04052022-CT-01.qxd 5/4/2022 12:30 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh TRIBUNE WEDNESDAY | 4 MAY 2022 | CHANDIGARH MOHALI CIVIC BODY WRITES TO GMADA OVER PARKING ISSUE PAGE 2 Concerned over parking problem in residential areas, it wants construction of four floors allowed with stilt parking. FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY TRICITY COVID REPORT CHD P’KULA MOHALI POSITIVE 92,092 44,194 95,818 RECOVERED 90,857 43,759 94,617 NEW CASES 14 5 14 ACTIVE 70 21 53 CHANGE 1 3 5 DEATHS 1,165 414 1,148 NEW 0 0 0 AIR QUALITY INDEX 147 PANCHKULA 158 MOHALI 180 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF 2 YOUTHS STALK GIRL, ARRESTED Chandigarh: The police arrested two Sector 41 youths for allegedly stalking a girl near a college in Sector 36 on May 2. The suspects, identified as driver Simranpreet Singh (24) and Amandeep Singh (25), were booked under Section 354 D of the IPC at the Sector 36 police station. Their luxury car has been impounded. The complainant, a resident of Sector 80, was waiting for her father to pick her up from the college when the two car-borne youths started stalking her. They also played loud music in the car and later fled from the spot. The duo was chased by the police and apprehended. On April 20, three youths, Varun, a bank employee, and Ankit and Deepanshu, all residents of Anandpur Sahib, were arrested by the police for allegedly stalking girls outside MCM College in Sector 36. TNS SEC 41 RESIDENTS WANT MORE TIME TO REMOVE VIOLATIONS Defeat Punjab Lions by 26 runs in the ongoing USHA Divyang Cricket League on Panjab University grounds. MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C | YESTERDAY MAX 36.7°C | MIN 29.5°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7:02 PM PAGE 3 The CHB had directed the allottees to remove violations and rectify units within seven days or face demolition. SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:37 AM Unvaccinated childrencan now attend school in city TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE The faithful TRIBUNE PHOTO: MANOJ MAHAJAN UT decision comes after SC says no one can be forced to get jabbed UT SEES 14 FRESH CASES Tribune News Service CHANDIGARH PAGE 2 HARYANA WARRIORS LOG WIN IN WHEELCHAIR CRICKET Chandigarh, May 3 The UT Administration today put in abeyance the decision of restricting unvaccinated students in the age group of 12 to 18 from attending classes in the physical mode. The decision has come in the light of the Supreme Court judgment yesterday wherein the top court ruled that no individual could be forced to get vaccinated. In order to protect unvaccinated children from exposure to Covid, the Administration had earlier decided to restrict unvaccinated students in the age group of 12 to 18 from attending classes in the physical mode from May 4. This led to a sudden increase in the vaccination rate of children in this category and around 14,000 children took their first jab in haste in the city in the past 10 days. The Corbevax vaccination of children in the age group of 12 to 14 with the first dose now stands at 60 per cent, while it was only 38 per cent before the orders. Around 98 continued on page 3 Chandigarh: The city witnessed 14 fresh cases of Covid on Tuesday, taking the active case count to 70. So far, the virus has claimed 1,165 lives in the city. TNS 5 NEW CASES IN P’KULA A student aged between 12 and 14 gets the Covid vaccine at a government school in Sector 26, Chandigarh. TRIBUNE PHOTO WHAT ADMN HAD DECIDED EARLIER 14,000 CHILDREN TAKE JAB IN 10 DAYS In order to protect unvaccinated children from exposure to Covid, the Administration had earlier decided to restrict unvaccinated students in the age group of 12 to 18 from attending classes in the physical mode from May 4. The orders barring unvaccinated children from attending physical classes led to an increase in the vaccination numbers as 14,000 children took their first jab of the Covid19 vaccine in the past 10 days. Panchkula: Five fresh cases of Covid surfaced in the district during the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 44,194. No new death due to the virus was reported. Of the 44,194 cases reported from the district so far, 43,759 patients have been cured. There are now 21 active cases. The death toll stands at 414. TNS FREE BOOSTER DOSE IN P’KULA FROM TODAY Panchkula:The booster dose for persons aged between 18 and 59 will be offered from Wednesday at government facilities as well. A Health Department spokesman said the vaccine would be given free of cost to those who had completed nine months from the second dose. The booster dose would be provided at all public health centres and community health centres. TNS Muslims offer prayers on Eid-ul-Fitr at the Jama Masjid in Sector 20, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. BMW driver gets remand for mowing down youth Tribune News Service 14 MORE CONTRACT VIRUS IN MOHALI DIST Mohali:As