A little cooling rain, and maybe more today

New Delhi, June 6 — Light rain on Saturday evening cleared the dust haze and brought much respite to the Capital, which was sizzling at 36.6 degrees Celsius. Despite the rain, the Met department has predicted a hotter Sunday, relieved by cloudy skies and more rain. There was a difference of as much as 10 notches between the maximum temperature (36.6 degrees Celsius) and the minimum at 26 degrees Celsius on Saturday, the weatherman said, adding the maximum temperature on Sunday is predicted to be 38 degrees Celsius. But even as the thunder squall followed by rains brought relief to Delhiites, it was so little that the Met office equipment did not even record it. “There was a trace of light rain after 7.30 pm,” said the Met official. The humidity during the day ranged from 52 per cent (maximum) to 35 per cent (minimum).

Although parts of the capital – particularly south and east Delhi – received only light rain, NCR areas like Faridabad and Noida were luckier, getting heavier showers.

Youth arrested for robbery in Delhi

New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) A youth was arrested in the national capital for allegedly robbing a person after opening fire at him in north-east Delhi, police said today. He was apprehended from Seelampur yesterday following a tip-off, a senior police official said.

Police has withheld his identity as they were verifying his age. The youth, believed to be 19 years old, along with his three friends allegedly opened fire at one Maya Ram in Dilshad Garden when he was on way to his Tahirpur residence along with his friend.

“When Ram resisted their robbery attempt, they beat them up. One of them then took out a pistol and fired on him.

The bullet hit his left shoulder. They looted his mobile phone and cash.

They also took away the belongings of his friend and fled the spot,” the official said.

Three injured in wall collapse

New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) A woman and two children were seriously injured when the wall of an under-construction building collapsed here following rains, police said today. The incident took place in Sangam Vihar of south-east Delhi at around 8.30 pm yesterday, police said.

The injured were rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre where their condition is stated to be serious, police said.

Car driven by drunk rams, kills Inspector

New Delhi, May 29 — Delhi Police Inspector Shyam Sunder Pawar (45) died on Thursday night after he was hit by an overspeeding car on Bhairon Road. Police say the offending car- a Maruti Suzuki Swift-was driven by Sahil Gupta (22), a businessman in east Delhi’s Dilshad Garden area. Gupta was apparently drunk at the time of the incident. The incident was discovered by a patrol party from the local police station around 12.30 pm. Police say, “Gupta’s car, after hitting Inspector Pawar, had crashed into an iron railing on the sidewalk where digging work for the Commonwealth Games is underway.” “Such was the impact that the front of the vehicle suffered irreparable damage. Pawar’s body was recovered 20 metres away from the accident spot,” said a senior police officer. Inspector Pawar, a 1994 batch police officer and from a family of police personnel, was posted as Inspector Investigations at the Kalyanpuri Police Station in east Delhi. “Prima facie, it seems that Inspector Pawar, who was standing behind his black Hyundai Santro, was talking on the phone when Gupta crashed into him. The left side of Pawar’s body was completely destroyed,” the officer said. Police said Gupta claimed he was trying to avoid a stray dog and lost control of the vehicle in the process. “Gupta was so inebriated that he confessed to having blacked out seconds before he hit the officer.” When the police patrol party reached the spot, Gupta was apparently trying to discard empty beer bottles from his car. He was pulled out of his damaged car by the patrol party. Gupta’s kin, however, refuted the police’s claims. “Sahil was not under the influence of alcohol. He doesn’t drink,” claimed his mother Veena Gupta (42). Gupta was released on bail on Friday evening. However, the police stood by their version of the incident.

“We have registered a case of attempting to cause death through negligence and are investigating the matter.”

Girl criticises dad’s cooking, gets burned

New Delhi, May 29 — In a gruesome incident, 18-year-old Bindu was burned alive by her father Jagannath (50) apparently for having criticised his cooking. Bindu suffered 90 per cent burns in the incident and is fighting for her life at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.

The incident took place around 10 pm on Thursday night in Yamuna Vihar in East Delhi. “Jagannath told us that he had cooked mutton for his family on Thursday.

