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Punitive action for selling goods over MRP: Court
Unprecedented rush marks end to Trade Fair extravaganza
Four more held for assault on policemen
Consumer court hauls up MTNL for |
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JNUSU head censured for black flag protest against PM
Hearing in Jessica Lal murder case likely to wind up
BJP to intensify agitation in Gurgaon
‘Delhi close to full eradication of
polio’
Cultural fiesta at Birla Vidya Niketan
Cultural festival for differently abled kids
Three children lose eyesight in blast
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Punitive action for selling goods over MRP: Court
New Delhi, November 27 The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission said that the word “MRP” printed on the packaged goods shows that no hotel, restaurant, PVR, club, cinema etc has any right to charge more than what is printed thereon. After rejecting an appeal filed by fast- food chain Nirulas, the Commission President J. D. Kapoor said, “if any complaint of this nature is received in future, the culprit shall be visited with such heavy punitive damages running into lakhs, which may drive them out from selling such articles or goods.” “No kind of explanation including the one that sale of such articles is not the core activity but is incidental to the overall services rendered is permissible or acceptable,” the court said. Even an illiterate and gullible person knows the meaning of the word ‘MRP’, the court said, adding that it was the statutory obligation on the part of traders to sell goods within their retail price. It said that any sale of a particular quantity of an article by opening the package or by any other process at a higher rate than the MRP amounts to “deficiency of service”. One such complainant, Ankit Jain, third-year law student at Delhi University, had approached the District Consumer Forum after Nirulas outlet in Mayur Vihar charged him Rs 35 for a Rs 15 Coke bottle. The Forum ruled in favour of Jain and ordered Nirulas to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as litigation costs to him. Subsequently, Nirulas filed an appeal against the Forum’s order. “The question of MRP squarely falls within the ambit and scope of ‘deficiency’ and ‘unfair trade practice,’” the State Commission said, dismissing the appeal as “highly misconceived and misdirected”. The court ordered Nirulas to pay exemplary punitive damages of Rs 25,000 in favour of the State Consumer Welfare Fund. It, however, set aside the Rs 5000 compensation awarded to Ankit.
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Unprecedented rush marks end to Trade Fair extravaganza
New Delhi, November 27 Stretched to their limits in keeping the crowds and traffic under control, the over four hundred personnel of the Delhi Traffic Police deployed in and around the sprawling fair grounds, virtually heaved a sigh of relief as they watched the last of the crowds leaving. The fortnight long influx of thousands of visitors from within the Capital and neighbouring cities of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana had caused a considerable strain on the services despite the elaborate arrangements made to keep traffic moving on the roads around the Pragati Maidan. The 14-day fair had also tested the patience of the large number of office goers at the busy ITO and adjoining areas as the movement of traffic during the dispersal hours in the evenings was reduced to a crawl. For many it took more than an hour to reach home, which under normal circumstances would have taken only about 15 to 20 minutes. “The problem is the sheer numbers. Traffic is bound to be affected when thousands of pedestrians descend on the roads,” said a senior Traffic police officer. The fortnight long fair also gave an opportunity to the irrepressible auto rickshaw drivers to fleece the customers. Because of the excessive demand they demanded extra money for the fare abandoning the use of recently installed electronic meters to rein them in. Like last Sunday when a record 1.5 lakh persons visited the fair, today also the scene was equally chaotic. The authorities were again forced to suspend the sale of entrance tickets in the afternoon and close the gates because the grounds just could not take any more visitors. Every inch of the space was taken, so to speak. This annual disruption of the normal life of the Delhiite, specially at a time when the marriage season is at its peak, has once again kicked off a debate whether the authorities should continue to hold the annual extravaganza at Pragati Maidan in the heart of the Capital or shift it to some other location away from the city.
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Four more held for assault on policemen
Gurgaon, November 27 The police version is that two persons, Mahesh, son of the Sarpanch of Jharsa village and Jetender, a suspended constable of Haryana police, defied the police cordon and checkposts in DLF area, last Friday evening. When challenged, they allegedly fired several rounds on the police team. With police on their pursuit, they entered the village, and Mahesh, who has a criminal background, fled from the area. The police also fired several rounds on the two fleeing in a Maruti van. When the cops nabbed him, the villagers, including his father and mother, assaulted the personnel and facilitated his escape. Two police personnel were injured and hospitalised in the incident. About 40 persons have been booked in the case. Among those arrested so far, four are women. A ‘panchayat’ of some residents of the village was held today in which the popular opinion expressed was that the sarpanch’s son was booked by the police under a mistaken identity. The participants in the panchayat also expressed reservations at the arrest of women of the village and also the manner in which the police were handling the case. A delegation of those who took part in the panchayat also met the Inspector General of Police, Gurgaon Range, Mr Mohinder Lal. The IG made it clear to the delegation that the police personnel have been manhandled while on duty. He urged them to produce the main culprits who broke away from the checkpost and later fired on the police team. The Station House Officer of DLF, where the case has been registered, said that the two main accused are absconding.
