YEH MERA INDIA

Bribe of Rs: 265/- took 30 years in courts

New Delhi : The Supreme Court has expressed displeasure over a case of a petty crime where a Delhi employee taking the bribe of Rs 265 continued lingering on for almost three decades and still contesting at the age of 76.
It slashed his sentence of imprisonment to three months already undergone, but imposed a fine of Rs 50,000.
He was trapped by the CBI in 1984 for demanding money from a contractor.
The Bench of Justices Sudhansu Mukhopadhaya and Kurien Joseph regretted the slow justice on the offence of  the accused V K Verma, who is now 76 years old, is ill.
“The accused has already undergone physical incarceration for three months and mental incarceration for about thirty years.
Whether at this age and stage, it would not be economically wasteful, and a liability to the State to keep the appellant in prison, is the question we have to address.
Having given thoughtful consideration to all the aspects of the matter, we are of the view that the facts mentioned above would certainly be special reasons for reducing the substantive sentence but enhancing the fine, while maintaining the conviction, the Court said.
It added: “One wonders as to how it took 10 years for the matter to be registered as sessions case and stranger is it to see that the trial also took almost ten years and still stranger is that the matter took ten years in the High Court.”
After dismissal of his appeal in the High Court, Verma had surrendered before a court on October 3, 2013 and  was later sent to custody. The Supreme Court finally had ordered his release on bail on December 16.

Illegal occupancy!

In October 2011, Tendulkar had run into trouble with the BMC for moving into his new Perry Cross Road bungalow without obtaining the mandatory occupancy certification from the civic body. 

The civic body had levied a penalty of Rs 4.35 lakh for illegal occupancy which the cricketer paid after a notice was served on him under the BMC Act.

Tendulkar had purchased the Dorab Villa, a 1920s villa belonging to a Parsi family, for an estimated cost of Rs 39 crore in December 2007, and performed a vastu puja on September 28 before moving into the new bungalow.

The puja was noticed by the civic body which served him the notice for occupying the property without an occupancy certificate.

Bharat Ratna in water dues defaulters list

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, Shiv Sena party's patriarch Bal Thackeray, former Maharashtra Chief Minister A R Antulay’s family and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi are among the two lakh defaulters who have not paid their water bills to the civic body.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)  released a list of two lakh defaulters from all 24 wards in Mumbai on its website, and interestingly the list includes names of celebs.

As per the list put up on the site the corporation has to recover over Rs 1,000 crore from these defaulters that includes commercial, domestic and industrial water users as of January 16, 2014.

 The names of Sachin Tendulkar and his wife, Anjali, figure in the list of defaulters twice for amounts of Rs 16,640 and Rs 16,282 at their 19, Perry Cross Road address in Bandra. The list also mentions the name of Bal Thackeray for unpaid dues of Rs 1,15,625. 

Thackeray passed away in November 2012 after an illness at his Bandra bungalow, Matoshree.

Nargis Antulay, wife of former Maharashtra chief minister A R Antulay, also figures in the list for unpaid water dues of Rs 48,777. India Bull Real Estate, which owns the India Bulls Finance Centre at Dadar, is also listed among several construction and real estate companies with dues of Rs 8,72,052. 

Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi’s is among the politicians who figures in the list for unpaid dues for hotel premises.

Trapped in a tight corner, embarrassed Shiv Sena senior party officials  said the Thackeray family has decided to cross-check the pending bills and “...any amount found pending would be promptly paid off.” Azmi when questioned by local media, retorted: “As far as I know, there is no bill pending. I checked with my hotel manager and he said the BMC has not sent the pending bill if there is one...then of course we will pay it immediately if a bill is pending.” The Tendulkars were not available for a comment.

KEM doctors ‘rock’ in hospital premises

Medical students at King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital  were seen enjoying a rock festival, where the musicians performed in the loudest possible music within the premises of the hospital.

However, neither the authorities nor the students took cognisance of the Supreme Court directive that says that loudspeakers should not be allowed to work within 100 meters of silence zones such as hospitals, educational institutions and courts.

The future doctors were seen enjoying the fest taking little regard for the medical condition of patients staying at the hospital, who might be more than just ‘disturbed’ by the noise.“It has been going on since the daytime and it is really harassing for patients like us who are in so much pain. Even doctors and the nurses are part of the non-stop music. Who should we approach with our problem,” said one of the patients admitted in the gynaec ward which is just next to the mid-ground of KEM where the fest has been organised.

This has been the third party in a year which has been organised in the campus of the hospital even when it was met with strong criticism and strict action by police.

Last year the neighbouring BJ Wadia Hospital officials had complained against KEM hospital staff for playing music on loudspeakers and creating huge problems for the patients. Another freshers party was held in the hospital campus by the doctors last year in October which was busted by police.