Election panel to create folder of evidence

Dehradun, December 9

Under a new initiative launched by the Election Commission of India as part of monitoring the election expenditure, a folder of evidence will be created that would keep an account of the funds used by the candidates during the election.

At a media sensitisation workshop organised today by the Chief Election Officer for Media, this information was given. “The folder of evidence will comprise video and audio CDs, posters, books, pamphlets, clippings of paid news and advertisements as appearing in newspaper notices issued by the Returning officer regarding expenditure, and even FIR. These would then be used to tally the expenditure incurred by the candidates,” said Radha Raturi, Chief Election Officer (Uttarakhand).

Besides, the CEC would also depute senior officers of the Government of India as election expenditure observors for each district.

The Chief Election Commissioner has issued guidelines for star campaigners under the People’s Representative Act 1951 section 77 (a). The expenditure incurred on star campaigners while campaigning for their candidates, the expenditure on their stay, food, lodging etc would be included in the total expenses of the candidate.

Awareness on Right to Service Act

Mohali, December 9
“Punjab is the first state, where the Right to Service Act has been notified and it enables the common man to get the notified services within a time bound manner,” said Iqbal Singh Sidhu, Commissioner, Punjab Right to Service Commission.

While addressing a seminar to create awareness about the Act among villagers at Majri (Kharar), the Commissioner said it allowed the villagers to hold the officials accountable. HS Dhillon, another Commissioner with the Commission, said it was the right of the residents to get any of the 67 notified services. Such camps are being held across the state to create awareness about the Act. The officials have been asked to put up hoarding, detailing provisions about the Act, at panchayat ghar and other public places in villages.

“If any official does not perform his or her duty, a fine ranging between Rs 250 and Rs 5,000 can be levied on him,” said the Commissioners. The ADC (D), Iqbal Singh Brar, and SP (Hq) Mandir Singh were also present. 

Anil Kumar takes over as Home Secy of Chandigarh

Chandigarh, December 9
Anil Kumar, a Haryana cadre IAS officer, took over the charge of UT Home Secretary (HS) here today. He conceded that the city had a lot of scope for improvement and he would take stock of the existing ground conditions, besides the required changes.

A formal order regarding the allotment of departments to the new Home Secretary are still awaited. He said since the police department was under him, his priority would be working out a mechanism to reduce the response time of the police control room (PCR) vehicles.

Following the appointment of Satya Gopal as the acting Home Secretary, a number of important offices of the Home Secretary, including health and tourism, had been passed to other officers. A majority of these are expected to be restored.

The tenure of the preceding Home Secretary, Ram Niwas, had witnessed several controversies, including the teachers’ recruitment scam, examination for CTU conductors, selection of firemen and selection of nurses and doctors. The scams included the selection of teachers in 2009; selection of firemen in 2010; selection of nurses and doctors and recruitment to CITCO; selection of conductors in CTU in 2011; fire recruitment scam in 2010; and PEC admission scam in 2010 (all during the tenure of Ram Niwas) and the UT police recruitment scam in 2007.

The new Home Secretary has a lot of work ahead of him. He will have to put in a special effort to restore public faith in the coveted office. At least five back-to-back scams in a couple of years in the city not only brought bad repute to the UT Administration, but also shook the trust of the common man in the Administration.

HC upholds state govt’s decision on stamp duty

Chandigarh, December 8
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld State of Punjab’s decision to charge different stamp duties from land developers and the government. The ruling came on a petition filed by land developer HP Singh against the State of Punjab and others respondents. The petitioner was seeking a direction to the State, along with the Punjab Urban Development and Planning Authority, to charge stamp duty from it for “registration of an instrument of sale” on a par with the stamp duty charged from the government, PSUs or local bodies. A notification to this effect was also challenged.

The Bench of Justice MM Kumar and Justice Rajiv Narain Raina asserted: “A private developer like the petitioner develops land for sale in the market for promoting his business and this is subject to regulatory laws whereas the state government, PSUs and local bodies develop and sell land for social purpose to meet the dire need for housing at a cost affordable to a distinct class that is not so affluent.”

The Bench added: “The notification in our view does not practice any discrimination between the two distinct groups”.

‘Educate people on Right to Service Act’

Fatehgarh Sahib, December 9
The implementation of Right to Service Act-2011, ensuring time-bound delivery of 67 citizen centric services to the public as a matter of right, is though as a great achievement of the government, but effective results can be achieved only if the common man is educated about this Act, said SM Sharma, acting Chief Commissioner, Punjab Service Commission, while addressing a workshop organised to educate the civil and police officers, municipal councillors, sarpanches, panches and other elected representatives at Bachat Bhawan here today.

