Satisfied but will be happy only when convicts are hanged: Nirbhaya's mother

PTI | Feb 5, 2020, 04.51 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi on Wednesday said she will be happy only on the day when convicts in the 2012 gangrape and murder case are hanged, shortly after the Delhi high court gave a week's time to the four for exhaustion of all legal remedies.

"I am satisfied but I will be happy only on the day when the convicts will be hanged. The court has given them a week's time, we will wait till then. This was the government's appeal and the government will think over it how early could they be hanged," she said.

A 23-year-old paramedic student, referred to as Nirbhaya, was raped and brutally assaulted on the intervening night of December 16 and 17, 2012 inside a moving bus in South Delhi by six men before being thrown out on the road.

On Wednesday, the high court said all the four convicts have to be executed together, not separately, and dismissed the Centre's plea against the trial court's order staying the execution of their death sentence.

It also faulted the authorities concerned for not taking steps for issuance of death warrant after the rejection of appeals of the accused by the Supreme Court in 2017.

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait directed the convicts to exhaust within seven days all the remedies available to them after which the authorities should act as per law.

The high court, however, said, "It cannot be disputed that the convicts have frustrated the process by using delaying tactics."

Nirbhaya case: President rejects clemency petition of convict Akshay Kumar Singh

PTI | Feb 5, 2020, 08.34 PM IST

NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind has rejected the mercy petition of Akshay Kumar Singh, one of the four men facing the gallows in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, home ministry officials said on Wednesday.

Singh filed the mercy petition before the president a few days ago.

The president has rejected Singh's mercy plea, an official said.

Kovind has already rejected the clemency petition of two other accused in the case Mukesh Singh and Vinay Kumar Sharma.

Delay in starting approval process by AICTE likely to affect engg admissions

TNN | Feb 5, 2020, 04.13 AM IST

Chennai: More than a two-month delay in starting approval process by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for 2020-21 may affect the engineering admissions in the next academic year.
Usually, AICTE would start inviting applications in the first week of December for extension of approval, variation of intake, starting new courses and new technical institutions. But, so far the council did not release the approval process handbook due to a litigation. “Affiliation and approval is a long process that would take four to five months. Due to delay in starting the process, it may go beyond month of May and that it would affect the admission process,” principals of engineering colleges said.

“The technical council would give 45 days to 60 days to apply for approval process. Then it will take another two to three months to scrutinize the applications and give its approval. It would also make visits to new technical institutions and surprise visits to some of existing institutions,” said B Chidambararajan, principal of Valliammai Engineering College said.

“Though Anna University would send inspection teams to colleges before the approval process, they would issue extension of affiliation only after receiving approval letter from AICTE,” he said. After getting approval and affiliation, the colleges need submit the orders to directorate of technical education (DOTE) for starting admission process. So, all the process should be over before May to start engineering counselling in June.

S R R Senthil Kumar, principal of Sona College of Technology in Salem said without approval process handbook the colleges cannot apply for approval or affiliation for a new course.

“The technical council has permitted the universities to offer courses in eight emerging areas including AI, machine learning and data science, internet of things (IoT), cybersecurity. Many institutions wanted to start new BTech in artifiicial intelligence and data science. But, without knowing nomenclature of the course, the colleges will find it difficult to set up lab and hire faculty members,” he said.

When contacted, AICTE officials said the approval process handbook for would be released this week. “The Supreme Court has delivered the judgement. The council is now vetting the regulations,” officials said adding engineering admissions will not be delayed.

Tamil Nadu: Six students of private varsity attack each other with machetes

TNN | Feb 5, 2020, 09.01 AM IST

CHENNAI: A clash between two student groups at a private university at Kattangulathur in Chengalpet district on Tuesday turned ugly, with both groups attacking each other with machetes. A video of the incident went viral on social media. No one was injured and a complaint is yet to be filed.

In the video, a small metal item on the ground was mistaken for a pistol. Police later said it was a cigarette lighter shaped like a gun. The video shows six students chasing and beating one another near the canteen. Suddenly in the video, a student hurls a machete at another student but misses. The latter chases his rival and swings the machete.

All of those seen in the video clashing with their rivals, identified as students of the Fashion Designing and MBA streams, were later taken to the police station and a probe is on.

Police said that it was only after the video was telecast on soem Tamil TV channels that they came to know about the incident and rushed a team of personnel to the spot.

