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Ban on appointments after polling redundant: HC
Bureaucracy has hijacked democracy: Chautala
Bookies won’t risk money on INLD
Appointment of Rohtak PGI Dean quashed
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Norms flouted in Joint Director’s appointment
HC direction
to HUDA on
oustees’ quota
Criminal cases against 7
Teenaged girl raped
Five human skeletons found
Computer test for driving licence
Man gets life term for double murder
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Ban on appointments after polling redundant: HC
Chandigarh, February 16 The issue of appointments has become a source of friction between the Haryana bureaucracy and the political leadership, with the former showing open reluctance to issue appointment letters in view of the ban imposed by the commission. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice J.S. Kher and Mr Justice Tapen Sen gave this ruling on a petition filed by Ms Renuka Wadhwa, who was selected as a JBT teacher by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission on December 16, 2004, a day before the model code of conduct came into force. Ms Wadhwa was appointed in Government Primary School, Chharora, in Gurgaon district on December 17. She joined her duties on December 21. However, she was relieved from her duties on December 24 allegedly without assigning any reason. In his written statement, the Additional DC-Chief Executive Officer, Zila Parishad, Gurgaon, Mr Balraj Singh, among other things, said that the petitioner could not be taken back on duty in view of the model code of conduct and the ban imposed by the commission on appointments. The court observed that, “It is not possible for us to accept as valid or justified, the basis indicated in the written statement, for denying the appointment to the petitioner. The Haryana Public Service Commission is a constitutional authority independent of any governmental supervision or control. Likewise, the Haryana Staff Selection Commission is a statutory body.” “Selections made by such bodies cannot be kept in abeyance merely on the ground that elections have been declared.” The court went on to make a significant observation that,” In the scheme of employment to the Civil Services of the state, the Election Commission of India has no role to play. The state government is bound to give effect to the recommendations made by such independent agencies, as and when required...” The court said : “Unless there are specific complaints with the Election Commission in respect of a particular selection process, it would be unfair to deprive the selected candidates of their rights in a routine manner... It is, therefore, not possible for us to accept the communication of the Election Commission as a valid basis for depriving the petitioner of her rights emerging from her selection against the post of JBT teacher.” Some facts of the case are interesting. The cause of action for the petitioner arose when she was removed from her duties after she was first allowed to join. It has been admitted by Mr Balraj Singh in his written statement that Ms Wadhwa was removed from her duties due to an error committed by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission(HSSC), and not because of the orders of the EC. Mr Balraj Singh said a list of 473 candidates was sent by the HSSC for appointment as JBT teachers. The appointment letters were issued to 270 candidates. Later on, he said that, “It was found that the names of candidates belonging to various reserve categories had not been included in the merit list from Sr. No. 1 to 270. The names of such candidates had been added at the tail end of the selection list.” “Since, the appointment orders already issued did not contain the names of candidates belonging to reserve categories as per the government policy and as soon as the error committed by the HSSC came to notice, the appointments orders were cancelled. Thereafter, the names of candidates belonging to various reserve candidates were included as per the government policy and according to the roster. Now the EC through Mr Manmohan Sarin, senior advocate, has filed a review petition in the High Court, which is likely to be mentioned before the Bench tomorrow.
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EC reiterates stand
Chandigarh, February 16 This happened during hearing of the petition filed by Dr Ashok Kumar of Hisar, seeking directions to the respondents to allow the candidates selected for the post of Haryana Veterinary Service (Class II) to join their place of posting. Saying that after September 3, 2004 test, he and 51 other candidates were informed about their selection on October 27, the petitioner stated that they were told to join by December 21. But the election code of conduct came into effect from December 17, and they were not allowed to join. However, during the hearing, senior advocate M.L. Sarin, who is counsel for EC, requested the court to implead the Election Commission as party to the case. After hearing him, the Bench issued notice of motion for March 1. Petition against Bhajan Mr Pratap Singh Chautala, former MLA and estranged brother of Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, has filed a petition in the High Court seeking directions to the respondents to register a criminal case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal. In his petition, Mr Chautala has stated that he made a complaint to the Sirsa Superintendent of Police on April 13, 2004, through an affidavit, seeking registration of a case against Mr Bhajan Lal. But no action was taken. The petitioner has also given details of the alleged properties owned by Mr Bhajan Lal and his family members.
