Children Of Those Who Acquired Foreign Citizenship Can't Resume Indian Citizenship Under Section 8(2) Of Citizenship Act : Supreme Court

Children Of Those Who Acquired Foreign Citizenship Can't Resume Indian Citizenship Under Section 8(2) Of Citizenship Act : Supreme Court

Amisha Shrivastava

19 Oct 2024 12:47 AM

The Supreme Court pronounced an important judgment on Friday (October 18) dealing with various provisions relating to Indian citizenship.

The Court clarified that when a person acquires a foreign citizenship, the cessation of Indian citizenship happens by operation of law by virtue of Section 9 of the Citizenship Act. Hence, such cessation of citizenship cannot be regarded as voluntary. Therefore, children of such persons cannot seek to resume Indian citizenship under Section 8(2) of the Citizenship Act. As per Section 8(2), children of persons who have voluntarily renounced Indian citizenship can seek Indian citizenship within one year of attaining majority. The Court interpreted that this option is not available for children of those who acquired foreign citizenship.

The Court also clarified that a person who was born outside India after the commencement of the Constitution cannot seek citizenship under Article 8 of the Constitution on the ground that his grandparents were born in the undivided India.

The Court held that allowing such an interpretation would lead to "absurd results", as foreign nationals born long after the independence, by claiming that their grandparents were born in the undivided India.

"If Article 8 was intended to apply to a foreign national born after the commencement of the Constitution, the provision would not be referring to “who is ordinarily residing in any country outside India so defined”. So defined means India as defined in the 1935 Act, as originally enacted. Moreover, Article 8 uses the expression “who is ordinarily residing”. Therefore, the provision will only apply to someone ordinarily residing on the date of commencement of the Constitution in any country outside India as defined in the 1935 Act, as originally enacted."

A bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih said this while allowing an appeal filed by Centre against Madras HC judgement that allowed a Singaporean citizen by birth to resume Indian citizenship under section 8(2) of the Citizenship Act 1955 on the ground that his parents had originally been Indian citizens before acquiring Singaporean citizenship. The respondent had also claimed Indian citizenship under Article 8 of the Constitution.

The Court held that the respondent was not entitled to resume Indian citizenship under Section 8(2) of the Citizenship Act, nor was he eligible for citizenship under Section 5(1)(b) or Article 8 of the Constitution.

"Section 8(2) will apply only if the minor child's parents had voluntarily renounced citizenship by making a declaration. In the facts of the case, on 19th December 1998, when Pranav's parents voluntarily acquired citizens of Singapore, they immediately ceased to be citizens of India by operation of Section 9(1). Therefore, there was no occasion for Pranav's parents to renounce their citizenship...As Pranav's parents ceased to be citizens of India, not voluntarily but by the operation of Section 9(1), Section 8(2) does not apply to Pranav."

However, the Court left open the possibility for respondent Pranav Srinivasan to apply for Indian citizenship under Section 5(1)(f), which permits individuals who, or whose parents, were earlier citizens of independent India, to apply for citizenship if they are ordinary Indian residents for 12 months before applying. The Court said that it is open for him to seek a relaxation of the residency requirement from the Central Government.

Justice Abhay Oka pronounced the decision:

“We are not accepting the contentions raised by the respondent in the appeal. We have said that the only remedy for him is to apply for citizenship under Section 5(1)(f).”

The Court refused to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction to grant citizenship to the respondent. "We do not think that this case warrants the exercise of power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India. This Court will have to be very circumspect when it comes to the exercise of power under Article 142 for the grant of citizenship of India to a foreign national."

The Union of India had denied the respondent's application under section 8(2). Section 8(2) provides that when a person renounces Indian citizenship, their minor children also lose Indian citizenship. However, such children can regain Indian citizenship by making a declaration within one year of turning 18, stating their wish to resume Indian citizenship.

The Madras High Court had dismissed the appeal filed by the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, against Pranav Srinivasan, regarding his claim to resume Indian citizenship under Section 8(2) of the Citizenship Act.

