Court overrules trial court judgement,acquits two of murder charges

A case of murder and furtherance of common intention was registered against the two on August 10,1998. The prosecution had alleged that the two had murdered Sant Ram,a forest guard,as the deceased had stopped the duo from cutting trees in his region. The case was registered after Ram’s skeleton was found.

The prosecution had heavily relied upon the statements of a few witnesses and circumstantial evidence. The witnesses had told the investigating agency that Ram had reported to his seniors regarding theft of khair trees and that he had stopped the two from cutting trees.

Taking note of the evidence and case made out by the prosecution,the trial court on March 19,2001,had awarded life imprisonment to the two. Aggrieved,the two had moved the High Court challenging their conviction.

Acquitting the two,the division bench observed that there was no direct evidence against the two. “The prosecution was able to show that Ram had reported to his superiors regarding the theft. However,motive alone is not sufficient,” reads the judgment.

71 illegal colonies in Zirakpur,HC told

THERE are a total of 71 unauthorised colonies in and around Zirakrpur. This was revealed by the Punjab government during a hearing on an ongoing public interest litigation (PIL) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

A majority of these,around 69,are in Mohali with two in villages falling in Patiala. The information was furnished in an affidavit by Balwinder Singh,IAS,Additional Chief Administrator,Greater Mohali Area Development Authority. As per the affidavit,a total of 15 criminal complaints were pending in courts against unauthorised colonies in the vicinity of Zirakpur. The affidavit reads that licences of colonies — Guru Gobind Singh Nagar,Dhakoli,Zirakpur and Shalimar Enclave,Himmatgarh,Zirakpur have been cancelled by the authorities. A perusal of the unauthorised colonies reveal that a majority of such colonies are in Dhakoli,Green Enclave,Himmatgarh and Dera Bassi.

‘Administrator to settle flat-allotment dispute in Mohali’

TO ensure fair play and seniority with regard to allotment of flats in a group housing society of Mohali,Justice K Kannan of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today passed a detailed judgment appointing a senior advocate as administrator to settle the ongoing dispute between members of the society.

The court has appointed senior advocate Girish Agnihotri as administrator. He will be assisted by Advocate Dinay Jeet Sheron.

The dispute is with regard to alleged fraud played by the members of the society by inducting members beyond the permissible limit. As against the total flats of 338,it was alleged that more members had been inducted by the society named United Co-operative House Building Society,Mohali. Crying foul,some members of the society had moved High Court a few years ago.

The court had constituted a committee and ordered scrutiny. The committee had given the finding that only 283 members were genuine. While the scrutiny was on,109 more members were inducted,allegedly on payment. Of the sanctioned 338 flats,104 had been occupied. It was alleged that some members who had not fulfilled the conditions laid down by the society were fraudulently allotted flats.

Justice Kannan has ordered that the administrator will look into the issue and that the allotment will be made as per seniority. The court has laid down a detailed procedure which will be followed by the administrator at the time of allotment of flats. The court has made it clear that if out of the 104 occupants anybody who has not fulfilled the conditions will be ousted.

“Co-operation and litigation are a semantic mismatch. The former epitomises harmony and the latter,animosity. The former cements and the latter splinters,the former warms up heart and the latter leaves behind gall and bad blood. United Co-operative House Building Society as combination of words signify,ought to have made room for a united happy living of several persons under a common roof. The fight is between members of the society and persons who claim to be members by induction through resolutions of the committee,” reads the judgment.

Head constable acquitted of corruption charges

A graft case registered by the CBI against a Chandigarh police head constable fell flat when the accused,Bhim Sen,was acquitted of all charges by the court. According to the case,the CBI caught the accused red-handed while taking a bribe in 2004. However,the investigating agency failed to prove the amount was recovered from the accused.

The case saw many twists and turns once it reached court as the CBI said it had recovered the amount from the roadside a day after making the arrest,on Sen’s disclosure. The prosecution’s claim that Sen threw the money on the road from a moving vehicle was found to be baseless,leading to the acquittal,sources said.

“It is impossible to recover currency notes from a thoroughfare. Not a single note was lost and all six notes of 500 denomination were recovered intact the next day,which is unbelievable,” said defence counsel A S Sukhija.

The case was registered on the complaint of one Mehboob Ahmad,who alleged that on December 20,2004,Sen arrested his brother-in-law Abdul Ahmad from his house. Mehboob went to the police station to give food to Abdul when Sen called him to his room and asked him to pay Rs 5,000,else his relative would be in more trouble. A deal was settled for Rs 3,000,following which Mehboob complained to the CBI.

The CBI laid a trap on December 23 and,according to the prosecution,Sen took the money which he threw on the road as he feared he was being chased by the CBI. “The case suffered from various infirmities and improbabilities. There is no basis of demand of bribe from the complainant and the recovery was never established,” added Sukhija.

The court then acquitted Sen of the charges of corruption.