FRIDAY 21 J&K’s State Investigation Agency raided the office of ‘Kashmir Times’ for allegedly “spreading terrorist and secessionist ideology” NOVEMBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard MADRID COURT META TO PAY €481M OVER DATA MISUSE Legacy media companies in Spain scored a victory against Meta after a court ordered that it must pay news outlets nearly half a billion euros in damages. PAGE 9 15 DAYS CUSTODY FOR FOUR PRIME ACCUSED IN BLAST CASE WAS SOUGHT BY NIA A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00 Junior Kushwaha surprise pick in Nitish’s 10th as CM including four Rajputs. JD(U)’s Zaman Khan, who had served as a minister in the previous government, is the lone Muslim face. Three women—Lesi Singh, Rama Nishad and Shreyasi Singh—have been included. The new cabinet has 12 new faces. Rashtriya Lok Morcha founder Upendra Kushwaha’s son Deepak Prakash, who did not contest the Assembly elections, is a surprise pick. The maximum number of ministers permissible for the Bihar cabinet, including the chief minister, is 36. On Thursday, 27 ministers, including the CM, took oath. The remaining nine vacancies will be filled during the Cabinet expansion later. P8 1 Father claims his son was distressed for quite some time, alleging that a teacher threatened to call his parents and issue a transfer certificate last last week THE headmistress and three teachers of a city school have been suspended in the case of the death by suicide of a Class X student two days earlier. The 15-year-old had left behind a note alleging prolonged harassment by the teachers. The student’s well-wishers staged an angry protest outside the premises on Thursday seeking , action against the school staff. In identical letters dated November 20, Principal Br Robert Fernandes informed the headmistress and three women teachers of their suspension. They are Aparajita Pal (Headmistress), and teachers (Manu Kalra, Julie Varghese, and Yukti Aggarwal Mahajan). The suspension comes after an FIR was registered against them. The 15-year-old had been attending that school for eight years. The incident occurred on Tuesday at around 2.30 pm, ANOTHER JUDGMENT SHOT DOWN 2 No deemed assent to bills on the ground that the Governor/ President failed to act within prescribed timelines S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves a ‘gamcha’ after Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar chief minister in Patna, on Thursday | PTI Congratulations to Shri Samrat Chaudhary Ji and Shri Vijay Sinha Ji on becoming Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar. Both leaders have worked extensively at the grassroots in serving people Hope the new government will live up to the expectations and aspirations of the people of Bihar and bring a positive and qualitative difference in their lives Prime Minister Narendra Modi RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav A large number of students and parents on Wednesday gather outside the school on, demanding immidiate action against three teachers and principal when the student jumped from the platform of Rajendra Nagar Metro Station. Police rushed him to the hospital, where he was declared dead. The father, Pradeep Patil, said the boy had been distressed for some time. “The incident took place on Tuesday when he jumped from the Rajendra Place Metro Station. He was complaining his teachers were scolding him for even small things. We told him that after Class X, we’ll change the school, and he agreed,” Patil said. The family said matters escalated earlier this week when a teacher reportedly threatened to call his parents and issue a transfer certificate (TC). Patil recalled, “Imagine what will happen to a student who has his pre-board exams just 10 days after, and he would get TC. On Tuesday, he slipped in school, following which his A spokesperson said a revolver, 14 empty cases of AK-series weapons, three live AK rounds, four fired bullets, four grenade levers and three pistol rounds were recovered from the office of media house in Jammu. Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of Kashmir Times told a news magazine she was ‘surprised, not shocked’ as the print edition shut shop in 2021-22 | P7 3 Actions of President/ Governor on a bill cannot be taken to court. Judiciary gets into the picture only after a bill becomes law 4 Limited scope for judicial intervention if Governor does not act on a bill within a reasonable time The principal suspends headmistress and three teachers after an FIR has been lodged in the case, with Delhi Education Department seeking report within 3 days teacher scolded him for deliberately slipping. He had left for school that morning with my driver. The driver was waiting for him after school, but my son did not turn up. I received a call around 2.45 pm that my son had fallen from the metro station.” The suicide note, the father said, named four teachers, including the principal, and included the student’s request to donate his organs. “He has also apologised to his parents, saying I couldn’t become what I wanted to be for you. But my last wish is