Good Morning

Thursday, November 28, 2024

NEWS TODAY 28.11.2024

Wait finally over! Retd official to get pension after 12 yrs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 28.11.2024

Bengaluru : “Ours being a constitutionally ordained welfare state, the govt should conduct itself as a model employer,” the high court observed recently while coming to the rescue of a 73-yearold retired civil servant fighting for unpaid salary and pension arrears.

“It pains us that this is not the first case where a pensioner was put to untold hardship and cruelty at the hands of the govt, which extracted his sweat, if not blood, for more than 33 years of service. All this cannot go scathefree,” a division bench comprising Justices Krishna S Dixit and CM Joshi observed in its order while allowing the petition filed by one Sadashivappa of Bengaluru. The authorities have now been directed to sanction and release regular pension and all terminal benefits to the petitioner within two months, with interest at the rate of 1% per month from the day the sum was withheld. “The rate of interest should stand altered to 2% in the place of 1% per mensem with retrospective effect if the delay exceeds two months.

Further, the respondents should pay a cost of Rs 50,000 to the petitioner,” the bench added. Sadashivappa, a Karnataka Municipal Administration Service officer, retired from service in Feb 2012. However, citing a pending inquiry into certain allegations against him, his retirement benefits were withheld despite him submitting several representations. He approached the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal, which, however, on Feb 6, 2024, rejected his petition. He moved the high court.

His main contention was that the pension payable to a retired employee is his right, constitutionally guaranteed under Articles 21 and 300-A of the Constitution. On the other hand, the govt advocate submitted that upon certain audit objections, the auditor general had directed the recovery of Rs 3.1 lakh from Sadashivappa, and the same is permissible under Karnataka Civil Service Rules (KCSR).

The bench noted that the payment of retirement benefits of nearly Rs 9.5 lakh was withheld from the petitioner. “We repeatedly asked the govt advocate about the particulars of ‘pending inquiry’ and no material was produced before us to show that any disciplinary inquiry of the kind was ever instituted against him,” it said.

Offends petitioner’s fundamental right to life

“The fact remains that till date, no inquiry has been instituted against the petitioner, who demitted his office on Feb 29, 2012, on attaining the age of superannuation. Now he is in the evening of his life. No inquiry can now be instituted for the alleged lapses because of the fouryear limitation enacted in the provisions of Rule 214(2)(b)(ii) of KCSR. Since a retired employee holds his body and soul together with the periodic pension regularly paid, withholding the same at times amounts to suspending the means of livelihood and therefore, offends the Fundamental Right to life constitutionally assured under Article 21 in the light of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Olga Tellis case,” the high court bench further noted in its recent order.

Exam fraud: 2k male students registered as females in Agra

Agra : 28.11.2024

In a major scam uncovered in the ongoing semester exams at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Agra, around 2,000 male students were found fraudulently registered as female students to take exams at three private colleges affiliated with the university, reports Deepak Lavania. University examination controller Om Parkash said the anomalies were spotted at Major Angad Singh Mahavidyalaya, SBD College of Science and Education in Mainpuri, and Gulkandi Lalaram Mahavidyalaya in Mathura. These colleges were designated as ‘self-centres’ — the university allows colleges having more girl students to have self-centres for exams where the colleges can have their own staff members as invigilators. The irregularity came to light on Tuesday when significant variations in student numbers were noticed across the first, second, and third shifts.

Court: Withholding pension is cruelty at hands of govt

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 28.11.2024

Bengaluru : Terming the withholding of salary dues and pension benefits over a pending departmental inquiry ‘cruelty at the hands of the govt,’ Karnataka high court has ordered the release of arrears to a 73-year old retired municipal administration officer within two months. Sadashivappa, from Bengaluru, retired in Feb 2012, but his pension and salary arrears were withheld while awaiting the report of an inquiry into certain allegations against him. After exhausting his options, he approached Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal, which rejected his petition on Feb 6, 2024. He moved HC.

A division bench of Jus tices Krishna S Dixit and C M Joshi ordered the govt to pay Sadashivappa ₹9.5 lakh in dues, with 1% interest from the day the amount was withheld. “The rate of interest should be increased to 2% per month, instead of 1%, with retrospective effect if the delay exceeds two months. Further, the respondents should pay a cost of ₹50,000 to the petitioner,” the bench added. The govt advocate submitted that, following certain audit objections, auditor general had directed the recovery of ₹3.1 lakh from Sadashivappa, which is permissible under Karnataka Civil Service Rules (KCSR).

