& V I C I N I T Y
Saturday, December 5, 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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Saturday, December 5, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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A script soaked in Pasha
of Punjabi pop in city Arber
cautions against risks |
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 It was very tight security for Sonia CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — Tight security arrangements marked the visit of the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to the city today. |
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Convicted
for rape bid Christians
protest against attacks PU
students float new body Sangar
visits BRD Ex-Deputy
Mayor's car stoned Children
steal the show |
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A script
soaked in tears, courage CHANDIGARH: It was 10 years ago on a freezing December 6 night that a loud bang rang out on the sets of a Punjabi film, "Jatt te Jameen" at Talwandi. Many thought it was a short circuit explosion. Actually, it was the sound of real bullets. Varinder, the hero of the film, lay in a pool of blood. Militancy had claimed yet another victim, someone who was as innocent as hundreds of others who paid with their lives for a deadly frenzy. The art world was shell-shocked. But worse was the plight of Pammi, the 36-year-old wife of Varinder. She had got betrothed to him when she was still in school. The pillar of Punjabi cinema was not only her husband but her whole world, so much so that even the name Pammi was given to her by Varinder. She was too stunned to even cry out. The shy housewife, whose only connection with the film world was through the dresses that she designed for the films sitting at home, was now all alone. Her elder son was away to England for studies; the younger one was only seven. The daughter was 12. For two years, she remained cloistered inside her room. But then the indomitable Punjabi never-say-die spirit resurfaced. She decided to channelise her sorrow into a mission: to lend a helping hand to those who had been similarly victimised. The woman, who kept mostly away from the cinema world while Varinder climbed to the top as a producer, director, actor and writer, jumped into the fray herself. The initial forays were through a series of audio cassettes, "Vichhoda Tera", in which her agony and inner feelings were manifested. The first came in 1989, the second in 1992. Famous lyric writer Babu Singh Mann penned her trauma through these moving cassettes. There is pain and frustration in them; not anger. She addresses the killers as her brothers in one of the poems: Ki milya ye veeryo Ik vidhwa kar ke bhain ve (What did you gain, my brothers, by making your sister a widow?) The lyrics of the third cassette are now being finalised. "Main Dard Kahani Ratan Di", a three-episode documentary-cum-serial on the life of Varinder, followed. Then came a film, "Deeve Inj Bale" for the Punjab Public Relations Department. In this she depicted the plight of the families whose members were shot dead by militants. The most moving was the tale of a two-and-a-half month old girl from Rajbathe village near Patti , 19 of whose family members were shot, including her mother. The girl was herself shot in her legs. She was seven at the time of the shooting. Only the last scene showed the re-emergence of a faint smile on her face. That was the motto of the film: the victims need moral support to pick up the pieces of their lives. Pammi is an avowed practitioner of that aphorism. She has risen bravely to lead as "normal" a life as a woman in her position can. The son who was in London when his father was shot, Randeep, is now a strapping 6 ft 2 in model. To mark the 10th death anniversary of Varinder's murder, Pammi is introducing him as a hero in a film produced and directed by her, "Dulla Bhatti", which has been granted 100 per cent tax exemption by the Punjab Government. It will be released in March. The younger son, Ramandeep, is also a model while the daughter, Monica, is now married in England. Incidentally, it is the famous story of the fearless rebel who threw a challenge to the all-powerful Mughal rulers after his father was skinned alive by Akbar. His legend is still remembered on Lohri day through the "Dulla Bhatti wala" songs. Newcomer Naveksha Kapoor is his heroine. This is the tribute of Pammi, her sons, her daughter, and famous model Deepti Bhatnagar —who is engaged to Randeep — to a legend of Punjabi cinema who starred in 25 films in his 12-year career and gave such hits as "Lambardarni", "Sarpanch", "Batwara" and "Yaari Jatt Di". Varinder's fans of course pay their respects by organising fairs in his memory every year at various places in Punjab and even England. One such fair is to be organised in Mullanpur on October 8 where the Virendra Award will be conferred on noted singer Hans Raj Hans. This will be her second feature film after "Subedaar" which was released in 1995. More than that, she has been concentrating on making films for TV in which she focuses on various personalities doing selfless public service. Varinder would have surely
approved of the twist that Pammi has managed to give to
the script of her life after her world collapsed on that
black December 6. |
Pasha of
