Acting Chief Justice Devinder Gupta and Justice K.S. Gupta asked them to file their reply by July 20. The petition was filed by the Indian Council of Legal Aid and Advice and People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) saying several people, especially minor children, were falling victims to the manhole accidents due to the civic agency's negligence.

An insurance cover should be devised for such victims as no compensation was being paid them, the petition said, while seeking direction to the local body to set up control rooms in each of its zones to receive complaints about any open manhole so that it could be covered immediately.

``Liabilities should also be fixed on the officials who are responsible to maintain the manholes and it should be made mandatory for MCD to have a regular check-up to ensure none of these were left open,'' the petitioner said.

The court had earlier issued notices to MCD, and five insurance companies -- National Insurance, General Insurance, New India Assurance, United India Assurance and Oriental Insurance -- for their views on the insurance proposal.

Judge expresses inability to head Shaktimaan panel
Justice Leila Seth (retd) has expressed her inability to head the committee appointed by the Delhi High Court to examine the adverse effects of TV serial Shaktimaan on children due to previous engagements.

Government counsel H.S. Phoolka apprised the court of her decision when it was hearing a petition filed by producer, director and actor Mukesh Khanna challenging Doordarshan's notification for terminating the telecast of the serial.

A three-member committee was appointed by the court under Justice Seth last month after Doordarshan had justified its termination order saying it had received several reports about the ``ill-effects'' of the serial on children. According to such complaints, several children tried to imitate Shaktimaan or placed themselves in position of danger believing that this Superman-type character would come to their rescue. The court had stayed the termination order and permitted telecast of the serial in a restrained form while awaiting the panel's report.

The hearing was adjourned to July 22 after Khanna's counsel Arun Jaitley suggested some new names to head the panel. National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Vibha Parthasarthy and noted journalist Dilip Padgaonkar are other members on the committee.

BMG Crescendo, `Udham Singh' get fresh notices
BMG Crescendo and the presenter of music programme Jat in the Mix, Udham Singh, were issued fresh notices by the Delhi High Court today on a petition accusing them of denigrating Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and her husband and former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav.

The division bench headed by acting Chief Justice Devinder Gupta issued the notices on a petition filed by Mukti Nath Upadhayaya seeking direction to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for laying down guidelines to prevent telecast of such programmes.

In the Punjabi Bhangra pop song, Jat Yamala, the toilets in a five star hotel were marked using their names. The petitioner had alleged that the music company had deliberately and knowingly tried to present the couple from Bihar in such a vulgar manner.

The fresh notices were issued to the company and the presenter as they failed to file a reply to notices issued by the court on March 8.