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

How can flyover less than 10 yrs old tumble down, must probe ‘scam’: HC

New Delhi : 27.11.2024

Terming it a “scam”, Delhi High Court on Tuesday called for a CBI probe into the state of a flyover that is “tumbling” due to authorities cutting corners. A bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela pointed out that despite the structure near Nathu Colony area developing cracks in 2018, no internal inquiry had taken place.

“Who are the people involved in this scam? How can you have such a weak structure? This is not even 10 years old. Can a flyover for which you would have spent crores come tumbling down? All flyovers constructed in the 1980s are still functional today. And your construction in 2015 is in shambles. It doesn’t take a magician to understand why it is tumbling; you have to conduct an investigation,” the court told the counsel for Delhi govt.

Lamenting that no one was “bothered” that a report on the flyover by a consultant hired by govt was expected in 2021 but is still awaited, HC said it was “clear” someone was “trying to push corruption under the carpet”. Stressing that CBI would find out the persons who gave clearances, including the completion certificate for the structure, the court said the issue was that the authorities were “not doing some internal soul searching”.

NEWS TODAY 27.11.2024

No need to apply, you will get eversion of PAN in mail ID PAN 2.0

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 27.11.2024

New Delhi : Your existing PAN card will remain valid under PAN 2.0 project and you will automatically receive an electronic version of the card in your mail ID, without having to apply for it. Those seeking a physical card, however, will have to apply and pay Rs 50 for it if they live within the country, the tax department said on Tuesday.

“If existing PAN holders want to make any correction/updation of their existing PAN details such as email, mobile or address or demographic details such as name, date of birth etc, they can do so at free of cost after the PAN 2.0 Project commences. Till the time the PAN 2.0 project is rolledout, the PAN holders can avail the Aadhaar based online facility for updation/correction of email, mobile and address free-of-cost,” the Central Board of Direct taxes said in a set of FAQs released a day after the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) cleared a Rs 1,400 crore project.

The department also said QR codes will be part of the project, but the feature has already been rolled out, which helps in validating PAN and other details. The upgradation project will also see all PAN and TAN related services, currently hosted on three different portals (e-filing portal, UTIITSL and Protean e Gov), move to the income tax department portal and will provide end-toend services — from application to allotment, online validation, linking with Aadhaar and updation. The entire process will be paperless, CBDT said. In line with the Budget 2023 announcement, govt has decided to make PAN the “common business identifier” for all digital systems of specified govt agencies. Although it is illegal to have more than one PAN, there are several entities and individuals, who violate the law and govt is hoping that once the project is rolled out, it will be easier to check such instances. Currently there is a database of 78 crore PANs and 73.3 lakh TANs in the country.

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

PhD aspirants demand online availability status of guides

Ardhra.Nair@timesofindia.com 26.11.2024

Pune : Citing difficulties in application process, PhD aspirants at Savitribai Phule Pune University have urged the vice-chancellor to ensure that all research guides publish their vacancy lists on the university website. Students, in a letter to the VC, said many potential guides failed to update their availability status, hampering their ability to apply before the Nov 30 deadline. Samadhan Dupargude, an aspirant for a PhD in Marathi, said, “Despite many professors having vacancies, the Marathi department has not uploaded the availability online. This forces students like me to apply in far-off affiliated colleges in Baramati or Nashik, which lack the facilities available at SPPU.

Mayur Jawale, aspiring for a PhD in Hindi, said, “The number of guides has reduced due to a decline in professors, assistant professors, and associate professors. Additionally, applicants can only apply to one centre at a time. If multiple options were allowed, students can have better chan ces, if one centre has no vacancies,” said Jawale. Student rights activist Rahul Sasane criticised the compulsory biometric attendance requirement for research scholars. “Requiring attendance in colleges with minimal resources is impractical,” he said.

A senior university official clarified that accepting PhD students is voluntary for professors. “UGC permits assistant professors to guide up to four PhD students, associates up to six, and professors up to eight. However, this is a maximum limit, not a mandate,” the official said. “Guiding students is a voluntary effort, and professors cannot be compelled to take on more students. Attendance requirements are mandatory only for fellowship recipients,” the official added.