Punjabi pop in city CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — "I am a trend-setter. In four years' time no pop artiste, in India or abroad, has given three consecutive albums with the latest one selling 25 lakh units till date". Who else but the pasha of Punjabi pop — Daler Mehndi — can make a statement like this one. Speaking at a press conference at a hotel in Sector 22 this evening, Daler was more than vocal about his success and achievements as a pop star. Though sans his customary ornamented turban and long flowing robes, a garrulous Daler Mehndi responded like a real 'star'. Arriving an hour late, a visibly distracted Daler because of the ongoing contention over the schedule of his programme tomorrow evening at the Dasehra ground of Phase VII in SAS Nagar and a minor accident involving three of his troupe members today was full of his latest album "Tunak Tunak". It was later reported that tomorrow's show would be held as scheduled. Son of hazoori raagi (hymn singer) Ajmer Singh Chandan, Daler has trained under the tutelage of late Ustad Rahat Ali Khan Sahib of Gorakhpur and has imbibed the Patiala Gharana style of Hindustani classical music. When questioned about his foray into the world of music through Punjabi pop, Daler said, "Seven generations of my family have been kirtan singing. I have a good classical base and started my career as a ghazal singer. But I've been very lucky to make my mark in the world of Punjabi pop". The singing-dancing sardar, who does 200 shows every year, when queried about performing very less in Punjab, lamented, "In Punjab, there is no encouragement for performing artistes from the government. Also, there seem to be so many overlapping organisations that it seems difficult to organise my shows". But what about Daler Mehndi's exorbitant price? "I do have an expensive budget but if states like Bihar and Bengal can invite me why not Punjab with the kind of money it has?", he retorted. Denying the charge of having a mass appeal only with the "disco-bhangra" audience, Daler remarked, "The man who can make even non-Punjabi dance to his tunes cannot miss to have a rural audience". For a man who has made
Amitabh Bachchan dance to his tune in "Sade Naal
Rahoge Taan Aish Karoge" in the film 'Mrityudata',
it does not come as a surprise when he states,
"Crores of people dream of reaching the place where
I,m standing today. And I can very well say that I've
restored the pride of the Sikhs. The same Sikhs who felt
scared to wear their turbans after the 1984 riots, now
want to do so". |
Arber
cautions against risks CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — Nobel laureate Prof Werner Arber today cautioned scientists against possible risks of genetic engineering. Delivering the sixth annual Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Lecture at the Institute of Microbial Technology here this afternoon, Professor Arber said that there were two major risks — new combinations could be pathogenic to human beings or they could even have environmental negative effects. In his hour-long highly technical presentation, Professor Arber explained how during the past 50 years molecular genetics had developed in order to be applied to the benefit of organisms. He said that many of the research strategies had been learnt from the examples of use of nature. He concluded that against general knowledge in text-books, he had interpreted that special genes have a function to generate. "Nature also does genetic engineering. It does not design". Professor Arber, who is now Professor Emeritus at University of Basel in Switzerland, said that better knowledge of progress of biological evolution contributed to better understanding of the evolution. He recalled his first visit to India in early eighties when he had a meeting with the then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi. "I was deeply impressed by her interest and knowledge of the field." Earlier, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, who presided over the lecture, said the Foundation was trying in its own modest way to keep his dream of a scientifically oriented India alive. "We have trained more than 300 unemployed youth to work as barefoot technicians to serve the veterinary needs in rural areas. "We have deployed mobile laboratories to help school children develop a greater interest in and sensitivity to ecological issues. We continue to encourage scientific excellence among the youth by awarding fellowships every year to meritorious science students," she added. "For him, science and technology went beyond satellites, missiles, reactors and computers. To him, science and technology had little meaning unless it made a fundamental difference to the lives of the millions of India's poor and the disadvantaged," Mrs Gandhi said. She also recalled the contribution of Rajiv Gandhi for the development of science and technology in the country and said he launched five technology missions to harness the potential of science and technology to provide safe drinking water in villages, to immunise all infants against communicable diseases, to eradicate illiteracy, to deliver better rural communications and to increase the income of farmers in semi-irrigated and arid areas. Mrs Gandhi presented a "shawl" to Professor Arber. Earlier Prof CNR Rao, President, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, in his address of welcome talked about the lecture series. Dr Amit Ghosh, Director, Institute of Microbial Technology, proposed a vote of thanks. Dr B.K. Sharma (Director
PGI); Dr N.K. Ganguly, Director-General, ICMR, Prof V.K.
