New Delhi, November 8
The Supreme Court in an important ruling has upheld the Haryana government’s policy on premature release of life convicts by dividing them in different categories depending upon the degree of the murder offences committed by them, including those whose death sentence is commuted to the life imprisonment.

The state was entitled to take a policy decision to amend the prison rules by categorising the convicts according to the degree of crime committed by them and it would not violate Article 14 of the Constitution, a Bench of Justices, S.B. Sinha and H.S. Bedi held.

“The state indisputably is entitled to take a prison policy as contra-distinguished from a sentencing policy. The Prison Act, 1894 was enacted to amend the law relating to prisons.

Sub-Section (5) of Section 59 thereof empowers the state government to make rules for the award of marks and shortening of sentences,” a Bench said.

Haryana by a notification issued in April 2002, reformulated its policy on premature release of life convicts placing them in seven categories for considering their applications.

But the Punjab and Haryana High Court had struck down the policy of the state by declaring it unconstitutional, when the release of six convicts in Ran Singh murder case was challenged in a writ petition, questioning the state’s competence to amend the prison rules.

The High Court had held that no discrimination could be made inter se amongst the life convicts as all of them were similarly placed and no classification could be permitted on the ground on the number or nature of murders.

Consequently, the High Court had also set aside the Haryana government’s decision to release six convicts out of 10 in the Ran Singh murder case, who were sentenced to life in 1988.

The Supreme Court though upheld the High Court’s order so far as it related to quashing of the release of the convicts on the ground that they did not have unfettered right to seek remission, it, however, said the High Court was not “correct in holding that the state has no power to make any classification at all.”

“A classification validly made would not offend Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution,” the apex court said.

Since six of the 10 convicts had been already released when the case was pending in the apex court, it said no further order was required, but regarding the remaining, authorities concerned might consider their cases as per the ruling laid down in this judgement.

The seven categories of convicts drawn on the basis of seriousness of the offence are - convicts whose death sentence is commuted to life, rape and murder, murder of more than two persons, conviction for second murder, sedition with murder, murder listed in heinous category and murder of a minor below 14 years.

Except in the sedition plus murder case where the entitlement to apply for remission was made after 20 years of actual sentence and 25 years of the total sentence undergone, the convicts in other cases were permitted to apply for the same on completing 14 years of jail term. 

Faridabad, November 8
Locking the stable door after the horses have bolted seems to be the method that the administration here is adopting when it comes to enforcing the rule of law.

For the past four days mafia and local goons have usurped the spaces to set up stalls for selling firecrackers in Faridabad and nearby Ballabgarh town.

After many complaints the administration and the police intervened today and got the tents set up by the mafia removed. Cases against nine persons were registered and five persons arrested, but many say the action in Ballabgarh has come too late in the day.

Earlier, the shopkeepers used to collectively take space on rent in the markets for the stalls. They paid the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad a lump sum amount for the entire space. Each shopkeeper ended up paying Rs 1,500 to 2,000 per stall at that time.

However, this time the mafia forcibly took over the spaces and charged about Rs 5,000 per stall as rent.

Left with no option, the shopkeepers had to set up stalls by paying the inflated rent.

The administration got out of its paralysis today. But it was too late as the anti-social elements had already pocketed the rent money.

The shopkeepers alleged that the administration and police's apparent lethargy was to blame for this. The same was the case in Faridabad city.

Also, the late action by the administration left a lot to be desired.

The police today removed the tents but left the tables on which firecrackers were sold at the stalls.

A mild drizzle added to the misery of the stall owners as the tents had been removed resulting in the firecrackers getting drenched.

Hisar, November 8
Haryana Agriculture University (HAU) is planning to develop heat tolerant varieties of wheat with the help of Chinese and Japanese scientists.

HAU vice-chancellor J.C. Katyal, who recently returned from a visit to the two countries, said the projects for development of heat tolerant wheat variety and minimising post-harvest loss of fruits and vegetable were on top priority of university's research agenda. Since these scientists have already achieved success in identifying heat tolerant genes in crops and increasing the shelf life of perishable fruits and vegetable, the university will work in collaboration with them, he said.

