FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 295 | BHOPAL | WEDNESDAY | APRIL 9, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sachin swaps the bat for a binocular P.13 Can’t sit on bills: SC raps TN Guv IN A FIRST, SETS TIMELINE In a landmark verdict, the Supreme court fixed a timeline for Governor to act on bills passed by the state legislature as it pulled up Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi for reserving 10 bills for President's consideration, saying it was against the constitutional provisions. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan held, "Action of the Governor to reserve the 10 bills for President is illegal and arbitrary and thus the action is set HISTORIC: STALIN "We thank and welcome today's historic judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, reaffirming the legislative rights of State Legislatures and putting an end to the trend of Union government-nominated Governors stalling progressive legislative reforms in Oppositionruled states," Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said in a social media post. fp Briefs JAIPUR 4 get lifer over 2008 blasts A special court here on Tuesday sentenced four convicts to life imprisonment in a case related to the 2008 serial bomb blasts that rocked the Rajasthan capital and claimed 71 lives. The four, Sarwar Azmi, Shahbaz, Saifur Rehman and Mohammad Saif, were convicted under various sections of Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosive Substances Act by the court on April 4. Timelines prescribed for Governors when Bills are presented for assent under Article 200 of Constitution: n In case of withholding assent, one month. n In case of withholding assent contrary to advise of the State Cabinet, three months. n In case of reservation of aside." The court added, "The 10 bills shall be deemed to be clear from the date it was represented to the Governor." In the first of its kind directions, the top court Bills for consideration of the President against State Cabinet advice, three months. n In case of Bills presented for reconsideration by Governors, one month. fixed a timeline within which Governor has to act on bills passed by the state legislature. The apex court said there was no expressly specified time limit for the discharge of functions by Governor under Article 200 of the Constitution. 4Continued on | P8 It marks a victory for democracy. n Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala Chief Minister he top court has condemned the anti-people actions of the Governor and has sent a clear message against the deliberate delay in giving assent to Bills passed unanimously in the Assembly. T n K. Selvaperunthagai, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee prez his verdict applies not only to the Tamil Nadu Governor but to all Governors across India. T T n S. Wilson, DMK Rajya Sabha MP and Supreme Court advocate he Supreme Court judgement will strengthen the struggle against authoritarianism and for the protection of the rights of state governments<. n CPI(M) Politburo Meghalaya Principal Secretary Syed Md A Razi was allegedly found dead inside his hotel room in Uzbekistan during a private visit to the Central Asian nation, officials said on Tuesday. Razi, an IRTS officer on deputation to the state since 2021, was in Uzbekistan's Bukhara city since April 4, they said. He is suspected to have died of cardiac arrest. BAHARAMPUR (WB) Police vehicles torched A protest over the recently enacted Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Tuesday, as police vehicles were set ablaze and stones were allegedly hurled at security personnel in the Muslimmajority region. BHOPAL Beans spilled? Videos leaked by BJP leave TMC red-faced PTI KOLKATA/NEW DELHI Final decision to be taken in Cabinet meeting Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Ending their eight-year wait, the state government has decided to give promotions to its employees. A final decision to this effect could be taken in the next couple of Cabinet meetings.  Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Tuesday that around four lakh employees will benefit from the decision. Scores of employees have retired while waiting for promotions during their service period. “The problem has continued for Two arrested over blast at BJP leader’s Jalandhar home ISI, Bishnoi involved: Police UJJAIN A video of a verbal spat, and screenshots of heated exchanges between TMC MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad in the party's official WhatsApp group, shared by BJP's Amit Malviya, went viral on Tuesday, bringing to fore deep fissures within the Bengal's ruling party. BJP's IT cell head Malviya stoked the row by posting screenshots and videos of the exchanges on X, claiming the spat was evidence of the TMC's internal implosion. PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the screenshots and the videos. The controversy began on April 4 when a TMC delegation visited the Election Commission to submit a memorandum regarding duplicate voter identity cards, according to Malviya and sources within the Mamata Banerjee-led party. TMC MP Mahua Moitra reportedly confronted Kalyan Banerjee -- the party's chief whip in Lok Sabha -for allegedly excluding her from the list of signatories on the memorandum that the delegation was submitting to the EC. 4Continued on | P8 LAW DEPT APPROVES ources said that the government had asked the law department to check the promotion-related S proposal so that it does not face a legal hurdle later. The department has okayed the proposal. The recent verdict of the apex court upholding the state high court’s order allowing 27% quota has already paved the way for implementing OBC reservation. EMPLOYEES UPBEAT arious organisations of government employees have expressed their happiness over the government's decision on promotions. Class Three Employees Association’s General SecretaryUmashankar Tiwari welcomed the government decision. However, he lamented how many employees retired awaiting their promotions. V eight years and will end now,” the CM said. The promotion of employees has been discussed in PUNE INDORE NASHIK more than twelve meetings held at the CM level. 