Kak, Director-Principal, Sector 32 Government Medical
College Hospital; Prof M.M. Puri, Vice-Chancellor, Panjab
University; besides senior doctors, scientists and
researchers from the city attended the lecture. |
It was very
tight security for Sonia CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — Tight security arrangements marked the visit of the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to the city today. The police had made elaborate bandobust arrangements not along the entire route but also at the UT Guest House where she held meetings with her party workers from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh and at the Institute of Microbial Technology in Sector 39 where she presided over the sixth Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology lecture. On her arrival at Chandigarh airport by a special aircraft, she was received by the party functionaries from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Among those who received her included Capt Amarinder Singh, Mr S. Hooda, Mr Venod Sharma, Mr Pawan Bansal, Mr Bhajan Lal, Mr Chander Mohan and, Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. A large number of party workers had lined up along the route near the airport. Mrs Gandhi preferred to leave her car and acknowledge greetings from party workers along the route with folded hands as she walked briskly past the enthusiastic slogan-shouting partymen. She drove down straight to the house of Dogras in Sector 4 to whom she is related. After spending some time with Professor Dogra and Mrs Kanta Dogra, she drove to the UT Guest House where she met representatives of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Congress committees and had lunch with them. Entry to the UT Guest House was restricted to those holding passes and had their names on both the lists supplied to the police. Those carrying passes but names missing from any of the lists were denied entry. Slogans were raised and arrangements were criticised by agitated party workers and even newsmen who were denied entry to the guest house. It was only late in the afternoon that some newsmen, who preferred to stay put, were allowed to go in at the instance of senior party functionaries from Punjab and Haryana.The newsmen had a brief session with Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Dressed in a printed silk saree and clad in a brown shawl, Mrs Sonia Gandhi looked relaxed and cheerful. She posed for photographs with party workers and leaders at the UT Guest House. Arrangements were the same at the Institute of Microbial Technology where only those carrying invitation cards were allowed to enter the premises. Their names were checked before they were allowed in. At the entrance to the auditorium, each invitee was subjected to personal search and frisking twice. Even pagers and cellular phones were not allowed in.The photographers were not allowed to go close to the dais. Mrs Gandhi arrived at 3.28 p.m. at the auditorium. As she headed towards the dais, an aide pointed towards Professor Werner Arber, Nobel laureate, sitting in the front row of the auditorium. Mrs Gandhi went to him, greeted him by shaking hands with him and invited him to the dais. She had tea with Professor Arber and select invitees after the lecture. Before leaving the Institute, she turned back, hugged Mrs Kanta Dogra, and was escorted to the waiting vehicles from where she drove to the airport and flew back. This was her second visit
to the city this year. She had inaugurated the poll
campaign of her party candidate, Mr Pawan Bansal, during
elections early this year. |
HC notice to
Centre, Punjab in Dogra case CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court consisting of Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice T.H.B. Chalapathi today issued notice to the Union Government, the Punjab Government and the Director-General of Punjab Police, Mr P.C. Dogra, for December 8 on a writ petition filed by three Additional Directors-General of Police questioning the extension in service granted to Mr Dogra. The petitioners, Mr Sarabjit Singh, Mr Jarnail Singh Chahal, and Mr Mehal Singh Bhullar, A.D.G.P. stated that when the retirement of Mr Dogra neared, he attempted to get his date of birth changed by moving an application before the Central Administrative Tribunal. And when he failed, the Punjab Government granted him a six-month extension in service from April 1, 1998. They pointed out that although Mr Dogra was to retire on March 31, 1998, an extension was granted to him on December 31. They added that even before Mr Dogra attained superannuation on March 31, 1998, the Punjab Government moved a proposal to the Union Government for further extension beyond September 30, 1998. The rejection of the proposal was a different matter. While turning down the proposal the Union Home Affairs Ministry wrote to the Punjab Government:"... "There are adequate officers readily available in Punjab with requisite experience. This ministry feels no compulsion to grant further extension to Mr Dogra beyond September 30, 1998 and therefore, The proposal could not be acceded to." The petitioners stated that in the meantime the Union Government amended the All India Service (Death-cum-Retirement) Rules, 1958, on May 13, 1998. The amended rules, inter alia, laid down that" a member of the service dealing with Budget work or working as a full-time member of a committee, which is to be wound up within a short period, may be given extension of service for a period not exceeding three months in public interest with the prior approval of the Central Government". The petitioners told the
court that, except this clause, there was no provision of
extension in service to any All-India Service Officer.
