CMYK Morning India CENTRE CHERRY-PICKING NAMES RECOMMENDED FOR HC JUDGES OPINION Rs. 3 PATNA WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY, 2022 PG-12, YEAR—8, ISSUE—172 (RNI NO: BIHENG / 2014 / 59124) KKR EYE bIG w IN TO KEEP HOPE Al Iv E, l SG l OOK TO SEAl Pl AY-OFF bERTH SPORTS SC orders protection of Shivling in Gyanvapi mosque Muslims can offer Namaaz at Gyanvapi Court removes Mishra as Advocate Commissioner NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the area within Gyanvapi mosque where the 'Shivling' has been found needs to be protected, but there should be no restriction on Muslims entering the mosque to offer namaz. A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and P.S. Narasimha issued the notice on a plea filed by the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Varanasi, against the Allahabad High Court's April order, which dismissed a petition challenging a Varanasi court's order to appoint an advocate as a Court Commissioner to inspect the Gyanvapi Masjid complex. The top court, which is likely to take up the matter for further hearing later this week, said that the Shivling found inside the mosque during the survey needs to be VARANASI: The Varanasi court, hearing the Gyanvapi mosque survey matter, on Tuesday removed Ajay Mishra from the post of Advocate Commissioner, reportedly for leaking information about the video survey to the media. Vishal Singh has been elevated to the post of Advocate Commissioner. Meanwhile, the court has granted two days' time to the advocate commissioner to file the report on the video survey. In a related development, the Hindu petitioners have filed a new petition in a Varanasi court, seeking demolition of a wall located between the 'Nandi' statue and the 'Shivling' that they claim to have found during the video survey. AGENCIES 2 Made In India warships launched AGENCIES MUMBAI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched two indigenously built warships, the INS Surat and the INS Udaygiri at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai. This is the first time that two indigenously built warships have been launched concurrently, Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd stated. The INS Surat is the fourth ship of Project 15B Destroyers, which heralds a significant makeover of the P15A (Kolkata Class) destroyers, and is named after the commercial capital of Gujarat, the Indian Navy stated. AGENCIES protected, but the restrictions on Muslims entering the mosque to offer namaz is not correct. It, however, did not entertain a plea for stay of proceedings before the trial court, which was scheduled to receive the Court Commissioner's survey report. Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the petitioner, contended that the trial court was not correct in ordering sealing of 'wuzukhana' - a place for washing hands, feet, and face before offering prayers where the 'Shivling' has been purportedly found. NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a fresh case against Lok Sabha member Karti Chidambaram for allegedly facilitating the visas of 263 Chinese nationals for a power company after receiving illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh 11 years ago when his father P Chidambaram was the Union home minister, officials said on Tuesday. CBI teams conducted coordinated search operations at 10 locations in multiple cities in the country, including residences of the Chidambarams in Chennai and Delhi on early morning after registering the FIR, they said. The searches spread across multiple locations in Chennai, Mumbai, Koppal (Karnataka), Jharsuguda (Odisha), Mansa (Punjab) and Delhi. "I have lost count, how many times has it been? Must be a record," Karti tweeted immediately after the CBI raids without elaborating. Later, he further AGENCIES NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday slammed the resolution passed by Pakistan National Assembly on the 'delimitation exercise in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir' and said that it has 'no locus standi to pronounce on or interfere in matters that are internal to India'. Responding to the media queries, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: "We categorically reject the farcical resolution passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on the subject of the delimitation exercise in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir." Noting that the Pakistan has no locus standi to pronounce on or interfere in matters that are internal to India, he said that the entire territory of the UT of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has been, is and shall always remain an integral part of India, including the Indian territories under "Pakistan's illegal and forcible occupation". The delimitation exercise in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is a ‘We categorically reject the farcical resolution passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on the subject of the delimitation exercise in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir democratic exercise based on the principles of extensive stakeholder consultation and participation. It is regrettable that instead of putting their own house in order, the leadership in Pakistan continues to interfere in India's internal affairs and engage in baseless and provocative anti-India propaganda, Bagchi said. Hitting out Pakistan, the MEA spokesperson further stated: "We reiterate that Pakistan must immediately cease anti-India cross-border terrorism and shut down its infrastructure of terrorism; stop the grave and persistent human rights violations in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (PoJKL); refrain from effecting any further material changes in the status of PoJKL; and vacate the Indian territories that are under its illegal and forcible occupation." Recently on May 12, the Pakistan parliamentary body National Assembly passed a resolution against the Delimitation exercise in J&K. Following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 dividing the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in two union territories, the Delimitation Commission was appointed to redraw the Assembly constituencies of J&K. On May 5, the Commission submitted its report, recommending 90 Assembly constituencies in the Union Territory. Of the 93 seats, 43 are for Jammu and 47 for