English ‘rule’ may spell trouble for UK

Gujarat-based farmer’s wife has launched a legal battle against new immigration rule, which says spouses and immigrants must have English language skills before they come to the UK

London, August 4
There are so many Gujarati speakers in the east Midlands town of Leicester that there is no need to learn to speak English, according to a Gujarat-based farmer whose wife has launched a keenly followed legal case against new immigration rules.
Indian-origin British citizen, Rashida Chapti, 54, has been trying unsuccessfully for several years to get a UK visa for Gujarat-based husband, Vali Chapti, 57, so that he could join her in Leicester.
The prospect of Vali getting the visa has been further complicated by recent rules that spouses and immigrants must have English language skills before they come to the UK to ensure their integration in local communities.
Rashida has challenged the English language rules in the High Court on the ground that they breach her human rights to family life. The court is expected to rule on the petition in September.
On radio chats and Internet forums, Chapti’s review petition has been severely criticised, with people stating that if she wanted a family life, she should return to India instead of bringing her farmer-husband to the UK and then allegedly claiming financial benefits from the taxpayer here.
Speaking to the Daily Mail from his village of Valan in Gujarat, Vali Chapti said he could get by speaking Gujarati in Leicester.
His comments sparked more anger with nearly 1,000 readers reacting to them, an overwhelming majority critically. “It’s not easy to learn a foreign language late in life, especially when I have not even finished my proper education at school in India. Except for Gujarati, I don’t speak any language properly. My wife can speak and understand some English and relatives speak it very well. Why should it be a problem?” he said.
He said, they will fight, however long it takes, till they get the justice. “If we are rejected, we will appeal again and again for our human rights to be respected,” he added.
He said if he came to Leicester, he planned to work with his wife at a clothes factory where ‘he would not need to know English’.
Rashida Chapti said, “He is a 57-year-old farmer who lives in a tiny village in India - it is impossible for him to learn English.
I have my family here who have been supporting me, but it is very difficult to be here without him. I will keep fighting until the law is overturned and he is with me,” she reiterated. The couple, who have been married for 37 years, have six children.
It is feared that if Rashida’s review petition is upheld, it could lead to many more foreign nationals with poor English language skills coming to the UK at a time the David Cameron government is tightening rules to curb immigration. A Home Office spokesman termed the ruling on spoken English as “entirely reasonable”. “Last November, we introduced requirements that those intending to marry in the UK demonstrate a basic knowledge of the language and we are currently consulting on proposals to strengthen requirements and ensure those applying to settle here can readily understand everyday English, the spokesman added.

Cyber cell files chargesheet

Chandigarh, August 4
The cyber crime cell of the Chandigarh Police today filed a detailed chargesheet against IA Quadri, accused of stealing confidential data of his employer’s company, Metro Exporter Private Ltd, along with two others.
The accused had taken a cue from Bollywood flick ‘Rocket Singh’ and adopted modus operandi of stealing their employer’s data and opening a separate firm within their office. They then targeted clients of their employer and earned huge profits.
Quadri and two others -Ajay Singh Thakur and Rajesh Nanda - were booked under Section 406 and 420 of IPC and Sections 66, and 72 of the Information Technology (IT) Act on June 2.

Fake degrees used to seek jobs abroad

PU confirms 262 such cases in past two years

Chandigarh, August 4
In response to details sought under the Right to Information Act, Panjab University has confirmed at least 262 cases in which bogus PU academic degrees were misused in applying for admission in colleges or seeking employment abroad during the past two years.
What is more interesting is the fact that the varsity has not passed on any information regarding fake universities in other countries to the police.
As part of the information provided to The Tribune correspondent, PU received 45,885 queries from abroad for verification during the past five years. Among the long list of enquiries received during the past two years, as many 262 cases were found to involve fake degrees. The correspondent had sought information regarding the total number of cases where the university was asked to provide a report on the authenticity of the academic degrees that students had submitted while applying admission abroad during the past five years. Though details were also sought on the number of cases where degrees were found to be bogus, information pertaining to only two years was provided.
formation regarding authenticity of PU degrees had been sought by various agencies from foreign countries. PU officials said the details had been passed on only to those who had asked for specific details. Any candidate who was not satisfied with the varsity’s reply was free to contact the PU office of the registrar.
Sources requesting anonymity said: “PU officials were very well aware about an existing racket in fake degrees.”
When contacted, PU VC RC Sobti said any information on the matter should be sought in “writing”. “I’m unaware about any fake degree racket in PU. Steps are being taken to make the entire system foolproof,” he added. Asked to elaborate on the “foolproof system” he refused to divulge details, saying it would be revealed at the “right time”.

