WEDNESDAY 09 APRIL 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00 |LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR P5 SENSEX 74,227.08 p1,089.18 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and Minimum Temperature most likely to be around 34˚C and 27˚C respectively. RAINFALL: 0.0 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 89% Min. 50% BRAVE KKR GO DOWN TITANS COLLIDE: US-CHINA TRADE WAR TO LSG IN HIGHSCORING THRILLER ESCALATES TAMIL NADU CM MK STALIN HAILS APEX COURT JUDGMENT ‘BJP RSS MAKING IT , PATEL VS NEHRU’ P6 NIFTY 22,535.85 p374.25 ` vs $ 86.13 P10 SILVER `94,000 GOLD `91,105 SC sets aside TN Guv’s reservation of 10 Bills BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 65.10 PM Modi meets Dubai Crown Prince; India-UAE to enhance defence cooperation Governor's withholding of Bills is illegal and unconstitutional, says top court TEMPERATURE Max: 34.2˚C (-1.0) Min: 27.1˚C (+1.9) SUN RISES 05:23 hrs MOON RISES 14:06 hrs P16 SUN SETS 17:54 hrs MOON SETS 02:40 hrs Full Moon on 13 April THUMBNAILS Tourists cover their heads with umbrellas on a hot summer day, at Taj Mahal in Agra on Tuesday. nANI PARMOD KUMAR Falaknuma express averts mishap: Howrahbound Falaknuma Express averted a major accident on Tuesday when a damaged coupling resulted in two coaches getting detached from the rest of the train. Although no one was injured, hundreds of passengers were left stranded for more than two hours near Palasa in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh till railway technicians managed to reattach the detached bogies to the train. The incident took place after 7 am between the Summadevi and Mandasa railway stations of the Khurda Road Division of East Coast Railway. Realising that something was amiss, the driver of the Howrah-bound train managed to halt the train at the spot immediately. The incident triggered panic among the passengers who thought the bogies had derailed after experiencing a massive jerk. NEW DELHI, 8 APRIL I n a landmark judgment, curtailing the arbitrary exercise of powers, vested under Article 200 of the constitution, by the Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi by withholding 10 bills passed/reiterated by the State legislature and reserving them for consideration by the President of India, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the Tamil Nadu Governor’s decision reserving 10 bills for consideration by the President after they were reenacted by the State Legislature is “illegal and erroneous in law” and liable to be set aside. Cautioning against the arbitrary exercise of the powers vested in the Governor under Article 200 of the constitution and setting timelines for granting assent to such bills in order to curb the growing tendency of motivated inaction of the Governors, a bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan said that reserving 10 bills for consideration by the President after they were reconsidered by the State assembly is illegal and any consequential steps taken in respect of the 10 bills is non-est. Taking recourse to its plenary powers under Article 142 of the constitution, the top court declared that all the 10 bills are deemed to have been cleared from the date they were presented again to the Governor Ravi after reconsideration by the legislature. “Action of the Governor to reserve the 10 bills for the President is illegal and arbitrary, and thus the action is set aside. All actions taken by the Governor thereto for the 10 bills is set aside. The 10 bills shall be deemed to be clear from the date it was re-presented to the Governor,” the judgment pronounced by Justice Pardiwala said. Emphasising and underlining that the Governor must be a friend, philosopher and guide and not driven by political considerations but by the Constitu- tional oath, Justice Pardiwala speaking for the bench said that the Governor must be a catalyst and not an inhibitor, and the Governor must be conscious to not to create any roadblock. Authoring the judgment, Justice Pardiwala said, “The Governor must be conscious to not create roadblocks or chokehold the state legislature in order to thwart and break the will of the people for political (reasons). The members of the state legislature, having been elected by the people of the state as an outcome of the democratic expression, are better attuned to ensure the wellbeing of the people of the state.” Stating that the Governor does not have a veto power to sit over bills sent to him by a state legislature, the top court said that the Governor must give assent to a bill when it is presented to him after reconsideration by the State assembly, he can only refuse assent only when the bill is different. The long-awaited and landmark judgment from the Supreme Court came on a plea by the Tamil Nadu government against the state Governor for withholding assent on bills passed by the Assembly and reserving them for consideration by the President. Besides the Tamil Nadu government, the judgment has come as a succour for Kerala, Punjab, and other opposition ruled States which are in constant tussle with the State Governors on various issues. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 APRIL Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, as the two sides acknowledged the need to scale up the defence cooperation between India and the UAE to match the progress made in other areas such as trade and business. Recalling his visit to the UAE last year during which he participated in the World Government Summit in Dubai as Guest of Honour, the PM remarked that the Crown Prince's visit signified generational continuity in the strong and historic ties between India and the UAE, emphasising the enduring partnership built on mutual trust and a shared vision for the future. The PM discussed with Sheikh Hamdan ways to further strengthen the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, especially in the areas of trade, investments, defence, energy, technology, education, sports and people-to-people ties. The PM expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the UAE for ensuring the welfare of around 4.3 million Indians living in the UAE, acknowledging their vital role in the vibrant relations between the two nations. The Crown Prince also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The two leaders expressed happiness on the current defence cooperation through institutional mechanisms, military exercises, exchange of training programmes, etc. They acknowledged that defence cooperation needs to be enhanced in line with the vision and determination of the two leaders – PM Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They identified training exchanges as one of the key areas of defence cooperation, which would enable understanding of each other’s defence ecosystems and accelerate strengthening of bilateral defence ties. Eradicate terrorism, ensure zero infiltration: Amit Shah SC sets aside CBI probe into creation of supernumerary posts by Bengal cabinet Waqf Amendment Act comes into force, Centre issues gazette notification JAMMU 8 APRIL NEW DELHI, 8 APRIL The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, officially came into effect on Tuesday following a Gazette notification issued by the Central Government. The Act received the assent of President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday, two days after its passage in Parliament. “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday directed all security agencies to continue efforts with a coordinated approach to eliminate terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Shah chaired a high-level security review meeting in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Home Secretary, Director (IB), Chief of Army Staff, GOC-in-C (Northern Command), Chief Secretary and DGP of Jammu and Kashmir, heads of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and other senior officials attended the meeting. Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India is committed to establishing lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir and completely eradicating terrorism. Shah lauded the efforts of security agencies for significant reduction in terrorrelated incidents, infiltration and recruitment of youth in terrorist organisations. He reiterated the zero tolerance policy against terrorism under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. Shah said that due to sustained and coordinated efforts of the Modi Government, the entire terror eco-system nurtured by elements inimical to our country in Jammu and Kashmir has been crippled. He also directed that the implementation of Area Domination Plan and Zero Terror Plan must be ensured in mission mode. The Home Minister said that all agencies should continue to work in a coordinated manner so that the gains made after the abrogation of Article 370 in the Union Territory can be sustained and the goal of ‘terror free J&K’ can be achieved at the earliest. The Home Minister said that the Modi Government is providing all resources necessary to achieve this goal. The Home Minister also reviewed the preparedness of Shri Amarnathji Yatra which is scheduled from 3 July to 9 August this year and directed concerned agencies to take all necessary action for conducting holy yatra peacefully. While chairing another meeting to review the development projects in J&K, the Home Minister said that the Modi government is working with an unwavering resolve towards building a developed Jammu and Kashmir and a new era of prosperity is ushering for every citizen here. The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the direction passed by the Calcutta High Court, which had ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the creation of supernumerary posts in state-run schools. These teaching and nonteaching posts, which have remained under the cloud since the beginning, are perceived to provide room for ineligible candidates recruited illegally. With the latest decision of the apex court, the probe agency will not be able to investigate the sanctity of the decision approving the creation of supernumerary posts. (PG3) AGENCIES Women’s safety: Change mindset, leave women alone, allow them to grow, urges SC STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 APRIL Exhorting to make the country safer and a better place for girls and women, the Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed concern over the safety of women in the country and said that the mindset of people has to change towards women. Emphasising on the need for a multi-pronged sensitisation campaign for the safety of women, primarily the change in mindset and attitudes towards girls and women, a bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said, “Leave the women alone. The only request we make is to leave the women alone. We don’t need a helicopter around them, monitoring them, restricting them. Allow them to grow, that’s what the women of this country will want.” The bench said it has seen real-life cases of women being sexually assaulted when they go out in the open to defecate themselves, and remarked that in many places women have to wait till dusk to defecate in the open due to the lack of toilets in rural areas. “In the village, there may be some development due to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, but still there are no bathrooms and toilets (in many places). Women who have to ease themselves have to wait till dusk. Young women also have to wait till dusk to ease out because they can’t go during the day in open…We have seen the cases…,” Justice Nagarathna said. The bench said that the risk is double as first, women can’t ease themselves whole day and there is an adverse effect on their health of that and secondly because they go out at dusk while going or returning, they face sexual assault threat. Stressing on the need for a multi-pronged sensitisation campaign for the safety of women, the top court said, “Whether in cities or rural areas, the vulnerability of women is something men will never understand. The feeling a woman experiences the moment she steps onto a street, a bus, or a railway station with the constant burden of ensuring her own safety is an additional mental load she carries alongside her responsibilities at home, at work, and in society. Every citizen must be safe, but this is the additional burden a woman has to carry,” said Justice Nagarathna. “They should not think women are there for receiving sexual assault threat… mindset has to change. In the cities and rural areas, threat is everywhere,” it said. The Central government informed the top court that while the National Education Policy (NEP) was available, the detailed syllabus and educational modules related to moral education and gender sensitisation were yet to be filed. To this, the bench said the academic year had already begun and the matter could not be delayed indefinitely. The top court then granted three weeks’ time to the Centre to file a comprehensive affidavit explaining the existing modules and proposed steps to be taken by it. AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 8 APRIL of section 1 of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 (14 of 2025), the Central Government hereby appoints the 8th day of April, 2025 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” read the official notification published in the Gazette of India. The legislation, which amends key provisions of the original Waqf Act, has introduced a series of significant reforms. These include separation of trusts from Waqf entities; introduction of digital and technological tools for property management; creation of a centralised online portal for better transparency; restriction of Waqf property dedication to practicing Muslims only; protection of 'Waqf by User' properties, historically used by the community; recognition of women's rights in family Waqf, etc.