& V I C I N I T Y
Tuesday, December 8, 1998
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Tuesday, December 8, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Jerath case |
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Kickbacks case: two get bail |
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Fish
population in HP 'declining' Seminar
on marketing of services on Dec 9
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Jerath case UT's
revision petition dismissed CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — Additional Sessions Judge, S.S. Lamba today dismissed a revision petition filed by the Chandigarh Administration against the order of Duty Magistrate Vani Gopal Sharma holding that K.K. Jerath, Chief Engineer (under suspension) of the Chandigarh Administration "shall be deemed to be in judicial custody in FIRs no. 2 and 3 since November 27." In his five-page order, the Judge ruled: "I do not find any illegality or impropriety in the order passed by the Magistrate. The revision petition, as such, fails and is dismissed." "I do not agree with the public prosecutor that the expression made by the Magistrate to that effect is to supplement the order of the Ilaqa Magistrate dated November 27. The Magistrate kept the accused in judicial custody from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on November 27. He was dutybound either to release the accused in FIRs no. 2 and 3 or to remand him in judicial custody. Since he has not released the accused in FIRs no. 2 and 3, the custody of the accused in these FIRs shall, obviously, be deemed to be in judicial custody." The order of the Duty Magistrate was assailed on the ground that when the accused surrendered and he was allowed to be arrested in FIR no. 1, the issuance of non-bailable warrants became redundant. The public prosecutor further contended that the accused could be committed to police custody or judicial custody only after he was arrested and was produced before the Magistrate. When the accused had voluntarily surrendered to judicial custody, he "shall be deemed to be in custody under Section 309, Cr PC and not under Section 167 Cr P.C." Counsel for Jerath, on the other hand, argued that non-bailable warrants had been issued against the accused and he had been declared a proclaimed offender. Section 73(2), Cr PC warranted that the police was bound to execute the warrants. The prosecution could not be allowed to say that it reserved its right to arrest the accused in FIRs no. 2 and 3. He also pointed out that there was no inherent power with the Magistrate to remand the accused in custody. This power was to be governed only by the specific provisions of law. "I have pursued the authorities referred to by the public prosecutor. The authority replied upon by him is of no help to the prosecution for the simple reason that Section 309, Cr PC deals with enquiry and trial only and does not deal with the investigation of the case. In these circumstances, the dictum laid down in Velu Vishwanathan's case could be taken to be sufficient ground to conclude that the accused was remanded in custody up to 2 p.m. by the Magistrate under Section 167, Cr PC. He further held: "In this case the Magistrate has remanded the accused in police custody in FIR No. 1 but has not passed any order with regard to the custody of the accused in FIRs no. 2 and 3. If police has not applied for the arrest of the accused, the possible order which the Magistrate could pass was to release the accused." By a separate order the Ilaqa Magistrate, Mr Jasbir Singh, today remanded Jerath in judicial custody in connection with FIR No. 1 after the expiry of 11-day police remand. He also remanded him in judicial custody tonight in connection with FIRs no. 2 and 3 and kept order in abeyance on the application of the administration seeking further police remand in these two FIRs.
