Lawfully yours: By Retired Justice K Chandru | No time limit or requirements for disposal of Jamabandhi petitions

CHENNAI: No time limit or requirements for disposal of Jamabandhi petitions

Q. What are the grievances accepted at Jamabandhii, conducted every year in every taluk office? Are grievances concerning other departments accepted? Are grievances resolved in a timebound manner? Will the petitioner be informed of the status/progress at every stage? If a petition remains unresolved is there anything the petitioner can do?

-- P Viswanathan, Thirumurugan Salai, Chitlapakkam

A. Jamabandhi simply means 'record of rights'. It pertains to land records and details regarding the same. The Revenue Divisional Officers (RDOs) visit villages and in the presence of the people and with revenue officials reconcile village records. In Tamil Nadu, it is referred to as Collector's Jamabandhi. It only clears long pending issues of the villagers. There is no time limit and requirements for disposal. Mostly the higher officials keep the village records under check. It also helps the villagers from going all the way to headquarters to get their issues resolved. It depends on the efficiency of the RDOs to give relief on the spot.

Deemed varsities minting money claiming they won't come under anti-corruption Act

Q. I am new to Chennai. I was looking at a few institutes, including a deemed university, for my son's college admission. Some persons representing a deemed university contacted me and demanded hefty sums for admission, over and above the course fee mentioned on their website. When I questioned them they claimed the 'donation' would 'ensure' my son gets a degree, irrespective of whether he appears for the exams or performs well. They didn't appear to be middlemen as they were flaunting the IDs of the institute. Their cool demeanour convinced me they were used to this. I didn't get my son enrolled in this fleecing institute but I was shocked that such crooks function in Chennai, which I truly believe is a hub of the best educational institutions in the country. Is there anything the courts or commoners can do to get this practice stopped?

-- Darshan Kapoor, Adyar

A. It is common knowledge that many deemed universities keep brokers to get students for admission on a commission basis. It is also common knowledge that many students from northeast India are being lured into admission to their institutions. What is shocking is some senior students from those areas also act as agents. Collecting extra money is rampant. At least in two cases, the deemed universities escaped corruption cases by contending they would not come under the Prevention of Corruption Act. But how the agents guarantee getting degrees if extra amounts are paid is news. However, the decreasing standards of some institutions and the consequential failure of their reputations give credence to such allegations.