tirunelveli l saturday l september 14, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Centre renames A&N Capital Port Blair as Sri Vijaya Puram Territory was Chola Empire’s Naval base The capital city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been renamed to free India from colonial imprints, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Hosted the first unfurling of tiranga While the earlier name had a colonial legacy, Sri Vijaya Puram symbolises the victory achieved in India’s freedom struggle and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ unique role in it, the home minister said. The island territory that once served as the naval base of the Chola Empire is now poised to be the critical base for India’s strategic and development aspirations, he added ■ ■ It is the place that hosted the first unfurling of Tiranga by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and also the cellular jail in which Veer Savarkar and other freedom fighters strived for an independent nation, Shah said Being a Union Territory, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands come under the direct administrative control of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs 572 Total number of islands in the Union territory, of which 38 are inhabited 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 Prolonged incarceration is unjust deprivation of liberty, says court Ticks off CBI saying it must dispel notion of being a ‘caged parrot’ SC raps CBI, grants bail to Kejriwal E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Mumbai IN a dramatic volte-face, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday threw out its own case against the NSE and its past management led by then CEO Chitra Ramakrishna and vice-chairman Ravi Narain in the co-location case, citing lack of evidence. This paves the way for India’s largest bourse to resume its public listing plan, which has been stalled since 2016 due to the co-location controversy . The case relates to the alleged preferential access given to certain broking firms, including OPG Securities, at the NSE to connect across the colocation facilities. According to Sebi, there may have been lapses at the NSE’s colocation facility but not enough evidence to establish collusion between the NSE and S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Hours after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the excise policy case filed by the CBI, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar jail, and said, “the thick walls of prison cannot break me.” While granting him bail, justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan differed on the legality of his arrest. Justice Kant held that there was no impediment in arresting a person already in the custody However, . Justice Bhuyan castigated the CBI, saying it should not be seen as a ‘caged parrot’. Justice Kant said although the procedure for the Kejriwal’s arrest meets the requisite criteria for legality and compliance, his continued incarceration would infringe upon established legal principles and his right to liberty Rejecting the CBI’s contention of . influencing the outcome of the trial, he said all evidence and material relevant to the agency’s disposition is already in their possession, negating the likelihood of tampering by the CM. Setting aside the Delhi HC’s August 5 verdict, the SC said, “The appellant shall not make any public comments on the merits of the CBI case, it being sub judice... This condition is necessitated to dissuade a recent tendency of building a self-serving narrative on public platforms.” Slamming the CBI for its belated arrest, Justice Bhuyan said, “Like Caesar’s wife, an investigating agency must be above board. Not long ago, this court has castigated the CBI comparing it to a caged parrot. It is imperative that CBI dispels the notion of it being a caged parrot. Rather, the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot.” Emphasising that personal liberty is sacrosanct, Justice Bhyuan said, “I am of the unhesitant view that the belated arrest of the appellant by the CBI is unjustified and the continued incarceration of the appellant in the CBI case that followed such arrest has become untenable.” He pointed out that that the CBI did not arrest Kejriwal for 22 months till his release was ordered in the ED case. It appears that only after the Special Judge granted regular bail in the ED case on June 20, CBI became active and sought Kejriwal’s custody Justice Bhuyan , pointed out, adding the CBI did not feel the need to arrest him for over 22 months. Sebi sees no NSE co-location scam Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses supporters outside Tihar Jail after getting bail | Parveen Negi These anti-national forces that are trying to weaken the nation, divide the nation... I have always fought them and will continue fighting against them Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister What it means The bench of justices Surya Kant an Ujjal Bhuyan relaxed Kejriwal’s bail conditions It dropped the bar on the CM from going to the Secretariat or signing files. Both were imposed by a coordinate bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna on May 10 and July 12 Justice Khanna had also specified that the conditions can be recalled or modified only by a larger Constitution bench It means Kejriwal will have to seek modification of these restrictions by approaching the CJI to set up a larger bench Such conditions were not imposed on Hemant Soren when the SC granted him bail, so he quickly took oath as Jharkhand CM again Kejriwal’s bail will give a filip to the AAP’s poll preparations in Haryana Preferential access The co-location