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Consumer court hauls up MTNL for inflated bills
New Delhi, November 27 Rapping MTNL for its casual probe into a complaint alleging misuse of telephone, the Commission said: “Instead of making inquiries as to the numbers, which were responsible for the inflated bills, the appellant was satisfied by keeping the telephone under observation without reaching on to a conclusion that how many calls were made by complainant.” The order came on two cross appeals preferred by MTNL and Suresh Bhargava against the order of a District forum. The Forum in its December 9, 1992, order had asked the telecom company to restore the telephone connection and raise the revised bills. As per the complaint, Bhargava had approached a consumer forum alleging that he had received a highly inflated bill for the billing cycle of January 1 to November 1, 1990. Moreover, it was complained that the telephone was being misused and the MTNL records showed some numbers on which the complainant never made any call. Bhargava approached the commission after the MTNL failed to restore his telephone connection and send him the revised bills.
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JNUSU head censured for black flag protest against PM
New Delhi, November 27 A late night general body meeting of the student executive council passed a censure motion moved against Das by SFI but rejected an impeachment motion against her placed by Congress affiliated NSUI, JNUSU sources said. Activists of AISA had jeered at and shown black flags to the PM while he was making a speech on the occasion of Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth anniversary there. SFI claims Das, who was conspicuous by her absence on the day, had kept students in the dark about the PM’s function though she knew about the programme as early as September. The party claimed that the student executive council of which the president is also a part had decided not to disrupt the function and to hold a protest march in the campus on the eve of his visit, but her party breached the pact and went ahead with the protest proceedings. The executive council has decided to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister expressing their concern at India’s vote against Iran, economic policies pursued by the UPA government at the Centre and its “pro-American” foreign policy. The censure motion was passed with 468 votes in its favour while 277 voted against it. Other outfits like the ABVP are understood to have supported the censure motion but opposed the impeachment proceedings. Das, meanwhile, said she was not disappointed by the censure motion passed against her. She said the motion was passed because of a “right wing” mobilisation against her. “All parties ranging from the right to the official Left voted for the motion. This shows they are not against the black laws and neo-liberal policies pursued by the Manmohan Singh government.” She said that this was a resounding victory for AISA and rubbished SFI claims that she violated the decision taken by the executive council on the eve of the Prime Minister’s visit to JNU.
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Hearing in Jessica Lal murder case likely to wind up
New Delhi, November 27 Appearing before Patiala House Court Additional Sessions Judge S L Bhayana, the prosecution argued that though the statements of the four witnesses established that the four accused — Manu Sharma, alias Siddharth Vashist, Vikas Yadav, Amardeep Singh Gill and Alok Khanna — were present at the party when the incident took place, they have repeatedly denied it. The witnesses, Deepak Bhojwani, socialite Bina Ramani, her husband George Mailhot, and her daughter Malini testified that they had seen prime accused Manu Sharma with three other co-accused in the party. Another accused Shyam Sunder Sharma testified that he did not call absconding accused Ravi Kishan Sudan alias Titu at his USA address. The prosecution alleged that Shyam had called Sudan from a public booth in Karnal. It is alleged that Sudan had disposed of the pistol allegedly used to kill Jessica and fled to the US dodging the police. The Delhi Police had indicted Manu Sharma, Vikas Yadav and 10 others in the murder of model Jessica Lal. The other accused are Coca-Cola company officials Alok Khanna and Amardeep Singh Gill, Shyam Sunder Sharma, Amit Jhingan, Yograj Singh, Harvinder Chopra, Vikas Gill, Raja Chopra, Ravinder Krishan Sudan and Dhanraj. They have been charged under sections 120(b), 302, 201 and 212 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Model Jessica Lal was allegedly murdered by prime accused Manu Sharma on the night of April 29 at socialite Bina Ramani’s Tamarind Court restaurant in New Delhi. Manu Sharma is presently on bail, whereas Vikas Yadav, son of former Rajya Sabha Parliamentarian D P Yadav, is in judicial custody.
