Chandigarh, May 21
Wigan & Leigh College (WLC), India, announced the launch of its admission office at a press conference here today. Vinay Pasricha, chairman, WLC, India, accompanied by Dr Trevor Ashton, director, international operations, WLC, UK, said, “The admission office aims at offering students an opportunity to apply for various professional programmes in fields like business, fashion, media, information technology and hospitality. The office will also guide and counsel the students seeking admission to these courses.”

Vinay Pasricha also announced 15 per cent free seats in various courses for underprivileged students. In addition to the existing ones, the college will introduce two new full-time and part-time courses in retail and hospital administration, he added.

Dr Trevor said, “One of the unique features of the courses is the opportunity given to the students to undergo traineeship which gives them an opportunity to earn while they learn.”

Chandigarh, May 21
The headmaster of Government High School, Hallo Majra, J.S. Lehri, has been suspended by the Education Department for remaining absent without getting his leave application sanctioned.

The headmaster was issued a show-cause notice to defend his position, but he failed to do so in time.

The headmaster was issued a show-cause notice to defend his position, but he failed to do so in time.

Confirming this, DPI (S), Setia, said, “I visited the school on April 3 and found the headmaster absent. On questioning him, he stated that he was having some medical problem and had gone home after leaving an application in the school. However, he could not produce any evidence of it. Also, mere leaving the application without getting it sanctioned will not be considered. And, in case of any exigency, he was supposed to take permission.”

Chandigarh, May 21
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today stayed further proceedings in a defamation case filed against BJP leader L. K. Advani pending in a Gurgaon court.

The defamation proceedings in the court of Gurgaon’s Chief Judicial Magistrate were initiated on a complaint filed by Abhishek Verma, an accused in the naval war room leak case.

Justice Ranjeet Singh, at the request of Verma's counsel, adjourned the case to August 13 for further arguments.

Satyapal Jain, Advani’s counsel, submitted that in the end of 2005 and early 2006, many reports appeared in various newspapers and magazines related to leakage of highly sensitive information from the naval war room and a case was registered in which Verma was an accused.

He said Advani, as Leader of the Opposition, held a press conference in Delhi on March 20 last year where he raised this issue and demanded a CBI inquiry into it. Following Advani's remarks, Verma had filed a criminal complaint of defamation against the BJP leader.

Advani’s counsel submitted that given his stature as Leader of the Opposition and a senior national leader, it was the duty of Advani to raise issues of public importance. After the demand of CBI inquiry by Advani, the CBI did register a case against Verma and took him into custody, he said, adding, therefore, Advani cannot be said to have defamed Verma.

Chandigarh, May 21
Additional district and sessions judge S.K. Aggarwal today sentenced Sarbjit Singh to three-year imprisonment for dumping 70-year-old Shyam Lal Gupta in the open after he was injured in an accident with his car in March 2001. He has also been asked to pay a fine of Rs 3,700.

Gupta, a retired official from the office of the accountant-general, was riding his bicycle when he was hit by the car of Sarbjit Singh on March 31. As a crowd gathered at the spot, Sarbjit offered to take the injured to the nearest hospital. It was alleged that on way to the hospital, he dumped the injured in Phase V, Mohali.

The following day, Malkiat Singh, a factory owner in Phase V, was going to his office when he saw Gupta. He took him to a hospital and the family members were informed. The police registered a case under sections 279, 337, 338, 265 and 308.

Chandigarh, May 21
The general house meeting of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association was held today.

At the meeting, R.S. Cheema, chairman of the election committee, said the committee had served the bar for the past four years and it was about time they quit the posts so that a new committee could be constituted.

This suggestion of Cheema was met with vociferous opposition by a large number of lawyers. Association president Anmol Rattan Sidhu said: “The high-powered election committee, which has R.S. Cheema, M.L. Sareen and S.D. Sharma as its chairpersons, has done its job honestly and with efficiency. The association and the bar will like them to continue.”

Another important development was that the election committee was entrusted with the task of officiating as the finance-cum-budget committee also by the unanimous approval of the house.

There was a suggestion by M.L.Sareen that a person who had held the post of president for two years should not contest again. It was decided to discuss the issue in detail later.

S.D. Sharma, a distinguished member of the bar, said the bar had produced great legal luminaries like Justice Kuldeep Singh and Hira Lal Sibal, and would ensure that young lawyers were given opportunities to grow up to that level. He reiterated his commitment to work for the welfare of the bar.

Though there was a near unanimity in the house over the agenda items, Tahar Singh protested vociferously against the bar association’s stand on various issues.

Chandigarh, May 21
An annual production-oriented workshop on theatrical arts and dance will commence on May 28 at Pracheen Kala Kendra, Sector 35, Chandigarh, and Sector 71, Mohali. Kendra director M.L. Koser, at a press conference held today, stated that the workshop would be held daily from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm. It would be open to children between five and 16 years. “Childhood is an impressionable age and what is learnt at this age certainly bears results. Thus, it is imperative to catch them young to develop their hidden talents,” he said.

Reputed exponents of these arts will impart training to budding artistes under a specially devised programme on the kendra premises. Children will be given basic knowledge of theatrical arts, including acting, make-up and costume, action, body movement, speech-modulation, story telling, creative writing, music and theatre games. Well-known theatre and film artistes Sumit Sood and Surjit, alumni of the department of Indian theatre, PU, Chandigarh, will impart training to the children. Apart from this, kathak maestro Samira Koser, disciple of Shobha Koser, will impart basic knowledge and techniques of classical and folk dances of various states.

Since the workshop was production oriented, all children would expose their talent in a programme to be organised at the end of the workshop, maintained Koser.