During dinner, Bindu complained that the mutton was too spicy and not cooked properly. This began an argument between the two,” said a senior police officer on the condition of anonymity, as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

In a fit of rage, Jagannath apparently hit Bindu and then, in front of his other five children, poured kerosene on her. “Then he set her on fire and tried to flee.

But some neighbours, who had come out on hearing the commotion, caught him,” added the officer. Jagannath, an MTNL employee, has been arrested.

How does pig shelter come up in green belt?

New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Tuesday asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to explain how a pig shelter is operating in the green belt area in east Delhi.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice Madan B.Lokur and Justice Mukta Gupta asked the DDA to file a detailed affidavit, by April 14, and also asked the civic agency to explore possibilities of relocating the pigs from the Trilokpuri area.

The court was hearing a public interest petition filed by Uttar Pradesh Bihar Nagrik Parishad, which complained that the pig shelter caused a nuisance and meant unhygienic conditions in the residential area.

Delhi CM Dikshit orders inquiry into school stampede

New Delhi, Sep 10 (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday, ordered a high level inquiry into the stampede at a Delhi Government School in East Delhi that killed five students and injured at least 24.

Dikshit and state Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely visited the injured and families of the bereaved at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital soon after the tragedy was reported.

She announced Rs one lakh as compensation for the bereaved families and Rs 50,000 for those injured and added that the treatment costs would be borne by the Delhi Government.

She described the incident as an unfortunate but refused to comment on negligence by the school authorities.

“We have decided that the Deputy Commissioner of East Delhi will inquire into the incident. We will take every care of the children in hospital,” Dikshit said.

“We greatly regret what happened. This is an accident, which can happen any time. If at all there has been any fault on part of school management, only the inquiry will find out,” she added.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP)(North East Delhi) Surender Singh Yadav said he is yet to ascertain the exact reason for the stampede.

“All the kids were called together. Normally, they have space to stand in the compound, but due to the water and the crowd they were asked to go upstairs. The girls were asked to go up and the boys to come down for exams. The stairway is narrow, only 4.5 ft wide and a stampede resulted. Five suffocated, and 21 are still in hospital,” Joint Commissioner of Police Dharmedra Kumar said.

He also added that rumours of electrocution are still to be verified.Meanwhile, parents of students agitated outside the school campus. (ANI)

Under construction building collapses in East Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 1(ANI): At least 19 persons suffered injuries, three of them seriously, when an under-construction three-storey building collapsed in East Delhi on Tuesday.

The incident occurred at around 4.30 in Ramnagar area of Mandoli in East Delhi near Shahdara area, as another floor was being built on the three-story building.

The trapped labourers were safely rescued with the help of local public and police. (ANI)

UPA leads over NDA as counting on

New Delhi, May 16 (ANI): The Congress-led UPA is surging ahead of the BJP-led NDA in early trends as counting is underway for 543 Lok Sabha constituencies.

As per latest reports, the UPA is leading in 214 seats and the NDA in 135 seats. The Third Front is leading in 57 and Others are leading in 28.

The Congress-led UPA is leading in Kerala and Rajasthan while the NDA is ahead in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh. The Congress is also leading in BSP-stronghold of Uttar Pradesh.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is ahead in Amethi, Sachin Pilot in Ajmer, P Chidambaram in Sivaganga and Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram were also ahead.

BJP candidate Jaswant Singh is leading in Darjeeling.

From Congress, Janardhan Poojari and Margaret Alva are straggling in Karnataka. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath is trailing in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh while former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda is leading in Hassan in Karnataka.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad is leading in Pataliputra, but trailing in Siwan in Bihar.

Among the Congress candidates who are leading in early trends are Priya Dutt (Mumbai North), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Pranab Mukherjee (Jangipur) and Sandeep Dikshit (East Delhi).

The BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani is ahead in Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Other candidates from BJP including Vinod Khanna, Sushma Swaraj and Varun Gandhi are leading from Gurdaspur, Vidisha and Pilibhit respectively.

