THURSDAY ORDER XV, RULE 5 OF SUPREME COURT RULES, 2013 ALLOWS THE REGISTRAR TO REJECT APPLICATIONS 02 MAY, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard TA L C C A S E The Centre sought to know whether or not the 2012 judgment bars the allocation of spectrum through means other than public auction J&J UNIT TO PAY $6.5 BN OVER 25 YRS NON-AUCTION ROUTE FOR SPECTRUM ALLOCATION Johnson & Johnson subsidiary has proposed to pay the sum as part of a settlement in the US to cover allegations that its baby powder caused ovarian cancer A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 11  NEW DELHI PANIC, CHAOS OVER BOMB SCARE IN SCHOOLS Hoax, cops say after hrs of search Deeper terror angle suspected MORNING 6.10 AM 6.11 AM 8.18 AM DFS receives the first call regarding bomb threat at DPS Dwarka Another school in Vasant Kunj receives the bomb threat call SC REGISTRY REJECTS GOVT’S REQUEST TO CLARIFY 2G VERDICT Another call from a school in Vasant Kunj; As multiple calls were received the Delhi Police swung into action and senior officers began reaching the spot MESS 10.45 AM 11.00 AM DFS gets 60 calls L-G VK Saxena speaks to Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora and seeks a detailed report 11.10 AM Delhi Police confirms that nothing suspicious found at any school and terms it as a hoax; However, calls continue 14.37 PM Fire Service gets the last call from a school in Greater Kailash  J8.00 In the 2012 verdict, the Supreme Court observed that public auction should be the preferred method for allocation of public resources like spectrum. The Centre, in its application, sought an exemption from the auction route for the allocation of spectrum for certain noncommercial purposes that allow the government to carry out its sovereign and public interest functions PAGES 14  No Saptapati? No Hindu marriage: SC S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi IN a significant verdict on the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), the Supreme Court has ruled that the registration of a union will be null and void if a valid ceremony and rituals like the Saptapati, are not performed. A bench of justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih described the Hindu marriage as a samskara and a sacrament which has to be accorded its status as an institution of great value in the society . “A marriage is not an event for ‘song and dance’ and ‘wining and dining’ or an occasion to demand and exchange dowry and gifts by undue pressure leading to possible initiation of criminal proceedings thereafter. A marriage is not a commercial transaction. It is a sole m n f o u n d a t i o n a l eve n t celebrated so as to establish a relationship between a man and a woman who acquire the status of a husband and wife for an evolving family in future which is a basic unit of Indian society the bench said. ,” The court made these observations after hearing a petition filed by a woman seeking transfer of her divorce case from Muzaffarpur in Bihar to Ranchi in Jharkhand. The couple had registered their marriage in UP without the valid ceremonial wedding under the HMA. The bench, after perusing the marriage certificate in the case — both are trained commercial pilots — said that since it was issued in the absence of ceremonial requirements under Section 7 of HMA, it was invalid. It also quashed the divorce petition filed by the man and the maintenance case instituted by the woman. Record L2.10 lakh crore GST collection in April Maharashtra led the mop-up chart followed by Karnataka, Gujarat M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi Clockwise from top: Students board a bus outside Mother Mary’s School in Mayur Vihar; Children at Vidya Bal Bhawan Senior Secondary School in Mayur Vihar; Security personnel inspect a classroom at DPS in Noida | PTI | PARVEEN NEGI Daylong anxiety for parents Hardly an hour after parents dropped their kids to schools when they received messages from school authorities informing them about the email threat. Parents rushed to pick up their children and school authorities scampered to bring the students to safety. Delhi Police faced a daunting task as it rushed its dog and bomb squads from one school to another. The panic situation lasted till evening. UJ WA L JA L A L I @ New Delhi AS many as 131 schools in Delhi, five in Gurugram and three in Noida and Greater Noida were forced to evacuate their students on Wednesday morning after receiving emails that mentioned explosives being planted on school premises. Within a few minutes, the police in the national capital and its surrounding areas swung into action even as they kept receiving PCR calls from schools, one after another. Fire brigades were alerted and cops from almost every police station in the city began rushing to the schools “in need.” Simultaneously several teams of bomb disposal squads were deployed which launched search operations. School authorities informed the parents about the development that gripped the city residents in panic and parents rushed out to know the well- Foreign IP address, dark web… Wednesday wasn’t the first time when Delhi schools received emails