vijayawada l saturday l august 09, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION SC will examine sedition law’s constitutional validity A 3-judge bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai issued notice to the Centre on a PIL against the validity of Section 152 (sedition) of BNS ‘rebranded version’ of sedition law pil says law is liable to be struck down Section 152 of BNS deals with the ‘act endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India’. A PIL filed by retired Major General S G Vombatkere, an Army veteran, called Section 152 a “rebranded version” of the sedition law, previously kept in abeyance by SC in July 2022 pending legislative review. Despite this, the new legislation reinstates sedition under a new label ■ ■ The plea said the BNS provision was violative of Articles 14 (right to equality), 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution; and was liable to be struck down Section 152 criminalises acts done ‘purposely or knowingly’, yet neither term is defined in the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, the plea said Sec 124A challenge to this law has also been tagged along with sec 152 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 high-stakes dialogue Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin... We discussed Ukraine and reviewed our bilateral ties During our call, we exchanged opinions on key issues of the bilateral agenda, including trade, economic and investment cooperation Modi, Putin call amid tariff pain, Ukraine summit Russian leader holds consultations ahead of his talks with Trump on ending Ukraine war J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi after Modi spoke with Brazilian President Lula da Silva—anothPrime Minister Narendra er US trading partner hit with Modi and Russian President a 50% tariff—and amid reports Vladimir Putin held a high- of an accelerating Trump-Putin stakes phone conversation on summit, possibly as early as Friday, reaffirming their com- next week. mitment to deepen India-RusAdding to the geopolitical sia ties amid intensifying US complexity, Kremlin aide Yuri pressure over New Delhi’s en- Ushakov confirmed Thursday ergy dealings with Moscow. that a venue had been selected The call comes on for the proposed the heels of a major Trump-Putin meeting. escalation by the US, While the official locawhere President Dontion remains undisald Trump signed an closed, Putin suggested executive order slapthat the UAE would be ping a steep 50% tariff a “suitable” host. on Indian imports of In a further twist, No trade Russian oil, seen wideUshakov revealed distalks ly as a direct warning cussions of a possible to India over its conthree-way summit inUS President tinued energy partnervolving Trump, Putin, Trump ruled ship with Russia. and Ukrainian Presiout any trade “Had a very good talks with India dent Volodymyr Zelenand detailed conversaskyy The Kremlin has . until the tariff tion with my friend yet to comment offiissue is P re s i d e n t P u t i n , ” cially on that possibilresolved. “No, Modi posted on social ity For his part, Putin . not until we media platform X. “We get it resolved,” expressed cautious reviewed progress in openness to meeting Trump said in our bilateral agenda Zelenskyy, but added the Oval Office and reaffirmed our that “certain condion Thursday commitment to furtions should be creatther deepen the Indiaed,” stressing that the Russia Special and Privileged current situation is “far” from Strategic Partnership.” ideal. For his part, Trump said The two leaders also dis- he did not consider a Putin-Zelcussed the ongoing Ukraine enskyy meeting a prerequisite conflict. According to an offi- for his own summit with the cial Indian readout, Putin Russian leader. briefed Modi on “the latest deAmid the shifting global dyv e l o p m e n t s c o n c e r n i n g namics, New Delhi’s balancing Ukraine,” while Modi reiterat- act is under the spotlight. On ed India’s consistent call for “a the multilateral front, China ofpeaceful resolution of the con- ficially welcomed Modi’s parflict.” The diplomatic timing is ticipation in the SCO Summit notable. The call comes a day in Tianjin later this month. After CJI Gavai intervenes, SC deletes its order 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 Friday deleted its observations criticising Allahabad High Court judge Prashant Kumar for allowing criminal proceedings in a civil dispute case, clarifying that its “intention was not to embarrass him”. In its order on August 4, a bench of justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had taken strong exception to Justice Kumar’s handling of a case for treating a civil dispute as a criminal case. It barred him from hearing criminal matters till retirement, adding, “The Allahabad High Court chief justice shall make the judge sit in a division bench with a seasoned senior HC judge.” However, the SC’s caustic verdict ran into constitutional trouble as the HC CJ is the master of roster, not the SC. While CJI Gavai was exploring ways to remedy the situation, 13 judges