New Delhi Mar 30 PTI An individual approaching a court must come with clean hands and never attempt to pollute the stream of justice by filing a document he knows is fabricated the Supreme Court has said holding a man guilty of contempt and ordering his detentionA bench headed by Justice U U Lalit noted that the man has accepted his guilt right at the initial stage and has tendered an unconditional apologyIt is well settled that a person who comes to the court must come with clean hands and never make even an attempt to pollute the stream of justice by filing a document which he knows to be false or fabricated the bench also comprising Justices S R Bhat and P S Narasimha said in its order passed on TuesdayThe top court noted that the man who was last year granted two weeks to surrender before the court concerned in connection with a matter in Maharashtra had filed an application seeking four weeks more to surrenderAlong with the application he had annexed a laboratory test report under the signature of two doctors which purportedly stated he was COVID-19 positiveThe bench noted that no extension of time to surrender was granted by the top court and after it was pointed out that the report annexed by him was forged notices were issued to the doctors concernedIt said both the doctors had filed affidavit and stated they had never issued any such certificate to the man and that the report filed by him was actually issued to a woman in April last yearThe top court had then issued notice to the man as to why contempt action be not initiated against himThe bench noted that the man has filed an affidavit tendering unconditional apology for filing the fabricated medical certificate in the apex courtHowever considering the fact that he accepted the guilt right at the initial stage and tendered an unconditional apology we impose following sentence the bench said after holding him guilty of having committed contempt of courtIt directed that he shall be taken to the office of the concerned additional registrar in-charge of security where he shall be detained till the rising of the courtThe bench said he shall also pay a fine of Rs 2000 which be deposited in the apex court registry during the course of the dayIt said the registry shall deposit the fine amount in the account of the Supreme Court Legal Services CommitteeThe top court noted that the man had earlier filed a special leave petition SLP challenging the January last year order passed by the Bombay High CourtIt said the apex court had in March 2021 did not find any reason to interfere and the SLP was dismissedThe bench noted that at the request of the counsel appearing for the man he was given two weeks to surrender himself before the court concerned PTI ABA ABA SK SK

New Delhi Dec 24 PTI Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday said the city government will not compromise on pollution and will take necessary action if air quality in the capital keeps deterioratingThe authorities withdrew the emergency measures in view of a continuous improvement in the air pollution situation he saidIf the situation remains unfavourable we will consult experts and the Commission for Air Quality Management CAQM and take necessary action We cannot compromise on the pollution issue Rai saidDrives against open burning of garbage dust pollution and polluting vehicles will continue in the city he addedExperts have forecast an improvement from Saturday the minister saidOn Monday the CAQM lifted restrictions on construction and demolition activities in the Delhi-NCR and entry of trucks into the national capital in view of an improvement in the air quality and favourable meteorological forecastHowever Delhis air quality turned severe the next dayIt remained in the severe zone for the fourth day on the trot on Friday due to low wind speed and high humidity the authorities saidThe citys air quality index read 420 at 3 pm Friday The 24-hour average AQI was 423 on Thursday 407 on Wednesday and 402 on TuesdayAn AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severeThe Ministry of Earth Sciences air quality forecast agency SAFAR said low ventilation and high humidity have led to such a situation Similar conditions will further increase the AQI on Friday it saidWeather experts said the slowing down of winds due to a western disturbance affecting northwest India is leading to accumulation of pollutants and high moisture content in the air makes pollutants heavier making dispersion difficultLight rain is likely in the plains of north India between December 27 and December 29 which may improve the air quality a bit PTI GVS IJT

