The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

COURTS

SC upholds orders on land cancellation
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 19
The Supreme Court today upheld the cancellation of 5.75 acre of land to the Institute of Law by the Chandigarh Administration.

There was no confusion in the orders passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court cancelling the allotment on the basis of a PIL, a Bench comprising Justices SJ Mukhopadhaya and V Gopala Gowda held. The UT administration had not undertaken any systematic exercise to assess the needs of various kinds of professional institutions requiring land, the apex court said.“The screening committee comprising senior and responsible functionaries allotted the institutional sites in favour of the allottee without following any objective criteria and policy” and as such the allotment was “arbitrary, unreasonable and unjust,” the SC ruled.The Administration had given the land on a 99-year lease.

‘Con man’ Devinder Gill gets bail
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, September 19
A local court today granted bail to alleged con man Devinder Gill in a rape case.

Devinder, who is also accused of duping several Punjab Police officials on the pretext of providing them state-of-the-art 2.5-acre farmhouses on the outskirts of Chandigarh, was arrested on August 3 by the Panchkula Police in the rape case registered against him. He was evading arrest in a case of cheating registered against him in Mohali.

Meanwhile, the complainant has accused the police of helping the accused in getting bail. She alleged that the investigating officer did not involve her properly in the investigation and ignored vital evidence to benefit the accused. “I was not given any notice and the evidence, which I had submitted, was not considered. I will fight till I get justice,” she said.

The accused’s wife Kricpy Khaira said her husband was falsely implicated in the case. She said, “We had contended in the court that the complainant has already got two cases lodged against Devinder.”

Khaira said, “In 2013, she had got a case registered against Devinder accusing him of snatching her car keys. However, the case was closed later. In April 2014, she again got lodged a complaint against Devinder to extort money. These were among the points which we put before the court.”

Two acquitted in Rs 27-crore housing society scam
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 19
The District and Sessions Court here today acquitted two accused while upholding the lower court’s order against two other accused in the Shivalik Environ Cooperative House Building Society scam.

The lower court had awarded two-year imprisonment along with a penalty to Balwan Singh, Deepak Chaudhary, Dr Minna and Narvir Singh in the Rs 27-crore scam. However, the convicts filed an appeal against the lower court’s orders in the Sessions Court.

The case came up for hearing today where the judge upheld the conviction order of Balwan Singh and Deepak Chaudhary while Dr Minna and Narvir Singh were acquitted as the charges against them could not be proved.

Balwan Singh, his wife Dr Minna, nephew Deepak Chaudhary and Narvir Singh were booked by the Chandigarh Police for duping scores of members of the society of Rs 27 crore by concealing the actual status of the housing project. Balwan Singh was also accused of siphoning of society funds running into crores.

Following a complaint by over 150 members of the society in 1997, the UT police had registered a case under Sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC against them.

As per the chargesheet filed by the police, Balwan Singh collected the money from the society members through cash and demand drafts. The accused issued receipts for the money received only to some members. Further, he did not deposit the money in the account of the society.

Insurance firm told to pay relief
Our Correspondent

Mohali, September 19
The Permanent Lok Adalat (Public Utility Services), Mohali, headed by Jagroop Singh Mahal, has directed Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company, Chandigarh, to pay Parvinder Kaur, widow of Hans Raj, a resident of Kheri village in Kharar tehsil, Rs 4,47,019 as the insurance claim for the damage to the car, Rs 20,000 as expenses that she was forced to incur in obtaining an heir certificate from the court. It has also told the firm to pay Rs 15,000 as costs of litigation and interest at 9 per cent per annum to the victim.

Surinder Singh, son of Parvinder Kaur, had got insured a car with Royal Sundaram for Rs 5,28,019. The car met with an accident in which Surinder Singh died in May 2013. Parvinder filed a claim application before the respondent, but they asked her to produce the heir certificate and other documents. She then filed a civil suit before the court to get a decree about she being the only heir of Surinder and, thereafter, submitted the documents to the respondent on March 12, 2014. When the claim was still not paid, she filed an application before the Permanent Lok Adalat (PUS).

