thursdAY Modi in Austria in first bilateral visit by an Indian PM in 41 years 11 july, 2024 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard When Indira gandhi visited Austria. Modi’s visit is the 1st by an Indian PM since then h e av i e s t c o m b at Israel wants Gaza City evacuated The Army dropped thousands of leaflets over Gaza City on Wednesday urging residents to flee the heaviest offensive the city has seen since October 7. Page 9 Strategic direction for India-austria ties A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 l PAGES 12 India and Austria have decided to give a strategic direction to our relationship, Modi said after his “fruitful” talks with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. A blueprint for cooperation has been prepared for the coming decade, Modi said. The two leaders also discussed the Ukraine war, and Modi reaffirmed India’s view that this is not the time for war. Sec 125 on maintenance applies to Muslim women too, rules SC Supreme Court’s two-judge bench, in concurring verdict, says CrPC section is religion neutral Su c h i t r a K alyan M o h an t y @ New Delhi SC notice to cops after petitioner in tree felling case alleges harassment Express News Service @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Delhi Police on a plea filed by a city resident — who has sought contempt action against the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for “illegal” tree felling in the ridge forest — alleging harassment by cops. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih issued a notice to the Delhi Police after senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the petitioner, highlighted police inquiries into the petitioner and the New Delhi Nature Society. Sankaranarayanan claimed that the police had also requested detailed bank account infor mation from their bank. Bindu Kapurea, the petitioner, alleged that trees were felled despite a March 4 court order prohibiting the DDA from doing so and that this fact was concealed from the court. The allegations surfaced just days after the Supreme Court reprimanded the DDA for failing to disclose details about L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena’s visit to the site where the tree felling occurred. In May the top court initi, ated suo motu contempt proceedings against the DDA vice chairman Subhasish Panda for allegedly cutting 1,100 trees in the ridge forest for a road widening project. Previously, the DDA had submitted an application seeking permission to cut the trees but proceeded with the tree felling despite not having a court order granting approval. “The DDA was fully aware that without permission from this court, not a single tree could be touched, and, therefore, the application for permission to fell 1,051 trees was made. By completely violating the law and orders of this court, pending the application, the work of felling trees was started and was completed,” the court said May 16 order. The court will take up the matter on July 12. In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that all divorced women, irrespective of religion, were entitled to seek maintenance from their spouse under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Section 125 deals with maintenance for the wife, children and parents. A bench of justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih pronounced the verdict after rejecting an appeal filed by Mohd Abdul Samad. He had been ordered by a family court in Telangana to pay a monthly maintenance of `20,000 to his ex-wife. The Telangana HC later decreased the quantum of maintenance to `10,000. Samad had divorced her E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ T’Puram Nambi Narayanan R B Sreekumar cused) then IB deputy director R B Sreekumar (fourth accused), and IB officer P S Jayaprakash (fifth accused) played an active role in the conspiracy to fabricate documents that led to illegal arrests and subsequent torture. On the direction of the then Crimes DIG Sibi Mathews, four persons — D Sashikumaran, K Chandersekhar, Nambi Naryanan, and S K Sharma — were arrested without any evidence. They were interrogated and allegedly tortured at the behest of Sibi, the chargesheet said. It said the espionage angle Financial empowerment of women Both ‘financial security’ and ‘security of residence’ of women have to be protected and enhanced, Justice Nagarathna said. That would truly empower the homemakers who are the backbone of the family. It is within the family that values of life are learnt. It is these moral and ethical values that are inherited by generations. But, for that to happen, women in the family have to be respected and empowered, she said through triple talaq, which was outlawed by the Supreme Court in 2017 and criminalised by the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019. The court rejected Samad’s contention that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 overrides the secular Section 125 CrPC. The 1986 law was introduced under the watch of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to sof- ten the impact of the landmark Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case in 1985, which said Muslim women were entitled to maintenance. Both justices Nagarathna and Masih wrote separate but concurring verdicts. Justice Nagarathna said the 1986 Act is not a substitute for Section 125, nor has it supplanted it. Both can operate simultaneously at the option of a divorced Muslim woman. Excluding the ap- plication of Section 125 for a divorced Muslim woman would be in violation of Article 15(1) of the Constitution, which states that the state shall not discriminate on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, etc., she said. “There cannot be disparity in receiving maintenance on the basis of the law under which a woman is married or divorced. The same cannot be a