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Panel for revising exam-related
payments CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — A committee of Panjab University has recommended revision in the rates of remuneration for examination-related work of different kinds carried out by the teaching staff. The committee, which was constituted by the Vice-Chancellor met here today under the Chairmanship of the Dean of the University Instructions (DUI). The revised rates would, however, be implemented only after a nod from the Syndicate body of University, which is likely to discuss the recommendations at its meeting scheduled for December 12. If implemented the revision would benefit a large number of teachers who have been demanding better remuneration for undertaking examination-related activities such as examination duty, evaluation and revaluation of answer sheets. A large section of teachers has been seeking the revision in rates time and again on grounds that good teachers and experts were not coming forward to undertake the examination- related work for want of "decent" remuneration. Bowing to their demand, a 24 member committee was set-up in September by the Vice-Chancellor under the chairmanship of the Dean of University Instruction Dr I.B. Passi for looking into the revision of rates of remuneration for teachers and for the revision of the fee structure and various other services provided to students by the university. Subsequently, the committee recommended the revised structure of remuneration and fees and put it before the Syndicate for approval at its meeting on September 19. After a discussion, the Syndicate returned the matter to the committee for a revision saying the recommended remuneration for teachers and the fees for students were on the high side. Accordingly the committee recommended the revised structure with certain changes, the sources said. According to the sources in the committee, as per new recommendations which replaced the earlier recommendations of the committee, observers appointed for the conduct of examination processing and evaluation of papers, would now get Rs120 (per session) in place of Rs 75 and the members of the flying squads would get Rs 90 (per session) in place of Rs 60. Similarly, for setting question papers of Post Graduate courses the teachers concerned would get Rs 275 against the existing rate of Rs 180. The teachers setting question papers for professional courses like B. Arch and LL.B at Bachelor's level would get Rs 250 in place of Rs 180. Similarly, for other bachelor level degrees the remuneration has been recommended to be enhanced from Rs 150 to Rs 225. Similarly, in place of its
earlier recommendations, the committee has recommended a
revised structure of fee for various services rendered to
the students by the university. Against an earlier
recommendation enhancing the fee for obtaining a degree
in absentia, from Rs 100 to Rs 250, the committee has
recommended that Rs 200 should be charged for the
service. Similarly, the recommended fee for change of
examination centre has been lowered from Rs 500, which
was earlier recommended to Rs 400. The existing fee is,
however, Rs 200. The committee which earlier had
recommended a hike in the fee for issuing a duplicate
roll number from Rs 30 to Rs 100, has reversed its
decision by lowering the fee to Rs 30. Similarly, the
committee has reversed its recommendation for raising the
fee for provisional admission of a candidate in the
examination from Rs 100 to Rs 50. The existing fee is Rs
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City sees a "Passage to
Punjab" CHANDIGARH, Dec 7-- Governor Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd) released Prof Som Ranchan's much-awaited novel, "Passage to Punjab", at a scholarly function at Punjab Raj Bhavan this afternoon. In a tribute to the writer's multi-faceted personality, General Chhibber said that Punjabi ethos, properly understood and faithfully described, presented the quintessence of India's intrinsic values and inner strength. He praised Prof Ranchan's varied contribution to English literature, education and human dignity. Those who were present on the occasion included eminent scholars like Dr Jaspal Singh, Principal of Ambedkar Institute, SAS Nagar; Prof V.P. Sharma, Head of the Department of English, Himachal Pradesh University; Prof Amrik Singh; The Tribune's Editor, Mr Hari Jaisingh; the newspaper's General Manager, Mr S.D. Bhambri; and several other literary luminaries. Dr Jaspal Singh dwelt on the exceptional brilliance of Professor Ranchan's poetic works and his limitless creativity. Professor Sharma related the author's holistic approach to life and literature. Professor Amrik Singh described the message of "Passage to Punjab" as a major cultural statement which encompassed the average Punjabi's innate wisdom, psyche, dynamism, trials, failures and triumphs. Other speakers lauded the significance of Professor Ranchan's 25 volumes of verse and books of fiction, literary criticism and oft-quoted writings on religion, sociology and Sri Aurobindo's philosophy. He was described as "a person too divine to be human and too human to be divine". Professor Ranchan acknowledged the tributes gratefully and restated his commitment to the service of humanity through his literary works.
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Kickbacks case: two get bail CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today granted bail to Sadhu Singh and K.K. Silghotra, Executive Engineer and Junior Engineer, respectively, in the ongoing kickbacks case registered by the Chandigarh Administration against certain officials of the Engineering Department. As for the bail plea of K.B. Sharma, Superintending Engineer with the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the Judge reserved order. The main argument advanced by the counsel for Silghotra was that his name did not figure in the FIR registered by the Vigilance Department. The only ground on which the Administration had based its case was that there were certain entries in the diaries recovered from the houses of three alleged middlemen during raids conducted on their houses by the Income Tax Department in November last year. Counsel has further argued that the Supreme Court had already ruled in the hawala case that diaries were not admissible evidence under the Evidence Act. Silghotra was on deputation with the Chandigarh Administration from Haryana. After the registration of a case by the Vigilance Department, he was repatriated to his parent State. Sadhu Singh belongs to the UT cadre and is, therefore, an officer of the Chandigarh Engineering Department.