Facts

Srinivasan's parents, originally Indian citizens, took up Singaporean citizenship in December 1998, after settling there. He was born in Singapore in March 1999, thereby acquiring Singaporean citizenship by birth. Upon reaching the age of majority, Srinivasan made a declaration in May 2017 before the Indian Consulate in New York to resume Indian citizenship under Section 8(2) of the Act.

The application was not accepted. Instead, the authorities said that Pranav should apply for citizenship under Section 5(1)(f)/(g) of the Act. However, the single judge of the Madras High Court ruled in his favor, prompting the Government of India to appeal the decision before the division bench.

The Division Bench noted that the Citizenship Act under Section 8(2) allows minors whose parents renounced their Indian citizenship to make a declaration of intention to resume Indian citizenship within one year of attaining the age of majority. In this case, Srinivasan had made the declaration within the prescribed time. The Court held that the provisions of Section 8(2) applied to the respondent since he had fulfilled the necessary conditions.

This judgment was challenged by the Union of India in the present appeal before the Supreme Court.

Arguments

Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj for the Union emphasized that Srinivasan's parents voluntarily acquired Singaporean citizenship in 1998, leading to the automatic termination of their Indian citizenship under Section 9(1) of the Citizenship Act. Therefore, Section 8(2) was inapplicable, as the cessation of citizenship occurred by operation of law, not by voluntary renunciation.

The Union also argued that Pranav was not a person of Indian origin as per Section 5(1)(b) (a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in any country or place outside undivided India) of the Citizenship Act, since neither he nor his parents were born in undivided India. Therefore, he was not eligible for citizenship under that provision.

Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan for Srinivasan contended that he was entitled to resume his Indian citizenship by invoking Section 8(2) of the 1955 Act, and he is also deemed to be an Indian citizen under Article 8 of the Constitution by virtue of his grandparents' birth in undivided India. Further, he claimed to be entitled to seek Indian citizenship under Section 5(1)(b) of the 1955 Act.

Citizenship under Article 8 of the Constitution

Srinivasan argued that his grandparents were born in Tamil Nadu, which was part of undivided India before August 15, 1947. His maternal grandparents were also born in undivided India before independence. Therefore, under Article 8 of the Constitution, he was eligible for Indian citizenship. Article 8 grants citizenship to persons of Indian origin residing outside India if their parents or grandparents were born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935.

The Supreme Court rejected this interpretation. The Court held that Article 8 was not intended to apply to individuals like Srinivasan, who were born after the commencement of the Constitution. If his interpretation were accepted, it would lead to absurd outcomes where individuals born long after independence could claim citizenship based solely on their ancestry, which was not the framers' intention, the court observed.

"If the interpretation sought to be given on behalf of Pranav to article 8 is accepted, someone born, say in the year 2000, who is ordinarily residing in any country outside India as defined in the 1935 Act, as originally enacted, would be entitled to claim citizenship of India on the ground that any of his parents or grandparents were born in that part of Pakistan or Bangladesh which was part of India as defined in the 1935 Act, as originally enacted. We are giving this illustration to show that the interpretation of Article 8 sought to be made on behalf of Pranav would produce absurd results which the framers of the Constitution never intended. Therefore, Article 8 will have no application to Pranav's case."

Citizenship Act

The Court held that for Section 5(1)(b) to apply, Srinivasan had to establish that either of his parents were born in undivided India (India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935). Explanation 2 to Section 5 provides that a person shall be deemed to be of Indian origin if (i) he or either of his parents were born in undivided India or (ii) in any other territory which was not part of undivided India but became part of India after 15th August 1947.

"If we read “undivided India” as India as on or after 15th August 1947, we would be doing violence to the plain language of the Explanation", the Court observed.

As both his parents were born in Tamil Nadu after independence, they did not fall under this category, making him ineligible for citizenship under Section 5(1)(b), the Court held.

"Pranav and both his parents were not born in the undivided India. His parents were born after independence in independent India. They were not born in any part of undivided India or any territory that became part of India after 15th August 1947. Therefore, Section 5(1)(b) of the 1955 Act has no application", the Court held.