threats. One such threat, which claimed that two bombs were planted in DPS RK Puram in February this year, remains unsolved. “Suspects using a foreign IP address and a tor browser on dark web,” said an officer. The ID, which was used to send the threat on Wednesday was sawariim@mail.ru, a Russian domain email. being of their wards. Before mounting the search operation for explosives, the police personnel first cordoned off the entire compound of every school. The children were handed over to their parents while the senior class students were allowed to go home. For several hours, the police along with bomb disposal squads kept scanning the schools, but couldn’t find anything. By 11 am, the cops were sure enough to announce that the threats were a hoax. “Some Delhi schools received emails about bomb threats. Delhi Police conducted thorough checks of all these schools as per protocol. Nothing objectionable was found. These calls seem to be a hoax. We request the public not to panic and maintain peace,” a senior police officer said. The MHA also said that there was no cause for alarm. “It seems to be a hoax call. Del- hi Police and security agencies are following the standard protocols and taking appropriate measures,” said the MHA in a statement. According to data gathered by this newspaper from different police districts, 24 schools received the threat email in east Delhi, 21 in west Delhi, 15 in south Delhi, 22 in Shahdara, eight in each in southwest Delhi, including Dwarka, five in Rohini, two in North and one in northeast Delhi. The figures from the rest of the districts were yet to be counted. Meanwhile, the Special Cell of Delhi Police has registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC and investigation will be conducted by its Counter Intelligence Unit. The NIA may also take up the probe since the role of a terror group is suspected and the “conspiracy” angle may lead to a pan-India investigation, an official said. MORE REPORTS ON PG3 THE monthly gross GST collection crossed the `2 lakh crore milestone for the first time in April, giving the government bragging rights over the health of the economy . The record jump came from a 12.4% rise as compared to April last year’s figures of `1.87 lakh crore. The surge was mainly driven by a strong 13.4% growth in domestic transactions and an 8.3% increase in imports, the finance ministry said. “After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for April 2024 stands at `1.92 lakh crore, reflecting an impressive 15.5% growth compared to the same period last year,” the ministry’s statement said. When the GST system was rolled out in 2017-18, the month- 1.87 2.10 GST COLLECTION (in `lakh crore) 2023-24 2024-25 1.65 1.59 1.62 1.72 1.67 1.64 1.74 1.68 1.78 1.57 1.61 APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP ly mop-up used to be in the range of `80,000-90,000 crore. It crossed `1 lakh crore mark for the first time in October 2018. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman attributed the record to “the strong momentum in the economy and efficient tax collections”. Pratik Jain, Partner, PwC India said: “As expected, the collections for April ’24 have crossed a major milestone of 2 lakh crore. It is particularly encouraging to see that that growth is largely led by domestic consumption. With the next wave of GST reforms OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR expected after the formation of the new Gover nment, the g r ow t h m ay b e f u r t h e r accelerated.” He added that it may also enable the government to take bolder decisions such as rate rationalisation or bringing products such as ATF and natural gas under the GST ambit. Abhishek Jain, Partner & National Head, Indirect Tax, KPMG, attributed this surge to the deadline for GST audits and corresponding notices issued during this year. Maharashtra led the GST mop-up chart followed by Karnataka and Gujarat. Seal symbol loading units as per SC order, says EC M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi 300 STUDENTS ARRESTED AT COLUMBIA UNIV Duelling groups of protesters clashed at University of California, Los Angeles. Hours earlier, cops burst into a building at Columbia university taken over by proPalestinian protestors | P11 THE Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday asked all state chief electoral officers (CEOs) to seal and securely store the symbol loading units (SLUs), to be used in the remaining five phases of the Lok Sabha elections, till 45 days post the declaration of results. The SLUs are devices used to load candidates’ party symbols to the Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). The Supreme Court had in its verdict on electronic voting machines (EVMs) and VVPATs last week, directed the ECI to seal and secure the SLUs for 45 days after the declaration of results. At present, only the EVMs and VVPATs are sealed and stored to allow for examination of the machines if candidates file election petitions. But from now on, in compliance with the court’s order, SLUs will also be examined, if there is an election petition. As per sources, the new requirement could lead to a shortage of up to 