Chandigarh, December 9
Professor Virendra Kumar, UGC Emeritus Fellow and former Chairman, Department of Laws, Dean, Faculty of Law and Fellow, Panjab University, delivered a special lecture on “Free Press and Independent Judiciary: Their Juxtaposition in the Law of Contempt of Courts” here today.

The lecture was organised under the aegis of the ICSSR. Professor K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University inaugurated the lecture and Mr Justice Ashok Bhan, Judge of the Supreme Court, presided.

Professor Kumar said the law relating to contempt of courts had been designed to protect the functional independence of the courts, so that they are able to maintain the rule of law, which was the basis of the democratic system of government. However, in his view, this did not make the judges and their courts absolute, arbitrary, or completely immune from criticism. Their doings and decisions were open to public scrutiny through the press.

“Though, both the press and the judiciary are independent and have their respective functional autonomy, and yet both are required to fulfill one and the same constitutional objectives,” he said. He argued that seemingly criticism of the conduct of judges counteracts the contribution of courts. Nevertheless, such a conflict is sought to be resolved by emphasising that so long as the criticism remains constructive; that is, directed to protect and promote the public interest, the same criticism, however vigorous it might be, should not be construed as contempt of courts, or destructive of the institution of judiciary.

But, then, Dr Kumar posed a question that still remains to be answered: How to determine and decide, ‘what is ‘just’ or ‘public good’?’ Obviously, the answer to this question cannot be given in absolute terms, because, what we have been able to realize so far is, that the notion of ‘just’ or ‘public good’ is not static, it is relative to desh and kal - relative to ‘space’ and ‘time’. We have, therefore, to keep on exploring the notion of ‘justice’ and its nuances by using the functional strategy of ‘thesis, anti-thesis, and synthesis.”

For constructive criticism, his recipe was: “In the academic word, where it is both the right as well as the responsibility of academic lawyers to keep on reviewing the judicial decisions critically, they are taught and trained to create a potential judge within themselves - the judge whose judgment is the subject of criticism, the judge who is able to defend his judgment publicly. This instantly creates a constructive constraint in the thought process, enabling the critic to have a multi-dimensional view of the issue in hand. Such a strategy reduces the possibility of ignoring the viewpoint of the judge on the one hand, and increases the chances to have a more dispassionate and balanced view of the problem in your critical appraisal on the other.

Chandigarh, December 9
The general body meeting of the Government Teachers Union (GTU) was today held at the Jama Masjid ground, Sector 20. Nearly 100 teachers attended the meeting during which the current problems and demands of all cadres were discussed.

The teachers expressed strong resentment against the adamant attitude of the Chandigarh Administration.

The house decided to submit a reviewed and detailed memorandum of demands concerning various cadres to the Education Secretary. Members will hold another meeting to finalise an action plan in order to put pressure on the administration for the fulfillment of their demands.

Panchkula, December 9
It was fun and frolic at the annual day function of Saupins School, Sector 9, here this evening. Students jived, sang and showed their histrionic skills at Tagore Theatre.

The function began with the students showing their regard for their parents in a choreography, “You are My Sunshine”. Another choreography showed the students re-defining the role of the three monkeys of Mahatma Gandhi as they turn their eyes from corruption. A choreography from the famous film, ‘Mera Naam Joker’, was enacted well by the tiny tots.

Western dances, Haryanvi dance and a choir performance was also staged. Diksha, a student of Class IV, regaled the audience with a beautiful song, “Janam Dekh Lo” from the film ‘Veer Zaara’.

A science exhibition was inaugurated at Satluj Public School, Sector 4, by eminent scientist, Dr I.S. Dua, here today. The exhibition was based on the theme of seasons, emergency services, clothes, water and water bodies.

Dera Bassi, December 9
The management, staff and students of the Sri Sukhmani Institute of Engineering and Technology (SSIET) and Sri Sukhmani International School have donated Rs 1 lakh to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for earthquake victims of Jammu and Kashmir.

