HC permits only advancement of DoB on school certificates

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:09.08.2018

A week after holding that a person’s date of birth (DoB) cannot be altered on school certificates after completion of school education, the Madras high court on Wednesday clarified that the restriction would apply only to postponement requests and not for advancement of the date. Justice S Vaidyanathan made the clarification while allowing a plea moved by P Poomesh seeking direction to change his DoB in his SSLC and transfer certificates from July 5, 2001 to March 5, 1999 as per the birth certificate and Aadhar card.

In the earlier instance, while ruling that date of birth cannot be postponed, the court observed that it would amount to nullifying all the educational qualifications possessed by the person.

When the present plea came up for hearing, the judge said: “Normally, the court will not grant the relief. The corporation records may show a different DoB. Only when a child completes the age of five, he/ she may be entitled to admission into the school. The parents, for admitting their child into a school, may alter the birth date by advancing it.

“At the time of completion of school education or thereafter, they approach the authorities and then the court to correct the date based on the birth certificate. If such an alteration creates a situation where the child could not have entered school at the age of five, the entire school education is void.”

However, in this case, the petitioner is handicapped and he is not seeking the postponement of the DoB but advancing. If the birth date is advanced, it certainly cannot be advantageous to him for employment.

No prejudice is going to be caused if the records are going to be changed to the detriment of the candidate, the court said.

Hence, judge said, the DoB may be corrected and advanced as prayed for by the petitioner, the judge directed the authorities concerned.

REGION DIGEST

Med counselling closing date extended
The directorate general of medical sciences has extended the last date for students allotted seats under All India Quota seats to join the medical colleges by a day to 4pm on Thursday. The New-Delhi based directorate completed second round of counselling on August 2 based on their choices. The students had to join colleges by 5pm on Wednesday. With the extension, there will be a delay in the return of seats to state–run colleges. State selection committee on Tuesday announced that the counselling for vacant AIQ seats for two days from Friday. “It was based on the schedule that we will get the number of vacant seats by Wednesday,” said selection committee secretary Dr G Selvarajan.

Even in death, Karuna beats AIADMK

Saying No To Marina Space Earns EPS Tag Of A Villain

Jayaraj Sivan & Julie Mariappan TNN

Chennai:09.08.2018

The controversy over according a beach-side burial for DMK chief M Karunanidhi has exposed Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s inexperience. He and his government stood isolated in the battle against the DMK.

The advice to deny resting space for Karunanidhi on the Marina was ill-conceived and the advisers ended up only misleading the government to commit a political blunder. In a state divided by a bipolar polity for decades, it might pass muster as it only reflects the bitter rivalry between the Dravidian majors. Many may have thought the rivalry could have ended with the demise of former chief ministers J Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi. Palaniswami may have won some brownie points with the diehard AIADMK workers, but he has earned a villain’s tag before the masses.

The Centre was keen on according the highest honour to the departed Dravidian icon. BJP national general secretary Muralidhar Rao told TOI, “Karunanidhi was a great leader. Prime Minister has conveyed a strong message by coming personally to pay floral tributes to the late leader. It is only proper that he has been given space on the Marina to rest”. Another senior BJP leader said a Union minister even called up a senior Tamil Nadu minister to convey the message that the Centre was in support of burying Karunanidhi on the Marina.

Anticipating trouble from the state government, DMK Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi had requested for help from the Centre a few days ago. Sources said a senior Union minister assured her all help from the Centre.

Palaniswami’s initial hesitation to allocate space on the Marina was guided by the perceived sentiments of the AIADMK cadres, who would not have wanted to see a memorial for Karunanidhi by the side of Jayalalithaa’s, said a senior AIADMK leader preferring anonymity. The AIADMK cadres have not taken the DMK’s opposition to Jayalalithaa’s memorial on the Marina lightly.

But after the Madras high court order on Wednesday giving a go ahead to the DMK’s plans, the CM made a retreat and decided not to appeal against it for multiple reasons. One, he sensed the AIADMK was isolated in the fight and also Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Rajaji Hall weighed heavily on his mind. A section within the AIADMK is happy about the final outcome though as all the petitions challenging Jayalalithaa’s memorial have either been withdrawn or dismissed.

