employer should do the needful in terms of this order, within 8 weeks from today."

Semester exams in all state colleges postponed to give students more time

Semester exams in all state colleges postponed to give students more time

Exams Will Begin After January 20

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.11.2021

Semester exams in all engineering, arts and science colleges and polytechnics in the state have been postponed to give more time to students to prepare for offline mode. The semester exams will begin only after January 20, 2022, higher education minister K Ponmudi said on Friday.

A section of students had been protesting over the past few days demanding that the semester exams be conducted online.

The higher education department, along with controllers of examinations from state universities, discussed with 11 student organisations, including the Students Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students Federation (AISF) regarding their opposition to offline exams.

“The representatives of student organisations also wanted offline mode exams. However, they wanted more time to prepare for the exams. They said students have been attending offline classes only for the last two and half months. They have asked for a month’s time to prepare for the exams. We have decided to give them two months time,” Ponmudi told reporters.

The state government would withdraw the cases filed against protesting students, he added.

He also said the universities and colleges would finish the syllabus before the start of the semester exams and conduct model exams before the semester exams from January 20.

City colleges also welcomed the decision saying it would give them more time to complete the syllabus after the physical classes were affected by the rain holidays.

"Due to the prolonged rain holidays, we will be able to complete the syllabus only in the second or third week of December. Students will get more time to prepare for semester exams," a principal from a city college said. Another principal said arts and science colleges would be able to finish the syllabus for first year students too before the start of the semester exams.

Earlier, University of Madras planned to conduct semester exams from December 20 and Anna University from December 27.

Class 11 boy runs away with ₹33L cash after parents scold him for gaming

Class 11 boy runs away with ₹33L cash after parents scold him for gaming

Chennai: 20.11.2021

A Class 11 boy, who left his house in Washermenpet with ₹33 lakh in cash and 213 sovereigns of gold ornaments after his parents restricted him from playing online games, was traced to Tambaram within 24 hours by the city police on Thursday. The 15-year-old was planning to run away to Nepal with the stolen booty.

Police said Prakash (name changed), son of a metro water contractor Venkat Kumar from Mottai Thottam in Washermenpet used to spend several hours playing online games. He was addicted to these games and used his parents’ smartphones even during the online classes.

After noticing this, his mother who works as a professor at a women's college in Vallalar Nagar, scolded him and restricted his screen time.

On Wednesday, Prakash left his house did not return for over two hours. His worried parents searched for him in the entire neighbourhood and inquired with all his friends. At home, they found the cash and gold ornaments worth ₹75 lakh gone from the safe. They immediately contacted the Washermenpet deputy commissioner of police Shiva Prasad and filed a missing complaint. The police worked in special teams and tracked Prakash using his phone with the help of cyber crime sleuths. He was traced to a lodge near Tambaram, where a police team was rushed to rescue him.

Initial inquiries revealed that the boy was getting ready to pledge a portion of the gold in a pawn shop and had already booked a flight ticket to Kathmandu in Nepal.

The police team managed to bring the boy back to Washermenpet and reunited him with the family along with the valuables.

39,500 from state clear NEET UG, to vie for 12,700 seats

39,500 from state clear NEET UG, to vie for 12,700 seats

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:19.11.2021

Of the 68,000 candidates who took the NEET UG 2021 exam from Gujarat, 39,570 have qualified.

They will now compete for the 12,707 seats at medical, dental, ayurveda and homeopathy colleges in the state.

“In the general category, 9,521 candidates qualified while 7,303 have cleared from the EWS category. In the OBC category, 15,706 candidates cleared NEET UG while 4,043 qualified in the SC category 4,043 and 3,096 in the ST category,” said a source in the admission committee.

Tha admission committee has started online registration for medical, dental, homeopathy and ayurveda seats from November 17.

There are 30 medical colleges in the state with 5,550 MBBS seats,12 dental colleges with 1,255 seats, 2,242 seats at 33 ayurveda colleges and 36 homeopathy colleges having a total capacity of 3,710 seats.

In all there are 12,707 seats for which the Admission Committee for Professional Under Graduate Medical Educational Courses (ACPUGMEC) will conduct admissions this year.

Skin-to-skin contact not a must in Pocso offences: SC

Skin-to-skin contact not a must in Pocso offences: SC

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:19.11.2021

Holding that physical contact with a child with sexual intent could not be trivialised by excluding it from the ambit of sexual assault, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that skin-toskin touch is not essential and even indirect touch amounts to an offence under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. A bench of Justices U U Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi quashed two judgments of the Bombay HC which held that “skin to skin” contact was essential for proving offences under Pocso Act, and said such a narrow interpretation would defeat the purpose of the Act.

