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UT Admn Dithers Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 16 After deciding on the extension, the administration has neither issued him a letter nor has it initiated the process to select his successor. In an unprecedented move, the administrator in September 2007 gave its consent for three months’ extension to the chief engineer on the plea he was associated with important projects like the IT park. The former adviser to the Administrator, Lalit Sharma, had recommended his case as he had gone to Brussels to study the underpasses and the study report had yet to be submitted. The file for issuing formal orders for extension is shuttling between the home and finance departments. Sources said while the finance department felt the matter pertained to the department of personnel, the latter was of the view that since it had nothing to do with his appointment, promotion or deputation, it could not issue him the letter. An employee holding the post of chief engineer cannot be granted extension for more than three months after reaching the age of superannuation. An extension of three months can be granted only after putting on record sufficient reasons for the same.
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Consumer Court Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 16 The forum stated: “The opposite party was directed to comply with the order within 30 days of its receipt, but it did not. Rather, it filed an appeal before the State Commission which was dismissed with orders on November 25, 2005, against which a revision petition was filed before the National Commission which was again dismissed on August 6, 2007.” The forum said the National Commission directed the party to pay Rs 7.72 lakh as refund along with interest and cost of litigation. The interest was to be paid from the date of the repudiation of claim. The compliance of the order of the forum was delayed by over two years. Taking the laxity on the part of the insurance company seriously, the forum, while disposing of an execution application filed by the petitioner, Savikar Plyboard Ltd, awarded an imprisonment of two years along with a fine of Rs 10,000. The petitioner had got goods insured from United India Insurance Co Ltd. It had got a marine insurance policy issued. The consignment was to be sent from Chandigarh to Dubai. The petitioner deposited the necessary documents demanded by the insurance firm. The goods, however, got damaged during delivery. A survey of the goods was conducted on August 19, 2000, in Dubai and the importer submitted the papers of the claim. The petitioner alleged that the claim was not settled by the insurance firm. The firm pointed out that the goods were to be delivered in Dubai and the complainant had received full payment of the consignment, and was thus not entitled to the claim.
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Woman’s body found near
Kalagram
Chandigarh, November 16 It appears the woman, in her late twenties had been murdered in the wee hours of the
morning. The possibility of sexual assault is not ruled out, said DSP P.K. Dhawan. The body was noticed by children playing there. It was lying in the bushes near the kutcha road leading to the Railway Colony. They brought the matter to the notice of a passerby, who informed the
police at 12.45 pm. Dhawan said: “It seemed the woman was strangulated to
death. We found some injury marks on her forehead too.” A forensic team was called. A dog squad was also pressed into service. “Initial investigations suggest the woman was a migrant. We have been calling residents of nearby colonies for identification of the body,” said the DSP. The dogs lost scent after they reached the main road, about 150 yards from where the body was found. The body has been sent to the General Hospital in Sector 16. Efforts are being made to identify the woman, said SHO Hari
Kumar. The Mani Majra police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC.
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Justice Sandhawalia dies at 82 Chandigarh, November 16 If a judge is known by the judgements he delivers, Justice Sandhawalia (82) will always be remembered for his legal acumen. During his long illustrious career, Justice Sandhawalia delivered judgements in as many as 100 full-bench cases, something which is still considered a great professional feat. Those who knew Justice Sandhawalia personally remember him as a “highly-competent, courteous yet firm and a compassionate judge, who was also a great conversationalist”. Those who never had the opportunity of meeting him
also hold him in high esteem. In Chandigarh, for attending the cremation all the way from Delhi, Justice Ashok Bhan of the Supreme Court said he mentioned about Justice Sandhawalia’s sad demise at the apex court in the morning. “His legal acumen can be gauged from the fact that each one remembered him with affection, though 90 per cent had never met him,” he asserted. Describing him as a “very good human being”, Justice Bhan added: “We have lost a great judge!” Also present at the cremation grounds, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court Justice S.S. Sodhi said: “He was a giant among the judges of Chandigarh, both serving and retired”. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal also expressed profound grief and sorrow over the sudden demise of Justice Sandhewalia “due to heart attack”. In a condolence message, Badal said Justice Sandhewalia was an eminent legal luminary and jurist with the qualities of head and heart. He discharged his duties in different capacities with utmost professional commitment, dedication and sincerity. Born on July 27, 1925, Justice Sandhawalia was elevated as a high court judge in May, 1968. He became the Chief Justice of the high court here on July 17, 1978, and continued till 1983 when he was transferred as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court from where he retired in 1987. He acted as the Governor of Haryana in 1980 and of Punjab in 1983. He was also the first president of Haryana’s State Consumer Commission and the chairman of the Pay Commission.