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BJP to intensify agitation in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, November 27 A delegation of senior BJP leaders of the state, including Mr Kishan Sangwan, Prof. Ram Bilas Sharma, Capt. Abhimanyu, Ms Sudha Yadav and Mr Sitaram Singla recently submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.P. Bhardwaj, and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. The BJP leaders, while speaking to the newspersons, charged that the present Congress government in the state has failed to live up to the slogan of providing ‘corruption-free’ and ‘fear-free’ administration. They further charged that members in the administration and those at the key position in the government are engaged in crimes related to land. A senior police officer has vested interests in the illegal land dealings, said the BJP leaders. They alleged that the present government is not interested in development projects. They cautioned that the BJP would intensify its agitation if the culprits involved in the attack on their party leader were not arrested soon. The higher officials in the government have shielded the criminals so far, they alleged.
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‘Delhi close to full eradication of
polio’
New Delhi, November 27 Another 18,000 health personnel would go
door-to-door for the next five days from tomorrow to administer anti-polio drops to children who remain unattended today. Speaking on the occasion, Delhi Health Minister Yoganand Shastri said Delhi was close to full eradication of polio as only one case of polio was detected in January this year. The city has remained pioneer in the field of Pulse Polio Campaign and efforts of Delhi Government had yielded excellent results, he added. The Health Minister lauded the role of NGOs, WHO and other social organisations in reaching every hook and corner of Delhi. Dr Shastri exhorted all parents to take their children to polio centres whenever Pulse Polio was organised and said that 24,000 health personnel had been deployed at the centres this time. The Delhi Government has been making full effort to eradicate polio from the national Capital, he said.
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Theatre festival livens up kids’ world
Ravi Bhatia Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 27 The stage comeback of the theatre group, which has only children and young adults in the cast, was marked by the staging of “Wizwits”, a bizarre musical comedy on November 25 at the Kamani Auditorium here. This was followed by “Matilda”, another fun-filled musical on November 27 with one more show on November 28. The week-long theatre festival will conclude with the staging of “Jungle Book Se Aage” on November 29 and 30 at the same venue. Spawned and nurtured by the well-known theatre personality, Lushin Dubey, Kidsworld was forced to go into hibernation because of some personal commitments which left very little time for Lushin to organize regular stage performances. The return of the Kidsworld on the theatre circuit of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is bound to liven things up both for the children as well as the parents who are constantly on the lookout of alternatives to the boob tube to keep the children occupied and entertained. Prem Singh’s oeuvre on display
The Visual Arts Gallery at the India Habitat Centre here will showcase the latest paintings and drawings of the noted artist Prem Singh from November 27 to 30. Prem Singh’s paintings and drawings are inspired by nature in all its glory and he adds a little extra through his fertile imagination to give the paintings a unique character. According to critics, Prem Singh’s paintings endeavour to give more than what the senses can perceive. A former principal of the Government College of Art, Chandigarh, Prem Singh has also been in the advisory committee of the National Gallery of Art here. He is now settled in Noida and spends most of his time painting. He has had a large number of exhibitions and his works adorn the walls of a large number of government institutions and private homes both in India and abroad.
Exhibition on
paintings, murals
The artist duo, Alka and Sirish, are showcasing their paintings and murals at the Attic in the Regal Building at Parliament Street here from November 23 to 29. The exhibition was inaugurated by the noted sculptor, Padamshri Ram V Sutar. Painting for more than two decades now, the duo are equally adept at canvas, wood, metal, glass, terracotta and stone. They are continuously experimenting and evolving techniques to add a new dimension to their creations.
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Cultural fiesta at Birla Vidya Niketan
New Delhi, November 27 The chairperson of Birla Vidya Niketan, Dr Sarala Devi Birla, presided over the function. The magic unfolded with the resonance of shloka chanting creating the ambience for the rendition of ‘Prangeet,’ the school song, which embodies the soul of every BVN student. The tiny tots then presented ‘The Speaking Eyes,’ a moving story inspired by the famous fairy tale ‘The Tin Soldier.’ Mr Joshi appreciated the impressive performance by the students and complimented the school for inculcating traditional values along with modern outlook among the students.
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Cultural festival for differently abled kids
New Delhi, November 27 It aims at rehabilitation and promotion of fine arts, culture and welfare of the physically challenged children and bringing out the artistic skills in them. About 180 children are participating the festival from across the country. “We wish the world should feel that these children have an in-depth capability, artistic and cultural leanings and are at par with the normal children provided they are given an opportunity,” a spokesperson of the Society said. The festival was inaugurated by Delhi Assembly Speaker Chaudhary Prem Singh. The first festival of the Society was organised last year in Hyderabad.
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Three children lose eyesight in blast
Ghaziabad, November 27 The police are, however, underplaying the event by calling the bomb just a cracker. The police SO says a cracker must have exploded, injuring the hands of the children who were playing with it. The children were rushed to local hospital by their neighbours. Seeing their serious condition, children had been shifted to SGTB Hospital, Delhi. They are stated to be in a serious condition.
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