August 25, 2011
NRIs entitled to speedy eviction of tenants: HC
Chandigarh, August 25
In a judgment affecting tenants residing in properties owned by nonresident Indians, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has upheld the provision of the law providing for speedy remedy to NRIs “in bona fide need of premises let out to tenants”. The ruling came on a petition filed by Asha Chawla and other petitioners against the Union of India and other respondents.
In their petition placed before the bench of acting chief justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and justice AK Mittal, the petitioners had earlier sought direction for declaring unconstitutional the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction (Amendment) Act, 2001 and the notification dated October 9, 2009 issued by the central government extending the amended Act to the union territory of Chandigarh.
The petitioners had claimed they were tenants in residential and nonresidential buildings in Chandigarh. They stated they were “facing eviction proceedings at the instance of different nonresident Indian landlords under section 13B of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949”, amended by the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction (Amendment) Act, 2001.
After hearing the rival contentions, the bench observed section 13B of the Act provided for special right in favour of landlords under the category of nonresident Indians.
“The classification of nonresident Indians, as a separate class of landlords, cannot be held to be violative of article 14 of the Indian constitution. The right to seek eviction on the ground of bona fide need is available to all landlords. The only difference in the case of NRIs and certain other specified landlords is that the right to contest eviction proceedings is governed by special procedure….” “The classification is not shown to be irrational. The same is intelligible and has a rational relationship with the object sought to be achieved, that is, providing speedy remedy to nonresidents in bona fide need of premises let out to tenants”, the bench stated.
“As regards the validity of the impugned notification extending the Punjab Act to the union territory of Chandigarh, the contention has to be rejected in view of the Supreme Court’s judgment in Ramesh Birch and others vs Union of India and others, upholding the notification extending the 1985 amendment of the state of Punjab to the union territory of Chandigarh…. We, thus, do not find any merit in the petition. Dismissed,” the bench concluded.
August 24, 2011
Job cuts not happening, says gov. spokesperson
A public service union and the federal government are at odds over whether there will be any public service job cuts in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada says the federal government plans to make cuts at Employment Insurance offices across the province, including cutting 29 positions in Gander and 27 jobs in other towns across the province.
The cuts affect more than workers, said Jeannie Baldwin, Atlantic vice president of PSAC.
"The community has to understand what 29 positions means," she said. "That's about $1.5 million of revenue that's in that community. And the business and the community will be affected by the loss of 29 jobs."
According to Baldwin, the jobs will be phased out by 2014. She said workers in Gander received the news about the cuts in an email on Friday.
But a federal government spokesperson, in an email to CBC News, said while there will be changes to make the offices more efficient and cost-effective, no jobs will be lost.
"There will be no offices closing, no impact on in-person services offered, and absolutely no jobs cuts at Service Canada locations across the province," wrote Celyeste Power, director of communications for Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Peter Penashue. Instead of cutting jobs, the department will look at reassignment, training for different roles, and attrition to minimize impacts on employees, she said.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada says the federal government plans to make cuts at Employment Insurance offices across the province, including cutting 29 positions in Gander and 27 jobs in other towns across the province.
The cuts affect more than workers, said Jeannie Baldwin, Atlantic vice president of PSAC.
"The community has to understand what 29 positions means," she said. "That's about $1.5 million of revenue that's in that community. And the business and the community will be affected by the loss of 29 jobs."
According to Baldwin, the jobs will be phased out by 2014. She said workers in Gander received the news about the cuts in an email on Friday.
But a federal government spokesperson, in an email to CBC News, said while there will be changes to make the offices more efficient and cost-effective, no jobs will be lost.
"There will be no offices closing, no impact on in-person services offered, and absolutely no jobs cuts at Service Canada locations across the province," wrote Celyeste Power, director of communications for Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Peter Penashue. Instead of cutting jobs, the department will look at reassignment, training for different roles, and attrition to minimize impacts on employees, she said.
Suspect arrested for 1999 murder of Poonam Randhawa
A decade-long search for a man wanted for the 1999 murder of an 18-year-old woman has come to an end.
Ninderjit Singh, 33, was arrested Friday by U.S. authorities in Riverside County, Calif., for the murder of Poonam Randhawa.
Randhawa, a student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary, was found shot dead near Granville Street and 47th Avenue on Jan. 26, 1999.
