MANGALURU l Thursday l July 11, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION Modi in Austria in first bilateral visit by an Indian PM in 41 years Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation Strategic direction for India-austria ties Modi invites businesses to make in India India and Austria have decided to give a strategic direction to our relationship, Modi said after his “fruitful” talks with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. A blueprint for cooperation has been prepared for the coming decade, Modi said. The two leaders also discussed the Ukraine war, and Modi reaffirmed India’s view that this is not the time for war ■ ■ Modi invited the business community in Vienna to invest in India, highlighting his government’s production-linked incentive scheme and the “fast-unfolding opportunities” in the country Infrastructure, renewable energy, and artificial intelligence are among the areas in which the two countries agreed to “combine strengths” 1983 When Indira gandhi visited Austria. Modi’s visit is the 1st by an Indian PM since then CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Sec 125 on maintenance applies to Muslim women too, rules SC ST CORPN ROW Supreme Court’s two-judge bench, in concurring verdict, says CrPC section is religion neutral S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi ED officials at the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation office in Bengaluru on Wednesday | nagaraja gadekal ED raids ex-minister Nagendra, MLA Daddal E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru/Ballari/Raichur Officials of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted search and seizure operations at 18 locations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Wednesday in connection with the multi-crore scam in Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited. While the state government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case a few weeks ago based on a complaint by Union Bank of India. It is lear nt that after the premier investigation agency shared information related to the scam, the ED too registered a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED officials searched former minister for tribal welfare B Nagendra’s two flats in an apartment complex on New BEL Road and his residence at Dollars Colony in Bengaluru. They also searched his house at Nehru Colony in Ballari. Sources confirmed that documents related to agricultural and revenue land purchased recently were found in the minister’s house in Ballari. In all, five places linked to the minister, his family members and friends were searched. A senior police officer from Ballari said 20 police personnel were part of the operations. Personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were also deployed. The officials searched the residences of Basanagouda Daddal, Raichur Rural MLA and chairman of the corporation, in Raichur and at Yelahanka in Bengaluru. It is said that the MLA was in Bengaluru, while his wife and son-in-law were in Raichur house.  P4 In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that all divorced women irrespective of religion, were entitled to seek maintenance from their spouse under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Section 125 deals with maintenance for the wife, children and parents. A bench of justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih, pronounced the verdict after rejecting an appeal filed by Mohd Abdul Samad. He had ordered by a family court in Telangana to pay a monthly maintenance of `20,000 to his exwife. The Telangana high court later decreased the quantum of maintenance to `10,000. Samad had divorced her @ T’Puram THE 1994 ISRO espionage case, in which former space scientist Nambi Narayanan was falsely implicated, was the result of a conspiracy hatched by certain police and IB officials, the CBI told a court here. The case was initiated by then special branch inspector S Vijayan after Maldivian national Mariyam Rasheeda spurned his advances, the agency said in its chargesheet filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Thiruvananthapuram. It said Vijayan had seized the travel documents of Mariyam, rendering her unable to return before her visa expired. When she could not return, she was booked by the police for overstaying. The chargesheet said police officials S Vijayan (first accused), Sibi Mathews (second accused), K K Joshua (third ac- Nambi Narayanan R B Sreekumar cused) then IB deputy director R B Sreekumar (fourth accused), and IB officer P S Jayaprakash (fifth accused) played an active role in the conspiracy to fabricate documents that led to illegal arrests and subsequent torture. On the direction of the then Crimes DIG Sibi Mathews, four persons — D Sashikumaran, K Chandersekhar, Nambi Naryanan and S K Sharma — were arrested without any evidence. They were interrogated and allegedly tortured at the behest of Sibi, the chargesheet said. It said the espionage angle through triple talaq, which was outlawed by the Supreme Court in 2017 and criminalised by the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019. The court rejected Samad’s contention that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 overrides the secular Section 125 CrPC. The 1986 law was introduced under the watch of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to sof- Eighteen people were killed and 19 injured when a double-decker sleeper bus headed for Delhi hit a milk tanker on the AgraLucknow Expressway on Wednesday, officials said. The accident occurred around 5 am near Jojikot village. President Droupadi Murmu condoled the loss of lives in the accidet was fabricated to sustain the wrongs committed by the officials of the state police and IB. R B Sreekumar, then deputy director of IB, has been