many as 14 Covid cases surfaced in the district in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of positive cases to 95,818, while nine patients recovered from the disease. No new death due to the virus was reported from any part of the district on Tuesday. There are now 53 active cases. The death toll stands at 1,148. TNS 6 AAP councillors get notice for backing BJP Chandigarh, May 3 A local court today remanded Nawanshahr youth Swapan Preet Singh (26) in one-day police custody after he was arrested for allegedly mowing down a 24-year-old youth with his car near a hotel in a Sector 22 market on Friday around 11.30 pm. The victim, identified as Shubham, a resident of Dadu Majra Colony, died during treatment at the PGI on Monday. A case has been registered against Swapan Preet Singh, owner of a gym in Nawanshahr, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 (1) of the IPC at the Sector 17 police station. The complainant, Mani Khosla, a friend of the deceased and eyewitness, said on Friday night, he, Shubham, Tanish and Manthan were standing on the rear side of a liquor vend and were waiting on the road for a cab they had booked. A BMW car driver suddenly came there and applied brakes just in front of them. The car slightly brushed against Shubham’s leg. There were some arguments and counter-arguments between the two, following which one of them threatened to hit the Owns gym in Nawanshahr, bought beer before incident The suspect, Swapan Preet Singh, in the custody of the police in Chandigarh on Tuesday. A TRIBUNE PHOTO other with the car while the other dared him to do it so, said the police. The police said the suspect bought some beer bottles from a nearby liquor vend just before the incident. Eyewitnesses said the car driver dragged the victim on the bonnet of his car for a distance and then ran him over as he fell on the road. The incident was caught on a CCTV camera in which one more person is seen standing near the victim. The luxury car, with a Delhi registration number, has been impounded. The police said a team was sent to Delhi which found that the car had been sold off a long time ago. Shubham, the victim Car was abandoned near Burail jail ed the BJP and got the resolution passed. Mayor Sarabjit Kaur announced that 19 councillors had voted in support of the agenda. The BJP has only 13 councillors in the House. In the show-cause notice issued to councillors Jaswinder Kaur (Ward 1), Suman Devi (Ward 4), Poonam (Ward 16), Taruna Mehta (Ward 18), Prem Lata (Ward 23) and Kuldeep Dhalor (Ward 26), AAP Chandigarh convener Prem Garg stated that “this is to bring to your attention that a House meeting was conducted on April 30, with the agenda — work contract for road sweeping to be awarded to M/s Lions Services Ltd”. “It was clearly discussed that all councillors shall demand deferment of this agenda so that our councillors can procure some time to go through the terms and conditions of the tender,” read the notice. During a discussion on the agenda in the House, AAP leader in the House Yogesh Dhingra demanded a poll. continued on page 3 Residents of two more slum colonies get eviction notices 5 armed men rob priests in Ambala Can’t deny maintenance to wife on grounds of being well-educated, says High Court Sanjay Colony dwellers given 21 days, Janata Colony seven Tribune News Service Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Ambala, May 3 Two priests of an ashram were allegedly robbed by five unidentified miscreants under the jurisdiction of the Panjokhra police station here today. Swami Gian Nath and Mahant Jaspal Mast Giri, residents of Khatoli village, alleged that around 1.35 am, five men carrying sticks and sharp-edged weapons reached their ashram at Khatoli village and claimed that they had come from the Panjokhra police station to carry out a search. The suspects slapped the priests and forcibly took the keys of an almirah and other boxes. They took away ~65,000, three gold rings, a silver chain, a silver kada and seven mobile phones. The suspects had their faces covered with monkey caps. A case has been registered under Section 395 of the IPC at the Panjokhra police station. ALLOTMENT OF TENDER FOR ROAD SWEEPING Dushyant Singh Pundir Tribune News Service SCOOTERISTS ROB RESIDENT OF ~1,800 Chandigarh: Two unidentified scooter-borne youths allegedly robbed a resident of Dharamgarh, Mohali, Rajinder Kumar, of his mobile phone, ~1,800 and documents at gunpoint near the Kali Bari light point on May 1. A case under Sections 392 and 34 of the IPC and 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered at the Sector 31 police station. TNS Chandigarh, May 3 After peaceful demolition of Colony No. 4, the UT Administration has asked residents of two more slum colonies to evict the land immediately. An official said a notice board was today installed outside Sanjay Colony, Industrial Area, Phase 1, asking the residents to evict the colony immediately. Through