HC verdicts passed in Jan led to considerable outrage

The high court ruling had caused widespread consternation as it could have allowed offenders to exploit the “skin-to-skin” contact reference to escape the ambit of the law. “The act of touching any sexual part of the body of a child with sexual intent or any other act involving physical contact with sexual intent, could not be trivialised or held insignificant or peripheral so as to exclude such act from the purview of “sexual assault” under Section 7,” it said.

It noted use of gloves, cloth, or contact through clothes, or even use of condoms, could have been excluded in the light of the HC orders despite sexual intent. The HC verdicts passed in January led to considerable outrage and it was attorney general K K Venugopal who challenged the verdict before the Supreme Court saying the orders were outrageous and will have wider ramifications on 43,000 Pocso cases registered every year in the country.

Later on, the National Commission for Women and Maharashtra goverenment also filed an appeal against the HC verdicts. Allowing their pleas, the bench said that any narrow and pedantic interpretation of the provision which would defeat the object of the provision, cannot be accepted.

“Restricting the interpretation of the words “touch” or physical contact” to “skin to skin contact” would not only be a narrow and pedantic interpretation of the provision contained in Section 7 of the Pocso Act, but it would lead to an absurd interpretation of the said provision. “Skin to skin contact” for constituting an offence of “sexual assault” could not have been intended or contemplated by the legislature,” Justice Trivedi, who penned the judgment for herself and Justice Lalit, said.

NCW welcomes SC order in skin-to-skin case

New Delhi:

The National Commission for Women has welcomed the Supreme Court’s order setting aside the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench’s judgment that held that skin-to-skin contact was necessary for the offence of sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. On February 4, NCW had filed an SLP before the Supreme Court challenging the judgment stating that it would set a dangerous precedent for women safety.

The commission while filing the SLP had raised concern that the order had far reaching ramifications for women and children, exposing them to a desensitised society. “The commission welcomes the SC verdict today and believes that the apex court’s decision in the matter will uphold the legal and constitutional safeguard for women and children,” NCW said in the statement. TNN

Tirumala caught in massive flood, flights to Tirupati hit

Tirumala caught in massive flood, flights to Tirupati hit

Amaravati\Tirupati:  19.11.2021

Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, was caught in a massive flood of unprecedented scale on Thursday, leaving hundreds of pilgrims stranded even as a heavy downpour under the influence of a depression in Bay of Bengal battered the temple-town Tirupati and many parts of Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.

The four ‘maada streets’ adjoining the main temple on Tirumala Hills, remained flooded, as was the Vaikuntham queue complex (cellar). Darshan of the God was virtually stalled as pilgrims could not venture out because of the inundation. The Japali Anjaneya Swamy temple on Tirumala was inundated and idol of the God submerged. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams officials made arrangement for free food and accommodation for the pilgrims stranded on the holy hills. TTD executive officer K S Jawahar Reddy declared a holiday on Friday for the office staff in view of the situation. The two ghat roads leading to the Tirumala Hills were closed for traffic following the flood and landslides, official sources said. The pedestrian stairway leading to the temple from Alipiri was also closed down, they said.

The Tirupati International Airport at Renigunta also remained inundated, forcing the authorities to stop landing of incoming aircraft. Airport director S Suresh said two passenger flights scheduled to land in Tirupati from Hyderabad and Bengaluru were asked to return. A scheduled flight from New Delhi has been cancelled due to the prevailing weather condition, he added.

The TTD additional executive officer’s office in Tirumala remained marooned, as were many guest houses. A landslide damaged three rooms at the Narayanagiri guest house complex but nothing untoward has been reported as the rooms were unoccupied, official sources said. Pilgrims staying in other rooms in Narayanagiri and nearby S V guest house were shifted to other accommodation. In Srinivasa Mangapuram near Tirupati, two autos were washed away as the Swarnamukhi rivulet remained in spate. A bridge on the Renigunta-Kadapa highway remained in a precarious position at Anjaneyapuram. A truck was stranded on the bridge, causing a traffic jam on either side, even as police reached the spot for a rescue operation.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to Chittoor district collector M Hari Narayanan and reviewed the situation. PTI

IN DEEP WATER: Ghat roads of Tirupati which lead to Lord Venkateshwara Temple closed following heavy rainfall in AP’s temple town on Thursday

Covid test lapses by 1 min, pregnant woman & 2 others denied boarding

Covid test lapses by 1 min, pregnant woman & 2 others denied boarding

Petlee.Peter@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:19.11.2021

A family of three, including a pregnant woman, was denied boarding an Indi-Go flight to Dubai, citing that the 48-hour validity of their RT-PCR negative test reports had lapsed by one minute. They were not allowed to board the flight even though they took Rapid RT-PCR tests at the airport for ₹3,000 each.

