Sunanda Pushkar death case: Court dismisses Subramanian Swamy's plea
New Delhi, May 24: A Delhi court Friday dismissed an application of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, seeking a direction to city police to bring on record a vigilance report on the alleged evidence tampering in the case related to the death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Special judge Arun Bhardwaj said rejected Swamy's plea, saying he had "no locus-standi" to file the application.
Tharoor, a former Union minister, has been charged under sections 498-A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.
In his order, the judge said, "Neither the applicant has locus-standi to file this application nor this court can give any direction for further investigation in the matter as cognizance has already been taken and accused has been summoned to face trial."
Swamy had requested the court to "direct the prosecution to produce the vigilance enquiry report and satisfy this court that the shortcomings pointed out in the said report have been considered, investigated prior to the preparation and filing of charge sheet".
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Tharoor, had told the court that Swamy was "an absolute stranger to the case having no connection either with the prosecution, deceased or the accused".
The Delhi Police had also told the court that since the cognizance on the charge sheet was already taken, no further probe could be ordered on the basis of the application moved by Swamy.
Swamy had told the court that the vigilance report might lead to framing of additional charges.
Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel in the city on the night of January 17, 2014. The couple were staying in the hotel as the official bungalow of Tharoor was being renovated at that time.
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Hyderabad retired professor in coma left without pension; family struggles to pay Rs 25 lakh bills
Hyderabad: A 64-year-old retired professor from Osmania University, Mohammad Ansari, is battling for life in a coma while his family struggles to meet mounting medical expenses due to an unresolved pension dispute.
According to The Times of India, Prof. Ansari, a former linguistics teacher, fell critically ill about 10 days ago due to kidney and lung complications and slipped into a coma.
His family has already spent nearly Rs 25 lakh on treatment, with daily hospital expenses ranging between Rs 30,000 and 40,000.
"We have spent about Rs 25 lakh so far. The hospital is charging between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 daily. We don't have any money left. We can only afford a rehabilitation centre," said Fayyaz Ansari, brother of the retired Osmania University professor. He said that his brother had been running from pillar to post since 1996 to clear the anomalies in his service, but failed in his efforts.
Though he began working with the university in 1997 as part-time faculty and later became regular staff, the university reportedly agreed to consider his pension eligibility only from 2003, which he contested.
The family claims that despite court directions and intervention by an Assembly committee, the university did not recognise his service from 1996 for pension benefits.
"Despite selection, he was not given joining orders. He was forced to work as a part-time faculty. In 2003, after approaching the minority commission, the HC and the assembly, he finally got orders to join as full-time faculty," Fayyaz said.
Incidentally, even the LIC-linked pension, which was offered to those not eligible under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), was denied to him despite premiums being deducted for close to 15 years on the grounds that he already has OPS. The total amount paid towards the pension was returned in 2018.
Students and well-wishers have begun crowdfunding to support his treatment. Members of the Osmania University Students’ Joint Action (JAC) Committee urged authorities to intervene and release his pending benefits or arrange financial assistance.
The issue was also raised in the Assembly by CPI MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao.
However, university officials maintain that pension from 1996 cannot be granted. Registrar G. Naresh Reddy said, "He was not on the varsity rolls then. How can it be considered? In fact, this issue was placed before the executive council and the govt multiple times and it was rejected."
He said that when it comes to the LIC-linked pension, it is the govt that has kept it in abeyance and that, along with Ansari, 10 other faculty members, who joined between 2001 and 2004, were waiting for it to be resolved.