3,000 SLUs for the last two phases. Sources said to meet the shortfall, the Election Commission has asked the Bharat Electronics and the Electronics Corporation of India to manufacture more SLUs. The bench disapproved the increasing practice of couples getting their ‘marriages’ registered for “practical purposes” like applying for a visa and solemnising the union later. Young men and women must “think deeply about the institution of marriage even before they enter upon it and as to how sacred the said institution is, in Indian society the bench ,” said. Describing marriage as sacred as it provides a lifelong, dignity-affirming, equal, consensual and healthy union of two individuals, the bench said a Hindu marriage facilitates procreation, consolidates the unit of family and solidifies the spirit of fraternity within various communities. EXPRESS READ KCR banned from campaign for 48 hrs The Election Commission on Wednesday reprimanded former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao and barred him from campaigning for 48 hours for his “objectionable” remarks against the Congress. The English transcript of his statement provided by the EC in its order shows that he used invectives at a meet in Sircilla on April 5 against the Congress. P5 2 ex-MLAs follow Lovely to exit Cong Days after Arvinder Singh Lovely quit the post of DPCC chief, two former MLAs on Wednesday announced their exit from the party. Neeraj Basoya and Naseeb Singh, appointed as observers by AICC for West and North West seats, cited “humiliation” and “embarassment” due to alliance with AAP as the primary reason for their move. P4 IMD: Above normal May heatwave days The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted that Southern, Central and Eastern regions will experience above normal heatwave days and above normal maximum and minimum temperatures in May. There had already been 40% more heatwave days than normal in April. This month will also see 2-8 extra days of heatwave, the IMD said. Myanmar Army, rebels step up fight The situation in Myanmar’s Buthidaung town remains tense with more than 1,500 Hindus and 20 Rakhines find themselves unable to reach safer areas amidst intensifying clashes between military and the Arakan Army. Compounding the crisis is a growing communal divide, with the military coercing Rohingyas into combat roles. P9 ‘Old tiger’ roars as Congress seeks to remove the scent of Ajmal in Dhubri @ Guwahati IT will be a battle for survival for Assam’s most visible Muslim face nationally, Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, when Dhubri goes to parliamentary elections on May 7. The 68-year-old, who is the threetime sitting MP and chief of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), is facing a challenge from Rakibul Hussain, a for mer Congress minister. Zabed Islam of the Asom Gana Parishad is the NDA’s consensus candidate. Dhubri is considered the heartland of Bengali-speaking migrant Muslims. It shares a border with Bangladesh. The outcome of the polls will decide not only the future of Ajmal but also his party . Over the past few years, a section of AIUDF supporters migrated to other parties, disillusioned that he is allegedly running it as a business enterprise. Ajmal is a perfume baron with business interests in India and some Gulf countries. The AIUDF also contested Nagaon and Karimganj, both Muslim-majority seats which went to polls on April 26. Critics say the party set up candidates in these seats primarily to aid the ruling BJP The BJP . and the Congress were the two main players in Nagaon and Karimganj. The Congress is trying to send across a message that Ajmal is an “old tiger” and that the AIUDF is the “B Team” of the BJP It is telling voters that . they have to stop Ajmal first if ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R they want to evict the BJP from power in the state. But Ajmal has many advantages. He is rich and known widely as a philanthropist. A virtual messiah of the migrant Muslims, he has been at the forefront every time the community faced any hardships, including during the time when the 1951 National Register of Citizens or NRC was updated in the state. He had comfortably won the past three elections in the absence of strong opponents. But Hussain is expected to give the AIUDF chief a run for his money this time around. For Hussain, who holds sway in parts of central Assam, it is his maiden parliamentary election. Since decades, the Congress had been influential in Dhubri and the adjoining Goalpara and Barpeta districts. Then, it slowly lost the space to the AIUDF. If Hussain wins, it could well be the first step for the Congress towards regaining the lost ground. “Badruddin Ajmal is an old tiger. He woos people through magical healing but it will not keep him in a good stead this election,” Hussain claimed. But Ajmal dismissed the old tiger barb by saying that a tiger is a tiger, whether young or old. “I am young enough to marry again,” he said. He predicted that Hussain’s defeat is “100% certain”. “Nobody can defeat Ajmal in Dhubri. I will win by 5 to 6 lakh votes,” he said confidently . MORE REPORTS ON PG 5, 6, 7, 9, 10