Thursday, September 25, 2025 | Vol. 68 No. 303 | 28 Pages Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL 4 MAA CHANDRAGHANTA COLOUR: YELLOW INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation GAMES NATION Downpour dampens Kolkata Puja spirits as kin of deceased to get `2L relief Cinema Amrita Rao and her marriage proposals in blood Shaheen Afridi plays down SKY’s comments, says focus on winning Asia Cup Edit Countdown to civic polls amid polarisation begins in Maha LADAKH DEMAND | Violence rocks the UT’s capital as statehood protests spiral; fast called off 4 dead, over 70 hurt in Leh protests M Saleem Pandit OMAR SLAMS BJP SRINAGAR At least four people were killed and more than 70 others injured on Wednesday when protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution turned violent in Leh. Confirming the deaths, Leh Apex Body (LAB) Chairman Chering Dorjey told reporters that the town witnessed intense firing and clashes. “Scores sustained injuries and four persons have died so far,” Dorjey said, adding that the situation remained tense late into the evening. The protests mark a turning point for Ladakh, a region that had long campaigned for separation from Jammu & Kashmir and celebrated its Union Territory (UT) status after August 2019. However, nearly four years under direct central rule have generated fresh demands for statehood, greater auton- omy, and constitutional safeguards to protect the region’s fragile ecology, cultural identity, and tribal population. The agitation was spearheaded by the youth wing of the LAB and escalated sharply after two hunger-strike participants were hospitalised. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a 15-day fast since September 10, ended his hunger strike on Tuesday but called on the youth to remain calm. 4Contd on | nation Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah on Wednesday accused the BJP of deliberately delaying the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory, calling it “unfair” to the people. He told reporters, “People participated in the election process. It is BJP’s bad luck that they couldn’t win, but the public cannot be punished for that. It was never stated that statehood would be restored only if results favoured the BJP.” Terming the delay the “biggest challenge” facing J&K, he reminded that the Centre had told the Supreme Court of a three-step process — delimitation, elections, and statehood. “Delimitation and elections have taken place. Now there is no reason to hold back statehood,” he said, adding that the region’s tourism hopes remain unfulfilled. Abdullah also criticised arrests made over the ‘I Love Muhammad’ slogan, calling the move “bizarre” and urging courts to intervene. “How can writing these words be illegal? People from other faiths write about their gods — that is not banned,” he said. ‘Fake conversion? ‘Social media regulation must’ Marriage invalid’ FPJ News Service KARNATAKA Biswajeet Banerjee LUCKNOW The Allahabad HC has ruled that marriages conducted on the basis of fake religious conversion certificates are legally invalid. The judgment comes at a time when cases are increasing of couples presenting forged documents from organizations such as Arya Samaj to legitimize interfaith marriages without actual conversion. The court made it clear that a marriage between people of different religions cannot be recognized under personal laws unless a genuine religious conversion has taken place. Judges stressed that certificates obtained through fraudulent means do not make such unions lawful and that such acts amount to violations of the state’s laws on conversions. The bench directed the state home secretary to carry out a detailed investigation into institutions involved in issuing such certificates. Authorities have been asked to review cases where organizations are accused of providing forged documents and functioning outside legal standards. The matter will be heard again on August 29. 4Contd on | nation Virtual justice near LoC M Saleem Pandit SRINAGAR In a landmark move, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on Monday held Division Bench proceedings from the remote border tehsil of Gurez via virtual mode, marking a decisive step towards making justice accessible regardless of geography. Justice Sanjeev Kumar, the senior-most judge of the High Court and Executive Chairman of the J&K Legal Services Authority, presided over the proceedings from Munsiff Court Gurez, where he was on an official visit to review NALSA-2024’s child-friendly scheme. Justice Sanjay Parihar joined from the Jammu wing of the High Court, while lawyers appeared from both Jammu and Srinagar through video conferencing. A total of 50 cases—45 from the Jammu wing and 5 from the Kashmir wing—were heard digitally, exhausting the entire case list for the day. This initiative was widely lauded by local stakeholders, who hailed it as a breakthrough for a region often cut off for months by snow. 4Contd on | nation The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea filed by X Corp challenging the Centre’s ‘Sahyog’ portal and