fridAY 16 october, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard pakistan school roof collapse results in 35 deaths Houthis At least 34 children and a teacher were killed when the roof of a private school collapsed on Thursday in Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Saudi accuses Iran of arming rebels Saudi Arabia on Thursday accused Iran of encouraging Houthis in their fight with the kingdom, adding that Tehran continued to arm the group Page 9 eyewitnesses call it a ‘Close call’ A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 l PAGES 12 Twenty more students were taken to hospital after the collapse, which authorities blamed on ‘weak infrastructure’. A spokesman for the emergency rescue service in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said schoolchildren were crushed and trapped after the roof gave way | P9 CP shut for two days after Spl Summary Revision HC allows CJP protest today of electoral rolls in 17 states & UTs, says EC Lehara do Tiranga stir at Central Park; police tell HC agitation will be regulated SC notice to CEC on Rahul’s plea against SIR irregularities S U C HITRA KA LYAN M O HANT Y @ New Delhi Detained protesters during Tiranga march in CP on Thursday | PTI UDAYAN KI S H O R E & A d i t i R ay C h ow d h u r y @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to bar a protest called by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on October 16 at Central Park in Connaught Place, while taking on record Delhi Police’s assurance that all possible steps would be taken to regulate and control the protesters. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma was hearing a plea by a Connaught Place vendor seeking a fiat to police to regulate the protest. Called “Lehra do Tiranga”, the protest kicks off at 5 pm on Friday. Heavy security is likely in and around CP and Jantar Mantar ahead of the agitation. Late on Thursday the New Delhi Municipal Council issued a , notice barring general public from visiting Central Park in Connaught Place on October 16 and 17. Actor to move HC The petition claimed that against police order traders and vendors would Actor Imran Khan, a US be “on the streets” if they citizen and an OCI lost another weekend to clocardholder, will move sures due to protest in cenBombay High Court tral Delhi during the festive challenging a season. notice issued by Appearing for Delhi Police, Additional Solicitor General the Mumbai Police directing him to Chetan Sharma submitted leave India by that steps have been taken to October 28 for control the Cockroach Janta violating rules by Party (CJP)’s activities and assured that the apprehen- participating in a protest at Mumbai’s August Kranti sion of the petitioner would Maidan on October 10 | P7 be taken care of. “This is the Dussehra weekend. This protest has to be stopped,” the petitioner’s counsel submitted. The bench refused to pass a “specific” direction restraining CJP protesters as urged by the petitioner. “Don’t insist. We have passed the order,” the bench said. Dipke addressed two press conferences on Thursday . The first one was done with AISA leader Neha Bora, SFI leader Aishe Ghosh and actor Prakash Raj. Dipke criticised the police action against demonstrators and alleged that the government was using state machinery to shield Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. In the second presser, held close to the midnight, he said that the CJP would definitely hold its Tiranga march on Friday in Connaught Place. More reports on P3 The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notices to the Election Commission of India and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on a batch of pleas filed by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders over alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of poll rolls. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also tagged the pleas with petitions already pending before the court challenging the validity of SIR. With this, all SIR-related matters will be heard together at a later date, likely on October 28. The SC also took note of submissions that attempts were made by Rahul and others to browbeat the judiciary by undertaking a march on October 12. “Nobody can browbeat the judiciary,” the CJI said, adding “We know what statements they are making outside and what they are saying in court.” The bench, while hearing another plea filed by Network of Women in Media, India over the alleged sexual violence against female journalists covering the protests, said it Govt clarifies on home secy’s apology would consider setting up an all-women panel to look into On reports that Home such complaints. Secretary Govind Mohan “It may comprise a former apologIsed to SC in a woman judge, a former womcontempt case, the an IPS officer, a former womMHA clarified it’s a an social worker or a social usual practice. “...It activist with a known track is required that the record,” said the CJI. party responding The bench agreed with sento the notice must ior advocate Indira Jaising’s begin their affidavit submission that there should with an unconditional be clear guidelines on law-enapology. Only thereafter all forcement authorities’ interother facts and arguments action with journalists during are presented,” it said protests. “We would like to lay down guidelines,” the bench said while issuing notice on the plea seeking responses from the Centre and the Delhi Police. Jaising said women reporters are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse while covering protests when they