JOIN USThe High Court on Tuesday reserved orders in a petition by Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) member, Mangala Sridhar, challenging her suspension by the Governor of Karnataka.
The petitioner and other members of the KPSC were indicted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for irregularities in recruitment of gazetted probationers for the year 2011. The Governor subsequently suspended her.
She moved the High Court challenging the suspension and argued that the Governor could recommend action against her to the President of India but was not vested with powers to suspend her, and sought to quash the order suspending her.
Justice B V Nagarathna has reserved the orders.
Official summoned
The High Court has summoned the principal secretary, primary and secondary education, to explain the fate of children seeking admission under the Right To Education (RTE) Act.
During the hearing of a petition by parents of children who were denied admission by seven schools in Bangalore, the State government, complying with an earlier court order, submitted that two out of the seven schools had been accorded minority status by the department of public instruction while the rest had applied for the same.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice H G Ramesh on Tuesday directed the government to explain what will be the fate of children with the institutions now applying for minority status.
HC chides labour board
Chiding the Karnataka Labour Welfare Board for not disbursing the labour welfare cess collected from the public, the High Court on Tuesday directed it to come out with accurate facts and figures and give an explanation at the next hearing for why the money was not disbursed to the needy.
Hearing a petition by one Samuel Sathyasheelan who sought better amenities for BMRCL construction labourers, a division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice H G Ramesh gave a dressing-down to the board after learning that despite collecting several thousand crore rupees as cess, it disbursed just Rs nine crore over four years.
“Rs 2400 crore has been collected from the levy of cess, but you have spent just Rs nine crore. You are getting an interest of hundreds of crores of rupees. You are just becoming lenders to the banks,” the bench remarked orally.
When asked about the purpose for which the money was disbursed, the counsel for the board said that the maximum expenditure was on funerals, apart from repair of houses and marriages.
Explaining the difficulties faced by the board, the counsel said that it was unable to decide about the welfare fund in case of marriages, because it received applications from almost all the family members.
The bench retorted orally, “After a person is dead, where is the welfare of the person? It is not for the court to activate you, but the fact you have furnished shows that you are not active.”
The bench then adjourned the matter by directing the authorities concerned to file an affidavit explaining why the board is unable to disburse funds.
“In this country, the welfare money does not reach the poor, it is syphoned off by the middlemen,” the court observed orally.