The Court added, "The language used in the provisions of the 1955 Act is plain and simple. Hence, the same should be given ordinary and natural meaning. Moreover, we are dealing with a law which provides for the grant of citizenship of India to foreign nationals. There is no scope to bring equitable considerations while interpreting such a statute. As the language of Sections 5, 8 and 9 is plain and simple, there is no scope for its liberal interpretation. Citizenship of India cannot be conferred on foreign citizens by doing violence to the plain language of the 1955 Act."

Case no. – C.A. No. 5932/2023 Diary No. 21809 / 2023

Case Title – Union of India v. Pranav Srinivasan

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 816

NEWS TODAY 19.10.2024

 

50 candidates in interview for VC posts

50 candidates in interview for VC posts 

3 DAILY SLOTS 

Many Serving, Ex-VCs’ Names Not On List 

Poulami.Roy@timesofindia.com 19.10.2024

Kolkata : The selection process for the vice-chancellor posts at three universities, including the University of Calcutta (CU), commenced on Friday. The search committee, appointed by the apex court and chaired by former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit, began interviewing shortlisted candidates for each university. A total of 17 candidates appeared for the interview for the post of the Calcutta University VC on Friday. In all, around 50 candidates were interviewed during the day. Apart from the CU VC’s post, candidates were interviewed for Sidho-KanhoBirsha University and South Dinajpur University. Names of several former and officiating VCs, who had applied for the posts, was not on the shortlist. They included CU’s officiating VC Santa Datta, who had applied only for the CU vicechancel lor’s post. She declined to comment on the matter. Former VC Debkumar Mukherjee, who applied at six universities including CU, expressed surprise at not being called either. Another former VC, who wished not to be named, found it difficult to accept that he couldn’t meet the required criteria after having served as a full-term permanent vicechancellor and being nominated by the search committee in the past. A higher education department official clarified that there was no intention to exclude them from the process. The shortlisting was based on a system where each expert submitted a list of 10 candidates, and those with the most common names received the highest professional score. 

The official emphasized that the highest level of confidentiality has been maintained, leaving no room for questioning the process. The interviews are being conducted in three daily slots — morning, afternoon, and evening — for 3 universities. The first phase, ending on Oct 28, will cover the shortlisted candidates for each university.

Govt probing how cost of secretariat doubled in 4 years

Govt probing how cost of secretariat doubled in 4 years

Koride.Mahesh@timesofindia.com 19.10.2024

Hyderabad : With allegations of abnormal increase in cost and inferior quality of work doing the rounds, the vigilance and enforcement (V&E) department has now begun a probe into the new secretariat's construction. The state govt, which is already investigating various projects and decisions taken by the previous BRS govt, entrusted the secretariat probe to V&E department last month. It was in 2019 that the BRS govt decided to construct a new secretariat in place of the old one and sanctioned Rs 617 crore. The contract was eventually awarded to Shapoorji Pallonji Group in a competitive bidding process for Rs 494 crore, much less than the sanctioned cost. 

But by the time the project was completed in April 2023, the cost had touched around Rs 1,100 crore as per the estimate of roads and buildings (R&B) department which supervised the construction Moreover, even after one and a half years since the inauguration, the R&B department has not finalised the total expenditure incurred by the govt, including for furniture and other additional expenses, except for computer peripherals. 

Missing files on secretariat construction raise suspicion 

Also, many files related to the construction are missing from the R&B department, raising suspicion about the role of some officers. An officer, who worked for several years after retirement and played a crucial role in secretariat construction, was removed from the department two months ago. “The department officials claim the cost of construction increased due to rise in material costs after Covid-19. But generally cost escalation of any project will be 10% to 20%. In this case, it is more than double. If the cost escalates more than 10%, the department must send the file for cabinet clearance. But it was not done,” a senior R&B official said.

 There are also allegations about the quality of construction. There are leakages in the buildings and the department is struggling to plug them, sources said. Many officers have also complained to the R&B department that within one year of construction they have been facing issues related to electric, plumbing and other problems. Officers said ACs and other material procured by the R&B department were of inferior quality and no tender system was followed. The officers are now finding it difficult to gather information as the files were handled by a couple of R&B officials and directly sent to the CM without following any proper channel. For similar reasons of cost escalation, CM A Revanth Reddy had earlier ordered a probe by V&E wing into the construction of a superspeciality hospital in Warangal in Aug this year. The initial estimation for the hospital was ₹1,100 crore which was later revised to ₹1,726 crore. The probing agency is also collecting details of four hospitals being constructed in four corners of the city.