Acting on an appeal published by The Tribune, Prof Avtar Singh, Chairman of the institute, presented Rs 1 lakh to the institute Principal, Dr I.P. Singh, here today. The contribution for the quake-hit was part of the social responsibility of the educational institutions towards society, Prof Avtar Singh added.

Chandigarh, December 9
DAV Public School, Sector 8, today celebrated roll of honour on the school premises. The event also marked the President of India’s third Computer Literacy Award being received by the school.

A total of 36 young achievers of the maiden batch of the senior secondary section of the school who had passed out and were now well-placed were honoured during the function. Ten students excelling in sports and extra-curricular activities were also awarded.A cultural proramme was also presented by the students. It included dandiya, and Punjabi and Bengali folk dances.

Annual day: Fun and frolic marked the annual day celebrations of Ankur School, Panjab University. A number of cultural events, ranging from traditional to modern, were presented by the students of the school. It was presided over by Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab. She announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh for the Ankur School Society. Colourfully dressed children take part in the annual day celebrations of Ankur School at Law Auditorium of Panjab University in Chandigarh on Friday. — Tribune photo by Vinay Malik

Blossom VI: A total of 25 schools from the city and its vicinity today participated in Blossom VI, an inter-school competition being organized by DAV Model School, Sector 15.

The event began with a bhajan recital, followed by a patriotic dance. Various competitions like sketching, collage-making, poetry recitation, quiz, rangoli, best out of waste and slide show, among others, were held.

The theme for the sketching competition was ‘Indian freedom fighters’ while the slide show was based on ‘Chronology of fashion’.

Nature camp

The Eco-Club of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 46, and the Environment Society of India, Chandigarh, today organised a nature camp under the Nature Discovery Project at the Commonwealth Youth Programme Asia Centre, Sector 12. A total of 55 members of the club participated in the workshop. Lectures on various environment issues were delivered, in addition to demonstrations on vermiculture, vegetable-farming and rainwater harvesting, among others.

Chandigarh, December 9
Mr Ripudaman Singh, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Geography, Panjab University, received the second prize in the Young Geographer’s Award competition held during December 2 to 4. The competition was organised under the auspices of the 27th Indian Geography Congress by the Department of Geography, Bangalore University, Bangalore, for Mr Ripudaman Singh’s research paper titled “Regional Disparities in India in Levels of Socio-Economic Development in the Post-Reform Periods: A District Level Analysis”.

The research paper was appreciated by the participants of the congress from different parts of the country and abroad, according to Prof Surya Kant, Chairperson, Department of Geography, Panjab University.

Chandigarh, December 9
It was a rare occasion for the students of Guru Nanak Public School, Sector 36, when they met Mr Vinod Dham, the "father of Pentium" here today. The students had a fruitful interactive session with the guest from the USA, who is currently on a visit to India.

He cited three essential things from the pages of his own life which led him to be what he is today — passion, hardwork and integrity. He showed great appreciation for the school website and computer infrastructure and was highly impressed by the volley of questions which came from the students.

Prabhdeep Singh, the national whiz kid of the school, wanted to know how the ifs and buts could be removed in order to achieve one's goals. Gurmeet Singh of class XII, who is back from NASA (Florida), asked a question related to flash memory developed by the genius himself.

Mr Dham advised the students to chase quality dreams and be perfectionist in whatever they choose to do.

Chandigarh, December 9
As the fast by students of BSc honours course of Panjab University entered its tenth day today, one of the two students on strike had to be shifted to General Hospital, Sector 16, following a deterioration in his condition.

Rupinder Singh and Ashutosh were medically examined by a team of doctors called by university authorities. While Rupinder was forced to break his fast this morning, Ashutosh was shifted to the hospital.

The two along with a group of over 10 students are protesting against not being given a special chance to clear their first-year papers. These students have already passed the second-year examinations.

