NEW DELHI 30 NOVEMBER 2025 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in PLUS: 12 PAGES SPEAKING THEIR MIND Haute and Cold MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES Lazy Daze RED FORT BLAST Cleric detained from mosque in Haldwani, taken to Delhi N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Haldwani THE Delhi Police has detained a religious leader from Uttarakhand, who is suspected of having links to the operative allegedly responsible for the November 10 Red Fort blast, sources said on Saturday . The sources revealed that tracking the call detail records (CDR) of the alleged terrorist, identified as Umar, guided the Delhi Police team to Haldwani late Friday night. Around 2:30 am, a specialised team conducted a swift operation in the Muslim-majority area of Banbhoolpura, detaining Maulana Hasim, the imam of the Bilali Mosque. He was immediately taken to Delhi for questioning. The raid heightened tensions among residents. Additional police personnel have been deployed near the mosque and the cleric’s residence. “Since Saturday morning, every corner of Banbhoolpura has been under tight police surveillance,” said a local source. Authorities are conducting checks on all incoming and outgoing vehicles, intensifying security across the zone. The breakthrough came after the Delhi Police successfully decrypted crucial data from Umar’s mobile records. Kumaon Zone IG Ridhima Agarwal on Saturday said, “Following specific intelligence inputs, we are questioning two individuals. Central intelligence agencies have been informed,” she said. Booked for Life Anand Neelakantan Prabhu Chawla Sathya Saran Shankkar Aiyar Shiv M Sahai Namrata Joshi S Vaidhyasubramaniam National emergency in Sri Lanka as toll rises to 153; India steps up aid M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi SRI Lanka was on Saturday picking up the pieces after widespread destruction caused by cyclone Ditwah, with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declaring a state of emergency throughout the country as the death toll rose to 153. Disaster management authorities in Colombo told local newspapers about 191 people still remaining untraced as search and relief efforts continue across 25 districts. The cyclone brought landslides, flash floods, and heavy rains, affecting over 7,74,724 people from 2,17,263 families. More than 15,000 homes were destroyed, and nearly 78,000 people have been displaced to temporary shelters, marking one of Sri Lanka’s worst natural disasters in recent memory . Demonstrating its “neighbourhood first” spirit, India has rapidly escalated its humanitarian response under Operation Sagar Bandhu. The Indian Air Force deployed a C-130 and an IL-76 from Hindon Air Base on the night of NDRF personnel unload Indian aid in November 28-29, delivering Sri Lanka on Saturday| MEA 21 tonnes of relief materials, including essential rations and disaster relief equipment, alongside over 80 National Disaster Response Force personnel to Colombo. “India stands firmly with Sri Lanka in this hour of need,” the IAF said in a message on X. The Indian Navy stepped in and dispatched dry and fresh rations and crucial supplies, including 4.5 tons of dry rations, 2 tons of fresh rations, and essential items, with the help of INS Vikrant and INS Udaygiri. Besides, two Chetak helicopters from aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, staffed with Sri Lankan Air Force personnel, undertook search and rescue operations. Cross-LoC trade ‘intra-state’ as PoK part of J&K, bound by GST Act: HC ‘Essentially barter trade, no exchange of currency’ FAYA Z WA N I @ Srinagar THE Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has ruled that trade conducted between the Union Terrority and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) qualifies as intra-state, since PoK is considered part of J&K and such trade falls within the purview of the GST Act. The ruling settles a long-pending question around the tax treatment of cross-LoC barter transactions carried out during 2017–2018 and 2018–2019. Cross-LoC trade was introduced in 2008 as a confidence building measure between India and Pakistan, allowing barter exchange of goods between communities on either side of the LoC. The arrangement continued until February 14, 2019 Pulwama attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. A Division Bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar, while hearing at least 35 petitions, observed: “The cross-LoC trade was essentially a barter trade where there was no exchange of currency from either side. This cross-LoC trade was between the people living across LoC i.e., trade between two parts of A Division Bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar ruled: “The cross-LoC trade was essentially a barter trade where there was no exchange of currency from either side. This trade was between people living across LoC i.e., trade between two parts of the State of J&K, one, the then ‘State of J&K’ and the other ‘PoK’.” the State of Jammu and Kashmir, one, the then ‘State of Jammu and Kashmir’ and the other ‘PoK.” The petitioners had challenged notices issued under Section 74(1) of the CGST Act, alleging wrongful availment of exemptions. The authorities had raised GST demands on traders who participated in the barter trade. The bench clarified the statutory position, ruling, “From reading of the intra-state supplies of goods and services, it is evident that where the location of supplier and the place of supplies of goods are in the same State or same Union Ter ritory, that shall be treated as intrastate supply .” Reiterating the territorial position, the HC added: “It is not disputed by learned counsel appearing on either side that the area of the State presently under de-facto control of Pakistan is part of territories of the State of Jammu & Kashmir. Therefore… the cross-LoC trade… was nothing but an intra-state trade.” The court also said that petitioners did not report these transactions despite the absence of any exemption notification. It said, “With a view to finding out as to whether the impugned notice… actually falls within the ambit of the Section, we have carefully gone through the impugned show cause notice…” THE Supreme Court has barred litigants from orally mentioning matters for urgent listing before the Chief Justice of India as items requiring special attention will come up for hearing automatically within two working days. The court made these chang- es while restructuring the system of oral mentioning, urgent listing and adjournment of cases effective December 1. The changes also include barring seni o r a dvo c at e s t o mention matters before any bench, while encouraging junior counsel to make oral mentionings. A circular said bereavement in the family or medical emergencies of advocates or parties were the only grounds for adjournments, apart from other genuine reasons accepted by the court. Four circulars issued by the SC registry on Saturday SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS Playmates in Longing The Transcendental