hyderabad l friday l november 21, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 36 l LATE City EDITION Kashmir Times office raided for ‘spreading secessionist ideals’ J&K’s State Investigation Agency raided the office of ‘Kashmir Times’ for allegedly “spreading terrorist and secessionist ideology” 14 cases of ak-series weapons found: SIA A spokesperson said a revolver, 14 empty cases of AK-series weapons, three live AK rounds, four fired bullets, four grenade levers and three pistol rounds were recovered from the office of the media house in Jammu. Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of Kashmir Times told a news magazine she was ‘surprised, not shocked’ as the print edition shut shop in 2021-22 ■ 15 DAYS BLAST CASE: LENS ON iNDIAN MUJAHIDEEN AIDE ■ Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Thursday sent Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie , Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather, Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay and Dr Shaheen Saeed in the car blast case to 10 days of NIA custody | P7 Delhi Police has uncovered a fresh lead pointing to fugitive Indian Mujahideen operative Mirza Shadab Baig, an ex-student of Al-Falah CUSTODY FOR FOUR PRIME ACCUSED IN BLAST CASE WAS SOUGHT BY NIA 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 Guv nod for prosecution of KTR in e-Prix case TIMELINE n tripartite agreement for A the Formula E race was signed on October 25, 2022 n HMDA allegedly transferred `54.88 crore to FEO in October 2023 without following rules or RBI procedures n complaint was filed on ACB October 18, 2024 alleging irregularities n state The government sought the Governor’s permission to prosecute KTR in September; permission was granted on Thursday HC quashes FIR against Bandi in SSC paper leak case E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has granted consent for the prosecution of BRS working president KT Rama Rao in the Formula E race case, paving the way for the Anti-Corruption Bureau to move ahead and file a charge-sheet. It is, however, still unclear whether ACB officials will summon KTR, the then minister for municipal administration and urban development (MAUD) for further questioning or proceed directly with filing the charge-sheet. The decision has led to a political war of words in the state. While Congress leaders maintained that they “do not believe in vendetta politics,” BRS leaders accused the government of framing KTR in what they described as a “flimsy and fabricated” case. With the Governor granting approval, the ACB is now set to file a charge-sheet against KTR and former HMDA chief engineer BLN Reddy in the alleged `54.88-crore quid pro quo case. The second accused in the case is Special Chief Secretary and then Municipal Administration Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar. Prosecuting an IAS officer requires mandatory approval from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Once the state government establishes a prima facie case, it must send a detailed proposal — including the officer’s version — to the DoPT. If the DoPT fails to respond within the stipulated period, permission is deemed to have been granted. According to official sources, the state government forwarded its request for prosecution of Arvind Kumar 75 days ago. If no response is received in the next 15 days, the ACB may proceed against him as well. The case originated from a complaint filed by Municipal Administration Secretary Dana Kishore with the ACB on October 18, 2024. The complaint alleged serious irregularities in the Formula E race agreement, including the payment of `54.88 crore — reportedly in violation of RBI regulations — by the HMDA to Formula E Operations Limited (FEO) without obtaining Cabinet approval. It was also alleged that part of the payment was made in US dollars, bypassing procedural and financial norms. continued on p4 Junior Kushwaha surprise pick in Nitish’s 10th as CM T G N a i d u @ Hyderabad RAMA S HAN K AR @ Patna Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti of the Telangana High Court has quashed the FIR registered against Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar in the Class 10 Hindi question paper leak case. The FIR, filed by Kamalapur police in Hanamkonda district, had alleged the involvement of the Union minister in the leak incident. The case was booked under several provisions of the IPC, Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 447 (criminal trespass), and 505(1) (b) (statements conducive to public mischief), along with Sections 4(A) and 6 read with 8 of the Telangana State Public Examinations (Prevention of Malpractices) Act, 1997, and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act. After examining the material placed before it, the high court concluded that the allegations lacked merit and proceeded to quash the FIR in its entirety. With this order, the court has granted complete relief to Bandi Sanjay Kumar, effectively bringing closure to the accusations made against him in the case. Amid high drama, Bandi Sanjay the then BJP state president , and Karimnagar MP, was arrested in Karimnagar on the midnight of April 4, 2023, for allegedly circulating the SSC Hindi examination question paper on WhatsApp. Bandi was named as A-1 in the case. The SSC Hindi question paper found its way on to social media after a 16year-old boy took a photo of the paper at an examination centre in Hanamkonda and shared with others. Bandi Sanjay was arrested on the following day  .  