Highlighting the need of research on these aspects he said that in the past few years fluctuations in climate were being witnessed worldwide.

“In India, its effect is noticed on wheat crop when the yield gets affected due to a sudden rise in temperature at the maturity of the crop,” he said.

Likewise, heavy post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables were also taking place in the country because of low shelf life of these products and lack of proper handling techniques, he said.

He further said that while developing new varieties of crops the nutritional aspects would also be taken care of. — PTI

Sonepat, November 8
Six persons, including a young girl and a two-year-old boy, died in different incidents in the district today.

According to information, tractor driver Manoj of Nirozpur village in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh died on the spot after his tractor-trolley overturned after being hit by a car near Rasoi village on the GT road here today.

An unidentified young girl of Narela, who was travelling in the car, got seriously injured and succumbed to her injuries at a hospital in Narela.

Ramkumar of Panchi Jatian village, who was a cop in the Delhi police, died on the spot after a speeding dumper hit his motorcycle. He had stopped to help the victims of the tractor-trolley incident. The dumper and motorcycle caught fire in the accident.

Dipak, a resident of Shastri Colony, who had got trapped under a tractor-trolley on the Gohana road of the town today, succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to a hospital. The tractor driver fled from the incident.

An unidentified truck driver died on the spot after his truck was hit by another truck at Bahalgarh crossing on the GT road today.

The police has seized both the trucks and the driver of the other truck escaped leaving behind the vehicle.

A two-year-old boy, Tanush, son of Pawan of Rai village, drowned in a water tank outside their house constructed in the fields today morning.

Jhajjar, November 8
Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) spokesperson Ved Prakash Vidrohi has alleged that Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala are working in collusion on a plan to stop the construction of Hansi-Butana main branch canal.

The HPCC spokesman said that looking back in the history, it was clear that Shiromani Akali Dal and Badal and Chautala families had always tried to ensure that the water dispute between the Punjab and Haryana was not resolved.

Whenever either the Centre or some tribunal or courts passed judgements in favour of Haryana regarding distribution of water, the Chautala and Badal families encouraged clashes for political gains, he alleged.

He stated that Hooda government had promised equitable distribution of water and undertaken the construction of Hansi Butana main branch canal for the purpose but Chautala and Bhajan Lal had raised objections against the canal’s construction for political reasons.

He said Chautala got his supporters to file a writ in the high court to stop the canal’s construction and got residents of many villages of the Adampur constituency to sign resolutions for stopping the construction work and these resolutions were sent to the Governor.

The high court rejected the Chautala supporters’ plea for stopping construction work.

Then the Punjab government led by Badal filed a writ in Supreme Court to stop the construction of the canal. He said the Supreme Court then referred this case to Central Water Commission. The Congress leader maintained that this canal was being constructed for equitable distribution of water in Haryana and had nothing to do with the state of Punjab.

He reminded that in 1978 Haryana had got as its share 16,60,000 acre-feet of water from Ravi and Beas rivers. This water, he said, was taken by Bhajan Lal and Chautala to their own areas thereby depriving southern Haryana of most of its share of the water. He said this canal is being constructed now for equitable distribution of water in all the parts of Haryana. He added that Bhajan Lal and Chautala now feared that the truth about the improper distribution of water perpetrated by them would come to light and so they were working towards stopping of the construction of the canal.

Vidrohi reiterated that the state government was committed to constructing the canal. 

Chandigarh, November 8
Haryana Governor A.R. Kidwai released a book titled ‘Kalam aur Vani ke Messiah’ written by Narender Kumar ‘Upmanyu’ on saint poet Janki Prasad at Haryana Raj Bhawan here today.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was also present during the function.

Speaking on the occasion Kidwai said those nations who forget their ancestors couldn’t prosper.

He praised the family members of Janki Prasad for propagating his high ideals. Kidwai said a book on such a person should be made available in all the libraries of educational institutions. He also assured that the request of Janki Prasad’s family members of releasing a stamp on the poet would be taken up with the central government.

