Snake a deadly murder weapon, says SC; denies bail

Snake a deadly murder weapon, says SC; denies bail

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:07.10.2021

Accidental snakebite deaths may be common in India, but the Supreme Court on Wednesday said it is a heinous crime to use a poisonous snake as a ‘weapon’ to murder an elderly woman and refused to grant bail to the accused in a case from Rajasthan.

A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli was dealing with this unique case.

A woman, married to an army man who was posted away from his hometown, was regularly talking to her paramour over phone, which was objected to by her mother-in-law. Her father-inlaw too was away as he worked outside his hometown. Irked by the nagging reprimands of her MIL, the daughter-in-law in conspiracy with her paramour and his friend, procured a poisonous snake from a snake charmer in Jhunjhunu district. Wrapped in a bag, she kept the snake near her MIL’s bed on the night of June 2, 2018. The elderly woman was found dead in the morning. The hospital she was taken to declared she died of snakebite.

Snakebite deaths being a normal occurrence in Rajasthan and many other states, the Jhunjhunu police took time to discover an unusual number of phone call exchanges, over 100, between the daughter-in-law and her paramour during the fateful night. It also found that these two have been in constant touch for a long time over the phone.

The police arrested the three — the woman, her paramour and his friend — and traced down the snake charmer from whom the ‘murder weapon’ was procured. The snake charmer turned approver and gave a statement under Section 164 CrPC before a magistrate that the paramour had procured the snake from him.

Arguing for the paramour, advocate Aditya Kumar Choudhary told the bench that his client was not present at the crime scene. “How would he be a part of the conspiracy when no one can predict whom the snake will bite? Just leaving a poisonous snake in the room does not mean the snake knew whom it should bite. The police have not authenticated the call records. The man is behind bars for more than a year.” To that, the bench said, “It is very common in Rajasthan to use poisonous snakes for committing murders. You have used an innovative method to commit a heinous crime. You were allegedly part of the conspiracy and provided the murder weapon (snake) after procuring it from the snake charmer. You do not deserve to be released on bail at this stage.” There are around five million snakebite cases worldwide every year causing around 1,00,000 deaths. India accounts for almost half of them. A WHO report said India had an estimated 1.2 million snake bite deaths (averaging 58,000 every year) in the period between 2000-2019.

“It is very common in Rajasthan to use poisonous snakes for committing murders”

Honourable acquittal alone can entitle job in forces: SC

Honourable acquittal alone can entitle job in forces: SC

Acquittal Due To Lack Of Evidence Not Enough: Top Court

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:07.10.2021

In an important judgment, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a candidate would be entitled to join any of the security forces or police only if he has got an ‘honourable acquittal’ from the judiciary and not a mere acquittal due to lack of evidence or benefit of doubt.

A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheshwari differentiated between ‘honourable’ and ‘mere’ acquittals, both terminologies emerging from judicial pronouncements as these do not find place in the criminal laws.

It said an honourable acquittal is one where the courts record that the person has been falsely implicated and that there is absolutely no evidence to link him to the crime.

However, a person is ‘acquitted’ for various other reasons including lack of sufficient evidence, benefit of doubt and prosecution witnesses turning hostile.

The bench reversed concurrent judgments of the single judge and division bench of Madhya Pradesh high court directing employment to be given to a person who was acquitted in a kidnapping case because the prosecution witnesses turned hostile.

The bench said it was not an honourable acquittal as the prosecution had alleged that the accused had indulged in physical violence against the witnesses, who in course of time turned hostile.

Writing the judgment, Justice Maheshwari said, “If a person is acquitted giving him the benefit of doubt, from the charge of an offence involving moral turpitude or because the witnesses turned hostile, it would not automatically entitle him for the employment, that too in disciplined force.”

“The employer has a right to consider his candidature in terms of the circulars issued by the Screening Committee. The mere disclosure of the offences alleged (by the candidate) and the result of the trial is not sufficient. In the said situation, the employer cannot be compelled to give an appointment to the candidate,” he said.

