Power of an accused should not influence judge: Cunha

Power of an accused should not influence judge: Cunha

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.05.2021 

“Judges should not be influenced by powerful personalities accused of corruption. They should go only by the cause and evidence,” said former judge of Karnataka high court Justice John Michael Cunha. It was Justice Cunha’s judgment delivered on September 27, 2014, that sent the then Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and her three associates to jail in a corruption case.

Addressing a webinar organised by Chennai-based advocate J Ravindran on Wednesday, Cunha slammed attempts to dilute the Prevention of Corruption Act through amendments introduced in 2013. “We are fortunate that the Prevention of Corruption Act is not repealed, as all the substantive provisions of the Act had been modified through amendments brought in 2013,” Cunha said. The judge was delivering a lecture on amendments to the Act.

Such amendments have given double protection to public servants against probe and prosecution, and have made prior sanction from the state mandatory for investigations, he said, adding, “this goes against the findings of the Supreme Court.” Through the amendments, an effort has been made to protect, rather overprotect public servants or hijack the investigation itself, to dilute the entire investigation, Justice Cunha said.

Answering a question as to how judges maintain balance while deciding cases under the Act, as most of the accused would be people with political power and influence, Justice Cunha said the moment the judges are influenced, the judgment will be biased and perverse.

TN begins selling remdesivir directly to private hospitals

TN begins selling remdesivir directly to private hospitals

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.05.2021 

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday started selling antiviral drug remdesivir directly to private hospitals.

Chief minister M K Stalin distributed the first batch, containing 960 vials, to 25 hospitals at a sales counter set up at Nehru Stadium in Chennai.

Thestatehealthdepartment has launched an online portal (tnmsc.tn.gov.in) for selling the drug to hospitals. As many as 343 hospitals in the state have registered themselves on the portal, and 151 have requested remdesivir by submitting requisite documents (patients’ medical records and ID proofs), according to official data.

After verification, a representative of these hospitals can collect the drug from Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) counters set up at Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Salem,Trichy andTirunelveli. Earlier private hospitals asked Covid-9 patients' relatives to buy drugs directly. This led to black marketsaleof thedrug for up to ₹40,000 per vial and excess crowd at TNMSC counters. Now private hospitals are barred from asking patients’ relatives to buy the drug.

Black market sales have been controlled to an extent after police intervention. Even on Wednesday, three men from Thanjavur were arrested for selling the drug in black at ₹23,000 per vial.

Meanwhile,relatives of Covid patients from southern districts staged a protest outside Madurai District Collectorate on Wednesday demanding remdesivir.Tokensweredistributed to these people at TNMSC counter in Madurai on Saturday i.e., a day before the announcement on new sales arrangement was made. They dispersed after police convinced them about the new procedure.

Govt puts WhatsApp on notice as firm imposes curbs on users

Govt puts WhatsApp on notice as firm imposes curbs on users

Pankaj.Doval@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:20.05.2021 

WhatsApp started limiting functionalities and shutting down chat room and app access for many who refused to agree to its controversial privacy update, even as the ministry of electronics and information technology, which has made repeated requests for the withdrawal of the policy, warned the company of action if it did not respond favourably to a fresh notice within seven days.

“The government has given seven days to WhatsApp to respond to its notice. If no satisfactory response is received, necessary steps in consonance with law will be taken,” sources said, emphasising that the government is “concerned and serious” over what it called WhatsApp’s “bulldozing its way through to force users” to agree to the update.

In a fresh letter sent to the company, the IT ministry said that WhatsApp’s new privacy policy — which permits sharing business communication of users with Facebook although personal chats remain encrypted — is a “violation of several provisions” of Indian laws and rules.

“In fulfilment of its sovereign responsibility to protect the rights and interests of Indian citizens, the Indian government will consider various options available to it under laws in India.”

The government said that WhatsApp’s policy “undermines the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security and user choice for Indian users, and harms the rights and interests of Indian citizens”.

Shreya: WhatsApp taking advantage of a loophole since India does not have a law

The company, which has received opposition to its latest update from the IT ministry, Competition Commission of India, and even the courts, remains defiant in its decision to move ahead with the proposal, which though had been deferred across the European Union as the latter found the move against the tenets of user and data privacy of its citizens.

When contacted, a spokesperson for WhatsApp in India said that the company continues to engage with the government on the matter. “… we reaffirm what we said before that this update does not impact the privacy of personal messages for anyone. Our goal is to provide information about new options we are building that people will have, to message a business on WhatsApp, in the future.”

Shreya Suri, who tracks IT regulatory policies at law firm IndusLaw, said unlike the EU, lack of a data protection law in India is making it easier for WhatsApp to push the new update in India. “It’s taking advantage of a loophole since we don’t have a law.”

Full report on www.toi.in

Can take vax 3 mths after Covid recovery, says govt

Can take vax 3 mths after Covid recovery, says govt

Those With Serious Illnesses Should Wait 4-8 Weeks

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:20.05.2021 

Those infected with Covid-19, including people who contracted the infection after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, should take the jab three months after recovering from the disease, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

People with other serious illnesses requiring hospitalisation or ICU care should wait for 4-8 weeks before receiving the Covid vaccine after being discharged from hospital, according to the ministry.

All lactating women can take the vaccine, though a technical advisory group on immunisation is studying data to evaluate if it can be allowed for pregnant women, the ministry said. Blood can be donated after 14 days of either receiving an anti-Covid shot or testing RT-PCR negative, if having suffered from the disease. The decisions were based on recommendations made by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC).

“The suggestions were made keeping in mind the evolving situation of the pandemic, emerging scientific evidence and experience from across the globe,” health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, who also co-chairs NEGVAC, said in a letter to states and UTs.

