visakhapatnam l wednesday l may 21, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION Fresh law graduates can’t appear in judicial services exam, rules SC The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that only those with a minimum of three years of experience as lawyer can enter judicial service High courts to amend norms in 3 months Fresh norms applicable prospectively The judgment was pronounced by a bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and justices A G Masih and K Vinod Chandran. The bench said that such amendments to the rules must be carried out by High Courts within three months, and that these amendments must then be approved by the state governments within a further period of three months ■ ■ “The appointment of fresh law graduates has led to difficulties, as noted by multiple high courts. Practical experience in court is essential for ensuring judicial efficiency and competence,” the CJI said SC clarified that the three-year experience requirement will not apply to ongoing judicial recruitment but will only apply prospectively One-year Training must before candidates are permitted to preside over a court 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 BSF Retreat No interim order on Waqf without glaring case: SC ceremony at border resumes Law is presumed Constitutional unless otherwise proven, says CJI H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh In a further indication of the Indo-Pak border returning to normalcy the BSF re, sumed its retreat ceremony at all three joint check posts of the Punjab frontier — Attar in Amritsar, Hussainiwala in Ferozepur and Sadqi in Fazilka. Tuesday’s ceremony was exclusively for media personnel and a select gathering; it will be open to public from Wednesday . However, BSF troops will not shake hands with Pakistan Rangers and the gates will not be opened during the flag lowering process, as announced earlier in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, said sources. The BSF had halted the retreat ceremony on May 8 following Operation Sindoor to avenge the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. During the suspension of the ceremony the flag-lower, ing continued without public attendance. The resumption of the event is expected to rejuvenate the local economy that relies on tourism. Punjab minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal had on Monday visited the Shahpur border outpost near Ajnala and discussed the concerns of local farmers whose lands lie beyond the barbed wire fence, with BSF officers deployed along the border. Following the meeting, Dhaliwal announced that the gates would be opened for farmers shortly, allowing them to access their fields without restrictions. SUCHITRA K ALYA N MOHA N T Y @ New Delhi BSF personnel participating in the retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border near Amritsar on Tuesday | PTI Pak gets 2nd Field Marshal in Munir stan.” In 1959, General Ayub Khan had self-promoted himDays after Operation Sindoor self as Field Marshal when he exposed Pakistan military’s was Pakistan’s President. vulnerability, its army chief The four-day clash under MuAsim Munir was promoted as nir’s watch that paused after Field Marshal, the second in India struck at Pakistan’s air the country to occupy the high- bases under Operation Sindoor, est military position. was widely seen as a major mil“The Government of Paki- itary setback for Pakistan. stan has approved the promoIndia had launched Operation of Gen Asim Munir tion Sindoor to take out (Nishan-e-Imtiaz Militerror infrastructure in tary) to the rank of nine locations in PakiField Marshal for enstan and Pakistan-occusuring the security of pied Kashmir in rethe country and defeatsponse to the killing of ing the enemy based on 26 civilians in a terrorthe high strategy and ist attack in J&K’s Pacourageous leadership,” Gen Asim Munir halgam on April 22. Prime Minister ShehFrom being sacked as baz Sharif ’s office said. The de- ISI chief by the then prime cision was taken at a cabinet minister Imran Khan, Munir meeting chaired by Sharif. managed to rise from the ashes For his part, Munir said, after Sharif was elected PM. “This is not a personal achieve- Munir is trying to salvage the ment, but a tribute to the armed army’s reputation as it lost face forces and the people of Paki- following Imran’s arrest. MAYA N K SI N GH @ New Delhi Govt blinks as TMC nominates Abhishek A day after TMC’s Yusuf Pathan, named by the Centre in one of the global outreach delegations, opted out, the party replaced him with Abhishek Banerjee after Union minister Kiren Rijiju called TMC chief Mamata Banerjee | P7 Pak army suffered significant losses Poonch Brigade Commander Brigadier Mudit Mahajan on Tuesday said the Pakistani army suffered significant losses during Operation Sindoor not only in terms of numbers but also in morale and credibility French Senate team expresses solidarity A delegation from the French Senate on Tuesday extended strong support to India in its ongoing fight against terrorism and expressed solidarity in the aftermath of the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir