EDUCATION

300 take part in summer workshop
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, June 5
About 300 students from various schools of the city participated in a 15-day summer workshop organised at Ajit Karam Singh School, Sector 41 which concluded here today.

The students made creative things in the art and crafts workshop. Other workshops included English speaking course, computer and Internet, personality development, dance and orchestra. The students of various schools interacted with one another which was a new experience for them.

On the last day of the workshop, the students displayed their creative work. As many as 35 children between age group of 3 to 15 years from various city-based school participated in the seventh summer camp organised by the Rainbow Club in Sector 36 which concluded here today.

Organised to enhance their knowledge, the children tried their hands on craft work, marble painting, face painting, mask making apart from field trips. During the summer camp the children also beat the heat by taking dips in splash water pool.

The organiser of the camp - Ms Anita Kaul, Ms Preeti Bakshi and Ms Sukhraj Chahal said that after having dinner with their teachers the students also enjoyed a dance party on the valedictory function of the camp tonight.

Fresh PEC rules to suit new status
Chitleen K. Sethi
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 5
After receiving the status of a deemed university, Punjab Engineering College (PEC) is nearly through with the ground work to register itself as a society. The registration is one of the requisites for an institution that is to be made a deemed university.

Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act says that, “For gaining the status of a deemed university, an institution has to register itself under the Societies Registration Act or the Public Trust Act and should formulate a memorandum of association and rules.”

The Act also says that the institutions covered by Section 3 of the UGC Act shall continue to receive the funds for their maintenance and development expenditure, including the salary and non-salary increase in it. Future expansions will be funded through the sources that used to fund the institution before its recognition as a deemed university. The institution will supplement the funds by raising its own resources.

A draft of the Memorandum of Association and Rules for the “Punjab Engineering College Society” are to be discussed at a meeting of the PEC heads of departments tomorrow. Once the UT Administration approves these rules, the society will become a registered one.

After this, the Administration will issue a notification for transferring all assets and liabilities of the PEC to the society. It will then wait for the Centre to declare the PEC a deemed university. The process will take a year and, till then, the status of the college will remain the same.

The service conditions of various categories of employees are likely to be different under the new system. However, the existing employees of the college will get a choice between adopting the new system or continuing with the old one.

Students of the city will get 85 per cent reservation in the Chandigarh Polytechnic when it becomes an engineering college in the next session. The reservation in the PEC will be reduced to 70 per cent in the first year and 60 per cent the next year. It will finally be lowered to 50 per cent.

The name for the deemed university is yet to be decided. The college might also hold a contest among its students to select this name.

COURTS

Beant case adjourned: next hearing on June 6
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, June 5
On the eve of Operation Blue Star’s 17th anniversary, accused in former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassination case, today raised anti-government slogans. The proceedings, as a result, were disrupted for over 10 minutes.

It all started when UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr H. S Bhalla, entered the makeshift court room at Model Jail in Burail village. Three of the accused, Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit Singh Bheora, stood up and started raising slogans against the government and in favour of Khalistan.

The three continued to raise slogans for over 10 minutes behind the grills in the makeshift court room even as the other accused in the case silently watched while sitting aside on the wooden chairs.

The three accused also requested the Judge to permit them to meet the mediapersons present in the court. The demand was, however, rejected by the Judge.

This was not the first time when slogans were raised in the court. Earlier also, another accused in the case, Balwant Singh, after admitting his hand in the assassination, had raised slogans in favour of another accused Dilawar Singh.

Slogans were subsequently raised in the court by another accused Jagtar Singh Tara. He had also confessed his involvement in the case.

The three advocates, Mr S.K Saxena, Mr R.K Handa and Mr Rajan Malhotra, appeared on the behalf of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case. They also produced one witness, Vinod. K. Vatas. The Judge adjourned the case for June 6.

There are about 460 witnesses in the case and the statement of the about 132 witnesses had already been recorded before the court.

Taking note of the security in the makeshift court room at Modern Jail, Mr Justice V. M. Jain of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed that no one would be allowed to enter the makeshift court room with weapons, including fire arms.

Pronouncing the orders in the open court, Mr Justice Jain observed that permitting the guards, accompanying the officers conducting court proceedings, to enter the premises with weapons was contrary to law, besides being a security risk.

The UT District and Sessions Judge, had also directed the removal of grills and jalis fixed in the court room where the Beant Singh assassination case was being heard. And jalis attached to the grills in the makeshift court room had been removed after the directions from the High Court.

High Court timings
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, June 5
It was inadvertently mentioned in the June 1 edition of The Tribune that the Punjab and Haryana High Court office will function from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm from June 4 to June 30. In fact the office will function from 8 am to 1.30 pm during the said period.

Case adjourned
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, June 5
The UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class) today adjourned the defamation case against the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, local unit, Gurpartap Singh Riar, till September 10.

The complainant, Mrs Harjinder Kaur, a former Deputy Mayor, had filed a case before the court on November 19, 1999, under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code. She alleged that Partap Singh Riar openly defamed her by saying that she had illicit relations with senior Akali leaders and a former minister in the Congress.