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Teachers’ case: SC stays contempt proceedings
Antics of ‘Doosri Radha’ continue to the agony of UP police
Cong not doing enough to perpetuate Rao’s memory, say kin
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Justice within 28 hours
Centre’s order to security forces on rights violations
PM to make statement on Kutty in House
BMC to be Rane’s next target
Seminar on Sikh history concludes
Crime riddles Bihar
Judiciary not encroaching on legislature: CJI
Allahabad SSP transferred
Salem may be made
approver: CBI
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Teachers’ case: SC stays contempt proceedings
New Delhi, November 26 The two categories of teachers were fighting a legal battle against the state government reserving 15 per cent posts of school principals for vocational teachers. The lecturers had contended that the contempt proceeding on the issue would virtually render the apex court order on their appeal against High Court’s earlier order rejecting their plea on promotion issue as inoperative. A Bench of Mr Justice Arun Kumar and Mr Justice G.P. Mathur issued the stay order yesterday after Punjab School Lecturers Association (PSLA) advocate Varuna Bhandari Gugnani said the High Court had issued notice on the contempt petition on November 21. If the High Court was allowed to proceed with the contempt petition, it would amount to parallel proceedings in the High Court and the Supreme Court on the issue, she said. The High Court had issued notices on the contempt petition to the Punjab Chief Secretary, the Education Secretary and the Director of Education. By an earlier order of March 2, the High Court had dismissed the petition of the PSLA, filed through its president Amrik Singh, challenging the reservation of 15 per cent quota of school principals to vocational teachers. Aggrieved by the order, the PSLA had filed an SLP on the ground that the vocational teachers did not have the requisite educational qualification to hold the post. The concept of vocational teachers was introduced by the Punjab Government in 1975 to impart technical training like carpentry, book binding, tailoring and such other vocations. By the 2004 rules, the government had reserved 15 per cent posts of principals for them. Meanwhile, a committee set by the Punjab Government in an order of March 26 had held that names of over 200 vocational teachers were cleared for promotion against 100 posts. But the order was not implemented apparently due to the SLP of lecturers in the apex court. In view of the non-implementation of the promotion policy, the vocational teachers had filed a contempt petition in the High Court making the Chief Secretary, the Education Secretary and the Education Director as respondents, alleging that the government was deliberately sitting on its order. The PSLA’s contention was that the basic educational qualification of vocational teachers was only class XII with vocational training, while the essential qualification for school lecturers was postgraduate with B.Ed degree. They said if vocational teachers were promoted to the post of principals under the quota system, it would amount to giving the post of Principal to unqualified persons. |
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Antics of ‘Doosri Radha’ continue to the agony
Lucknow, November 26 He has been on the move — from his official residence to a friend’s house. Today Doosri Radha reached Kanpur to board a train to Puri where his Lord beckons. Mediapersons have been documenting every twist and turn in this comical saga. IG Rules and Manuals D.K. Panda’s ‘nuisance value’ is hard to ignore. Every dramatic development is enacted in full view of rolling cameras. In fact, he shot into limelight only when the electronic media ran stories of his Krishna Bhakti. A senior IPS officer, Panda was seen dressed in yellow lehenga and chunni covering the head demurely. He sported a nose ring, nail polish, bangles, payal and alta and danced gaily in his office and spoke of his marriage to Bhagwan Krishna. On November 22, the self-proclaimed Doosri Radha decided to move out of his official residence in Gomti Nagar where his real-life wife Veena Panda came between him and his “spiritual husband”. While a “devoted wife” to Lord Krishna, Panda, according to estranged wife Veena, is every bit a violent, abusive “husband” who hits her at the slightest provocation. According to Veena, matters turned from bad to worse when the family court asked the officer to pay her a monthly maintenance of Rs 5,000 per month while her divorce case is pending. It was after the wife’s complaint to DGP Yashpal Singh that Panda donned his official uniform and paid the police chief a visit on November 21. A day later, Veena noticed the Doosri Radha packing his bags and even loading household items on a tractor to move out of the house. In her bid to stop her husband from moving out of their marital household, a violent scuffle happened in which the lehenga-chunri-clad husband lost his nose ring. “I begged her to return the mark of my marriage with Krishna but she refused”, the devoted Doosri Radha told the media. All this was being enacted in full view of rolling cameras. Panda left the official residence to move in with a friend — Youth coordinator with Nehru Yuva Sangathan, Tanveer Jauhar — in his rented house in Aliganj Colony. The very next day the new host of Doosri Radha was arrested on the charge of sending obscene letters to a female civil judge in Jhansi. The complainant had recognised him from the