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Nostalgic reunion awaits 'faujis' CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — "Faujis" of the third batch of the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehra Dun are set to have a nostalgic golden jubilee reunion at the academy during the 103rd passing out parade scheduled for Saturday. The youngsters, who passed out 50 years ago are now a part of military folk lore of the region. Many of them, who can still give a typically "Army handshake", will be going to the academy with a mighty reputation. Five of the 174 cadets, who passed out , were awarded Mahavir Chakras (MVCs), 12 of them became Lieut Generals, 22 of them went on to become Major Generals and another 28 have been Brigadiers besides 27 have been full Colonels. Today only 119 of the 174 are alive , remembers a nostalgic Lieut Gen S.S. Brar, who later became the commandant of the IMA. A small section of the third batch today assembled at Chandimandir, along with their instructor, Lieut Gen Inder Gill (retd), who also commanded the Western Command at one time. The aged instructor — of course referred to as Sir by his students — said all of them were "cheeky fellows". The third batch of the IMA was also the second batch of cadets who passed out in independent India. One of the five MVCs were awarded to late Lieut Gen Gauri Shanker for his role in the Dera Baba Nanak sector during the 1971 war. The name of Lieut Gen R.S. Dayal conjures up an image of raw courage. He is the man who foiled the attempt of a determined enemy attack for what is better known as the battle of Haji Pir in the Uri-- Pooch Sector. Same goes for Brig Desmond Hayde, who while commanding the 3rd Jat Regiment fought the famous battle at the Icho Gill canal during the 1965 war. His batch mate, Brig M.L. Wig was awarded the MVC for his work in the Kargil Sector during the 1971 war. Lieut Col N.N. Khanna of the 2nd Sikh Regiment won MVC posthumously during the 65 war. He was in the Pooch Sector. The third batch of the IMA has also several other medals to its credit that includes two Vir Chakras won by Brig P.S. Deshpande and Col Raj Singh during the 1965 war. The reunion of the batch will be a major affair as several of the former cadets are scheduled to assemble at Dehra Dun, says Lieut Gen Brar. Many eyes will be moist as new cadets look up to them in awe on Saturday.
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Where parking vehicle is an
ordeal Place: The parking lot of the new Estate Office building in Sector 17. Problem: In the absence of any regulation by authorities, vehicles are haphazardly parked hindering the movement of people to various public dealing offices of various departments. History: The parking lot over the years has experienced a lot of rush as hundreds of people visit the offices of the Licensing and Registration Authority and the Food and Supply Department. The vehicles, including cars and two wheelers, are parked haphazardly affecting smooth movement of people. A regular sight is people exchanging hot words and at times even fisticuffs over haphazard parking. One has no other option but to sit and wait. The condition has not improved although the offices of the State Transport Authority have been shifted to the Industrial Area. Official apathy has worsened the condition. Economics: While the parking outside continues to be overcrowded, the underground parking lot lies unused. Half-hearted attempts by the authorities have not yielded results. If employees of the two departments are asked to park their vehicles in underground parking, the situation will improve. Response from the public: People are wary of parking inside as not only the parking is a problem but the lot is also used by painters writing licence plate numbers. The situation will improve if someone from the department or a couple of Home Guard jawans are deputed to regulate parking. The problem can be partially solved if the underground parking lot is first filled before allowing parking outside. Due to the haphazard parking a lot of time is wasted in first finding a space and later taking one's vehicle out of the mess, opined a visitor. Official version: Officials said they had tried convincing the employees to park their vehicles in the underground parking but had met with little success. Due to lack of manpower, deputing a person to regulate parking is not possible. However, no thought had been given to earmark a bigger parking at the planning stage and that shortcoming was showing up now. They were seized of the problem and a way would be found, officials added.
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Fish population in HP
'declining' CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — Fish population in rivers of Himachal Pradesh have declined due to chemical pollutants, unrestricted human activity and an influx of tourists. Rare breads like the golden mahaseer and the snow trout are among the seven endangered fish species of the world, informed Dr M S Johal, In charge of the Fish and Fisheries Laboratory at the Zoology Department, Panjab University. He was speaking on the opening day of the joint Indo-US workshop on "conservation and development of natural fishery resources of Western Himalayas'' which started at ICSSR complex at the Panjab University, here today. The Zoology Department has undertaken a joint Indo-US project to study the streams in the country. The findings of Dr Johal about the rivers in Himachal are a part of the same study. It was found that diversion of water for irrigation during the summer months reduces the quantity of water for fish. The afternoon session began with a discussion on the culture of fish under varying climatic conditions. Mr H.R.Esmaeili, Department of Biology, Gorgan University, Iran, said the fresh water resources of the Gobindsagar reservoir at the Bhakra Dam support a very rich fish fauna of 51 species. The day concluded with papers on conservation of endangered species by breeding them in captivity besides checking rock and sediments from depositing in the streams. Eight other speakers also participated in the discussion.