the notice, residents of the colony have been informed that it is government land and all structures or jhuggis erected on it are illegal. All illegal structures will be removed by the Administration within 21 days, the notice states. A similar notice board was erected outside Janata Colony in Sector 25, informing the residents that all illegal structures would be removed within seven days and they should vacate the Chandigarh, May 3 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today issued a show-cause notice to six of its councillors for extending support to the BJP on the issue of allotment of a tender for sweeping roads. During an MC House meeting on Saturday, AAP councillors had split on a supplementary agenda placed before the House for its “information and approval” on the allotment of a tender for mechanised and manual sweeping of selected roads in southern sectors to Lions Services Ltd. ‘ACT OF INDISCIPLINE’ ❝ It has come to our notice that six councillors voted in favour of the agenda along with BJP councillors despite clear guidelines to vote against the agenda. This act of indiscipline is not acceptable and shall be viewed seriously by the party leadership. — Prem Garg, CITY CONVENER OF AAP ❞ During the meeting, AAP councillor Yogesh Dhingra raised the issue that the supplementary agenda reached the councillors only on Friday night and in such a situation, a special meeting of the House should be convened. However, BJP councillors were not ready. Finally, when voting was held, a faction of the AAP councillors support- An eviction notice displayed on a board outside Janata Colony. colony before that. Amid tight security, the UT Administration removed nearly 2,500 illegal structures from Colony No. 4 in the Industrial Area, Phase 1, on Sunday. More than 2,000 police personnel and 10 executive magistrates were continued on page 3 Tribune News Service c m y b WHAT THE COURT SAID Chandigarh, May 3 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that an estranged wife cannot be held disentitled to maintenance on the grounds of being “well-educated” with a postgraduate degree. Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj of the High Court asserted that the argument lacked merit. “The submission by the counsel for the petitioner that the respondent-wife is well-educated and an MA in Hindi and, thus, not entitled for maintenance, is without any merit. The petitioner is an able-bodied man and, as per the law settled by the Supreme Court in plethora of judgments, the husband is legally and morally responsible to look after his wife and children,” Justice Bhardwaj asserted. The judgment by Justice Bhardwaj came on a petition filed by a husband challeng- petitioner ❝The submission by the counsel for theand an MA that the respondent-wife is well-educated in Hindi and, thus, not entitled for maintenance, is without any merit. The petitioner is an able-bodied man and, as per the law settled by the Supreme Court in plethora of judgments, the husband is legally and morally responsible to look after his wife and children. — Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj ❞ ing an order passed on March 7 by the Principal Judge (Family Court), awarding a monthly maintenance of ~2,500 from the filing of the petition till the order. Thereafter, a monthly maintenance of ~3, 600 was directed to be paid to the wife. Referring to the arguments, Justice Bhardwaj asserted that the precise submission by the petitioner’s counsel was that the respondent-wife was not satisfied with her marriage and had left the matrimonial home on her own. As such, she was not The deceased, Shubham, an employee of a garment shop in Sector 23, and his three friends were about to return home after a party. The 24year-old succumbed to head injuries at the PGI. The suspect owns a gym in Banga. The police said after the incident, the suspect and two other occupants of the car, including a girl, fled the spot. The police checked the CCTV footage of the liquor vend and identified the suspect. He had made the payment for beer through an ATM card. The address was traced to continued on page 3 entitled to the maintenance granted by the Family Court. Justice Bhardwaj asserted that there was nothing on record showing that the respondent-wife had deserted the petitioner without any rhyme and reason. “The provisions of Section 125 of the CrPC (on awarding maintenance) are there to prevent the destitution and vagrancy. In view of the judicial precedent set by the Supreme Court, there is no straight-jacket formula for granting maintenance. However, the same depends on various factors such as the status of the parties; and the independent income and property of the claimant,” Justice Bhardwaj added. Dismissing the plea, Justice Bhardwaj further added that the court found that the maintenance granted to the wife in view of the petitioner’s income was reasonable and did not suffer from illegality, continued on page 3