FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 260 | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | MARCH 4, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports ‘Calm Down,’ seniors whisper, spinner soars P.15 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY White-collar job market sees 4% growth in Feb UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Delhi’s sky-high expectations P.6 Cinema And The Oscar Goes To... P.14 CHEETAH POPULATION RISES, NOT THE LOCAL ECONOMY Rajan Raikwar BHOPAL Two years after its launch, the Cheetah Project of Kuno National Park has been successful. The cheetah population is rising, and 12 big cats—five adults and seven cubs—have been set free in the wild. However, for all the chest-beating by the forest officials, the much-anticipated economic boom is yet to be seen. When the project was introduced, it was touted to boost the local economy with several hotels, restaurants, and lodges springing up around Kuno, even providing employment to CHEETAH PROJECT local villagers.  It was also supposed to have created employment opportunities for local guides and drivers. Yet, nothing of the sort has happened. A senior forest officer of Kuno said that only one hotel has opened nearby. Tourist inflow has also remained abysmal, with a mere 3-4 tourists visiting daily.  Speaking to the Free Press, Cheetah Mitra Kuldeep Adivasi confirmed that only one big hotel has come up near Moraban and no such job op- Disabilities no bar for judicial jobs: SC Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The Supreme Court, on Monday, ruled that no candidate can be denied consideration for recruitment in judicial services solely due to physical disabilities. The court said that such candidates should be given due consideration during the eligibility assessment, in line with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The ruling came after the court struck down a provision in the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services Rules that barred visually impaired and low-vision candidates from judicial services. In 2021, an amendment to the Madhya Pradesh Services Examination (Re- FIRST SF TODAY INDIA VS AUSTRALIA Dubai (DICS) 2.30 pm (IST) (See Sports Page) fp Briefs MUMBAI HC halts ACB action on Buch The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra ACB not to act until March 4 on an order directing it to lodge an FIR against former Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five other officials for alleged stock market fraud and regulatory violations. NEW DELHI IRCTC, IRFC now Navratna The government has approved the upgradation of IRCTC and IRFC to Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprises on Monday, an official statement said, adding that with this all seven listed railway PSUs have achieved the same status. cruitment and Conditions of Services) Rules had excluded visually impaired persons from judicial services. The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognizance of this amendment. The court stated that persons with disabilities must not face discrimination in judicial service recruitment, and that the State must provide affirmative action to create an inclusive framework. “Any indirect discrimination resulting in the exclusion of persons with disabilities, whether through cut-offs or procedural barriers, must be intervened to uphold substantive equality,” the court ruled. 4Continued on | P8 portunities have come up as were anticipated. PTI The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a plea over issue of blocking of social media accounts or content without an opportunity to be heard to the creator or originator. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih sought Centre's response on the petition for quashing Rule 16 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009. The bench issued notice on the plea. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for petitioner Software Freedom Law Center, said no notice was given to the "originator" of the information and a notice was only sent to platforms like X. "The challenge is not that the government does not have One person was killed and others injured when a car rammed into a crowd Monday in western Germany, police said. A suspect is in custody. Police in the German city of Mannheim asked the public to stay away from the downtown area and keep inside their homes. Other details were not immediately available. PTI NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Monday allowed podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia to air his "The Ranveer Show" subject to maintaining "morality and decency" and an undertaking that it was suitable for all ages. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh took note of Allahbadia's submission that the podcast was his only source of livelihood and around 280 people employed by him were dependent on the show. The bench also extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Allahbadia till further orders, while asking him to join investigation in Guwahati. