HC: Woman accused of killing her husband can’t get custody of her child

HC: Woman accused of killing her husband can’t get custody of her child

Rajesh Kumar Pandey TNN

Prayagraj: 02.03.2021 

The Allahabad high court has held that a woman accused of killing her husband cannot be given custody of her minor daughter, considering the welfare of the child, unless she is acquitted in the case.

While dismissing a habeas corpus writ petition filed by Gyanmati Kushwaha and another person on Friday, Justice JJ Munir observed that if the mother is acquitted in the murder case by the concerned court, she would have the right to move court for her daughter’s custody, which would then be decided in accordance with law.

The court passed this order in a habeas corpus writ petition filed by a woman residing in Mumbai, who had alleged that on May 11, 2018 her husband came to his native place at Jhansi while she stayed back in Mumbai. Later, she received a call from Kamal Kushwaha, her husband’s maternal uncle, on May 13, 2018 that some unknown person had killed her husband. However, when she reached Jhansi with her daughter, she was falsely implicated in her husband’s murder case and was arrested while her daughter was taken away by her husband’s maternal uncle. Since then the child was in his custody.

Hence, she filed the present habeas corpus writ petition seeking custody of her minor daughter, Drisha Kushwaha, aged about two years. The court while deciding the petition considered the issue that whether in the interest of the child, mother can be denied her custody only on possibility that she might be involved in the murder of her husband.

No changes in NEET-UG pattern this year

No changes in NEET-UG pattern this year

Exams Will Be Conducted On Pen-Paper In June or July: Higher Education Secretary

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 02.03.2021 

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for admission to medical colleges will have no changes this year. The exams will be conducted on pen-paper between June-July. Amit Khare, secretary, higher education, said it would be unfair on the students to make any changes in such a short notice and delay in the holding the test would affect the new session.

The ministry of education wanted the medical entrance exam to be held more than once a year and on computers, but a consensus could not be reached with the ministry of health on time. With the success of conducting JEE (Main) multiple times in a year and close to 28% of the aspirants (based on the 2020 results) improving their scores in the second attempt, there has been a growing demand for the same for NEET-UG as well.

According to Khare, “In our view, NEET should be held more than once a year because at times it is possible that for some reasons, a candidates is not able to properly concentrate for a particular attempt.

That should not result in waste of one year. But multiple exams cannot be conducted on pen and paper mode. It will have to be computer-based.”

Khare said offering NEET-UG multiple times and on computers “requires consultation with all the stakeholders because there is a difference between JEE and NEET. JEE is not compulsory for all engineering colleges, whereas NEET is mandatory for admission to all medical colleges. Also suppose a biology student is not comfortable with a computer, they need to practise and learn. That is why for any changes, we will give six to eight months’ notice. Only then we will bring out a change,” he said.

The ministry is looking forward to bringing in changes in 2022.

Stating that the exams will be held in June or July by the National Testing Agency, Khare said: “This year, if we change the pattern, we will not be able to conduct it in June or July. Students have taken coaching, they have prepared in a certain fashion and obviously a sudden pattern change will be unfair.”

He said date for NEET-UG this year will be announced soon.

CHANGES ONLY IN 2022

CISCE announces exam dates

New Delhi/Kolkata: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) released this year’s examination date sheet on Monday. It will allow its classes X and XII boards candidates to take their seats in the exam rooms five minutes before the start.

Both ICSE and ISC 2021 theory papers will begin from May 5. While ICSE (Class X) will end on June 7, ISC (Class XII) will be completed on June16. “I waited for the Chief Election Commissioner to announce for the dates of the general elections in the states and thereafter, announced the ICSE and ISC schedule. We did not want any confusion. The candidates will have to get in touch with the school principals to know the date and time,” said chief executive and secretary of the council Gerry Arathoon. TNN

When doctors stood witness to confessions of dying patients

When doctors stood witness to confessions of dying patients

Amrita.Didyala@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:02.03.2021 

What is a dying person’s last wish? Doctors at Hyderabad’s Gandhi Hospital got unique insight into this painful aspect of the Covid-19 pandemic which completed one year on Tuesday.

It was on March 2, 2020 that Telangana had recorded its first Covid-19 case. With Gandhi Hospital becoming the nodal healthcare facility in Telangana for the pandemic, doctors here were witness to many of the nearly 2,000 deaths in the state. Before dying many of the patients confessed to the doctors their fears and disappointments and also expressed their last wishes which the doctors tried to fulfil, sometimes unsuccessfully.

In fact, a yearning to correct a wrong they had done to loved ones often occupied their minds on the deathbed. A 45-year-old patient who knew death was awaiting him told his doctor he had not spoken to his brother in 10 years after a tiff over property. “The night before he died, he confessed that he had done wrong by misappropriating property and wanted to hand over a portion to his brother. He requested me to find his brother, but we were unable to trace him despite all efforts,” said Dr M Raja Rao, superintendent Gandhi hospital adding that he had shed tears almost every day during the pandemic.

