Delhi underground

Left out
A lawyer who had represented a client in the BMW hit-and-run case is sour that his name has not been included in the final judgment of the Delhi High Court. The lawyer,who has given various interviews to the media,was shocked to find his name omitted from the list of advocates who had fought for Nanda. Now,he is back in the Delhi High Court with a petition asking the court to remedy its “oversight” and to carve his own niche in the country’s legal history. 

Keeping tree god happy
While old banyan and peepal trees continue to be chopped down for the Commonwealth Games — the latest tree cutting drive taking place on the Defence Colony-Sunder Nagar Moolchand stretch — here is one tree which still lives in people’s hearts. Residents in the Zamrudpur locality,the site of the recent Metro accident,blame the mishap on the felling of a large banyan tree,which was on the Metro line. After the accident,they even performed a havan to appease the tree god. 

Safety bins
In a bid to enhance security arrangements in the Capital during the Commonwealth Games next year,the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has decided to import around 60 ‘bomb-proof’ dustbins from the UK. These bins,which will cost the civic agency Rs 50,000 each,will be installed near Games venues. The agency,however,is facing a novel problem — security of these expensive dustbins. Officials are now working on measures to ensure that bins remain safe and are not stolen. 

Age staged 
The Indian judicial system may be slow,but the judges are surely not slow on the uptake. A lawyer learnt this recently when seeking leniency in punishment for a convict in the anti-Sikh riots case,he demanded mercy on grounds of old age,stating the convict was 81-years-old. The judge,however,was quick to note the false claim and said that the convict could not grow so old within a week,for he was just 61 when the court held him guilty the previous week. “Mr Counsel,he does not look so old and so read the records. And if he is,I should call him 81-years-young and not 81-years-old,” shot back the judge,dismissing the counsel’s claim.

Smooth work
With the clock ticking away,expenditure on the Commonwealth Games is on the rise and at the centre of it are Finance Minister A K Walia and PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan. Worried about the dipping revenue collections this year,Walia has already put several projects on hold,citing financial constraints during the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) meetings. This made Chauhan a worried man till Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit stepped in and decided to chair all EFC meetings related to the Games. Now,as Walia watches the ups and downs in the government’s balance,Chauhan has been seen smiling and is thrilled with the rising graph of work in progress for the Games.

Power rules 
As a Patiala House court decided the Delhi Police plea on dropping MCOCA charges against underworld don Abu Salem,it must have also realised why a high-profile meeting of judges comprising Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan stressed on power backup for all district courts. On Friday,even as the court decided the plea against the police,what held up Salem’s counsel and others in the courtroom was electricity woes. The court complex had no electricity for a couple of hours and hence the order could not be photocopied. The problem held up the lawyers of both sides.

Toss for help 
Small fires are a regular phenomenon in Old Delhi due to loose and tangled electric wires criss-crossing the area. A fire service official said even firemen are scared to go there when a fire is reported. “The wiring is so bad and the houses are so old. The fires there have a tendency to spread rapidly. One of our fireman lives there and I have asked him to shift out to remain safe. Prevention is any day better,” a senior official said. “Our men,at times,toss a coin to decide who should go in case of fire in Old Delhi.”

Yoga for all 
The Ghaziabad police is now going Baba Ramdev way to stay fit. Followers of Ramdev recently organised a week-long yoga camp for policemen and their family members. The yoga camp,which was organised at the police camp,ended on Sunday and most of the policemen and their relatives participated in the camp.