basis for discriminating a divorced woman entitled to maintenance as per the conditions stipulated under Section 125 of the CrPC or any personal or other law such as the 1986 Act,” Justice Nagarathna said. Justice Masih said rights of maintenance under Section 125 and the 1986 Act “parallelly exist in their distinct domains and jurisprudence”. Open up Kejriwal said no idea about Nair as he Shambhu border within 7 days, says hc The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday ordered the Haryana government to open up the barricade at the Shambhu border near Ambala, where farmers have been camping, within a week on “experimental basis”. The court also directed Punjab to control the protesters in their territory | p4 ISRO case fabricated by police, IB officials: CBI chargesheet THE 1994 ISRO espionage case, in which former space scientist Nambi Narayanan was falsely implicated, was the result of a conspiracy hatched by certain police and IB officials, the CBI told a court here. The case was initiated by then special branch inspector S Vijayan after Maldivian national Mariyam Rasheeda spurned his advances, the agency said in its chargesheet filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Thiruvananthapuram. It said Vijayan had seized the travel documents of Mariyam, rendering her unable to return before her visa expired. When she could not return, she was booked by the police for overstaying, it added. The chargesheet said police officials S Vijayan (first accused), Sibi Mathews (second accused), K K Joshua (third ac- 1983 was fabricated to sustain the wrongs committed by the officials of the state police and IB. Sreekumar has been accused of facilitating unauthorised questioning of Mariyam and torturing the accused. “He was responsible for physical and mental torture of arrested victims during unauthorised interrogation in custody of Kerala police by the IB team,” said the chargesheet. Sreekumar was ADGP in Gujarat during the Godhra riots and testified against the state government before the Nanavati Commission that looked into the 2002 riots. Responding to the development, Nambi Narayanan said: “I wanted to bring out the culprits, who had fabricated the case. It took about 24 years for that to happen. I’ve lost interest in the case. If required, I can be a witness... Now I am old and even if the accused are punished, I am not interested.” used to report to Atishi, Saurabh: ED U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi The ED chargesheet has alleged that jailed CM Arvind Kejriwal told them that Vijay Nair, former AAP communication in-charge and an accused in the liquor policy case, worked under ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj and only used to report to them. A city court on Tuesday took cognizance of the ED supplementary chargesheet. The ED alleged that Kejriwal said he had no idea about Nair’s work place, though he used to stay at a cabinet minister’s bungalow and worked from the CM’s camp office. The ED alleged that Nair “acted as a middleman on behalf of top leaders (especially Kejriwal) for getting kickbacks from various stakeholders”. The ED claimed that its investigation revealed that Kejriwal was “directly, knowingly and actually” involved in the generation, acquisition and HC defers hearing on CM’s urgent bail plea Rouse Avenue Court nod to CM production virtually The Delhi HC on Wednesday deferred the urgent hearing of Arvind Kejriwal’s bail application in the excise policy case. The HC decision came on a request by the ED for additional time to respond to Kejriwal’s recent reply. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna postponed the hearing to July 15. P3 The Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday allowed Kejriwal’s plea seeking his production on July 12 through virtual mode. Special Judge (PC Act) Kaveri Baweja also issued production warrants for Kejriwal, who submitted an application seeking to be produced virtually. P3 possession of the proceeds of crime of `100 crore. Also, a part of the amount—`45 crore—was allegedly used by AAP in its poll campaign in Goa with the “collusion and concurrence” of Kejriwal, the ED alleged. Reacting sharply to the ED’s allegations, the AAP on Wednesday said that the probe agency’s intention from the beginning was to arrest all its top leaders and crush the party . “This is the first case in ED’s history where after two years of probe, over 500 raids and eight chargesheets, not a single rupee has been recovered from any AAP leaders,” the party said. The chargesheet also alleged that Kejriwal, mentioned as accused no 37, told ED that Pathak, as Goa in-charge, managed AAP funds. On his role in the formulation of the policy, Kejriwal said the Group of Ministers was responsible for the formulation of the excise policy, the ED alleged. Reasi attack Terrorists took instructions from handlers in Pak: NIA M U K E SH R A N J A N @ New Delhi Terrorists who attacked a bus carrying pilgrims in Jammu’s Reasi on June 9 received instructions from their handlers based in Pakistan, a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) found. Sources said as per the evidence collected so far, before executing the attack, the remote handlers were contacted and permission taken. The investigators found that a Rajouri-based overground worker (OGW) Hakam Khan alias Hakin Din, who has been arrested in connection with the case, had sheltered the Pakistani terrorists for nearly a week before the day the bus was attacked. Khan also helped them in reaching the attack spot, sources added. “The arrested OGW played the role of a guide to take the terrorists to the spot where the incident took place and helped them identify the curve on the road, where vehicles used to slow down. Even the exit plan was finalised,” a source aware of the probe details said. The terrorists navigated the thick forests of Rajouri, Poonch, and