Two arrested for immigration fraud

Accused employees of Sector 8-based Sri Sai Kirpa Immigration firm

Chandigarh, August 3
The economic offences wing of the Chandigarh Police today arrested two persons, including a woman, who are employees of a Sector 8-based immigration company for immigration fraud involving over Rs 22 lakh.

The police arrested 24-year-old Vikram Jaiswal, a resident of Jagadhari district in Yamunanagar, and Tammana, alias Nidhi, also a resident of Yamunanagar. They were produced in court and remanded to police custody.

The police registered a case under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC and 24 of the Immigration Act on July 29 on the complaint of Daljit Singh, a resident of Sector 23-D and 20 other complainants who were duped in a similar fashion by the immigration company by taking money form them for sending them abroad.

The complainants alleged that they had applied for work permit visa for Canada through Sri Sai Kirpa Immigration in Sector 8, Chandigarh, which is being run by Neena Sharma and her associates. All complainants had paid Rs 22.3 lakh, but they were never provided any visa nor were they refunded the amount.

It was also alleged that the company gave forged offer letters of Canadian companies to them. The company owners had also taken the passports in original of some of the candidates.

Besides the managing director of the company, Neena Sharma, the police had booked Vikram Jaswal, Shruti, Tamana, Yadwinder, Amandeep, Rachna, all employees of Shri Sai Kirpa Immigration, who obtained Cash Rs 22.3 lakh from the 20 persons for sending them to Canada on the basis of work permit in March 2011.

Another woman held

 In yet another case of immigration fraud, the police booked Anu Sharma, a resident of Sector 48. The accused has been booked under Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC and 24 of the Immigration Act. Jasbir Inder Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Jasmer Kaur and Mohammad Riyaz filed a complaint against Anu Sharma, a resident of Star Enclave, Sector 48-C. They alleged that Anu Sharma along with her husband Krishan Mohan allured them with fake promises of sending them abroad. She obtained their passports and took Rs 15.10 lakh from them. She also issued them post-dated cheques to pay her liabilities. However, neither did she sent them abroad nor returned their money. When they presented the post-dated cheques in the bank, the same were dishonoured. It has also been found that accused Anu Sharma is also involved in another case of cheating and was declared a proclaimed offender in that case.

 

One booked for fraud under Immigration Act

Mohali, August 3
The Mohali Police today registered a case under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC and Section 24 of the Immigration Act against Deepak Arora, M/S Jet International Placement Services, SCF 54, first floor, Phase VI, Mohali, on the complaint of Jai Singh, a resident of Sector 21, Panchkula, for duping him on the pretext of sending him abroad.
Jai Singh had alleged in his complaint that he had given Rs 50,000 demand draft to the accused to send him to New Zealand. However, neither was he sent abroad nor was his money returned, the police added.

All is not well with Chandigarh jail

finds magistrates not paying heed to law
 
Chandigarh, August 3
An inspection of the Chandigarh jail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s Acting Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel has revealed all is not well.
The magistrates were not found adverting to the prescribed mode of law while sending the undertrials to custody. Some youngsters appeared to be juveniles, but nothing had been done to determine this.
Observing that the situation in the Chandigarh jail is not isolated and may be there in other jails as well, Justice Goel also ordered the matter to be treated as a petition on the judicial side.
The Bench, comprising Justice Goel and Justice AK Mittal, also issued a notice of motion to the states of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. The case now stands adjourned till November 30.
Justice Goel observed that: “Inspection of the Chandigarh jail was carried out on July 16 to see the progress of the cases of the undertrials in the background of the directions that all efforts be made to complete the sessions trial, where accused are in custody, within two years and magisterial trial, where the accused are in custody, within six months.
“It was observed that some of the undertrials appeared to be juveniles and necessary steps to determine this aspect were not been taken… the District and Sessions Judge may monitor this aspect and give a report to this court.”
Justice Goel added that: “It was also noticed that the magistrates were not adverting to the mode of law…. In some cases, the power of remand was being exercised beyond 15 days of custody mechanically.
“Under the law, such power can be exercised only on the satisfaction being reached that there were adequate grounds for authorised detention.”
Quoting the law, Justice Goel added as per Section 173 (1), the investigations need to be completed without delay. In case of unnecessary delay, the magistrate may be justified in declining to authorise the detention.
“It was noticed that even in the case of magisterial trials, there was a long delay in completing the investigations…. If the investigation is complete, the court can proceed with the matter and in an appropriate case invoke the provisions of plea bargaining or recording of confession.
“But the delay in investigation without valid justification, when the accused is in custody, may not only be violative of the statutory mandate under the Code of Criminal Procedure, but also under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This aspect may be required to be dealt with on the judicial side by the way of a PIL,” Justice Goel concluded.