Counting began at 8:00 a.m. in all 28 states and seven union territories. Votes polled in elections to state assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim are also being counted simultaneously.

The results are expected to decide the fate of 8,070 contestants, including 556 women.

Around 1,080 counting centres have been set up across 28 states and seven union territories with 4,260 counting halls.

A little over half of the 71.377 crore registered voters cast their ballots through Electronic Voting Machines in the five-phased elections that began on April 16 and ended on May 13. (ANI)

Yamuna Satyagraha activists protest against metro rail expansion in Delhi

New Delhi, May 11 (ANI): The activists of Yamuna Satyagraha here on Sunday protested against the expansion of the Delhi metro rail line touching the banks of river.

The activists observed the opening day of the Yamuna Bank station as “Black Day” in protest against “DMRC’s continues encroachment on the Yamuna’s floodplain in the form of the Yamuna metro complex”.

“We are protested against the encroachment of Yamuna’s floodplains by the Delhi Metro Rail,” said Manoj Mishra, activist, ‘Yamuna Satyagraha’.

Complaining that the new Yamuna Bank depot is located within 300 metres of the river in violation of Delhi High Court orders, the Yamuna activists have written a letter to the to Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Construction, E. Sreedharan that while on the one hand all slum clusters were removed from the riverbed in keeping with this order, the DMRC now has been allowed to construct on the floodplains.

On the other hand after inaugurating the Yamuna Bank station, E. Shreedharan said there is no chance of degradation of the Yamuna floodplains because of this new metro rail line.

“We are not letting out any pollutant water or pollutants into the river from this side. But then just imagine what tremendous convenience it would be to the people because we have to definitely come over here to go to Noida and Vaishali areas. There is no other way. So we had to occupy this place but we have ensured that there is no degradation at all,” he added.

The opening of this new extension is likely to reduce the road traffic from the two main bridges namely Nizamuddin Bridge and ITO Bridge connecting East Delhi with the rest of the city as both the bridges are major bottleneck points in terms of traffic. (ANI)

Nominations of 56 candidates in Delhi rejected

New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) As many as 56 nominations for the polls to the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi were rejected during scrutiny, the election office said Monday.

‘A total of 222 candidates had filed their nominations for the seven constituencies. Of those, 56 have been rejected,’ said an official statement.

The highest number of nominations, 55, were filed from New Delhi seat while the lowest, 20, were filed from south Delhi. ‘Of those 55 in New Delhi, 16 were rejected during scrutiny and of 20 in south Delhi, four were rejected,’ it said.

‘Of 44 nominations in Chandni Chowk, two were rejected, of the 30 in northeast Delhi, 13 were rejected, of the 25 in east Delhi, six were rejected, six were rejected out of 22 in northwest Delhi and of the 26 in west Delhi, nine were rejected,’ the statement added.

‘Now, the total valid candidates for the seven Lok Sabha Delhi seats are 166,’ it added.

The nomination process that started April 11 culminated April 19. The numbers may still change, as the last day for withdrawal of candidature is April 22.
Indo Asian News Service

Tytler asks for CBI probe into shoe-throwing on Chidambaram

New Delhi, Apr 20 (ANI): Former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler on Monday asked for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident of shoe-throwing by a journalist on Home Minister P Chidambaram, which had brought Tytler’s role in the 1984 Sikh riots to the centerstage.

On April 7, Jarnail Singh, a journalist of the Dainik Jagran newspaper, had thrown a shoe at Chidambaram during a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi.
Jarnail Singh had asked Chidambaram to explain over giving a clean chit to Tytler in the 1984 Sikh riots by the CBI.

The incident was followed by widespread protests by members of the Sikh community, which had apparently led to the Congress asking him not to contest the elections.

Talking to reporters here, Tytler said that he suspected a conspiracy by some people to damage his goodwill and political career.

“The premier agency should investigate to find out who coaxed journalist Jarnail Singh to throw his shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram, triggering a spate of demonstrations in no time. There seems to be more than what meets the eye,” he said.