the government’s power to issue content blocking orders. Justice M Nagaprassana, while dictating the order, said social media cannot be left in a state of “anarchic freedom” and its regulation is a must. The court rejected X Corp’s argument that Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act does not give Central government officers the power to issue information blocking orders, and that such orders can only be issued LEGAL VIEW ■ Supreme Court bats for portal to trace missing kids ■ Think of disabled when issuing notes, RBI, Centre told ■ No copyright violation in Rahman’s PS2 ■ HC sets aside `150 crore SoBo bungalow fraud ■ Scribes threatened, HC takes note SEE CITY, NATION SC concerned: How many yrs without trial? FPJ News Service NEW DELHI under Section 69A of the Act along with the IT Rules. “Social media, as a modern amphitheater of ideas, cannot be left in a state of anarchich (sic) freedom. Regulation of information in this domain is neither novel nor unique. United States of America regulates it. Every sovereign nation regulates it. And India’s resolve likewise, cannot by any stretch of Constitutional imagination, be branded as unlawful,” the judge said. As reported by Live Law 4Contd on | nation ‘Why did you not hang him till now?’ been carried out till now, despite the seriousness of the offence. The SC on Wednesday Justice Mehta asked, pulled up the Centre “Question is why did while hearing a petiyou not hang him till tion filed by Balwant now? Who is to be Singh Rajoana, a Bab- Convicted blamed for that? At bar Khalsa terrorist for killing least we would not seeking commutation Beant Singh have stayed his execuof his death sentence tion.” The SC said the for the assassination of Punjab matter, listed next on October ex-CM Beant Singh. A bench of 15, will not be adjourned at the Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep request of the respondent. Mehta and NV Anjaria asked 4Contd on | nation why his execution had not FPJ News Service NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed concern over the prolonged pendency of trial proceedings against lawyer and activist Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Gadhchiroli arson case. A bench of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi asked whether a person can be kept in custody as an undertrial for many years. “But why is the trial not going on? Because you keep a person in custody without trial for how many years?” Justice Maheshwari asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, who appeared for the State of Maharashtra Live Law reported that ASG Raju said the delay was due to Gadling himself, as he had filed a discharge application but was refusing to argue it unless he was permitted to be physically present in court. Raju added that he could not be physically produced due to security concerns. The bench questioned why the application could not be dismissed if the accused was not cooperating and why the trial should be held up for this reason. “So let it be decided. If they are not arguing, let it be decided. Mention that they are refusing to argue,” Justice Maheshwari remarked. 4Contd on | nation Ship-building gets big Cabinet boost Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI In a major push to accelerate India’s economic growth and boost critical sectors, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a slew of decisions with far-reaching implications for shipbuilding, maritime infrastructure, healthcare, scientific research, and Bihar’s connectivity. The measures, collectively worth over `90,000 crore, are expected to create jobs, improve infrastructure, and strengthen India’s self-reliance in multiple sectors. The highlight of the Cabinet’s decisions was the approval of a `69,725-crore package aimed at revitalizing the shipbuilding and maritime sector The highlight of the Cabinet’s decisions was the approval of a `69,725-crore package aimed at revitalizing the ship-building and maritime sector through a comprehensive four-pillar strategy. This includes extending the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme (SBFAS) till March 31, 2036 at a cost of `24,736 crore, and introducing a Shipbreaking Credit Note worth `4,001 crore to incentivise domestic shipbuilding. 4Contd on | nation Raj HC asks CBDT to extend TAR filing date Agencies JODHPUR The Rajasthan HC's Jodhpur bench, in an interim order, directed the CBDT to extend the last date for filing Tax Audit Reports (TAR) to October 31. Hearing a PIL filed by the Jodhpur Tax Bar Association regarding the flaws in the Income Tax portal on Wednesday, a division bench of Justice PS Bhati and Justice Bipin Gupta directed the CBDT to issue a notification intimating the extension and listed the matter for next hearing on October 27. The counsel for the petitioner association submitted to the court that large firms, trusts, companies, and traders are required to complete their annual audits by September 30, and now only a few days are left. Every year, around 40 lakh audit reports are filed across the country before the deadline. As of September 23, only about 4 lakh audit reports have been submitted nationwide, which means that filing 36 lakh audit reports in less than a week is impossible. 