Kashmir region which was earlier 37 seats for Jammu while the Kashmir valley had 46. AGENCIES COLOMBO: A no-confidence motion tabled by the Opposition against Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was defeated in Parliament on Tuesday, in a comfortable win for the embattled President amidst nationwide protests demanding his resignation due to the country's worstever economic crisis. The motion by Opposition Tamil National Alliance MP M A Sumanthiran to suspend Parliament's standing orders in order to debate an expression of displeasure over President Rajapaksa was defeated with 119 MPs voting against it, the Economy Next newspaper reported. Only 68 MPs voted in favour of the motion, it said, giving the 72-year-old President a comfortable victory. With the motion, the Opposition sought to demonstrate how nationwide calls for President Rajapaksa's resignation are reflected in the country's legislature, the report said. The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balavegaya MP Lakshman Kiriella had supported the motion. Govt has taken away our Four 1993 Mumbai serial accused arrested powers, K’taka SEC tells HC AGENCIES BENGALURU: The Karnataka State Election Commission on Tuesday told the high court of Karnataka that the state government had taken away its powers, making it unable to hold elections to zilla panchayat and taluk panchayats as mandated by the Supreme Court. A vacation division bench of the high court comprising Justice SG Pandit and Justice MG Uma heard the Election Commission's petition on Tuesday. Following last week's Supreme Court direction to CBI files fresh case against Karti AGENCIES Citing the Places of Worship Act, he said the status quo has been changed and the wuzukhana has been used for time immemorial. Ahmadi sought permission for use of the wuzukhana, saying it is usage is essential before namaz. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, however, said if anyone put his foot on the 'Shivling' during wuzu, it would disturb law and order, and urged the top court to seal the area. After hearing arguments, the top court ordered sealing of the area. India rejects Pak resolution on 'delimitation' in J&K No-trust motion against Gotabaya defeated tweeted that his office has updated him about the searches. "My office has just updated on the 'record' twice in 2015, once in 2017, twice in 2018 and today :) 6!"Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, in his tweets in Hindi and English, said a CBI team searched his residence in Chennai and his official residence in Delhi. "The team showed me an FIR in which I am not named as an accused. The search team found nothing and seized nothing," he said, adding, "I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting." However, he did not mention what "timing" he was referring to. In the new case, which is an offshoot of an ongoing probe in the INX media case, the CBI has alleged that Karti had allegedly received Rs 50 lakh bribe to facilitate the visa of 263 Chinese nationals during the UPA regime for Talwandi Sabo power project in July-August 2011, when his father was the Union home minister, the officials said. EC’s power on delimitation of constituencies withdrawn hold the ZP-TP elections immediately, the commission filed a memo before the high court to hear the pending petition citing emergency. The high court asked the commission's counsel why a memo was filed before it instead of following the Supreme Court's direction. The counsel submitted to the court that the state gov- AGENCIES ernment had withdrawn the Election Commission's power on delimitation of constituencies and drawing up the reservation list. Without these the State EC was unable to announce the election schedule. The state had formed a separate panel for the delimitation and reservation even though the EC had completed the exercise on its own. The EC had challenged this before the high court. The court observed that a detailed examination of the petition was necessary and adjourned the hearing to May 23. AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad has arrested four persons wanted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, officials said on Tuesday. Abu Bakar, Saiyad Qureshi, Mohammad Shoeb Qureshi alias Shoeb Bawa and Mohammad Yusuf Ismail alias Yusuf Bhatka, all residents of Mumbai, were on the run for 29 years, they said. The four were held from Sardarnagar area of Ahmedabad on May 12 following a tip-off, said Additional Director General of Police, ATS, Amit Vishwakarma. At present they have been booked for allegedly obtaining passports on the basis of forged documents for fleeing the country in 1993, and later they would be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation in the blasts case, said another official. "To hide their real identities, they had obtained passports using forged documents. Interpol had issued a Red-Corner Notice against them on the request of the CBI which is probing the blasts case," Vishwakarma told reporters. It was not clear why they were visiting Gujarat, he said, adding that they were arrested under IPC sections 466 (forgery of record), 468 (forgery for cheating) and 120-B(criminal conspiracy) besides under The Passports Act. In the 1990s, these four used to work for gold smuggler Mohammed Dossa, a henchman of fugitive gangster and the blasts' mastermind Dawood Ibrahim, said Deputy Inspector General of Police (ATS) Deepan Bhadran. "To spread terror in India, Dossa sent them to a country in the Middle East to meet Dawood in February 1993. On Dawood's directions, they went to Pakistan to get weapons training. Pakistan's (spy agency) ISI also gave them training in the making and use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs)," he said. All four were part of the conspiracy hatched by Dawood and others to carry out blasts in Mumbai, the DIG added. After the serial blasts, they obtained passports using forged documents and fled to different middle-eastern countries, said Bhadran, adding that the special Terrorist and Destructive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court, which tried the blasts case, declared them "proclaimed offenders." "It is a matter of investigation when they came back to India and what they were doing in Gujarat. Upon completion of their ATS remand in the forgery case, we will hand them over to the CBI in the blasts case," Bhadran said.