Services at public hospitals may be hit as resident docs to go back on strike

Services at public hospitals may be hit as resident docs to go back on strike

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  17.12.2021

Patient services at Delhi’s leading public hospitals, including Safdarjung, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Lok Nayak, are likely to be seriously affected on Friday. This is because the resident doctors, who are the backbone of healthcare services in these medical institutions, have decided to withdraw from all services, including elective surgeries and trauma care, to protest the delay in NEET-PG counselling.

Only the faculty members, senior doctors, will be available to man the OPDs and other critical services at the hospitals.

“We do not want to inconvenience patients. That’s why we suspended our protest for a week and requested the government to take necessary action to expedite NEET-PG. But nothing has been done so far and, therefore, we are forced to take this step,” the resident doctors said.

On Wednesday, the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association of India had written to union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya to inform him about their planned agitation.

“With the threat of a third wave of Covid-19 pandemic looming large, the best the authorities could have done was to expedite the counselling and subsequent admission process. Instead, there is inaction and a lack of urgency in the matter. Hence, as informed earlier, resident doctors are left with no choice, but to go for withdrawal from all services in healthcare institutions from December 17 onwards,” FORDA said.

Resident doctors have been protesting since last month over the issue of delay in NEET-PG counselling.

They claim healthcare institutions across the country were running short of an adequate workforce of resident doctors, with no admission in the current academic year yet. “With the possibility of future Covid-19 pandemic waves looming large, the situation will be disastrous for the healthcare sector with its bearing on the country’s population,” the doctors say.

HC judge who gave ‘skin to skin’ order to go back to district court

HC judge who gave ‘skin to skin’ order to go back to district court

New Delhi:  17.12.2021

The SC has taken the tough decision of refusing to continue Justice Pushpa V Ganediwala, who stirred a controversy in January this year with her back-to-back judgments taking what was seen as a warped and insensitive view of sexual crimes against children, as an additional judge of the Bombay high court, reports Dhananjay Mahapatra.

Now, with the collegium headed by CJI Ramana remitting her case back to the Bombay HC, Justice Ganediwala faces the prospect of being sent back as district judge.

No extension for HC judge who gave skin-to-skin order

The collegium comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices U U Lalit and A M Khanwilkar decided not to grant further extension of the tenure.

Her two controversial judgments, including one that held skin-to-skin contact is must for constituting a sexual offence, had forced the earlier collegium headed by then CJI S A Bobde to withdraw its January 20 recommendation to the government to appoint her as a permanent judge of the HC.

It then had recommended to the Centre to grant her a two-year extension as additional judge. However, the government disagreed and granted her a one-year extension, which will end on February 12, 2022.

On January 16, 2019, the collegium headed by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices A K Sikri and Bobde had recommended her appointment as an additional judge of the HC.

At the time of initial consideration of the Bombay HC collegium’s proposal to appoint her as additional judge, the consultee judges in the SC — Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud (both having Bombay as parent HC) — had conveyed their serious objections.

Nonetheless, the SC collegium approved the HC proposal and she was appointed as additional judge on February 13, 2019. Her profile in the Bombay HC website says: "She was meritorious throughout her educational career and awarded gold medals in BCom, LLB and LLM examinations". She was appointed as a district judge in 2007.

Justices Khanwilkar and Chandrachud had again registered their objections with the collegium prior to its January 19, 2021 decision recommending her appointment as a permanent judge. After the unsavoury developments, when the issue of deciding the fate of Justice Ganediwala was taken up by the present collegium this week, Justices Khanwilkar (now part of the three-member collegium for appointment of HC judges) and Justice Chandrachud opposed grant of further extension to her.

Omicron +ve had sore throat, body ache, but didn’t lose smell

Omicron +ve had sore throat, body ache, but didn’t lose smell

Most Treated With Basic Pain, Fever Medicines

Sumitra.DebRoy@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: 17.12.2021

Slightly itchy throat, fatigue, body ache and mild fever were some of the main symptoms experienced by the patients treated at the Seven-Hills Hospital for the Omicron variant. The Andheri hospital, dedicated to cases of the new variant, has handled 14 patients till now. Thirteen have been discharged.

Of the 14 cases, eight were asymptomatic. “Among those with symptoms, most complained of sore throat, tiredness and body ache,” said one of the treating doctors, adding there was no disease progression in any. The HRCT scans of all the patients remained practically unchanged, meaning there was no lung involvement. Most could be treated with basic fever and pain medication such as paracetamol, while asymptomatic patients were given multivitamins.

In Maharashtra, 32 Omicron cases have been reported. Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, said 50% didn’t have any symptom. The rest had mild fever on Day 1, runny nose, and fever with cough. Interestingly, anosmia or loss of smell was not seen in any of the Omicron patients, said Awate. Of the 32 infected, 25 (78%) were vaccinated. The two unvaccinated didn’t see any major symptoms either.

14 new Omicron cases take India tally to 87

India reported 14 fresh Omicron cases on Thursday, taking the tally of patients contracting the highly infections variant in the country to 87. While Karnataka reported five new cases, Delhi and Telangana recorded four each and Gujarat one.

The tally in Karnataka rose to eight with five new cases. While three of them have international travel history, the other two returned from Delhi, leading to concerns of community spread of the variant in India. Delhi’s Omicron count touched 10 with four new cases. However, five of them have been discharged after recovering from the infection. TNN

Aadhaar linking to help voters: UIDAI ex-chief

Aadhaar linking to help voters: UIDAI ex-chief

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:17.12.2021

The option of linking Voters’ ID with Aadhaar is a path-breaking reform that will enhance transparency as well as convenience in the election process, making change of address and verification simpler and faster.