4Contd on | nation Rubio ducks question on Russia Goyal sees key US role in energy security India mostly Agencies WASHINGTON/NEW YORK US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said that while India remains a “very close partner” of the United States, President Donald Trump has imposed additional tariffs on New Delhi for its purchase of Russian oil as part of Washington’s actions against Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war. He evaded a direct answer to a question on how long more Trump would give Russia to rein in force against Ukraine. In an interview with Good Morning America, Rubio was responding to a question that Trump has “repeatedly threatened” to act against Putin but backed off those threats, and how much more time the US administration would give the Russian leader as he intensified attacks on Ukraine. “Well, I think he has taken action. So, for example, we’ve imposed additional tariffs on India and they’re a very close partner of ours - and we had meetings with them again yesterday, and it has to do with their purchase of Russian oil,” Rubio said. When it was pointed out that Trump had not taken any direct action against Russia, the Secretary of State referred to a bill by Senator Lindsey Graham, “which was about tariffs on India and China for the purchase of oil and gas from Russia.” 4Contd on | nation Yoshita Singh NEW YORK India expects to increase its trade with the US in energy products in the years to come, and the country's energy security goals will have a significant element of US involvement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said. "Clearly, the world recognizes that (energy security) is one area where we all have to work together. India is a big player in the energy field... we are big im- We expect to increase our trade with the US on energy products in the years to come. And being close friends, natural partners, our energy security goals will have a very high element of US involvement… Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry porters of energy from across the world, including from the US," Goyal said on Tuesday, PTI reports. Goyal delivered the keynote address at an event hosted by India’s Consulate General in New York, US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and Austere turn as fields flooded, coffers empty Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI Even as Maharashtra reels under relentless rains and floods that have wiped out standing crops and caused extensive soil erosion, the state government is quietly switching to austerity mode. Populist schemes and big-ticket projects are facing a slowdown as the treasury struggles to balance relief expenditure with routine commitments. Maharashtra tightens purse strings as floods drain funds and populist schemes slow down The first casualty is the Mahayuti government’s Anandacha Sheedha scheme, which distributed one kilogram each of suji, chana dal, sugar and one litre of edible oil during Ganesh Utsav in 2023. Over 1.55 crore kits were handed out last year, with the state footing the bill for the price difference and distribution cost. This year, the scheme has not been revived, leaving many households disappointed. Next on the chopping block is the much-hyped Shiv Bhojan Thali, a Rs 10 meal for the poor. 4Contd on | nation India's leading decarbonisation solutions provider, ReNew. 4Contd on | nation RAINS LEAVE 12 DEAD ver a dozen lives have been lost and at least 10 others injured as relentless rainfall and flooding battered several parts of Maharashtra over the past few days, triggering rescue, relief, and compensation measures by the state government. Eight deaths were reported in the past 48 hours alone, with hundreds left stranded in floodwaters. Marathwada bore the brunt of the unseasonal downpour, with Dharashiv, Beed, Ahilyanagar, and Solapur among the worst-hit districts. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued 320 people in the last 24 hours, including a newborn and its mother. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured swift compensation to affected families. O with us, says Zelenskyy PTI UNITED NATIONS Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that India is “mostly with us” and voiced hope that New Delhi would reconsider its stance on Russian energy imports with U.S. President Donald Trump’s intervention. Zelenskyy made the remarks during an interview with Fox News, when asked about India and China’s role in purchasing Russian energy - a move that Washington has often criticized as helping to fund Moscow’s war against Ukraine. “I think India mostly with us. Yes, we have these questions with energy, but I think that President Trump can manage it with Europeans, make more close and strong relations with India,” he said. “And I think, we have to do everything not to withdraw Indians and they will change their attitude to the Russian energy sector.” 4Contd on | nation 4See also | world