After months delay, 9 T varsities finally get VCs

After months delay, 9 T varsities finally get VCs 

3 Universities Still Remain Headless 

Nirupa.Vatyam@timesofindia.com 

Hyderabad : After a delay of several months, vice chancellors (VCs) were finally appointed for nine of the 12 state universities in the state on Friday. Although the notification was released in Jan/Feb this year, the appointments got delayed as the search committee meetings were not held until the first week of October. In the meantime, these state varsities were being administered by in-charge VCs, who were all bureaucrats. The term of regular VCs had ended on May 21 for all varsities except Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) where the post had been lying vacant since Jan, 2022. 

On Friday, governor Jishnu Dev Varma appointed the VCs for nine of the state varsities from the names sent to him. VCs have been appointed to Osmania University (OU), Hyderabad; Kakatiya University, Warangal; Satavahana University, Karimnagar; Telugu University, Hyderabad; Palamuru University, Mahabubnagar; Mahatma Gandhi University, Nalgonda; Telangana University, Nizamabad; PJTSAU, Hyderabad; and Sri Konda Laxman Telangana Horticultural University (SKLTSHU). The new OU VC, Kumar Molugaram, who is from the varsity’s department of civil engineering, told TOI: “It is a great moment for me as I was born in Telangana, studied here and I am now appointed as VC of one of the greatest universities not just in the state, but in the country.” 

New VCs of T varsities focus on faculty, research initiatives New OU VC, Kumar Molugaram said his priority will be to improve the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and National Institutional Ranking Framework of the varsity. “In consultation with the govt, we first want to address faculty shortage. We will also focus on ensuring there is a peaceful and academic environment in the varsity,” he added. Kumar, who earned his bachelor's degree from OU, has held various administrative positions at the varsity, including principal of University College of Engineering, chairman of the board of studies in civil engineering department, and dean of faculty of engineering among others. Along with Kumar Molugaram, three other retired professors from OU – Pratap Reddy (zoology), Umesh Kumar (chemistry) and Nityananda Rao (Telugu) – have been appointed as VCs of Kakatiya, Satavahana and Telugu universities respectively. Two professors – Altaf Hussain and Yadagiri Rao from Kakatiya University – will be the VCs of Mahatma Gandhi and Telangana universities respectively. Likewise, GN Srinivas from JNTUH has been appointed as VC of Palamuru University. Two professors – Aldas Janaiah and Raji Reddy from PJTSAU – will be the VCs of PJTSAU and horticultural varsity respectively. “The university will reorient its research to benefit farmers and serve as a knowledge partner for the govt in the agricultural sector,” said Janaiah, who is the senior-most professor in all universities in Telangana with the highest academic degree of post-doctoral fellow from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI, the Philippines). The three varsities which are yet to get VCs are Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University, Hyderabad; Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University and Dr BR Ambedkar Open University.

TVK cadre get training in duty, dignity, discipline

TVK cadre get training in duty, dignity, discipline

 V Mayilvaganan@timesofindia.com 19.10.2024

Salem : There were anecdotes from the life of Mahatma Gandhi, Periyar E V Ramasamy and C N Annadurai. Key milestones in Tamil Nadu politics like the origin of the Justice Party, first election and the free meal scheme in schools were explained. The virtues of “Kadamai, Kanniyam and Kattupadu’ (duty, dignity and discipline) were elaborated and the evils of receiving cash for votes were emphasised upon. Finally, the training session of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam held near Attur in Salem on Friday, also gave a detailed briefing on dos and don'ts at a political conference.

“Never rush in or out; bring medicines if you have health issues; identify mischief mongers; inform supervisors at the conference venue; and approach zonal heads for any help,” the functionaries of TVK were informed at the session. First impressions are the best impression, more so when all eyes are on us, TVK’s general secretary N Anand told functionaries asking them to ensure that the party’s first conference at Vikravandi was free from untoward incidents. “Many question if we know politics. But we should prove ourselves so that others learn how to conduct politics from us,’’Anand told the functionaries who had gathered from across TN and Puducherry.