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Bureaucracy has hijacked democracy: Chautala
Panchkula, February 16 Mr Chautala was addressing a meeting of party workers in Sector 9 this afternoon. After allegedly intimidating Chief Secretary, Sunil Ahuja and suspending Mr Bhaskar Chatterjee recently, leading to strained relations with the bureaucracy in the state, the Chief Minister said that bureaucrats had joined hands with anti- social elements, who were misusing the law. “The Election Commission, officers and Congress have together tried to take law into their hands,” he alleged “Our country men and ancestors waged a battle against the naukarshahi in British rule and during the days of monarchy. It is time that democracy gains the upper hand over bureaucrats who are becoming all powerful. The recent incidents of bureaucrats trying to take on representatives elected by the masses is a concerted effort on their (bureaucrats) part to finish off the democracy,” he warned. Visibly upset at the Election Commission seeking clarification over the suspension of Financial Commissioner, Bhaskar Chatterjee, Mr Chautala said that “such love letters” from the commission were becoming common, and affecting the normal functioning of the state. “They have sent me the love letter as if I have to ask them before taking disciplinary action against officials. I refused to get provoked by these incidents. Even during the just concluded elections, representatives of the Election Commission were biased against our party, and unnecessary allegations were made against our candidates. They tried to impress upon the fact that polls could be rigged at several places, and Haryana was heading the ‘Bihar way’. This inspite of the fact that we have peacefully conducted two parliamentary elections and some Vidhan Sabha by elections. Interestingly, the hue and cry created by them actually led to a very peaceful election in the state,” he said. He asked the party workers to ensure that the counting agents were present in all booths, as he said that counting of votes could be manoeuvred. “It is happened with our candidate in Gharaunda in 1989. Do not let this happen again, as it could change the outcome of the elections,” he said. He added that Mr Pradeep Chaudhary was a better candidate than Congress candidate and sitting MLA Mr Chander Mohan. Mr Chautala also called out names of various top Congress leaders in the state, and said that they were only concerned about promoting their family members. He said that winning or losing at the hustings is a different matter, but for him serving the people was a better option. “Our family has been serving the people of Haryana for several years, and we will continue to do that irrespective of the outcome of the results,” he said. Mr Chautala asked the workers to gear up for the panchayat and MC polls to be held in March. |
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Bookies won’t risk money on INLD
Rohtak, February 16 The betting market which is generally considered more credible than the exit polls is not offering any bets on the likelihood of the INLD getting 25 seats or more. There simply are no persons prepared to risk their money on this party. This in simpler terms means that the general opinion is that the party will not reach this figure. The only bets open on the performance of the INLD are 12 and 20 seats where the odds are 1:1 and 1:2.25, respectively. This means that if you bet a rupee on the chances of INLD getting 12 seats, you will get only one rupee in return should the party reach that figure. Insiders say it shows that the general assumption is that this is the maximum the party can score. On the other hand, for the figure of 20 seats the odds are again against the INLD. The betting rates of 1: 2.25 mean that if you bet that the INLD will win as many seats, there are betters offering you Rs 2.25 for every rupee you bet. This indicates that the market perception is that the party’s chances of reaching this figure are thin. On the other hand, currently, the Congress is ruling the roost in the betting market. One indication of this is that betters were, till Monday offering only 50 paise for each rupee on betting that the party would not get 65 seats. This indicates that the market perception is that most people think that the party could reach this figure. However, the bookies have closed further bets on this figure indicating that the initial assumptions of the Congress performance were much higher and that the perception is changing day by day. Still, bets on the Congress winning 50 seats are attracting many bids. The bookies and those betting form their opinion not on exit polls but on trends noticed by the members of the polling parties and their own agents who were planted outside the polling booths. They manage to get hold of lists