Sinking of MSC Elsa 3: Kerala HC admits PILs seeking compensation
The Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji posted the case for hearing in September, considering that a Single Bench is hearing an Admiralty suit filed by the State government seeking ₹9,351 crore as compensation for marine and coastal pollution, loss of fishers' livelihood and the 'remediation' measures following to the ship's sinking.
However, the petitioners can approach the Division Bench in instances where directions to the government, the Director General of Shipping or to the Pollution Control Board are needed, the court said. The PILs had been filed by T.N. Pratapan, former MP and chairperson of the Kerala Fishermen Coordination Committee, among others. Another PIL was filed by Charles George, social activist and president of Kerala Fish Workers Coordination Committee and of Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Union, seeking $134 million as environmental security deposit following sinking of the vessel.
The counsel for MSC, which operated the vessel, said that the inclement weather has affected efforts to salvage goods and oil from the sunk vessel.
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The Hindu
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- The Hindu
When the Tamil Nadu Professional Courses Entrance Examination came under fire
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They said some of the questions were out of syllabus, for some questions the answer keys were wrong and for some other questions, there were multiple correct answers. Anna University was quick to act: it set up an expert panel to evaluate the ambiguous questions and offer a solution. The committee advised deletion of these questions and redistribution of the marks for these questions to the other questions. Also Read | How entrance examinations for professional courses made an entry into Tamil Nadu This invited a flurry of court cases, which stalled the entire admission process for close to two months. Petitions contended these questions carried 8.8 marks and the entire merit list got exhausted within the range of 2-3 marks from the first candidate to the last one. Soon after the decision of Anna University was known regarding the ambiguous questions, scores of candidates approached the Madras High Court with various pleas, including setting up of an expert committee to find an acceptable solution and calling for re-examination. The cases were bunched together and heard by a single judge, Justice Prafulla Kumar Misra. After hearing senior counsels representing many of the candidates, Justice Misra directed Anna University to revalue all answer papers while laying down guidelines for valuing a few specific questions. Also Read | Opposition to entrance tests dates back 3 decades Justice Misra's order stated that 'question numbers 27 and 33 in Biology question paper (version code MA-7) and question numbers 11, 64 and 77 of physical science (version code BS6) shall not be deleted and mark should be awarded to any student who has indicated any of the correct choices'. 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High court disposes of writ petition against UP govt's decision to merge primary schools
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