that no other child should face injustice like I did,” Patil said. On Thursday, parents and friends of the student gathered outside the school, demanding action against the teachers. His sister said he was known for his talent in theatre. Principal Fernandes could not be reached despite repeated attempts. `17 CR PAYMENT ‘FLOUTS’ NORMS IN MCD A probe has been ordered into BJP councillor and Standing Committee member Rajpal Singh’s charges of graft in connivance with officials by seizing MCD commissioner’s account | P4 A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court was unanimous in its opinion on Thursday that no timeline can be imposed by courts for a Governor or the President to grant assent to any legislation, but added that they cannot sit on the proposed bills indefinitely . The ‘opinion of the court’ came on a Presidential reference in May following the verdict of two-judge bench in the Tamil Nadu Governor case, which laid down timelines for the President and the Governor to act on bills. The court also smoked out the concept of deemed assent embedded in a two-judge bench verdict by using its plenary power under Article 142. “Articles 200 and 201 of the Constitution are framed to allow elasticity. The imposition of a timeline is strictly contrary to the Constitution. The concept of deemed assent presupposes that constitutional authority would place a substitute role for the Governor, it is antithetical to the separation of powers. We have no hesitation in concluding that deemed assent is virtually a takeover of functions of a constitutional authority. The concept of deemed assent is against the spirit of the Constitution and the doctrine of separation of powers,” said the bench. Led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, the Constitution bench included justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar. They said if there is a prolonged or unexplained delay by the Governor, which frustrates the legislative process, the court can exercise a limited power of judicial review to direct the Governor to decide in a time-bound manner, without observing anything on the merits of the bill. “We can issue a limited direction to the Governor to act without observing anything on merit.” Can reserve bill even in second instance The bench said the Governor can reserve a bill for consideration of the President even in a second instance, when the bill is resent to him for assent by the assembly whether in amended form or not 6 Governor can reserve bill for consideration of the President even in a second instance, when the bill is represented to him for assent by the assembly in whatever form M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi INDIA’S procurement of two types of weapons from the US—Javelin ATG missiles and Excalibur precision guided munitions—worth $92.8 million moved a step closer as the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) formally notified Congress on its sale. While Javelin is a new acquisition, the Indian Army is already using Excaliburs. “The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of the Javelin Missile System and related equipment. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered Javelin missiles, 216 Excalibur munitions US Defence Security Cooperation Agency notified the Congress that Javelin ATG missiles and Excalibur precision guided munitions on its sale. Javelin is a new acquisition, India is already using Excaliburs. the required certification notifying Congress,” the notification read. Its estimated total cost is $45.7 million. Another approval notification on the sale of Excalibur projectiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $47.1 million was issued. India sought 216 M982A1 Excalibur tactical projectiles, it said. In 2023, 600 Excalibur precision guided munition rounds were acquired by the Army. These can be fired from all the 155 mm artillery guns, which includes the M-777, Bofors, K-9 Vajra and Dhanush. Javelin is an infrared-guided man-portable anti-tank missile system designed to destroy tanks and other armoured tar- DONALD Trump Jr, son of US President Donald Trump, on Thursday visited the Taj Mahal in Agra. A group of 126 special guests from nearly 40 countries accompanied him during the tour of the 17th-century marvel. In view of the high-profile visit, the authorities had tightened security and spruced up the arrangements. According to sources, around 200 police personnel were deployed across key locations in the city and the security detail included officers of ACP and ADC rank. This is Trump Jr’s second visit to India. In February 2018, he had toured New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata. From Agra, Trump Jr will travel to Udaipur in Rajasthan to attend a high-profile wedding. Sources said he will reach Udaipur on Friday evening and will stay there till Monday . gets from a shoulder-fired position. It locks onto its target before launch and had “fire-and-forget” capability. While it takes around a minute to reload and reacquire targets, it can be used in direct attack mode to destroy a target. It