 “If there are any mischief mongers, inform the supervisors at the conference venue, they will be removed,” he told them. Political commentator Ayyanathan, who spoke at the session, said TVK cadres would be facing numerous challenges henceforth. “Trying times are ahead. Be prepared,’’ he told them. At the same time, people have high hopes in us, he said. “If we deliver, we will win,” he said. TVK treasurer Venkatraman said discipline was paramount for the party to succeed. The discipline should begin from the first conference, he urged. “There will be CCTV cameras all over the venue. Drones will be monitoring. Besides, there will be volunteers, bouncers and security personnel there,’’ he said.

Functionaries of different wings of the party were given  booklets of standard operating procedure during the conference. For the functionaries, the training session was an eye opener. “I never needed training to grab tickets for first-day-first-show. But I realised that it takes a lot of training to be a committed cadre,’’ said V Selvaraj, a functionary.

NEET coaching centre owner booked for assaulting students

NEET coaching centre owner booked for assaulting students 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 19.10.2024

Tirunelveli : A NEET coaching centre owner was booked for assaulting students and throwing footwear at the girl students attending the classes. Though the incident took place a month ago, it came to light only recently after the CCTV image of the assault went viral in social media. The accused, Jalal Ahmad, caned the students after he found one of them sleeping in the early morning classes. He threw footwear at the girl students after one of them left the footwear outside the classroom, in an unspecified place other than the designated area for keeping footwear, according to police sources. 

Member of state human rights commission, V Kannadasan, who was visiting Tirunelveli for hearing cases, visited the centre and carried out an investigation. He said that the commission took the case for investigation on suo moto. One of the staff members and some students filed a complaint with the Melapalayam police station. The affected students met Kannadasan and showed their injuries. Jalal Ahmad from Kerala started the centre two years ago. He was said to have worked as a trainer in Kerala. The coaching centre authorities said that Ahmad was strict with the students since parents pay a lot of money for the training, and he did not throw the footwear intentionally to hurt the girl students. Melapalayam police are investigating. Ahmad remains at large, and police are looking for him. Police booked Ahmad for assault and assaulting to dishonour aperson, and under section 75 of the JJ Act for cruelty to children since the students were minors.

MBA student conned of ₹99,000

MBA student conned of ₹99,000 

Chennai : An MBA student who transferred ₹99,000 to a scamster has complained to the Seven Wells Police Station saying he was conned. Police said the Sai Saran, 22, a resident of Kondithope received a call from a man, who told him that the parcel he sent contained drugs. He said Sai Saran was involved in unaccounted cash transactions. The caller asked him to transfer ₹99,000 to a UPI ID to prove his innocence. After he transferred the cash, the conman disconnected the call. Sai realised he was conned and lodged a police complaint

City to get rain for four days next week: IMD Chennai Recorded 191% Excess This Month

City to get rain for four days next week: IMD Chennai Recorded 191% Excess This Month 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 19.10.2024

Chennai : A disturbance in the atmosphere may bring rain back to the city and north Tamil Nadu from next week. IMD officials said a trough might bring rain spells to north coastal and north interior Tamil Nadu for at least four days next week. For the next two days, the city and the suburbs may receive light to moderate intensity rain. The agency has also forecast a low pressure to form over the Bay of Bengal and intensify into a depression. Bloggers suggested that the system might skip the city. “An east-west trough may bring rainfall from Oct 21. North coastal and north interior districts may get rainfall for four days,” said an IMD official. 

The agency has also forecast that a fresh upper air cyclonic circulation is likely to form over the North Andaman Sea around Oct 20. Under its influence, a low pressure area is likely to form over the central Bay of Bengal around Oct 22. The system is likely to move northwestwards and intensify into a depression by Oct 24. Private forecasters earlier said the system might move towards the Odisha coast, which may lead to a marginal rise in temperature in the city as the winds may be concentrated around the weather system. “The system will be above our Chennai latitude when it enters the Andaman Sea. If the low pressure remains weak, it will be pushed towards Tamil Nadu by low-level easterlies. Mostly, it will intensify and move up,” blogger Pradeep John said in his post. Since Oct 1, Nungambakkam recorded 32 cm and Meenambakkam 27 cm. The Chennai subdivision recorded 30 cm, which is around 191% excess. During the same time, Tamil Nadu recorded 14 cm, around 73% excess.

