Stray dogs case: No respect for court's order; chief secretaries to appear physically, says SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday refused to accept the request of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that chief secretaries of states, except West Bengal and Telangana, be allowed to appear virtually before the court on November 3 in the stray dogs case.
Mehta mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, which made it clear that the chief secretaries will have to appear physically before the court on November 3.
"When we require them to come and file compliance affidavit, they are just sleeping over it. No respect for the order of the court. Then alright, Let them come," Justice Nath said.
Mehta urged the bench that instead of appearing physically, the chief secretaries be allowed to appear before the court virtually.
While hearing the stray dogs matter on October 27, the top court had directed the chief secretaries of all the states, except West Bengal and Telangana, to remain present before it on November 3 to explain why compliance affidavits were not filed despite the court's August 22 order.
On August 22, the apex court expanded the scope of the stray dogs case beyond the confines of Delhi-National Capital Region, and directed that all states and UTs be made parties in the matter.
It had directed the municipal authorities to file an affidavit of compliance with complete statistics of resources like dog pounds, veterinarians, dog-catching personnel, and specially-modified vehicles and cages available as on date for the purpose of compliance of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules.
The bench had also impleaded the states and UTs in the matter while observing that application of ABC Rules was uniform all over India.
The apex court is hearing a suo motu case which was initiated on July 28 over a media report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital.
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NCW sets up panel to probe alleged sexual harassment at TCS Nashik
New Delhi (PTI): The National Commission for Women on Wednesday said it has set up a fact-finding committee to probe the alleged incidents of sexual harassment of employees at a Tata Consultancy Services BPO unit in Nashik, Maharashtra.
In a statement, the Commission said the panel will visit the facility on April 17 to conduct an on-the-spot inquiry, examine the circumstances leading to the incident and assess the response of the authorities.
"The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of serious media reports concerning alleged incidents of sexual harassment of women at the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) BPO unit in Nashik, Maharashtra," the statement read.
"Taking a serious view of the matter, the Commission, in exercise of its powers under Section 8 of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, has constituted a fact-finding committee to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident. The committee will visit the place of incident on 17th April," it added.
The allegations, which surfaced during an initial inquiry triggered by a complaint related to religious practices, include claims of sexual harassment, rape and attempts at forced religious conversion of female employees by by certain individuals in supervisory roles, the Commission said.
The committee comprises retired Bombay High Court Justice Sadhna Jadhav, former Haryana DGP B K Sinha, Supreme Court advocate Monika Arora and NCW Senior Coordinator Lilabati.
It has been tasked with interacting with victims, police officials, company representatives and other stakeholders, identifying lapses, if any, and recommending appropriate action against those responsible.
The panel will also suggest remedial measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents and strengthen workplace safety mechanisms for women.
The committee has been asked to submit its report to the NCW within 10 working days, following which it will present its findings in person, the statement said.