Kidwai honoured the writer of the book with “Shri Janki Prasad Rattan Sur National Award” which carries a cash amount of Rs 5 lakh, a commendation certificate and a shawl. Reena Devi from Panipat was also awarded with “Shri Janki Prasad Rattan” award.

Others present in the function included MP and grandson of Janki Prasad, Arvind Sharma.

Gurgaon, November 8
Gurgaon district administration is launching a massive campaign to repair all the roads of the town by the end of this month and clean all the sewerage lines of old Gurgaon town by December 10 in order to give it a look of ‘millennium city’.

Deputy commissioner Rakesh Gupta disclosed this while interacting with mediapersons on Wednesday. He said that strict instructions have been issued to the concerned officers for getting potholes filled and sewerage lines cleaned by the stipulated dates. He said that the roads in Gurgaon would be made motorable so that residents face less inconvenience.

Gupta said he had personally toured the city four times to check the situation of roads and other difficulties faced by the people during the last two months. He said yesterday also he paid surprise visits to various places from where complaints had been received.

He said that before undertaking the tour of the city he had a meeting of officers of departments in the presence of the municipal councillors to review the action taken on the instructions issued by him during his previous visits.

While replying to a question Gupta said that anti-encroachment drives will be launched after Diwali and emphasis will be laid on beautification of the town. Estate Officer, HUDA, Gurgaon-1, had been asked to initiate the process of shifting of auto repair shops from old Delhi road to auto market on local Basai road.

Gupta told mediapersons that the illegal jhuggis in Sector 12-A will also be removed soon for which necessary orders had been issued.

Answering a query, Gupta said that the landlords were responsible for the verification of the tenants for which necessary directions had already been issued under Section 144 of the CrPC.

Jind, November 8
Two persons died and a child got seriously injured in separate incidents in the district in the past 24 hours.

A labourer died due to thunder and lightning in the Safidon subdivision of the district today.

According to information, Narain (40) became the victim of lightning, which fell on the spot at about 9.30 am. Narain, hailing from Saharsa in Bihar, was on his way to work.

Later, the body was sent for postmortem examination.

This had been the first case of death due to lightning in the district so far, an official said.

In another incident, a speeding truck ran over two persons near Nidana village in the district today. The victims have been identified as Vazir Singh (20) and Mandeep (12).

The duo was on their way to Nandgarh village on a motorcycle, when a truck hit them near the village, about 15 km from here.

While Vazir succumbed to his injuries before being shifted to a hospital, Mandeep got critically injured. He has been referred to the PGIMS at Rohtak.

The duo was coming from Kothkala village in Hisar district after attending a religious function.

This is the second such accident in the district in the past two days.

Anil Kumar, a resident of Ravinder Colony here, was also killed in a similar manner on the Jind-Rohtak road yesterday. The motorcycle he was riding on was hit by a tractor-trolley, about 20 km from here.

Chandigarh, November 8
The Haryana government has decided to set up ‘Mahila shakti sadans’ in rural areas of the state in a phased manner as part of its endeavour of women empowerment.

To begin with, 500 sadans will be constructed in a year.

Women and child development minister Kartar Devi said here today that the sadans would be constructed in those villages where the panchayats would provide 500 sq yards of land free of cost.

Each sadan would be constructed at a cost of Rs 10 lakh. The sadans would provide a common place to women for organising various activities for their empowerment, awareness generation, training camps and meetings.

Such activities would be organised by the Mahila Sakshar Samooh, the village-level committee of educated women and government agencies.

Each sadan would be equipped with a library and have adequate furniture, computer and stationery.

Yamunanagar, November 8
A man working as a clerk at a timber store here died in a road accident here this evening. He was riding on a motorcycle with his friend when a truck hit them.

His friend also sustained injuries. The accident took place on the flyover the railway lines. The victim, Naresh Kumar (25), was resident of Banhera village of Saharanpur district, UP. He was headed for the Yamunanagar bus stand to take a bus home.

His friend Naseer was driving the bike. Naseer sustained injuries on his legs. A case has been registered against the truck driver, who fled from the scene of the accident.