SATURDAY LAND-FOR-JOBS CASE: NO RELIEF FOR RJD SUPREMO LALU YADAV 19 JULY, 2025 The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay trial proceeding against Lalu Yadav in a land-for-jobs case during his tenure as railway minister epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard ‘NO COMPELLING REASON TO STAY PROCEEDING’ X.com/TheMornStandard US HOUSE OKS CUT TO MEDIA, FOREIGN AID The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 The former Bihar chief minister and RJD supremo, Yadav had knocked the doors of the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to dismiss his plea seeking a stay on the trial court proceedings. On May 29, the Delhi High Court said that there was no compelling reason to stay the proceedings against the RJD (Rashtriya Janta Dal) leader | P7 File Photo 77 OTHER PEOPLE APART FROM LALU YADAV NAMED IN CHARGESHEET OUTFIT BEHIND PAHALGAM MASSACRE PROSCRIBED AMIDST TRADE TALKS; E.U. GOES FOR ROSNEFT JUGULAR U.S. puts LeT To hurt Russia, proxy TRF on EU sanctions its terror list Guj refinery J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi BIHAR POLL PITCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a rally in Motihari, Bihar, on Friday | PTI Techie nabbed over bomb threat mails to Golden Temple H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh PUNJAB Police has detained a 24-year-old unemployed software engineer from Faridabad in Haryana in connection with a series of emails sent to the SGPC, threatening to blow up the Golden Temple in Amritsar with RDX. According to police, a major part of the emails is related to Tamil Nadu. Seven emails have been sent in five days threatening explosion at the holy shrine. Terming it a “partial success”, Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that said the suspect, Shubham Dubey is , a BTech degree holder and has worked with two software companies, but is currently unemployed. He has been taken into custody for questioning and his laptop and mobile phones have been seized and sent for forensic examination. The central agencies were also involved in the probe, Bhullar said, adding that the suspect was associated with multiple software companies. “Dubey has been brought to Amritsar by the state police after we got a lead with the help of central agencies and the state cyber-crime cell. We are investigating his role in sending threatening emails. He is being questioned. It is partial success in the case,” he added. He said that that a major content of the emails is related to Tamil Nadu and discusses the DMK and girl students of Anna University. “We are checking Dubey’s role to get a breakthrough,” he said. AG: Best if nurse’s kin are part of negotiation titioner organisation, Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council (SNPIAC), which ATTORNEY General R Venka- is extending legal support to taramani on Friday told the Su- Priya, had sought a Centre-appreme Court that it would be pointed delegation to go to best if only family members of Yemen to meet the victim’s Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya family for negotiation. The were involved in discussions bench said the petitioner could with the victim’s family approach the governi n Ye m e n t o s e e k ment with the pardon. proposal. “Only the family of Senior lawyer R BasNimisha Priya should ant, appearing for the talk with the victim’s petitioner, said, “First, relatives and interventhe family has to forgive tion by any other organus. After that, the disNimisha Priya isation would unlikely cussion on blood money be fruitful,” Venkatarawill come into the picmani told a two-judge bench of ture.” Basant requested the Justices Vikram Nath and San- court that a delegation of SNdeep Mehta. PIAC and a representative of The bench was informed that Sunni cleric Kanthapuram A P Priya’s execution had been Aboobacker Musaliyar, who stayed. Highlighting that the has contacts in Yemen, should government wants her to come be sent for talks. back safely, the A-G submitted The court, however, did not that the government was doing pass any order and fixed the its duty at each and every step. matter for further hearing on Counsel appearing for the pe- August 14. S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi IN a significant development in counter-terror cooperation, the United States formally designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The announcement came amid intense IndiaUS trade talks to arrive at a deal ahead of the August 1 deadline to avoid reciprocal tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. The decision was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio less than three months after a brutal April 22 terror attack in J&K’s Pahalgam, in which 26 civilians were killed. The massacre marked the deadliest assault on Indian civilians since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. “Today’s designations send a clear message: The US stands firmly against terrorism in all forms,” said Indicates Rubio. “We are committed to strong ties holding perpetrators and The gesture is their sponsors accountable, “A