NEWS TODAY 23.11.2023

 

HC relief for Block Development Officer

HC relief for Block Development Officer

THE HINDU BUREAU

MADURAI

22.11.23

Bringing relief to a Block Development Officer (BDO), the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Thanjavur Collector to return ₹43,899 that was recovered from the petitioner. The court was hearing a petition filed by D. Raghunathan, who said he was promoted as a BDO and joined the panchayat union office Thiruvaiyaru in 2015.

In 2005, one Chinnaiyan fell down on the road at Kadambangudi village and kept his hand on the wall of a school adjacent to the road. Due to rainfall and short circuit, electricity passed on the wall and he was electrocuted. The father of Chinnaiyan who tried to rescue him also suffered an electric shock and died on the way to hospital.

The legal heirs of the deceased filed suits and claimed compensation. The Electricity Board and the District Educational Officer were arrayed as defendants. The Thiruvaiyaru BDO was made a defendant in 2011.

Though the previous BDO received summons, he did not take steps to contest the suits. The EB and the Education Department contested the case and the trial court awarded the compensation. Execution petitions were filed and subsequently attachment was ordered.

The Collector ordered payment of the decretal amount from the general funds of the panchayat union. The BDOs who held office from March 31, 2005 to February 21, 2015 were asked to deposit an amount. The petitioner was also directed to pay ₹43,899. The petitioner had joined on February 21, 2015, after the ex-parte judgment was passed in 2014. He challenged the order passed by the Collector.

Justice Battu Devanand observed that there was no fault on the part of the petitioner in the entire episode, from the date of the unfortunate incident of the electrocution to the date of the attachment order passed in the execution proceedings. No notice was issued to the petitioner calling for his explanation. The order issued by the Collector was against the principles of natural justice and was liable to be set aside, the court observed.

Financial crisis of MKU dominates discussions at Senate meeting

Financial crisis of MKU dominates discussions at Senate meeting

Madurai Kamaraj University Vice-Chancellor J. Kumar said the university followed its own method to handle the situation.

Vice-Chancellor says the government has been apprised of the financial crisis at MKU; issues pertaining to delay in payment of salaries, transparency in expenditure are also discussed

THE HINDU BUREAU

MADURAI

The government had been apprised of the financial crisis at Madurai Kamaraj University and steps were being taken to resolve the problem, said Vice-Chancellor J. Kumar at the Senate meeting held on Tuesday. He said the Chief Minister could intervene in order to resolve the issue and the university administration would wait for the move.

Issues pertaining to delay in payment of salaries and transparency in expenditure were also discussed at the meeting. A communication was sent to the university with regard to audit objection and it was being looked into, he said.

Mr. Kumar said the university followed its own method to handle the situation. He was responding to the query raised by Senate member Sankar Natesan who sought to know about short and long-term plans for revenue generation to improve the present financial situation.

To a similar query raised by A. Velanganni Joseph, another member, Mr. Kumar said steps would be taken to resolve the issue on the administrative side. A. Chandra Bose, a member, resolved to request the Syndicate that the university fix the maximum duration for Ph.D. thesis evaluation and create an effective online tracking system so that students would be able to know the status of their theses.

After raising queries pertaining to infrastructure issues on the university premises, a Senate member, M. Sulthan Ibrahim, stressed the need to form a committee in order to rectify exam-related issues. The Syndicate members said the issues would be duly addressed.

Syndicate member Nagarathinam told the Senate members that some of the queries that were being raised at the meeting were being repeated in different words. The Senate members said they should be allowed to present their views at the meeting.

In the adjournment motion moved by the Senate members, issues pertaining to mandatory publication of papers in journals, relaxing the Ph.D. entrance cut-off from 50% to 35%, expenses of the university and Honorary Doctorate for freedom fighter Alagam Perumal Kone were discussed. Mr. Kumar read the Vice-Chancellor’s report on the academic developments. A RUSA team also conducted a review of the various projects taken up by the university.

Don’t see a married woman’s residential status through a patriarchal prism, says HC

Don’t see a married woman’s residential status through a patriarchal prism, says HC

The petitioner had challenged the appointment of a woman as village panchayat secretary, on the ground that she was not a local resident as she migrated to her husband’s village after marriage.