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Obituary This morning Chief Justice Surjit Singh Sandhawalia breathed his last and the superb innings of a legal stalwart, spread over eight decades, came to an end. The judicial family lost a son who was unique and special. A thorough gentleman he was always immaculately dressed and incredibly polite and courteous. He made his mark in the legal profession which led to his elevation as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. On his elevation as the Chief Justice he immediately made his intentions known of clearing the arrears of pending cases. In his mind hard work was the only solution to the problem. He became a glutton for work - entering Court punctually at 10 a.m. and not rising a minute before 3.45 p.m. He would not readily grant adjournments. Most important of all he carried the whole Court with him in following the same discipline. But how was he unique? He constituted Full Benches (a Bench of three or more Judges which is required to decide important questions of law) and presided over almost all of them. Not only that, he wrote the judgements himself. Whenever he felt that he did not get proper assistance from the lawyers appearing in a case, he would request lawyers who were specialists in that field, to assist the Court as Amicus (friend of the Court). Thus he got the best lawyers to help him decide complicated questions of law and as a result most of the judgements were upheld by the Supreme Court. It was not easy to get relief from Justice Sandhawalia but his fair treatment of seniors and juniors in Court, his amiable disposition and polite temperament made most lawyers feel that justice had been done even when they lost the case. He specially encouraged young lawyers. Within five years of his stewardship as Chief Justice, our High Court had become Number One in the country as far as pendency of cases was concerned. Criminal appeals would be decided within two or three months of their filing, and, civil cases, especially pertaining to disputes of land acquisition, matrimony and eviction on the ground of personal necessity would be decided in the shortest possible time. We, the members of the Bar, felt truly proud of our Court. That is what made him special. Then came a change in policy and Chief Justice Sandhawalia was transferred to Patna. Our great loss was Bihar’s gain. Even though he was very strict in Court, he was given one of the most emotional farewells ever - the whole High Court - lawyers, employees turned up to say goodbye. A direct attribute of his evenhanded treatment of one and all, inside and outside the Court Room. He was very proud of the judiciary in our country, but was a little disillusioned with the treatment meted out to him in his last few years as a Judge. Unfortunately, even though he was most eminently suitable for the job, he never became a Judge of the Supreme Court (He had one of the longest terms -nine years - as a Chief Justice of a High Court). As I was not in favour of the policy of transferring Chief Justices, I asked him, after his retirement, to write about his experiences as an outside Chief Justice of the Patna High Court as I felt that might convince the Government to restore the original policy. His immediate response was: “Mac - you are an intellectual and an optimistic. My experience is that the more independent you are the less ‘they’ like you. Do you think anyone will listen to a retired Chief Justice?” He was the founder president of the Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation and gave a fabulous start to it which has benefited many by way of PIL and spreading legal literacy. He enjoyed the good things in life; sit down dinners; being served by liveried waiters and having intellectual discussions about legal problems both real and imaginary. He kept himself physically fit with regular exercise right up to the end, and, did not want his friends to see him after he was taken ill a few months ago. When I rang to ask if I could visit him, his reply was: “Mac, I will call you whenever I am ready to receive you”. He never called back and I did not get to see him. I will miss him. Of course, his loving family will miss him but the entire judicial family of the country will miss him for he was truly unique and special to all of us. — The writer is a senior advocate and ex-Advocate-General, Punjab and Haryana
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Diwali was less noisy, more polluting
Chandigarh, November 16 The department said the ambient air quality monitoring stations were located at Sector 22, Kaimbwala, Panjab University, Kajheri, Mani Majra and Sector 9. The SPM levels had increased at all the locations on Diwali as compared to last year. The only exception was Sector 22 where the SPM level had decreased. The SPM levels ranged between 173 and 477 µg/m3 against 171 and 424 µg/m3 recorded during Diwali last year. The responsive suspended particulate matter (RSPM) levels had increased in two locations while in one location, the values were lower than last year. The RSPM values this year ranged between 76 and 282 µg/m3 as compared to 71 to 181 µg/m3 recorded in 2006. The sulphur dioxide concentrations had increased at four locations and the nitrogen dioxide concentration had increased at three locations, and decreased at three other locations. The ambient noise level had decreased at almost all seven locations.
