FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 165 | INDORE | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 21, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Magnificent Mahit Sandhu P.12 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY RBI flags fragility of institutions, stresses need for robust regulation PRESIDENTIAL ASSENT | SC says neither guvs, nor prez can be bound by judicially fixed timelines to act on bills passed by state legislatures SCALES TILT IN FAVOUR OF PRESIDENT, GOVERNORS FP News Service NEW DELHI The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that neither Governors nor the President can be bound by judicially fixed timelines to act on bills passed by state legislatures. The Court also declared that the concept of “deemed assent”, where a bill automatically becomes law if a Governor or the President fails to act within a prescribed period, is unconstitutional and violates the doctrine of separation of powers. Delivering its opinion on a Presidential Reference made by President Droupadi Murmu under Article 143, a Constitu- tion Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar clarified that courts cannot take over executive functions by imposing deadlines or declaring automatic assent. The opinion came in response to 14 questions raised by the President after a two-judge bench in the Tamil Nadu Governor case had fixed specific timelines for action under Articles 200 and 201, Live Law and Bar & Bench report. The Court held that the Constitution intentionally pro- vides “elasticity” in how the Governor and the President handle bills, and that judicially imposed timelines contradict this design. It emphasised that deemed assent would amount to the judiciary “virtually taking over” the constitutional functions of the Governor or President, an outcome that the Constitution does not permit. The Court refused to answer three of the fourteen questions in the reference, saying they were irrelevant to the functional nature of the advisory opinion, especially those concerning Article 145(3), the nature of Article 142, and the jurisdiction under Article 131. The Bench made it clear that while the actions of Governors and the President on bills cannot be challenged before courts, judicial review is possible only after a bill becomes law. The Court added that it is “unfathomable” for courts to scrutinise a bill before it has been enacted and warned that allowing such inter vention would destroy the separation of Scan & Watch powers. 4Continued on | P8 EXCLUSION: The SC carved out a narrow SILENCE: The court refused to answer ground for judicial intervention. If a Governor does not act for a prolonged, unexplained period, leading to constitutional inaction, courts may issue a limited direction to exercise his/her options ‘within a reasonable time’ without touching the merits of the bill. three of the fourteen questions in the reference, saying they were irrelevant to the functional nature of the advisory opinion, especially those concerning Article 145(3), the nature of Article 142, and the jurisdiction under Article 131. fp Briefs NEW DELHI ED chargesheets Robert Vadra The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against businessman Robert Vadra, son-in-law of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in connection with a money laundering case linked to UK-based defence dealer Sanjay Bhandari. The prosecution complaint has been submitted before Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. NEW DELHI Anil’s Rs 1.4K cr assets attached The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached fresh assets worth more than Rs 1,452 crore as part of a money laundering investigation against businessman Anil Ambani's Reliance Group company RCOM. Responding to the development, the Reliance Group said the assets belong to Reliance Communications (RCOM) which has not been a part of the group since 2019. BHOPAL RGPV V-C resigns Rajiv Gandhi Prodyogiki Vishwavidyalaya (RGPV) Vice Chancellor Professor Rajeev Tripathi resigned on Thursday following allegations by Akhil Bharati Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) that the university provided incorrect facts in its SSR report, which contributed to an A++ grade by NAAC. ABVP, led by state secretary Ketan Chaturvedi, gheraoed the Vice Chancellor over allegedly inaccurate information. When the university failed to give a satisfactory response, ABVP demanded his resignation. Modi told me war was off: Trump again claims role in Indo-Pak war Says he threatened both nations with a 350% tariff to stop conflict Agencies NEW YORK/WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump has reiterated that he prevented a potential nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan by threatening both countries with 350% tariffs. Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump claimed he told both nations they could “go at it,” but trade with the US would end. According to US clears $93-mn arms deal with India The US has approved the sale of Excalibur guided artillery projectiles, Javelin anti-tank missile system and related equipment worth nearly USD 93 million to India, saying it will improve the country's capability to strengthen its defence and deter regional threats Trump, both sides pleaded with him not to impose the Bus driver, 2 staffers held for molesting nat’l shooter tariffs, and he warned they should “come back” only after agreeing to peace. Trump said that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later thanked him for “saving millions of lives,” and he claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi also called him, saying, “We’re not going to go to war.” Trump repeated that he then suggested the US and India “make a deal.” Trump stated that he used tariffs to settle multiple conflicts globally, saying five of eight were resolved because of economic leverage. He said he was “all set” to apply the tariff and had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accordingly. 