Seminar on legal cell

Ludhiana: A seminar on establishing a legal cell in college was conducted at DRV DAV Centenary College. Lalit Kaushal, assistant district attorney, Jalandhar, addressed students and inspired them to volunteer in the para-legal volunteer scheme started by the government to help weaker sections of society in providing legal aid free of cost.

The volunteers will be imparted with six-day training and they will be awarded with an honorarium of Rs 250. Various section covered under this scheme are women, physically challenged persons and the poor from villages who need legal help. 

Six names cleared for elevation to HC Bench

Chandigarh, December 12
Six judicial officers are to be elevated as Punjab and Haryana High Court Judges. It is believed that the file containing the names of the Judges has reached the Chief Minister’s office for approval. Once through, it will be sent to the Governor before being placed before the Supreme Court collegium for consideration.

Reeling under the burden of pendency due to a severe shortage of judges, the Punjab and Haryana High Court collegium cleared their names for elevation. Four District and Sessions Judges are from Punjab and the remaining from Haryana.

Available information suggests the names cleared by the High Court collegium are SP Bangar (Ludhiana), RP Nagrath (High Court Registrar-General), Rehka Mittal (Punjab Legal Remembrancer) and Inderjit Singh Walia (Jalandhar).

The Haryana Judges, whose names have been cleared, are Bharat Bhushan Parsoon and RC Godara.

The Judges, who could not make it to the top, are Varinder Kumar and KK Garg, both from Punjab. Indications are that Kumar’s name was dropped from the list on medical grounds.

The development is significant as the High Court, as of now, has just 45 Judges, against the sanctioned strength of 68. The number is expected to fall further with the impending transfer of Justice Mohinder Pal. The possibility of more transfers from the High Court are, as of now, not being ruled out.

The names of three more advocates were cleared for elevation by the High Court collegium earlier this year, but these failed to find favour with the apex court.

The result of shortage of Judges is there for all to see. Currently, the High Court has approximately two lakh pending cases.

100 yrs of history, glory of capital Delhi

New Delhi, December 12
The political and cultural capital of several empires, Delhi today celebrated 100 years of its re-emergence as the capital of modern India.
Even though Delhi is wrapped in centuries of history, it was the British Empire that gave the city -- also called Lutyens’ Delhi -- its modern-day capital and seat of power, New Delhi. It was proclaimed as the capital of British Raj on December 12, 1911, shifting from Kolkata, by then Emperor of India George V, thereby returning to the historic city its lost glory.
And with a view to introduce people to New Delhi’s rich heritage, the Delhi Government and cultural agencies have hosted an array of events, exhibitions, cultural performances and other festivals that give a generous peep into its exquisite history.
“The foundation of the British Capital was first laid in December 1911 by two leading 20th century British architects, Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker. However, it was not just Lutyens’ work but that of many other unsung architects that made New Delhi what it is today,” said AGK Menon, convener of the Delhi chapter of the Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
Lutyens laid out the central administrative area. At the heart of the city, he built the Rashtrapati Bhavan, four bungalows inside the President's Estate, India Gate and the Hyderabad and Baroda palaces at India Gate. Sir Robert Tor Russell built Connaught Place, the Eastern and Western Courts, Teen Murti House, Safdarjung Airport, National Stadium and over 4,000 government houses.
The Secretariat building which houses various ministries of the Government of India, including the Prime Minister Office was designed by Herbert Baker. He also designed the impressive North Block and South Block.
E. Montague Thomas designed and built the first Secretariat building of New Delhi, which set the style for the bungalows that followed. The other bungalows of New Delhi are the work of architects like WH Nicholls, CG and FB Blomfield, Walter Sykes George, Arthur Gordon Shoosmith and Henry Medd.

It was due to Lord Hardinge that Lutyens’ Delhi got its landmark roundabouts in the central region. Lutyens had initially designed the streets at right angles. WR Mustoe, director of horticulture, was responsible for the roadside planting work on New Delhi'savenues. In fact, Mustoe and Walter Sykes George landscaped and planted Lutyens' Mughal Garden.

Though there was no official ceremony to mark the occasion today, a book on the history of seven cities of Delhi ‘Red Fort to Raisina’, edited by JP Losty, Union Minister Salman Khursheed, conservation architect Ratish Nanda and ‘Seminar’ publisher Malvika Singh was released by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

‘Dastann-e-Dilli', an exhibition on the city, will be inaugurated by Dikshit and Lt-Governor Tejinder Khanna on Wednesday. Organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), the exhibition will showcase the culture of Delhi through photographs and lithographs from the ancient to modern times. The inauguration of the exhibition will be followed by ‘Mehfil-e-Dilli’ with performances by renowned Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan and a Thumri recital by Kumud Jha Diwan.

The ‘Dilli Ke Pakwan Festival' is already running at Baba Kharag Singh Marg. The national capital will also host year-long celebrations beginning January to showcase its rich cultural heritage.

Banur is sub-tehsil now.

Covers 32 villages, is under Mohali subdivision

Banur, December 12
A long-pending demand of Banur residents for a sub-tehsil covering 32 villages was met today. Prithpal Singh, who was naib tehsildar at Mohali, was given charge as naib tehsildar at Banur.

The 32 villages, that earlier formed a part of the Rajpura subdivision in Patiala district, had been transferred to Mohali district past year on the demand of residents of the area, who faced problems in commuting to the district and subdivisional headquarters.

Of these 32 villages, 18 were under the Dera Bassi subdivision and 14 under the Mohali subdivision, but now, all these were brought under the Mohali subdivision, that would control the sub-tehsil.

Local MLA Raj Khurana conducted the formal inauguration at the market committee office here. Mohali SDM Amit Talwar was also present on the occasion.

CONSUMER COURTS

ICICI Bank fined Rs 50,000

Chandigarh, December 12
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-I has slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on ICICI Bank for illegally raising foreclosure charges, prepayment charges of Rs 5,00,825 from a resident of Sector 11, who foreclosed the loan in view of the higher rate of interest.

The district forum-I comprising president PD Goel and members, Rajinder Singh Gill and Madanjit Kaur Sahota, also directed the respondents to pay Rs 25,000 as costs of litigation to complainants.

The complainants, Yash Paul Singla and others, submitted that in August 2007, they availed a loan of Rs 1.70 crore from the opposite party against a shop-cum-office in Sector 26, Chandigarh, at an interest of 13.5 per cent per annum and paid Rs 95,506 as processing fee. A total of Rs 75 lakh were disbursed in September 2007, while the balance was disbursed in June 2008 due to which the installment was increased from Rs 1,38,487 to Rs 3,22,078 per month.

They alleged that the opposite party without their consent enhanced the rate of interest from 13.5 per cent to 14.5 per cent per annum on July 8, 2008, which was again increased to 15 per cent. It has been averred that on their persistent requests, the opposite parties decreased the rate of interest by 0.5 per cent in January 2009 and 0.25 per cent in August, 2009. They said the opposite parties were now charging 14.25 per cent per annum, whereas other financial institutions are charging 12 to 13 per cent interest. Ultimately, they decided to foreclose the loan and the opposite party charged prepayment penalty of Rs 5,00,825 on the principal outstanding amount, which is illegal and arbitrary and the same was not refunded to them despite their repeated requests and visits.