“The respective Deputy Commissioners should make efforts to organise meetings with the sub-divisional and block-level officers for the implementation of the Act,” Sharma said. He directed the executive officers and BDPOs to organise camps in towns and villages to educate people by involving elected representatives and NGOs.

He said that the main aim of enacting the law was not only to curb the menace of corruption, but also to restore the dignity of the people and repose their faith in transparency of the administration and make administration accountable to the people.

Commissioner Dr Dalbir Singh said that if any official did not provide service within stipulated time, he could be fined from Rs 250 to Rs 5000. Addressing the seminar, Deputy Commissioner Yashveer Mahajan said that the Right to Service Act had been implemented in the district and the officials had been directed to redress the grievances of the people as well as to get their work done within stipulated period, otherwise they would be held responsible for delay and suitable action under Civil Services Act would be initiated. 

Sexually harassed by senior 9 yrs ago, woman SI gets Rs50K compensation!

New Delhi, December 9
Nine years after a woman sub-inspector with the Mumbai Police Anti Narcotics Cell complained of sexual harassment by her senior, the Maharashtra Government has paid her Rs 50,000 as compensation!

The case wound up this week with the National Human Rights Commission getting a letter from the Maharashtra Chief Secretary that Neelam Bhagat, still with the state police, had been paid Rs 50,000 on NHRC directions.

But the commission, which hailed the case as a “marker” on the eve of World Human Rights Day, didn’t close the chapter. It has marked the case to the Mumbai Chief Metropolitan Magistrate “to treat it as a complaint against Jawahar Singh, the then DCP, Narcotics Branch, Mumbai Police, and presently IG, Prison, Aurangabad.”

Rarely does the commission become a complainant in human rights violations but this case is unique. Records reveal that Neelam Bhagat reported sexual harassment to her seniors on March 2, 2002, and sought an FIR of cognizable offence under Section 354, IPC, against the accused IPS.

“The Commissioner didn’t record the FIR to protect the IPS officer,” the NHRC notes. A probe was ordered and though the ACP probing the matter concluded that circumstances of March 2, 2002 indicated that the DCP uttered something to Neelam Bhagat which offended and disturbed her, but no action was taken against the accused.

“What more was required to take action against the DCP considering harassment took place in his chamber where just the two were present. The victim narrated the events to her husband and a constable and both corroborated,” the commission order says, slamming the state for simply “killing time, shunting the case between departments to protect the accused”.

The complaint was made to the NHRC on April 1, 2002 by the Women Police Employees Association of Mumbai. The then Commissioner member Sujatha Manohar took cognizance on April 18, 2002, after which the case file went missing, resurfacing only in 2008.

“I received the file only on August 5, 2008 and issued summons to the Chief Secretary, Maharashtra. They kept buying time. I issued conditional summons twice,” Justice BC Patel, member, NHRC, told the TNS.

In between, the state told the NHRC that the victim didn’t want to pursue such an old case and didn’t want compensation. But the commission took strong objection to state’s delaying tactics and noted, “It appears the police department has gone to the extent of obtaining a request from the victim wherein she has stated that the matter is very old and she is no more interested. What else can an unprotected victim say? But no such statement has been placed on record and we insist the compensation be paid.”

It was after several reminders and finally summons to the Joint Secretary, Home, Maharashtra, to be personally present in the NHRC that the token amount of Rs 50,000 was finally paid this week.

The Case

n March 2, 2002: Accused Jawahar Singh, the then DCP, called Neelam Bhagat to his chamber to review work

n He made objectionable remarks like “Aap aaye bahaar aayi”, said she looked beautiful and asked her to lift her dupatta. She threatened to report the matter, to which he replied that no one could harm him

n She sought to register an FIR, but no case was lodged. She then moved the National Human Rights Commission

Crash course in dealing with collisions

Fender benders are a common sight on city streets - in Edmonton, there were more than 28,000 collisions last year, with most occurring during the winter months. Not only are they frustrating for the drivers involved, but also for other motorists who get stuck in the resulting traffic jam. And since a lot of drivers don't really know what to do in the event of a crash, police resources can end up getting tied up unnecessarily. Here's what you should know in order to keep minor collisions from becoming major headaches: 

When do you have to call police? 

