Chandigarh, September 16
In a significant judgment, Justice Ranjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed the Haryana Government’s orders withdrawing “bunching increments” given to JBT teachers and directing the recovery of the excess amount from their pay and allowances.The order will affect hundreds of teachers.

As many as 23 petitions were filed in the high court on the issue.

In one of the petitions, Raj Singh Malik of Government Primary School in Sultanpur in Hisar district and 26 other petitioners had claimed that Haryana and other respondents had earlier fixed the pay of the petitioners by granting them the benefits of bunching as provided under Rule 7 (1) (A) of the HCS (Revised) pay rules, 2008.

The petitioners had added that subsequently the Finance Department issued a letter on June 14, 2010, withdrawing the benefits of bunching, besides directing the recovery of the excess amount.

Counsel for the petitioner had added that the action was taken without affording the opportunity of hearing to the petitioners.

Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: The present writ petitions are disposed of on a short ground without going into the challenge raised by the petitioners on merit.

“The impugned orders are set aside due to the violation of principals of natural justice. The case would go back to the respondents and they are granted liberty to issue show-cause notices to the petitioners; and after obtaining their reply can pass a fresh order in accordance with law.

“It would be appropriate if the respondents pass a well-reasoned order, making the petitioners understand as to how they are not entitled to the bunching increments?. If the petitioners feel aggrieved against the order, they would be at liberty to approach any authority for the redressal of their grievance”. 

Gurgaon, September 16
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) will resume production at its Manesar plants on Sunday, and at the Gurgaon plant on Monday. With the strike at its vendor, Suzuki Powertrain India Limited (SPIL), being called off, supply of engines and transmissions to Maruti Suzuki has resumed.

Workers at SPIL had gone on strike on Wednesday evening to express support for striking workers at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plants. But they called off their strike this morning and decided to resume their duties.

In a press statement issued here today, the MSIL management said it would continue to recruit more trained and experienced workmen at the Manesar plants.

Meanwhile, the workers’ rally, which was scheduled to be held here today, was called off after Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena requested the trade union leaders to put off the rally and assured them of all help in resolving the crisis.

Tripartite talks between Haryana government functionaries, MSIL management and workers’ representatives were on to settle the matter. However, the MSIL management maintained that the workers would not be allowed to join duty without signing the good-conduct bonds and the workmen dismissed or suspended for indiscipline would not be taken back.

Chandigarh, September 16
Former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Nirmal Yadav today sought permanent exemption from appearing before the special CBI court in the cash-at-judge's door case, citing medical grounds and the presence of media during the hearing.

CBI Special Judge Ritu Tagore granted her exemption for today, while directing the CBI to file its reply on October 8 on Justice Yadav's plea for permanent exemption.

Justice Yadav in her application for today’s exemption stated that as she was suffering from severe backache, it would not be possible for her to attend the court proceedings.

Her other application regarding the permanent exemption read: “On every date which may be fixed in this case, there is every likelihood of mediapersons from various newspapers and news channels being present in good number. As on the last date (August 27), when the applicant appeared before the court to furnish bail bonds, the reporters followed the applicant i.e. literally hounded the applicant when she came to attend the court and after the adjournment of the case.”

Chandigarh, September 16
The Congress late tonight nominated former MP Jai Prakash Barwala as its candidate for the Hisar Lok Sabha byelection.

Jai Prakash is considered to be the choice of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Meanwhile, According to Haryana Congress spokesman VP Vidrohi, a general body meeting of the party has been convened here for September 19 to discuss a poll strategy.

Karnal, September 16
Agitated over low procurement price of paddy and the compulsory crop insurance scheme implemented by the government, farmers of Karnal and Kaithal today held a Mahapanchayat at Old Anaj Mandi and took out a procession to press the government to accept their demands.

The farmers, under the banner of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), threatened to launch a state-wide agitation if the procurement prices of non-basmati and basmati rice were not increased to Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000 per quintal and the crop insurance scheme was not made optional for farmers.

Ratan Mann, general secretary of BKU, said the procurement prices of cotton and sugar should also be increased to Rs 8,000 and Rs 500 per quintal and said the prices fixed by the government were much less compared to the cost of production.

Hisar Agriculture University (HAU) had last year calculated the per quintal production cost of wheat at Rs 1,218 but the government fixed the MPS at Rs 1,120 and Rs 50 as bonus, which was less than the cost incurred by the farmers.

Union leaders alleged that the farmers who were under the debt were being forced to a pay premium of Rs 374 per quintal under the crop insurance scheme and demanded that the scheme should not be made compulsory and farmers should be given the option to choose or reject the scheme.

