HYDERABAD  SATURDAY  SEPTEMBER 14, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE 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 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ 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. BENGAL HORROR Doctors seek Murmu’s intervention S U L A G N A S E N 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. 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 refused 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, sources said. The Sealdah court judge asked Roy whether he had any objection. 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 and 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 fillip 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 CM PEGS FLOOD LOSS AT `10K CR, WANTS DISASTER NORMS EASED EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad CHIEF Minister A Revanth Reddy informed the InterMinisterial Central Team (IMCT) that visited the floodaffected areas in Telangana over the past two days that the total loss the state suffered due to the recent rains and floods was `10,320.72 crore as of September 8, 2024. At a meeting with members of the IMCT at the Secretariat on Friday, the chief minister once again requested the Centre to provide immediate relief to the state to help the people who suffered losses. He reiterated his earlier demand that the Centre should relax the existing norms and release disaster response Counting of damaged trees to take a week Forest officials say that an 185-member team is enumerating the damaged due to a freak phenomenon in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary and a report will be ready in 7 days | P2 funds to the state without conditions. “With the existing guidelines, the Telangana government cannot utilise the available `1,350 crore National Disaster Response Funds HC concerned at HYDRAA’s ‘selective demolitions’ T G N A I D U @ Hyderabad JUSTICE K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Friday expressed serious concern over the legal validity of the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) and the manner in which it operates. The judge also expressed dismay over HYDRAA’s “selective approach” towards demolitions. The court was hearing a writ petition filed by D Lakshmi, a resident of Nanakramguda in Hyderabad, who alleged that HYDRAA unlawfully demolished structures on her property in Sangareddy district without prior notice or legal orders. Justice Lakshman directed A file picture of HYDRAA razing allegedly illegal structures at Ameenpur the state government and its counsel to submit all relevant details concerning the establishment of HYDRAA, its duties and its legal standing and posted the matter to September 19 for further proceedings. HYDRAA was created via 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. 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. GO Ms 99, an executive order issued by the chief secretary, dated July 19, 2024. Justice Lakshman pointed out that while HYDRAA was established through an executive order, it lacked statutory backing, a requirement for such bodies to function legally . The judge further noted that the impugned GO confers powers on HYDRAA that are otherwise vested in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, under the GHMC Act, which does not permit delegation of its statutory powers to any other authority . The petitioner alleged that HYDRAA’s team unlawfully entered her property in Aliapur village and demolished structures without following due process. The counsel for the petitioner argued that HYDRAA’s establishment itself was illegal and demanded its dissolution, claiming that the body was functioning in violation of the very terms set out in the GO that created it. even if the entire state is submerged under flood waters. As per the present rules, the state is eligible to use only `1 lakh if a patch of 1 km road is damaged due to floods. This paltry amount is not sufficient for even temporary repairs to damaged roads,” the chief minister explained. He said that apart from submitting the details of losses, the state government would also furnish details of the standard schedule of rates (SSR) to the Centre. “This would allow the Centre to examine the SSR, revise the guidelines and extend liberal relief to the state,” Revanth said. Stating that the total losses as of September 8 was over `10,000 crore, he told the IMCT that details of more damage were yet to be reCONTINUED ON P2 ceived. Union ministers invited to Praja Palana function E N S @ Hyderabad CHIEF Minister A Revanth Reddy has invited Union Ministers Amit Shah, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and G Kishan Reddy along with MoS (Home) Bandi Sanjay for the Praja Palana Day celebrations to be held on September 17 in Hyderabad. Revanth wrote to the Union ministers inviting them to attend the programme. He informed them that the state government decided to celebrate Praja Palana Day to mark September 17, 1948, the day on which democratic era began in Telangana. Raghavulu leads race to succeed Yechury A N I L 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 in-charge till the 24th Party Congress next April. 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 Baby or B V , Raghavulu 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 recommendation 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. SOCIAL JUSTICE Transgender persons to regulate Hyderabad traffic THE OFFICIAL VERSION  Chief minister announces India’s 1st transgender-specific govt recruitment cum social welfare programme  Move is without parallel not only in India but across the world, the CMO said  Best example of creative and lateral thinking in governance — attempts to solve two crucial issues simultaneously, it added  Hyderabad has least traffic jams among the big five cities and move will further ease situation  After identification, recruitment and training, troops raised exclusively from transgender individuals will support traffic police EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad Representational designs of uniforms for transgender individuals CHIEF Minister A Revanth Reddy has decided to appoint transgender individuals as volunteers to regulate traffic in Hyderabad. Issuing instructions to officials on Friday during a review meeting on GHMC, the chief minister directed them to utilise the services of transgender persons on the lines of Home Guards. At present, Home Guards are involved in regulating traffic flow along with the regular traffic police personnel. The chief minister said that transpersons who opt for traffic duties would be given a monthly stipend. He directed the officials to collect details of the transgender persons interested in regulating traffic. The interested transpersons would be imparted training for a week to 10 days and provided uniforms. At the review meeting, the chief minister also directed the officials to go on a study tour to Indore and develop Hyderabad as a clean city on the lines of t h e c i t y i n M a d hya Pradesh. “The agencies and NGOs which are working to maintain Indore as a clean city should be invited to work on similar lines in Hyderabad,” the chief minister said. He asked the GHMC officials to study how the Indore civic body was mobilising funds to keep the city clean. Revanth expressed displeasure over the improper maintenance of 811 km roads which were taken up under Comprehensive Road Maintenance Programme (CRMP) some five years ago. As the term of contract of the CRMP agencies would end by December, they are neglecting road maintenance, Revanth observed. “Do not spare such agencies and see that all roads are maintained properly in the city he told the ,” CONTINUED ON P5 officials.