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3 CFSL men bag Home Minister’s Award Chandigarh, November 16 The union minister of state for home affairs Sri Prakash Jaiswal presented the awards to R.S. Verma, director, S.S. Murthy, senior scientific officer (ballistics) and Bhanu Pratap Singh, junior scientific officer (ballistics) at XVIII All-India Forensic Science Conference - 2007 held at Kolkata today. A veteran forensic scientist, Verma was awarded for his distinguished contribution to science and unique efforts to apply scientific knowledge to the cause of justice. Verma has been instrumental for speedy dissemination of information to the Indian criminal justice system thereby doing a yeoman’s job for society. A Ph.D. in chemistry from Panjab University, Chandigarh, Verma specialises in forensic chemical analysis comprising narcotic drugs analysis, explosives and post blast investigations and toxicology. Dr Verma is a nominated member for International Crime Prevention, United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. Murthy, who has 17 years experience in the field of forensic ballistics and 7 years experience in the field of computer forensics, has been trained by US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, in the field of “cyber crime investigations” and by US Homeland Security and State Diplomatic Security in “economic and computer crime investigation”. The creation of computer forensics lab at the CFSL goes to his credit, the information received here said. Similarly, Bhanu Pratap Singh has created a data bank of about 1000 firearm cases to conduct the study of shooting incidences for evaluating the various parameters to draw the forensic inferences.
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Restore SC’s authority, Bar assn asks Mush Chandigarh, November 16 In a special meeting held on November 15, the Bar Association also resolved to ask the Pakistan President and “those in charge of the destinies of the people in Pakistan” to respect judicial processes and restore judicial independence by reinstating the judges of the Supreme Court and of other superior courts, who had been summarily dismissed. They also called for an end to torture of those under preventive detention and sought respect for the rule of law and human rights. Immediate release of all political detainees was also sought, along with the restoration of personal liberty of judges and lawyers under house arrest. Directions were also sought for allowing free, fair and transparent elections as scheduled with full participation of all political parties and leaders, including those in exile. Elaborating, the members added that the elections should be held either within 60 days from November 15, the date of completion of five-year term of Parliament or within 90 days from the date of Parliament’s dissolution. The special meeting was called by secretary-general of the association Lalit Bhasin and was held yesterday. Over 150 lawyers attended the meeting. Bar Association president Fali S. Nariman presided over the meeting. Presentations were made by former Solicitor-Generals of India Tehmtan Andhiarujina and Dipankar Gupta, along with member of International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Geneva, Dr Rajeev Dhavan. Others who made presentations included senior advocate P.P Rao, former president of the International Bar Association (IBA) R.K.P Shankardass and executive committee member Yakesh Anand. Deploring the suspension of the Constitution in Pakistan, the Bar Association condemned the arrest and detention of “brave lawyers and judges”.
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Dot division celebrates silver jubilee Chandigarh, November 16 Meera Sondhi widow of Maj Gen L.B.S. Sondhi who had raised the division in 1982 was present. It is presently being commanded by Maj Gen Ashok Sheoran. Maj Gen B.K. Mahapatra (retd), the senior most ex-GOC of the division, congratulated all ranks of the formation on their excellent performance. The division has the distinction of having participated in exercise brass-tacks and deployment during Operation Trident, Operation Vijay and Operation
Parakram.
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ICL books 200 hotel rooms in city
Chandigarh, November 16 There has been a 30 per cent increase in business during the past two months. Hundreds of cricket fans visited the tricity during the two international ODIs in October (Chandigarh) and November (Mohali). During every international cricket match, more than 300 rooms were booked in top two hotels of the city, said general manager of Hotel Mountview R.P. Singla. The industry is again set to benefit during the inaugural 17-day ICL Twenty20 carnival from November 17 and month-long Premiere Hockey League from mid-December. So far, over 200 rooms in big hotels of Chandigarh have been booked by the ICL group for their players and officials, said Shariq Patel, Senior Vice President, Operations. Around 10 buses and at least 50 cabs will be hired for transportation. In December, during PHL, the organisers plan to book at least 125 rooms in different city hotels for a month.