strong wherever they may be.” affirmation of TRF had initially claimed India-US responsibility for the Pahal- countergam carnage but later with- terrorism drew the statement at Paki- cooperation,” stan’s bidding. Probe by the said External National Investigation Agen- Affairs cy identified TRF command- Minister S er Sheikh Sajjad Gul as the Jaishankar architect of the attack. Rubio said the designations were made under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224, tools used by the US government to isolate and penalise foreign terrorist actors. The US also reiterated LeT’s longstanding status as a designated terrorist outfit. The US move is expected to add new pressure on Pakistan, long accused by India of harbouring, fostering and enabling anti-India terrorist networks. According to US intelligence and Indian counter-terrorism officials, TRF has been involved in a string of deadly ambushes against Indian security forces throughout 2024, indicating a pattern of coordinated proxy violence. IN a bid to ratchet up economic pressure on Russia over the Ukraine war, the European Union on Friday unveiled a fresh package of sanctions, including lowering the price cap on Russian crude oil and sanctioning Nayara Energy an India-based refinery with links to , Russian energy giant Rosneft. Nayara Energy, formerly known as Essar Oil, operates a 20-million-tonne-per-year refinery in Vadinar, Gujarat, and manages some 6,750 petrol pumps across India. Rosneft has a 49.13% stake in the firm. With sanctions, Nayara will no longer be able to export refined products such as petrol and diesel to European countries. “For the first time, we are designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief. In 2022, the G7 nations in- ‘Unilateral troduced a $60-a-barrel price sanctions’ cap on Russian oil sold to India does not third countries. The EU is subscribe to now pushing for a lower cap any “unilateral of $47.60 per barrel, closer to sanction current market prices. measures”, Under the price cap mech- the Ministry of anism, Western insurance External and shipping services can Affairs said in only be used if Russian oil is response to sold below the capped price. the EU’s The EU’s latest move is sanctions aimed at reducing Moscow’s war revenues and comes amid growing concern that Russia continues to earn significant revenue from its oil exports, despite existing sanctions. Ironically, a lower price cap may benefit countries like India and China, which have significantly increased their imports of Russian crude, as they stand to get Russian crude at lower prices. Russia is one of India’s top oil suppliers, accounting for as much as 35% of the total crude imports in the past two years. After Europe halted purchases of Russian oil and gas following the attack on Ukraine, Moscow redirected its energy exports toward Asian buyers such as India and China. NGT sounds red alert over Ghazipur landfill, slams MCD S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi A court-appointed inspection report submitted to the National Green Tribunal has laid bare the environmental disaster festering at Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill, exposing glaring lapses in solid waste management. The inspection revealed a mountain of untreated waste far exceeding the per mitted height, uncontrollable methane emissions, toxic leachate oozing into drains and making its way to the Yamuna River, and a complete absence of boundary walls, raising severe health, environmental, and safety concerns. The findings were submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which has taken suo motu cognisance of the worsening situation at the site. A bench comprising NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Judicial Member Justice Sudhir Agarwal, and Expert Member A. Senthil Vel has directed the MCD to submit a detailed affidavit within six weeks. The court has demanded clarity on the lapses in waste treatment, fire control, leachate management, and plans for SC orders sealing of illegal constructions in Chandni Chowk, calls for offenders’ arrest S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Friday asserted that anyone involved in illegal constructions in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk area should be arrested immediately . A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the police to take action the offenders, stating, “Arrest anybody who lays even a single brick (in Chandni Chowk), we will see who grants them bail. This is a complete fraud going on in collusion with these municipal corporation officials. R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi This must be stopped….”