Kathua using a mobile application, Alpine West, which gave them realtime information about culverts, dense forests and other obstructions, sources said. The probe agency suspects the role of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba’s Sajjid Jutt in executing the attack. There is a reward of `10 lakh for providing information leading to his arrest in connection with another case. Two other Pakistani terrorists Sajid Ali and Abu Qatal are also suspected to have been involved in the attack, sources said. Terrorists opened fire at a bus carrying pilgrims from Shiv Khori to Katra on the evening of June 9 in the Pouni area of Reasi. The driver of the bus lost control, causing it to fall into a gorge. Nine people, including a minor, were killed in the attack. Govt affidavit cites IIT-M clean chit to NEET-UG Su c h i t r a K alyan M o h an t y @ New Delhi A day ahead of the hearing in the NEET-UG case in the Supreme Court, the Centre and the National Testing Agency, which conducted the test, filed their affidavits on Wednesday opposing demand for a retest. Citing an exhaustive data analysis of the results by IIT Madras, it said no local set of candidates benefitted, leading to abnormal scores in the exam. “The marks follow a bell-shaped curve that is witnessed in any large-scale examination indicating no abnormality the IIT, ,” Madras report signed by its director V Kamakoti read. As for the increase in marks, they were in the range of 550 to 720. This increase is seen across cities and centres, and is attributed to 25% reduction in syllabus. In addition, candidates obtaining such high marks are spread across multiple cities and multiple centres, indicating very less likelihood of malpractice, the IIT report said. The NTA’s affidavit described as fake a video on Telegram on the NEET-UG paper leak. Going forward, the Centre assured that candidates would be chucked — during counselling or thereafter — if they are found to be beneficiaries of m a l p r a c t i c e. S t e p s would be also be taken to restore the sanctity of the NEET, it said. “The Government is committed to ensure the sanctity of examinations and protect the interest of students. To ensure transparency, fairness, and credibility in public examination, Parliament has enacted Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 on February 12, and an Act was brought into effect on June 21,” the Centre said. “If an exercise is to be conducted by NTA and by the Union Government so as to identify any further beneficiaries of the question paper leakage, a considered decision at the policy level would have to be taken by the government on the status of the counselling,” it added. Express read migrant worker maha soup across 7 states female infanticide st corporation scam andhra calling ‘maintainability’ 18 killed, 19 injured as bus rams into tanker on Lucknow-Agra Eway ’23-batch IAS officer’s ‘fake’ OBC, disability certs trigger uproar Moderate to brisk polling recorded in bypolls to 13 seats 32-yr-old dad kills twin daughters, buries them in village graveyard ED carries out raids at 18 locations in K’taka, Andhra Pradesh, T’gana Naidu assures land for BPCL petrochemical project, oil refinery CBI functions under administrative control of Union govt, says SC At least 18 people were killed and 19 others injured after a double-decker private bus carrying migrant workers from Bihar’s Sitamarhi to Delhi rammed into a milk tanker in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district early Wednesday morning, police said. The impact of the collision was so huge that that the bus overturned and the people were flung out of it, said police. P8 A 2023-batch IAS officer in Maharashtra, who came under spotlight for using a red-blue beacon light and a VIP number plate on her private Audi vehicle, was found to have submitted fake disability & OBC certificates to get into the administrative service. Dr Pooja Khedkar’s father contested Lok Sabha elections, with his poll affidavit mentioned an asset of `40 crore. P8 Amid sporadic incidents of violence in Uttarakhand and West Bengal, the bypolls to 13 constituencies across seven states recorded moderate to brisk polling on Wednesday. The exercise, the first since the Lok Sabha polls, will decide the fate of many veterans and some debutantes, including Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife. P7 A 32-year-old man allegedly killed his newborn daughters and buried them at his village in Pooth Kalan on city outskirts. The accused, Neeraj Solanki, was arrested from Rohtak. The police, on the complaint of the mother, lodged a case of murder and arrested Solanki. During interrogation, Solanki told cops that he was upset over the birth of girls as he wanted a son. P4 ED officials conducted search and seizure operations at 18 locations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Wednesday in connection with the multi-crore scam in Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd. While the state government has formed a SIT to probe the scam, the CBI registered a case based on a complaint by UBI. P5 A Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited team, led by its chairman and managing director Krishna Kumar, called on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the Secretariat on Wednesday and discussed a proposal to set up a petrochemical complex and an oil refinery in the state. Naidu assured the BPCL team that land will be allocated. P5 The SC on Wednesday held that the CBI functions under the administrative control of the Union government and rejected the Centre’s objections to the maintainability of a lawsuit filed by the Bengal government. The Bengal government filed a lawsuit against the Centre alleging that the CBI is pressing ahead with its probe into post-poll violence without securing its approval. P7
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