11/26/24, 11:14 AM Times of India ePaper pune - Read Today’s English News Paper Online https://epaper.indiatimes.com/timesepaper/publication-the-times-of-india,city-pune.cms 1/2 11/26/24, 11:14 AM Time

Doc dives into river to save drowning child, both die

TIMES OF INDIA KOCHI 26.11.2024

Bhopal : A doctor dived into a river to save a 13-year-old drowning girl in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli on Sunday, but both sank into a watery grave. Police said the victims — Dr Harish Singh, who worked with Northern Coalfields Hospital, and Prerna — were in a group of 15-16 from five families in Singrauli town who had gone on a picnic on Sunday evening to Gopad riverbank in Langhadol region of Singrauli, 730km from Bhopal and close to the Uttar Pradesh border.

Prerna somehow slipped into a deep part of the river and began drowning. Dr Singh, who was at the bank, and Prerna’s father immediately dived in to rescue her. Family members and other picnickers watched in horror as the trio struggled in the water. They managed to pull out Prerna’s father but couldn’t reach either her or Singh.

The doctor’s valiant act went in vain as they both disappeared under water. Police were alerted and rescue teams began searching for the duo. Dr Singh’s body was found on Sunday night. He was taken to hospital where he was declared dead. Prerna’s body was found Monday morning. “Rescue and search operations for the girl were carried out till late in the night and resumed on Monday. Her body has been handed over to her family. The spot where she drowned was very deep,” Langhadol police station incharge Pushpendra Dhurvey told TOI. TNN

Towel left inside woman during op removed after three months

TIMES NEWS NETWORK Rajasthan 26.11.2024

Jodhpur : In a shocking case of medical negligence, doctors at Kuchaman Govt Hospital left a towel inside a woman ’s abdomen during a caesarean delivery three months ago. The negligence came to light only after she underwent surgery at AIIMS, Jodhpur, where the towel was removed on Nov 17. She was discharged from the hospital on Sunday.

The woman had suffered severe abdominal pain for months, visiting several hospitals, including private and govt facilities in Makrana and Ajmer, without relief. Despite undergoing a CT scan in Ajmer, the towel was misdiagnosed as a lump. Finally, AIIMS doctors discovered a 15 x10 cm towel lodged in her abdomen during an investigation. The prolonged presence of the foreign body caused significant harm. Gastro surgeon Dr Subhash Soni, who led the surgery, said the towel had adhered to the intestines, causing severe damage. The woman had been admitted to AIIMS on Nov 15 , and the five-hour surgery was conducted on Nov 17. She was discharged on Sunday.

The negligence also impacted her newborn, as the abdominal pain limited her food intake, reducing breast milk production. The child had to rely on external milk. Chief medical and health officer (CMHO) of Didwana, Dr Anil Judia, has constituted an inquiry committee and assured appropriate action based on its findings. A family member, Manmohan, expressed anger over the delay in diagnosis and medical negligence

Pensioners struggle as app to submit life certificate down

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 26.11.2024

Hyderabad : Pensioners in the state are in a quandary as the T App Folio for submitting their annual life verification certificates has been down since the start of Nov. Every year, the option to submit a life certificate is enabled from Nov 1. The Telangana All Pensioners and Retired Persons Association (TAPRPA) said that despite officials assuring to fix it by Nov 15, it was still not working.

“We tried multiple times to submit my father’s life certificate, but we are getting an error. My father is becoming very anxious about not being able to submit it,” said A Sai Krishna. To give life verification in the virtual mode, pensioners log in to the T App Folio, click a photo and submit. Though there are other modes such as Mee Seva, banks etc., to submit the certificate, the T App Folio has been the preferred mode as it doesn’t ask for fingerprints.

“Most pensioners prefer to submit through the app as they can do so from the comfort of their homes. Also, the process is much simpler than going to MeeSeva or submitting through a bank,” said G Ashok, a pensioner. TAPRPA general secretary Palakurthy Krishna Murthy said: “We are getting many calls from pensioners complaining about the issue. We have spoken to the directorate of treasuries and accounts and they assured us that the app will run smoothly in the next week or so.” They also said that they are fighting for their pending DA, PRC and arrears, and are hopeful that the govt will release them at the earlies