of government employees assigned to various polling booths and contact them through common friends. Though most of the information comes through personal contacts, the bookies are not averse to paying them for their bytes. Haryana’s biggest centres of betting are located at Bhiwani and Hansi in Hisar district. Hansi, incidentally is a town of compulsive betters. Here people routinely bet even on such issues as whether the registration number of the next car crossing a certain point on the road will be an odd or an even number. Shopkeepers also bet on whether a customer approaching the market will enter a shop on the left or the right. The Hansi betting market is also a cricket better’s paradise. Generally, the Bhiwani and Hansi markets share perceptions. This time however, the Hansi market appears to be more inclined towards the Congress than the Bhiwani market which has scaled down its perception of the Congress’ likely performance during the past few days. The bookies attribute this change to the rebel factor which they say will bring the Congress tally down from what was initially anticipated. |
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Appointment of Rohtak PGI Dean quashed
Chandigarh, February 16 The petitioner, Dr D.R. Yadav, had challenged Dr Sangwan’s appointment to the post on the ground that it had been done on selection basis and not seniority-cum-merit basis as provided for in the Haryana Medical Education Rules, 1988. Dr
Yadav, who was senior to Dr Sangwan, had alleged that by appointing the latter the government had overlooked his claim. In its order the Division Bench of Mr Justice
J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice Rajive Bhalla, while quashing the appointment, held that since the procedure adopted while short-listing Dr Sangwan for appointment by promotion to the post of Dean (Medical) was in clear violation of the relevant rule, the selection is set aside. The Bench also directed the respondents to immediately relieve him from the post. It also directed that the process for appointment for Dean (Medical) be reconvened and the process completed within one month by following the principle of seniority-cum-merit. Earlier, during hearing, Ms Sanjivni Gupta, counsel for the petitioner, contended that since the post was to be filled by following the principle of seniority-cum-merit, the senior candidate had prior right to appointment unless he was declared unfit for the post. |
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Norms flouted in Joint Director’s appointment
Karnal, February 16 This post was advertised on June 14, 2003, and the interview was conducted by the board on April 15, 2004. The Joint Director (Academic), Dr S. Singh, was earlier posted as Principal Scientist in the Dairy Technology division of the NDRI. Sources in the administrative wing of the institute said the scientist had crossed the age of 61 and his retirement was due on October 31. The age of superannuation for the scientists in the ICAR institutes is 62. Otherwise, if the retirement is not due, the tenure of this post is five years as per the rules of the ICAR. The sources said Dr S. Singh was earlier appointed for this post of the Joint Director (Academic) in the NDRI six years back but could not complete his term as he was transferred by the ICAR to Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh, in 2003. Since then, this post has been lying vacant in the institute following the controversy that aroused due to the issuance of revised procedures and norms for the selection of scientists to prime posts in various ICAR institutes for a fixed tenure of five years. When contacted, Dr S. Singh said when he applied for this post and appeared for the interview the revised rules were not applicable. It was not his fault that the selection was delayed by the board after the rules were revised, he justified. On the other hand, the other fixed-term posts (for a period of five years) of the Director, the Joint Director (Research), the Joint Director (Extension) and the head of the divisions of Dairy Cattle Breeding, Dairy Microbiology, Dairy Biochemistry and Dairy Extension are also lying vacant in the NDRI. |
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Armed men rob Ambala village bank of Rs 5.3 lakh