Toxicity has been infused into the minds of people of Tamil Nadu over last 50 years, says Governor

Toxicity has been infused into the minds of people  of Tamil Nadu over last 50 years, says Governor

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI 19.10.2024

Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi on Friday said that there had been consistent attempts to isolate Tamil Nadu from the rest of the country, and that a lot of toxicity had been infused into the minds of the people over the past 50 years.

Speaking at the valedictory of the Hindi Month celebrations and the golden jubilee of Doordarshan Chennai, he said that he had visited every part of the State in the last three years and interacted with students of schools and colleges. While doing so, he had observed a growing enthusiasm among people for learning Hindi.

“The students of Tamil Nadu speak more refined Hindi than I do,” he added.

According to him, Hindi is not a language of imposition, and every language of the country should be celebrated. Some of the oldest universities, like Alagappa University and Annamalai University, were established by great philanthropists with the intention of teaching students Tamil and Sanskrit simultaneously, but today, Sanskrit departments were closed at these institutions, he said.

‘Cultural capital’

Mr. Ravi said that Tamil Nadu had always been a spiritual and cultural capital, and an inspiration for the other parts of the country.

“Toxic policies cannot separate Tamil Nadu from India and, in the last 50 years, a lot of toxicity has been infused into the minds of the people of Tamil Nadu,” he alleged.

“Out of 28 States in India, 27 have the three-language policy and Tamil Nadu is the only State that does not follow it. They do not want any other Indian language to enter the State. They want to break the communication of people of Tamil Nadu from the rest of the country,” Mr. Ravi said.

He said that according to the Annual Status of Education Report, 78% of government high school students could not read the textbooks of Class II.

“Doordarshan has the significant role of providing correct information to the people as most of the channels are compromised here,” he said.

CM justifies criticising Ravi citing his past attacks on Dravidianism

CM justifies criticising Ravi citing  his past attacks on Dravidianism

Why didn’t the Governor raise an objection when the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu was not sung in its entirety, at the very stage where the omission was made, asks Stalin. He recalls past instances of Ravi belittling Dravidian ideology and Tamil Nadu

The Hindu Bureau

Chennai 19.10.2024

Hours after Governor R.N. Ravi said he regretted Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s “racist remark” against him in the wake of a row over the omission of a verse on the glory of the Dravidian land during a rendition of the State song at an official function of DD Chennai, the Chief Minister stood his ground.

Reacting to Mr. Ravi’s statement, Mr. Stalin asked why the Governor did not raise an objection when the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu was not sung in its entirety, at the very stage where the omission was made, if it were true that he had indeed rendered the song with reverence.

The Governor could have corrected it then and there, he said. “If you [Governor] had done that, would there have been this reaction,” he asked.

Mr. Stalin went on to recall past instances of the Governor having made remarks belittling the Dravidian ideology and Tamil Nadu. “How could we forget you saying the State should not be called ‘Tamil Nadu’, but ‘Tamilagam’? You said it was the British who introduced the term ‘Dravidam’,” he said.

Referring to an interview in which the Governor said the Dravida model was an expired ideology, Mr. Stalin said, “This hatred has since developed, reaching all the way to the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu.”

If the Governor loved Tamil, why did he release an image of poet-saint Tiruvalluvar in saffron robes, Mr. Stalin asked, and accused the Governor of not adhering to convention and speaking about politics on a daily basis.

“What kind of political civility is it to convert the Raj Bhavan into a political office or to belittle the Dravidian race,” Mr. Stalin asked.

The Chief Minister called out the Governor for having avoided mentioning the names of late social reformer ‘Periyar’ E.V. Ramasamy, architect of the Constitution B.R. Ambedkar, and former Chief Ministers K. Kamaraj, C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi during his customary address to the Assembly.

“If someone holding a Constitutional post becomes a puppet of a sectarian gang and intends to sow the seeds of sectarian ideas in the Tamil land, the people of Tamil Nadu would pour hot water on the idea,” he said.