The SC said a person intending to join the police force must be a person of utmost rectitude and impeccable character and integrity. “A person having a criminal antecedents would not fit in this category. The employer has a right to consider the nature of acquittal or decide until he is completely exonerated because even a possibility of his taking to the life of crimes poses a threat to the discipline of the police force,” it said.

“If an acquittal is directed by the court on consideration of facts and material evidence on record with the finding of false implication or the finding that the guilt had not been proved, accepting the explanation of accused as just, it be treated as honourable acquittal. In other words, if prosecution could not prove the guilt for other reasons and was not ‘honourably’ acquitted by the court, it be treated other than ‘honourable’, and proceedings may follow,” it said.

A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheshwari differentiated between ‘honourable’ and ‘mere’ acquittals, both terminologies emerging from judicial pronouncements as these do not find place in the criminal laws

19-year-old nursing student found hanging in M’luru hostel

19-year-old nursing student found hanging in M’luru hostel

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mangaluru:07.10.2021

A 19-year-old first-year nursing student was found hanging in the hostel of a city hospital early Tuesday. In a note left behind, Nina, from Kadumeni village in Kasaragod stated that she was unwilling to “burden” her family with her education expenses, adding that her mother was not being paid regularly due to the pandemic and she did not want to add to her difficulties.

Sources said Nina had enrolled for the 2020-21 BSc nursing course and was worried about being able to continue her studies as her mother was single-handedly running the household. She was found hanging in the hostel bathroom and was rushed to a private hospital but couldn’t be saved.

“Since there were several allegations and suspicions about her death, I visited the college, interacted with her roommates at the hostel and met her parents and brother-inlaw,” city police commissioner N Shashi Kumar said. An unnatural death report has been registered at the Mangaluru East police station. The investigating team recovered a note, in Malayalam, that was probably written a day before her death. A hospital staff member who knows the language was asked to read it out.

In the note, Nina mentioned that ₹75,000 has been paid as fees and on paying the remaining amount, she would be provided with the uniform. Due to the pandemic, her mother’s salary was affected and Nina felt it would be tough for her family to meet her expenses under these circumstances, police said. Nina’s mother Jancy works as a deposit collection agent in a bank in Taliparamba.

Full report on www.toi.in

NEET: DMK delegation meets Kerala CM Pinarayi

NEET: DMK delegation meets Kerala CM Pinarayi

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:07.10.2021

A DMK delegation led by Rajya Sabha MP T K S Elangovan on Wednesday met Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram and submitted chief minister M K Stalin’s letter, urging the state governments to assert their constitutional rights and position in deciding the admission to the higher educational institutions.

“The delegation also submitted Justice A K Rajan committee’s recommendations (to do away with NEET),” a statement said. Stalin had on Monday shot off a letter to 12 chief ministers on the need to put up a united effort to restore the rights of the state government in the education sector as envisaged in the Constitution.

The state government had recently passed Tamil Nadu Admission to UG Medical Degree Courses Bill, 2021, to admit students in medical education based on class XII marks.

Tenkasi MP M Kumar and Kerala DMK organiser Murugesan were part of the delegation that met the Kerala chief minister.

Satellite campus of CUTN in Trichy soon

Satellite campus of CUTN in Trichy soon

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Tiruvarur:07.10.2021

A satellite campus of the Central University Tamil Nadu (CUTN) in Tiruvarur will be set up in Trichy soon, university vice-chancellor M Krishnan said.

Thee VC said chief minister M K Stalin had promised his support to establish the campus in Trichy. “We met the CM last week to discuss the matter. He promised to provide necessary help to set up the satellite campus in Trichy. We need around 25 acres of land for the purpose. All these efforts are made to benefit more students from Tamil Nadu,” the VC said.

Regular classes, which had been suspended following the outbreak of Covid-19, will resume from October 20. “Students of UG third year and PG final year will be asked to attend class. Those coming in should be fully vaccinated and should also submit the relevant certificates,” he said.

A separate department for sports will be created soon at the University and a special fund has been requested for this, he said.

Earlier, Union minister of education and skill development and entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan hoped that the students’ dreams would encompass the idea of doing something to better the lives of people less fortunate.