All Indian passengers headed to the UAE must clear this pre-departure test, besides carrying RT-PCR negative reports not older than 48 hours. Rukhsar Memon, 28, husband Suhail Syed, 39, and his mother Mamtaz Munawar, 63, had come to Bengaluru for their annual holiday at their Nandidurga Road home on October 9 this year.

On Tuesday morning, the family went to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) to board the IndiGo flight 6E 95 from Bengaluru to Dubai scheduled to take off at 1.15pm. As per pre-departure requirement for UAE travellers, the three, including13-week pregnant Rukhsar, took Rapid RT-PCR tests outside KIA and secured negative reports for ₹9,000 before reaching the IndiGo check-in counter around 10am on Tuesday. Then came the shocker.

“We were denied boarding for the 1.15pm flight on Tuesday as the IndiGo ground staff said our initial RT-PCR test reports showed that our samples were collected at 1.15pm on Sunday,” recalled Suhail, who works as a sales executive with a Dubai-based health insurance firm. The airline calculates the 48-hour validity period from the time of sample collection.

The IndiGo ground staff told the family that by the time the flight takes off at 1.15pm, their RT-PCR reports will be “aged one minute over the mandated 48 hours”. “We requested the IndiGo manager at the airport to kindly consider us since we were well within the 48-hour validity when we reached the airport. My pregnant wife and my elderly mother were travelling with me. The employees were rude to us, especially the airline manager, as they dragged us for three long hours and finally denying us boarding,” said Suhail on his family’s ordeal.

Full report on www.toi.in

இந்தியா செல்லும் பெண் சுற்றுலா பயணியருக்கு அமெரிக்கா எச்சரிக்கை

இந்தியா செல்லும் பெண் சுற்றுலா பயணியருக்கு அமெரிக்கா எச்சரிக்கை

Updated : நவ 18, 2021 06:39 | Added : நவ 18, 2021 06:37 |

புதுடில்லி : 'பெண்களுக்கு எதிரான குற்றங்கள் அதிகரித்து வருவதால், பெண் சுற்றுலா பயணியர் இந்தியாவுக்கு தனியாக பயணம் மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டாம்' என, தங்கள் நாட்டு சுற்றுலா பயணியருக்கு டில்லியில் உள்ள அமெரிக்க துாதரகம் அறிவுறுத்தி உள்ளது.

டில்லியில் உள்ள அமெரிக்க துாதரகம் தங்கள் நாட்டு சுற்றுலா பயணியருக்கான பயண ஆலோசனை அறிக்கையை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது. அதன் விபரம்: இந்தியாவில் பெண்களுக்கு எதிரான பாலியல் வன்முறைகள் அதிகரித்து வருவதாக அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.

சுற்றுலாதலங்கள் உட்பட பல்வேறு இடங்களில் கொடூரமான வன்முறைகள், பாலியல் பலாத்காரங்கள் அதிகரித்துள்ளன. எனவே அமெரிக்க சுற்றுலா பயணியர், குறிப்பாக பெண்கள் தனியாக இந்தியாவுக்கு பயணம் மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டாம். இவ்வாறு அதில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

Unique QR Codes In Judgments/ Orders, Advocate Information Management System: New Initiatives By Madras High Court

Unique QR Codes In Judgments/ Orders, Advocate Information Management System: New Initiatives By Madras High Court: In a press release by the Registrar General of Madras High Court, several notable initiatives, including those implemented and those that will be brought in place with effect from 15th November...

MBBS graduates could need double internships to practice in India

MBBS graduates could need double internships to practice in India

By Sumi Sukanya dutta| Express News Service | Published: 16th November 2021 02:48 AM

NEW DELHI: Securing registration to practice medicine in India could get tougher for students pursuing medicine abroad as they will now be required to do double internships — once in the country where they got the MBBS and again in India — as per new norms about to be released.

About 10,000-12,000 students from the country go abroad every year to pursue MBBS.

As of now, these medical graduates, except those who get their degrees in US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, are required to clear the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination and do a mandatory one-year internship in a recognised Indian medical college before they can get their registration.

Most of them, however, do not do internships abroad and return to India after completing 4.5 years of the MBBS degree.

Aruna V Vanikar, president of the undergraduate medical education board at the National Medical Commission, told this newspaper that the process of issuing licenses to such graduates is being made more “stringent” as part of a reform push in medical education.