Tohana (Fatehabad), September 16
A 10-year-old boy was killed when he was trapped under the debris of a wall of his house at Alika village this morning, while several houses caved in due to heavy rainfall in Tohana and Ratia area of this district since last night. The heavy rain has caused a havoc in Tohana and the neighbouring areas of Ratia in the district today.

The victim, Deepu, was in the bathroom of his house, when the wall caved him killing him on the spot. Bhateri Devi and her grandson Vikram were sleeping in their house in Damkaura Road of Tohana, when the ceiling came down crumbling injuring both of them this morning.

Concrete streets in the New Friends Colony and Bhatia Nagar have caved in due to excessive rainfall. The rain threw the life out of gear in Tohana town as several roads of the town were submerged under 3 to 5 feet of water. Rainwater entered houses and shops in the Grain Market, Milan Chowk, Ratia Road, Tehsil Road and Jamalpur Road and several schools remained closed today. Power supply of the town was also disrupted.

Reports from Simbal, Himmatpura, Puranmajra, Rahanwali, Mamupur and several other villages said standing cotton and paddy crops had been destroyed due to water logging of the fields. 

Hisar, September 16
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal today asked voters of the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency to secure affidavits from all candidates contesting the byelection from this seat about their unconditional support to the Jan Lokpal Bill when it comes up for discussion in the Lok Sabha.

This was Kejriwal’s first visit to his hometown after Anna Hazare’s historic fast against graft in New Delhi. Kejriwal, a winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his exemplary work on the Right to Information Act was born in Hisar.

Interacting with voters he said Team Anna had prepared a performa for the candidates which, inter alia, stated that if elected the candidate concerned would unconditionally support the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha and also get his party to issue a whip to its members to vote in its favour.

He said it was time the voters realised their collective power in a democracy and learnt to use it for their own good that of the nation. He said the nation wanted sacrifices from its people at this crucial juncture. A wave of patriotism was sweeping across the country. This was a welcome change.

Kejriwal said he did not believe in the supremacy of Parliament over the people. Parliament is a creation of the Constitution which the people of India had given themselves. Thus, the Constitution and all institutions created under it derived their power from the people of India.

“That’s why we want that the parliamentarians and legislators should seek the larger opinion of their voters on every important issue that comes up for hearing in a House on a regular basis”, he added.

Kejriwal said support to the Jan Lokpal Bill should not be the sole criterion for the voters to decide their choice of candidate. They should also look at other aspects like criminal record and their party’s policies.

He said Team Anna was committed to reforms in the electoral and educational systems. The campaign for the people’s right to recall their elected representatives would be taken up at a suitable time. 

Karnal, September 16
Thousands of passengers faced inconvenience as over a dozen services on the Delhi-Ambala section of the Northern Railways were disrupted as the power supply was snapped due to some snag near the Wajida Jatan station, 15-km from here today.

Commuters remained stranded for nearly four hours as trains were stopped at various destinations by the railway authorities after they were informed about the interruption in the power supply.

The power transmission line snapped while opening the shuttering of an over bridge, under construction near the Taravadi Railway Station and the railway traffic on the section came to a halt.

The power supply was restored after railway engineers from Kurukshetra, removed the snag and some trains resumed their onward journey. Amritsar Swaran Jayani Express, Himalayan Queen and Dadar Express were stopped at the Gharaunda and Wajida Jatan stations while Shan-e-Punjab, Jammu Mail and Kalka-Delhi Shatabdi trains were stopped between Karnal and Panipat. Panic gripped passengers as they came to know about the snag in the power supply.

The timings of more than a dozen trains had to be rescheduled. “The snag has been rectified and efforts are being made to normalise the train services,” Sheesh Pal Singh, Station Master, Wajida Jatan said.

Gurgaon, September 16
President Pratibha Patil has called for promoting peace, love, harmony, unity and brotherhood through the practice of India’s ancient spiritual wisdom for a value-based and progressive life.

She was the chief guest on the global launching of Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwavidyalaya’s platinum jubilee celebrations organised at the Om Shanti Retreat Centre in the district today.

Lauding the efforts of the Brahma Kumaris in touching the lives of people belonging to different countries, cultures and communities and bringing them on a common platform of spirituality, she maintained that “One God, One Family” was an appropriate theme for the institution’s platinum jubilee celebrations. The President underscored the need for empowering women, observing that they had immense potential and channelising their energies would build more peaceful societies.

Haryana Governor Jagannath Paharia congratulated the vishwavidyalaya on its platinum jubilee. He said the organisation had helped in spiritual awakening and inculcating the attitude of service of mankind and brotherhood in crores of people across the world.

