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Saturday,
June 14, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Katwal grilled, ‘gives clues’
Delayed justice dents judiciary’s
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Protesting mob blocks traffic Recruitment scheme scrapped 2 killed, 1 hurt in mishap Finance company penalised Avoid feeding monkeys, tourists told
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Katwal grilled, ‘gives clues’ Hamirpur, June 13 He has been remanded in the police custody for three days, after which, he will be released on bail. The former chairman of the board has been facing charges of corruption and
cheating. Katwal was brought to the local police station early today, where the sleuths led by Mr
G.D. Bhargawa interrogated him for hours. The other members of the SIT were also present. Newsmen were not allowed to enter the police station and, later, Katwal was taken to the District Courts for recording his statement. Sources in the Enforcement Department said Katwal had not budged from his earlier stand that he had committed no crime and done everything as per the rules. He also refuted the statements of computer experts that he used to check papers on computers and said he didn’t know anything of computers. However, an official spokesman said the SIT had got vital clues from Katwal and the persons named by him would also be interrogated
soon. Katwal, when presented in the court of the Judicial Magistrate at Hamirpur, demanded that his interrogation be done in the presence of a medical officer and his lawyer. The request was accepted. Later, he was taken back to the police station for interrogation. There are indications that he may be taken to Una for further interrogation. This period of interrogation ends on Saturday. |
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Delayed justice dents judiciary’s credibility: CJI Shimla, June 13 Inaugurating the new building of the state high court, here today, he said failure of judiciary to deliver justice within a timeframe had brought about a sense of frustration amongst the litigants as waiting too long for justice was not possible. Delay in the dispensation of justice affected the public confidence in the judiciary and the high cost of litigation only added to the frustration of the public. The Constitution provided for an independent judiciary, but that did not mean that judiciary was to act as a horse sans bridle. The judiciary had many restraints and constraints, much more than an ordinary person had and those who administered justice could not afford to be irresponsible. A judge was accountable to his conscience to the oath he had taken, as well as to the laws, which he was required to administer. In fact, the justice delivery system was truly based on ideal personality of the judge. If a judge was not true to the oath, which he has taken, he was not a judge in the true sense. The people wanted ‘pure’ and ‘unpolluted’ justice and they had a right to receive the same. Where delay occurred in the dispensation of justice, the credibility, to a large extent, got eroded and to some extent, the utility as also the value of the court adjudication also got undermined. If the faith in the judiciary was eroded, social stability will be undermined and the growth of social justice and economic development will be obstructed. He said the image of the court did not depend on its trappings but the way the cases were handled, the extent of the confidence the court inspired among the litigants the promptness or absence of delay in the disposal of cases, the approximation of the judicial finding of fact with the realities of the matter and the overall credibility of the institution. Some felt that the system was showing cracks and fatigue but he was confident that it was not collapsing. It was strong and would continue to be so. Every trial was a trial of the judicial system, its strength and weakness, its success and failure, its utility and credibility as a necessary organ of the state in a civilised society. The respect for the court and the judicial system depended upon the way it satisfied the hopes and aspirations of the common man in the quest for justice and in keeping the scales of justice even in any legal fight between the rich and the poor, the mighty and the weak, the state and the citizen. He was all praise for the state high court which gave two Chief Justices like Justice M.H. Beg and Justice R.S. Pathak, to the country besides several other eminent jurists like Justice N.M. Kasliwal, Justice S.N. Phukan, Justice M. Srinivasan and Justice D. Raju, who adorned the seat of justice in the apex court. Mr Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje, Himachal Governor who presided over the function, said the people were not aware that judge had only a small role, if any, in the clogging of court and consequential delay in the delivery of justice. Population explosion, spread of education leading to awareness of legal rights, increase in legislative activity faulty legislations and lethargic investigative and prosecution machinery had contributed largely to the increase in number of pending cases. However, there had not been a proportionate increase in the infrastructural facilities. The number of court had not kept pace with number of cases. It was true, there was an overall resources crunch faced by the state government’s but the justice system being back-bone of the administration in a welfare state had to be given a higher place in the list of priorities. Mr Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Chief Minister, said that the state high court had established very healthy traditions, which bigger courts in the country could emulate. Mr V.K. Gupta, Chief Justice of the state high court, said with the inauguration of new complex the legal fraternity would be able to dispense justice with comfort. He sought the cooperation of the bar for speedy disposal of cases. Mr Justice R.S. Pathak, Mr Bhawami Singh, the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court, Mr B.K. Roy, the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mr M.G. Ghalate, member Law Commission and judges of the High Court, senior civil and police officers were present on the occasion. |
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Protesting mob blocks traffic Palampur, June 13 As the news of the death of Sadhu Ram spread, hundreds of villagers started assembling on the national highway to block traffic. The body, too, was brought there from Dharamsala and the villagers did not allow the police to remove it. The mob raised slogans against the police and demanded the arrest of the culprits. Mr
K.C. Chaman, Subdivisional Magistrate and Mr Sanjiv Gandhi, Deputy Superintendent of Police, arrived there and persuaded the mob to let the traffic be restored. The DSP at Baijnath said a case under Section 302 of the IPC had been registered in this regard and some persons had already been arrested. Ms Sheela
Devi, wife of late Sadhu Ram who was also there with her four daughters, alleged that her husband had been receiving threats for the past few days. It had been reported to the Baijnath police and protection had also been sought, but to no avail. She said, today, she had received another threat that her family would eliminated, if she made more noise. She said she had seen her husband being butchered and the attackers had also tried to kill her son, who had managed to escape and save his life. Her daughter,
Sunita, had also received serious injuries in trying to save her father. No proper first aid was given to Sadhu Ram at the Baijnath hospital and the doctor there referred the case to the zonal hospital at Dharamsala after much delay. |
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Recruitment scheme scrapped Shimla, June 13 Ms Rajender Bhattacharya, Chief Secretary, said the Cabinet had approved the draft Bill for the regularisation of pay and conditions of service of the Himachal Pradesh Judicial Officers according to the Supreme Court directions on the recommendations of the Shetty Commission. It had also approved an amendment in the HP Judicial Service Rule, 1973, to give effect to the directions of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The Cabinet also approved creation of seven posts of Deputy Advocate General on tenure basis in the office of the Advocate General. |
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2 killed, 1 hurt in mishap Shimla, June 13 The injured, Prakash Chand, has been admitted to the civil hospital at Theog. In another accident, four schoolchildren were injured when the Jeep in which they were returning from school collided with a bus near Girinagar in Sirmour district yesterday. Three of the injured children — Rinku, Manpreet and Himanshu — were admitted to the hospital in Paonta Sahib, while the fourth, Nihal Sharma, was referred to a hospital in Dehra Dun with serious injuries. A case had been registered against the bus driver.
UNI |
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Finance
company penalised Sundernagar, June 12 The bus remained off the road due to non-transfer of the route permit and he couldn’t pay an instalment to the finance company. At this, the finance company took away the bus from Rewalser and did not return it even after receiving a legal notice. As the finance company had paid only Rs 1,75,000 and the rest, Rs 2,50,000 was paid by him, it was alleged that the company had no authority to take away the bus. |
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Avoid feeding monkeys, tourists told Parwanoo, June 13 The department has warned the
commuters and tourists. The department has advised the people not to
feed the monkeys because feeding monkeys exposes them to all these
risks. |
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