Therefore, the extension granted to Mr Dogra rebelled
against the rules and deserved to be quashed. |
Convicted
for rape bid CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — The Additional Sessions Judge, Mr S.S. Lamba, today convicted a 65-year-old Mela Ram, a resident of Mauli Jagran, on the charge of attempting to rape a 4½-year-old girl of the same colony. The judge sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years apart from slapping a fine of Rs 2,000. According to the prosecution, the convict runs a provision store at Mauli Jagran. The girl had gone to his shop for buying a packet of biscuits. The convict bolted the door of the shop from within, and attempted to outrage the modesty of the girl. The prosecution told the court that the girl's mother heard her screams and came out of her house. The girl was coming from the shop, tears trickling down her cheeks. A case was registered under Sections 363 and 511, IPC. Mr Ashok Sharma, Public
Prosecutor, represented the state in the case. |
Christians
protest against attacks CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — Hundreds of Christians took part in a rally which was organised today by the United Christian Forum and the Catholic Bishop's Conference of India to protest against the growing incidents of violence against members of the Christian community in the country. Meanwhile, the Christian institutions in the city remained closed today. The rally, in which a number of members of minority communities also participated started from the Sector 19 Catholic Church and concluded at the Housing Board roundabout. Later, a delegation led by Bishop Rev Gilbert B. Rego submitted memorandums to the Governors and Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana and the Adviser to the UT Administrator. The memorandum demanded that adequate steps should be taken by the government to prevent the onslaught by certain fundamentalists against the church and its functionaries, who were serving the country with utmost dedication. "It is a well-planned and deep-rooted conspiracy to scuttle the activities of the church, which, in turn, is an assault against the secular fabric of our nation," the memorandum signed by Bishop Rego said. The church was finding it extremely difficult to carry out its service towards humanity in the face of opposition by some fanatic groups, he added. The Bishop said the
Christian missionaries and, particularly female ones were
subjected to harassment, humiliation and even death in a
systematic manner. Besides, the community had been
singled out by successive governments by depriving them
of due reservations to its members, said the memorandum. |
PU students
float new body CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — A new student body, Panjab University Students Syndicate, was launched at a meeting attended by 30 students at the Student Centre today. A press note said here that it had been launched with the aim to solve students' problems. An agitation will be the next step to protest against the hostel mess and examination fee. The following are the
elected office-bearers: Karamjit Singh Saini-(Punjabi)
president, Yoginder Saran-(Public Administration) vice
president; Lavinder Singh (Ancient History) general
secretary, Ashish Kalsi (Law) press secretary.Air
Vice-Marshal |
Sangar
visits BRD CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — Air Vice Marshal K K Sangar, Senior Air and Administrative Staff Officer, HQ Maintenance Command, is in on a familiarisation visit to 3 BRD here. The Air Marshal has commanded three major operational flying stations of the IAF and has more than 10, 000 hours of accident free flying on various IAF airfields and helipads in different areas, which include Siachen and Sikkim. He is also credited with having taken the longest flight and heaviest helicopter landing on floating rigs. He was the Air Force examiner for testing various aircrews in proficiency, Chief Test Pilot for test flying production line aircraft besides being the Adviser to the Government of Mauritius. He is the recipient of the Shaurya Chakra for exceptional bravery and the Vayu Sena Medal for services of exceptional order. He has also represented
the Air Force and defence services at the national level
in golf and football. |
Ex-Deputy
Mayor's car stoned CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — A former Senior Deputy Mayor, Mr Prem Sagar Jain, had a narrow escape after a stone was thrown at his car by BJP workers owing allegiance to the Gian Chand Gupta group missed the target outside the office of the MCC today. A number of lathi-wielding BJP workers, largely from labour colonies and led by Mr Shashi Shankar Tiwari, district president, Mr Rajinder Kumar, councillor, charged at Mr Jain's car as soon as he came out of the corporation office. The unruly mob tried to stop Mr Jain's car and someone from the crowd threw a stone at the car which narrowly missed Mr Jain. His car was, however, escorted by the police. The police had a tough time in controlling the irate crowd. Later, addressing the
party workers protesting against the cross-voting by the
suspended seven BJP councillors against Mr Des Raj Tandon
on December 1, he accused these councillors of doing an
irreparable damage to the party by their actions. He also