HC refuses to interfere with search warrant against ex-minister Senthil Balaji

TNN | Feb 6, 2020, 04.42 AM IST

Chennai: In a setback to former transport minister Senthil Balaji, the Madras high court on Wednesday refused any relief against a warrant issued by a magistrate for central crime branch (CCB) to search his residence.

Justice P D Audikesavalu, refusing to entertain an urgent mention made by the ex-minister’s counsel, said such relief could not be sought in an anticipatory bail application. “If you are aggrieved by the warrant issued by the magistrate, you have to challenge the order through a separate petition. Such relief cannot be ordered in a bail application,” the judge said.

The issue pertains to a complaint lodged against the former minister with the CCB alleging that when he was transport minister he duped people of Rs 2.31 crore along with his associates promising jobs in the state transport corporation. In connection with the complaint, CCB conducted raids at the residence and other premises of Balaji. Therefore, apprehending arrest, Balaji moved the anticipatory bail application. Admitting the application and as an interim relief, Justice Audikesavalu orally instructed the CCB not to harass Balaji.

On Wednesday, when the court commenced proceedings post lunch, advocate A Saravanan made a mention before Justice Audikesavalu saying police are taking coercive steps by affixing search notice in his residence, directing him to appear before the investigating officer on February 6 and to open the lock of his Chennai residence. Even after the high court ordered authorities not to take any coercive steps against the DMK MLA, police are not obeying the direction, he complained. Public prosecutor A Natarajan, however, submitted that CCB had obtained appropriate order from the jurisdictional magistrate to conduct the search.

Madras high court halts cheque bounce appeals, to examine power of lower courts

TNN | Feb 6, 2020, 05.31 AM IST

CHENNAI: Cheque bounce cases pending in all sessions court in Tamil Nadu will come to a halt, as the Madras high court on Wednesday directed them to keep in abeyance all appeals against acquittals ordered by magistrates until further orders.

A full bench comprising Justice M M Sundresh, Justice V Bharathidasan and Justice N Anand Venkatesh passed the interim order while hearing a reference made to the bench to decide as to whether the sessions courts had jurisdiction to hear such appeals or it must be moved only before the high court.

The reference was made by Justice P N Prakash, who wanted the chief justice to constitute a full bench to decide several questions of law, including whether such appeals can be entertained by sessions courts under Section 372 of CrPC or by the high court under Section 378(4) and (5) of CrPC or whether there are concurrent remedies available with the right to the complainant to elect the forum of their choice.

When the reference was taken up for hearing, the full bench passed the interim order and ordered notices to bar associations including the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA), and Madras Bar Association (MBA) to submit their views and posted the hearing to February 25.

Though the issue was decided by a full bench in 2016, which held that such appeals can be made only before a sessions court, the decision was negated by the Supreme Court. Since the issue propped up once again while Justice Prakash was hearing a similar case, he referred the matter to the Chief Justice to decide whether it would deem fit to constitute a full bench to take a decision on the issue.

SC awards ₹1cr to accident victim with 100% disability

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:06.02.2020

A decade after a 12-year old girl met with an accident which led to 100% physical disability and left her with the mental age of a nine-month-old for the rest of her life due to brain injuries, the Supreme Court on Wednesday came to her rescue awarding compensation of more than ₹1crore including interest.

Kajal, a bright young girl, was travelling on a tractor with her parents on October 18, 2007 when it was hit by a truck. She suffered serious injuries resulting in damage to her brain and was left with a very low IQ besides severe weakness in all her limbs. As per the medical report, her mental age will remain that of a 9-month old child throughout her life. This means while lying on the bed, she will grow with physical and biological attributes of an adult woman, including menstruation etc, but remain a 9-month-old child in her mind.

Noting that the pain and suffering which Kajal, who has turned 24, has to go through the rest of her life, a bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Deepak Gupta said this is a case where departure has to made from the normal rules to do justice and assuage her suffering. The court awarded a compensation of ₹62.27 lakh to her along with interest at the rate of 7.5% per annum on that amount since 2007. “This child will remain bed-ridden for life. Her mental age will be that of a nine-month-old child. Effectively, while her body grows, she will remain a small baby. We are dealing with a girl who will physically become a woman but will mentally remain a 9-month-old child. This girl will miss out playing with her friends. She cannot communicate; she cannot enjoy the pleasures of life; she cannot even be amused by watching cartoons or films; she will miss out on the fun of childhood, the excitement of youth; pleasures of a marital life; she cannot have children who she can love let alone grandchildren. She will have no pleasure. Hers is a vegetable existence,” the court said.

Full report on www.toi.in