case pertains to the alleged preferential access given to some broking firms in the form of ‘dark fibre’ at the NSE to connect across the co-location facilities faster than others, giving the former unfair advantage Chitra Ramakrishna Chitra Ramkrishna was ousted from NSE in 2016 for her role in the co-location case. In 2022, Sebi charged her with using a ‘Himalayan yogi’ to advise her on important decisions OPG Securities. “It is held that due to the absence of sufficient material/evidence/objective facts on record in this case, the test of ‘preponderance of probability’ fails to produce enough justification for the establishment of collusion/connivance between OPG and its directors with Noticees,” Kamlesh Varshney, whole-time member, Sebi said in an 83-page order. Varshney added: “There is Raghavulu leads the race to succeed Yechury A N IL S @ T’Puram THE demise of Sitaram Yechury has triggered speculations on the next CPM general secretary. According to sources, the party will go for a stop-gap arrangement by nominating a senior leader as the general secretary incharge till the 24th Party Congress scheduled for next April in Madurai. Yechury’s third term was to end in April. Sources said former general secretary Prakash Karat could be asked to handle the party affairs for the time being. A section feels that Brinda Karat, too, could be given interim charge as she’s a prominent woman face in national politics. If the party decides to go for a new face as a full-time general secretary, then M A Other contenders Kerala leader M A Baby and Nilotpal Basu from West Bengal are also among possible choices. Party sources said a relatively junior A Vijayaraghavan from Kerala could also emerge as a front runner Baby or B V Raghavulu (pic) could be chosen. The CPM politburo, set to meet after Yechury’s public homage on Saturday, will take a call in this regard and will present its recommenda- Father among 3 held for selling 52-day-old baby tion before the central committee on September 27. “Since the Party Congress is around the corner, a senior leader will be given temporary charge. The party set the age criteria to infuse new blood into the PB and CC,” said a senior leader. Going by the existing age cap of 75 years, PB members Prakash, Brinda, Manik Sarkar, Surjya Kanta Mishra, and Subhashini Ali are likely to give way for new faces at the Party Congress, which can give exemption to a leader if need be. “It would be wise to go with Brinda, as it would send out a message... The party needs a leader acceptable to other Opposition parties,” said a central committee member. The backing of the Kerala unit is crucial for a decision. express read TN inks `100-cr deal on last day of CM’s US visit E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Theni The Theni All Women Police on Friday arrested the father of a 52-day-old male child and two others for allegedly selling the baby to a couple from Bodinayakanur for `1 lakh. The police said the father, V Sankar (44), and his wife Pandeeswari are from Melatheru in Uppukottai. Sankar is an alcoholic and his wife has intellectual disabilities. On Tuesday , the child helpline got a call alleging that Sankar had sold his newborn. Based on the information, a team of officials, led by District Child Protection Officer E Santhiya, conducted an inquiry, following which they registered a complaint with the Theni AWPS. According to police, Sankar said he had handed over the baby to his relatives in Madurai, which later was found to be untrue. Upon investigation, it was revealed that Sankar had sold his son to Sivakumar (42) and S Umamaheswari (36) – the couple from Bodinayakanur – for nearly `1 lakh. The police recovered the baby, which is now at the childcare unit of the Theni government hospital. The officials said the baby would soon be handed over to the Child Welfare Committee. The police arrested Sankar and the couple and presented them before the Theni judicial magistrate, who remanded them in judicial custody . no dispute that the NSE did not have a defined policy for the use of colo (co-location) facility . It even failed to monitor the use of the secondary server by TMs (brokers) without having sufficient reason.” Apart from Ramkrishna and Narain, Sebi has also dropped charges against Anand Subramanian, Ravindra Apte, Umesh Jain, Mahesh Soparkar, and Deviprasad Singh. Junior doctors take cover during rains as they continued their sit-in protest against the rape-murder at RG Kar for the third consecutive day, in Kolkata on Friday | PTI Docs seek Murmu’s intervention to render justice S u l a g n a Sen g u p ta @ Kolkata With the stalemate between the protesting junior doctors and the Bengal government continuing for the third consecutive day, the agitators on Friday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, urging her intervention to render justice to the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar hospital here on August 9. In their letter, they mentioned the security lapses inside the hospital and how they feel insecure in the premises. They sought an appointment with her to discuss the matter. Addressing the media later, the junior doctors reiterated the need to speak to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to end the deadlock, but refused to yield on the demand for live streaming of the talks for transparency . Meanwhile, a Sealdah court rejected the CBI’s request to subject the lone accused the rape-murder case, Sanjay Roy, to narco analysis test as he re- Earlier this year, Sebi had rejected a settlement plea by the NSE in the co-location case. The co-location scam refers to some brokers gaining an unfair advantage by accessing the NSE’s systems, data, and