Latest news with #Amendment)Act
New Indian Express
07-08-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Telangana HC denies abortion plea for 28-week pregnant minor, directs continued care at Niloufer Hospital
HYDERABAD: Rejecting a plea for permission to terminate a 28-week pregnancy, the Telangana High Court has directed Niloufer Hospital for Women and Children in Hyderabad to provide continuous medical care to a pregnant minor and not discharge her until delivery. Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka instructed the hospital superintendent to ensure the girl's health and safety throughout the remainder of her pregnancy. According to the case details, the pregnancy resulted from the girl's relationship with her boyfriend. Under Indian law, sexual intercourse with a minor is classified as rape, regardless of consent. The court also asked the Department of Women's Development and Child Welfare, through its principal secretary, to extend full support to the girl via the Sakhi centre, including coordination with the police if needed. The matter will be heard again on October 29. The order was issued on a writ petition filed by the minor's mother, who had sought the constitution of a medical board under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021. The petitioner requested an urgent medical examination and termination of her daughter's pregnancy, citing a medical report dated July 22, 2025, which recorded gestational ages of 27 weeks for Twin A and 25 weeks for Twin B. Following an interim order dated July 25, 2025, a medical board examined the girl under Section 3(2)(b) of the MTP (Amendment) Act and submitted its report on July 28, 2025. After reviewing the findings and hearing both sides, the court declined to allow termination, citing the advanced stage of pregnancy, 28 weeks, as noted in the report. Justice Bheemapaka, while refusing the termination plea, directed that the minor receive uninterrupted medical assistance and support services during the remaining term.
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Illegal activities on assigned lands: Kerala HC directs govt to file affidavit
Kochi: High court has directed the state govt to file a detailed affidavit by Aug 18 in response to a petition seeking action against illegal activities in violation of patta conditions on assigned lands across the state. The bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and M B Snehalatha issued the directive in a petition by P B Satheesh, director of Nerkazhcha, a Thrissur-based association, in which 1034 local self-govt institutions (LSGIs) across the state have been impleaded as respondents. While considering the matter, HC took note of a govt circular dated Oct 6, 2022, which required district collectors to take action against all violations committed on assigned lands. The court also observed that the Kerala Govt Land Assignment (Amendment) Act, 2023, which empowers the state to regularise certain activities on such lands, received the governor's assent only on April 26, 2024, and that the Rules under the Act are yet to be framed. HC further noted that violations occurring in the period between the issuance of the circular and the assent of the Amendment Act remain within the purview of the authorities and warrant immediate and necessary action. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Elegant New Scooters For Seniors In 2024: The Prices May Surprise You Mobility Scooter | Search Ads Learn More Undo Additionally, HC remarked that it has been dealing with the issue for several months but has not been unable to issue specific directions due to the state's repeated requests for time to file affidavits. Accordingly, the court directed the revenue department additional secretary, or any other competent authority on behalf of the state, to ensure that all queries raised by it are addressed comprehensively in the affidavit.
Time of India
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
In a rare instance, Kolhapur villagers vote out directly elected sarpanch for ‘poor performance'
Kolhapur: Residents of a village in this western Maharashtra district voted out the sarpanch for his "unsatisfactory performances" and "tendency to take unilateral decisions" on Thursday, two years after they had elected him to the post. Officials on Friday confirmed that exercising the right to recall and remove a directly elected sarpanch by the villagers of Kasba Beed was a rare instance in the state. Kasba Beed gram panchayat members were not satisfied with sarpanch Uttam Varute's way of functioning and passed a resolution to move a no-confidence motion against him. In the 2022 election, Varute had won the post of sarpanch by 98 votes. A member of his panel had also successfully contested the poll. However, 10 members of the opposition panel won at the same time. "The opposition was angry with the fact that the post of the sarpanch went to the other panel. Despite this, I ensured that every member is consulted while making decisions over funds. The no-trust motion was politically triggered. They had offered me to resign respectfully, but I faced the motion as I did not do anything wrong," said Varute. Varute is a Shiv Sena worker, while the opposition panel is led by Patil, who is a Congress supporter. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Lose Weight at Night – a Teaspoon is Enough Beauty Ideas Read More Undo The Maharashtra Village Panchayats (Amendment) Act, 2017, has a provision of a majority (not less than three-fourths of village panchayat members) can bring in such a resolution. The law states that the no-confidence motion can be brought only after the sarpanch completes two years in office. In accordance with the law, the resolution was passed at a special gram sabha meeting where every resident of the village was eligible to vote. The voting was held in the presence of an official deployed by the district collector. The no-confidence motion was passed with 1,041 people voting in favour of unseating the sarpanch, while 713 were against the motion. Satyajit Patil, who was the first directly elected sarpanch of the village, took the lead in moving the no-trust vote against Varute. He said: "Varute would not take into confidence the village panchayat members while utilising govt funds. This was one of the points of contention." . Subsequently, a section of the gram panchayat members wrote to the tehsildar about their intention to unseat the sarpanch. The meeting to pass the no-trust motion was introduced before the official. Subsequently, district collector Amol Yedge notified an election to get the motion to vote in the gram sabha. The election was accordingly held on Thursday. Datta Kakade, president of Sarpanch Parishad Maharashtra, said: "There are only a handful of cases where a directly elected sarpanch was ousted out of office by re-voting. One of the members from the elected members is chosen to become sarpanch for the remaining two-and-a-half years of the tenure. This provision was added to avoid direct election, which requires money and machinery. The process of direct election of sarpanch has more pros than cons. A directly elected sarpanch represents people's will and does not have to be at the mercy of the local legislator."
Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Crackdown in Haryana 50% revenue officials to face chargesheets
Over 100 tehsildars and naib tehsildars in Haryana are set to face chargesheets for executing land deals allegedly in violation of rules, with Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini approving the action. Around 50 per cent of the total working strength of tehsildars and naib tehsildars in the state are accused of registering residential plots without mandatory clearances for the past few years. Currently, 58 tehsildars and 156 naib tehsildars are posted across Haryana's tehsils to oversee various types of land transactions. The sanctioned strength is higher — 96 for tehsildars and 219 for naib tehsildars. According to sources, the Haryana Revenue Department had initially proposed action against 45 tehsildars, 61 naib tehsildars, 14 district revenue officers (DROs), and nine Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officers — bringing the total to 129. However, chargesheets have now been approved against 118 of them, while no action has been deemed necessary against 11 officers. Officials who executed more than 50 land registrations will face charges under Rule-7 of the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment & Appeal) Rules, 2016. This rule allows for major penalties, including dismissal, removal, or compulsory retirement from service. Those who executed fewer than 50 registrations will be charged under Rule-8, which provides for minor penalties such as censure, withholding of promotion, or increment. As per existing regulations, revenue officers are required to register agricultural land—especially land falling within municipal committee jurisdictions—only after obtaining clearance from the Town and Country Planning Department and the respective municipalities. In such cases, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) under Section 7-A of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (Amendment) Act, 2017 is mandatory. 'But these officers executed the registration of land without due clearance. Final action following issuance of chargesheet will be taken after examining their replies,' a senior state government officer told The Indian Express. Sources revealed that agricultural land was sold for residential colonies or industrial use without obtaining CLUs (Change of Land Use), allegedly to evade heavy stamp duty and other charges. 'The same process was adopted for registration of residential plots,' said an official. However, a revenue official highlighted the practical challenges faced by tehsildars. 'Many of these cases of plots were those which already have all basic amenities including roads and streetlights. In several of the cases reached for registration and sale of the plots were those already having registration of the land concerned. What was the fault of a tehsildar if the land concerned had already a land registration document,' the official said. The latest decision to chargesheet revenue officers comes less than a month after the state government approved similar action against 80 officials from the Irrigation Department, following the failure of multiple construction material samples from ongoing irrigation projects in quality tests
New Indian Express
28-06-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Abortions in Kerala rise 76% over nine years
KOLLAM: Kerala has recorded an over 76% jump in abortion cases over a nine-year period, given the improved access to reproductive healthcare, according to data with the Health Management Information System (HMIS) portal. The state reported 30,037 abortions in 2023-24, compared to 17,025 in 2014-15, marking a 76.43% increase. In the latest period, 21,282 abortions were conducted in private hospitals, while government hospitals accounted for only 8,755 cases, indicating a growing reliance on private healthcare facilities. The data includes both spontaneous and induced abortions. In 2023-24, the state reported 20,179 induced abortions and 9,858 spontaneous abortions. In 2014-15, abortion procedures were almost evenly split between public and private hospitals, with 8,324 and 8,701 cases respectively. However, since 2015-16, private hospitals have consistently recorded a higher share of cases. From 2015-16 to 2024-25, Kerala reported a total of 1,97,782 abortion cases, of which only 67,004 were in government hospitals. Private hospitals accounted for 1,30,778 cases during this period. The report also noted a steady rise in induced abortions over the period under under review, reflecting better access to reproductive healthcare. Health experts, however, express concern over the increasing dependence on private hospitals and stress the need to strengthen the public health sector. Speaking to TNIE, Dr Leema, senior gynaecologist at the Women and Children Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, said more patients now prefer private institutions due to better facilities and enhanced privacy. 'Medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) is a high-risk procedure,' said Leema. 'It is high time govt invested in better infra' 'Under the MTP (Amendment) Act, 2021, the permissible abortion limit has been extended from 20 to 24 weeks. Most women seeking abortions today are aware of their rights. They trust private hospitals for better operational care, post-procedure support, and, importantly, privacy — something often lacking in government institutions. Women today don't want to take risks with their lives and naturally lean towards private care,' she said. Dr Pandu R, senior gynaecologist at Kannur MCH, said it is high time the government invested in better infrastructure to regain public trust.