news channel coverage of the ongoing drama. According to the police, the arrest was made following non-bailable warrants issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jhansi, in connection with a criminal case lodged with Nawabad police station in Jhansi on January 23, 2005, by Jhansi Civil Judge Manjula Sarkar. With Jauhar in jail, his landlord Sandeep Kumar Mathur was most reluctant to keep the new guest in the house and sought police help to evict him. Even the neighbourhood was not very enthusiastic about Doosri Radha as his kirtans were not only disturbing the peace of the locality but the constant media attention was causing everyone distress. When Panda returned to his official residence on Friday to take away a few more items, his wife called the police and he returned empty-handed. Finally, on Saturday morning he reached Kanpur to board a train to Puri to spend time with his Lord away from all the “worldly worries”. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Alok Sinha denied the state government receiving any directive from the Centre to “relieve” Panda of his charge. “Officially his position remains the same — he has sought voluntary retirement. His application is being processed”, said Mr. Sinha. According to him, this ‘processing ‘normally takes at least three months as clearances are sought from all departments that he has worked with, including ‘no dues’ reports from official residences, libraries etc. Till then the nation will perhaps continue to receive a minute-to-minute update of all the antics of Doosri Radha.
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Cong not doing enough to perpetuate Rao’s memory, say kin
Hyderabad, November 26 On the eve of the first death anniversary of the architect of the country’s free market economy, PV’s sons
P.V. Ranga Rao and P.V. Rajeswara Rao, expressed anguish that his own party leadership had not shown any inclination to keep up his remembrance. “The state government made pompous statements about a grand memorial to be built on the banks of the historic Hussian Sagar Lake in an area of 2.5 acres at a cost Rs 20 crore. But nothing has come of it till date even after almost a year,” Ranga Rao, a former minister in the state cabinet said. Rao, the first Prime Minister outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to complete a five-year term in office, died on December 23 at the age of 83 in Delhi. Even his cremation was controversial, as his family wanted the final rites to be conducted in Delhi, where he spent a large part of his active life. However, apparently on the insistence of the Congress leadership, which did not take kindly to his perceived role in sidelining the Gandhi-Nehru family, PV’s family was made to agree to shift the body to Hyderabad, where the funeral was held. Local media had reports during this period on how the Congress government in the state treated even the last rites shabbily, leaving a half-burnt body behind. The cremation was complete only the next day, following the critical stories about the humiliation splashed all over. “The Congress is ruling at the Centre, and in many states. But there has not been even a proposal to install a statue of the national leader anywhere,” Rajeswara Rao, a former MP, rued. Expressing
disappointment that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had acknowledged Rao as his political guru, was also indifferent to memory of the former Prime Minister, the family members hoped that the central and state governments would conduct the ensuing first death anniversary of the scholar and statesman in a befitting manner. |
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Justice within 28 hours
Jaipur, November 26 The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Jaipur City, Mr Rajendra Singh Choudhary, sentenced the accused, Vijay Das, alias Maharaj, to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500. In case he failed to deposit the fine, he will have to remain in jail for another one month. The allegation against the accused was that he tried to molest a young woman, Lim Jung Hee from South Korea, who had come as a tourist in Pink City. The incident took place near Government Hostel on M.I. Road on November 24 at around 7 a.m. and complaint to this effect was lodged in the police station of the area at 9 a.m. In an exceptionally quick action, the accused was arrested at 11.25 a.m and he was taken to the court at 2 p.m. along with the charge sheet prepared by the prosecution. The court gave a hearing to the victim along with the eyewitnesses and the defence counsel for the accused from 2 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. the same day. The CJM delivered the judgement on November 25 at 5.15 p.m. A few months ago, a Jodhpur-based court also made history by announcing life imprisonment to a criminal for committing rape on a German tourist. The disposal of the case was done in a record time of 20 days after the incident. |
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“Olga” — moving account of Jew extermination