Visakha Steel Plant employees go on strike to protest against mass layoffs E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam SRInivasan Former AEC head dies at 95 in ooty Dr M R Srinivasan was a key architect of India’s civil nuclear energy programme and former chief of the Atomic Energy Commission. The Padma Vibhushan awardee is survived by his wife and daughter | P7 express read PK warns police against illegal immigrants Vijayawada: Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday, warned that southern states remain vulnerable to terrorism, citing past attacks in Hyderabad and Coimbatore as stark reminders. Particular attention should be paid to monitoring illegal migrants, he said I P4 95.86% candidates clear AP ICET-2025 Visakhapatnam: A total of 95.86% of candidates qualified in the AP Integrated Common Entrance Test (ICET)-2025. According to the results released by the Andhra University ViceChancellor, Prof GP Raja Sekhar, of the 34,131 candidates appeared, 32,719 qualified for the exam I P3 In protest against the termination of around 4,000 contract workers, the trade unions of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) called for a strike on Tuesday The unions not. ed that over 70% of workers from key production departments participated in the strike. The relay strike by the unions is also ongoing. Speaking during the protest, the workers alleged that the management tried to suppress the strike by deploying police forces inside the plant and attempted to intimidate the workers. According to union lead- ers, such a large-scale presence of police inside the plant has not been seen in the past 40 years. Vehicles were arranged to detain workers, and arrests were made to prevent the protest from escalating. Police reportedly arrested several union leaders around 9 am. These included CITU state general secretary N Ramana, CITU vice-presidents Somesh and U Appalaraju, AITUC leaders Minister Ravi, Sombabu, Ramireddy, HMS president U Apparao, and INTUC leaders Vamsi and Baireddy Apparao. Union leaders claimed that the sudden termination of thousands of contract workers, many of whom had been work- ing at the plant for the past three decades, was arbitrary and violated labour laws. They alleged that both the Central and State governments were working to hand over the plant to private players and bring in new workers at lower wages, sidelining the experienced workforce. Despite continued agitations against privatisation for over four years, production had never been disrupted until now. However, workers stated that the recent decisions by the management left them with no choice but to halt production. They questioned whether workers should remain silent in the face of mass terminations and asserted their legal right to P4 strike. THE Supreme Court on Tuesday said the petitioners challenging the Waqf law would need a very strong and ‘glaring’ case for interim relief. Citing the “presumption of constitutionality in favour of law”, a bench of Chief Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih orally observed that for a stay of the statute, a strong case has to be shown. “There is a presumption of constitutionality in favour of every statute. For interim relief, you have to make out a very strong and glaring case. Otherwise, presumption of constitutionality will be there,” CJI Gavai said while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the petitioners, told the bench that they have a strong prima facie case and asserted that “irreparable injury will be caused if the provisions are activated”. Pleading for interim orders, ‘Creeping acquisition of waqf properties’ Senior advocate Kapil Sibal said the law provides for “creeping acquisition” of waqf properties, adding that by altering the composition of central and state waqf boards to include nonMuslims, it also attempts to “dilute community control” Sibal said that the Waqf Act was designed in such a way as to capture waqf properties without due process. “Private properties are being taken away only because of dispute. The officer above collector is appointed to see the dispute, and meanwhile the property is taken away he said. ,” Terming the legislation unconstitutional, Sibal said waqf is an endowment to God. “This dedication cannot be transferred to anybody Once a waqf, . always a waqf,” he argued. “They capture the waqf, expropriate the waqf. Then there is also a violation of Article 26 and 27. Then comes the CEO of the board, who shall be appointed by the state and also shall be non-Muslim,” Sibal said. Cabinet nod for FPS to Ashoka Univ distribute ration from asst prof sent June 1, MDUs mode ends to judicial sc hearing custody S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada The State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the State Secretariat on Tuesday, decided to discontinue the delivery of rations through Mobile Dispensing Units (MDUs) and restore the Fair Price Shops (FPSs) system for the distribution of monthly rations to beneficiaries from June 1. However, doorstep delivery of rations will continue for beneficiaries of above 65 years of age and persons with disabilities. Disclosing