Madras HC formulates guidelines for cancelling bail
Chennai: The Madras High Court has framed guidelines to be followed by executive magistrates while ordering detention or arrest of an accused for breach of bail bond. As per guidelines framed by Justice V Parthiban on Wednesday, executive magistrates should issue notice to the person who jumped the bond condition to explain as to why action under Section 122(1)(b) (arrest or detention) of CrPC should not be taken for breach of the bond on a date fixed. “At the enquiry, the executive magistrate should furnish the person the material sought to be relied upon, including statements of witnesses, if any, in the vernacular. “If the person wishes to engage an advocate to represent him at the inquiry, such opportunity shall be provided,” the judge said. During the inquiry, the magistrate should apply his mind on the material available on record and pass speaking order citing grounds on which the magistrate was satisfied that the person has breached the bond, he added. The court also made it clear that the inquiry should be completed within 30 days as far as possible and at no circumstance should it be adjourned unnecessarily. (PTI)
Banned poem on Jallianwala massacre now in English
New Delhi: A poem on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by acclaimed Punjabi writer Nanak Singh which was banned by the British after its publication in 1920 has now been translated into English. Singh was present at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919. He was 22 years old at the time. As the British troops opened fire on the unarmed gathering protesting against the Rowlatt Act, killing hundreds, Singh fainted and his unconscious body was piled up among the corpses. After going through the traumatic experience, he proceeded to write Khooni Vaisakhi, a long poem that narrates the political events in the run-up to the massacre and its immediate aftermath. The poem was a scathing critique of the British Raj and was banned soon after its publication. Its manuscript was subsequently lost. After long years, the poem has been rediscovered and now translated into English by the author’s grandson and diplomat, Navdeep Suri. It will be published by Harper Collins India next month to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Featuring the poem in translation and in original, the bilingual edition is accompanied by essays by Suri, H S Bhatia and by Justin Rowalatt, whose great-grandfather, Sir Sydney Arthur Taylor Rowlatt, drafted the Rowlatt Act. (PTI)
For Goa govt, the people are its real Valentines: Minister
Panaji: The people are the government’s real Valentines, Goa Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai said on the occasion of Valentine’s Day. He was inaugurating a regional passport centre in South Goa district. “The government cares for South Goa. We are in love with you. I say this on Valentine’s Day, a day when we share love,” Sardesai said. Valentine’s Day is celebrated globally on February 14, as a day for sharing love and affection. Lauding the state’s Manohar Parrikar government for opening a regional passport centre in South Goa district, especially in the Xaxti sub-district, which tops the state’s out-migration trends for employment, Sardesai said that travelling makes people broadminded. “A traveller’s goal is to ensure that his passport runs out of pages. His goals are met when his passport runs out of pages,” he said. “We Xaxtikars are travellers. Those who travel the world become broadminded. You cannot have a fat passport and not be broadminded. And this facility is for the broadminded people of Goa,” Sardesai added. (IANS)
Kalpa, hills near Manali wrapped in white blanket
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh’s tourist destination Kalpa and hills overlooking Manali received more snow on Thursday, and the Met Office forecast widespread rain and snow till February 15. Residents and tourists have been advised not to venture in the high hills owing to avalanche warning by Manali-based Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment. While Manali saw mild rains, its nearby places like Solang and Kothi received snow, according to a Met official here. Shimla has been experiencing cloudy skies with chances of rain or snow later in the day. The state capital saw a minimum temperature of 7.2 degrees Celsius, while it was 3.2 degrees in Manali, 6.4 degrees in Dharamsala, 3 degrees in Kufri and 4.9 degrees in Dalhousie. “The higher reaches of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, Shimla, Sirmaur and Chamba districts have been experiencing snow since Thursday night, while mid and lower hills have been experiencing rain,” the official said. Kalpa, some 250 km from here, in Kinnaur district, and Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti have experienced two cm and 16 cm snowfall, respectively. The western disturbances — storm systems originating from the Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region — are likely to remain active in the region till February 16. (IANS)