P & H HC Upholds Medical College's Decision To Not Admit 'General Category' Candidate To 'Sponsored Category' Vacancy [Read Judgment]

P & H HC Upholds Medical College's Decision To Not Admit 'General Category' Candidate To 'Sponsored Category' Vacancy [Read Judgment]: 'When the language of a provision is definite and unambiguous and its intention is clear, it is not permissible either to mend or bend it even if such recasting is in accord with good reason and...

Adoption Does Not Sever Relationship With Biological Father, Even If He Renounces Right As Father: Madras HC [Read Order]

Adoption Does Not Sever Relationship With Biological Father, Even If He Renounces Right As Father: Madras HC [Read Order]: The Madras High Court, in a judgment delivered recently, refused to substitute in the birth certificate of a minor girl the name of her adoptive father, who is her biological mother's second...

Adoption Does Not Sever Relationship With Biological Father, Even If He Renounces Right As Father: Madras HC

Adoption Does Not Sever Relationship With Biological Father, Even If He Renounces Right As Father: Madras HC 

Mehal Jain

18 Aug 2020 7:37 PM 

The Madras High Court, in a judgment delivered recently, refused to substitute in the birth certificate of a minor girl the name of her adoptive father, who is her biological mother's second husband, in place of her deceased biological father's name. 

The court was hearing the plea under Section 56 (2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 read with Regulations 52(4) and 55(2) of the Adoption Regulations praying to appoint the adoptive father (the biological mother having agreed to give the child in adoption to her second husband) of the person of the minor female child so that the latter is entitled to the legal status of biological daughter with all therights of succession and inheritance and for all purposes allowed by the law. 

On behalf of the petitioners, it was urged that the 2nd petitioner had married the 1st petitioner and is leading a happy life. The minor child is also a part of this family and she has recognised and accepted the 1st petitioner as her father. The 1st petitioner has come forward to adopt the minor child and the 2nd petitioner, the natural mother of the minor, is also desirous that the 1st petitioner is legally recognised as the father of the minor child. 

Denying the relief, Justice P. T. Asha observed that "it cannot be granted for the simple reason that the said late V.Venkatesh was the biological / natural father of minor Sahanaa and on the date on which the birth certificate was issued by the Authorities the said Venkatesh was very much alive and it is he who has been described as the father of the minor child in the birth certificate issued by the Authorities". 

The Single Judge proceeded to observe that the adoption does not sever the relationship of the minor with her biological father, the only exception being when the biological father himself renounces his right as father of the minor and consents for the child to be taken in adoption by the adoptive father. "Even in such cases, it is my view that the status of being the biological father does not change. It is only the status of an adoptive father, custody and maintenance of the minor that changes hands", the Single Bench asserted. 

The Court opined that while it is not in dispute that the 2nd petitioner as the biological / natural mother of the minor is empowered to give the child in adoption, but she cannot deprive the child's right to have the name of her biological / natural father in her birth certificate. 

The bench appreciated that the registration of the births is governed by the provisions of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969. Sections 8, 9 and 10 mandates that the information of the births and deaths be given to theAuthorities by the persons listed. The Act also makes provision for a delayed registration and the procedure is encapsulated in Section 13 of the Act. Section 15 talks about the circumstances under which an entry in the register of births and deaths can be corrected or cancelled. This Section would provide that a correction or cancellation of the entry in the register of births and deaths could be made in the following circumstances: 

(a) When the entry is erroneous in form or substance; and 

(b) The entry has been fraudulently or improperly made. 

On the occurrence of the above, the application could be made to the Authorities seeking correction or cancellation by giving the reasons. The said Section further provides that there shall be no alteration to the original entry and the correction can only be made in the margin with the Authorities signing the same. "Therefore, from a reading of Section 15 it is clear that the original entry cannot be corrected / deleted and the incorporation of the new details can be made only in the margin", noted the bench. 

The Court further reflected that the State of Tamil Nadu in pursuance of the powers vested under Section 30 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 has notified the Tamil Nadu Registration of Births and Deaths Amended Rules called the Tamil Nadu Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 2000. 

"In the case of adoption the form which is prescribed is Form 1-A. Serial Nos.4 and 5 in the said form relates to the name of the mother and father respectively. Serial Nos.7 and 8 relates to the name of the adoptive mother and the adoptive father. Therefore, the request by the petitioners to delete the name of the biological / natural father from the original birth certificate is legally not sustainable particularly when the rules clearly provide for incorporating the name of the adoptive parents separately in Column Nos. 7 and 8 as adoptive parents and not as the natural parents", remarked the bench. 

The Single Judge was of the view that the biological father is no more and therefore it cannot be said that he severed his ties with his daughter. Even though the biological / natural mother has given her consent for the 1st petitioner stepping into the shoes of the father by filing this petition, this Court cannot permit the substitution of the name of the 1st petitioner as the biological / natural father of the minor. 

Over 1 lakh applied for e-passes across Tamil Nadu

Over 1 lakh applied for e-passes across Tamil Nadu

After the State government announced instant issuance of e-pass, more than one lakh people have applied, according to a revenue department official.

Published: 19th August 2020 03:33 AM |

By C Shivakumar

Express News Service

CHENNAI: After the State government announced instant issuance of e-pass, more than one lakh people have applied, according to a revenue department official. The demand was such that at least 60 application were processed in a minute by the e-governance agency, said the official.

The traffic of applicants was such that the server crashed initially. This comes after State government said that those who provide their Aadhar details and mobile number while submitting the application online are eligible. 