Welcoming the President on visiting to Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said it was a matter of pride for the state that the global platinum jubilee celebrations of the Brahma Kumaris had been launched here. Hooda asserted that this organisation, which was being run by women, was a lively example of women empowerment.

Dadi Janki, Chief of Brahma Kumaris, said they were trying to realise Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of truth and non-violence. “God is one and all our souls are members of his family,” she noted.

Brij Mohan, principal secretary of the organisation, pointed out their organisation had 8,500 centres in 137 countries. 

Yamunanagar, September 16
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has appealed to the Sikhs of Haryana to vote for the SAD-B nominees in the forthcoming SGPC elections.

Addressing a public meeting last night at the Karan Palace on Tejli road in Yamunanagar, in favour of SAD candidates, including Baldev Singh Kayampuri and Bibi Manjit Kaur, Sukhbir said the SGPC, the mini parliament of the Sikhs, had been constituted after heroic sacrifices.

Lashing out at the Congress, Badal said the Congress had always pursued the anti-Sikh policies. He said the 1984 riots were at the instance of the Congress wherein a large number of Sikhs had lost their lives.

He said the Congress was out to divide the Sikhs and therefore, it was backing those, who were demanding a separate SGPC in Haryana.

The president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Sukhbir, said the Sikhs of Haryana would dump the candidates being backed by the Congress and give a decisive verdict in favour of the Akali Dal candidates.

Assandh (Karnal): The SGPC elections reached a feverish pitch in Haryana with Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal joining the campaign. He accused the HSGPC of conspiring to split the SGPC and divide the Sikh community.

Making an appeal to Sikhs to vote for SAD candidate Bhupinder Singh Assandh, who is pitted against HSGPC president Jagdish Singh Jhinda, Sukhbir reminded the Sikhs of the “attack on Darbar Sahib and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots”, adding that the Congress had always been “anti-Sikh”.

He asked the Haryana Sikhs to remain united and oppose all moves to split the SGPC.

Refuting the allegations of HSGPC leaders regarding discrimination with Haryana, Sukhbir said a large number of development projects had come up in the state. The Miri-Piri medical college project was stuck as the Haryana Government had not given the NOC so far.

New Delhi, September 16
Haryana today strongly defended in the Supreme Court its work on the controversial Hansi-Butana canal, contending that it was dutybound to protect the lives and property of its residents by preventing floods. As many as 157 persons lost their lives in floods in 1993 following a breach in the Ghaggar “bund” one side of which had now become part of the canal along a stretch, senior counsel Altaf Ahmed argued before a Bench comprising Justices JM Panchal and HL Gokhale.

Just because the “bundh” now served as one side of the canal did not mean that Haryana was strengthening the canal, he argued. If the state had not constructed the 109-km canal, Punjab would have had no reason to complain against the work on the “bundh”, he reasoned.

Ahmed also argued that floods in the area affected only 5,000 acres in Punjab against over 12,000 acres in Haryana. As such, Haryana stood to lose much more in the wake of floods in the monsoon season, he said. Further, Punjab should properly maintain the Mirapur drain meant for channeling rain waters to deal with floods instead of finding fault with Haryana for strengthening the “bundh” which gave way in July, 2010, causing huge destruction in villages in the area.

Haryana also maintained that there was no need to consult Punjab for carrying out the work as the “bundh” had been in existence since the 1950s, prior to the bifurcation of Punjab for the creation of Haryana.

In view of this, Punjab’s interlocutory application for preventing Haryana from carrying out the work had nothing to do with Punjab’s original suit, challenging the construction of the Hansi-Butana canal, counsel argued.

Rohtak, September 16
An 18-year-old girl student committed suicide last night, by consuming some poisonous substance at her rented accommodation at local Rajender Nagar in Rohtak district.

According to police sources, the victim identified as Sangeeta, hailing from the Safidon town of Jind district, but residing in Rohtak, committed suicide by consuming a poisonous substance in her rented accommodation at local Rajender Nagar.

The police has booked a middle-aged person in connection with the death of the girl. Sangeeta, who was a student of the Government Polytechnic at Sanghi village had reportedly been upset by the harassment caused to her family, by the accused, Raj Kumar (40), who also hails from the same town.

The accused had been booked by the police at Safidon town last year on charges of molesting the mother of the victim. The accused had been threatening the girl’s family to either withdraw the case or face dire consequences, which included the move to get the life of the girl spoiled.

“This had caused a severe tension to the victim and her kin and this made the girl to consume poison last night at the room where she had been residing as a tenant,” says the complaint.

The police has registered a case under section, 306 and 506 of the IPC against the accused.