THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l tuesday l october 29, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION Former Karnataka hc judge K S Puttaswamy passes away Justice Puttaswamy, 98, was the lead petitioner who had moved the SC in 2012 challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme K S Puttaswamy 8 Feb 1926 - 28 Oct 2024 Played lead role in RIGHT TO PRIVACY CASE aDVOCATE turned EMINENT JURIST His petition played a pivotal role in declaration of right to privacy as a fundamental right by the Supreme Court. In a landmark verdict in August 2017, a nine-judge bench declared the right to privacy a fundamental right under Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution. The Aadhaar scheme subsequently received legislative sanction ■ ■ ■ SC underlined privacy to be “the constitutional core of human dignity” Born on February 8, 1926, Puttaswamy studied at Maharaja’s College, Mysore and obtained a law degree from Govt Law College, Bengaluru He was enrolled as an advocate in January 1952 and practised in Mysuru. He became the Karnataka High Court judge on November 28, 1977 2012 When justice Puttaswamy moved SC challenging the Aadhaar SCHEME 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 Census likely in early 2025 Speculation on LS seat delimitation; NDA ally TDP demands policy rejig RAJ E SH K U M AR THA K UR a nd P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Strong indications from the Centre on Monday suggested that the much-delayed decadal Census exercise would begin in early 2025, potentially followed by the controversial delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies. Since Census is a humongous exercise, it will take over a year for it to be wrapped up and the report cannot be published before 2026. The year 2026 is significant because Article 82 of the Constitution says, “Provided also that until the relevant figures for the first Census taken after the year 2026 have been pub- lished, it shall not be necessary to readjust.” Speaking to this newspaper, former chief statistician Pronab Sen said the delimitation process can be carried out after completing the Census operations in 2026 if the government so desires. “We are at the end of 2024. If the process of Census starts today, the earliest you will be able to finish the exercise is by March-April 2026. It takes a year and a half just for preparation. The first step is house listing and it will take 7-8 months. Then the process of preparing for the Census begins. The Constitution says The fine print 82 article National Register of Citizens to be updated; no caste census clarity that the delimitation should be based on the first Census on or after 2026,” he said. Delimitation runs the risk of upsetting states in the South as they stand to lose political clout in the Lok Sabha for being successful in population control. Speaking to this paper, the Telugu Desam Party , an NDA ally sought re, working of the delimitation exercise. TDP MP and Parliamentary party leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said, “The delimitation of Lok Sabha seats on the basis of population may lead to Andhra Pradesh losing out in representation as we successfully conUpon the completion of each census, the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States and the division of each State into territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority and in such manner as Parliament may by law determine: trolled population through family planning programmes. The state shoudn’t be punished for that. We want to have consultations with the government and various other stakeholders in reworking the policy .” As for the other demand on including caste census, no decision has been taken on it yet. The government appears cautious about including caste data in the Census, possibly in view of assembly elections in states like Bihar. The Census originally scheduled for 202021, got delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Year 2025 will represent the start of a new Census cycle — 2025-2035, 20352045 and so on. Provided further that such readjustment shall take effect from such date as President may, by order, specify and until such readjustment takes effect, any election to the House may be held on the basis of the territorial constituencies existing before such readjustment; Provided also that until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, it shall not be necessary to readjust (a) the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States as readjusted on the basis of the 1971 census; and (b) the division of each State into territorial constituencies as may be readjusted on the basis of the 2001 census, under this article A n o t h e r Ta t a j e w e l First pvt plant for military plane opens D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad After an impressive roadshow in Gujarat’s Vadodara, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez jointly inaugurated the Tata Advanced System Limited (TASL)-Airbus plant to manufacture C-295 military aircraft in the city . It is the country’s first assembly line where at least 18,000 components of the aircraft will be manufactured. “Till now we had the vision of Make in India, now proudly we extend it to Make in India, Make for the World,” Modi said in his address. Commissioning the project shows India’s work culture has changed for good, he said. The country cannot only commission project on time but can manufacture and deliver goods on time. In October 2022, the foundation stone of the project was laid, and within two years, work on production of a C-295 has started, he said. Modi also recalled that another plant to manufacture Bombardier train coaches was commissioned in record time. For his part, Sanchez called the Tata group a “giant among giants”. “Today, we are not only officially inaugurating a cutting-edge industrial facility...This partnership between Airbus and Tata will contribute to the progress of the Indian aerospace industry,” he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez during a roadshow in Gujarat’s Vadodara on Monday | PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez during a roadshow in Gujarat’s Vadodara on Monday | PTI Two accused awarded life term in Thenkurissi honour killing case E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Palakkad The two accused in the