Three held for impersonation
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 21 — Three boys, who were appearing in an examination on others' behalf, have been arrested and booked by the police.

Dilbag Singh, Jatinder Pal Singh and Tejinder Singh appeared in History, BA part I, exam under roll numbers 73074, 55262 and 55749, respectively. They were taking the exam in room number 118 of the DAV College. Dr Raj Kumari, Examination Superintendent of the centre, lodged a complaint with the police.

A case under Section 419 of the IPC has been registered.

The police in investigating to locate the original candidates.

Vehicle missing: A complaint about a vehicle missing from the paid parking at Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) has been lodged with the police.

Mr Satinder Singh of SAS Nagar had parked his car (HYW-2490) at the ISBT on May 17. He returned yesterday and found the vehicle missing.

A case under Section 406 of the IPC has been registered.

Child found: A female child, less than 10 days old, was found abandoned near the maternity ward of the PGI.

A case under Section 317 of the IPC has been registered on Mr Veeru's complaint.

Pedestrian hit: A pedestrian, Hari Shankar, was hit by a Maruti van (PB-01-0529) on the road dividing Sectors 48 and 49.

The vehicle was being driven by Sushil Kumar. The pedestrian has been admitted to the GMCH, Sector 32.

A case under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered.

PANCHKULA

One killed: A pedestrian, Tarsem Kumar, died on the spot after being hit by a speeding truck near Mallah in Pinjore yesterday.

The police has registered a case under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC.

The case was registered against the truck driver, Bali Singh, for negligent driving, on the basis of a statement given by Ramesh Chand of Nanabagol in Pinjore.

Woman injured: Ms Aruna Sachdeva of Sector 2 was seriously injured after being hit by a Maruti car (HR-49-4448), being driven by an unidentified person.

The police has registered a case against the driver of the car.

Five booked: Five persons, including the Managing Director of an agro-forestry company, have been booked by the police for allegedly cheating a woman of Rs 60,000.

According to the information available, Ms Rani of Ambala, in her complaint, alleged that she had been cheated of her money.

A case has been registered under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC.

The five persons who have been named are Rajesh Sayal, Kuldeep, Om Chand, S. Kailash and B.K. Mahajan.

Scooters collide: Mr Gurdev Singh, a constable with the local police, complained that a scooterist was injured after being hit by another scooter (HNF-9977), being driven by an unidentified person near Majri Chowk.

The police has registered a case under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC against the erring driver.

One electrocuted: Ram Niwas of Indira Colony was electrocuted in his dwelling unit last evening.

He was filling the water tank of a cooler in his jhuggi when the mishap took place.

ZIRAKPUR

One injured: A scooterist, Harvinder Singh, was injured in a collision between a Maruti car (DL-2CD-7217) and a scooter (CH-01-Y-5478) on the Chandigarh-Delhi National Highway, near here today.

He was rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, by Mr Navneet Ganeriwala.

Plea on Mrs Bedi’s transfer quashed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 21 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today turned down a writ petition in public interest preferred by Lawyers’ Initiative questioning the transfer of Mrs Kiran Bedi, former Inspector-General of Chandigarh Police, to Delhi, within 44 days of her posting in the city.

Mr Justice R.S. Mongia and Mr Justice J.S. Narang, before whom the case came up for hearing, observed: "We are afraid such matters cannot be brought in the domain of PIL. If the person transferred is aggrieved then that person may approach an appropriate forum for the redressal of his or her grievance."

The petitioner organisation stated that Mrs Bedi had received a four-line message from the Union Home Secretary that she had been transferred to Delhi. The citizens of Chandigarh watched with dismay the transfer of an officer just to crush her spirit. Humiliation seems to be part of public service now.

"The message this action has sent is - " Be pliable, don’t question the bureaucratic wisdom, don’t take any initiative, don’t raise issues which are of public importance," said the petition. It added: "The idealism in the services is dead. These actions kill it. Each officer who tries to do good and tries to raise important issues for the reform of the services and system is arbitrarily transferred till he or she is tried into submission."

The petitioner stated that "ultimately we as a nation have to evolve a rational transfer policy. Transfer can’t be the cure of every administrative embarrassment. Unless the issue is faced and resolved with debate and attention, it will emerge and keep on emerging periodically. Meanwhile, the public interest will keep on suffering."

The petition stated that within 44 days of her stay in Chandigarh Mrs Bedi had brought about many reforms and showed what a normal police is capable of doing to the ordinary citizen. "The policemen had stopped taking money for petty things. There was police patrolling in the dead of night. Suddenly on every street there was a beat constable asking every citizen whether he had any grievance."

