Latest news with #NSenthilkumar
New Indian Express
04-08-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Breastmilk donors nourish 7,845 infants at Coimbatore GH in six months
COIMBATORE: In the past six months alone, 7,845 babies have received donated human milk from 1,635 mothers at the Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre (CLMC), the breast milk bank at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. Since its inception in 2015, the centre has collected 16,717.8 litres of donated milk from 24,654 mothers, benefiting 55,056 babies, many of whom are abandoned, preterm, or critically ill. In 2024 alone, the CLMC collected 10,104.65 litres of milk. Between January and June this year, 1,358.94 litres were collected from 1,635 donors. Dr N Senthilkumar, professor in the hospital's paediatric department, said the CLMC plays a critical role in saving newborn lives. 'We are raising awareness among healthy, breastfeeding mothers—especially those who produce more milk than needed—about the importance of milk donation. Many are still hesitant. If more women come forward, it would greatly help children in need,' he said. The lactation management centre receives referrals from nearby districts including Nilgiris, Pollachi, and Tiruppur. With some babies requiring up to 500 ml of milk per day, demand remains high. Donor milk helps reduce complications such as Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), a life-threatening intestinal disease in newborns. The Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre typically receives over 3,000 donors annually and supports 7,000 to 8,000 babies each year with 1,200 to 1,400 litres of donated milk. Meanwhile, the district headquarters hospital in Pollachi also operates a breast milk bank. Between April 2024 and March 2025, the facility has helped over 509 children. In 2023–2024, it collected 73.83 litres of breast milk, benefiting 476 babies. Over the past three months alone, 102 mothers donated 15.75 litres of milk, helping 109 children. Dr D Selvaraj, Chief Civil Surgeon of the paediatric department, said, 'During the Breastfeeding Week, we are conducting awareness campaigns. A common myth is that milk donation reduces supply for one's own baby, but more women are now coming forward than ever before.'
Scroll.in
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Allow authorities to issue ‘no caste, no community' certificates: Madras HC to Tamil Nadu
The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to issue orders empowering revenue officials to grant 'no caste, no community' certificates to applicants, Live Law reported on Thursday. In the order pronounced on Tuesday, a bench of Justices MS Ramesh and N Senthilkumar observed that the intention of a person to shun religious and caste-based identity was laudable, The Hindu reported. It would promote the prohibition of caste-based discrimination, it added. The court was hearing an appeal against a single judge's order from February 2024. The judge had dismissed a petition filed by a man who was seeking a government certificate stating that he and his family belonged to no religion or caste, Live Law reported. While he acknowledged the man's request, the judge noted that the government had not empowered tehsildars to issue such a certificate. Allowing a writ appeal against the order on Tuesday, the High Court said that the single judge appeared to have been 'misguided' by an additional government pleader's argument that revenue officials were not empowered to issue 'no caste, no community' certificates, The Hindu reported. The bench added that 'even otherwise, when there is a constitutional mandate under Article 25 of the Constitution, the revenue authorities cannot wriggle out of this constitutional obligation by quoting absence of any rule or GO [government order] to that effect'. Article 25 guarantees freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion. The court directed the Tirupattur collector and tehsildar to issue the certificate to the appellant within a month. Authoring the verdict, Ramesh wrote that in India, religion and caste are two social identifiers that influence several aspects of life, including personal identity, politics and social interactions. 'While the Constitution prohibits caste based discrimination, caste and religion still play a significant role in social life, politics, education and employment through reservation policies,' he said.
New Indian Express
12-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Allow authorities to issue ‘no caste, no religion' certificate, Madras HC tells TN government
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has called upon the Tamil Nadu government to take steps to pass a government order (G.O.) to enable issuance of a 'no caste, no religion' certificate to those who file applications with revenue authorities seeking the same. A bench of Justices MS Ramesh and N Senthilkumar made the suggestion while allowing an appeal filed by H Santhosh of Tirupattur district against a single judge's order refusing to direct the local tahsildar to issue 'no caste, no religion' certificate to his family members. Setting aside the single judge's order, the bench directed the authorities to entertain the appellant's applications and issue a 'no caste, no religion' certificate within a month. 'While the Constitution of India prohibits caste-based discrimination, caste and religion still play a significant role in social life, politics, education and employment through reservation policies,' the bench said. Describing the appellant's efforts to have himself and his family members certified by the government of not belonging to any caste or religion 'laudable', the bench opined that this 'would promote prohibition of caste-based discrimination' in the long run and be an 'eye-opener' for like-minded citizens. 'Accordingly, we call upon the Government of Tamil Nadu to pass necessary orders, with a specific instruction to the authorities of the revenue department, to positively entertain applications seeking for grant of certificate of 'no caste, no religion',' the division bench said in the order passed on Tuesday.
New Indian Express
21-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Madras HC orders reinstatement of employee of ordnance factory after 15 year battle
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ordered the reinstatement of an employee of the Ordnance Factory with lesser punishment almost 15 years after he was asked to take compulsory retirement on charges of doubtful integrity after finding him keeping in possession a computer floppy containing copies of official communications without any authorisation. A division bench of Justices MS Ramesh and N Senthilkumar passed the orders recently to reinstate K Saravanan, an upper division clerk employed with the Heavy Alloy Penetrative Project, Tiruchy, an arm of the Ordnance Factory Board. He was asked to go on compulsory retirement on July 26, 2011 by the management for violation of the Rule 11 of Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964. He approached the CAT against the order. The tribunal found that there was nothing to question the employee's integrity and the punishment was 'shockingly disproportionate and vindictive'. It set aside the order of compulsory retirement with the rider of a lesser punishment. During arguments in the high court, the management submitted that the Ordnance Factory is linked to national safety and the charges were serious. The bench reasoned, 'Even assuming that the photocopies were in the personal possession of the employee, no consequential prejudice was caused to the management, since he had not shared such official communications with any third person. In this view of the matter, both the charges can only be held to be minor in nature, which may not warrant the maximum penalty.' The bench ordered his reinstatement with a minor penalty within three months.
New Indian Express
14-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Madras HC asks special NIA court to comply with norms regarding appearance of accused, recalling NBWs
CHENNAI: Confronted frequently with petitions challenging the orders of the special court at Poonamallee dealing with bomb blast cases and cases filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Madras High Court, in a recent order, criticised the court for being 'insensitive' while dealing with petitions seeking to dispense with appearance of the accused during the trials and those for recalling non-bailable warrants (NBWs). It further issued orders to the special court on how to deal with such petitions as per settled propositions of law. A division bench of justices M S Ramesh and N Senthilkumar recently passed the orders on a criminal appeal petition filed by Mohammed Faruk, an accused in an NIA case, praying for setting aside the orders of the special court dismissing his plea filed under 317 of CrPC seeking dispensing with appearance of the accused and Section 70 (2) of CrPC for recalling the NBW issued against him. Referring to the special court's rejections of such petitions, the bench remarked that the court has been 'consistently demonstrating of being insensitive to all the settled propositions of law'.