. The SC was hearing a plea by a petitioner-in-person, who claimed that illegal constructions were being carried out in the area, allegedly in collusion with the civic authorities. Questioning the authorities, it asked how despite a court- ordered ban, the unauthorised constructions were continuing? “It must be in collusion with the officials of the municipal corporation,” the bench stressed. Directing the Delhi Police to ensure that patrolling parties are deployed in the area, the SC said, “The Commissioner of Police shall continue to deploy a police team for patrolling in the area and ensure that all the demolition orders passed by the MCD, over which courts have not granted any stay, are meticulously complied with,” said the bench. long-term site remediation. While the MCD submitted a reply dated July 9, the bench found it lacking and raised sev- eral follow-up queries. “A perusal of the above reply reveals that though the dump site Ghazipur receives the waste in the range of 2400–2600 MT per day, it is presently processing much lesser quantity, therefore, the untreated waste is adding to the legacy waste. The WTE plant in Ghazipur is presently utilising only approximately 700-1000 MT of waste daily. The waste, which was going to the WTE Plant at Okhla till April 2025, has stopped. The gap in the receipt and treatment of the solid waste is reflected, yet without disclosing the details of filling this gap and the steps that will be taken to clear the legacy waste, the targeted timeline for complete clearance is stated to be 2028,” the bench observed. Chaitanya Baghel being produced at PMLA court in Raipur on Friday | ANI ED arrests Baghel’s son in liquor scam E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur THE Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with an alleged liquor scam-linked money laundering case. Chaitanya was produced before the special PMLA court in Raipur, which sent him to ED custody for five days. On Friday morning, a team of ED sleuths reached the residence that Chaitanya shares with his father at Bhilai, about 30 km west of Raipur. According to official sources, the arrest was made on the basis of statements given by one Laxminarayan Bansal, a liquor businessman close to the Congress leader’s son. While Bhupesh Baghel left for Raipur to attend the ongoing Assembly session, the central agency continued with its raid amid heightened security outside the Bhilai residence. Bhupesh said the raid was carried out on the day of his son’s birthday. Terming it a birthday gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, he said: “I will remember them for life.” The alleged liquor scam was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was gover ned by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government. A syndicate of politicians and bureaucrats allegedly ran a parallel liquor trade, where money was collected but not deposited to the exchequer, causing over `2,100 crore loss to the government. EXPRESS READ Nanda Devi peaks set to reopen after 4 decades Preparations are afoot to reopen the majestic Nanda Devi Peak for mountaineering in Uttarakhand after a hiatus of nearly 40 years. Tourism department and Indian Mountaineering Foundation are drafting a proposal. | P8 Bomb threats to over 40 schools, 3 colleges At least 45 schools and three Delhi University colleges on Friday received bomb threat emails which triggered panic among the parents and prompted authorities, including security agencies, to thoroughly check the premises. | P4 OUTRAGE OVER 5.30PM EXIT Odisha varsity revokes fiat on women students E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Cuttack AMID outrage over Balasore college student’s self-immolation over alleged sexual harassment by her department head, the prestigious Ravenshaw University found itself embroiled in controversy for issuing an order restricting female faculty , staff and students from staying on campus beyond 5.30 pm. The order was, however, withdrawn within hours. The university officials said that the order was wrongly interpreted and hence, revoked. Issued on Thursday by the varsity registrar, the order stated that no female faculty staff and students are per, mitted to remain in the workplace on campus after 5.30 pm. The decision will remain in place until a formal SOP is issued, it read. A senior official of the university said the order led to a lot of confusion. “Many girl students stay in hostels and women teaching and non-teach- ing staff in quarters on the university premises. Similarly re, search scholars carry out their work in labs till late in the evening. What happens if the order comes into effect? Owing to the confusion, it had to be revoked,” he said. Several students and faculty members expressed their concern over the order. While girl students complained that restrictions were sexist in nature, The order also sent across the message that the university campus is unsafe for women despite deployment of security guards. The gates of our hostels are usually locked at 7 pm — A student a faculty member said that 60% of the students and half the faculty members are female. “The order also sent the message that the university campus is unsafe for women despite deployment of security guards,” said a student, while urging that the authority must check entry of non-students into the campus. Meanwhile, the university has decided to come out with a SOP aimed at enhancing security measures and safety on the campus, particularly for female students and employees.