continued on p4 Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar on Thursday took his oath as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, and several Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states. Nitish was administered the oath by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, along with 26 ministers — 14 from the BJP, eight from the JD(U), two from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and one each from Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM). Senior BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha are among the ministers. The portfolios of the ministers have not been allotted yet. Caste equation was kept in (Right) PM Narendra Modi waves a ‘gamcha’ after Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM in Patna, on Thursday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah interacts with AP CM Chandrababu Naidu at the event | pti mind while selecting the ministers. Thirteen of them belong to the OBC/EBC categories and five from the Dalit community. Eight represent upper castes, including four Rajputs. JD(U)’s Zaman Khan, who had served as a minister in the previous government, is the lone Muslim face. Three women—Lesi Singh, Rama Nishad and Shreyasi Singh— have been included. The new cabinet has 12 new faces. Rashtriya Lok Morcha founder Upendra Kushwaha’s son Deepak Prakash, who did not contest the Assembly elections, is a surprise pick. The maximum number of ministers permissible for the state cabinet, including the chief minister, is 36. On Thursday, 27 ministers, including the CM, took oath. The remaining nine seats will be filled during the Cabinet expansion later. 1 Another judgment shot down Going against a two-judge bench’s order, SC says no timelines for Governor or President to act on bills passed by legislature 2 No deemed assent to bills on the ground that the Governor/ President failed to act within prescribed timelines 3 Actions of President/ Governor on a bill cannot be taken to court. Judiciary gets into the picture only after a bill becomes law 4 Limited scope for judicial intervention if Governor does not act on a bill within a reasonable time India’s procurement of two types of weapons from the US — Javelin ATG missiles and Excalibur precision guided munitions — worth $92.8 million moved a step closer as the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) formally notified Congress on its sale. While Javelin is a new acquisition, the Indian Army is already using Excaliburs. “The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of the Jave- e e xppr e s s r eeaa d x ress r d Telangana to partner with Analog AI Hyderabad: The state government has decided to collaborate with Analog AI to transform Hyderabad into a “Physical Intelligence City.” As part of this initiative, the government will work with the company to integrate real-time sensor networks for traffic management, public safety, environmental monitoring and utility services | p3 Notification for GP elections likely soon for assent to bill by governor, Prez, opines 5-judge SC bench unanimously S UCHITRA K A LYAN MOHANT Y @ New Delhi A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court was unanimous in its opinion on Thursday that no timeline can be imposed by courts for a Governor or the President to grant assent to any legislation, but added that they cannot sit on the proposed bills indefinitely . The ‘opinion of the court’ came on a Presidential reference in May following the verdict of two-judge bench in the Tamil Nadu Governor case, which laid down timelines for the President and the Governor to act on bills. The court also smoked out the concept of deemed assent embedded in a two-judge bench verdict by using its plenary power under Article 142. “Articles 200 and 201 of the Constitution are framed to allow elasticity. The imposition of a timeline is strictly contrary to the Constitution. The concept of deemed assent presupposes that constitutional authority would place a substitute role for the Governor, it is antithetical to the separation of powers. We have no hesitation in concluding that deemed assent is virtually a takeover of functions of a constitutional authority. The concept of deemed assent is against the spirit of the Constitution and the doctrine of separation of powers,” said the bench. Led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, the Constitution bench included justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar. They said if there is a prolonged or unexplained delay by the Governor, which frustrates the legislative process, the court can exercise a limited power of judicial review to direct the Governor to decide in a time-bound manner, without observing anything on the merits of the bill. “We can issue a limited direction to the Governor to act without observing anything on merit.” Can reserve bill even in second instance The bench said the Governor can reserve a bill for consideration of the President even in a second instance, when the bill is resent to him for assent by the assembly whether in amended form or not Hyderabad: Condemning what he described as “fake encounters” of Maoists, TPCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud on Thursday said, “We respect Ganapathi, Hidma and others as leaders. They sacrifice their lives for the sake of common people.” He was speaking at a roundtable at the CPI office here | p4 155 mm artillery guns, which includes the M-777, Bofors, K-9 Vajra and Dhanush. Javelin is an infrared-guided man-portable anti-tank missile system designed to destroy tanks and other armoured targets from a shoulder-fired position. It locks onto its target before launch and had “fire-and-forget” capability. While it takes around a minute to reload and reacquire targets, it can be used in direct attack mode to destroy a target. It can also bring down low-flying aircraft like a helicopter and drones. EN S @ Hyderabad full of grace Artistes perform Perini Natyam during the Telangana-North East Connect at HITEX in Hyderabad on Thursday | Sri Loganathan Velmurugan | P2 Don Jr to attend star-studded wedding in Udaipur NAMITA B A J PAI & R a j e s h As n a n i @ Lucknow / Jaipur Donald Trump Jr at the Taj Mahal on Thursday. He spent an hour at the monument Donald Trump Jr, son of US President Donald Trump, on Thursday visited the Taj Mahal in Agra. A group of 126 special guests from nearly 40 countries accompanied him during the tour of the 17th-century marvel. In view of the high-profile visit, the authorities had tightened security and spruced up the arrangements. According to sources, around 200 police personnel were deployed across key locations in the city and the security detail included offic- The court went on to opine that the discharge of functions by the Governor or President is not justiciable, adding that judicial review can be invoked only when a bill becomes law. Knocking off another prescription of the two-judge bench, the court said the President need not seek judicial review when a bill is reserved by the Governor under Article 200. “If in extraneous consideration, the President wants to seek, it can,” the bench said. It also accepted the Union government’s submission that the Governor need not act as per the aid and advice of Cabinet in assenting to bills. Dwelling on the options before a Governor in dealing with a proposed legislation, the bench said Article 200 gives him three choices: to assent, reserve the bill for the consideration of President; or withhold assent and return it to the legislature with comments. The Governor is not merely a rubber stamp between a bill becoming an Act, the bench observed. There is value in his consideration and picking one of the three options. The court cannot supplant the wisdom of the Governor and enter a merits-review of the decision so taken, the bench said. P7 Hyd man trying to stop theft stabbed in Aus, 4 teens held High-profile visitor Mahesh condemns ‘fake’ encounter of Maoists Hyderabad: The Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) is likely to issue a notification next week, for the conduct of elections to the gram panchayats (sarpanches) in three phases. According to sources, the election schedule is likely to be issued either on November 26 or 27 | p4 lin Missile System and related equipment. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress,” the notification read. Its estimated total cost is $45.7 million. Another approval notification on the sale of Excalibur projectiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $47.1 million was issued. India sought 216 M982A1 Excalibur tactical projectiles, it said. In 2023, 600 Excalibur precision guided munition rounds were acquired by the Army. These can be fired from all the 6 Governor can reserve bill for consideration of the President even in a second instance, when the bill is represented to him for assent by the assembly in whatever form No timeline US to sell Javelin missiles to India MAYAN K S INGH @ New Delhi 5 Governor has three options on bills assent, reserve it for President’s consideration, or withhold assent and return it to the legislature with comments ers of ACP and ADC rank. This is Trump Jr’s second visit to India. In February 2018, he had toured New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata. From Agra, Trump Jr will travel to Udaipur in Rajasthan to attend a high-profile wedding. Sources said he will reach Udaipur on Friday evening and will stay there till Monday . Sources said Trump Jr will be staying at The Leela Palace. The multi-day celebrations, from November 21 to 24, are for the wedding of Netra Mantena, daughter of US-based billionaire Rama Raju Mantena, and Vamsi Gadiraju. The main ceremony is on November 23 at the iconic Jag Mandir Palace, set on an island in Lake Pichola. The guest list includes Hollywood stars Jennifer Lopez and Justin Bieber, who are expected to perform at the event. Internationally acclaimed South African DJ and song writer Black Coffee are also set to perform at the gala wedding. From Bollywood, Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Kriti Sanon, Jacqueline Fernandez, Vaani Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, and Karan Johar are expected. A 28-year-old Hyderabad youth was critically injured when he tried to stop four teenagers, including a 15-year-old girl, from committing a theft at a convenience store in southwest Sydney Australia. , The victim, Saif Mohammed Shah, is currently in critical condition, while four teenagers — three boys aged 13, 14 and 16, and the girl — have been arrested. According to the NSW police, emergency services were called to the store on Burwood Road, Burwood, around 2 am on Thursday following reports of a stabbing. Upon arrival, officers attached to the Burwood Police Area Command were informed that several teenagers had entered the shop and allegedly attempted to steal items. When a staff member intervened, he was allegedly stabbed by one of the boys. Around 8 am, officers from the Blacktown Police Area Command arrested the teenagers at Blacktown Railway Station. They were all charged with robbery and engaging in criminal activity . The accused were refused bail to appear before a children’s court on Friday. Police said inquiries into the incident are going on.  continued on p5