came down heavily on the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain,
without naming him. |
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CHANDIGARH: Last evening Tagore Theatre was the venue for a colourful session spread over more than two hours. This delightful time was organised by students and teachers of Manav Mangal High School, Sector 21. They all were celebrating their Annual Day and holding a prize distribution function for meritorious students. The chief guest for the occasion was Mr Kamleshwar Sinha, Associate Editor, The Tribune, Chandigarh. He also gave away the prizes. Attending the function made him remember his old days at Shantiniketan. In his opinion children personify divinity without which the world would be a miserable place to live in. The cultural programmes was well-synchronised and presented. There was not a single moment of monotony. The entire presentation had a good variety which ranged from Lord Shiva's tandav to aerobics, boogie-woogie by tiny-tots and a fashion show. The confidence of the children was amazing, it could put elders to shame. —
Priti Verma |
CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — A jawan of the Army, Lal Badloha (No 4363286) was killed in a road accident on the Chandigarh-Panchkula road last night, while a student from Mizoram, Laltha Chunga, was found dead in his Sector 27 rented room this morning. The jawan was riding a scooter (CH-01-M-4825) that was hit by a truck (HR-03-9348). The truck driver fled the scene after abandoning the truck. The injured sepoy was rushed to the PGI where he succumbed to his injuries. The police has registered a case under sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC and is looking for the truck driver. The Mizo youth did not wake up from sleep, the police said. Last night he reportedly went to bed late after studying. His guest, who had come from Sector 15, tried to wake him up this morning but discovered to his dismay that Laltha Chunga had died, the police said. The body has been sent for post-mortem. Youths held: Two youths were caught red-handed after stealing a motor cycle (CH-01-S-1357) on Thursday night. Ravinder Kumar and Mannu, both residents of Sector 24, stole the Yamaha motor cycle from the Sector 23 residence of Krishan Kumar around 10.40 p.m. on Thursday. As they were escaping Kumar's neighbour saw the duo. Along with his neighbour Krishan Kumar set out in pursuit, of the vehicle thieves. As the thieves were nearing Sector 37 the motor cycle stopped. In the meantime, the owner arrived on the scene and nabbed both of them. The police was called in and the thieves were arrested. Car recovered: A car (HR-01-0094) owned by Lieut-Col L.J. Gardner (retd) of Sector 33 has been recovered by the Chandigarh Police following the arrest of a drug addict, Shammi. The thief was nabbed by the police in connection with a theft in Sector 22 office where he had stolen a sum of Rs 52,000. Documents stolen: A brief case containing important documents and two pairs of return train tickets between Delhi and Ahmedabad besides two cheque books, among other things was stolen from a car (DL-2-C-1030) parked in the Sector 32 market on Thursday night. The owner of the car, Dr Pawaninder Lal, a surgeon at the GMCH, says he had locked his car and when he returned after three or four minutes after purchasing milk and bread, he found to his dismay the brief case missing. The brief case also contained some slides that he had to show during a lecture presentation. Nabbed: A Sector 40 resident, Dharam Pal, was nabbed by the police for allegedly outraging the modesty of his neighbour. The woman lodged a complaint to the police and Dharam Pal has been booked under section 354 of the IPC. Meanwhile Anil Kumar of Sector 45 was arrested by the police for allegedly possessing 25 gm of smack. Attacked: A resident of Kalka, Kali Charan, was allegedly attacked by Surinder Kumar and Jai Prakash in Sector 17. The police has registered a case under Sections 325 and 34 of the IPC. PANCHKULA Case against five: The police has registered a case against five persons for conniving with each another by transferring the share of a member of employees cooperative group housing society in their name through forgery and cheating. The case has been registered on the directives of the court after the complainant, Mrs Jai Hind Kumar, a resident of Ambala city, stated that her husband, Mr Bhagwan Chand, was a member of the IDC Employees Cooperative Group Housing Society, Panchkula, and he deposited a sum of Rs 21,000 with the society by way of his share money or as cost of the plot. She claimed that the name of her husband had figured in the list of the members. She also alleged that the president of the society, Mr Inder Sain Aggarwal, along with other members — Mr Chaman Lal, Mrs Neelam Chopra, Mr D.D. Sharma, and Mrs Anu Aggarwal — had connived to transfer the share of her husband in the name of Mrs Anu Aggarwal, a daughter of Mr Inder Sain Aggarwal. The police has registered a case under sections 405, 406, 420, 467, 468, 506 and 120-B of the IPC. Succumbs to burns:
Om Vati, a resident of Rajiv Colony here who was admitted
to the Government Medical College Hospital, Sector 32,
Chandigarh, with burn injuries on November 17 succumbed
to her injuries on Thursday night.