much-talked-about Thenkurissi honour killing of Aneesh were awarded life imprisonment on Monday . Palakkad District Additional Sessions Court Judge R Vinayaka Rao issued the sentences to Suresh and Prabhu Kumar of Elamandam, the uncle and father respectively of Haritha, the wife of Aneesh. On Friday, the court had found the two guilty of the murder. It also imposed on both of them a fine of `50,000, which is to be paid to Haritha. On Christmas day of 2020, the duo attacked Aneesh with an iron rod and sharp weapons near the Manamkulam LP Aneesh School, in Thenkurissi, Palakkad, as he was returning from work. He died on the way to hospital. Aneesh aka Appu, who was a painter by profession, and Haritha had been in love since their school days. They tied the knot in 2020. The fact that Aneesh belonged to a lower caste and was from less affluent background angered Haritha’s family The shocking murder was carried out on . the 88th day of their marriage. The testimony of Haritha, who stayed with her in-laws and led the legal fight, proved crucial in the case. The two accused were initially charged with murder, intimidation, evidencetampering, conspiracy, and destruction of evidence by sub-inspector Anoop of Kuzhalmandam police. The investigation was supervised by DySP K M Devassia, who also carried out the ar● More on P4 rests.  18 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express Growth of AI disrupting jobs: FinMin report M o n i k a Ya d a v @ New Delhi The growing deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in several sectors is casting a shadow over employment stability in India, the Department of Economic Affairs under the Union finance ministry said in its monthly economic review. “Anecdotal reports of the deployment of Artificial Intelligence displacing workers are beginning to emerge. That needs watching,” said the report for September. The Economic Survey 2023-24, tabled in Parliament in July, had also flagged concerns of more and more companies turning to AI tools to replace human talent. “While AI has ‘All well on the economic front’ The performance of the Indian economy has been satisfactory during the first half of the ongoing fiscal year but concerns remain with regard to demand conditions going forward, the report said considerable potential for boosting productivity it also has the potential , to disrupt employment in certain sectors,” said the survey . The survey had posited that routine tasks, including customer service, would likely witness a high degree of automation while creative sectors would see extensive usage of AI tools for image and video creation. It called for political decisions to en- sure the technology benefits everyone rather than creating disruptions across the board. The ministry’s report noted that there was a 7% decline in job opportunities in September 2024 compared to the same month last year. It said the Naukri JobSpeak index witnessed an annual growth of 6% in September 2024, driven by a resurgent IT sector. “Sectors such as FMCG and Oil & Gas also underwent significant growth and continued ascent in AI/ Machine Learning roles. However, hiring trends were largely favourable for experience-holders, while professionals with 0-3 years of experience saw a 7% decline in job opportunities vis-a-vis September 2023,” it said. Pooram row rages; CMO alleges collusion between UDF and Sangh parivar E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram / Thrissur The controversy over the alleged disruption of this year’s Thrissur pooram continues to rage with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accusing the UDF and the Sangh parivar of attempting to derive political mileage from the issue. Meanwhile, Union Minister Suresh Gopi refuted allegation that he played a role in hampering the festivities and called for a CBI probe into the fiasco. The accusation that the Opposition UDF was siding with the Sangh parivar to establish the festivities were disrupted was levelled in a press release issued by the chief minister’s office (CMO) on Monday . It came a day after the CPI , an LDF constituent, openly disagreed with the CM’s stance that there was very little disruption caused to the pooram. Though it targets the UDF and the Sangh parivar, the CMO’s release is widely seen as an oblique retort to CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam, who disagreed with Pinarayi Vijayan’s earlier statement that except for the slight delay in the fireworks display, there was not much disruption to the festivities. The CPI had alleged an RSS conspiracy behind the disruption and demanded an investigation into it. “The government has always stuck to the stance that the pooram was not disrupted, but that there were attempts to disrupt it. This was clarified in the cabinet meeting that ordered a probe and also in the assembly,” the CMO release stated. It added that all aspects related to the pooram were being probed and officials will be brought to book if they are found to be involved in any wrongdoing. The CMO asserted that the government was engaged in efforts to ensure that the pooram is conducted in a flawless manner in the coming years. It alleged that the Sangh parivar has always been interested in using Thrissur Pooram and other festivities for communal ● More on P4 gains.  Four RSS men get life term for murder of CPM worker E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kannur The Thalassery Additional Sessions Court (IV) on Monday sentenced four RSS workers to life imprisonment for the murder of Ashraf, 40, a CPM worker, in Thalassery in 2011. Judge J Vimal also imposed a fine of `50,000 each on the convicts — Pranu Babu, Nidheesh, Shijin and Ujesh (accused 1 to 4) . The court had found the accused guilty of murder, murder attempt, causing injury and wrongful restraint. Of the eight accused in the case, two — Shijith and Sujithdied before the trial began. Two other accused, Binesh and M R Sreejith, have been acquitted citing lack of evidence. According to the court, the fine should be paid to Ashraf ’s family As per the case, Ashraf, . was attacked by the accused around 9.30am on May 19, 2011, while he was selling fish on the Kappummal-Subedar road in Thalassery The RSS-BJP mem. bers reportedly killed him due to political enmity it said. , Ashraf, who was critically injured, in the attack died at on May 21 in hospital while undergoing treatment.