THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l tuesday l december 02, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION SC refuses to extend Waqf property registration deadline The Supreme court on Monday refused to extend the deadline for the registration of all waqf properties under the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 Petitioners can Approach waqf tribunal Court refuses to examine portal issues A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih observed that individuals seeking to register properties under Section 3B of the Waqf Act may approach the waqf tribunal for an extension in accordance with the law. Section 3B of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 mandates the compulsory registration of Waqf properties on the UMEED portal ■ ■ Kapil Sibal told the court 10 lakh mutawallis will have to go the tribunal. The court told him tribunal will decide on case to case basis When Sibal highlighted issues with the UMEED portal, through which users upload property details, the bench told him he can “approach the tribunal and say this is the reason” for missing the deadline Dec 6 the last date to upload property details on umeed portal 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 PM is saying, ‘enjoy the weather’. What weather should the people of Delhi enjoy? At least take a peek outside... 2.2 mn Delhi kids are suffering lung damage - Priyanka Gandhi For some time now, Parliament has been used as a warm-up arena for polls or as an outlet for frustration after defeat. It is a place for delivery, not drama - Narendra Modi Parliament winter session: Day 1 SIR rumble rocks Lok Sabha Oppn stages walkout in Rajya Sabha; Minister Rijiju seeks time to take call on the matter J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi The Winter Session of Parliament opened on a discordant note on Monday, with the Lok Sabha repeatedly disrupted and eventually adjourned for the day after Opposition MPs pressed for an immediate debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as the government proceeded with planned legislative business. As the House met at 11 am, Opposition members rose, raising slogans on the SIR issue. Speaker Om Birla appealed for order, reminding MPs that the House “is not for slogans” and that “there is ample space outside to do that.” The Lok Sabha functioned for only 18 minutes before the first adjournment. Despite the commotion, the government introduced three key bills — the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025. But protests contin- Vice President C P Radhakrishnan’s first day as Rajya Sabha Chairperson | PTI Kharge mentions Dhankar, draws protests Sparks flew in the Rajya Sabha after Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge recalled the “unexpected and sudden exit” of former V-P Dhankhar, saying that the House did not even get time to bid him farewell. The remark made in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggered a volley of protests | P7 ued, with Opposition MPs storming the Well and demanding a debate on SIR underway across 12 states and Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry Assam, which goes to . polls in 2026, is conducting a separate revision. In the Rajya Sabha, Opposition parties staged a walkout later in the evening. TMC’s Derek O’Brien accused the government of “stonewalling” attempts to take up the matter. Responding, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju insisted the government was open to discussion but opposed being bound by deadlines set by the Opposition. “Please give (us) some time. Don’t presume that the government is not ready to discuss… Please don’t put conditions on timeline.” JD(U)’s Sanjay Kumar Jha, BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb, and Union minister Chirag Paswan accused the Opposition of disrupting Parliament for political gain. Earlier, at a strategy meeting chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, INDIA bloc parties resolved to continue pressing for a debate. Although the TMC skipped the meeting, its leaders said they would join the protests. The Opposition has called a joint demonstration at 10.30 am on Tuesday at Parliament’s Makar Dwar. Amid the uproar, the Lok Sabha also passed the Manipur GST Amendment Bill, replacing an Ordinance issued on October 7 to implement GST 2.0 reforms in the state under President’s Rule. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the amendment ensures the state’s GST Act aligns with decisions taken at the 56th GST Council, which rationalised rates on nearly 375 items. ED notice to Pinarayi over masala bonds E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram The Enforcement Directorate has served a show cause notice on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the alleged rule violations in the issue of masala bonds, in 2019, by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). Former Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac and KIIFB CEO K M Abr a h a m were a lso served notices. The notices alleged that `466 crore of masala bond proceeds was used for land purchase in violation of the Foreign Exchang e Mana g ement Act (FEMA). The recipients h ave b e e n asked to file their version before the adjudicating authority . The CM is the chairperson of KIIFB, a body corporate