the Cabinet’s decisions to the media, Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manoh a r, a c c o m p a n i e d b y Information and Public Relations Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy stated that IVRS , feedback revealed 25% of beneficiaries were not receiving their rations. Additional complaints included: 26% of MDU operators charging inflated prices, a single MDU covering the area of three FPSs in 15 to 17 days, diversion of ration commodities (with 288 cases registered), and a shortage of MDU operators (570 vacancies). These issues led to the decision to discontin- HARPR E E T BAJWA a n d If r a h M u f t i @ Chandigarh / New Delhi ue the MDU system. The move is expected to save `353.81 crore for the State exchequer, Manohar said. Recalling the earlier system of distributing essential commodities through 29,000 FPSs, the Minister criticized the previous government for abolishing it in favour of the MDU model. To implement this system, the previous government spent `1,860 crore on procuring 9,260 MDU vehicles, and an additional `200 crore on a pilot project. However, the MDUs not only failed to benefit consumers but also facilitated rice smuggling, with approximately 200 cases registered against MDU operaP4 tors. lord of green hills! Green cover on Tirumala Hills to go up from 68.14% to 80% E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tirumala As per the instructions of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Board of Trustees has given its nod to increase the green cover in the Tirumala hills from the existing 68.14 percent to 80 percent through the Forest Department. A decision to this effect was taken in the TTD Board meeting held under the Chairmanship of TTD Trust Board Chair- TTD Board meeting being held in Tirumala on Tuesday I Express man B R Naidu on Tuesday. After the government’s approval, it has been decided to release `4 crore to the Government Forest Department in a phased manner, including `1.74 crore for the year 2025-26, `1.13 crore for the year 2026-27, and `1.13 Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, urged the court to confine the hearing to the three issues earmarked by the court earlier— waqf by user, nomination of non-Muslims to Waqf Council and state Waqf Boards, and identification of government land as waqf. Mehta said the written submissions of the petitioners cover several other issues. However, Kapil Sibal and senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for some petitioners, objected to it, saying “there cannot be any piecemeal hearing”. The arguments were inconclusive on Tuesday and would continue on Wednesday, when the Centre will present its defence of the Waqf Act. crore for the year 2027-28. The Board has also approved the recruitment of 597 posts for Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) to bolster healthcare services, announced Executive Officer J Shyamala Rao. The decision will increase TTD’s annual grant to SVIMS from `60 crore to `131 crore, adding `71 crore to cover the new hires. The positions include 100 faculty posts, 433 nursing staff, 15 paramedical personnel, and 48 administrative roles. The board also rati- fied decisions from the recent SVIMS Gover ning Council meeting, appointing IV Subba Rao to lead an expert committee tasked with drafting a comprehensive development plan for the super-specialty hospital. This includes upgrading singlefaculty departments and procuring advanced equipment like PET-CT, MRI, and CSSD systems. To enhance the security, the Board has decided to procure anti-drone technology to shield the temple from potential atP4 tacks. A district court in Haryana’s Sonipat on Tuesday sent Ashoka University assistant professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad to judicial custody and posted the matter to May 27. Mahmudabad was arrested on Sunday after Haryana Police registered two FIRs against him on charges of “endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country” through his social media posts on Operation Sindoor. Sonipat police produced him in court on Tuesday after the two-day remand ended. They sought another seven days remand but the court decided to send Mahmudabad to judicial custody . The development comes when the Supreme Court is seized of the matter. A bench Prof Ali Khan o f j u s t i c e s Mahmudabad Surya Kant and N Kotiswar is likely to take up the case on Wednesday the top , court’s cause list showed. The professor’s arrest triggered widespread outrage from academics as well as political parties. The students and faculty of Ashoka University termed the arrest a violation of academic freedom. The faculty association described Mahmudabad as a highly responsible citizen and the students demanded his immediate release. Addressing a joint press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday representatives of various , teachers’ bodies condemned the ‘unlawful arrest’. The Haryana police, which arrested the professor, had registered two cases against him based on complaints filed by BJP Youth Morcha leader Yogesh Jatheri and Renu Bhatia, chairperson of Haryana State Commission for Women.