The contention of Royal Sundaram was that the heir certificate was given late and that they were entitled to four months’ time to settle the claim and during the proceedings they tendered a cheque for Rs 4,19,000, but the same was not accepted by the applicant.

Subsequently, it tendered Rs 4,47,000, which also was rejected by the applicant on the grounds that expenses, interest and litigation costs should be given to her.
When the parties could not reach a compromise, the Permanent Lok Adalat (PUS) held that she, being the mother, was the only Class 1 heir of the deceased and asking for an heir certificate was not necessary, more so, when she had submitted a declaration, an affidavit and indemnity bond with the respondent. The respondent also referred to a consent letter, but the adalat held that it was unconsciousable and when the respondent themselves did not adhere to it, the applicant was no longer bound by the same. It, therefore, directed the respondent to pay Rs 20,000 towards expenses of the civil court litigation, interest at 9 per cent per annum and litigation costs of Rs 15,000 besides the amount of Rs 4,47,019.

CRIME

A robbery that wasn’t
Complainant held for concocting story; Rs 10 lakh recovered
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 19
A day after, a driver of a private company claimed that four unknown persons robbed Rs 10 lakh from him, the Chandigarh Police today arrested the complainant who had concocted the story.

AS Cheema, DIG, UT Police, said that a complaint was received from one Dharampal Singh stating that he had been robbed of Rs 10 lakh by four unknown persons near the furniture market.Dharampal, who works as a driver in a private company (Aggarwal Welding and Mill Store) at the Industrial Area claimed that while taking Rs 10 lakh from Mohali to his company office at Industrial Area, Phase1, Chandigarh, four motorcyclists intercepted him and snatched the bag. Two of them were wearing police uniform.Acting on the complaint, the crime branch of the Chandigarh Police recorded the statements of the complainant and found loopholes in them.Following this, Dharampal was being monitored by the police and was further apprehended near Marble Market, Dhanas. The police have recovered the looted Rs 10 lakh on his disclosure. During interrogation, the complainant admitted that he had cooked up a story as he was in need of money. The accused further disclosed that he was under depression as one of his daughters was divorced and was living with him.He told the police that he had planned to leave the city after committing the robbery.

Burail resident arrested for theft in Sector 44
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 19
The Chandigarh Police today claimed to have arrested one of the two accused who had allegedly committed a theft at the residence of a private school teacher in Sector 44 and had also tried to outrage her modesty after thrashing her on September 1.

Maninder Singh, SHO of the Sector 34 police station, said the accused had been identified as Varinder, alias Kalia, alias Yogesh, a resident of Burail. Some of the stolen jewellery has been recovered, he said.

The official said the complainant had stated that at about 11.40 pm, two unknown persons entered her house from the rear side while she was sleeping.

The accused allegedly looted gold jewellery and Rs 2,000. After robbing her, the miscreants locked her children in their room and also molested her before fleeing.

Crime briefs

File at District Courts stolen

A case of theft has been registered against Rakesh Kumar, a munshi, at the District Courts in Sector 43 for allegedly stealing an official file from the court. Bhupinder Singh, SHO of the Sector 36 police station said that Pawan Kumar, a clerk, in the District Courts complained that Kumar had stolen an important file from the court.

Hit-and-run case

The Chandigarh Police have booked occupants of an Innova car who allegedly sped away after trying to hit a woman constable at Sector 35 market on September 18. Police officials said that the occupants of car bearing registration number PB-15D-3475 tried to hit the woman constable in the inner market at Sector 35 while she was on duty. A case has been registered .— TNS

SPORTS

SGGSC-26 spikers clinch title
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 19
Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, clinched the inter-college volleyball title during the men’s tournament for A-division at the Panjab University grounds here today.

The winners got the better of the PU Campus side 3-1. The final tally read 25-10, 29-27, 26-28, 25-11, in favour of the SGGS College.

In the play-off, Gobindgarh Public College, Alour, defeated DAV College, Hoshiarpur, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-16), to secure the third position.

Narangwal college win B-division tie

Meanwhile, on the first day of the tournament for B-division teams, GN College, Narangwal, defeated LLR Government College, Dhudike, 2-0. The scoreboard read 25-19, 25-13 at the end of the match.