“As of now, there are instances of medical graduates with just 3-3.5 years from many sub-standard colleges abroad and we need to put a stop to such cases,” she said. Vanikar added that these graduates will have to spend at least 15-18 months following their degree before they can get a license to practice.

The guidelines are expected this week for public feedback before the final notification.

Starting 2023, when the National Exit Test gets implemented, all final-year medical students will need to take it in two steps. All local MBBS students will start internships in the colleges where they graduated. Foreign students successful in the NEXT step 1 exam will have internships in designated sites.

After a mentor-certified internship, they will need to appear for the NEXT step 2 exam and can get a license only after clearing it. Medical education activist Vivek Pandey said that the new proposal may make it more difficult for foreign medical graduates to pursue a career in India.

Poor scores in FMGEs

The passing percentage in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination for students who get their MBBS abroad is just 10-20% every year. The FMGE is a prerequisite to get a license for medical practice in India

Raj teachers allege bribe for transfer, leave min red-faced

Raj teachers allege bribe for transfer, leave min red-faced

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jaipur:17.11.2021

In a major embarrassment for school education minister Govind Singh Dotasra, teachers from across the state told Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday that they had to pay bribes to get a transfer.

Addressing a felicitation programme held for state teachers in Jaipur, Gehlot asked them if they had to pay money for transfers and the teachers responded with a unanimous “yes”. Gehlot looked at Dotasra, who was sitting on the dias, and reacted by saying that it was bad and promised to bring a concrete transfer policy soon, which the government employees have been demanding for decades.

When Gehlot completed his speech, Dotasra rushed to the mike and claimed that he and his staff were clean.

“Everyone sitting here knows the fact that I have never accepted one cup of tea. But we need a good transfer policy which will soon be worked out,” said Dotasra.

Education minister Govind Singh Dotasra during the felicitation programme held for state teachers

Corruption has become a new normal in the state: Poonia

Jaipur: Reacting to the allegation of corruption in transfers, BJP state president Satish Poonia said that corruption had become the basic “etiquette” in the state. "Corruption has become a new normal in the state. The state campaign 'Prashashan Ke Sang' has become 'Prashashan Risthedaro Ke Sang' and doesn't need any proof," said Poonia. He said that Congress MLAs Bharat Singh, Hemaram Choudhary and Deependra Singh Shekhawat were given evidence of corruption many times.

Taking a dig at the Gehlot government, former education minister Vasudev Devnani also tweeted that teachers alleging corruption in front of Gehlot showed the true governance in the state.

About 99 government teachers were felicitated by the government with a certificate and Rs 21,000 cash prize each. Gehlot also said that the establishment of Mahatma Gandhi English medium schools in the state was a revolutionary step in the field of education. With the opening of these schools, the dreams of children of farmers, the poor, and labourers living in villages to study in English medium has come true.

›CM hints at cabinet rejig, Dotasra may be dropped,

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR MIND TO INNOVATE

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR MIND TO INNOVATE

Pursue higher degrees, but make them useful

Avik.Das1@timesgroup.com

From his days in school in Guwahati, Mrinal Bhattacharjee wanted to be an engineer. He loved doing his science class experiments. “Going to college, it felt like computer science would be a cool subject to study. I thought it allowed problems to be solved quicker, allowed you to see your solutions at work,” he says. And that’s what he did at NIT Karnataka.

Bhattacharjee, who is today a principal engineer with US data management company NetApp’s India centre, has seven patents to his name. He joined NetApp in 2004, and filed his first patent three years later. It was on file systems, around how to take a snapshot of the data at any given time. “A snapshot is a point-intime copy of your data. That is the core building block of data protection,” he says.

While the snapshot was the end result, a lot of background work was automatically done in the system to preserve the file. Bhattacharjee found a way to minimise the background process so that it reduced the system load.

Just like for other patent holders featured in this column, the maiden patent was a lesson for Bhattacharjee in understanding how to write a patent application, talk to patent lawyers and patent committees to figure out whether an idea is patentable.

His next patents were again in data storage management. “When data comes in, we need to decide where we will place data, which is essential to be able to retrieve it quickly. Data placement algorithms are an essential part of the data storage system. We redesigned the system, rewrote the whole thing to work on solid state drives which could have 100 processors. That enabled NetApp to have hybrid systems (combining flash memory and hard disk drives).”

He says a patenting mindset requires first to have a desire to solve problems in interesting ways. “And then, when you have a company culture that fosters innovation, a set of people you can brainstorm with, things become relatively easy,” he says.

While he did not pursue higher education, he advises others to take it up. “It is not impossible to innovate without a higher degree, but if one goes for it, one must take it seriously, make sure it is helpful in the innovation journey,” he says.