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Luminaries trace evolution of Urdu novel
Panchkula, November 16 Earlier, inaugurating the seminar, Haryana education minister Mange Ram Gupta claimed that the first ever Urdu novel titled ‘Rayaz-e-Dil’ was authored by a Haryanvi writer, Munshi Ghunani Lal, and was published by Government Jail Press at Rohtak. The novel, however, was subsequently published by the Haryana Urdu Akademi, added the minister while complementing the akademi for promoting Urdu language and literature in the state. Earlier, the akademi secretary and prominent litterateur, Padmashri Dr
K.L. Zakir, elaborated the achievements and future plans of the akademi. Prof Kanwar
Rayees, a former director at the India Cultural Centre in Russia, delivered the keynote address. Presiding over the function, Shiv Raman Gaud, commissioner, higher education, Haryana, delineated the qualitative features of Urdu novel. Dr Qamar
Raais, Dr Kewal Dhir, Dr Farzana Naseem, Dr Shama Afroz Zaidi and Prof Ali Ahmed Fatmi from Allahabad participated in the deliberations. Earlier, the chief guest released a book titled ‘Patte Harre
Peele’ by Rajinder Verma and Urdu novel ‘Mein Mutwassit Tabqe Ke
Masail’ authored by Dr Farzana Naseem. Poet Shamas Tabrezi coordinated and conducted the seminar.
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Garbage a bane of Mohali residents
Mohali, November 16 Entries to parks, shopping areas and even parking places are virtually blocked with filth. The back alley of the market near Bassi Theatre is one such place. Heaps of garbage have been thrown onto the service lane. While shopkeepers are to blame for littering garbage, MC officials too have tuned a blind eye to
the problem. Also, a heap of garbage welcomes walkers into the park near the HIG flats every day. “Smelling
the stench of rotting garbage is now a part and parcel of all those
who live in this area,” says Raja Kanwarjot Singh, a resident of
Phase II. This is a poor reflection on the councillor of the ward, he
adds.
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4 cops injured Chandigarh , November 16 The policemen in the jeep (CHO1 G 16273) were on their way to attend to a complaint of a scuffle in Sector 30 just after midnight when the accident took place. According to the SHO of Industrial Area police station, Jagir Singh, the jeep’s driver lost control of the vehicle while trying to avoid hitting some cattle on the road. The jeep turned turtle injuring the occupants, who were then rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital Sector 32. Head constable Samsher Singh suffered a grievous head injury.
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Vietnamese envoy for stronger ties
Chandigarh, November 16 The ambassador released a concept paper prepared by ITFT which suggested air-linking of Vietnam with Amritsar to promote trade, commerce and tourism between Vietnam and north India. It also suggested holding of a cultural, cuisine and tourism festival by Vietnam at Chandigarh to showcase not only the tourist attractions of that country but to promote tourist traffic from north India to the country. The executive director of ITFT, Dr Gulshan Sharma, offered two scholarships to the ambassador for study at the ITFT.
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6 kids hospitalised after bee attack
Dera Bassi, November 16 The incident took place during the lunch break when all students were playing in the ground. A swarm of bees
descended on the playing children. Those near the school building rushed for cover but many were trapped. The school staff rushed to help. Some women from the village also came forward to save the children, many of whom had been bitten all over their bodies. A fire was lit up to disperse the bees.
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Railway employees hold poll rally
Chandigarh, November 16 The voting would be held for three days, starting from November 26. Four unions have fielded their candidates. The other unions are Uttar Railway Mazdoor Union, Uttar Railway Karamchari Union and Railway Mazdoor Union. The elections are being held on the directions of the Supreme Court. Various unions had gone to court after the Northern Railways recognised only one union. The apex court had directed the railways to hold elections so that
the employees could vote for the candidates of their choice.
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Development of parks approved
Chandigarh, November 16 Other agenda items granted approval include fixing of cast iron benches in front of a dharamshala in Mani Majra, development of parks in Sectors 41 and 42 and Dhanas, provision for a rain shelter in parks/green belt of
Sectors 32 and 46, and the development of a green belt in Sector 29-C and D.