So far, the government’s advisory was to wait for 4-8 weeks after recovery from Covid-19 symptoms in case of infection before receiving the vaccine. The NEGVAC suggested that those who have received anti-SARS-2 monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma should defer Covid-vaccination by three months from the date of discharge from the hospital.

The health ministry clarified there is no requirement for screening of vaccine recipients by Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) prior to Covid-19 vaccination.

Not aware of vax ramp up plan: Gadkari

A day after his comment that ‘more pharma companies should be allowed to make the Covid-19 vaccine in the country to scale up production’ evoked reactions from opposition parties, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday clarified that he was not aware that the Centre had spelt out the vaccination ramp-up plan in which different vaccine makers are being invited to boost manufacturing. “Yesterday (Tuesday)... I had made a suggestion to ramp up vaccine production. I was unaware that before my speech, Minister for Chemical and Fertilisers Shri @mansukhmandiya had explained government’s efforts to ramp up,” Gadkari said in a series of tweets.

Make vax plan till June, states told

The Centre advised states to plan for vaccine administration till mid-June and publicise it on CoWin to ensure efficient utilisation of available jabs and avoid overcrowding at centres. The Centre shared information about supply and availability of doses. Between May 1and June15, 5.86 crore doses will be provided to states under the central quota. P14

Jab count falls for sixth day in a row

India administered less than 20 lakh doses of vaccine for the sixth successive day on Wednesday with the CoWin portal showing that as of 9pm barely11.5 lakh had been given a shot on the day. About13 lakh doses were given on Tuesday. Meanwhile, former NSG chief J K Dutt, 72, who had led the fight against the 26/11 terror siege at Mumbai, succumbed to Covid-19. P14

‘Both doses will help in strong immune response’

This is significant as many vaccination centres are insisting that an on-the spot RAT test be conducted prior to vaccination, primarily to ensure the recipient is not Covid positive.

In case of individuals who have received the first dose and contracted the Covid-19 infection before completion of the dosing schedule, the second dose should be deferred by three months after clinical recovery from Covid-19 illness.

According to the ministry, it is advisable to receive both the doses irrespective of past history of Covid-19 infection as this will help in developing a strong immune response against the disease.

The Centre has advised states to ensure effective dissemination of the information to service providers as well as the general public, through use of all channels of information and communication in local languages.

Family of ailing doctor seeks govt. aid for treatment

Family of ailing doctor seeks govt. aid for treatment

19/05/2021

Staff Reporter New Delhi

Friends of Amit Gupta — a doctor at a Delhi government hospital — who has been under treatment for COVID-19, said they were yet to receive any assistance from the government.

On ventilation for 9 days

Dr. Gupta’s friends and colleagues have been trying to get assistance from the government since he has been on ventilator support at a private hospital for the past nine days. His wife Shristi Mittal, who is also a doctor at the same Delhi government-run hospital — Satyawadi Raja Harish Chandra Hospital — said they have spent over ₹13 lakh in the last two weeks on his treatment. Dr. Gupta was on COVID-19 duty at the hospital before he tested positive on April 22, his wife said.

“We are spending about ₹1.25-₹1.5 lakh/day on treatment, which is more than our monthly salary. We have started a fundraiser on social media and friends, relatives, and even strangers are helping us,” Dr. Mittal said.

Kulsaurabh, who knows Mr. Gupta, said they have been trying to meet the Chief Minister to present his case and other similar cases.

Joyutpal Biswas, General Secretary of Federation of Resident Doctor’s Association, said they have written to the Chief Minister and Health Minister to provide assistance for all doctors who test positive and are undergoing treatment, but yet to get any response.

“Currently, the government gives compensation if a healthcare worker dies and not for COVID-19 treatment,” Dr. Biswas said.

Junior doctors, senior resident doctors threaten boycott

Junior doctors, senior resident doctors threaten boycott

19/05/2021

Staff Reporter HYDERABAD

Members of the Telangana Junior Doctors Association (TJUDA), and Telangana Senior Residents Doctors Association (TSRDA) have that they will boycott duties from May 25 if their demands, including ex-gratia for healthcare workers (HCWs) as announced by the State government, were not fulfilled.

The State government on Tuesday announced 15% hike in stipends for House Surgeons (MBBS Interns), medical students pursuing Post Graduation (PG), superspecialty courses, PG Diploma, and MDS. It would come into effect in retrospect, from January this year.

Stipend arrears

However, the TJUDA members wanted the hike in stipend to be implemented from January 2020. On the other hand, the TSRDA said that the 15% hike in their honorarium is pending for approval and that they have been hoping it will be approved for the past six months.

Both associations have also made a demand for the free treatment for HCWs and their family members since they are not able to find beds in hospitals.

Telangana extends lockdown till May 30

Telangana extends lockdown till May 30

CM takes decision to this effect after interacting with his Council of Ministers over telephone

19/05/2021

Special Correspondent HYDERABAD

The State government has decided to extend the lockdown in the State till May 30.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao took a decision to this effect after interacting with his Council of Ministers over telephone for taking their views on extending the lockdown. Lockdown in the State with relaxation of four hours – from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. – had been imposed since May 12 as part of measures to check the spread of COVID-19 which has shown a steep surge in the second wave.

The State Cabinet in its meeting on May 11 had decided to impose lockdown for 10 days till May 22 and it was decided that a Cabinet meeting would be held on May 20 to take stock of the situation and finalise further course of action. The Chief Minister, however, interacted with the Cabinet Ministers on Tuesday and decided to extend the restrictions after eliciting their views.

The proposed meeting of the State Cabinet has been cancelled as the Ministers were busy monitoring the COVID containment measures and extension of relief to victims and their families. The Chief Minister has directed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to issue orders extending the lockdown.