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Children show dramatic skill CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — Ankur Nursery School, Panjab University, celebrated its annual day, here yesterday. Students of the school enacted "Krishna". The play started with the birth of Lord Krishna and conclude with the sermon of the Bhagvad a Gita, emphasising victory of good over evil. From Devki in shackles to Krishna’s escapades as the ‘Makhan Chor’ to the end of the one-hour play, the audience enjoyed the little ones’ dramatic skill. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof M.M. Puri, who was the chief guest termed enactment "perfect". The fifth annual day of Dutt Vishesh School, Sector 26, was also celebrated, here yesterday. Students participated in the 17-item programme of drills and dances. The highlight of the function was the enactment of "Lessons from Kalinga" in the context of the nuclear arms’ race gripping the world today. The Principal of St John’s, Brother C.D’ Abreu, presided over the function. Earlier, Mrs Joyshri Lobo, Principal of the school read out annual report.
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Court ruling on common boundary
wall CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — The Civil Judge (Junior Division), Chandigarh, Mr K.C. Garg, has restrained a local builder from converting the common boundary wall between two houses of Sector 16 into a load bearing wall and constructing a building on the wall. The injunction order was passed by the court on an application moved by Mr Tilak Raj Malhotra, resident of House number 584, Sector 16, on December 3. The certified copy of the order was available today. Mr Malhotra through his counsel had alleged that Messrs Shingari Builders and Bhasin Property Dealers were violating the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulations) (Building Rules), 1952, by trying to construct a building on the boundary wall between House number 584 and house number 585, though the rules provided that there had to be a distance of three metres between the boundary wall and the main building. The defendant-respondent's main plea was that they had raised construction according to the building plan duly approved by the Estate Officer. Granting temporary injunction in favour of Mr Malhotra the judge turned down the plea of the defendant-respondent saying that the sanctioning of zoning plan or site plan was "entirely illegal and invalid".
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Civic byelection programme CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — The State Election Commission, Haryana, has issued a fresh election programme to hold municipal byelection in respect of ward No 3 of Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, on January 17. A spokesman of the
commission today said notice would be published by the
returning officer for inviting nominations on December 7.
Nomination papers would be presented from December 17 to
21 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Scrutiny thereof would be
held on December 22, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The last
date for making application for the revision of order of
the returning officer would be December 25 and the same
will be disposed of by the Deputy Commissioner by
December 26. The last date for withdrawal of candidature
by the candidate will be December 28 and the polling, if
any, will he held on January 17 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Seminar on marketing of services
on Dec 9 CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — The Panjab University Business School will organise a seminar on "Challenges and prospects of marketing of services" on December 9 at ICSSR Complex of the university. The seminar will focus on banking, insurance, telecom and information technology with an emphasis on an improvement in the services industry. According to the Chairman of the school, Prof R P Gupta, a number of t
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Advocate dead CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — A senior advocate of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mr S.C. Mohanta, died in Delhi this afternoon, according to information received here. Mr Mohanta, who twice remained as the Advocate-General of Haryana, was also a former member of the Rajya Sabha. According to family sources, Mr Mohanta, who was in the seventies, had gone to Delhi where he felt restless yesterday and admitted to a hospital. The death came in the hospital. Cremation will take place
here tomorrow at 3 p.m. Film festival from Dec 8 CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — The Chandigarh Film Society has decided to hold a five-day film festival of the films of Claude Goretta, well-known director from Switzerland, from December 8 to 12, according to its Secretary, Mr Tapesh Sharma. The festival, he said, was being organised, among others, in collaboration with the Swiss Embassy in India, the Federation of Film Societies of India, Pro Helvetia Film Department and Arts Council of Switzerland. While the films — Pas Si Mechant Qoe Ca (The wonderful crook), Le Fou, La Dentelliere (The lace maker) and La Mort De Maria Ricci (the death of Mario Ricci) will be screened at the Institute of Microbial Technology, except the film Jean Luc Persecote which will be screened at the Alliance Francaise on December 9. Timing on all days will be 6.30 p.m., Mr Sharma adds.