Leader Software update of A320s delays flights across India Four AI Express flights cancelled; all updates expected by midnight UNCOMMANDED PITCH-DOWN EVENT EX P R ESS N E WS S E RV I C E @ New Delhi GLOBAL fears of massive travel chaos following a European Union Safety Agency advisory on Friday to fly about 6,400 Airbus A320s in service only after a flight control software update, were largely eased as airlines scrambled to implement it quickly While some flights were . delayed, only a few cancellations were reported. In India, where 338 A320 are operational, Air India, IndiGo and Air India Express fixed the problem in most of their fleet after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gave them a Sunday morning (5.29 am) deadline to do so. It, however, led to flight delays, while Air India Express cancelled four of its flights on S at u rd ay t o f a c i l i t at e compliance. Air India Express flights from Varanasi to Bengaluru, Bengaluru to Varanasi, Guwahati to Jaipur and Jaipur to Guwahati were cancelled while its flights were delayed across The problem was first noticed in a Jet Blue Airbus A320 last month after it experienced an “uncommanded and limited pitch-down event. The autopilot remained engaged throughout the event, with a brief and limited loss of altitude.” The rest of the flight was uneventful. Airbus said it was possibly due to a malfunction of the Elevator Aileron Computer some sectors. IndiGo A320 aircraft across the country suffered a delay of up to 30 minutes, said a source. Air India flights too suffered delays. The problem is expected to be fixed in all A320s before midnight. As of 5.30 pm, Indigo upgraded the software in 184 out of its 200 A320s; Air India did likewise for 69 on 113 aircraft; and Air India Express did so for 17 on 25 aircraft. The issue was detected after a preliminary technical probe by Airbus on an accident involving a JetBlue flight in the US on Oc- tober 30. Captain C S Randhawa, former Deputy Chief flight Inspector Operations, DGCA, told this newspaper, “A flight from Cancun in Mexico to Newark International Airport in the US suddenly lost altitude when flying and caused injuries to the passengers on board. This happened when the auto-pilot mode was on, which is meant to smoothly take care of operations. It was later detected that the Elevated Aileron Computer in the cockpit had malfunctioned due to solar radiation,” he said. 8,100 A320 FAMILY PLANES WORLDWIDE The air regulator DGCA’s move followed Airbus issuing an emergency alert to operators globally and the European Aviation Safety Authority coming out with a directive regarding the potential issue. There are more than 8,100 A320 family planes in service worldwide. PM TAKES STOCK OF SECURITY Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and others during a conference of DGPs and IGs in Raipur on Saturday | PTI Transport staff, farmers step up stir against govt H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh WITH 14 months left for the Assembly polls, the AAP government in Punjab appears to be grappling with public discontent across the state. Bus services in various parts of the state remained affected on Saturday as employees of the Punjab Roadways, Punjab State Bus Stand Management Company Ltd (PUNBUS) and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) continued their protest for a second day . Transport staff are against the opening of tenders related to the kilometre-based scheme, which they claim is “a backdoor attempt to bring in private buses and dismantle the state-run transport system, enabling private operators to run buses on government-notified routes”. Senior vice-president of the PUNBUS Contract Workers Union in Hoshiarpur, Sandeep Singh, said, “Until the kilome- tre-scheme tenders are cancelled and contractual workers are regularised, our strike will continue,” he said. “In the last four years, the government has not provided even a single new bus to Punjab Roadways. Over 500 old buses have gone off the road, and those still running need repairs. The department does not have funds even for tyres,” he claimed. Farmers’ body Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader Sarwan Singh Pandher came out in support of the protest by the contractual employees of the stateowned bus services. The PSEB Engineers’ Association has also announced a state-level protest on December 2, against the recent “sale of power sector properties.” MCD decision on use of cow dung for funeral may increase pollution: Experts A D I T I R AY C H O W D H U R Y @ New Delhi PEACE SERVING Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with Deputy CM D K Shivakumar during a breakfast meeting at the CM’s residence in Bengaluru on Saturday | PTI | P4 4 SC circulars specify norm for oral mention, urgent matters U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi A Reflection on Remembering ‘Storytelling is a Kind of Magic’ said the changes were to reduce unnecessary mentioning before benches, and ensure faster listing of matters. For cases requiring advance listing due to urgent interim orders, parties must submit the mentioning proforma and a letter explaining the urgency to the Mentioning Officer by 3 pm on the previous working day or 11.30 am on a Saturday . Exceptions are limited to anticipatory bail, death penalty, habeas corpus and urgent eviction or demolition issues. Regarding adjournments, the circular said letters seeking adjournment for fresh and after-notice matters may be circulated until 11 am on the previous working day . WITH MCD deciding to start using cow dung cakes at crematoriums, experts have pointed out that scientific literature conf i r m s t h a t b u r n i n g c ow dung cakes worsen pollution levels further. The cow dung cakes release more amounts of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), volatile organic compounds and black carbon than wood when burnt. “In homes where biomass burning occurs, airborne particle concentrations are far in excess of those found in homes where it is not used as a heating or cooking source, with 24 hour average PM10 concentrations ranging between 200 and 5,000 µg/m3 depending on the fuel type, stove and ventilation. These concentrations are far in excess of the level con- sidered safe for PM10 in outdoor air—150 µg/m3 24 h average,” says a study published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology . On Thursday, the Public Health Department of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) convened a meeting to discuss issues related to use of cow dung cakes at municipal cremation grounds as a step to reduce the rising levels of pollution in the city According to . a member present at the meeting, the MCD has decided to stop cremation in wooden pyres that adds as a contributing factor to the city’s toxic air. However, environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said, “In case of crematoriums, what works out the best in terms of emissions are the electric pyres. We need to move out of certain traditional practices to be able to take more informed choices.”