of the Allahabad High Court urged their Chief Justice Arun Bhansali to convene a full court meeting and refuse compliance with the SC order. Govt pulls I-T bill in LS, set to table final version on Monday DIPAK MO N DAL @ New Delhi FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday withdrew the Income Tax Bill 2025, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 13 to replace the Income Tax Act 1961. A fresh version of the bill, incorporating most of the recommendations of the Select Committee chaired by BJP member Baijayant Panda, will be tabled in the House on Monday . Sources said the earlier draft was withdrawn to avoid confusion due to multiple versions of the legislation and to present a consolidated text with all changes included. The finance ministry said the government has accepted almost all recommendations of the Select Committee. Suggestions were also received from other sources regarding fine-tuning the language to convey the correct legislative meaning. The 31-member Select Committee, which submitted its report to the Lok Sabha last month, proposed over 30 major amendments to the bill. These include changes in the definitions of ‘capital asset’, ‘infrastructure capital com- @ Vijayawada In a significant development towards making spiritual places plastic-free, the state government has issued orders banning single-use plastic at all major and prominent temple premises across the state. As per the orders, plastic carry bags, plastic bottles, disposable plates, cups, and other single-use plastic items will no longer be allowed inside the temple premises. Devotees, vendors, and temple staff are being encouraged to use eco-friendly alternatives such as cloth bags, steel tumblers, and leaf plates. Prasadams will be offered to devotees only in steel plates or banana leaves, while general prasadam will be distributed in paper cups or bags made of jute or other ecofriendly materials. Endowments Commissioner Ramachandra Mohan has issued orders to this effect. This initiative is part of a broader vision to promote public health, maintain cleanliness around temples, and preserve traditions in an environmentally Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks in the Lok Sabha on Friday | pti What is changing 1 Earlier draft bill had some errors leading to confusion. The new version will simplify clauses 2 Revised bill will allow income tax refund claims even if the returns are filed late; earlier provision had tied refunds to ITR being filed within ‘due date’ and this denied refunds to those who missed the deadline for filing ITRs due to genuine reasons 3 Draft bill had inadvertently deleted the words “no deduction”, resulting in removing the concept of nil TDS certificates. The revised bill reinstates that 4 Anonymous donations made to religious-cumcharitable trusts will be exempt from tax; however, trusts that run hospitals and educational institutions will be subject to tax NMC seeks review of HC order in FMGs case E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The National Medical Commission (NMC) has reiterated that the quality of medical education cannot be compromised, particularly in the case of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) whose clinical training was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. In a detailed seven-page clarification issued to the Andhra Pradesh government on August 7, the NMC emphasized that physical, on-site study of clinical courses is irreplaceable and cannot be substituted with online classes. The clarification came in the wake of two recent Andhra Pradesh High Court verdicts that have caused uncertainty over the mandatory internship period for P4 FMGs.  EC cites Kamal Nath case order on electoral rolls MUK E SH RA N J A N @ New Delhi R e j e cting L e a d e r o f Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of voter list manipulation, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday pointed out that the Congressled Karnataka government itself is using the same electoral rolls for its caste census exercise. It dared him to sign a formal declaration for his claims or apologise to the nation. Regardless of the format of the complaint, it’s the EC’s job to purify the rolls whenever discrepancies are pointed out. Sources in the ECI said that the Karnataka cabinet approved the use of electoral rolls as the base for conducting a caste survey . Over 120 major temples in State to go plastic free E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e pany’, ‘MSME’, clarifications on property-related deductions, and reinforcement of the ‘actual payment’ rule for claiming business expenses. One significant proposal is the reinstatement of a provision allowing the tax department to issue nil withholding tax certificates for specific payments — a clause dropped in the February draft, which only permitted low TDS certificates. The panel also recommended permitting refund claims even if the returns are filed late. For charitable and not-forprofit entities, the panel suggested replacing ‘receipts’ with ‘income’ for