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HC ruling on Druckgrafen plea CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has disposed of a writ petition filed by four depositors of Druckgrafen India Ltd with the direction that they were at liberty to revive the same after the proceedings before the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction were concluded or with the leave of the BIFR, as the case may be. This order was handed down by Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar. He held that the respondent-company had been registered by the BIFR vide registration No 127 of 1998 and an inquiry had been initiated before the BIFR. The petitioners had filed the petition seeking directions for winding up Druckgrafen India Ltd on the ground that the company had been registered with the BIFR.
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Doordarshan, AIR staff threaten strike CHANDIGARH, Dec 7 — The local unit of the Staff Association of AIR and Doordarshan has threatened to go on strike from December 10 if its demands are not accepted. According to a press note
here, the main demands of their association include pay
parity with their engineering counterparts, revision of
pay scales, timely promotions and filling of vacant
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Efforts
on to evolve uniform syllabi CHANDIGARH, Dec 7—The universities are not properly implementing the model syllabi prescribed by the UGC, according to Prof KB Powar, Secretary-General of the Association of the Indian Universities and convener of the earth science panel of the UGC. Prof Powar, who was talking to mediapersons after participating in a UGC curriculum development centre (CDC) workshop at Panjab University here today, said some states and universities were far from having a uniform syllabus despite UGC attempts. To identify the reasons behind non- implementation, a survey was conducted which revealed that a uniform syllabus could not be implemented effectively unless the entire academic structure of the universities was transformed. "What we need is a new system on the western pattern under which one should be free to take combinations and subjects of one's choice,"he said. Prof Powar said in order to get feedback the earth science panel organised three regional workshops in the south-west and north-east regions. The main agenda at these workshops was undergraduate and postgraduate courses. These workshops would evolve a working paper to finalise the CDC report. After this a panel meeting would be convened in which experts would be invited to give their views to develop the course structure. Prof Rajesh Anand, Secretary of the earth science panel, said the universities, however, would be free to utilise the structure as per their requirements. Earlier, the workshop was inaugurated by Panjab University Vice- Chancellor MM Puri, who stressed the need to revise curricula to keep pace with the changing times.
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Student
found dead in school hostel PANCHKULA, Dec 7 — Two bodies were found under mysterious circumstances at two different places in the district today. An unidentified man, aged around 40 years, was found dead at Raewali village falling under the jurisdiction of the Raipur Rani police station near here this morning. The body bore injury marks apparently inflicted with a sharp-edged weapon. The police has registered a case of murder. According to the information available, the body with injury marks on neck, face and other parts was found lying along a roadside by a passerby who informed the police. The police suspects that the deceased after being murdered was thrown along the road. Some blood stains were also found near the body. Both arms of the victim had names of atleast four persons — which could not be read clearly — tattooed on them. In another case, a 10 + 2 student of St Soldier Divine Public School in Sector 16 was found dead in the hostel — located within the school complex — by his fellow students. The deceased, Parteek Pondel, hailing from Nepal was a hostler. He was living along with six other boys in a dormitory of the hostel where he was found dead in the morning. The cause of the death could not be ascertained as the autopsy would be conducted tomorrow at the local General Hospital. No injury marks or any other external signs were found. The parents of the deceased who live in Nepal had been informed, said a police official. Other room mates of the deceased are reported to have told the police that he was looking hail and hearty last night. The body has been sent for autopsy to the local General Hospital. Despite repeated efforts the school authorities were not available for comments. Case registered: The police on Monday registered a case of assault against a senior official of the Regional Passport Office for allegedly hitting a newspaper vendor, Bhag Chand, while he was distributing copies of a Karnal based newspaper. He was attacked some days ago. A police medical examination found that a finger of the agent had been fractured. Driver arrested: A driver of Haryana Roadways, Anjani Kumar, was nabbed by the police after he allegedly drove the bus into a row of streetlight poles in Mani Majra on Monday. The driver has been sent for medical examination. Eve teaser held: A resident of Sector 19, Sukhjinder, was nabbed by the police for allegedly indulging in eve teasing in the Sector 19 market.
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