Occupational medication Policing is a tough job. Two station house officers,one of whom had joined recently,were overheard discussing ailments. The experienced SHO said to the other one,You have just joined as SHO. Six months on,your drawer will be full of medicines for blood pressure,diabetes,aches and other ailments. Look at me,I used to exercise every morning for two hours,but now,I visit the doctor for physiotherapy sessions. He says its the beginning of spondylitis. This made the new SHO laugh,but he did cast a wary look at his drawer,which only had a set of bandages and oil. No one to blame? While hearing a public interest litigation on changing the symbol used by the Indian Railways,the Delhi High Court was confronted with two parties who didnt quite know who to blame. The petitioner had made the Home Ministry a party to the case,claiming that they were the ones responsible for assigning the symbol. The counsel for Centre however,said the Home Ministry had nothing to do with the symbol. When the court asked who was responsible for it,the counsel suggested that the court direct the Railway Ministry to appear before it. The acting Chief Justice asked in exasperation,You mean you want to make the Railway Ministry a party in this case just so that you can get information from them? Why cant the two of you just communicate? When the lawyer had no answer the Chief Justice turned to the petitioner and asked him to come on the next date of hearing with proper research on which ministry had assigned the symbol. The Union of India doesnt know who is responsible,so you will have to tell us, the judge said. Never miss a date In the cash for votes case trial,Sohail Hindustani was arrested for non-appearance at a previous hearing. The court had issued non-bailable warrants against him as neither he nor an advocate had appeared on the last date. Hindustani told the court that the miscommunication had occurred since he had let go of his lawyer and had been away from Delhi due to an emergency. He appointed a new advocate in court and apologised to the judge for his absence. By the time the new counsel filed a plea for Hindustanis release,he had been sent to judicial custody. The counsel had to apologise again and assure the judge that Hindustani would not miss a hearing again. Only then did the court cancel the arrest warrant. Tight-lipped One of the parties in the construction of the Airport Metro corridor requested the Urban Development Ministry to keep statements which can create a controversy off the record. It seems that the minutes of these meetings would reveal a good bit of drama. Ambiguous orders A senior Delhi Police officer said they were in a fix about the Ministry of Home Affairs order which told them not to give daily press briefings on the Geetika Sharma suicide case. The MHA also asked police to give regular updates and prevent source-based stories. No wonder senior police officials were puzzled by the Ministrys orders. No favouritism Monsoon ailments have taken a toll on city hospitals. Hospital staff members are struggling with a large number of patients reporting with viral fevers,viral hepatitis,respiratory and stomach infections. The illnesses have not spared doctors either. Medical Superintendent of East Delhis Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital Dr Rajpal was admitted with a liver infection and two of its medicine professors were down with viral fever. Lets celebrate This year,Diwali is on November 13,just a day before Childrens Day. Bharatiya Janata Party councillors are reluctant to attend Childrens Day functions the day after Diwali. The South Corporation commissioner has suggested that Childrens Day functions be held on November 16. The South civic agencys education committee head Satish Upadhyay said the party would not give Congress councillors a chance to blame them. We will celebrate Childrens Day on November 14. The commissioner,Mayor and other senior members have to present, he said. None above law A sessions court officials car was reportedly parked wrongly in the Outer Circle,Connaught Place. The car also had a black film,which has been outlawed by the Supreme Court. When the zonal officer of the area was about to issue a challan,the driver,who had kept a file with sessions court printed on its cover in his car,began to boast about his contacts. A fierce argument followed in the middle of the road,leading to a traffic jam. The ZO and the offender were oblivious to the fact that the Joint Commissioner was witnessing the argument. There was no clear winner. The driver was issued a challan and paid the fine. The ZO was pulled up for causing a traffic jam.