can also bring down low-flying aircraft like a copter and drones. The 1.2 metre-long Javelin ATG missile weighs around 22.1 kg, is packed with a tandem-charge, high-explosive antitank warhead and has a maximum range of 2.5 km. The proposed sales will help strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and enhance security in the region, the notifications said. EXPRESS READ Don Jr visits Agra, to attend star-studded wedding in Udaipur N A M I TA B A J PA I & R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Lucknow / Jaipur The court went on to opine that the discharge of functions by the Governor or President is not justiciable, adding that judicial review can be invoked only when a bill becomes law. Knocking off another prescription of the two-judge bench, the court said the President need not seek judicial review when a bill is reserved by the Governor under Article 200. “If in extraneous consideration, the President wants to seek, it can,” the bench said. It also accepted the Union government’s submission that the Governor need not act as per the aid and advice of Cabinet in assenting to bills. Dwelling on the options before a Governor in dealing with a proposed legislation, the bench said Article 200 gives him three choices: to assent, reserve the bill for the consideration of President; or withhold assent and return it to the legislature with comments. The Governor is not merely a rubber stamp between a bill becoming an Act, the bench observed. There is value in his consideration and picking one of the three options. The court cannot supplant the wisdom of the Governor and enter a merits-review of the decision so P7 taken, the bench said. US okays sale of arms worth $93 mn to India HIGH-PROFILE VISITOR Donald Trump Jr at the Taj Mahal on Thursday. He spent an hour at the monument 5 Governor has three options on bills assent, reserve it for President’s consideration, or withhold assent and return it to the legislature with comments FOR ASSENT TO BILL BY GOVERNOR, PREZ, OPINES 5-JUDGE SC BENCH UNANIMOUSLY 3 teachers, headmistress of city school suspended over student’s suicide death E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi 14 cases of AK-series weapons found: SIA NO TIMELINE HOW EVENTS UNFOLDED IN 2 DAYS 15-year-old class X student dies by suicide on Tuesday by jumping from metro platform, leaves a note alleging prolonged harassment by his teachers PAGES 12 Going against a two-judge bench’s order, SC says no timelines for President or Governor to act on bills passed by legislature R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna JANATA Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar on Thursday took his oath as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, and several Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states. Nitish was administered the oath by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, along with 26 ministers—14 from BJP, eight from JD(U), two from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and one each from Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM). Senior BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha are among the ministers. The portfolios of the ministers have not been allotted yet. Caste equation was kept in mind while selecting the ministers. Thirteen of them belong to OBC/EBC categories and five from the Dalit community . Eight represent upper castes,  KASHMIR TIMES OFFICE RAIDED FOR ‘SPREADING SECESSIONIST IDEALS’ Sources said Trump Jr will be staying at The Leela Palace. The multi-day celebrations, from November 21 to 24, are for the wedding of Netra Mantena, daughter of US-based billionaire Rama Raju Mantena, and Vamsi Gadiraju. The main ceremony is on November 23 at the iconic Jag Mandir Palace, set on an island in Lake Pichola. The guest list includes Hollywood stars Jennifer Lopez and Special security measures have been activated across Udaipur in anticipation of the VIP arrivals. Routes between the airport and Lake Pichola will remain under heightened surveillance —Yogesh Goyal, SP Justin Bieber, who are expected to perform at the event. Internationally acclaimed South African DJ and song writer Black Coffee is also set to perform at the gala wedding. From Bollywood, Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Kriti Sanon, Jacqueline Fernandez, Vaani Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, and Karan Johar are expected. Event management firm Wizcraft, known for organising the IIFA Awards in Jaipur earlier this year, is overseeing the wedding arrangements. Assam on hunt for five ‘illegal immigrants’ Assam police are searching for five ‘illegal Bangladeshi immigrants’ declared foreigners by a foreigners’ tribunal in the state. The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, has been invoked for the first time | P8 China supplying subs to Pak, says Navy vice chief Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan said the Navy is keeping a close watch on China supplying submarines to Pakistan. “It is a fact and we are fully aware that induction of the submarine will begin very soon.”