New Delhi Nov 23 PTIA third Covid wave of a magnitude comparable to the first two is unlikely to hit India AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria said Tuesday as he underlined that absence of surge in cases at the moment suggests that vaccines are still protecting against the virus and there is no need for a booster dose for nowSpeaking at the launch of a book Going Viral Making of Covaxin - The Inside Storyauthored by ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava Guleria said the way the vaccines are holding up in terms of preventing severity and hospital admission chances of any huge wave with large admissions is declining with each passing dayIt is unlikely that a third wave of COVID-19 of a magnitude comparable to the first and second will hit India With time the pandemic will take an endemic form Well continue to get cases but the severity will be highly reduced he saidOn the need for a booster dose he said there is no surge in cases as such at the moment which suggests that vaccines are still protecting against coronavirus Therefore there is no need for a vaccine booster dose or third dose for now NITI Aayog member Health Dr V K Paul said the decision on a third dose should be based on science There are studies being done on boosters we are going through datas and research This is work in progress he said underlining the completion of second dose for Indias adult population and those who have not taken vaccine making them take it is the priority for the government for nowHe also said the pandemic is not over and it wont be extinguished in future but might reach an endemic formIf the virus at all chooses to change its characteristics and take a different dimension all our preparations could be dented Paul saidBut definitely we are in a much better prepared position now be in terms of health infrastructure But we cant afford to lower our guard and should continue with following Covid appropriate behaviour he advisedBhargava who spoke at length about his book published by Rupa said there is no scientific evidence so far to support the need for a booster vaccine dose against COVID-19Taking about Indias fight against COVID-19 he said there was clarity and sincerity in the work of scientists the government and people in the last one and half yearsThere have been learnings from the pandemic for people and government which includes strengthening health facilities and developing a robust system of surveillance he addedWe have to be watchful and careful of all the viruses in the world in this world of quick mobility Medias role was crucial in ensuring that the reporting around the virus and the vaccine was honest and diligent It ensured that people had zero hesitancy towards the vaccine Bhargava saidGoing Viral captures first-hand experiences of scientists who worked round the clock to develop Indias first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine in a record time of less than eight months In his book Bhargava has also brought to the forefront some lesser-known facts behind the making of Covaxin including the innovative ways in which scientists navigated a strict nationwide lockdown to conduct Indias first seroprevalence survey In another anecdote the author has highlighted the important role played by 20 monkeys in ensuring that millions of Indians across the country have access to this life-saving vaccineAt the launch Bhargava highlighted the immense strength of Atmanirbhar Bharat self-reliant India to fight the odds and stand tall in the global public health communityRajesh Bhushan Secretary Health and Family Welfare said that India has come a very long way in the fight against COVID-19Since the beginning of the pandemic we have has been actively involved in COVID-19 RNA extraction development of testing kits and vaccine development Effective collaboration strong leadership and efficient teamwork made this possible he saidVijay Raghavan Principal Scientific Advisor to the government said ICMRs partnership with Bharat Biotech was timely and efficient Now we must ensure that everyone is vaccinated and practising safety measures such as wearing a mask and social distancing Dr Krishna Ella chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech highlighted the importance of public private partnerships in making Covaxin a realityThe development of Covaxin is a true success story for public private partnerships in India which is based on mutual respect trust and transparency he said PTI PLB ZMN

New Delhi Nov 23 PTIA third Covid wave of a magnitude comparable to the first two is unlikely to hit India AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria said Tuesday as he underlined that absence of surge in cases at the moment suggests that vaccines are still protecting against the virus and there is no need for a booster dose for nowSpeaking at the launch of a book Going Viral Making of Covaxin - The Inside Storyauthored by ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava Guleria said the way the vaccines are holding up in terms of preventing severity and hospital admission chances of any huge wave with large admissions is declining with each passing dayIt is unlikely that a third wave of COVID-19 of a magnitude comparable to the first and second will hit India With time the pandemic will take an endemic form Well continue to get cases but the severity will be highly reduced he saidOn the need for a booster dose he said there is no surge in cases as such at the moment which suggests that vaccines are still protecting against coronavirus Therefore there is no need for a vaccine booster dose or third dose for now NITI Aayog member Health Dr V K Paul said the decision on a third dose should be based on science There are studies being done on boosters we are going through datas and research This is work in progress he said underlining the completion of second dose for Indias adult population and those who have not taken vaccine making them take it is thepriorityfor the government for nowBhargava who spoke about book published by Rupa at length said there is no scientific evidence so far to support the need for a booster vaccine dose against COVID-19Taking about Indias fight against COVID-19 he said there was clarity and sincerity in the work of scientists the government and people in the last one and half yearsThere have been learnings from the pandemic for people and government which includes strengthening health facilities and developing a robust system of surveillance he addedWe have to be watchful and careful of all the viruses in the world in this world of quick mobility Medias role was crucial in ensuring that the reporting around the virus and the vaccine was honest and diligent It ensured that people had zero hesitancy towards the vaccine Bhargava said PTI PLB ZMN

Mumbai Sep 18 PTI The Nationalist Congress Party NCP on Saturday alleged that fewer COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered in the last two weeks so that a record could be set on Prime Minister Narendra Modis birthdayOn September 17 the prime ministers 71st birthday a record 25 crore vaccine doses were administered in the countryNCP national spokesperson and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik said a valid question that arises is why the Union government could not achieve the same or similar target the next dayIt was completely wrong to bring down daily vaccination rate some 15-20 days prior to prime minister Narendra Modis birthday That is how this record vaccination of Friday was achieved If the Union government had carried out vaccination on this scale earlier people would have truly benefited Malik said PTI ND BNM KRK KRK