The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

COURTS

HC Judge advocates Lok Adalats
From Our Correspondent

KHARAR, Dec 16 — Mr Justice H.S. Bedi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has appealed to the litigants to come forward for the settlement of their cases through Lok Adalats so that a permanent decision through mutual compromise could be reached at. He was addressing a gathering here today in connection with a subdivision-level Lok Adalat in the Judicial Complex here today.

He said after the law about the Lok Adalat was enforced in 1996, Lok Adalats were being organised at the district level. For the past about one and a half years, these were being organised at subdivision level so that the poor could be benefitted. He said that no appeal could be filed if a case was settled through Lok Adalat. He added that all types of civil cases and some types of criminal cases could be settled through Lok Adalats.

He further said if one party backed out, execution could be done through the court. He praised the role played by the bar associations in this direction.

Mr Justice Bedi said there was need for more publicity about the concept of Lok Adalat. He talked about an English daily which recently published a news report about Lok Adalat that it wanted its own publicity. He claimed that they did not want their own publicity but wanted that the spirit of Lok Adalat should reach those persons who actually needed it.

Mr Justice M.S. Gill of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while addressing the gathering, said the load of cases was increasing in the courts and the number of judges should be doubled. Mr Maghar Khan, District and Sessions Judge, Ropar, Mr G.S. Bhuller, SSP Ropar, Mr Khushi Ram, ADC Ropar, Mr Anil Kaushal, president, Bar Association, Kharar, and Mr Amrik Singh, an advocate, also addressed the gathering.

Three Lok Adalats were organised today, headed by Ms Neelam Arora (Additional Civil Judge, Senior Division), Ms Harinder Sidhu and Mr Roshan Lal Chauhan (Civil Judges, Kharar). As many as 501 cases were presented, out of which 158 were settled.

Lok Adalat settles 1,864 cases
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Dec 16 — In a special Lok Adalat organised at the Sector 17 District Courts today, Rs 66 lakh was awarded as compensation to the litigants and as many as 1,864 cases were solved. A sum of Rs 1,17,975 was also realised as fines.

A total of 2,312 cases pertaining to the accident claims, matrimonial disputes, rent, recovery of money, labour and other disputes were taken up. To expedite the process of disposal, 16 Benches were constituted under the aegis of the UT’s State Legal Services Authority.

Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice N.K. Sodhi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court here also actively participated in the Lok Adalats. the member Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority, Dr Bharat Bhushan Parsoon, along with the Chandigarh’s District and Sessions Judge, Mr H.S. Bhalla, besides the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Sant Parkash, also took part in the deliberations. According to senior judicial officers, a liberal view was taken while deciding the summary cases.

Today adalats started functioning at 9.30 a.m. and continued till 4 p.m, the corridors of the District Courts were full of litigants, advocates.

The district authority had served tea and coffee free of costs to facilitate the litigants.

For the convenience of the litigants, two make-shift reception-cum-enquiry counters, with all details of the cases fixed before the various adalats, were also set up near the main gate of the District Courts by the authority.

For their guidance, literature to impart legal awareness and information about the available legal services, besides the persons eligible for free counselling, was also distributed by the authority.

The President of the District Bar Association, Mr N.K. Nanda, thanked the advocates for making the adalats a success by rendering full cooperation.

CULTURE

A success story of hard work, not mere luck
By Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 16 — Bhagwan D. Ahuja is a classic rags to riches story but one drenched with sweat and dedication with a purpose for achievement.

A small town high school passout aspiring to be a bank manager with the State Bank of Patiala only with self-study is a rare achievement. This was not sufficient with Mr Ahuja migrating to USA and starting his life anew. He is now Director of the American Innovative Technology Inc.

Ahuja is on a trip to India and is also visiting universities and colleges to interact with students giving them ideas about the correct path to follow for a future , especially in the field of Information Technology.

He visited the Panjabi University campus last week. “The student response was immense”, he said while talking to The Tribune. His interaction at Panjab University has been temporarily postponed.

“My parents had limited expenses which they could give me for education. I had to quit my education after school. Then I joined as a clerk at Rs 80 per month. In Rajpura, a small town, I got up at 4 a.m. and drove my cycle to homes of students whom I offered tuition services. My ‘old’ cycle often broke down. I walked then. The day ended near mid-night, but, at 4 a.m. the next day I was back on my feet’, he said.

“Self-confidence is the key to success. I was drawing Rs 10,000 per month when I left the country and I had a house to my name but I felt like changing my profession and landed in the USA. I worked as an insurance agent before I started my own venture”, Mr Ahuja said.

“I am indeed very proud of my country. I feel talented men here can be among the best at the world level. My job now is basically identifying professionals for the concerns who hire me there. They can be from anywhere but I have inclination towards promoting Indian students”, he said.

It is mentionable that Mr Ahuja who started his work when he was a mere high school student added half a dozen degrees and diplomas to his bag. He did his graduation, Masters in Economics, Bachelor in Laws and Masters in laws besides a couple others.

“Self-confidence is the key to success ”, he repeated and also reiterated his pride in being an Indian. Ahuja’s children have joined him in the USA following his example of dedication for achievement . His younger daughter is a topper of plus two in CBSE results. The son topped the class in the Evening College, Panjab University.

Mr Ahuja gets a regular flow of students at his local students at his residence throughout the day during his short visit.

Cultural programme by banks
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Dec 16 — Children dancing to the tune of the Bollywood song “It happens only in India” enthralled the audience at Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, here today. The function, which was organised by Punjab National Bank in collaboration with the State Bank of India under the patronage of Chandigarh Bank Town Official Language Implementation Committee, aimed at presenting Indian culture through cultural items.

The programme started with a dance item Vande mataram by Aditi Sharma, who represented Bank of India. The cultural events included items like ghazal, mono-acting, skits, folk dances, qawali and songs by artistes from different banks in the city. The bhangra performed by Ranjeet Singh and his troupe was a major attraction of the programme.

The programme was inaugurated by Mr A.K. Varghab, general manager of Punjab National Bank, and Mr D.L. Manvani, general manager of State Bank of India. Mr Amarjeet Battu, secretary of the Chandigarh Bank Town Official Language Implementation Committee, delivered the welcome address. Mr Mohan Singh of SBI presented vote of thanks.