Ambala, February 16 The incident took place at the Allahabad bank branch located in the village, near the GT Road, at about 11.45 am. No one was injured in the incident. The robbery has caused concern among residents. The IGP (Ambala Range), Mr R.N. Chahalia, and the SP, Mr M.R. Kiran, visited the bank branch. Mr Chahalia said investigations were on and teams had been formed to nab the robbers. “We are working on certain leads and it would be premature to disclose the line of investigation. We have done nakabandi and are perusing earlier armed robbery incidents,” he stated. Bank manager Narender Mohan Bhanot told the police that at about 11.45 am, two persons entered his cabin and one of them gave him a cheque to be encashed. The cheque was for Rs 3 lakh. Before Mr Bhanot could check the authenticity of the cheque, another person entered his cabin and took out a pistol. He threatend Mr Bhanot with dire consequences. The other two asked Mr Bhanot to step out of the cabin and one of them pulled at the telephone wire. They were in their early 30s. The robbers then went to the head cashier, Mr Madan Mohan Kharbanda, and asked him how much cash was with him. They then asked him to open the strongroom. Since, two persons were required to open the strongroom, another bank official Thereafter, they locked bank employees in a room. They also took away two mobile phones. After some time, the employees managed to draw the attention of a resident who opened the room. The police was informed and a case was registered. Sniffer dogs and finger-print experts visited the site. Incidentally, there was no security guard at the bank. Police officials say that it made the bank branch a soft target. They said they had repeatedly asked banks to beef up security. The bank manager told the police that the decision on a security guard was taken by the head office. |
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Students from small cities wary of more
Kurukshetra, February 16 Sharing their experiences after interacting with students of Kurukshetra University, news reader-turned career counsellor, Ms Usha Albuquerque, and Ms Asha Nayar, from Delhi-based Careers Smart, a career counselling agency, observed that students from smaller cities were still wary of the more adventurous careers of choreography, deejaying and veejaying. "We tried speaking to them about various other options and avenues they can explore in addition to routine courses but they seemed disinterested. Management, civil services, life insurance, engineering and hotel management are among the only things that interested them," Ms Albuquerque stated. The duo said that the lack of communication skills put these students at a disadvantage. "A lot of emphasis is still given to bookish knowledge but it doesn't help in building an all rounder which is the need of the hour. Smaller cities lack this and the students are aware of their shortfalls," Ms Nayar maintained. Adding that most students didn't even know why they took up a particular job or whether they would be happy with their jobs 30 years down the line, Ms Albuquerque opined that students first needed to identify skills necessary to be successful in a particular career. "Then, they must evaluate themselves to see whether they have it in them to take up the job. This self-discovery holds the key to happiness and decisions should not be taken under parental or peer pressure," she advised. At this seminar organised by the State Bank of India as part of its social commitment, both of them were of the unanimous opinion that though a day long seminar couldn't change mindsets and encourage students to think on more contemporary lines, it could make a dent in their thinking. "Our feedback has shown that there is a very small percentage that actually is guided by the advise from counsellors. It is enough to bring some semblance of change and open the doors of their mind. They do think twice before they take up a job," says Ms Nayar. Believing in the catch-them-young philosophy, Ms Albuquerque said that schools should take on themselves the task of counselling students while they were still in Class IX or X. "This is the time they decide the course of their careers. Any guidance at this stage could go a long way in solving job related problems which stem from lack of interest in a particular field," she emphasised. Also, the students need to follow a pro-active approach in areas of interest. "Information on any subject is now easily available at the touch of a button. Students should find out the job requirements in their chosen field and see if they fit the bill. For those who don't, it would be better to switch over to a job that suits their aptitude and personality rather than continuing in a job that would make them unhappy for life," Ms Nayar concluded. |
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HC direction
to HUDA on
oustees’ quota
Chandigarh, February 16 Taking up a petition filed by Mr Parmanand, challenging the decision of HUDA to allot plots of varying sizes to oustees, the Bench of Mr Justice Amar Dutt and Mr Justice Rajive Bhalla adjourned the hearing to April 5. In his petition, Mr
Parmanand, a retired Haryana Government official, has stated that as per the notification issued by the government on March 18, 1992, oustees can be allotted only two, 10 and 20 marla plots in the oustees quota. However, in the advertisement in September 2000, HUDA invited applications for allotment of plots in Panchkula under the oustees’ quota. The plots mentioned in the advertisement were four, six, eight and 14
