Himachal Confidential

Sense of humour
At his first interaction with the media,newly appointed Chief Justice Kurian Joseph had everyone floored with his candidness and humour. Towards the end of the press meet,he moved his hand into his pocket,saying: “Let me check if I had something else to tell.” As he pulled out a chit,he quipped: “It is not any hidden agenda,it’s just an agenda inside the pocket.” Setting up of a media room in the high court and a new accreditation regime for mediapersons with the high court for free access to reporting on court matters has also come a pleasant move for the fraternity here who till now depended on practising lawyers as their legal correspondents.

The blue-eyed CM
As many leaders made a fuss about the arrangements made for their stay — in tents — at the BJP’s national executive meet at Indore,Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal maintained a low profile and dismissed the various inconveniences as part of the mundane. Though he found the tent cold at night,which affected his sleep,the CM decided to stay on and appreciated whatever was on the platter. As a result,Dhumal reportedly continued to don the hat of the ‘blue-eyed boy’ among the BJP chief ministers. He also hogged the limelight for initiating programmes for the conservation of environment and working aggressively on the concept of carbon credits. Just back from his Costa Rica visit,the CM had a lot to share at the meet.

Defining the order
The new fleet of vehicles purchased for high court judges in Himachal Pradesh has an interesting feature in the way they are numbered. While the chief justice’s vehicle bears a registration number of 0101,the numbers for ten other judges have been given in the order of their seniority from 0102 to 0111.

Nerwa’s tryst with tension and peace

The administration remained on its toes to maintain calm at Nerwa in Chopal tehsil of Shimla district where the Vishwa Hindu Parishad decided to hold a ‘havan’ for ‘purification’ after the incident of a cow slaughter a few days ago. Though things had returned to normal at Nerwa in the last week,but since a large number of VHP activists descended there on Sunday with 51 priests for the havan,the police and the administration remained on high alert. Later,when everything went off peacefully,the cops were heard appreciating the Muslim community in the area for maintaining their cool.