HC refuses to interfere with single-judge order

Chandigarh, August 31
Nearly five months after a single judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court admonished Panjab University for demonstrating “careless attitude” and directed it to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to a student, a division bench has refused to interfere with the orders.
Rapping the varsity for wasting two “valuable years” of MSc (mathematics) student Mansi Grover, Justice Mahesh Grover had also asked the varsity to hold special examination for her.
The directions came after Justice Grover was told that Mansi’s answer book had been destroyed, even as her petition before the High Court was pending.
Indicating that there was more than what met the eye, Justice Grover had ruled: “It is evident that the respondents have treated the case of the petitioner with extreme callousness which has resulted in severe prejudice to her. It has not only demonstrated careless attitude of the university to the entire examination, valuation and revaluation process, but also reveals an apathetic state of affairs, which this case reveals and which may be a tip of the iceberg.”
Going into the background of the controversy, Justice Grover had observed: “The university has been extremely callous in evaluating and giving out the result of the petitioner. Upon an application being made by the petitioner for revaluation of the answer book in Theology and Functional Analysis (TFA 618), they upgraded her marks from 26 to 33, which implied that the petitioner had passed the examination. In other subject in field theory and linear algebra (FLA 617), in the original marks sheet given out, she had already been shown as receiving 33 marks out of 100, again indicating that she had passed the subject. But amazingly, another marks sheet is issued to the petitioner in which her marks in both the subjects have been reduced from 33 to 26 in FLA 617 and from 26 to 21 in TFA 618….”
Taking up the appeal filed by the varsity, the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice AK Mittal asserted: “It is not disputed that no opportunity of being heard was given to the writ petitioner before reducing her marks. The justification for reducing the marks could not be established before the court as the record was not preserved. The single judge was, thus, justified in drawing inference of arbitrariness on the part of the appellant university, which prejudiced the petitioner, entitling her to the relief claimed. We, thus, do not find any ground to interfere with the impugned order. The appeal is dismissed.”

Rap for PU Rapping the varsity for wasting two “valuable years” of MSc (mathematics) student Mansi Grover, Justice Mahesh Grover had also asked the varsity to hold special examination for her

Abolish post of Lambardar, says HC

Chandigarh, August 31
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that it wants the “ornamental” posts of lambardar to be abolished in the states of Punjab and Haryana. Justice Alok Singh minced no words to say lambardars were involved in identifying imposters substituting for dead or real landowners; and were a burden on the state exchequer.
“It has come to the notice of this court that nowadays lambardars are involved in different criminal cases for identifying imposters for the dead or the real landowners to grab their valuable land. Remuneration paid to the lambardars from the state exchequer seems to be unnecessary financial burden on the state, while the lambardars have no active duties/functions to perform,” the court held.
This is high time when the government should consider the desirability to abolish the posts of lambardars within the states of Punjab and Haryana, Justice Singh observed.

NRI Property Case

Accused police officer yet to join probe 

Patiala, August 31
The Khanna Police has recovered the car of accused police officer Ashok Kumar Sharma, which was used in the kidnapping of an NRI’s brother Varinder Kumar and his wife Parminder Kaur. Meanwhile, the accused police officer is yet to join investigations, though he has been summoned by the investigating agency.
According to police, Inspector Ashok Kumar Sharma, posted as in charge of the Patiala Range Control Room, was found prima facie involved in a kidnapping case involving his relatives.
On Monday, the Khanna Police had claimed to have solved a case involving the kidnapping of Varinder Kumar and his wife Parminder Kaur, allegedly by his younger brother. The younger brother, Dharminder Sharma, who reportedly lives in the USA, allegedly got his elder brother kidnapped along with his wife, with the motive of getting him tagged as a drug addict and later grab his property share.
Patiala range DIG Parmod Ban said the role of the accused officer is under investigation by the Khanna Police and action would follow on the outcome of that investigation.
“His car has been recovered last evening after Ashok Kumar personally called our police team that he was sending the car and later it was found at a location told by him in Khanna,” claimed DSP (Khanna) Devinder Dhuri.

SIKH MARRIAGE ACT

High priests to meet on September 8

Amritsar, August 31
Taking serious note of the Centre dropping the proposal for a separate Sikh marriage Act, the Akal Takht Jathedar has called a meeting of Sikh high priests on September 8.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said: “We will evolve our future course of action after a thorough discussion” .
He declined to give details of their possible strategy. Sources said the Sikh high priests may pass a resolution condemning the UPA government’s move to drop the proposal, besides issuing directions to the SGPC to seek legal opinion on the matter.
SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said they would follow the directions of the Sikh high priests.
Ashok Singh Bagaria from the Institute of Sikh Studies, Chandigarh, said: “The Centre’s move is an attack on the Sikhs' independent identity. The Sikh high priests should direct the SAD to call a special session of the assembly to pass a resolution, condemning the Centre’s move and pleading that the matter be reconsidered.”
Gursharanjeet Singh from Guru Nanak Dev University said the SGPC should consult legal experts.
“The ruling SAD should put pressure on its ally BJP to stand by it in Parliament on the issue and if the latter refuses, the SAD should reconsider the alliance,”he said.
Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjeet Singh Chadha termed the Centre’s move as another “injustice perpetrated on the Sikhs.”
He appealed to all Sikh outfits to come out in support of the Act. 
Source-TNS