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Welfare society office-bearers
Chandigarh, November 16 Yadvinder Mehta defeated Shiv Kumar Sharma by 36 votes. Yadvinder Mehta announced the names of other office-bearers. They are Arjun Singh, vice-president; Ishwar Datt, general secretary; Birender Sharma, joint secretary; Shiv Kumar Maurya, cashier; and Shakuntla Sharma, adviser.
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Stray cattle hound residents
Mohali, November 16 Residents continue to face the wrath of stray cattle moving about on the roads and at times gathered around garbage heaps that dot the township. It is also not uncommon for residents to find cattle on their doorstep looking
for food. “Driving through the town especially at night is dangerous as buffaloes are hard to sight in the dark,” said Mandeep Singh, a resident of Sector 69.
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Letters
Lights of the park situated in Sector 48-A are on day and night for the past two months. I informed the local councillor about it who gave me the cell number of an officer of the electricity department. I contacted the officer a fortnight back, who promised to do the needful. Unfortunately, nothing was done and the lights are still on. It is resulting in lot of wastage of electricity. If the automatic system of switching off the lights has gone out of order, then these lights should be switched off manually till the repair of the system.
Kulbhushan Kanwar,
Chandigarh
Readers are invited to write to us. Send your mail, in not more than 200 words, at news@tribuneindia.com or, write in, at: Letters, Chandigarh Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh – 160 030
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22-yr-old model commits suicide
The model was reportedly suffering from depression following the death of her 2-year-old child early this month. She was married to 58-year-old NRI Kuldip Singh Bhangu who runs a computer business. He arrived in India a day after their son Shaan died of an illness. According to the police, Bhanu’s body was found hanging with a dupatta tied to the doorframe of her house. Her husband, who was one of the first to notice her missing, said she bolted the door from inside and killed herself. Orphaned at the age of 15, Bhanu belonged to Rajgarh in district Sirmour in Himachal Pradesh but went on to have a successful career featuring in many music videos. Her next video was to be released on a TV channel on November 25. She was ambitious and is said to have told her husband that she wanted thier son to become a big actor. The police is investigating the matter under Section 174 of the CrPC.
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Tata Safari, Santro stolen
Chandigarh, November 16 Meanwhile, a Sector 51 resident, Ravinder Kumar, has complained to the police that his Tata Safari (PB-10CA-0023) was stolen from in front of his house last night. A case under Section 379, IPC, has been registered.
Laptop stolen
Rajkumar Gupta of Sector 19 has reported to the police that his laptop was stolen from his house on November 6. A case under Section 380, IPC, has been registered at the Sector 19 police station.
Jewellery stolen
Sunita Rani, a resident of Raipur Khurd, has reported that some gold jewellery was stolen from her house last night. A case under Sections 457 and 380, IPC, has been
registered.
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Seminar on corporate law
Chandigarh, November 16 Manish Kumar Sharma, head of capital markets practice of the law firm, gave a presentation covering legal aspects of fundraising through various means which included domestic capital markets and overseas capital markets. He also elaborated on the eligibility and regulatory requirements for a company planning to get listed in a domestic stock exchange and also in a foreign stock exchange. Anuj Kanwar, associate vice-president, global payments and cash management, HSBC, spoke about a banker’s role and responsibility towards collections and refunds in a public issue. There were also brief discussions on HSBC’s expertise in handling mergers and acquisitions along with other structured transactions. Earlier, Rajeev Takkar, branch head of FoxMandal Little, welcomed the guests and introduced the speaker and FoxMandal Little to the audience.
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Bank launches “Chak de Punjab”
Chandigarh, November 16 During this three-month-long campaign, the bank aims to launch exclusive initiatives. The bank’s agricultural lending for Punjab forms 26 per cent of the total advances against an RBI norm of 18 per cent. Addressing a press conference here today, Shailendra Bhandari, managing director and CEO, Centurion Bank of Punjab, said, “Chak de Punjab is an expression of our interest in Punjab. Our commitment and dedication to the development and rapid growth of the state is reflected in the fact that a majority of our 20 new branch licenses are in Punjab.”
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BSNL extends deadline
Chandigarh, November 16 According to a press note, the subscribers can verify their addresses and telephone numbers at customer care centres located in various parts of the tricity and the surrounding areas.
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Dera Bassi, November 16