Sessions court defers Rouvanjit hearing

A sessions court on Friday deferred its verdict on whether the principal and teachers of La Martiniere for Boys would be prosecuted under IPC Section 305 (abetment to suicide of a juvenile) for the death of Class VIII student Rouvanjit Rawla. Dipak Saha Roy, chief judge of the court, said the verdict would be delivered on January 31. Police had filed a chargesheet against principal Sunirmal Chakrabarti and three teachers, who were arrested in the Rouvanjit suicide case, on October 4 in Bankshall Court. They were later released on bail. Following this, Rouvanjit's father Ajay Rawla sought an order to prosecute them under Section 305. The 12th metropolitan magistrate gave the order, against which the teachers moved the chief judge of the city sessions court in December. The Rouvanjit case brought into focus the rampant corporal punishment. This prompted the state government to place an action taken report on corporal punishment in the High Court. The High Court on Friday has expressed satisfaction on the report.

HC to hear PIL on Hills voters next month

The Calcutta High Court will hear a petition seeking deletion of the names of "Nepalese" from the voters' list of Darjeeling on February 19. The court was hearing a PIL, filed in 2010 by a social organisation in Siliguri, alleging that thousands of Nepalese were included in the Darjeeling voters' list though they were not Indian citizens. During the last hearing, 2010, the High Court had directed the Centre to file an affidavit on the voters' lists of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and the Dooars. Advocate Sucheta Das, appearing for Jana Chetana, the social organisation, on Friday pleaded that a large number of Nepalese in Darjeeling district were not citizens of India according to the India-Nepal agreement of 1950. Farook M Razzak, Additional Solicitor General of the Centre, pleaded that the high court cannot intervene on the subject of voter lists. Only the Election Commission is empowered to do so. The division bench however, did not accept the Centre's argument and fixed February 19 for the final hearing.

ALSO READ

Saradha scam: Debjani Mukherjee denies intimate relation with Sudipta Sen

Won’t cave in to conspiracies, rural polls will be held on time: Mamata

Jolt to govt as high court orders 3-phase rural polls

Left leaders at PM door for CBI probe