Activists of the student organisation PUSU-Panjab University Students Union along with students of BSc Honours School started the fast in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s office on November 30.

Chandigarh, December 9
The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association (HCBA) has sent a proposal to the UT Administration for the construction of 1,000 chambers for lawyers at the High Court.

Presently, the High Court has just 80 chambers. The association has proposed that the chambers could be constructed either on self-financing or built-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

Giving this information here, association president Atul C. Lakhanpal said the association had proposed that 1,000 chambers could be built at the available space in the High Court. "There will be a multi-level parking and above it there can be chambers. There is paucity of seating space, what with more and more lawyers arriving at the High Court to begin practice every year. Chambers are a basic requirement," Mr Lakhanpal stated.

The association also plans to raise the issues related to the welfare of the lawyers with the various authorities during the ensuing celebrations of the golden jubilee of the High Court.

Talking about the changes initiated by the association for the betterment and convenience of its members and the general public, Mr Lakhanpal said the consultation rooms, completed recently, would provide ample space to the lawyers and their clients to talk in private.

"We are also planning to convert our main library into a wi-fi zone. Internet connection will be made available to lawyers on comparatively cheaper rates. We are also thinking of having our own printing press to print the daily cause lists and other documents," disclosed association secretary Lokesh Sinhal.

Much of the credit for introducing new facilities at the High Court goes to the present team of office-bearers.

However, it is also a fact that many changes were initiated during the tenure of the previous executive led by Mr Anmol Rattan Sidhu.

Lawyers point towards the fact how the previous president-secretary duo of Mr Sidhu and Mr Munish Jolly were instrumental in finding new avenues of revenue generation for the association.

"The association did not have any spare money to carry out development.The previous team raised money from various sources and utilised the funds for computerisation of the Bar library, renovation and centralised air-conditioning of the Bar rooms," recalled a senior member of the association.

Incidentally, the HC lawyers also became an important channel for people-to-people contact between India and Pakistan.

Last year and this year have witnessed the highest number of visits by delegations from across the border. The Indo-Pak Friendship Society was also formed during one such visit.

The president of the Pakistan chapter Society, Mr Arif Chaudhary, says, "The strides made by both countries are huge. However, visas continue to remain a problem. But, we are going in the right direction."

Mr Chaudhary and 40-odd lawyers from Pakistan are in the city to participate in the golden jubilee celebrations.

Chandigarh, December 9
Following an Army Court of Inquiry (CoI) holding a lady officer prima facie blameworthy for professional impropriety while conducting military trials, she has been "attached" to a different formation for the commencement of disciplinary proceedings, it is learnt. This indicates that she faces a possible trial by a General Court Martial(GCM). The first step will be hearing of charge followed by a recording of the summary of evidence(SoE).

Sources in Headquarters Western Command revealed that Major Dimple Singla posted in the Judge Advocate- General's Branch in Western Command, Chandimandir, has been attached to an Engineer Brigade, near here, for further action. The attachment orders were issued on December 2, the sources added.

Attachment implies that a person facing disciplinary action is removed from the formation or establishment where he was serving and posting him temporarily with another establishment under a different commanding officer.

The officer is facing five tentative charges, which include demanding and receiving money from Army jawans facing court martial in order to influence the trial in their favour and coercing them to hire defence lawyers of her choice.

Though the second known instance of its kind in the services, where a lady officer is facing disciplinary action for corruption, this is the first in the Army. Yesterday, an Air Force General Court Martial had cashiered a lady officer, Anjali Gupta, on several charges of misappropriation of funds and insubordination.

The sources said the Hearing of Charge (HoC) was scheduled to be held this week, but for reasons yet unknown it is still to be done. The HoC is a procedure where a person facing charges is marched up to the Commanding Officer (CO), and the charges are formally read out in the presence of the CO and the accused.

After the HoC, the CO may order a recording of the summary of evidence (SoE). It is on the evidence generated in the SoE that the decision to convene a court martial is arrived at.