“If you intend to continue in the post of the Governor, I request you to free yourself from the clutches of sectarian forces and discharge your duties enshrined in the Constitution,” the Chief Minister said.

HC to decide on death sentence to 4

HC to decide on death sentence to 4

The Hindu Bureau

MADURAI 19.10.2024

Hearing a referred trial, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday ordered notice to four persons awarded death sentence by the Special Court for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act Cases in Tirunelveli for the murder of three Scheduled Caste men.

A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Poornima ordered notice to Ponnumani, Gurusamy, Muthukrishnan and Kaliraj who were awarded death sentence by the trial court and sought to ascertain whether appeals had been preferred against the trial court verdict.

The matter was posted for hearing to November 11.

The special court awarded death sentence to the four persons and life imprisonment to seven others for murdering three Scheduled Caste men at Udaippankulam in June 2014.

University’s staff union protests against delayed audit certificates

University’s staff union protests against delayed audit certificates

The Hindu Bureau

TIRUCHI 19.10.2024

Over 300 administrative staff of the Bharathidasan University (BDU) are on a sit-in protest on the varsity campus in Tiruchi since Thursday condemning non-issuance of audit certificates to retired employees.

According to a statement on Friday by Bharathidasan University Staff Welfare Association (BUSWA) since 2022, 33 outgoing administrative workers of the institution had not been issued audit certificates to make them eligible to claim their retirement benefits.

“The situation is dire as these benefits can help ease the financial burden faced by retirees. Despite furnishing all the required papers, A. Mubarak, assistant director (in-charge) of the Finance Department, is not issuing the audit certificates for two years,” M. Arunachalam, secretary, BUSWA, said in the statement.

Officials’ assurance

The sit-in protest began on Thursday afternoon and went on until midnight with the authorities promising to discuss the issue in the presence of senior local administration officials the following day.

On Friday evening, negotiations between the protesting staff and a team of officials, including the Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education, Revenue Divisonal Officer, BDU controller of examinations, and police officers remained inconclusive.

The statement added that in view of the stalemate, administrative staff would stay away from preparations for BDU’s convocation ceremony scheduled to be held on October 29.

UGC’s draft guidelines for academic leaders inspired by ‘traditional wisdom’

UGC’s draft guidelines for academic leaders inspired by ‘traditional wisdom’

The guidelines stress on personal and institutional development for leadership.

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi  19.10.2024

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved the draft guidelines for institutional leadership development for higher education institutions (HEIs). The draft takes inspiration from the traditional wisdom of kaal, sthan, and patra (time, era/context, and the actor) to nurture leadership in academic institutions.

Commenting on the draft, UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar said nurturing and promoting leadership within HEIs was essential for navigating the complexities of running them. He added that the draft offered a comprehensive framework to develop the next generation of academic leaders. “These guidelines emphasise the importance of both personal and institutional development to foster effective leadership,” Mr. Kumar said.

Key areas addressed include the blend of artistry and science in leadership, underscoring the need for mentorship, continuous learning, and a deep understanding of the unique dynamics within each institution. According to the draft, leadership must balance administrative responsibilities with encouraging innovation, inclusivity, and industry collaboration.

The guidelines encourage institutions to develop tailored leadership programmes that meet local and national challenges, focusing on skill development, strategic visioning, and adaptive leadership. The effort is in line with the National Education Policy, 2020 and highlights the need to prepare faculty for leadership roles to adapt to new educational structures, such as multidisciplinary approaches, autonomy, and introducing an academic bank of credits.

The guidelines recommend a holistic approach by integrating leadership systems with personal development.

3% DA hike for government employees and teachers announced

3% DA hike for government employees and teachers announced

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI 19.10.2024

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced a 3% hike in the Dearness Allowance (DA) for government employees and teachers. The hike would be implemented with retrospective effect from July 1.

The move followed a similar announcement made by the Union government, an official press release said.

16 lakh to benefit

About 16 lakh government employees, teachers, pensioners, and family pensioners are expected to benefit from the Tamil Nadu government’s announcement.

The State government would incur an additional annual expenditure of ₹1,931 crore due to the announcement, the press release said.