UP Lawyer Thrashed Over Legal Aid To Cleric Who "Opposed National Anthem"
GORAKHPUR: A group of lawyers allegedly beat up a fellow advocate on Thursday in Maharajganj for taking up a case involving a madrasa even as a local bar association expelled him and another colleague over the same issue.
The civil court bar association of Maharajganj district said it has ended the membership of the two lawyers for lifetime for giving legal help those accused of preventing children from singing the national anthem at the madrasa on Independence Day.
The bar association has also sent an application to the district judge for cancellation of the space allotted to both the advocates, the association president said.
No case has been filed so far but one of the two lawyers said he will approach the police for registration of a First Information Report or FIR on Friday.
On August 15, a cleric, Mohammad Junaid Ansari, who was not a staff member of Madrasa Arabia Ahle Girls College, situated in Badago area under Kolhui police station, allegedly prevented students from singing the national anthem after the flag-hoisting by madrasa principal Faizlurrehman.
After a video of the incident went viral on the social media, police arrested him and two other persons under Section 124-A (Sedition ), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integrity), Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act 1971, Criminal Law Amendment Act and IT Act.
Protesting over the incident, the bar association of Maharajganj had decided that no advocate of the district will give legal aid to the accused.
"The decision was taken at a bar association meeting on August 18 for not giving legal aid to the accused, but two lawyers Manoj Singh and Mainuddin Ansari went against the decision for which their membership has been ended for lifetime," said Jagdish Patel, the president of the civil bar association, Maharajganj.
"A copy of the action against them has been sent to the Uttar Pradesh Bar association. An application has been sent to the district judge for the cancellation of allotment of sitting place of the two in the court campus," Patel said.
He, however, did not respond to questions regarding the beating up one of the lawyers by a mob.
Reacting to the bar association decision, Advocate Manoj Singh said everyone has the right to get legal aid and by representing the accused, he was doing his duty.
"It is a fundamental right of a person to get legal aid and I was just doing my duty. When a Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab could get legal aid, why couldn't they?" Mr Singh said.
He, however, said he was not informed about the bar association decision on not giving legal aid to the accused in the said case.
Mr Singh also claimed that a group of lawyers beat up Ansari for providing legal aid to an accused in the case.
"I was working inside the court so they (the lawyers) were not able to touch me but they have beaten Mainuddin Ansari for giving legal aid to another accused in the case. On Friday, after identifying all the lawyers, I will lodge an FIR," he said.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