Though a married woman ordinarily lives at her husband’s place, she can gain public employment by claiming residential status at her natal place as well, rules Justice R.N. Manjula

THE HINDU BUREAU CHENNAI

Though a married woman ordinarily lives at her husband’s place, she cannot be presumed to have disowned her residential rights at her parents’ house on account of her marriage. The rules of marriage do not impose any such condition on a woman, and therefore, she can gain public employment by claiming to be a resident of her native village, the Madras High Court has said.

“For the purpose of getting a separate ration card after marriage, her name would have got deleted from her parents’ ration card. With that alone, it cannot be said that a married woman had severed her ties with her parents’ place and her residential status in respect of her parent’s house has come to a closure once and for all,” Justice R.N. Manjula said.

The judge made the observations while dismissing a writ petition filed by G. Mayakannan, an aspirant to the post of Jayakondam village panchayat secretary in Cuddalore district. The petitioner had challenged the appointment of a woman to the post, on the ground that she was not a local resident anymore because she had migrated to her husband’s village after marriage.

Rejecting the challenge to the appointment on such a ground, the judge said the appointee had every right to visit or stay with her parents at Jayakondam at her own convenience and choice. Since it had not been disputed by the petitioner that she had roots in Jayakondam, the judge said that in such a case, she could not be perceived to be a stranger to her natal village. “In today’s world, men and women go to several places for the sake of education or occupation, but still consider their native place as their permanent residence. However, there is a notion that a married woman completely abandons her native place and assumes her husband’s place as her only place of residence,” the judge said, disapproving of such notions.

“If a married woman chooses to live between her natal home and marital home on account of her employment, business or otherwise, nothing can prevent her from exercising such an option,” the judge said.

Legal notices

Though the woman appointee in the present case had produced legal notices issued by her estranged husband to prove that she had returned to her parental home, the judge said: “The above facts are completely personal to the petitioner, and she should not have been driven to such compulsion of revealing these private facts about herself for the sake of this writ petition.”

“A woman would turn to her parental abode for any good or bad reasons, and sometimes, she would even prefer to stay there for any period of her choice through an understanding with the inmates of her parental home. The will of a woman to exercise residential choice at her natal home should not be viewed through patriarchal prism in order to deny her the residential status there,” she added.

news today 22.11.23

 

State set to replace governor with CM as chancellor of universities

State set to replace governor with CM as chancellor of universities

TNN | Nov 22, 2023, 05.27 AM IST

State set to replace governor with CM as chancellor of universities

Chennai: Tamil Nadu is in the process of changing the chief minister as the Chancellor of state universities replacing the governor, the state Advocate-General R Shunmugasundaram told Madras high court on Tuesday.

Shunmugasundaram made the submission in response to a public interest writ petition challenging the formation of a search committee to select vice-chancellor for University of Madras without a member nominated by the UGC.

Responding to the submission, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy observed that the court was not concerned about it in the present plea.

“All we wanted to know is whether the University is receiving funds from the UGC,” the judges said. Since the A-G sought some time to ascertain the details, the court adjourned the hearing to December 18.

On November 4, while admitting the plea moved by advocate B Jagannath, the court observed that inclusion of a member nominated by the UGC would be mandatory if the university is receiving funds from UGC.

According to the petitioner, a bare perusal and plain reading of the GO would highlight the fact quite clearly that the nominee of the UGC has been let out deliberately in contravention of the directives of the Supreme Court.

“The GO passed by the state is without jurisdiction and smacks of bona fides as the same has been done as part of an ego tussle with malicious political motives to undermine, discredit, downgrade and destroy the phenomenal historical educational institution,” he said.

Therefore, he wanted the court to set aside the GO dated September 13 as illegal, void and unconstitutional.

Doctor seeks 113 refund from cab service, loses 5L

Doctor seeks 113 refund from cab service, loses 5L

Nov 21, 2023, 03.38 AM IST

New Delhi: A doctor who wanted a refund of Rs 113 from a cab service company lost Rs 4.9 lakh in a digital fraud when he rang up what he believed was a customer support number.

