New Delhi, April 19
The Supreme Court today stayed construction in the Pinjore-Kalka urban complex project of HUDA.

A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya passed the order on a petition filed by some of those whose land had been acquired for the project. It is not clear whether the stay pertains to construction in all sectors or some of the sectors as the order is not available immediately.

Haryana’s Additional Advocate-General (AAG) Manjit Singh Dalal confirmed that the Bench had passed the stay order.

Under the HUDA project, 31 new sectors were to be developed in the 476-acre urban complex, including residential, commercial and industrial areas, on both sides of the national highway No 22 between Pinjore and Kalka.

On March 12, 2012, the Bench had directed the Principal Secretary at Haryana’s Urban Estates Department to file an additional affidavit within four weeks giving all details of the project.

“We have gone through the affidavit filed by the AAG and found that the same is laconic in all respects. Therefore, we direct the Principal Secretary concerned to file further affidavit within four weeks incorporating therein the dates on which private companies/builders/developers in whose favour land was released at various stages of acquisition, the details of the Board of Directors of the companies, the dates on which they purchased land from the owners and the dates on which their names were recorded in the jamabandis or other revenue records. The affidavit shall also indicate whether private companies/builders/developers had filed objections under Section 5A and, if so, what were the recommendations made by the Land Acquisition Officer on those objections.”

The Bench had also asked the officer concerned to explain as to why the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act were not complied with for the purpose of acquiring land for the benefit of private companies.

“The details of the collaboration agreement entered into by builders with landowners be also given with the affidavit as also copies of the collaboration agreements ,” the apex court had ordered.

Panchkula, April 19
The long queues of vehicles at different toll plazas in the country will soon be a thing of the past as Radio Frequency Identity Device (RFID) technology-based electronic toll collection system will be introduced throughout the country within two years. This was stated by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister CP Joshi here today.

Joshi was speaking at a function after dedicating the four-laning of Zirakpur-Parwanoo portion (27.5 km) of NH-5 to the nation. He also inaugurated the country’s first RFID technology-based electronic toll collection plaza at Chandimandir. After the toll plazas are fitted with this technology, the commuters will be provided a chip at the nearest toll plaza against the required amount. A dish fitted at the toll plazas will read the chip and deduct the required amount automatically from the account of the user and the vehicle owner will not need to halt at every plaza.

Addressing the gathering, the Union Minister said the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) would take up major road projects comprising 1,167 km with a tentative cost of over Rs 10.5 thousand crore in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh during the current financial year. In Haryana, four road projects with a length of 508 km would be taken up, said Joshi.

In Haryana, the NHAI would take up four-laning of 80-km long Rohtak-Hisar stretch, two or four- laning of 78-km long Ambala-Kaithal stretch, two or four-laning of 160-km long Kaithal- Haryana stretch. Two or four-laning of 160-km long Hisar-Dabwali roads would be taken up with an investment of Rs 3,574 crore.

Referring to the issues raised by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Union Minister said the Union Government would consider exempting the natives of the village on whose land the toll plazas were set up from paying toll tax. He also announced concessional monthly passes for local residents.

On the mushrooming of toll plazas on different routes, Joshi said such hard measures were the need of the hour to develop road infrastructure in the country that will ultimately result in boosting economic growth.

Later, while interacting with mediapersons, Joshi said he had a discussion with the Haryana Chief Minister over the proposed Delhi-Jaipur express highway and the Chandigarh-Delhi express highway. Work on these projects will start soon, he said.

Others who were present on the occasion included Union Culture Minister Kumari Selja, Haryana PWD Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Union Minister of State Dr Tushar Amarsinh Chaudhary, Punjab Minister Sharanjit Singh and Himachal MP Narendra Kumar Kashyap.

New Delhi, April 19
The Supreme Court today sought the status of the mercy plea of Sonia, sentenced to death for murdering her father, Barwala’s ex-MLA Relu Ram Punia, and seven other family members in Haryana on the night of August 23, 2001.

A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya also asked for the details during the arguments on DPS Bhullar’s plea for commuting his death sentence on account of the long delay in the rejection of his mercy petition.

Senior counsel KTS Tulsi said the murder of Punia and his family was one of the horrendous cases in the criminal history of the country and it was unfortunate that a decision on Sonia’s mercy plea was still pending. Tulsi, who was the counsel for Bhullar, said he was the advocate for the complainant in the Sonia case.

The Bench said it was trying to understand the reasons for such delays and suggested that the Central Government set a time-frame for deciding mercy petitions.

Fatehabad, April 19
Getting tough with those carving out illegal colonies on agriculture land, the District Town Planning Department razed constructions in three such colonies in Ratia and recommended the registration of criminal cases against 54 persons in Bhuna in the past 24 hours.

A team led by District Town Planner Arvinder Dhull yesterday demolished constructions made in three illegal colonies on Bhuna road of Ratia town.

Dhull said the colonies had been carved in violation of the relevant laws in this regard.

He said the authorities would charge the money spent on demolition from the violators and in case the violation was repeated, the authorities would initiate legal proceedings against them.