• If someone has been seriously injured. 
• If you suspect the driver is impaired. 
   - In these cases, call 9-1-1 so that EMS can be dispatched to the scene and police can be notified. 
   - Also, keep your vehicles where they are so that the collision scene can be investigated. 
• If a driver does not have proper documentation including his or her driver's license, registration or proof of insurance. 
• If one or more of the vehicles aren't drivable call the police complaint line at 423-4567. 
• If the combined damage to vehicles is more than $2,000. If that's the case, you must go to a police station and file a Collision Report Form. If you don't, you could face a $287.00 fine. 

What to do if you have been involved in a collision? 

• If your vehicles are drivable, move them to a location where they are not obstructing traffic. 
• Exchange information like insurance, registration, names and drivers licence numbers, as well as names and phone numbers of all witnesses.
• To protect yourself, take photos of vehicles, licence plates and damages in case the other driver changes his or her story later on. 
• If someone refuses to provide their information, document the licence plate number, vehicle description and driver description before they leave the scene. 
• Report collisions to your insurance company as soon as possible. 

Police remind drivers that prevention is the best way to avoid the headaches that accompany collisions, especially since following too closely is the most common cause of fender benders. 

"Use caution and a little bit of patience and we will get through the cold season here without too many problems," says Sgt. Ray Akbar with the EPS. 

See below for a handy vehicle collision guide you can print out and fill out if you ever get into a crash:


http://www.scribd.com/doc/75066853/Report-a-Collision

B.C. wants to lure skilled immigrants

Dec 8, 2011 / 9:47 am

The B.C. government is setting up a task force aimed at boosting the number of skilled immigrants and investors coming to the province.

Premier Christy Clark says skilled immigrants will be needed to help fill more than one million job openings expected in B.C. over the next decade.

She says the task force headed by Richmond Liberal MLA John Yap will review the effectiveness of all of B.C.'s current immigration programs and make recommendations on how to improve them.

Yap says skilled people all over the world want to come to B.C. and the aim of the task force is to make it easier for them to emigrate.

The nine-member task force will begin its work immediately and submit a final report by the end of next March.

Other members of the panel include former federal cabinet minister Stockwell Day, Asia Pacific Foundation CEO Yuen Pau Woo, immigration lawyer Narindarpal Singh Kang, and assistant UBC Dean Grace Wong.

Class action lawsuit targets penalties under B.C.'s tough new drunk-driving law

VICTORIA — A class-action lawsuit challenging impaired driving penalties given out under B.C.'s tough new drunk driving law was filed in Vancouver Thursday.

The lawsuit says that, between Sept. 20 and Nov. 19, police officers throughout the province were negligent in their use of the roadside breathalyzer device that determines a driver's blood-alcohol level.

Legislation came into effect Sept. 20 that penalizes drivers whose blood-alcohol concentration is between .05 and .08. The reading is determined via a roadside breathalyzer that indicates "warn" if a person's blood-alcohol level is between those numbers.

The lawsuit alleges that up to Nov. 19, police used improperly programmed breathalyzers to determine the reading. That resulted in drivers being penalized when their blood-alcohol levels were below .05, said Michael Thomas, one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit.

On Nov. 19, Victoria police Chief Jamie Graham, as chairman of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police traffic safety committee, recalled 2,200 roadside breathalyzers after RCMP lab tests found a margin of error in the devices. The RCMP found the units could indicate a reading over .05 when the driver was actually under it.

The units were recalibrated so that a "warn" reading is obtained if the driver blows .06, recognizing the potential machine error.

"The way the legislation is drafted, the public has to rely upon proper enforcement. Our allegation is that that wasn't done in this time period," Thomas said.

Police either improperly programmed the devices or failed to detect that they weren't programmed accurately, the lawsuit alleges. An estimated 170 people a week faced licence suspensions during the period, with penalties ranging from $600 to $4,060.

The minimum penalty is an immediate loss of licence for three days, a $200 penalty and a $250 licence reinstatement fee, and the likely loss of vehicle for the three days, plus towing and storage fees. That is for someone with one "warn" reading within five years. Penalties escalate for those with more.

In a class-action suit, one person sues on behalf of all the people who have similarly suffered. The lawsuit has to go to B.C. Supreme Court to be classified as a class-action suit before proceeding. That will likely happen within three months, Thomas said.

He will ask for repayment of costs incurred by people who were improperly penalized.

This week, Solicitor General Rich Coleman said the province is considering allowing drivers to appeal roadside penalties for impaired driving offences.

That would make no difference to the lawsuit, Thomas said.