Padma awards 2019: Saalumarada Thimmakka, Actor Kadar Khan, Prabhu Deva among awardees
New Delhi, Jan 25: President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh, L&T chairman A M Naik, late journalist Kuldip Nayar, late actor Kadar Khan and cricketer Gautam Gambhir were among the 112 prominent personalities who were named on Friday for conferment of this year's Padma awards.
Folk artist Teejan Bai, Guelleh, Naik and theatre actor Balwant Moreshwar Purandare will be honoured with Padma Vibhushan, former CAG V K Shunglu, former union minister Kariya Munda, Akali leader S S Dhindsa were named for Padma Bhushan, which will be conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind in March-April.
Late actor Kadar Khan, cricketer Gautam Gambhir and former diplomat S Jaishankar are among 94 persons named for Padma Shri, the Home Ministry announced.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