Another young couple which parted ways on a bitter note last year, lay in two different isolation wards in different cities, one dying and wanting to find the other. “The patient had felt it was his mistake and had ignored all attempts for a reconciliation. He wept bitterly requesting us to find his partner and let her know his feelings. He died before he could tell us how,” said a post-graduate doctor who heard the confession. He had also been requested by a few to help them slip out of the hospital to meet their families one last time. Most confessions circled around property, money transactions, sharing of responsibilities, ego clashes and ‘wrongdoings’ that were not specified. There were other last wishes too, which included their favourite food and even a sip of their favourite tipple. “A VIP patient, who never adjusted to the facilities in a government hospital, requested for exotic dishes that he was used to at parties and was craving for these after having plain food,” said Dr Ajay Kumar Joopaka, assistant professor of psychiatry. He added that for some who wanted to meet their families, the doctors made video calls. But during the end stages a few could not recognize their own families as they had developed psychosis and were away from reality.”

ONE LAST TIME: Most confessions circled around property, money transactions, sharing of responsibilities, ego clashes and ‘wrongdoings’ that were not specified. There were other last wishes too, which included their favourite food and even a sip of their favourite tipple

SASTRA awards honour innovations in science

SASTRA awards honour innovations in science

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Trichy:02.03.2021 

Universities play a key role in building strong capabilities in research and innovation by nurturing young minds to move on the path of scientific excellence, said Renu Swarup, secretary, department of biotechnology, Government of India.

She was speaking on the ocassion of National Science Day at SASTRA Deemed University held virtually on Sunday.

Renu Swarup said the nation’s scientific growth is a reflection of the ecosystem and is evident from the surge in innovation index and the number of startups. She outlined the nation’s impetus on research, innovation, translation and delivery that has put the country in a position of exponential growth.

While touching upon international collaborations, she highlighted the transformation of the country’s role from consumers to co-developers of technology. “We are looking for exponential growth in research rather than incremental, and that’s where we want to position ourselves in the next five years. We have moved from single institutional projects to looking at clusters. DBT is working closely with many such clusters,” she said.

“It’s about coming together of disciplines, contributing and complementing the growth. We see the boundaries between different domains of science getting blurred,” she said.

S Vaidhyasubramaniam, vice-chancellor, SASTRA, outlined the legacy of SASTRA in honoring stalwarts in science. Swarup presented the SASTRA-G N Ramachandran award to Ajay Kumar Ghatak, former professor at IIT Delhi, the SASTRA-Obaid Siddiqi award to Gitanjali Yadav, National Institute of Plant Genome Research and SASTRA-C N R Rao award for chemistry and materials science to A K Ganguli, IIT Delhi and G Mugesh, IISc, Bangalore. The award is a cash prize of ₹5 lakh and a citation.

Railways takes indirect route to fare hike

Railways takes indirect route to fare hike

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:02.03.2021 

In what could be an indirect fare hike, Southern Railway has started to operate some of the passenger trains as mainline multiple electric units (MEMU) services with limited stops and high fares.

This means that people will have to pay more to use trains between small towns, including Chennai to Puducherry and Tambaram to Villupuram. Southern Railway has converted around 12 trains, which were being operated as passenger services in pre-Covid-19 days, into MEMUs with fare equivalent to that unreserved passenger ticket rates of express/mail trains.

This includes Chennai-Puducherry passenger service which was used by employees of small firms and daily wage workers. They will now have to pay ₹90. Since, the train does not stop at all the stations, many will not benefit from the service.

K Baskar, former member of divisional rail users consultative committee in Chennai, said, "People have to pay more for tavelling short distance such as Coimbatore-Mettupalayam which will be hardly 36km. If such short distance passenger trains are turned into those with fares on a par with unreserved class in express trains, more trains could be converted in the future. In the case of the Pondy train, it used to be a blessing for many from intermediate stations. These set of passengers are being ignored."

T Sadagopan, a frequent traveller, said, "Railways had increased fares by doing public consultation. Now, unilaterally they have changed the classification of trains to collect more money. This is like making passengers adopt to the idea that they have to pay more to travel." ASouthern Railway official said the trains will be converted into passenger services when normalcy returns. The fare is high as stoppage is limited and journey time is less. The aim is to discourage people from travelling because of Covid-19.

MU campus interview for govt jobs: 55 PG students shortlisted

MU campus interview for govt jobs: 55 PG students shortlisted

Chennai:02.03.2021 

A team of officials from cabinet secretariat, Government of India, conducted campus interview for the post of deputy field officer at Madras University and shortlisted 55 postgraduate students for final interview to be conducted in May.

“The starting salary for the job would be ₹72,000 per month. This is the first time in our university, a campus interview has been conducted by the cabinet secretariat of Government of India," said S Gowri, vice-chancellor of the university. Around 250 postgraduate students from various departments including economics, commerce, English, physics and chemistry and other science departments attended the selection process. The interested candidates asked to appear for a written test, group discussion and preliminary interview. The university also plans to conduct campus interview for UG students studying in distance mode at Institute of Distance Education in the university and its affiliated colleges. IT companies, financial companies and others likely to participate in the placement drive likely to be held this month. TNN

‘Country needs more scientists like C V Raman’

‘Country needs more scientists like C V Raman’

Chennai:02.03.2021 

The country needs many more scientists like C V Raman, said Dr S M Yusuf, director of Institute of Physics in Bhubhaneswar, on Monday.

He was addressing the gathering at the SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST)'s annual research day.

Yusuf is also the associate director, physics group at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Yusuf said SRMIST has been doing a good job in contributing to the nation through research. He urged students to use high-tech instruments, available at the institute for high quality research. TNN