established by the state government to fund major infrastructure development projects. Isaac was the finance minister and vice-chairperson of KIIFB when it raised `2,150 crore through masala bonds. Abraham also holds the charge of CM’s chief principal secretary . In a detailed public response to the notice, Abraham said the deployment of masala bond proceeds was in strict compliance with FEMA and the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines on external commercial borrowings (ECB). “Only `66 crore, not `466 crore as alleged in the notice, was spent for land acquisition. The RBI has restricted the use of funds in real estate, not for land acquisition. KIIFB’s masala bond was issued in 2019, when the regulatory position was crystal clear: land acquisition for infrastructure projects was permissible; investment in real estate business was not,” the KIIFB CEO said. ● More on P5 going after cyber crime state-owned app mandated on your phone A r s h a d K h a n @ New Delhi THE Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a new direction effective November 28, mandating all mobile phone manufacturers and importers to pre-install state-owned fraud reporting app — Sanchar Saathi — on devices used in India. The implementation must be completed within 90 days and a compliance report filed in 120 days. The move, according to the telecom ministry is aimed at pro, tecting citizens from purchasing non-genuine handsets, facilitating easy reporting of suspected telecom misuse, and enhancing the effectiveness of the Sanchar Saathi initiative. Smartphone maker Apple, which had previously pilloried the development of the anti-spam mobile app, along with Samsung, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi will be affected by the new order. Under the new rules, the Sanchar Saathi Sanchar Saathi app must be prominently visible and acA government portal and cessible to users during app to protect mobile users their first device setup, with from fraud and misuse no restrictions on its funcIt lets you check all mobile tionalities. For phones alnumbers registered in your ready manufactured, manuname, block lost/stolen facturers and importers are phones and required to push the app report spam/fraud through software updates. calls (Chakshu) Users won’t have the option to delete the app. The app, launched in Jan The Sanchar Saathi initia2025, is free and works with tive, developed by DoT, comOTP login bats cyber fraud and telecom security threats by allowing users to verify handset genuineness using the IMEI number. The Central government claimed that the app also helps report suspected fraud, lost or stolen devices, track mobile connections in one’s name, and provides trusted contacts for financial institutions. Government figures show the Sanchar Saathi app, launched in January has helped recover more than 7 lakh lost , phones, including 50,000 in October alone. However, privacy advocates criticised the push, with some calling it “dictatorial”. “Sanchar Saathi is a lost phone tracker, but if it gets embedded with no possibility of removal, it becomes a government tracker on your device…” said Nikhil Pahwa, digital rights activist and founder of MediaNama. SC orders pan-India CBI probe on digital arrest 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 Monday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a detailed, unified panIndia probe into cases of digital ar rest, expressing concern over the rise in the number of such cases. “The CBI shall have a free hand to investigate the role of bankers under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act wherever they are found involved in the opening of mule accounts used in cybercrime cases,” said a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The court also asked the Reserve Bank of India why it is not leveraging artificial intelligence to identify mule accounts used by cybercriminals and freeze them. The two-judge bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, asked Opposition ruled states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka and Telangana that had withdrawn general consent to the CBI for investigations to grant the consent, so that a comprehensive probe can be undertaken. The court directed all telecom service providers to implement the directions of the Department of Telecommunications on the issuance of SIM cards. “In view of the negligent approach of telecom service providers in issuing multiple SIM cards in one name, we ask the Department to submit a proposal to address the misuse of SIM cards,” the order stated. State considering five-day Rahul Easwar work week in govt offices denied bail, K S S r ee j i t h @ T’Puram cyclone effect Motorists wade through a waterlogged road following heavy rain in Chennai. A slow-moving deep depression — a remnant of Cyclone Ditwah — that defied forecasts for two days slammed Chennai and neighbouring districts with intense rain on Monday. Chennai’s automatic weather station recorded 132mm rainfall in 11 hours | Martin Louis | P5 E X PRESS READ Nod to Pak plane carrying aid to SL to fly over India ‘Absconder’ in Rubaiya kidnapping case held Rahul’s counsel files additional evidence New Delhi: India on Monday gave a Pakistani aircraft, flying humanitarian aid for the cyclone victims in Sri Lanka, permission to use its airspace. Sources