Pradeep Chowdhury, of Arjun Nagar in Safdarjung Enclave, wrote in his police complaint that he had taken a cab to Gurgaon for work. “He had booked a cab for Rs 205, but after the ride was over, he was charged Rs 318,” a police source said.

The doctor asked the cabbie why he had been overcharged Rs 113. The cab driver informed Chowdhury that he could obtain a refund by contacting the cab service's customer care.

Chowdhury immediately searched the internet and found a phone number that claimed to belong to the cab company.

He made the phone call. The person who answered the call posed as a customer care representative of the cab service and asked him about his problem. Chowdhury said he told the man about the incident and requested a refund.

His call was transferred to another person, who identified himself as Rakesh Mishra.

Mishra asked Chowdhury to download a remote sensing application and then asked him to open his e-wallet. He told him to type the refund amount. “He then asked the victim to type the first six digits of his phone numbers in the field where people typically enter the amount in the wallet and send it to him. The victim asked why he had to do this. Mishra told him it was the verification process,” a Delhi Police source said.

Chowdhury typed in what he was asked to do. He also gave his OTP to the Mishra. Four transactions were made and the frauds duped him of Rs 4.9 lakh.

A case under IPC section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 66 D of the IT act have been registered. The official suspects that the scammers posted the fake customer care number of the company online, and Chowdhury fell into the trap while searching for the cab company's customer care number. “We have formed teams to crack the case,” the officer said.

Nursing A Grievance: Families Recount Their Tales Of Horror

Nursing A Grievance: Families Recount Their Tales Of Horror

Nov 21, 2023, 03.38 AM IST

New Delhi: On September 19 last year, 26-year-old Kiran from Mahipalpur was admitted to Agarwal Medical Centre in Greater Kailash-I for a stone removal surgery. Citing complications, the ‘doctors’ at the facility didn’t waste time rushing taking her to the operation theatre. Hours later, Kiran died, allegedly due to a botched surgery.

Similarly, Jai Narayan (42) was admitted to the centre on October 26 for stone removal. He, too, did not survive, allegedly because of an operation conducted by unqualified doctors. The medical board at AIIMS said he died of excessive bleeding.

Besides Kiran and Narayan, dozens of people lost family members due to negligence by the ‘medical experts’ at the hospital. At least nine of the deaths and some of the cases are now being investigated by the police.

Many relatives TOI spoke to recalled their harrowing experiences at the nursing home. A few years ago, 37-year-old Shashi Bhushan took his pregnant wife for a check-up to the centre after she was referred there by a female doctor in his locality. What transpired in the next few hours allegedly left his wife crippled for life.

Although Bhushan’s wife was saved after intervention from another hospital, the family was left cash-strapped. She also suffered a miscarriage. “Till date, my wife can’t even eat properly. When she eats, she wants to throw up. She can never conceive again. They took away a life and then ruined my wife’s health,” alleged Bhushan.

Asgar Ali (45) from Sangam Vihar was admitted on September 19 last year for stone removal and underwent surgery the same day. After a botched operation, the hospital allegedly asked his family to move him to another facility.

Ali is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. His relatives told TOI another patient had died at the centre that day and they saw the family arguing with the staff. The other patient was Kiran, hinted the cops.

Kiran’s husband Vijay, meanwhile, recalled that they came to know about the centre through locals in Madanpur Khadar. “My mother-in-law was at the hospital with Kiran. The doctors said she had some other medical issues, which led to complications and her death. We got her post-mortem conducted at AIIMS to uncover the truth and I also filed a case,” he said.

Vijay has been taking care of their two children — a six-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl — and taking up menial jobs for survival. “I have my mother’s support but the kids are my responsibility,” he said.

Narayan’s family said he was not only the sole breadwinner, but also supported his younger brother, who is paralysed. “Not just one, two families were destroyed with his death,” one of his family members said.

Delhi Police had arrested five persons, including two alleged fake doctors who conducted surgeries without proper qualifications, in the case.

Elderly, ailing pilgrims should avoid rush: Das

Elderly, ailing pilgrims should avoid rush: Das

Nov 21, 2023, 04.44 AM IST

Bhubaneswar: After drawing flak from different quarters over the queue management system at the Puri Jagannath Temple, its chief administrator Ranjan Kumar Das on Monday advised elderly and ailing devotees to refrain from visiting the shrine during huge rush.