Statue of Lady Justice unveiled at Mohali law institute

Chandigarh, August 3
A 13-feet-tall statue of the Lady Justice, envisioned to project a feeling of peace and justice, was unveiled at the Army Institute of Law (AIL) at Mohali today by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command Lt Gen SR Ghosh.

The Lady Justice, the Roman goddess of justice, is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial system. The personification of justice, balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to ancient Egypt and the Goddess Maat and later Isis. Her modern iconography, which adorns the courtrooms, conflates the attributes of several goddesses.
The Lady Justice depicts justice as equipped with three symbols; a sword symbolising the court’s coercive power, a human scale weighing competing claims in each hand and a blindfold indicating impartiality.
Students of the AIL presented a cultural programme that includes mono and group-dance performances, a short play titled “The Proposal of Anton Chekhov” and an audio-visual presentation on the history and achievements of the AIL.
Lt Gen Ghosh interacted with the students and felicitated them for their meritorious performance. He also presented the Tata Merit and Abhimanyu scholarships.
The Tata Merit Scholarship was awarded to Deepika Doot, Devrath Singh and Sadhana Rashmi Perumal for securing the first rank in I, II and III year of BA LLB respectively. They got Rs 20,000 each. Tuhina Srivastava, Phaguni Nilesh Lal and Shivika Chaudhary got Rs 10,000 each for securing the second position in I, II and III year respectively. The Abhimanyu Scholarship was given to Mohammad Sohail Ali and Khemender Singh for topping in the Law Entrance Test for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 sessions, respectively.

Housing consumers at receiving end

Builders appealing against forum’s orders

Chandigarh, August 3
Scores of consumers who managed to get relief from the district forum for a delay in possession of promised plots or apartments in colonies developed by real estate firms are still making the rounds of the commission’s office.
In order to have an excuse for delaying implementation of the forum order, the firms file appeals and revisions in the commission against the lower forum’s order, increasing the ordeal of consumers who have invested their lifetime savings to own a house.
If the consumer wins his case in the district forum, a real estate company files an appeal with the State Commission where, after revision before the national commission in New Delhi, would be the natural outcome. While the appeals are a formality and routine for real estate firms, it is the consumer who suffers because of the high expenses, both legal and that of travelling, as well as the inconvenience involved in defending an appeal.
The passage of time works to the advantage of the companies, as by this time their projects concerned get completed and then the matter has to be compromised in view of the changed circumstances. Thus the consumer becomes a victim of the delay in the process of law.
“As it is, it isn’t easy to win a case against big companies, as they have various kinds of saving and immunity clauses inbuilt in their elaborate agreements. Such clauses include those relating to place of jurisdiction and arbitration clauses, apart from one-sided arbitrary provisions, which the consumer has no choice but to sign”, points out Vishal Dewan, a corporate lawyer.
“The implementation of the orders is invariably stayed in appeal or revision by the National Commission while admitting the appeal. Thereafter, an admitted appeal takes almost three years to come up for final hearing before the National Commission”, said Pankaj Chandgothia, president of the Consumer Courts Bar Association.
An analysis of data since January 2011 reveals the major defaulters in the real estate category are Parsvnath (with over 24 cases being filed), Shalimar Estates (11 cases), Emaar MGF (14 cases), Silver City (8 cases), Unitech (5 cases). The Chandigarh Housing Board, Taneja Developers, PH Houses and Pearls Buildwell are also in the consumer dock.
“The builder in fact uses the consumer’s money to build his project as most of the installments are charged in advance and the commitment of delivery is always shrouded in vague language. When the money gets stuck, the hapless consumer often prefer not to enter into a legal battle for fear of losing his money entirely”, says Rakesh Gupta, a businessman, undergoing similar problems.
Recently a family residing in Sector 8, Chandigarh, won three cases at the District Forum, but the respondent - Silver City - appealed to the State Commission, where after revision before the National Commission will be the natural outcome. The family had booked three units way back in 2006-2007, with not much hope of getting them in sight in the near future.