Vol. 68 No. 146 | Tuesday, March 25, 2025 | 27 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (July to December 2024) Shreyas Iyer would look to propel Punjab Kings on debut for new team HAM-HANDED | Bombay HC slams Nagpur civic body for demolishing homes of accused in communal violence, unmindful of its directions SLEDGEHAMMER JUSTICE Online Report NAGPUR The Bombay High Court on Monday pulled up the Nagpur Municipal Corporation for its 'high-handed' approach in razing the houses of persons named as accused in the recent communal violence in the city. A division bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi heard the petitions filed by one Jehrunissa Shamim Khan, mother of prime accused Fahim Khan, who apprised the bench of the fact that on March 21, she had received a notice from the NMC for demolishing her 2-storey house located in Sanjay Bagh Colony in Yashodhara Nagar area in Nagpur. Briefs PIL AGAINST HONEYTRAP: A PIL has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking a court monitored probe by the CBI into the honey-trap scandal in Karnataka involving a senior minister and 48 others — including legislators, netas and judges. The petition was mentioned before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna who said that it will be listed on Tuesday. The incident caused an uproar leading to calls for probe. The petitioner claims if judges, too, are susceptible to blackmail, the courts may no longer serve as the bulwark against authoritarianism, corruption, or corporate greed. RAHUL CITIZENSHIP: The Allahabad High Court on Monday gave the Centre four weeks' time to decide on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship and submit a status report. The Lucknow bench of the High Court was hearing a petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and set April 21 as the next date of hearing, MPs’ SALARIES UP 24%: The Centre on Monday notified a 24 per cent hike in the salaries, daily allowances and pensions of MPs and former Parliamentarians, with effect from April 1, 2023. Sitting MPs will now receive a monthly salary of Rs 1.24 lakh, as against Rs 1 lakh they had received earlier. The daily allowances have been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500. The pension for former MPs has been hiked from Rs 25,000 per month to Rs 31,000 per month. COMIC WANTS THE LAST LAUGH Megha Kuchik MUMBAI Comedian Kunal Kamra has seemingly dug his heels in distant Tamil Nadu and told the police he does not regret his 'gaddar' remark, which was seen in some political quarters as an obnoxious allusion to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Rather, he said in a post on X that an entertainment venue is merely a platform and has no power or control over what he says or does; so attacking a venue is "senseless". he was referring to the hotel where the event was staged. "An entertainment venue is merely a platform -- a space for all sorts of shows. Habitat (or any other venue) is not responsible for my comedy, nor does it have any power or control over what I say or do. Neither does any political party. Attacking a venue for a comedian's words is as senseless as overturning a lorry carrying tomatoes, because you didn't like the butter chicken you were served," Kamra said. Referring to what he called "political leaders threatening to teach" him a lesson, Kamra said the right to freedom of speech and expression is "not only to be used to fawn over the powerful and rich even though today's media would have us believe otherwise". 4Contd on | nation Varma is shunted back to Allahabad Satara residents held in Thailand for beach rape FPJ News Service Staff Reporter Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar MUMBAI NEW DELHI than Shankar. The Collegium resolution notwithstanding, the fire at the outhouse of Justice Varma’s residence has left many questions unanswered, reports Bar and Bench. A security guard posted at the residence of Justice Varma is stated to have revealed that some debris and half burnt articles were removed on the morning of March 15.  Two Indian men have been arrested by the Thailand police for allegedly raping a 24-yr-old German woman on Haad Rin Beach, the Bangkok Post has reported. According to information received, the 2 accused have been identified as Vijay Dadasaheb Ghorpade, 47, and Rahul Balasaheb Bhoite, 40, residents of Satara, Maharashtra.  Reportedly, the incident occurred in the boulders area of the Haad Rin beach at 4.50am on March 14. The woman filed a police complaint saying she was not certain about the identity of the accused because she was in an inebriated state at the time of the alleged incident. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha witnessed many adjournments on Monday as Bharatiya Janata Party MPs held protests in both the Houses over the alleged remarks by Congress leader and Karnataka deputy chief minister D.K. Shivkumar that the Constitution would be changed to provide 4 per cent reservation to Muslims in government contracts. The Congress, however, debunked the claims saying it was weaving a “fake” narrative . As soon as proceedings in Parliament began, BJP MPs were on their feet claiming that Shivakumar had during a television channel event defended his government’s deci- BJP comes down on Muslim reservation NEW DELHI The bench noted that despite Khan challenging the said notice and mentioning the same before it on Monday morning (March 24), the authorities pulled down the house amid heavy security and drone surveillance in the entire area, on Monday afternoon. 