Justifying his belief, Tytler asked that how could a journalist who had never covered Congress as a beat sit in the front row just to throw a shoe at the minister.

He further questioned that how could only one TV Channel capture the entire shoe-throwing act when other channels at the spot failed to cover it.

Claiming innocence in the whole case, Tytler said that there was not a single affidavit filed against him in the court that could prove his involvement in the 1984 riots.

He pointed out that more than 10 commissions were set up during the Congress as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments, but none could prove that he had any connection with the case.

Appearing undeterred by the charges against him, Tytler said that he is busy campaigning for Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief J P Agarwal who has replaced him in the North East Delhi seat.

Putting up a confident front, Tytler said that the Sikhs had always supported him and his party and would continue to do so. (ANI)

Filing of nominations gathers momentum across India

Rampur/New Delhi, Apr 19 (ANI): Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi filed his nomination papers as a candidate from the Rampur constituency of Uttar Pradesh.

“I am incapable of facing them (his opponents on the seat). I am contesting on the faith and strength of the people,” he said.

Meanwhile, nominees of the Congress party have entered the fray from two of the seven seats in New Delhi.

J P Agarwal, Congress party chief of Delhi state unit, submitted his nomination papers from North East Delhi constituency while Ramesh Kumar, brother of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, filed his nomination from the South Delhi constituency.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit hoped her party would do well at the hustings.

“The personality of Dr Manmohan Singh and the way he has worked. The way Sonia Gandhi ran the UPA and took people together to formulate pro-people policies. So we are confident that not only in Delhi, but the Congress party will win in whole of India,” said Dikshit, as she accompanied Agarwal to the poll office.

The Congress party had to withdraw names of its two nominees –Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar earlier over protests from the Sikh community on their alleged involvement in the 1984 Sikh riots.

Delhi is expected to witness a straight contest between the BJP and the Congress. (ANI)

Congress, BJP candidates file nominations in Delhi

New Delhi/Bhatinda, Apr 14 (ANI): The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates have filed nominations from East Delhi parliamentary constituency.

From Congress’ camp Sandeep Dikshit filed his nominations while BJP has fielded cricketer-turned politician Chetan Chauhan.

Dikshit, the Congress MP and son of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, is seeking re-election from the seat. He is banking heavily on the development work done by the UPA Government-led by his party.

“The issue of polls will be development. We will take all the development work of the UPA to the people,” Dikshit said.

On the other hand, Chauhan after filing his nominations said that Dikshit not being a seasoned politician had earlier won on the charisma of his mother.

“Sandeep is not a seasoned politician. He had won earlier because of his mother,” said Chauhan.

The seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi will go to the polls on May.

Meanwhile, Bibi Harsimrat Kaur Badal, wife of Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab Deputy Chief, filed her nominations from Bhatinda parliamentary constituency of the state.

The alliance of the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal is pitted against the Congress party in Punjab.

State Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal said that election should be fought on political planes and not to settle personal scores.

Bhatinda will go to polls on May 7, while the remaining nine of the total 13 seats will vote on May 13. (ANI)

Tytler apologizes for ‘shameful’ 1984 riots

New Delhi, Apr. 10 (ANI): Congress leader Jagdish Tytler has vowed to apologize “a thousand times” for the “shameful” anti-Sikh riots in 1984.

“I will apologize because it happened in our time. I would apologize a thousand times for what happened to the whole Sikh community. I would say whatever happened was shameful,” a TV news channel quoted him as, saying.

On Thursday, a troubled Congress cancelled the names of leaders Tytler and Sajjan Kumar from the electoral fray as the ghost of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots returned to haunt the party.

Tytler, who was the Congress candidate in North East Delhi, now holds the then government responsible for the 1984′s blood-shed.

“I would say the people, the administration and the governor, who should have controlled (the situation), did not control at that time,” Tytler said.

The Congress decision comes amid the enraged Sikh community protesting against the CBI decision to give a clean chit to Tytler in 1984 riots.

