Delhi underground

The no-nonsense judge
When in court,it’s best to answer a judge’s questions straight. During a recent hearing,a lawyer at the Delhi High Court found himself at the receiving end of the judge’s wrath when he could not explain why he was in illegal possession of a property,even as he sought to level allegations against the other party. In a bid to defend himself,the lawyer claimed nobody had a problem with his property and the litigation was on a different issue. Irked by the response,acting Chief Justice Madan B Lokur said: “What do you mean by nobody has a problem? In that case,I should start living in the Red Fort and I am sure nobody would have a problem with that either. So should that be allowed?’ Rendered speechless,the lawyer was left with no option but to apologise. He also assured the judge that he would first address the contentious issue of his possession before arguing on the ‘other matter’.

Future planning
An alleged ‘super thief’ recently arrested by the South Delhi police reportedly told the police to complete the formalities fast as he wanted to file nominations for a political position in a village in Mathura,Uttar Pradesh. The accused,allegedly involved in at least 635 cases of burglaries,has reportedly spent lakhs in the form of charity in Khoda village,Mathura,with the hope of becoming a Panchayat Pradhan. Arrested days before the date for filing of nominations,the accused,who is currently lodged at Tihar Jail here,plans to contest the elections after being released on bail.

Big boss is watching
The Senior Superintendent of Police (Ghaziabad) is keeping a tab on all the personnel in his department with surprise checks. On one such occasion,a constable was taken aback when he stopped a car,accepted bribe and then heard his chief’s voice on the wireless. “Why are you not letting the car go now that you have taken money from them for no reason,” the SSP said. The constable has been suspended from duty with immediate effect.

‘Ghosts’ or for real
The issue of ‘ghost employees’ is proving to be more irksome for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) than the officials could have imagined. The issue recently reached the Delhi High Court when an NGO sought an independent inquiry into the matter. During a recent hearing,the MCD counsel sought more time claiming an in-house inquiry was on. He was,however,reluctant to share the findings of the report with the court. Dissatisfied with his contention,acting Chief Justice Madan B Lokur told the counsel,“Why can you not submit the status report in the meantime? We hope you don’t have a ghost committee at least.” The judge’s remarks led to peals of laughter in the courtroom and the lawyer quickly agreed to submit the report without any further argument.

Fun,safe and colourful
Awash with the festive spirit,Delhi Secretariat members rushed to collect organic gulal being distributed by the Environment department on Friday. While the department fell short of gulal packets,the staff members kept the Holi spirit high and decided to share packets.