Going by the tardy security arrangements put in place by police to manage the crowd near Rajaji Hall, the state government was ill-prepared to handle any serious law and order problem.

There was also a chorus for preserving Karunanidhi’s body at the party headquarters till the DMK could secure space for him on the beach front, in other words, till the DMK returned to power in the state. Had the script been played out on those lines, it would have given headache to the CM and his government.



LEFT ALONE

Family offloaded from BA flight over ‘crying 3-yr-old’

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:09.08.2018

An Indian family has alleged that a leading European airline offloaded them from the flight because their three-year-old child was crying.

While the child’s mother had managed to comfort the child when the plane was taxiing for take off, the allegedly intimidating behaviour of a cabin crew while asking the child to be seated scared the kid even more and then he started sobbing inconsolably.

The aircraft then returned to the terminal and the Indian family, along with a few other Indians seated behind them, were offloaded.

This alleged racial behaviour took place on British Airways London-Berlin flight (BA 8495) on July 23 with a 1984 batch officer of Indian engineering services currently posted in the road transport ministry and his family.

The joint secretary-level officer has now complained to aviation minister Suresh Prabhu, alleging “humiliation and racial behaviour” by the airline.

A British Airways spokesman said: “We take claims like this extremely seriously and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We have started a full investigation and are in direct contact with the customer.”

The officer’s letter to Prabhu says: “After security announcement for seat belt, my wife fastened the seat belt to my three-year-old baby... (Seated on a separate seat) my son felt uncomfortable and started crying. My wife managed to (comfort) him by taking him in her arms…. male crew member approached us and started shouting.. scolded my son to go to his seat...”

“...My son got terrified and started crying (inconsolably). (An)other Indian family sitting behind us offered the child some biscuits to console him. My wife again put the boy on his designated seat and fastened the seat belt even though he kept on crying...,” the letter says.

The aircraft then started taxiing to the runway. “(The) same crew member came again and shouted at my son that ‘you bloody keep quiet otherwise you will be thrown out of the window’ and we would be offloaded. We were petrified,” it adds.

The plane then returned to the terminal. The officer says the crew member called in security personnel to the aircraft who took away their boarding cards and of those seated behind them.

“My family and other Indian family, which had offered biscuits to my son, were offloaded…. nothing was provided to me and my family,” the complaint said. The family then made its own arrangement to travel from London City airport to London and bought expensive tickets to travel to Berlin the next day.

“…the crew member made racist remarks and used words like ‘bloody’ about Indians…. I request to have the matter investigated and take strictest possible action,” he concludes.



‘RACIST’ BEHAVIOUR

Four killed, 52 injured as crowd goes out of control at Rajaji Hall

Team TOI

Chennai:08.08.2018

The grim atmosphere that surrounded Rajaji Hall since early Wednesday as thousands of mourners filed past the coffin of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi turned tragic when a stampede claimed four lives and left at least 52 others injured. Separately, a man suffered a head injury after he fell from a wall on Wallajah Road when the funeral procession was passing by later.

While Shenbagavalli, 62, of MGR Nagar, and a 60-yearold yet-to-be identified man were declared dead on arrival at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Saravanan, 37, died at Madras Medical College and Durai, 45, died at the Government Superspecialty Hospital on the Omandurar Government Estate. At 10.45 am, as news of the Madras HC allowing the DMK supremo’s burial on the Marina Beach trickled in, several mourners, until then allowed in batches of 200, broke the barricades and police cordon and rushed towards the venue.


LIFE & DEATH ISSUE: Hundreds of party workers broke through the security cordon at Rajaji Hall resulting in a stampede | PAGES 2-6

All I could see was people running over me: Survivor

Thelaw-enforcers,clearly outnumbered, looked on helplessly. The crowd was also restive at not being able to get close to the former chief minister’s coffin, with the queue being blocked every time a celebrity arrived. Efforts to regulate the crowd went in vain and as many of those in front went down in a heap, police personnel resorted to a mild lathicharge to disperse the crowd and rescue those trapped under. “We can’t deal with them the way we do with the general public. Among the crowd are party cadres and some hooligans,” said a police inspector at the VVIP entrance.