accused of facilitating unauthorised questioning of Mariyam and torturing the accused. “He was responsible for physical and mental torture of arrested victims during unauthorised interrogation in custody of Kerala police by the IB team,” says the chargesheet. Sreekumar was ADGP in Gujarat during Godhra incident. IB staffer Jayaprakash has been accused of torturing Nambi Narayanan, it added. Responding to the development, Nambi Narayanan said: “I wanted to bring out the culprits, who had fabricated the case. It took about 24 years for that to happen. I’ve lost interest in the case. If required, I can be a witness... Now I am old and even if the accused are punished, I am not interested.” E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru Industries and Infrastructure Development Minister MB Patil on Wednesday said a second international airport for Bengaluru is certain and initial discussions are on in this regard. Bengaluru is a global city that needs another international airport with a capacity to handle 100 million passengers a year, he said. The minister said the exclusivity clause with BIAL, which restricts building another airport within a radius of 150 km from KIA ends in 2033. “If we begin the process now, Bengaluru can have the second airport ready by then. Cities such as Mumbai and Delhi have second airports at a distance of 3540 km. A decision will be taken soon to facilitate growth and improve the livability of Bengaluru,” the Minister told reporters. Patil said the second airport needs around 5,000 acres of The real estate sector is expected to see a huge boom in the country and Bengaluru will lead the trend. According to a report, Bengaluru’s office stock (commercial spaces given out for leasing) is expected to touch 330-340 million sqft by 2030, the highest in the country Current. ly, the city has 223 million sqft in Q2 2024, compared to 100 million sqft in 2013. The report, ‘Karnataka Horizon: Navigating Real Estate Excellence in the South’, released by CBRE, the real estate consulting firm, and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), on Wednesday stated that Ben, galuru has emerged winner in the office absorption (occupied by companies) segment compared to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai. The IT capital is also expected to see a spill-off of the trend in neighbouring districts. Major industries contributing to this boom are technology engineering, manufacturing and Banking Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI). The sectors that drive demand for office space are life sciences, aviation and automobile. Emerging locations in North Bengaluru such as Bellary Road, Yelahanka and other areas, including Varthur Road and Kadugodi, are evoking sig- land. A high-level committee will take a decision, taking several factors into account. The government can now identify land for the project off Kanakapura Road and Mysuru Road, at Magadi, Doddaballapura, Dabaspet and Tumakuru. Ruling out the possibility of developing HAL Airport as the second international airport, the minister said that it is a small one and can’t be expanded. “We have many options. According to norms, before deciding the airport’s location, we have to consider various factors. We are taking experts’ opinions,” he said. “KIA, which is the third busiest airport in the country after Mumbai and Delhi, can handle 52 million passengers and 0.71 million tonnes of cargo a year. Further expansion may help handle 110 million passengers and 1.10 million tonnes of cargo a year. The airport is expected to reach its peak handling capacity by 2035. Thereafter, there will be no scope to build runways as it already has two,” he said. On Tamil Nadu’s decision to build an airport at Hosur near Bengaluru, the minister said the CM of that state announced it after Karnataka started initial discussions on having the second airport. TN’s decision would not af fect Karnataka. “Let them do whatever they want. We are very serious about the second airport for Bengaluru. After taking over as minister, I decided to remove the exclusivity clause when the agreement came up for renewal,” Patil said. Terrorists took instructions from handlers in Pak: NIA M UK E SH RA N JA N @ New Delhi Terrorists who attacked a bus carrying pilgrims in Jammu’s Reasi on June 9 received instructions from their handlers based in Pakistan, a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) found. Sources said as per the evidence collected so far, before executing the attack, the remote handlers were contacted and permission taken. The investigators found that a Rajouri-based overground worker (OGW) Hakam Khan alias Hakin Din, who has been arrested in connection with the case, had sheltered the Pakistani terrorists for nearly a week before the day the bus was attacked. Khan also helped them in reaching the attack spot, sources added. “The arrested OGW played the role of a guide to take the terrorists to the spot where the incident took place and helped them identify the curve on the road, where vehicles used to slow down. Even the exit plan was finalised,” a source aware of the probe details said. The terrorists navigated the thick forests of Rajouri, Poonch, and Kathua using a mobile application, Alpine West, which gave them realtime information about culverts, dense forests and other obstructions, sources said. The probe agency suspects the role of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba’s Sajjid Jutt in executing the attack. There is a reward of `10 lakh for providing information leading to his arrest in connection with another case. Two other Pakistani terrorists Sajid Ali and Abu Qatal are also suspected to have been involved in the attack, sources said. Terrorists opened fire at a bus carrying pilgrims from Shiv Khori to Katra on the evening of June 9 