The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed the petition filed by Mysore University Vice-Chancellor V.G. Talwar challenging the inclusion of his name in the criminal case filed against Shivabasavaiah, a professor in Zoology Department of the university, on allegations of sexual harassment. Mr. Talwar had contended that no case was made out against him and hence sought quashing of the first information report registered against him by the Mysore police based on the complaint filed by Saritha Vijayakumar, a research student. Mr. Shivabasavaiah was named as prime accused in the case and Mr. Talwar was second accused.
However, Justice Subhash B Adi observed that the complaint merits investigation of certain allegations made against the vice-chancellor too, and directed the police to complete the investigation and file the final report to the jurisdictional court.
MSEZ case
The High Court on Monday said that the Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ) can carry out the works of laying pipeline and road along the Phalguni as per the plan approved by the Ministry of Forests and Environment, while restraining it from going ahead with work on a 300-metre stretch where there is said to be a deviation from the plan. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B.V. Nagarathna issued the direction while disposing of the public interest litigation petition filed by Pius Arun D'Souza and others of Mangalore.
'Deviation from plan'
The Bench noticed that the MSEZ, a public sector undertaking, had deviated from the approved plan in a small area of about 300 metres and hence the company cannot take up the work from the plan originally sanctioned in January 2008 by the Ministry. The court said that the company should take prior permission from the Ministry for any change or deviation from the sanctioned plan.
The petitioners had claimed the work was harming the river and thus posing an ecological threat.