said Pakistan made an official request at 1pm, and since it pertained to humanitarian aid, the Centre “expeditiously” cleared it. New Delhi: The CBI has arrested an “absconder” carrying a I10 lakh reward in connection with the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of the then Union Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, for allegedly being part of a conspiracy hatched by members of banned JKLF terror group. P8 T’Puram: Even as police remained unsuccessful in tracking down Rahul Mamkootathil, the beleaguered legislator has filed additional pieces of evidence via his counsel before the principal district and sessions court, which will hear his anticipatory bail plea on Wednesday. P5 The state government is once again considering the introduction of a five-day work week in all government offices. However, service organisations have reacted with caution to the plan, warning that any attempt to curtail employees’ rights, including leave entitlements, wo u l d b e s t r o n g l y opposed. The Chief Secretary has convened a virtual meeting with representatives of service organisations at 5pm on December 5 to discuss the matter. The proposal, first considered two years ago, was withdrawn after strong opposition from service organisations, including Left outfits, which alleged the government intended to cut down leave entitles. According to government sources, the public administration department revived the discussion after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, during a meeting on the rising drug abuse problem in the state, stressed the need for parents to spend more time with their children as part of prevention strategies. This time, the government appears to be moving more cautiously. In the letters sent to office-bearers of service organisations, it did not include any draft proposal. Instead, unions have been asked to submit their opinions and suggestions via email on or before December 5. The Opposition-aligned service organisations argue that the absence of a draft proposal raises questions about the government’s intention. The pro-Congress Kerala Secretariat Employees Association (KSA) and NGO Association have welcomed the proposal in● More on P5 principle.  Over 13L pilgrims offer darshan Sabarimala revenue soars 33% to `92 crore in first 15 days E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ P’thitta Sabarimala hill shrine has registered a total revenue of `92 crore in the first 15 days of the Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season this year. This marks a 33.33% growth compared to the `69 crore recorded during the corresponding period last year. A major chunk of the earnings continues to come from the sale of aravana payasam, which alone fetched `47 crore. The figures till November 30 showed a 46.86% increase in revenue from aravana sales compared to `32 crore during the first 15 days of the previous season. Revenue from appam stood at `3.5 crore, nearly matching last year’s figures for the same period. Income from kanikka (offerings) has also seen steady growth -- from `22 crore in 2024 Pilgrims at Sabarimala temple | Express to `26 crore this season. Nearly 13 lakh pilgrims have visited Sabarimala till Novem- ber 30, reflecting the consistently high footfall during the mandala pilgrimage period. After a brief lull over the weekend, pilgrim inflow surged again on Monday, with 80,328 devotees climbing the hill between 12am and 7pm alone. With this, the total number of pilgrims who have offered darshan in the first 16 days of the season reached 13,36,388. On Saturday and Sunday the , rush had dropped significantly , with the nadappanthal remaining largely free of crowds. This allowed weekend pilgrims to have darshan with minimal waiting time. The situation changed on Monday afternoon as footfall be gan rising steadily. By evening, the nadappanthal was filled to capacity Anticipating . the post-holiday surge, authorities had already strengthened crowd-management arrangements. remanded E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram Activist Rahul Easwar, who was arrested by the cyber police for allegedly insulting the modesty of the woman who filed a rape complaint against MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, has been remanded to 14 days in judicial custody . While considering Rahul Easwar’s bail plea, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court here on Monday noted that making sexually coloured remarks against the survivor on social media platforms cannot be viewed lightly Since . the probe is in a nascent stage, if the accused is released on bail, he is likely to impede the course of investigation. There is chance of the accused committing similar offences and tampering with evidence, the court said. Rahul’s lawyer argued that the accused was not issued any notice by the investigators before arresting him. The lawyer said the only non-bailable section invoked against him — 75 (1)(iv) of BNS — carries only a year’s imprisonment and hence he should be let out on bail. However, the court did not entertain the contention. Later, while being shifted to the Poojappura district prison, Rahul told reporters the police lied before the court and that he would go on a hunger strike ● More on P5 in prison.  16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express