tax purposes, restoring the concept of ‘deemed application’, and providing clearer definitions. Bringing professionals under electronic payment norms, prescribing qualifications for valuers, and ensuring fairness in the application of General Anti-Avoidance Rules were also recommended. In a relief to corporates, the panel said the deduction for inter-corporate dividends in multi-tiered structures should also apply to firms opting for the 22% tax rate, as is the case under current law. friendly manner. Notably, the world-famous Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has already set a precedent by using biodegradable covers for its renowned laddu prasadam and implementing a ban on plastic water bottles in Tirumala. The new initiative will commence at the Sri Kanaka Durga Temple in Vijayawada and will be extended to over 120 major temples across the state. To support this effort, the government has ordered the installation of several RO water plants to eliminate the use of plastic bottles. Additionally, temple authorities and endowments officials have been directed to appoint a nodal officer to enforce the plastic ban in and around temple premises. AP Pollution Control Board Chairman P Krishnayya welcomed the government’s initiative, saying, “This effort will significantly reduce plastic waste, increase environmental awareness, and serve as a model for green spiritual tourism. Temple managements should conduct awareness programs, and strictly enforce this ban.” Can prove vote theft, says Rahul Gandhi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said if EC provides him 10 years of data — the voters’ list in machinereadable format and videos of polling stations, he can prove theft of voters in several Lok Sabha seats across the country Photo: Nagaraja Gadekal “ the same time LoP (Rahul At Gandhi) was dropping the ‘atom bomb’ on electoral rolls, the Congress gover nment was vouching for their authenticity by basing their most important policy of caste census on them,” a source said. ECI officials argued that Ra- hul was repeating a tired script. “In 2018, they (then MP Congress chief Kamal Nath), tried to mislead Supreme Court by producing documents from a private website to demonstrate there are errors in the electoral rolls, saying same face was shown for 36 voters,” an Elec- Total 25 Arrested 3 senior KGH doctors held in Srushti scandal E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam Three more doctors from King George Hospital (KGH) in Visakhapatnam were arrested by Hyderabad police on Thursday in connection with the Universal Srushti Fertility Center case, bringing the total number of arrests in the city to five and the total number of arrests spanning both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the case to 25. The arrested doctors include Dr. Vasupalli Ravi, Head of the Department of Anesthesia and Deputy Superintendent at KGH; Dr. Usha Devi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics at KGH; and Dr. Ramya, a staff member of the Department of Pediatrics who had previously been arrested and released on bail. Notably, Dr. Ramya is reportedly a close associate of Dr. Namrata, who was also arrested in connection with the case. Dr. Ravi, who had been on leave for the past three days, is the brother of former YSRCP MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar, raising questions about potential political involvement. Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar had represented the same constituency in Visakhapatnam during the time of the Srushti case. According to sources, the arrested doctors allegedly worked at the Srushti Fertility Hospital while simultaneously performing their ofP4 ficial duties at KGH.  tion Commission official said. “But, the defects had already been rectified four months before Nath made the allegations and a copy of revised rolls was supplied to the party Yet, Nath . sought the poll rolls in a searchable pdf format. The SC refused to entertain it, agreeing with the EC’s position that it would compromise voter privacy .” “The Nath judgment gives a settled position on machine readable document. Raising the same issues again shows that Rahul Gandhi has no respect for the SC,” the official charged. Rahul alleged that the name of Aditya Srivastava was found in three different states. “But it was rectified months ago,” the official pointed out. express read Man sells 3-year-old daughter for `5,000 Vijayawada: A man allegedly abducted and sold his three-yearold daughter to a begging gang for `5,000 at Vijayawada railway station. The Government Railway Police (GRP) rescued the girl and reunited her with mother within 24 hours of receiving a missing complaint | P3 CM Naidu to Mark Tribal Day in ASR Dist Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister Naidu will visit ASR district on Saturday to participate in International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples celebrations. He will attend events in Vanjangi and Lagisapalli villages, including interactions with tribal community members | P4