“I can’t remember when any announcement has ever given me this much pleasure,” said VPD Deputy Chief Warren Lemcke. “We got him. After years of searching, near misses and heartbreaking attempts, we got him.”
Investigators believe Randhawa got into a car with Singh, her ex-boyfriend, outside her school. He allegedly drove to a deserted part of the street, shot her and left her body at the scene.
“Police always suspected the killer was Ninderjit Singh, a man she knew who had apparently been stalking her for years,” Lemcke added.
Ninderjit Singh, 33, was arrested Friday by U.S. authorities in Riverside County, Calif., for the murder of Poonam Randhawa.
Randhawa, a student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary, was found shot dead near Granville Street and 47th Avenue on Jan. 26, 1999.
“I can’t remember when any announcement has ever given me this much pleasure,” said VPD Deputy Chief Warren Lemcke. “We got him. After years of searching, near misses and heartbreaking attempts, we got him.”
Investigators believe Randhawa got into a car with Singh, her ex-boyfriend, outside her school. He allegedly drove to a deserted part of the street, shot her and left her body at the scene.
“Police always suspected the killer was Ninderjit Singh, a man she knew who had apparently been stalking her for years,” Lemcke added.
Accused killer of Vancouver woman did not act alone
The man suspected in the 1999 shooting death of a Vancouver teen had help from another man who witnessed the slaying, according to extradition documents obtained by CBC News.
Vancouver police announced Tuesday the arrest in Los Angeles of B.C. native Ninderjit Singh for the killing of 18-year-old Poonam Randhawa in Vancouver in January 1999.
A deposition filed Wednesday by a California assistant U.S. attorney alleges that Singh was driving with a friend when he spotted Randhawa and asked the young woman to get in the back of their car with him.
As the friend drove, Singh shot Randhawa in the head dumping her body on the street near Granville Street and 47th Avenue West, where a woman discovered her body minutes later, the deposition claims.
The deposition was purportedly based on information supplied by a Vancouver police investigator.
The document also said the same friend allegedly drove to Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle with Singh and another associate, who gave him money to buy a plane ticket to Los Angeles.
The deposition said a search of Singh's residence in Los Angeles last week turned up a shotgun, a rifle and two handguns — one of which was allegedly stolen.
The documents also revealed that Singh is also wanted in connection with a separate attempted murder allegation in Vancouver in 1997 in which a man was shot in the leg outside a movie theatre.
Police in Los Angeles arrested Singh, 33, last Friday after confirming his real identity with fingerprints obtained after a traffic stop.
Vancouver police had been pursuing Singh since the killing of Randhawa — who allegedly had assumed a false identity — nearly capturing him on a few occasions, police said Tuesday.
Without providing any details, Vancouver police also alleged Tuesday that Singh's family — who live in both Canada and the U.S. — helped him "evade justice."
Canadian authorities will apply for the extradition of Singh, who remains in custody in Los Angeles.
Vancouver police announced Tuesday the arrest in Los Angeles of B.C. native Ninderjit Singh for the killing of 18-year-old Poonam Randhawa in Vancouver in January 1999.
A deposition filed Wednesday by a California assistant U.S. attorney alleges that Singh was driving with a friend when he spotted Randhawa and asked the young woman to get in the back of their car with him.
As the friend drove, Singh shot Randhawa in the head dumping her body on the street near Granville Street and 47th Avenue West, where a woman discovered her body minutes later, the deposition claims.
The deposition was purportedly based on information supplied by a Vancouver police investigator.
The document also said the same friend allegedly drove to Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle with Singh and another associate, who gave him money to buy a plane ticket to Los Angeles.
The deposition said a search of Singh's residence in Los Angeles last week turned up a shotgun, a rifle and two handguns — one of which was allegedly stolen.
The documents also revealed that Singh is also wanted in connection with a separate attempted murder allegation in Vancouver in 1997 in which a man was shot in the leg outside a movie theatre.
Police in Los Angeles arrested Singh, 33, last Friday after confirming his real identity with fingerprints obtained after a traffic stop.
Vancouver police had been pursuing Singh since the killing of Randhawa — who allegedly had assumed a false identity — nearly capturing him on a few occasions, police said Tuesday.
Without providing any details, Vancouver police also alleged Tuesday that Singh's family — who live in both Canada and the U.S. — helped him "evade justice."
Canadian authorities will apply for the extradition of Singh, who remains in custody in Los Angeles.
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