A patent he has most recently filed is related to data protection against ransomware, a malware which has become a raging cyber security threat. Bhattacharjee’s innovation identifies a potential virus quickly and immediately cuts off the storage system so that the virus cannot encrypt the data. “It feels great to be solving real world customer problems,” he says.

When you have a company culture that fosters innovation, a set of people you can brainstorm with, things become relatively easy.

Mrinal Bhattacharjee PRINCIPAL ENGINEER, NETAPP

KGMU strike hits patient care, many forced to return

KGMU strike hits patient care, many forced to return

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:  17.11.2021

Patient care services in the out patient department (OPD) were impacted at King George’s Medical University (KGMU) on Tuesday after the university employees went on an indefinite strike demanding higher pay scale. After holding talks, the strike has been put on hold for a month.

While several patients had to return without consultation even after taking an appointment weeks in advance, the university claimed no surgeries were affected and patients were taken care of in the OPD.

After the day-long strike, the employees and KGMU administration held a meeting on Tuesday evening following which the employees decided to hold off their protest for the next one month based on assurances made on the day.

KGMU employees, under the leadership of their association president Pradeep Gangwar, have been demanding pay scales at par with their counterparts in SGPGI.

In a letter by the directorate of medical education (DGME) to KGMU registrar on the day it was conveyed that cadre restructure of KGMU employees is in process at the government level.

“Against the university’s list of 42 cadres, government order has been received for two cadres. The status of restructuring 14 other cadres is in the final stages which will be completed in the next one month. The process to expedite decisions on the remaining cadres is also being tried,” the DGME’s letter read.

The day’s protest became a huge problem for several patients who had come to KGMU from far and wide, many of whom had to return without getting any consultation.

Jitendra Pratap Singh, who came from Rae Bareli to get a consultation in the neurology department OPD, said, “I made an appointment two weeks ago. Now I am being told that OPD is not functional. I am at a crossroad now not knowing what to do,” he rued.

Similarly, Keshav Chandra from Gorakhpur said, “I had to wait for three hours to get my registration done to consult with doctors, but there was nobody at the counter to start the process. I had traveled with great difficulty on Tuesday and had to return without any respite with an aggravated abdominal pain. No one heard my requests.”

MD, MS exam delay: Probe sought in letter to CJI, nat’l rights panel

MD, MS exam delay: Probe sought in letter to CJI, nat’l rights panel

Neel.Kamal@timesgroup.com

Bathinda:17.11.2021

Twelve postgraduate (MD/MS) students of the 2018 batch of Adesh Medical University, Bathinda, have their careers hanging in a balance for five months now. They have written to National Medical Commission to direct the university to conduct their final exams, but to no avail.

The 12 students had completed their three-year course in May 2021. The final exams should have been held in May-June. However, the students are embroilled in a court case with the university over the fee structure for the course. Upon their representation, a health and human rights activist on Tuesday wrote to the Chief Justice of India, chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court, and the chairman of National Human Rights Commission to order an immediate inquiry into the circumstances of the exam and to order that they be conducted to save the career of students.

The problem about the structure of tuition fee of these MD/MS students started from their admission in 2018. The state government had fixed tuition fee at Rs 19.5 lakh for the full courses ofall medical institutes in the state, but the Adesh University had fixed its fee at Rs 49.32 lakh after challenging the state government-fixed tuition fee in the high court. The students paid Rs 19.5 lakh each, but the issue of close to Rs 30 lakh remained unresolved. The students claimed that they were being forced to pay remaining the Rs 29.81 lakh and told that the final exam will be conducted only after the balance was paid. Students, not wanting to be named, said they had written to National Medical Commission, but to no avail.

Upon getting a representation from students, Dr Vitull K Gupta, who is the chairman of Association of Physicians of India (Malwa Branch), sent representations to the CJI. He said in the past also, he had sent representations to the Union health minister and National Medical Commission, but no action was taken.

National Medical Commission had issued an advisory to all medical colleges vide a letter dated June 22 to hold exams for final-year postgraduate students at the earliest convenient time, depending on the Covid-19 situation. Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, and SGRD University of Health Sciences, Amritsar, have conducted the exams.

University registrar Jagdev Singh did not respond. Its deputy registrar, Kulwant Singh, said as per NMC guidelines, the process is on to conduct the exams as early as possible. As there was a delay in new admissions in the MD/MS courses, there is a delay in exams for the outgoing batch, he added. Denying that students were being harassed for fee, he said the matter was sub-judice. “We have never demanded fee from students. Even the application has been filed twice in the court for early hearing of the case,” he added.