Das said God is omnipresent and can be invoked by devotees from any place. He said such devotees should visit the temple when the rush is less.

“I appeal to the elderly devotees suffering from ailments not to take the risk of visiting the temple during the rush hours. God can hear their prayers from anywhere. Out of excitement, they should not stand among huge crowds. Unlike a 25-year-old youth, they lack strength to stand in a queue for a longer period,” Das said.

The temple administration said it would hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the darshan system. “We will update devotees about the real-time status of the rituals through public address systems from Singha Dwar to Marchikot Chowk so they can plan their visits accordingly,” Das said.

Devotees said the shrine administration should not restrict the access of elderly people. “We too want to offer prayers. The administration should find a solution and make arrangements for us,” said Shyamaprasad Swain, an elderly devotee.

Long Puri temple queues test devotees

Long Puri temple queues test devotees

Nov 21, 2023, 04.46 AM IST

Bhubaneswar: “I will never ever visit the Jagannath Temple after such a bitter and horrible experience,” said Manorama Hota, 75, a devotee from Cuttack after she almost fainted in a queue while waiting for over three hours outside the shrine on Monday. Fourteen-year-old devotee Susama Maharana from Kendrapada was rushed to Puri district headquarters hospital as she fainted while waiting in the queue for several hours.

Like Hota and Maharana, countless devotees face untold suffering for a hassle-free darshan almost every day. Monday was no different with queues stretching up to two km from Market Square to the temple. The intense torture often starts when thousands of devotees are asked to wait in multiple queues outside the temple until they get a green signal from the authorities to enter the shrine.

As per the existing crowd management, devotees are made to wait outside the temple for hours until pilgrims inside the shrine premises move out. “We are forced to block the flow of devotees outside the temple for some time so that others leave the premises. Devotees are being allowed inside the temple in phases. This regulation is being done only when we witness huge footfall of devotees. The Supreme Court directed the government to introduce queue management system. If we allow thousands of devotees in groups at a time, there would be stampede-like situations,” a temple police officer said.

While about 30,000 devotees visit the temple on a normal day, the footfall increases to about 1 lakh during the ongoing holy Kartika month. Most of the visitors are elderly women, who observe kartika brata. Devotees demand better management of the darshan system. “We have no issues with the queue management system. But people in the queues should be allowed to move on instead of being forced to remain stagnant for three to five hours,” said Niranjan Mishra, a devotee from Balasore.

Rashmi Dey, a devotee from Kolkata, said temples in other states have better facilities than Puri. “We waited for three hours in the queue outside the temple. There are no drinking water and toilet facilities. The system should improve,” Dey said.

NEWS TODAY 21.11.2023

 

Blue Dart, India Post offer parcel lockers at post offices

Blue Dart, India Post offer parcel lockers at post offices

INBRIEF

Express logistics provider Blue Dart on Monday said it had set up digital parcel locker service at post offices under a partnership with India Post. The service allows consignees to retrieve their shipments from digital parcel lockers, doing away with the need for personal receipts or signing for a package, Blue Dart said in a statement. When the recipient needs to retrieve a package from the locker, they can simply enter the assigned code and open the locker, the company said. pti

Draft National Pharmacy

Draft National Pharmacy

Commission Bill released

THE HINDU BUREAU

NEW DELHI

21.11.2023

The Union Health Ministry on Monday invited comments from the public and stakeholders on the proposed National Pharmacy Commission Bill, 2023. The Ministry proposes to finalise the Bill for setting up the National Pharmacy Commission and repealing the Pharmacy Act, 1948. For this, a draft National Pharmacy Commission Bill has been prepared and uploaded on the website of the Ministry for comments.

The Bill aims to improve access to affordable and high-quality pharmacy education and ensure the availability of pharmacy professionals nationwide. It seeks to promote equitable healthcare by making pharmacy services accessible to all citizens. It also calls for a periodic and transparent assessment of pharmacy institutions and facilitating maintenance of a pharmacy register for India. The Bill encourages professionals to integrate the latest research into their work, contribute to research, and uphold high ethical standards.

