CHENNAI: Smelling a rat in how private medical colleges in Tamil Nadu filled vacant management seats for postgraduate (PG) courses in 2020-21, the Madras High Court on Monday asked why a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe should not be ordered.
The first bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy raised this question when a writ appeal filed by G Selvarajan, former secretary of the selection committee for medical admission attached to the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), came up for hearing.
Referring to an order dated February 22 — in which the court gave the chief secretary two months to freeze Selvarajan’s (since retired) pension benefits, register an FIR against all persons (middlemen), private medical colleges, and officials of DME and the health department, and provide a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to two aggrieved candidates who had filed a petition the court directed the State Government Pleader (SGP) to inform it on what action has been taken as two months are about to lapse.
The bench also asked whether the chief secretary has initiated an inquiry against Selvarajan, and wanted the SGP to clarify the circumstances under which a government order was issued to ratify the period of two months when there was no order for extension of Selvarajan’s services.
The parties to the petition have been directed to seek instructions as to why the matter should not be referred to the CBI, the bench said, and posted the matter to April 21. The matter pertains to a scam in filling 90 of 113 PG vacancies in 13 private colleges in the State without holding mop up counselling for 2020-21.
A single judge, while hearing petitions filed by the two candidates, had ordered an inquiry by the CB-CID. The probe unearthed non-adherence to the Supreme Court’s directions on medical admission, and an unholy nexus between the selection committee secretary, other officials, and private medical colleges.
Interim stay granted on Defamation proceedings against CM Stalin and his son-in-law Sabarisan
Chennai: The Madras High Court has stayed the proceedings of a defamation suit filed by AIADMK leader Pollachi V Jayaraman against Chief Minister MK Stalin, his son-in-law V Sabarisan, and three others. A division bench of Justices M Duraisamy and TV Thamilselvi granted an interim stay on the proceedings while hearing an application filed by Sabarisan seeking orders to discharge him from the suit since he had no role in the matter relating to a speech of Stalin, who was then Leader of the Opposition, on the sexual assaults in Pollachi. He also contended that he was arraigned by Jayaraman only because of his relationship with Stalin. The bench adjourned the matter to June 10. Jayaraman filed the defamation suit last year against Stalin, Sabarisan, and the editors of Kalignar TV, Nakkeeran, and Junior Vikatan, seeking `1 crore in damages. He alleged Stalin made incorrect speeches and deliberately linked his son to the sexual assaults. The speeches were telecast by Kalaignar TV and published by the two magazines. He contended that this brought disrepute to his image
Displeased with SVe Shekher’s ‘vulgar’ posts on social media, Court asks for his reply by April 22
Chennai: The Madras High Court on Monday expressed displeasure over actor SVe Shekher’s “vulgar” social media posts, when petitions about his comments on women journalists came up for hearing. One of the petitioners’ counsels displayed screenshots of Shekher’s posts, to which Justice AD Jagadish Chandira said the actor cannot abdicate his responsibility by saying he only retweeted the messages. The judge then ordered Shekher to file a reply, and posted the cases to April 22. The last time the matter came up for hearing, the actor filed an affidavit apologising for the messages. However, the court directed him to file separate affidavits on four cases registered against him. These affidavits were filed on Monday. Shekher was booked by the Greater Chennai Police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) for sharing a message on Facebook demeaning women journalists after a controversy erupted over former Governor Banwarilal Purohit patting a woman journalist on the cheek after a press conference
Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2022/apr/19/madras-hc-warns-of-cbi-probe-in-filling-of-medical-pg-seats-2443611.html