"Only ordinary citizens can feel what a difference it makes to their life when the police force is headed by an officer like Mrs Bedi. For the elite it makes no difference as life goes on uninterrupted but for the common man an effective police force is a matter of life and death for him."

Appointment quashed
By Our Legal Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, May 21 — The Central Administrative Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench, today, quashed the appointment of Dr S.S. Kundu, Senior Scientist to the post of Chief Training Organiser in the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, made by the Agricultural Scientists Retirement Board, New Delhi.

The Bench comprising Mr J.S. Dhaliwal, (J.M.) and Mr V.K. Majotra, (A.M.) handed down the order on an O.A. filed by Mr Jagdish Chander Markanday, Senior Scientist working in Krishi Vigyan Kendra (NDRI) Karnal.

The applicant was officiating as the Chief Training Organiser. An interview for the post was held on February 4, 1999, wherein 18 candidates, including the applicant and Mr Kundu appeared.

The applicant dubbed the selection of respondent Dr Kundu to the post as colourable exercise of power, amounting to fraud on public appointment.

The Bench observed that the courts cannot be mute spectators when cases of violation of recruitment rules are brought to its notice. The Bench was of the view that discriptions of items, enumerated by the respondent in proof of possessing the qualification in question does not in any manner demonstrate that respodent No. 5 possessed this essential qualification (specialisation in organising and conducting training programmes). The specialisation is not restricted to mere participation or delivering lectures as a faculty member. Members of the interview board collectively also do not appear to have gone into this question in detail, said the Tribunal.

The Bench allowed respondents to hold selection again and appoint a person holding all the essential qualifications, prescribed for the post.

Regularisation ordered

On an O.A. filed by Mrs Sangita Rahi, working as ad hoc draftsman in the office of Director Census Operations, Punjab, a Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal today directed the respondents to consider the applicant for regularisation of services, at least from August 7, 1998, with all consequential reliefs.

The Bench comparsing Mr J.S. Dhaliwal (J.M.), and Mr V.K. Majotra (A.M.) also directed that respondents shall also consider relaxation of age limit in her case for the period she had worked under them.

The applicant admittedly had all the essential qualifications for the post and has satisfactorily worked for nine years. However, the respondents pleaded that as per terms and conditions of appointment of the applicant, they could terminate her services as she had not been selected through the Staff Selection Commission.

The Bench, not disputing that ad hoc appointments are made as a stop gap arrangement, observed that these are normally not permitted beyond one year. However, the Bench noticed that the Staff Selection Commission has not recommended any candidate during past nine years or even now.

Direction to trial court

Hearing a writ petition preferred by Mr K.K. Jerath, former Chief Engineer of Chandigarh, praying for quashing yet another FIR registered by the Vigilance Department on March 16, 1999 — the time when he was about to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court for bail, Mr Justice R.L. Anand directed the trial court to scrutinise the challan of the impugned FIR (No 1 of 1999) and see that if the subject matter of the challan "is already covered by challans of FIR No 1, 2, and 3 of 1998 it will amalgamate the challan of FIR No 1 of 1999 to those FIRs."

The Judge also directed the Vigilance Department police to complete the investigation of this case and put up the challan.

"This direction has been given keeping in view that there should be not be double jeopardy of the same allegations and no contradictory finding may come," the judge observed and added: "In case the investigating agency/police seems the remand of the petitioner in the present FIR No 1, 1999), it will always be the competence of the Magistrate to examine the contents of this FIR with Firs No 1, 2 and 3, 1999.

Earlier the judge had issued notice to the U.T. Administration. On the asking of the court, Special Public Prosecutor of the Administration had accepted the notice. The Judge noted that the apprehension which had been expressed by the counsel for the petitioner was that the subject matter of FIR No 1, 1999, was covered by FIR No 3 of 1998 and in order to harass the petitioner a new FIR had been formulated so that the remand of the petitioner might be taken in the fresh FIR.

In his petition Mr Jerath stated that the informant and complainant in the fresh FIR is none else but Mr Gurmel Singh, Joint Secretary, Home, for the Home Secretary-cum-Chief Vigilance Officer of the Chandigarh Administration. "The petitioner had been crying hoarse that the present investigating agency has not been conducting investigation fairly and impartially and that the entire investigation is mala fide. The present petition though, is strictly limited to the question of law, the petitioner prays for leave of this honourable court to raise issues about mala fide at a later stage.

The council for Mr Jerath stated that the Supreme Court had ruled that an FIR should be quashed if it could be shown that the same was going to result in the abuse of the process of court. It had also been held by apex court that if the FIR is manifestly tainted with mala fide, the same should be quashed. In the present case the reasons for lodging the FIR were clearly to keep the petitioner in custody. No other plausible reason could be thought of.