Flights cancelled

Flights cancelled

THE HINDU BUREAU

TIRUCHI

21.11.2023

IndiGo on Monday cancelled its flights on Tiruchi-Chennai sector citing ‘operational reasons’.

The airline operates five ATR flights, each with 78 seats, in the sector daily with the first flight departing at 7.50 a.m., second one at 11 a.m., third at 2 p.m., fourth at 5 p.m. and the fifth at 8 p.m.

Airline sources said four out of the five ATR flights were cancelled on Monday due to ‘operational reasons’. Istead of an ATR flight at 5 p.m, the airline operated an A-320 flight with 186 seats from Tiruchi to Chennai.

Governor can’t withhold re-passed Bills, says SC

Governor can’t withhold re-passed Bills, says SC

21.11.2023

The Governor had withheld assent and “returned” the Bills to the House on November 13, the State said. The Tamil Nadu Assembly had convened a Special Session on November 18 to re-pass the Bills and send them back to the Governor for approval. “The Governor returned the Bills with just one line ‘I withhold consent’. What was the Assembly supposed to do? So, the House re-passed the Bills... The Governor has to return the Bills with a message spelling out reasons why he has returned the Bills,” Mr. Rohatgi pointed out.

“Our order issuing notice to the petition [filed by Tamil Nadu] was on November 10... The Governor took action only after we issued notice in the matter. Why should Governors want parties to move the Supreme Court to start taking steps?” Chief Justice asked Attorney-General R. Venkataramani.

Mr. Venkataramani submitted that 182 Bills were given to the Governor by the House for approval. Of this, 152 have been approved, five were withdrawn by the government, and nine reserved by the Governor for referral to the President. The Governor had withheld consent on 10 proposed laws and five, which were received in October 2023, were under process. He sought a deferment of the hearing in order to give the Governor time to consider the re-passed Bills. The court scheduled the next hearing on December 1.

Meanwhile, the 35-page note submitted by the Attorney General in the Supreme Court said there was “no transparency in the entire selection process” related to the appointment of members of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission. Mr. Venkataramani’s note on behalf of the Governor said the latter “found that the person sought to be appointed as Chairman will have less than a year in office” and one of the persons recommended as a member was suspended for maladministration by the college where he was working.

Ravi gives sanction to prosecute 2 ex-Ministers

Ravi gives sanction to prosecute 2 ex-Ministers

FROM PAGE ONE

“All that is there are a number of unauthenticated loose sheets,” the Raj Bhavan replied, but the file was received back again on November 18.

According to the note, ‘Factual position regarding Bills, files and other cases pending with the office of the Governor, Tamil Nadu’, submitted by the Attorney-General of India in the Supreme Court, the file received on May 15 seeking sanction to prosecute former AIADMK Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar was “under consideration”.

Curiously, on July 6, a day after Law Minister S. Regupathy wrote to the Governor seeking action on the case related to Mr. Vijayabhaskar, the Raj Bhavan said it had “not received any reference or request in respect of M.R. Vijaya Bhaskar.”

The Governor has also accorded permission to prosecute former Tamil University Vice-Chancellor G. Baskaran.

As for the government’s recommendation for premature release of life convicts, the total number of proposals received since September 2021 was 580. Approval was granted for the premature release of 362 convicts, while the proposal with regard to 165 cases was rejected.

With regard to the proposal for appointment of members of the TNPSC, the Governor had observed that there was no transparency in the selection process. “As the concerns of the Governor over the manner of selection were not addressed by the Government, the proposal had been returned on October 26, 2023,” the note said.

In his reply over the issue of notification by the Governor regarding the search committee for selection of Vice-Chancellors of three State universities, written communications were sent to the Tamil Nadu government to reconstitute the search-cum-selection committee in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment in Professor (Dr.) Sreejith P.S. vs Dr. Rahasree & Others as well as the UGC Regulations, 2018. “Since [the] Government did not reconstitute the Committee as per the UGC Regulations, despite repeated reminders, the Governor-Chancellor had no option but to add the nominee of the UGC Chairman and reconstitute the search-cum-selection committee and notify the same. In the case of the University of Madras, the Governor-Chancellor has added the UGC Chairman’s nominee and constituted the search-cum-selection committee,” the note said.