4Contd on | nation Allahabad HC Bar Indefinite Strike T he Allahabad High Court Bar Association, aggrieved by the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation to transfer Justice Yashwant Varma from Delhi HC to Allahabad HC, has announced an indefinite strike starting Tuesday. The Association has also requested the Central Government to intervene in this decision and have it immediately upturned. 4Contd on | nation The Supreme Court Collegium has decided to repatriate Delhi High Court Justice  Yashwant Verma back to his parent Allahabad High Court. The move came after a fire at the judge's house allegedly led to the recovery of a huge pile of cash, triggering a huge controversy. The decision was taken by the Collegium after holding two meetings - one on March 20 and another on March 24. Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court (HC) registry withdrew judicial work assigned to Justice Varma and in its new roster assigned his work to Justice Subramanium Prasad and Justice Harish Vaidyana- NTF lens on student deaths A Popping cylinders FPJ News Service MUMBAI A truck stacked with LPG gas cylinders caught fire near Nature Park in Dharavi on Monday night, triggering widespread panic. According to eyewitness accounts, more than 10 cylinders exploded, causing loud blasts that only heightened the sense of insecurity in the area. The Mumbai Fire Brigade was working to control the blaze when reports last trickled in. No injuries have been reported. The fire broke out at 9:50 PM on Monday; it was caused by a leak in one of the cylinders, which quickly spread to others. Since, the truck was parked in a densely populated residential area, it led to considerable panic. Finally, it took six fire engines and seven jumbo tankers to bring a semblance of control. Supreme Court bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan has constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to address the mental health concerns of students and prevent incidents of suicides and said the duty of colleges was not just to ensure academic excellence of the students but also ensure their mental well-being. Former apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat would be the chairperson of NTF, which will also have Dr Alok Sarin, consultant psychiatrist of Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi, as one of its members. 4Contd on | nation Hubby has no right over wife’s privacy Biswajeet Banerjee PRAYAGRAJ The Allahabad High Court has refused to quash criminal proceedings against a man accused of uploading an intimate video of himself and his wife on Facebook, asserting that marriage does not strip a woman of her right to privacy and autonomy. Justice Vinod Diwakar, rejecting the husband's petition to quash the charge sheet, observed that by sharing such content, he had violated the sanctity of marriage. “A husband is expected to honour the trust, faith, and confidence reposed in him by his wife. Uploading an intimate video on social media is a grave breach of this trust,” the court stated. The bench further emphasized that marital bonds do not override an individual’s right to dignity and privacy. “A wife is not merely an extension of her husband but an individual with her own rights, desires, and autonomy. Respecting her privacy is both a legal and moral obligation,” the court remarked. 4Contd on | nation offgrid App-based entry for all at Mantralaya Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI After introducing face recognition entry system at Mantralaya, the state government has decided to launch an app-based entry system for visitors, including common visitors and government officials attached to field offices. Common visitors will face action if they visit any other floor or the department other than that mentioned while registering themselves, for entry. The face recognition sys- OIL SLICK: In a move that could stir up the global energy market, Trump has said countries that buy gas and oil from Venezuela would pay 25% tariffs on any trade with the US. The move could hit India and China. GAMES NOT WELCOME: US Second Lady Usha Vance will visit Greenland, a plan that has been slammed in view of Trump’s expansionist zeal tem was launched in the first week of this month. All government employees and officers working at Mantralaya as well as public representatives have completed the registration process. The total number of such registrations has gone up to 10,500, including contract workers, say government sources.  Now, the state has issued an order (GR), making it compulsory for common visitors as well as field officers and employees to register themselves on the DigiPravesh online application for entry into Mantralaya and the New Administrative Building, located opposite the state headquarters. If government officers and employees have been invited for a meeting, valid proof of the meeting has to be uploaded on DigiPravesh a day before the meeting is scheduled. 4Contd on | nation Dy CM Shivakumar targeted in LS for saying Constitution would be changed to provide government quota to Muslims sion to provide 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts and had spoken about changing the Constitution for achieving this goal. In the Rajya Sabha, Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju explained what the party MPs were protesting about. Without naming Shivakumar, he said, “the NDA has taken very serious note of the statement of a senior Congress 4Contd on | nation