Panjim (Goa), November 26 One of the most powerful and poignant is “Olga”, which had the honour of being the opening film of the 36th IFFI currently on here. On the first day there were not many spectators. But the next day it ran to packed houses, so much so that there was no space to sit in the aisles either. Among those who came to see this phenomenon was the lead actress Camila Mogardo. It is nature’s quality that it dulls the pleasure and pain of every event, even if it happens to be the most moving. The Jew extermination in Germany and some other countries was one such. We were reminded of it earlier by “Schindler’s List”. The current film, Brazil’s official entry to the Oscars this year, is no less stunning. It is the true-life story of German revolutionary Olga Benario Prestes who was done to death in a gas chamber under Hitler’s Nazi regime. The gradual blossoming of her love and eventual marriage with communist leader Luis Carlos Prestes has been shown by debutant director Jayme Monjardim with tremendous sensitivity. The film is a strong contender for top honours in the festival. However, the same cannot be said about the Turkish entry, “Angel’s Fall”. Although it has won the special jury award for cinematography at the Istanbul festival, it has been shakily shot and even the acting is patchy. One actor who carries her celebrity status lightly is Dolores Chaplin, the granddaughter of the legendary Charlie Chaplin. Here to address Masters Classes on the sidelines of the film festival, she can be seen riding pillion on the motor cycle of her boyfriend and talks without airs to almost all those who go up to her. She says the family name has been more of a responsibility than a privilege, considering that top ranking films are yet to come her way, although she was auditioned for the lead role in “Die Another Day”. She is active in French cinema but having been born in England, she speaks with a typical British accent. Local media reveals that Amitabh Bachchan was very much in Goa on the inaugural day, but since the authorities had decided to invite Dev Anand as the chief guest, rejecting the proposal of the state government to invite Amitabh, he came nowhere near the film festival venue. His visit is being mentioned as a private one. But being a gracious man that he is, he is likely to attend the festival on the French film day at the invitation of the French Ambassador. The Indian mainstream cinema section of IFFI-2005 was opened at INOX multiplex by the Director of Film Festivals, Mr Afzal Amanullah, last evening. The opening film was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Black”. While the festival films are a good draw in Panjim, they have few takers in Margao nearby where too these are being screened. In none of the shows held yesterday, the number of audience went beyond 20. This despite the fact that the tickets have been very reasonably priced at Rs 25.
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Centre’s order to security forces on rights violations
New Delhi, November 26 A direction to this effect was given by Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal at a high-level meeting chaired by him at North Block here to discuss the observance of human rights by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was held in pursuance of the discussions held by Prime Minister on September 5 this year with a five-member delegation of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, an official spokesperson said. As regards the sensitisation of security forces, the Home Secretary directed that handy cards, containing the Do’s and Don’ts, should be prepared and distributed among the security personnel. It was also decided at the meeting to constitute a three-member team comprising
DGMO, DGs of the BSF and the CRPF to formulate simple and concise standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all forces. The Home Secretary suggested that the SOPs should be simple enough to be understood at the level of Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors, who actually conduct anti-terrorist operations. The meeting was attended among others by Director-General, Military Operations, Financial Commissioner (Home) and Director-General of Police from Jammu and Kashmir and Director Generals of the BSF, the CRPF, the ITBP and the
CISF. The meeting focused at length on the need for holding transparent and expeditious inquiries into all human rights related cases, sensitisation of security forces and preparation of people-friendly SOPs by security forces for cordon, search, night curfews, etc. In this context, the need for the proper local handling of situations in the aftermath of any human rights violation and the role of the media were also highlighted. Representatives of the security forces informed that the number of cases of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir had substantially come down in recent times. Since January 1990, penalties had been imposed on 215 personnel of the Army and Central Para-military Forces
(CPMFs) for excesses in Jammu and Kashmir. It was informed in the meeting that since January 2004 to October 2005, out of the 42 allegations of HR violations received by the Army, 28 had been investigated, and in 14 cases, investigations were in progress. Out of the 28 cases investigated so far, 25 had been found baseless, while in three cases where the complaints were found true, four personnel had been awarded punishment, including dismissal from service. During this period, the BSF received 20 complaints and all were found to be baseless and untrue, while no complaints were received against the other
CPMFs. Representatives of the security forces stated that they were extremely conscious of the importance of avoiding HR violations while undertaking counter terrorists operations. |
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PM to make statement on Kutty in House