trading facilities by allowing them to place their servers right in the NSE premises. The case came out in 2015 after three whistleblowers alerted Sebi. In 2019, Sebi passed an order directing the NSE to disgorge `625 crore plus interest, and also imposed a penalty of `1,000 crore on the exchange for not ensuring equitable access to the facility to all trading members. The Sebi order was later set aside by the Securities Appellate Tribunal, following which the regulator moved the Supreme Court. In 2023, the SC directed Sebi to refund `300 crore to NSE from `1,107 crore the exchange had deposited with it. fused to give his consent. The agency wanted to use the narco test to verify Roy’s statements. “The test would have helped determine if Roy is telling the truth,” an officer said. Roy had initially agreed to take the test but later changed his mind, CBI sources claimed. The Sealdah court judge spoke to Roy to find out whether he had any objection to what is also called a truth serum test. Narco test involves administering sodium pentothal to induce a hypnotic state, neutral- ising the subject’s imagination, the officer explained. “In most cases, the accused gives the true information,” the officer said. The agency has already conducted a polygraph test on Roy inside Presidency Correctional Home, as part of the probe. In a related development, the Enforcement Directorate received documents related to a medical scam from the sisterin-law of Dr Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar, who is under judicial custody . Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin completed his two-week visit to the United States and departed from Chicago to Chennai on September 12. On his final day in the United States, the state government signed an MoU with US-headquartered Rapid Global Business Solutions Inc for setting up a unit in the state at an investment of `100 crore. Deals worth `7,616 crore have been signed during the CM’s visit. Hotelier’s apology to FM: BJP flayed for arrogance Coimbatore: A video of a hotelier apologising to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Coimbatore has sparked a controversy. Several political parties slammed the saffron party for “arrogance”. On Friday, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai, who is currently in London, apologised for the actions of his partymen | P4 CM MK Stalin and Minister TRB Rajaa meeting with Ford executives | Express Ford to restart operations at Chennai plant C SHIVA K UMAR @ Chennai Ford Motor Company on Friday said it has submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the Tamil Nadu government, confirming its intention to utilise its Chennai plant, repurposing it to focus on manufacturing for export to global markets. The US-based automobile manufacturer exited the Indian market in 2022. The announcement follows a meeting between the Ford leadership and Chief Minister MK Stalin during his US visit. The manufacturer said it would soon disclose the details on the type of manufacturing to be carried out in the Chennai unit. During his meeting with the Ford executives in Chicago on Tuesday the CM urged the com, pany to renew its three-decade partnership with the state by restarting operations at its Maraimalai Nagar plant. Ford’s return is the culmination of the state’s year-long efforts, said the industries department, attributing it to the efforts of the CM and Industries Minister TRB Rajaa. The government’s efforts to make use of the Maraimalai Nagar facility intensified in June 2023, when several automobile investors expressed interest in acquiring the site. In July 2023, Rajaa visited San Francisco, initiating talks with Ford, which sought six months to evaluate the situation and return with a decision. P5 Metro Phase II: Is centre trying to create financial crisis in TN, asks minister E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Strongly denying the contentions of Union Finance Minister Nirmalatha Sitharaman that the state has spent only `5,880 crore for Phase-II of the Chennai Metro Rail Project despite the Government of India (GOI) arranging for `21,000 crore as loans, State Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu in a statement on Friday said that `18,564 crore has been spent for the project so far. Of the total money spent, `11,762 crore was from TN’s own resources and `6,802 crore was through loans from foreign financial institutions. The centre, however, has not yet disbursed even one rupee from the `7,425 crore recommended by the Public Investment Board (PIB) for the Phase-II project, he said. Thangam also clarified on another key contention of the FM that Phase II of the Chennai Metro project is a statesector project. “In 2017, the state recommended Phase II as a Central Sector Project. Subsequently, based on the request of JICA, the funding agency of Japan, to sign the loan agreement immediately to start the project in 2018, the state started implementing this mega project to avoid delay. Since the GOI also approved this process, the project was taken up for consideration by the PIB on August 17, 2021. The board has also proposed that this project could be implemented as a Central Sector Project,” he explained. To highlight how the state is being ‘betrayed’, he said the FM while presenting the budget for 2021-22, announced that five cities – Kochi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Nagpur, and Nashik – will be allocated appropriate funds. However, the GOI has approved projects worth `30,399 crore for Bengaluru, `1,957 crore for Kochi, `6,708 crore for Nagpur, `910 crore for Pune and `12,200 crore for Thane on the basis of the Central Sector Project, but Tamil Nadu got no funds.  p5