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CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today quashed the appointment of Mr Jagdip Singh as Assistant Superintendent of Amritsar jail. Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice T.H.B. Chalapathi, who handed down this order, also directed the Punjab Government to get a case registered against Mr Jagdip Singh for furnishing a false sports certificate to get the job of Assistant Superintendent. The Bench also ordered that the salary that Mr Jagdip Singh drew after getting the job of Assistant Jail Supdt be recovered from him. His appointment was challenged by Mr Vijay Kumar Khaira, a resident of Muktsar district, who brought to the court's notice that Sub Inspector Jagdip Singh, posted at PAP Jalandhar, had actually played basketball at the national level but his namesake had been given the job of Assistant Jail Superintendent by the Punjab Government. Therefore, Mr Jagdip Singh had committed fraud with the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Committee which had recommended the appointment after selecting the candidates. Union Health Secy summoned Mr Justice V.K. Jhanji directed the Union Health Secretary to be present in his court on January 15 to explain certain points. The Judge sought explanation of certain points raised in his order to find a permanent solution to stagnation of employees at the PGI. The Health Secretary was required to explain the following: (1) Why should the benefits in the scheme introduced on March 12/20, 1997, not be extended to those employees who were recruited between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 1984. (2) Why should a direction not be given to frame a suitable scheme providing for promotion avenues to employees in B, C and D groups on the basis of the recommendations made by the Dhar Committee. (3) Why the decision arrived at between the Joint Action Committee and the PGI with the intervention of the high powered committee has not been implemented till date. (4) Why a high-powered committee should not be constituted to look into the grievances of PGI employees from time to time as a grievances redressal agency. Disability pension to jawans upheld Our Legal Correspondent adds: A Division Bench dismissed three separate appeals filed by Union of India challenging the grant of disability pension to the soldiers suffering from schizophrenia by a Single Bench of the high court. Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice Iqbal Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a 30-page order rejected the prayer for condoning the delay in filing an appeal and also dismissed the appeals on merits, thereby upholding the judgement delivered by Mr Justice H.S. Bedi in cases of mentally disabled soldiers invalided out of the Army due to schizohernia. Earlier Mr Justice H.S. Bedi had quashed the orders of Defence Ministry in rejecting the disability pension claim of the disabled soldiers and directed the Union of India to release the disability pension within four months from the date it became due. Ex-jawans Harjit Singh, Surender Singh and Satwinder Singh were invalided out of military service due to schizophrenia with 70 p.c. disability in the lowest medical category EEE after rendering service varying from six to eight years. The cases of all these soldiers who suffered from mental disorder were sponsored by the All-India Ex-servicemen's Welfare Association, Chandigarh, under its legal aid scheme. The Division Bench, while
the dismissing the appeals on merits, held that the
caseof the disabled soldiers squarely fell under rule
7(b) read with rule 173 of the Army Pension Regulations,
1961, as no note was made at the time of entry in the
service by the medical authorities and even the medical
board did not give any such opinion. Hence the disease
was attributable to military service as it arose during
service due to stress and strain.
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