Enabling easier change of address will allow people to register in a new location and participate in elections while also weeding out multiple registrations, said former UIDAI chief and former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

“Even though the linking is voluntary, I am sure that given the sheer convenience, more and more voters will opt for linkage of Aadhaar with their voter Icards and take advantage of the facility. Just like people today voluntarily offer their Aadhaar for opening bank accounts, mobile phone connection and vaccination,” Pandey told TOI.

The linking option will be a global first as no other country has such a data base of biometric identities. There are provisions in the Aadhaar Act and the EC system to maintain the integrity, security and privacy of the data. Since the verification is controlled by the Aadhaar system, the security will be higher as so far there is no breach of data held in UIDAI servers.

As of now, when a person moves locations, the process of registering as a voter needed either a paperbased application or scanning which could become time- consuming.

Mention of penetration must to attract rape charge: HC

Mention of penetration must to attract rape charge: HC

Kochi: 17.12.2021

A vague statement by a woman alleging that a man “hugged and impregnated” her is not enough to convict him for rape, said the Kerala high court. The woman’s testimony should state about penetrative, nonconsensual sexual act is required, the court said on Wednesday.

Justice Kauser Edappagath was considering an appeal in a 2009 case in which a man was accused of raping a woman and impregnating her on the false promise of marriage.

In the judgment, the high court said even though the woman’s testimony has great weight, even in the absence of corroboration, the prosecution has to prove penetration as it is an essential ingredient of the offence of rape. There must be proof of actual penetration or at least penile accessing, the court said.

The vague statement of the woman that “the accused hugged and impregnated me” without indication about penetration is not sufficient to attract rape, the court said. Unless the woman states in her evidence about penetrative, nonconsensual sexual act by the accused on her, the offence of rape cannot be said to be made out, the court held while setting aside the conviction. TNN

FROM THE SUPREME COURT 17.12.2021

FROM THE SUPREME COURT  17.12.2021

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

After 28 yrs, HCs to take up debt recovery cases as tribunals hit

New Delhi: After a gap of 28 years, the high courts will take up debt recovery cases for adjudication, albeit temporarily, on the request of the Supreme Court, which on Thursday found that crippling vacancies have rendered debt recovery tribunals (DRTs) and appellate tribunals (DRATs) dysfunctional severely impeding banks and financial institutions from recovering dues.

If on one hand the banks and FIs have been crying hoarse over the stalling of recovery process during the pandemic-forced lockdowns, they appeared to be on their knees because of further delay caused due to non-availability of presiding officers and members as well as support staff in DRTs and DRATs because of long pending vacancies.

“Adjudication of debt recovery cases by DRTs and DRATs are critical for the economic health of the country,” banks and FIs had said in their plea and pleaded with the SC bench of a bench of CJI N V Ramana and Justices D Y Chandrachud and L N Rao for an early solution.

Act against babus over encroachment of railway land: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed Indian Railways, states, local bodies and their establishments to take stringent action against bureaucrats whose dereliction of duty allowed unauthorised occupation of public land.

The Railways remained the biggest sufferer of encroachment of its land, especially the shoulder areas of railway tracks which across India is seen dotted with illegal settlements, mainly because of political patronage and connivance or lethargy of estate officers in taking timely eviction measures against encroachers.

For the Railways, additional solicitor general K M Natraj promised immediate initiation of pan-India drive by railway authorities to free its land from squatters. “The Supreme Court can monitor our action and we will file periodic status reports on evicting encroachers from railway land,” he said.

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and CT Ravikumar said, “Since the Railways has power to initiate criminal action against unauthorised occupants of its land, it must initiate action against those encroachers immediately after the encroachments are brought to its notice.”

Justice Maheshwari added that the Railways have designated estate officers who have been entrusted with powers to take action against encroachers and removal of unauthorised structures on railway land. “What are your estate officers doing then?” the bench asked. Natraj conceded that “there has been a total failure on our part.”

WB panel going on with Pegasus probe, says PIL; SC to hear case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a PIL alleging that the West Bengal government appointed commission headed by ex-SC judge Madan B Lokur is proceeding with the inquiry into Pegasus spyware controversy in breach of the state’s promise to suspend its work during the pendency of the issue before the apex court.

On October 27, a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana had set up a high-level technical expert panel headed by Justice R V Raveendran, a former SC judge, to inquire into the allegations that Israeli military grade spyware have been installed surreptitiously in the mobile phones of journalists, activists, politicians and advocates.

The Mamata Banerjee government’s decision to set up Lokur Inquiry Commission on Pegasus issue was challenged before the court by an NGO , which termed the state’s decision beyond jurisdiction and encroaching on Centre’s domain. On August 25, the CJI-led bench suggested to the state not to proceed with the inquiry.

Indian Railways conceded that there has been a total failure on its part to remove encroachers

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

Small SA study shows Omicron breaking through booster shot

Small SA study shows Omicron breaking through booster shot

Johannesburg:  17.12.2021

A small study of seven Covid-19 cases in South Africa shows the Omicron variant can break through booster vaccine shots, one of the scientists involved said on Thursday. A group of seven German visitors to Cape Town, aged between 25 and 39, were infected at some point in late November or early December with cases of the Omicron variant. The study said they all suffered only mild to moderate symptoms and none required hospitalisation. Of the group, six were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, of whom five had also had a booster Pfizer shot while the sixth had got a booster dose of Moderna vaccine. A seventh had got an initial dose of Astra-Zeneca’s shot, followed by a second and then third booster Pfizer dose. The infections occurred between one and two months after receipt of the booster shot. Wolfgang Preiser, one of the study’s co-authors, said the study showed infection was possible and caused symptomatic disease even after boosted immunisation. The study is under peer review. REUTERS