marla. The petitioner said by doing this, HUDA had violated rules. |
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Criminal cases against 7
Sonepat, February 16 All the seven, Ramesh (Lath), Karambir (Farmana) Bhagat Singh (Jasrana), Amir Singh, Ramesh and Ashok (all from Jharontt) and Ashok of Rohat, have been arrested by the police. Giving this information to mediapersons here today, the secretary of the Haryana School Education Board, Mr Rakesh Gupta, said that as per available information from different districts, 56 cases of UMC were detected; two centres in Bhiwani district had been shifted and the centre superintendent of an examination centre at Keharwala village in Sirsa district, Mr Krishan Kumar Soni, had been relieved of his duties. |
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Teenaged girl raped
Rewari, February 16 However, initially the girl, who was in a state of trepidation, complained that the accused had attempted to outrage her modesty following which the Model Town police here registered a case under Section 354 of the IPC against the accused Dheeraj, son of Mahender Singh, a resident of Kamalpur village. Later, when she overcame the trauma, she told the police that she had been raped. Then she was medically examined on Tuesday following which Sections 376 and 506 were added to the FIR. It is stated that when the girl went to Dheeraj’s house for some work, where she was forcibly taken into a room and raped. It is reported that the police has not yet been able to apprehend the accused. |
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Five human skeletons found
Kurukshetra, February 16 The first human skeleton was found on Monday last when the labourers were engaged in digging operations for the construction of the basement of a proposed shopping complex by the municipal committee. Three human skeletons and skulls were found yesterday. The jaws and the teeth in the skulls have been found safe. These skeletons have been found from about 15-foot below the ground level from the site when old government dispensary was accommodated immediately after the Partition. The skeletons have been sent to the PGI, Rohtak, for knowing the chronology of these skeletons. After visiting the site, Mr S.C. Goel, Deputy Commissioner-cum-Director, Archaeology and Museum, Haryana, directed the officials of the Directorate of Archaeology and Museum, Haryana, to initiate a probe into the case. Mr N.S. Dhull, Subdivisional Magistrate, Thanesar, and Mr Ram Chander Rathi, SHO, Kurukshetra, visited the site today. Mr Dhull said the site seemed about a 100-year-old graveyard because besides recovery of the human skeletons and skulls, a structure of Lakhauri bricks measuring two to three feet long had also been uncovered from the site. |
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Computer test for driving licence
Jagadhri, February 16 An applicant for a learner’s license has to fill his particulars on the computer system. The computer would then ask a set of 10 questions regarding traffic rules and road signs. If the applicant correctly answers any six questions, the computer would issue him the certificate. Those who score less than six can re-appear for the test after a gap of 15 days. Mr Jagtar Singh, SDM, Jagadhri, inaugurated the system by taking the test. The SDM passed the test. |
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Man gets life term for double murder
Ambala, February 16 According to the prosecution, there was a dispute between Kashmira Singh and Balbir Singh over a piece of land. On April 23, 2002, Kashmira went to the house of Balbir Singh and attacked him with a sharp weapon. Balbir died on the spot. He than attacked the daughter-in-law of the deceased, Simranjit Kaur. She succumbed to her injuries. |
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Police clueless over missing boy
Rewari, February 16 A case was registered over the disappearance of Jitender from the school premises on February 9 but the police is clueless regarding his whereabouts.
Jitender, son of Kailash Chand, a resident of Mandi village, attended a marriage at Dholera village on February 8 after which he returned to the school on February 9.
— OC |
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Rly workers’ stir on Feb 18
Ambala, February 16 The general secretary of the union, Mr Ashok Kumar, said their demands included that sixth pay commission should be announced and implemented at the earliest, income tax exemption limit should be raised to Rs 2 lakh, Rs 500 should be given as minimum transport allowance, etc.
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