In a written message to students on the occasion of the sixth annual convocation via live streaming, he expressed hope that the country is going to witness a massive transformation in the education landscape in the years to come because of the various reforms.

TALKING ABOUT FUTURE:

Vice-chancellor of CUTN, Tiruvarur, M Krishnan speaks to reporters on Wednesday

Temple tanks shut, people perform rituals on streets

Temple tanks shut, people perform rituals on streets

Covid Norms Go For A Toss On Mahalaya Amavasya

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:07.10.2021

Covid-19 regulations went for a toss on Wednesday as people thronged streets around temples tanks in the city to perform rituals for departed souls on the occasion of Mahalaya Amavasya. This led to largescale crowding and several people were spotted without face masks. The Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR & CE) department had shut all temple tanks to avoid such crowding and possible spread of Covid-19.

When asked about the crowding and lack of enforcement of Covid-19 guidelines, the HR&CE department and Greater Chennai Corporation blamed each other.

At Vadapalani, the street leading to Vadapalani Andavar Temple entrance was packed. People performed rituals in groups seated on the road and were seen jostling for space as crowd swelled later in the morning. The ‘kariya mandapam’ managed by the temple ran out of space.

At Mylapore, Kapaleeswarar temple tank was out of bounds for the public and some mandapams, where the rituals were usually performed, remained inaccessible due to Covid-19 restrictions. People used the space around the tank here as well.

Similar was the case in the neighbouring Chengalpet and Tiruvallur districts. A few temples such as the Kandaswamy temple at Tiruporur on OMR and the Veeraraghava Perumal Temple at Tiruvallur remained closed to devotees and people crowded the streets around the temple tanks to perform rituals there as well.

When contacted, sources in the HR & CE department said it was the responsibility of the corporation to act if the rituals were performed on the streets, outside the temple tank.

An official source with the Greater Chennai Corporation said penalty was levied on some people near the Vadapalani temple for flouting Covid-19 norms. “But then, why was the ‘kariya mandapam’ belonging to Vadapalani Andavar temple crowded?” was the official’s reply to HR&CE reaction.

DEADLY MOVE: State’s precautions of shutting temples for Mahalaya Amavasya went to waste as people stood jostling for space on the street leading to Vadapalani Andavar Temple on Wednesday. They performed rituals for departed souls without masks and social distancing

Many AIADMK lawyers continue to represent govt

Many AIADMK lawyers continue to represent govt

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:07.10.2021

Nearly 300 government lawyer posts in the Madras high court, its Madurai bench, district courts, boards, corporations and universities are either vacant or still being represented by lawyers appointed during the previous AIADMK regime.

Senior lawyers spearheading legal wing of the DMK, however, blame it on a stringent government order issued during the AIADMK regime, and the prevailing pandemic conditions.

Though the 2019 GO has been amended in July 2021 relaxing the stringent conditions, Covid-induced lockdown has delayed the appointment process, they said.

“We received over 2,800 applications for 240 posts. Scrutinising all the applications which run to several pages is not an easy task. We were very particular about selecting only qualified persons,” Tamil Nadu advocate-general R Shunmugasundaram said.

This apart, the short-listed candidate must clear police and Bar council verification. This has also delayed the process, he added. “Recommendations have been made. The appointments might be notified in a week or two,” he said.

As to the allegations that lawyers appointed during the previous AIADMK government are still representing the present government in many courts, Shunmugasundaram said, “Many of these lawyers are refusing to hand over the case bundles even after repeated requests. These issues will be sorted out soon.”

Explaining the causes for the delay in the selection process, DMK Rajya Sabha MP and designated senior advocate N R Elango said: “DMK came to power in May. Courts reopened in June, that too only virtually. Necessary amendments were made to the rules in July. Only in August were we able to start the selection process.”

Noting that there were many impediments in the 2019 rules, Elango said, “An applicant should mandatorily provide income tax returns to show income of minimum ₹1 lakh. Many could not comply with this condition as the profession was severely affected due to Covid-19.”

This apart, the rules required a minimum 3-year practise in the high court. All these impediments were removed by amending the rules, he said.