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and states like Maharashtra, Assam and Odisha, said the comments made on the contentious YouTube show "India's Got Latent" was not only vulgar but perverse and urged the court not to modify UP woman on death row in UAE executed Agencies NEW DELHI the power to take down information, but while taking down the information, notice should be given to the person who has put that information in the public domain," she said. The plea, filed through advocate Paras Nath Singh, challenged the validity of certain provisions of the 2009 Rules. By making optional the issuance of blocking request notice to the originator of the content, Rule 8 vested "unguided discretion" in the authorities whether or not to issue a notice to the originator, it said. The bench initially said an aggrieved person could approach the court on the issue and observed if the person was identifiable, notice would be given and if the person who hosted the information was unidentifiable, the intermediary would be served. In a heartbreaking turn of events, the Additional Solicitor General (ASG), appearing for the Centre, informed the court that Shahzadi Khan, the woman from Uttar Pradesh, had been executed on February 15. T h e ASG also stated that the authorities are extending all possible assistance to her family and her cremation is scheduled for March 5. The father's plea for MEA intervention for his daughter on UAE death row ended in tragedy, and as a result, the court has disposed of the plea. Representing the Ministry of External Affairs, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and Advocate Ashish Dikshit informed the Delhi HC that the Embassy of India in UAE received an official communication on February 28, 2025, from the UAE government. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 offgrid Cong leader eats humble pie after fat-shaming Rohit Party makes Shama recall her remarks BCCI secy slams Shama Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Congress national spokesperson Shama Mohamed created a stir on Monday by fat shaming India cricket captain Rohit Sharma and by also terming him the “most unimpressive captain India has ever had” and a “mediocre player” in a post on “X”. While it is not known what prompted the post, especially since it came at a time when India posted its third consecutive win in the ongoing senior officer of the Gwalior-Chambal belt said that tourists might start visiting if the government came up with an airstrip around Kuno. Currently, the Kuno gate is too farfrom Sheopur. In what could boost their business, hoteliers are also demanding that a new gate be set up in Sheopur. A ‘FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS NOT SERVED ON PLATTER’ MANNHEIM One dead in car attack ‘Airstrip might bring in tourists’ INDIA'S GOT LATENT ROW | Supreme Court allows Ranveer Allahbadia to air 'The Ranveer Show' with riders SC to examine plea over blocking of social media content NEW DELHI He claimed that land around Kuno was selling like hot cakes when the project came up. As per his knowledge, just a bigha of land was selling for over Rs 1 crore. “It seems that an economic change will take time to reach Kuno,” he said. Gwalior Chambal Commissioner Manoj Khatri said the future appears bright as the state government is taking measures to increase tourist influx in Kuno. Meanwhile, Gwalior-Chambal Commissioner Manoj Khatri sounded upbeat and said that the future appears bright as the state government is taking measures to increase tourist influx in Kuno. Champions Trophy and secured a semi-final berth, the Congress spokesperson was forced by her party to withdraw the post in the wake of severe criticism from the Opposition parties and the general public alike. In her now-deleted post, Mohamed had written: “@ImRo45 is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most un- BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia slammed Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed for questioning Rohit Sharma's captaincy credentials and fitness levels, saying it was very unfortunate for a responsible person to pass such a trivial comment in the middle of the team's Champions Trophy campaign impressive Captain India has ever had!” 4Continued on | P8 Being oversmart: SC raps Samay During the hearing, the SC took a dig at comedian Samay Raina's recent comments at his shows in Canada. Justice Surya Kant said, "These youngsters are being oversmart...they think we are an outdated generation probably." Without taking names, he went on to say, "One of them has gone to Canada and spoken there. They don't know the jurisdiction which this Court enjoys and what probably can be done. We don't want to because they are young, we understand. Behave, or else we know how to deal with you." the condition of not airing any show. "Let him remain silent for sometime," he said. The bench told senior advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, who was representing Al- lahbadia, that fundamental rights were not (served) on a platter and came with certain restrictions. 4Continued on | P8 Have kids quickly: Stalin to newlyweds PTI NAGAPATTINAM Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday favoured young people having children immediately following marriage and said a higher population appeared to be the criterion to get more MPs. Addressing a wedding, Stalin, also the DMK president, said that years ago, newly weds were advised to not have children immediately following marriage. However, the same thing must not be advised now and also there was no need for that. It is because a situation has now arisen, according to which only a higher population would ensure more MPs as the delimitation exercise would be on the basis of population, Stalin said. Tamil Nadu paid attention to population control and succeeded and that was the reason for the state's plight today, he added. "I will not tell you to not have children hastily, have children immediately; but give them beautiful Tamil names," he said, directly appealing to the bride and bridegroom. 4Continued on | P8