Earlier, Dhull recommended FIRs against 54 persons for carving illegal colonies at two places on agriculture land in Bhuna town of the district.

Action against 19 persons has been recommended for Baba Ranadhir Colony, where the coloniser has gone to the extent of building roads while cases against 35 others have been recommended for a colony carved out on the Dhani-Sanchla road.

Chandigarh, April 19
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today questioned Chandigarh-based World Human Rights Council and its chairman, Ranjan Lakhanpal, on the locus standi to file a petition seeking an independent probe in the Ruchika molestation case.

As the case came up for resumed hearing, the Division Bench of Justice SS Saron and Justice M Jeyapaul asked Lakhanpal to address the court on the issue of locus standi.

The issue of locus standi was raised after Haryana’s former top cop SPS Rathore’s wife-cum-advocate Abha Rathore raised the issue of maintainability of the petition filed in public interest by Lakhanpal.

The issue assumes significance as the high court rules make it mandatory for the PIL-petitioner to convince the Court of his antecedents and the public interest involved in filing the petition. A Supreme Court judgment, too, is there on the issue.

The Bench also questioned Lakhanpal on the funds of the rights council and details of its members. He was also asked to produce the minutes of the meeting and the resolution on filing the PIL in the matter.

The Bench even asked Lakhanpal the details of the bank account, after he tried to convince the Court that council funds were meagre. The Bench was initially adjourning the case till afternoon for the production of record, but eventually accepted Lakhanpal’s request for additional time. The case will now come up on May 3 for further hearing.

The Chandigarh administration also produced a photocopy of the report prepared some two years ago on Ruchika's expulsion from Sacred Heart Covent School. But it was returned and the UT was given additional time to file a status report.

Lakhanpal had earlier sought directions for an independent probe in the Ruchika case, right from the day she was molested till the final decision of the case. The petitioner also sought appropriate action against all officers siding with Rathore and enabling the trial to continue for 19 years. — TNS

Chandigarh, April 19
The Haryana Government has banned the use of expression “handicapped” saying it violates and undermines the dignity of persons with disability.

An official spokesman said the expression “handicapped” was against the spirit of the Constitution, the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to which India was also a state party.

He said the use of such other expressions as “differently abled” would also be discouraged as such an expression harps more on the differentiality dimension. Wherever such description was both necessary and relevant, such persons would be described as persons with disability or as persons with blindness, persons with speech and hearing impairment or persons with locomotor disability.

He said national institutes like the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped and the National Institute for Hearing Handicapped should also be renamed appropriately. — PTI

Travari (Karnal), April 19
Life came to a virtual halt in Trawari, the biggest rice mandi of the region, as shopkeepers pulled down the shutters and joined local residents in blocking the highway at the railway overbridge in protest against the murder of a class XII boy. The blockade continued for about four hours.

Sahil, alias Ashu, was going to his friend’s house after tuition when two persons attacked him with sharp-edged weapons, inflicting serious injuries . He was rushed to a local hospital at Karnal, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Chanchal, mother of the deceased, tried to commit suicide by cutting her veins and was rushed to a hospital.

The family members alleged that four persons were involved in the murder. The body was handed to the family members after a post-mortem examination .

The police said Pulkit and Vedpal Sharma had been arrested. Old enmity appeared to be the motive behind the murder.

Sirsa, April 19
The District and Sessions Judge, Subhash Goyal, today sentenced a man to imprisonment for life for killing his wife at Norang village in the district two years ago. The accused, Kulwant Singh, had killed his wife, Paramjit Kaur, on June 17, 2010, when she was working in the fields.

The two had a tiff before the incident and the accused allegedly attacked her with a spade.

The police arrested him and booked him for murder.

Holding him guilty of the murder, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Kulwant Singh.

He will have to serve a further imprisonment of three months if he failed to pay the fine.

Jind, April 19
Two persons, both male, lost their lives in domestic violence and due to family disputes during the past 36 hours in the district.

Raju, a resident of Dhimana village of the district, was allegedly set ablaze by his wife and her paramour. Raju had developed strained relations with his wife, Usha, for the past two years over her alleged illicit relations with a youth in the village.

Though initially the police was told that Raju was burnt to death in an accident, his dying statement recorded by the police revealed that he had been set ablaze by his wife, Usha, and her paramour, Jitender, while he was asleep in his house on April 10. He had also been administered some sedatives before he was set on fire, said the police, which claimed that it was done so that he could not raise an alarm for help.

His murder was plotted and carried out by his wife along with Jitender, the police said.

In another incident, a 52-year-old person identified as Mahabir, a resident of a locality on the Narwana road here, died under mysterious circumstances. It is reported that he was allegedly fed a poisonous substance by the kin of his daughter-in-law. The police has booked a case against five persons.

Hisar, April 19
The police has arrested suspects who are believed to have stolen 50 quintals of paddy from the fields of Singhar village in this district.

A police spokesman said here that the suspects had been identified as Bhajan, alias Raju Bawariya, of Kallar Bhaini, and Manjeet, alias Patwari, of Sikar Kani Khori in Rajasthan. As many as 50 quintals of stolen paddy had been recovered from their possession. A court remanded the suspects in police custody for five days.