4Continued on | P8 HC issues notices over liquor shops near highways Our Staff Reporter Our Staff Reporter INDORE BHOPAL Rajendra Nagar police arrested a bus driver, his helper cum driver and a cleaner for allegedly molesting a national-level pistol shooter from Pune in a moving bus in an inebriated state. The incident took place late on Sunday night, and the FIR was registered three days later after the player returned to Indore from Pune. Rajendra Nagar police station in-charge Neeraj Birthare said that the accused have been identified as driver Arvind Verma of Sehore district, second driver/helper Parmendra Gautam of Bhopal and cleaner Deepak Malviya of Bhopal. The bus belonging to Verma Travels has also been seized. The woman shooter told police that she had been in Bhopal to participate in the National level competition and was returning to Pune on 16 November. She boarded Verma Travels bus (MP 09 AG 0336) from Bhopal around 6.30 pm after booking a ladies’ seat online. See Pg2 High Court, principal bench of Jabalpur, on Thursday, issued notices to Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, MP Excise Commissioner and Excise Secretary, directing them to file replies within two weeks. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf conducted initial hearings recently. HC expressed strong displeasure over liquor shops operating within 500 metres of national and state highways, allegedly violating Supreme Court guidelines. 4Continued on | P8 Arvind Parmendra Deepak 4Continued on | P8 offgrid Mukhi delivers 5 cubs First India-born cheetah to give birth Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Cheetah Mukhi has given birth to five cubs in Kuno National Park. She is first India born female cheetah, aged 33 months, to give birth to offsprings. She is nursing her new born cubs with great care, Kuno officials said, adding, it was a major success of Cheetah Project. Union minister for forest and climate change Bhupender Yadav took to his X handle and said, “In a delightful breakthrough for Who is Mukhi? Jwala has given birth to Mukhi. After a few days of birth, Jwala deserted her. Kuno officials made many attempts to reunite Mukhi with Jwala but failed. She was later hand-reared inside the enclosure India’s cheetah reintroduction initiative, Mukhi, the first India born cheetah has given birth to five cubs. This is the first time in recent history that an India born chee- tah has reproduced, making it a landmark achievement for Cheetah Project”. He added that successful reintroduction by an India born cheetah was a strong indicator of the species adaptation, health and longterm prospects in Indian habitats. The mother and cubs are doing fine. This significant development reinforces optimism about establishing a self-sustaining and genetically diverse cheetah population in India, further advancing India’s conservation goals. 4Continued on | P8 UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI Edit Framework for tribunals P.6 Cinema Television’s magic P.14 SC raises retirement age of MP Judicial Officers to 61 Our Staff Reporter BIHAR’S TITEN IN SADDLE AGAIN Dheeraj Kumar PATNA BHOPAL The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday passed an interim order raising the retirement age of judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh from 60 to 61 years for the subordinate judiciary. The retirement age of High Court judges is already 62. A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai, Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice K Vinod Chandran granted the relief while referring to a similar precedent set by the Telangana High Court. The apex court questioned the rationale behind denying this benefit to judicial officers when the state government appeared willing to extend it. The bench drew a sharp parallel between judicial officers and other state government employees 4Continued on | P8 JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar on Thursday was sworn in as Bihar chief minister for a record tenth time, alongside 26 ministers including 14 from BJP and eight from JD (U), at the historic Gandhi Maidan in the state capital. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office and secrecy to them. A galaxy of top-notch NDA leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda graced the occasion. Chief ministers from Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, Delhi, Rekha Gupta, Haryana, Nayab Singh Saini, Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio participated in the swearing-in ceremony. PM Narendra Modi and newly sworn-in Bihar CM Nitish Kumar during the swearing-in ceremony in Patna BJP legislators, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, will continue to hold the posts of deputy chief ministers in the newly-elected NDA government. Two from LJP (RV) and one each from HAM and RLM were also sworn in as ministers. The maximum strength of the state cabinet is 36. The new cabinet has three women ministers. 4Continued on | P8 PM Shri Heli Tourism Services launched Our Staff Reporter PLAN YOUR TRIP BHOPAL l Bhopal–Madai–Pachmarhi (nature and heritage circuit) l Jabalpur–Bandhavgarh–Kanha (wildlife and eco-tourism circuit) l Indore–Ujjain–Omkareshwar (spiritual circuit) Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board formally launched the PM Shri Heli Tourism Service on Thursday. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had announced the initiative on MP Foundation Day. On Thursday, the service was launched for three circuits — Bhopal–Madai–Pachmarhi (nature and heritage circuit), In- dore–Ujjain–Omkareshwar (spiritual circuit), and Jabalpur– Bandhavgarh–Kanha (wildlife and eco-tourism circuit). MoS (Independent Charge) for tourism, culture, religious trusts and endowments Dharmendra Bhav Singh Lodhi inaugurated the service in Bhopal. Member of Parliament Darshan Singh Chaudhary, Rajya Sabha MPs Maya Singh Narolia, Preeti Shukla, Yogendra Rajput and Sandesh Purohit travelled from Bhopal to Madhai. Pipariya MLA Thakur Das Nagvanshi and Sohagpur MLA Vijay Pal Singh also joined him on the flight from Madhai to Pachmarhi. Water resources minister Tulsiram Silawat flagged off the first group of pilgrims for Ujjain from Indore. The first phase of the service includes helicopter pilgrimages from Indore to Baba Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain and from Ujjain to Omkareshwar. See pg 3 & 4 4Continued on | P8