An incident of shoe-throwing by a Sikh journalist at Home Minister P Chidambaram at AICC press conference further aggravated the situation. (ANI)

Tytler, Kumar not to contest polls

New Delhi, Apr 9 (ANI): The Congress on Thursday announced that senior party leaders and co-accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case- Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar would not contest this year’s general elections.

Kumar was the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from South Delhi, while Tytler was the North-East Delhi nominee.

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi asked both leaders to withdraw their Lok Sabha candidatures.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Janardan Diwedi said the decision on their replacement would be taken soon.

Earlier in the day, Tytler said he would abide by the party’s decision on him contesting this year’s general elections in the wake of the Sikh community’s protest over his exoneration by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.

Tytler, who has contested and won three elections, said no First Information Report (F.I.R) had been filed against him in any police station.

“The CBI only enquired on the basis of affidavits filed. There is no case, but an investigation on the basis of an affidavit. Had there been anything discovered, only then the case could be filed,” he added.

He also criticized the media for all the fuss and confusion created on the matter.

“If I would have fought even this time, I would have won by 2,00,000 votes. I have never lost from any Sikh area during elections previously,” he added.

Tytler announced that if the party decides that he should quit, he would accept the decision.

“I have left it to the Congress President. My heart says if it is not in the interest of the party, I believe I shouldn’t’ fight elections,” said Tytler.

Earlier in the morning, a Kakardooma Court postponed the hearing on the CBI’s plea for closing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against Tytler.

The court will hear the arguments from both sides on April 28 and 29.

The court held that all evidence filed pertaining to the case needs to be analysed before taking a decision on the CBI’s final closure report.

During the hearing, the CBI argued that the court did not have the power to take a decision on the investigation done by the agency since the case was related to murder.

The court has also directed the investigating agency to hand over the CDs containing evidence in the case. (ANI)

I will react only after court’s judgement: Tytler

New Delhi, Apr 9 (ANI): Former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler, who will appear in the Kakardooma Court today in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, said that he will give his reaction on the issue after the court takes notice of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report.

Tytler, who had recently been given a clean chit by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said on Thursday, “I will react only after the court’s judgement.”

However, he failed to give any comment on the possibility of participating in the election from North-East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, where he has been named as a candidate.

Meanwhile, the Congress party sources clarified that no decision has been taken on his candidature so far.

The court may decide on accepting the CBI closure report against Tytler and ordering the quashing of charges against him or order fresh investigation into the case.

On April 7, the Congress indicated a possibility of reviewing its decision to contest Tytler following a shoe-throwing incident in All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarter in Delhi.

A Sikh journalist of the Dainik Jagran newspaper threw a shoe at Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram during a press conference at the Congress headquarters to protest against “clean chit” to Tytler.

The CBI, on April 2, had recommended quashing of FIR against Tytler as it did not have sufficient evidence to proceed on the matter. On March 28, the CBI filed the report in a sealed envelope before Metropolitan Magistrate Ram Lal Meena.

Tytler was among the three prominent leaders named in the reports on anti-Sikh riots. Two other leaders named were Sajjan Kumar and the late HKL Bhagat.

The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which claimed the lives of almost 3000 Sikhs, were triggered by the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards. (ANI)

No white-washing over anti-Sikh riots: Chidambaram

New Delhi , April 8 (IANS) Home Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday said Sikhs had a ‘legitimate grievance’ that a few people had been punished for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots but assured the community that ‘no one in the government is trying to whitewash anything’.

Chidambaram told the CNN-IBN television channel: ‘The Sikhs have a legitimate grievance that not enough people have been punished. But some people have been punished.’

Asked about his message to the Sikh community, the home minister said: ‘Law has to take its course. Those who have been charge-sheeted… some will be punished, some may be acquitted because of technical reasons but to the best of my knowledge, no one in the government is trying to whitewash anything.’

A Sikh journalist Tuesday flung a shoe at the home minister during a press meet at the Congress headquarters expressing his anger over the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) exoneration of senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler for the riots.

‘I am not a judge. I am not a court. It is improper for me to pronounce anyone guilty or innocent,’ Chidambaram said.

Asked if the Congress would continue with Tytler as its candidate for the North-East Delhi constituency, he said: ‘I cannot answer this question.’