in the Pouni area of Reasi. The driver of the bus lost control, causing it to fall into a gorge. Nine people, including a minor, were killed in the attack. CBI operates under Centre’s control: SC bench 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 Wednesday held that as per the law, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) functions under the administrative control of the Union government and rejected the Centre’s objections to the maintainability of a lawsuit filed by the West Beng al government. The West Bengal government had filed a lawsuit against the Centre alleging that the CBI is pressing ahead with its investi- B’luru office stock may touch 340m sqft by 2030 P u r a n C h o u d h a r y @ Bengaluru ten the impact of the landmark Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case in 1985, which said Muslim women were entitled to maintenance. Both justices Nagarathna and Masih wrote separate but concurring verdicts. Justice Nagarathna said the 1986 Act is not a substitute for Section 125, nor has it supplanted it. Both can operate simultaneously at the option of a divorced Muslim woman. Excluding the ap- plication of Section 125 for a divorced Muslim woman would be in violation of Article 15(1) of the Constitution, which states that the state shall not discriminate on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, etc., she said. “There cannot be disparity in receiving maintenance on the basis of the law under which a woman is married or divorced. The same cannot be a basis for discriminating a divorced woman entitled to maintenance as per the conditions stipulated under Section 125 of the CrPC or any personal or other law such as the 1986 Act,” Justice Nagarathna said. Justice Masih said rights of maintenance under Section 125 and the 1986 Act “parallelly exist in their distinct domains and jurisprudence”. 18 killed Bengaluru needs second int’l Horrific accident on airport, talks are on: MB Patil Agra-Lucknow E-way ISRO case fabricated by police, IB officials: CBI chargesheet E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E Financial empowerment of women Both ‘financial security’ and ‘security of residence’ of women have to be protected and enhanced, Justice Nagarathna said. That would truly empower the homemakers who are the backbone of the family. It is within the family that values of life are learnt. It is these moral and ethical values that are inherited by generations. But, for that to happen, women in the family have to be respected and empowered, she said Reasi attack nificant interest due to improved infrastructure. Ram Chandnani, Managing Director, Advisory and Transaction Services, CBRE India, told TNIE that 48-50% of commercial space leasing comes from South India. “Bengaluru houses 41% of 1,600 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India. This is because of the tale n t p o o l av a i l a b l e i n neighbouring states, growing infrastructure and sustainable cost of living, including rents which are affordable compared to other cities,” he said.  P5 gation into post-election violence in the state without securing the state government’s prior approval. The West Bengal government had withdrawn general consent for the CBI to probe cases or conduct raids in the state. The Centre had objected to the maintainability of the state’s lawsuit against it, arguing that the CBI is an independent statutory body, and therefore, the Centre cannot be sued in the matter. A two-judge bench of the top court, led by Justice B R Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta, said as per provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, the CBI functions under the administrative control of the Union government, and thus, the West Bengal governm e n t ’ s l aw s u i t i s maintainable. “In our view, the CBI is an organ or a body which is established by and which is under the superintendence of the Government of India in view of the Guarantees: Panel seeks report on ‘diversion’ of SCSP/TSP funds E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has issued a notice to the Karnataka government over the alleged diversion of funds meant for the welfare of SCs and STs to implement its five guarantee schemes. Taking suo motu cognisance of the government’s decision to divert Rs 14,730.53 crore from the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) to fund the guarantee schemes, the commission has sought a detailed report within seven days. “The commission is mandated to monitor issues pertaining to development of Scheduled Castes in states, especially with reference to Special Component Plan (SCP) and Special Central Assistance (SCA), in pursuance of the power conferred upon it under Article 338,” Rajeev Kumar Tiwari, joint secretary of the commission, stated. P4 statutory scheme as enacted by the DSPE Act,” the court held. The court said a reading of the DSPE Act would reveal that right from the constitution of the special police force, which is called DSPE, issuance of notifications specifying the offences or classes of offences which are to be investigated by it, superintendence and administration of DSPE and extension of powers and jurisdiction of DSPE to areas beyond the Union Territories, “it is the Central government which is vitally concerned with”. express read Bypolls: Moderate to high turnout in 7 states New Delhi: Moderate to high turnout was recorded in 13 Assembly seats in seven states where bypolls were held on Wednesday amid sporadic incidents of violence in Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal. The bypolls were held in Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. TN’s Vikravandi saw the highest turnout (82.48%) and Uttarakhand’s Badrinath reigstered the lowest (49.8%). In Bihar, two officials were injured when a mob attacked police in Purnea.