It is learnt that on Tuesday there has been a dwindle in the number of applicants with the state e-governance agency clearing about 36,000 applicants. The move has been welcomed by the industries. S Sridharan, CREDAI chairman, Tamil Nadu Chapter, told Express that the move allowed businesses, who are having sites in other districts, to avail e-pass and move workers. Hyundai vice-president BC Datta said that it will help technically qualified manpower who got stuck due to lockdown move to workplace.

SC reserves verdict on states’ power to cancel final exams

SC reserves verdict on states’ power to cancel final exams

States Say It’s Easy To Evaluate With Past Exam Sheets, Internal Assessments

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:19.08.2020

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the question whether state governments had power under the Disaster Management Act to cancel final examinations for award of degrees to college students even though the University Grants Commission has asked universities to conduct final examinations by September 30.

Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha and Delhi said the UGC could not have taken a unilateral decision to hold final examinations, turning a blind eye to the Covid-19 pandemic which is accounting for over 50,000 new infections daily.

Though there had been a push to empower students with laptops for years, the common refrain of these four states was that most students were from rural areas and did not have access to laptops. Giving examinations with mobile phones would be extremely difficult and connectivity and internet speed were perennial issues that could raise the level of anxiety among students and deprive them of doing well in the examinations, the states said.

Senior advocates and advocates general of these states argued that when no public transport was available and when state governments had been empowered under the Disaster Management Act to take strict containment action during the pandemic, holding final examinations would be endangering the lives of many.

They said past examination performance sheets of each student, along with internal assessments, were available with colleges and it would be easy to evaluate them on that basis and promote them without final examinations.

However, a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R S Reddy and M R Shah said when UGC guidelines, as shown by solicitor general Tushar Mehta, were binding on universities, the commission’s decision not to recognise degrees without passing final examinations would also be binding. Before reserving its order, the SC said the only question was whether state governments, in a pandemic situation, had power under the DM Act to decide when to hold final examinations, especially when they pleaded that many colleges had been converted into Covid-19 testing centres.

The bench refused to interfere in the ongoing final examinations in Delhi University colleges. Mehta said the UGC guidelines had given three options — online, offline or hybrid system of examinations for final year students.

He said around 300 universities had already conducted final examinations and another 400 were in the process of doing so. Mehta said the UGC had made a provision that if any student, for a genuine reason, could not appear in the final examination held before September 30, then she would be given one more chance.

THE FINAL SAY: When UGC guidelines, as shown by solicitor general Tushar Mehta, were binding on universities, the commission’s decision not to recognise degrees without passing final examinations would also be binding, the SC bench said

Class X girl commits suicide, leaves 18-page note for PM Modi

Class X girl commits suicide, leaves 18-page note for PM Modi

Maria Khan TNN

Bareilly  19.08.2020

: Upset with rising pollution, corruption and some other social evils plaguing the society, a 16-year-old girl allegedly shot herself dead on the eve of Independence Day in UP’s Sambhal district. Policemen tasked with the probe on Tuesday recovered an 18-page note penned by the Class X student before her death and addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the extensive letter, the minor girl has raised concern over rising pollution level, cutting down of trees and corruption in medical field as some of the triggers for her suicide. The girl also wrote that she always wanted to meet the Prime Minister (PM) in person and discuss these issues with him.

She urged the PM to curb the growing population, implement the ban on firecrackers during Diwali and chemical-based colours on Holi. She was also disturbed with problems faced by the elderly people. “I don’t want to live anymore in a place where children send their parents to old age homes,” she mentioned at the beginning of the note. Her family members said that as their daughter’s last wish, they will make sure that the letter reaches the PM and has appealed to the administration to take cognisance of it. The girl’s father, who is a farmer, said, “The suicide note is my daughter’s last wish. We want that the letter must reach the PM.”

Full report on www.toi.in

Parents, activists want more exam centres for Neet in state

Parents, activists want more exam centres for Neet in state

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:19.08.2020

To better maintain social distancing and prevent the spread of Covid-19, parents and activists in Tamil Nadu have urged the National Testing Agency (NTA) to set up more exam centres for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Neet) scheduled for September 13.

The Supreme Court order has finally put an end to the confusion over exam dates and many students are ready to take the test.

Samuel Rozario,a Neet aspirant in the city, said he has no issues writing the exams on September 13. “The uncertainty in exam dates has affected us. Now, we can prepare well after knowing that the exams will be held on the same date,” he said.

He added that competition is likely to be tough. “I used to get 500 out of 720 marks in mock tests and I am scoring 600 marks now. With all students having had more time to prepare for the exam, I expect an increase in the cut-off scores for medical admission,” he said.

This year 1.2 lakh students in TN have registered for the common medical entrance test. The agency had set up 560 exam centres in 14 cities in Tamil Nadu last year. Citing the Covid pandemic, activists and parents demanded exam centres in all districts and allotment of exam centres within native districts of the students so it is easier for them to reach the spot.

Ramadevi E, a parent hailing from Cuddalore district, said, “In the absence of public transport it may be tough for us to travel to other locations. Last year, we travelled but this year may be tough.”

Another parent Sathyamurthy R said he was scared to send his son to a crowded exam hall. “We hope NTA will ensure social distancing norms in the centres. We should have double or triple the centres or hold exams in two shifts,” he said.

G R Ravindranath, general secretary of Doctors’ Association for Social Equality said the Centre should consider cancelling the exam. “If exams are to be conducted, then they should allot centres within the district for students as transport, stay and travel will be a major issue. The testing agency should arrange for transport and provide masks and hand sanitizers at the centres,” he added.

Meanwhile, a few city schools said the NTA had approached them for conducting the exam. “They are looking for 500sqft rooms to maintain social distancing and looking for larger schools,” a principal said.

Activists and parents demanded that students be allotted centres in native districts as travel, stay and safety would be an issue otherwise. This year 1.2 lakh students in TN have registered for the common medical entrance test