Delhi Underground

Hooda has his cake,‘of pure cow milk’

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda celebrated his 65th birthday in style on Thursday. An official release from the Gurgaon PRO gave details.

“On the occasion of his 65th birthday,Gurgaon Gramin Zila Congress President,Mr Jitender Bhardwaj,arranged for the 65 kg cake made of pure cow milk,” the release said.

NCR schools want child’s family tree chart

Questions asked to parents during pre-school admissions has been a matter of debate and each year,schools add new details to the registration form. This year,some schools in Gurgaon,Noida and Faridabad have gone a step further than merely seeking details about the parents; they want information about the family tree. Some schools in the NCR are asking parents whether they live in a “joint/extended/nuclear” family. Also in the form are questions like: How much time do you spend with the child? How would you handle if your child cannot cope with school work? Some are even asking parents to: reflect on the time when they were in school. “How was the whole experience? What did you like/dislike about your school education?”

Mum’s the word for Balwa during hearing

Two of the accused in the 2G spectrum allocation case,especially former minister A Raja and businessman friend Shahid Balwa,have been taking a hands-on interest in their defence. While Raja,a trained lawyer,often argues his case,Balwa is often seen whispering into the ears of his lawyers even as they are pleading before the court. Last week,Balwa’s actions got him into trouble. Special Public Prosecutor U U Lalit was making a point in the court and Balwa interjected him suddenly,wanting to make a point of his own. Judge O P Saini intervened,telling him to stop,and asked him to speak through his lawyer. The businessman informed the court that his lawyer was not present but the judge told him to go back to his seat,and wait for his lawyer to arrive. Balwa pleaded and was given permission to remain near the lawyers’ stand,with the caveat that he would not speak again.

Come prepared to court: CJ to lawyer

The first court appearance of a junior lawyer and she ends up arguing the wrong matter and that too before the Chief Justice. This not only happened to an advocate of the Delhi High court recently but her mistake led Chief Justice Dipak Misra to point out that “advocates should only fear lack of preparedness and not worry about who the judge was”. When she realised her mistake,a senior colleague of the advocate sought an apology on the junior’s behalf saying: “I am sorry as she had appeared in a wrong matter. It was her first appearance before this court and she got scared of the lordship.” Helping the junior lawyer regain her confidence after she admitted her mistake,Justice Misra said,“We intend to promote the junior lawyers and equally respect them as members of the Bar. One should never be scared of the judges but should be wary of ill-preparedness. We hope the next time you appear before us,you will make your senior as well as the Bar proud of your skills as a lawyer.”

DDCA nearly scripts ‘English August’

With many tournaments to play in a calendar year,cricket teams are usually in a tizzy over the hectic schedule. And,playing too much cricket is often cited as an alibi for poor performance. At such a time,the DDCA recently caused some confusion when it sent a communication to the MCD,seeking permission for holding an international match between India and England on August 17. However,the date should have read October 17,when the English team is scheduled to visit India.