About reporter Jarnail Singh of the Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, Chidambaram said it was an ‘emotional outburst by one journalist and he has quite rightly regretted it. As far as I am concerned, it is over.’

The home minister said he was ‘hundred percent sure’ there was no question of revamping his security in view of the shoe-throwing incident. ‘One PSO (police station officer) is one too many,’ he said.

Unmindful of protests, it’s campaigning as usual for Tytler

New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) As tension mounted over his political future and protests broke out in Punjab over his involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Congress leader Jagdish Tytler Wednesday went about campaigning as usual and even met Sikh voters in his North East Delhi constituency.

A day after a Sikh journalist threw a shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram to express his disgust over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) exonerating Tytler, angry Sikhs disrupted train and road traffic in several places in Punjab.

Many Congress leaders said a rethink about whether or not Tytler should be a Lok Sabha nominee was on the cards and a final decision would be taken after Congress president Sonia Gandhi returned to the capital at night.

But for the man in the eye of the proverbial storm, it was business as usual.

‘There were no protests in his constituency. Tytler sahaab went about business like any other serious candidate and he was greeted warmly and affectionately by many voters,’ said a party functionary.

Tytler’s first stop was the densely populated Naveen Shahdara area of northeast Delhi, where he has been fielded after his earlier Delhi Sadar seat ceased to exist because of the delimitation exercise.

Kicking off his campaign early at 8 a.m. and surrounded by a motely group of supporters, Tytler visited his constituents, both young and old.

‘Around 400-500 Sikhs participated in the programme and everyone pledged support. They even donated around Rs.51,000 for Tytler’s campagin,’ Dharmendra Malhotra, a close aide of Tytler, told IANS.

Amid widespread speculation that he may be dropped as a candidate, a seemingly blase Tytler told reporters that the party was ‘supreme’. He was asked if he would withdraw from the polls but refused to make any more comments.

After his morning meeting with Sikh leaders of the area, Tytler made whistle-stop visits to other areas including Kundanpur, Jagdamba Colony, Khajuri, Karawal Nagar and Welcome, after which he held a meeting of office bearers in Yamuna Vihar.

According to his campaign managers, Tytler’s itinerary is full with meetings lined up till the evening and this tight schedule of back-to-back election events would carry on for the next few days.

Unless party president Sonia Gandhi willed otherwise.

Law reaches out to help septuagenarian

New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Septuagenarian Prem Kumari Jain is very ill with painful sores scarring her body. Abandoned by three of her four sons 15 years ago, she has now got help from the Delhi High Court that has issued notice to her children and directed the Delhi government to provide her with medical facilities.

Prem Kumari, 75, had filed a petition in the court through her youngest son Kuldeep Jain, who she lives with, seeking direction to her three other sons for sharing the costs and also to the government to help out, under the Maintenance and Welfare of Senior Citizens Act notified last year.

The court, after hearing Prem Kumari’s plea, earlier this week issued notice to the Delhi government and her three sons and asked the government to provide proper medical aid and other facilities to her and file a detailed report by May 5, the next date of hearing.

Prem Kumari stays in east Delhi’s Shahdra with Kuldeep, who is in his late 40s and is a teacher in a government school.

Kuldeep has been taking care of his mother for the past 15 years but has now expressed his inability saying his house is small and his responsibilities towards his family have also increased over the years.

He filed the petition through his counsel Namita Roy, who asked for directions to the three brothers Vinod, Rajesh and Praveen, who are also teachers.

The petition also highlighted the fact that under the Maintenance and Welfare of Senior Citizens Act there is a provision that the government will take care of such abandoned senior citizens and the police can also take action against those who dump their parents.

‘Section 24 and 25 of the Senior Citizens Act states that the government will take full care of the stay and medical facilities and other necessary requirements, but has failed to comply with any of these since its notification,’ argued Namita Roy before Justice Ravindra Bhat.

She also told the court that the construction of an old age home is still hanging fire between different government departments and asked the court for immediate relief for the 75-year-old.