The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Official asked to appear before court

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 06, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Official asked to appear before court

Staff Reporter

HIGH COURTROUND-UP

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development, to be present in court on January 9 to explain why a scheme for employing persons with disabilities were not framed though the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act was passed in 1995.

Justice K.L. Manjunath passed the order on a petition by Ravindra Ural, a physically challenged person.

The petitioner said he had learnt though reports in the media in 1999 that the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) would permit the disabled to set up telephone booths in bus stations in the city.

He applied to the BMTC on October 14, 2001 seeking permission to set up a telephone booth at the Shivajinagar bus stand.

When he learnt that there were already several telephone booths in the bus stand, he asked the BMTC to permit him to set up an instant ice-cream vending machine.

The BMTC said the disabled were only entitled to set up telephone booths and if he wanted to set up an ice-cream booth he would have to apply through the open tender method.

Moreover, the disabled were not entitled to any special benefits under the open tender scheme.

The petitioner wrote to the Commissioner for Disabilities seeking his intervention in getting an ice-cream booth allotted. The commissioner wrote to the BMTC asking it to consider Mr. Ural's application.

Though the commissioner sent two notices, the BMTC did not reply.

In his petition, Mr. Ural prayed to the court to direct the BMTC to allot a booth to him.

Mr. Justice Manjunath sought to know why the State had not evolved a policy though it had enacted the Disabilities Act 10 years ago.

When the Principal Secretary, Transport, who was present in the court, said the Secretary, Women and Child Development, was the authority to frame the rules and not the Transport Department, the judge asked the Government pleader to ensure that the Secretary, Women and Child Development, was present in court on January 9.

Mr. Justice Manjunath adjourned further hearing on the petition.

MCI stand

The Medical Council of India (MCI) informed the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday that it had forewarned the State Government against transferring the students of the Basaveshwara Medical College in Chitradurga.

The students had sought transfer from the college after the MCI did not renew the recognition, saying that the college lacked adequate infrastructure.

Justice N. Kumar, who is hearing the petition, directed the MCI to again inspect the college and submit a report.

Appearing for the MCI, Khety said the inspection had revealed that the college still lacked adequate facilities.

He said any proposal by the State to transfer the students to other colleges would be in breach of the law and also against the Supreme Court judgement.

Such transfer, he said, would be against the statutory regulations of the MCI and would also go against the intake fixed for each college.

He said it was the responsibility of the State to remove the deficiencies in the facilities existing in the college which were noticed by the MCI team during inspection.

Mr. Justice Kumar adjourned further hearing of the matter to next week.

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