Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka of Telangana High Court on Monday imposed costs of ₹20,000 on 17 persons who filed a writ petition seeking re-evaluation of their answer scripts of Group-I services mains examination.

The judge directed the Registrar (Judicial) of the HC to initiate prosecution against the petitioners for falsely deposing on oath about marks obtained by one candidate in the mains examination. The costs should be paid to the Court Masters and Personal Secretaries to the Honourable Judges Association, the judge said in his order.

The petitioners contended that the evaluation of answer sheets of the Group-I mains examination was biased, opaque and procedurally flawed. Claiming that such evaluation was violative of Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution, the petitioners requested to the Bench to instruct the Telangana State Public Service Commission to re-evaluate the mains papers.

To substantiate their claims, they had mentioned in the writ petition that one candidate with hall ticket no 240920176 originally got 329.5 marks but the same got reduced to 192.5 marks after re-evaluation/recounting. TGPSC standing counsel Rajashekhar informed the Bench that the candidate with the said hall ticket number was not among the petitioners.

The candidate with the said hall ticket number did not approach the HC complaining about reduction in marks. He did not complain with the TGPSC either. It was improbable that such an irregularity would go unchallenged by the candidate, Mr. Rajashekhar argued.

The judge observed that the petitioners presented a fabricated document and falsely averred based on such document. The truth behind the fabrication would eventually found out after due inquiry, the judge said in the order.

The surgery was carried out in Sakra World Hospital in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: File photo

A preterm newborn (three-day-old baby) suffering from respiratory distress, secondary to the compression effect caused by a large liver tumour, which was occupying 70% of the abdomen, has successfully undergone a rare liver resection procedure in a private hospital in Bengaluru.

The male baby, born at 33 weeks on February 5 in a private hospital, started facing breathing difficulty. He was immediately referred to Sakra World Hospital for further diagnosis. The baby weighed 2.18 kg at birth.

Breathing difficulty

Doctors diagnosed that the breathing difficulty was due to a huge swelling inside the abdomen, which was pressing on the lungs. The baby was put on ventilator support. An evaluation revealed an intra-abdominal tumour whose origin was not clear. 

A team of doctors at the hospital led by Anil Kumar Pura Lingegowda, Senior Consultant (Paediatric Surgery), who evaluated the baby, decided to perform a surgery to remove the swelling because of its pressure effect on vital organs. The surgery was done on February 8. The baby was discharged on March 7, and is doing well on follow-up.

“The swelling was arising from the left lobe of the liver and occupying 70% of the abdominal cavity, which means the size of the tumour was 10x8x7 cm. But the challenge was to perform re-section of the tumour, which was very risky for a three-day-old preterm baby because of bleeding and low weight of the baby,” said Dr. Lingegowda.

Challenges faced

“The intraoperative phase posed a significant challenge, particularly due to the need for massive blood transfusion, which was managed by our anaesthesia and OT management team led by its director Shishir Chandrashekhar. Additionally, the tumour re-section from the liver was successfully performed with the expertise of liver transplant surgeon Shruti Reddy,” he said.

Shivakumar Sambargi, Senior Consultant (Pediatrics and Neonatology), said the post-operative period was equally challenging, requiring careful management to maintain homeostasis. 

“The tumour was identified as a mesenchymal hamartoma, a rare occurrence in neonates, with complete excision being the definitive cure. Usually discovered in infancy, mesenchymal hamartoma of the liver (MHL) is a rare, benign developing tumour in infants that has a mixture of solid and cystic areas. After infantile haemangioma, it is the second most frequent benign liver tumour in children,” Dr Sambargi explained.

“Managing anesthesia and blood transfusion in such a tiny newborn was extremely challenging, but our team ensured the baby remained stable throughout the procedure,” said Dr. Chandrashekar.

The doctors claimed that there are no reported cases worldwide of liver tumor re-section in a three-day-old preterm baby weighing just 2 kg.

“Liver surgeries are no longer formidable like they were a few decades ago. Tumour re-sections, or transplants, during extremes of age like this newborn, or an elderly person, are much safer now with the recent advances in surgical technology and techniques. Caregivers should keep an open mind if such surgeries are offered by an expert. The trust afforded in us by the parents of this baby enabled us to save the baby’s life,” said Dr. Shruti Reddy, the transplant surgeon.