are pushed around by male police officers. The bench also directed that no coercive action be taken against a woman journalist against whom a case has been filed by a Delhi Police officer under the stringent SC/ST Act alleging casteist remarks against him. Senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing for some other petitioners, urged the bench to also consider the case of a pregnant woman journalist who was allegedly pushed by Gandhi during the October 12 march. The bench asked him to file a petition in this regard. The letter holds each electoral registration officer (ERO) responsible for The Election Commission (EC) an- ensuring “no eligible citizen is left out nounced on Thursday a Special Sum- while no ineligible person gets includmary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls ed.” It says furnishing Aadhaar is volin 14 states and three Union Territo- untary and that no application will be ries, including those scheduled to go denied and no entry deleted for failure for assembly elections next year. The to provide it. The EC said no polling move comes amid debate and protests station has more than 1,200 electors, over the SIR exercise. In a letter to the except with prior approval. Electors chief electoral officers (CEOs) “should not be required to of the states and UTs, the EC travel for more than two kilosaid that for the SSR January metre and to cross any natu1, 2027, would be the qualifyral barriers,” the letter said. The EROs must ing date for voting. It sets out safe guards According to the letter, the cross-verify cases against wrongful deletions. where deletions SSR covers Andaman and The letter refers to a separate exceed 2% of a Nicobar Islands, Assam, BiOctober 9 order that limits polling station’s har, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gu- electors or where Form 7 filings “to discourage jarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, the same person is bulk filing of applications by Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, individual electors.” EROs the objector in Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasmore than five must cross-verify cases where than, Tamil Nadu, UP Uttara- cases… Booth-level deletions exceed 2% of a poll, agents of parties khand and West Bengal. ing station’s electors or where cannot submit The letter says the schedule the same person is the objecmore than 10 for states/UTs, where the SIR tor in more than five cases. Form 7s to BLO is on or has just ended, will be In each deletion, the ERO per day announced later. They are must pass “a speaking order EC letter Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, after giving an opportunity of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odhearing to the person conisha, Telangana and Delhi. The same cerned.” No decision on a claim can be applies to Himachal, J&K and Ladakh, taken until at least seven days after the where the SIR has not begun. lists are published. Appeals can be Under the schedule, polling stations made to district magistrate and CEO. are to be rationalised by November 2. Booth-level agents of recognised Draft rolls will be published on Novem- parties “cannot submit more than 10 ber 12, with claims and objections ac- Forms to BLO per day.” If an agent cepted until December 11 and disposed files more than 30 forms during the of by December 28. Final rolls are due claims period, ERO/AEROs must on January 4, 2027. cross-verify the letter said. , S u m i t k u m a r S i n g h @ New Delhi @ New Delhi IN a significant order, the Supreme Court on Thursday held that a person who converts to Islam cannot automatically claim reservation under a notified Muslim Backward Class category based on their pre-conversion Hindu caste status. Upholding a Madras High Court verdict, the judgment from the bench of justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar said, “Such a conversion severs the legal foundation of an entitlement which is specifically conditioned upon membership of that Hindu social order.” The SC said a person who converts from the Hindu social order to a non-Hindu social order cannot claim affirmative action under Article 16(4) of the Constitution merely on the basis of social backwardness associated with their pre-conversion status. It said the former caste or community status as a Hindu cannot automatically be transposed into a Muslim BC category and a private religious Vacant Type-I staff quarters in DU to be converted into hostels for students E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi An eight-member committee of the University of Delhi has proposed converting vacant Type-I employee quarters at the university’s Reids Line and Dhaka campuses, both in North Campus, into student housing. The recommendation has been made in order to resolve the accommodation-related concerns faced by students, including those living in paying guest (PG) facilities. Many flats have reportedly remained vacant for the past five years. One such flat can accommodate four students, shared by one of the members, said a university professor. The committee has also suggested that the univers ity should ap proach state bhawans in Delhi to explore accommodation options for students arriving from different states. Prof. K P Singh, a member of the committee, said, “We have recommended that the state government heads should be approached in this regard at the earliest, because the governments have lands and they can build hostels at least for the students coming from the respective states. We have the largest