As thousands rushed out in panic, many feeble cries drowned. “I was stuck in between people running, there was no gap to move. All I could see was people running over me,” said Ponnammal, a woman who managed to escape with a few minor injuries.

By 6pm, staff of the Emergency Management Research Institute (EMRI), which had stationed 15 ambulances and 13 first responder bikers outside Rajaji Hall, rushed 51people to various government hospitals. Of the injured, two suffered fractures on the leg caused by barricades falling on them.

Among those still undergoing treatment were Kulandaivelu, 62, of Nilgris; Balakrishnan, 71, of Ambattur; Thangaraj, 60, of MGR Nagar; Jayaraman, 59, of Vellore; Sathya, 50 and Latha, 45, of T Nagar; Kennedy, 55, of Puzhal and Settu, 39, of Kancheepuram.

Paramedical staff said most of those admitted to hospitals were elderly people who had collapsed due to dehydration, after standing for a long time under the hot sun. “It was a particularly hot day and many had had no food or water all day,” said a health department official.

Student’s plea for date of birth change allowed in Tamil Nadu

Hardly a fortnight ago, the Madras High Court held that the date of birth (DoB) of a student cannot be altered at a later stage, as the change would nullify her admission in the first standard and nul

Published: 09th August 2018 02:57 AM

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Hardly a fortnight ago, the Madras High Court held that the date of birth (DoB) of a student cannot be altered at a later stage, as the change would nullify her admission in the first standard and nullify her entire qualification.However, passing orders on a similar petition the same Justice S Vaidyanathan held on the contrary and directed the school education authorities to change the DoB.The judge was disposing of a writ petition from P Poomesh praying for a direction to the respondents to change his DoB in his SSLC and Transfer Certificate from July 5, 2001 to March 5, 1999 as per the birth certificate and Aadhaar card.

The judge said that normally, the court would not grant the relief, that is, changing the DoB from a particular date to another date immediately after admission. Only when a child completes the age of five, he/she may be entitled to admission into the school. The parents, for the purpose of admitting their child into a school, may alter the birth date, that is, by advancing it and admit the child to school.

Later, they approach the authorities and then the court to correct the birth date based on the birth certificate. If such an alteration is going to create a situation where the child could not have entered into school at the age of five, the entire school education is void/nullity.However, in the present case, the petitioner is a physically-disabled person and he is not seeking the postponement of the DoB, but advancing it as per the birth certificate. If the birth date is advanced, it certainly cannot be disadvantageous to him.In any event, advancing the DoB is not going to cause any hindrance to anyone except the petitioner/student. Hence, the DoB may be corrected, the judge said.

Medico’s suicide: Axe falls on college principal, two professors in Andhra Pradesh

The two along with their colleague Dr Ravi Kumar were named by the victim in her complaint to the Governor.
 
Published: 09th August 2018 04:13 AM | 


Medical students wait outside the room where the panel is holding enquiry into the suicide of Shilpa | madhav k

By Express News Service

TIRUPATI: The day after PG medical student Dr Shilpa committed suicide, the committee headed by Director of Medical Education K Babji visited Sri Venkateswara Medical College here and conducted an enquiry with students. The panel decided to transfer Dr Kireety and Dr Sasikumar of Paediatrics Department to Nellore.

The two along with their colleague Dr Ravi Kumar were named by the victim in her complaint to the Governor. The committee also decided to replace college principal Dr N Ramanaiah with Dr Ravi Prabhu and extend the suspension of Dr Ravi Kumar till the completion of the enquiry.
The committee members included Kurnool Government General Hospital Superintend P Chandra Sekhar and HoD, Cardiology, Kurnool Medical College Dr T Jamauana.

Several students confronted the committee and expressed the view that had the DME acted earlier on the report submitted by the committee headed by the college principal, Shilpa would have been alive today.