Stay on Rajiv Gandhi killers’ execution sparks debate

New Delhi, August 31
The resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly against the scheduled hanging of three convicts in the 1991 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and the judicial stay on their executions have kicked off a raging, nationwide debate — both legal and political — on death sentences and the long delays in deciding mercy petitions.
The three convicts — Murugan, Santhan and Arivu — got a reprieve for eight weeks from the Madras High Court yesterday by contending that their death sentences should be commuted to life due to the 11 years of delay in rejecting their mercy petitions.
This development has come close on the heels of two similar pleas made by Afzal Guru, sentenced to death for the December 13, 2001, terror attack on Parliament, and Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, facing gallows for the 1993 bomb attack on the then Youth Congress leader MS Bitta. Both Bhullar and Afzal Guru have raised similar arguments in their petitions filed in the Supreme Court: they can’t be subjected to two sentences — life term as well as hanging.
All five death row convicts have cited apex court verdicts which said delays over mercy pleas would entail commutation of the death sentences. However, the Supreme Court has not specified the period of delay.
On May 23 this year, an apex court Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and CK Prasad directed the government to provide the reasons for the delay in deciding Bhullar’s mercy plea. Incidentally, the President rejected his plea two days later.
In his plea for expediting a decision on his mercy petition, Afzal Guru said death sentence would be much better than being subjected to solitary confinement for several years.
While constitutional and legal experts debate the intricacies involved in such cases, the Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution calling for pardon for the killers of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has fuelled a political row. Responding to the Assembly resolution, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah remarked that a similar move by his state assembly on Afzal Guru would not have been taken lightly. The BJP came out with a quick response, describing his remarks as “unfortunate.”
BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said his party was clearly of the view that all death row convicts, whose mercy pleas were rejected, should be executed.
Political analysts feel such developments would set a dangerous trend, with the state Assemblies concerned passing similar resolutions, be it in the case of Bhullar or others. More than 25 mercy petitions are still pending with the Union Home Ministry or the President and this explains why there have been very few executions in recent years. Since April 27, 1995, when “Auto” Shankar was hanged in Salem, Tamil Nadu, only one execution has taken place in the past 15 years. That was of Dhananjoy Chatterjee in August 2004 in Alipore jail in Kolkata for the gruesome rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in 1990. According to official figures, only 52 people have been executed since Independence. 

‘SAVE THE TRIO’ CHORUS GETS LOUDER

Madras HC stays hanging of Rajiv killers for 8 weeksTN Assembly passes resolution, urges Prez to review mercy pleas

Chennai, August 30
The hanging of the three men sentenced to death for conspiring to assassinate former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was stayed for eight weeks by the Madras High Court here today, coinciding with the Tamil Nadu Assembly passing a unanimous resolution asking President Pratibha Patil to review the mercy petitions.
Hearing the petitions filed by Murugan (alias Sriharan), T Suthendraraja (alias Santhan) and AG Perarivalan (alias Arivu) that their death sentence be commuted, the high court ordered an interim stay on the hanging pending disposal of the case.
The court has ordered notice to the Union Government returnable in eight weeks. On August 11 this year, President Pratibha Patil rejected the mercy petitions of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, all linked to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and sentenced them to death for their involvement in Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.
Rajiv Gandhi, who was the Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989, was killed by a suicide bomber called Dhanu at an election rally in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, on May 21, 1991. Fourteen other persons also lost their lives in the blast.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly also moved a resolution asking the President to review their mercy pleas and commute the death sentence to life imprisonment.
Citing concern of the people of Tamil Nadu and the appeals by various political parties, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said the resolution was moved on behalf the state government.
The clemency petition was rejected by the President after 11 years and the delay is prima facie wrong, senior counsel Ram Jethmalani said while arguing for Perarivalan. He said a notice seeking explanation for the delay should be sent.
Jethmalani had earlier said that if there was a delay of two years, the death sentence should be commuted to life imprisonment.
“Perhaps the delay in deciding on the mercy petition made the high court grant the stay. The Rajiv Gandhi assassination case is one of the rarest of rare cases where death sentence is warranted,” political commentator Cho Ramaswamy said. 

Political parties hail HC order

Chennai, August 30
Political parties in Tamil Nadu have welcomed the Madras High Court order staying the execution of the three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and adoption of a resolution by the state Assembly appealing to the President to reconsider their mercy pleas.
The CPI has put on hold its proposed fast on September 3 to press its demand for commutation of the death sentence of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan. CPI state secretary D Pandian has thanked CM and members of the Assembly for passing the resolution requesting President Pratibha Patil to reconsider the clemency petitions of the three convicts.
Principal opposition in the Assembly, the DMDK has also welcomed the adoption of the “unanimous resolution”.
MDMK leader Vaiko, who has been in the forefront of the campaign for commuting the death sentence of the three, said the entire Tamil community was “rejoicing” over the high court order and thanked Jayalalithaa for her initiative in the assembly.

Resolution not binding: Khurshid

NEW DELHI: The resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly asking President Pratibha Patil to review the mercy petitions of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s killers was not binding, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said on Tuesday. “The state government resolution is not binding on anyone,” he said. About the court decision, he said, “I cannot interfere with any high court decision.”
Source— IANS