number of students coming from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.” The committee is tasked to examine the availability of statutory approvals and necessary clearances from the concerned statutory bodies. The committee is headed by Prof. Rajni Abbi, director of South Campus. exp r ess n ews se r v i ce @ Kochi Dismissing a plea of former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena T, and son-in-law and former minister Mohamed Riyas seeking leave to appeal in the CMRL payoff case, the Kerala High Court on Thursday observed that an accused in a corruption case has no legal right to be heard before the registration of an FIR. A division bench comprising Justice K Natarajan and Justice Johnson John also upheld the single judge’s order directing the registration of an FIR in the case. The bench observed, “The verdict hasn’t affected the right of the applicants to pursue their constitutional or statutory remedy against the registration of the FIR and, in such a situation, it can’t be held the applicants established a prima facie or arguable case for granting the leave sought for.” The bench further observed that when sufficient material disclosing the commission of cognisable offences is furnished along with the information provided by the ED under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, 2002, there is no need to conduct a preliminary inquiry. It also held that an accused in a corruption case has no legal right to be heard before the registration of an FIR. champions of asian games PM Narendra Modi felicitates and poses for photographs with the full contingent of Indian cricket team’s Asian Games gold-medalists | Express Convert can’t get quota based on earlier caste status: SC S U C HITRA KA LYAN M O HANT Y No HC relief for Pinarayi in payoff case body cannot conclusively determine statutory entitlement. So, the SC held that a person who converted to Islam, Christianity or any other non-Hindu social order cannot claim, merely on basis of their pre-conversion status, any statutory benefit, protection, quota or entitlement under Article 16(4), which depends on them belonging to a particular social order. The SC ruling came on a Tamil Nadu government appeal against a HC verdict quashing the state’s order that allowed converts to Islam from BC, Most BC, Denotified Community and Scheduled Caste backgrounds to get certificates as belonging to one of seven notified BC Muslim classifications. The HC was deciding a writ petition of Sameer Ahmed, who converted to Islam and sought a certificate as Muslim Lebbai, one of seven Muslim communities recognised as BC Muslims in TN. express read MoD suspends officer after arrest in bribery case A day after CBI arrested Anil Kumar, Executive Director (Operations), at state-run Munitions India Ltd, for allegedly taking bribes from a private firm, SMPP Ltd, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) suspended him. Kumar allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for leaking sensitive information on defence production and procurement, officials said. Govt focus on youth, infra in Ladakh, says Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday virtually inaugurated and dedicated five major development projects worth around `3,350 crore in Ladakh, focusing on improving connectivity, electricity and water access, and preserving the region’s heritage. He said special attention is being given to the youth of the Union territory. P8 US teen held over plot to attack Hindu temple A 19-year-old man was arrested for plotting an attack “potentially targeting” a Hindu place of worship in the Aurora area in Illinois, with authorities recovering a manifesto expressing white supremacist ideologies and containing references to violence against Indians. P9 Fake marks card truth of 52 K’taka Group D employees exposed As h w i n i M S r i pa d @ Bengaluru Ten years after their recruitment, 52 Group D employees appointed to the Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department have been suspended for allegedly submitting fake SSLC marks cards. Officials have been directed to file criminal cases against them. The department issued a notification for the recruitment of Group D employees in March 2015. The age criteria were between 18 and 40 years, depending on the caste, and the educational qualification required was SSLC or equivalent from a recognised board. The selection was to be based on the candidates’ academic marks. The final list of candidates was published in November the same year. However, appointment orders were issued in June 2016. These candidates were recruited and posted in various district hospitals, primary health centres and community health centres across the Karnataka. It was only in 2023 that an individual lodged a complaint with the department alleging that several candidates had submitted fake SSLC marks cards to secure jobs. Following this, the department wrote to the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board, which conducts SSLC examinations in Karnataka. The deputy director of the board wrote back to the Health Department, stating that the marks cards submitted by the candidates did not match its records. According to documents available with this newspaper, candidates who had scored 230 marks out of 625 had marks cards showing scores ranging from 560 to 586 out of 625, significantly boosting their academic scores. According to the government order issued by the department on September 22, the employees were served with charges and given time to respond. TMS Exclusive