New Delhi, November 26 He told a delegation of Parliamentarians from Kerala that he would make the statement. The statement would also highlight the measures being taken to ensure the safety of Indians working in Afghanistan on various projects. The Prime Minister denied reports that his government had not made earnest efforts to save Kutty. The MPs showed media reports to the Prime Minister, which talked of the government’s callousness in the Kutty episode. The MPs sought more financial and other help for the bereaved family. Dr Manmohan Singh said there was no basis in such media reports and listed various steps initiated by the government as soon as it came to know about the kidnapping. He said he himself had asked the Kerala Chief Minister to visit Kutty’s Chingoli house immediately after he received the news of Kutty’s murder. The Prime Minister assured the MPs of all assistance to the bereaved family, besides Rs 10 lakh as ex gratia. |
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BMC to be Rane’s next target
Mumbai, November 26 Rane told reporters in Malvan that his next target was the BMC, which he said, would hopefully fall into the Congress hands even before the civic poll scheduled for next year. The Shiv Sena has controlled the BMC for more than 20 years and derives much of its revenues from the city. Corporators from the Shiv Sena also sit on major committees that award public work contracts worth crores of rupees. Party officials functioning from street corner offices use their contacts with civic officials to award petty work contracts and contribute a share of the speed money received from citizens to the Shiv Sena’s coffers. Past failures to snatch the BMC from the Shiv Sena has been a sore point with the Congress. Now
Rane, who virtually built the Shiv Sena’s base in the BMC, has decided to move to the Congress. “We uprooted the Shiv Sena from
Malvan, the next step is to take over the BMC,” Rane said today at
Malvan. He said he would begin to work on his strategy after returning to Mumbai later this week. |
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Seminar on Sikh history concludes
Jaipur, November 26 The seminar was attended by scholars of Sikh studies from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan. As many as 25 research papers were presented pertaining to Sikh society, polity and culture. The seminar was inaugurated by Prof J.S. Grewal, former Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, yesterday. He said the study of the history of the Sikhs helped understand the Indian culture in its proper perspective. Professor Grewal cautioned the researchers not to pass hurried judgements while dealing with sensitive issues relating to the history of Sikhs. In his presidential address, Prof Devendra Kaushik, former Head of the School of International Relations at JNU, said during the 19th century, Sikh missions were sent to Tashkant for seeking help to liberate India from the British rule. |
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Crime riddles Bihar
Patna, November 26 Mr Nitish Kumar has already promised to establish rule of law in the state within three months. In a daring attack, motor cycle-borne criminals, suspected to be associated with Pintu Yadav gang, shot dead five persons and injured others at Babhni village of Madhepura yesterday. In another incident a businessman was shot dead in broad daylight at Bettiah this morning by some miscreants. The local businessmen were observing a bandh in the area in protest against the incident. One septuagenarian bullion merchant at Katihar, an owner of a coaching centre in Patna and a 14-year-old school student at Saharsha were the three victims of abductions in past 48 hours.
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Judiciary not encroaching on legislature: CJI
New Delhi, November 26 In his address to a gathering of lawyers and other participants in a “Law Day” function here, chief Justice Sabharwal dispelled any apprehension about the attempt of judiciary to encroach upon legislature or executive spheres saying “I will like to only say with utmost humility that the judiciary in some cases has only emphasised on Constitutional provisions.” |
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Allahabad SSP transferred
Lucknow, November 26 According to Home Secretary Alok Sinha, Mr R.P.S. Yadav, SP, has been directed to take over additional charge till a replacement is found. Outgoing SSP Gupta has been kept in waiting. Extensive violence and arson was witnessed in Allahabad after political opponents killed Kamlesh Yadav. One person has been arrested and search operations are on to nab the other accused.
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Salem may be made
approver: CBI
New Delhi, November 26 The CBI Director said this while inaugurating a health camp for CBI sleuths at its South Delhi-based residential complex. “After this the CBI has to take the court’s approval in making any accused an approver,” Misra said and added “but that stage has not come as yet.” |
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Kaul Singh awarded
New Delhi, November 26 Former Assam Governor Bisham Narayan Singh presented the award to Mr Kaul Singh for his services in poverty alleviation and improving the lot of women during the past decade. According to an
official spokesman, Mr Bhisham Narayan Singh, said Mr Kaul Singh had made rich contribution in social and political field in the hill state. Mr Kaul Singh said strong foundations laid by first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had helped in taking the nation on the path of all-round development. |
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