4Continued on | P8 after 12,000 yrs DIRE WOLVES HOWL AGAIN PTI MUMBAI E-paper Edit SC slams UP on misrule P.6 Cinema Sunny Deol’s Jaat message P.14 PPP model: 25 acre at `1 for setting up pvt medical colleges Dist hosps to remain under govt control & affiliated with medical colleges Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Govt employees to get much-awaited promotion; around 4L to benefit SHILLONG Principal secy found dead EDITIONS: ‘India’s domestic demand big magnet amid US trade tariffs’ LANDMARK RULING| Top Court clears 10 bills NEW DELHI iii QUALITY @ VALUE MONEY Sports PTI ESTD-1983 In order to give a boost to healthcare infrastructure in the state, the Cabinet has decided to give 25 acres of land at a token price of Re 1 to the investors willing to establish medical colleges on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Earlier, the investors had to arrange land on their own. To facilitate this, the government has amended the tender documents. Inebriated Cong leader runs SUV over pedestrians in Raj, 3 killed Manish Godha JAIPUR A high-speed SUV car created havoc on the streets of Jaipur on late Monday night. The driver was allegedly heavily drunk and drove the SUV for 7 km in a crowded area of the city. He crushed 9 people. 3, including a brother and sister died in the incident. The driver, identified as 62-year-old Usman Khan, is a factory owner and the Congress' Jaipur district vice president. He was removed from the post by the party on Tuesday morning. According to the police, this SUV first hit vehicles on the MI Road of the city and then entered the narrow streets, crushing vehicles and pedestrians. Mamta Kanwar and Avdhesh Parik were killed on the spot, while Virendra Singh, brother of Mamta died in the hospital on Tuesday morning, informed police. Six others are under treatment in the hospital in Jaipur. The police said that the accused was heavily drunk and has been arrested. The father of the deceased woman Mamta has filed an FIR against Usman Khan. The government has also brought certain amendments in its earlier decision regarding the transfer of district hospitals to medical colleges developed under the PPP model. Now, the district hospitals will remain under government control and will be affiliated with the medical colleges. Meanwhile, the government will also sign a MoU with Centre’s EdCIL (India) Limited to improve the quality of education in government schools. Now, Rs 40 per cow to shelter homes he government has decided to double the amount provided to cow shelter homes for the care of cows. Amount has been hiked from Rs 20 per cow to Rs 40. Besides, on PPP model, a comprehensive cow sanctuary will be developed to address the issue of stray animals. These sanctuaries will have the capacity to house a minimum of 5,000 and a maximum of 20,000 cows. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Animal Husbandry Development Scheme has been renamed as Dr Ambedkar Milk Production Scheme. Under the scheme, one person can keep 25 cows/ buffaloes- this will be considered as one unit. One person can keep up to eight units comprising 200 cattle. A grant of 25% will be given under the scheme, for members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the grant would be 33 %. Breed improvement initiatives will also be carried out under the scheme. T Anandpur Dham does farming on 4k-acre, runs hospital, school PM to visit Ashram on Friday Nitendra Sharma BHOPAL Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to visit a religious ashram in the state for the second time within 50 days. Modi visited Bageshwar Dham in Chhatarpur on February 23, and now, he is coming to Anandpur Dham in Ashok Nagar on Friday. The Anandpur Dham set up in 1930 has hogged the limelight for some public welfare work it is doing. This is the reason that the prime minister is visiting the place. Before Modi, head of the RSS, Mohan Bhagwat, visited Anandpur in 2020. According to sources, the RSS has played an important role in Modi’s visit to Anandpur Dham. Many people of Punjabi and Sindhi communities are followers of Anandpur Dham. Defamation case: Court releases Medha Patkar on probation PTI NEW DELHI Anandpur Trust has properties in Bhopal and other cities across the country. There are reports that the trust has bought most of the properties. In the Isagarh area of Ashok Nagar district, the Ashram owns 4,000 acres where people do farming. The trust also runs a hospital, a school, a printing press and a cowshed. In a reprieve to social activist Medha Patkar, facing a five-month imprisonment, a Delhi court on Tuesday released her on "probation of good conduct" in a defamation case filed by Delhi LG V K Saxena, when he headed an NGO in Gujarat. The court, however, imposed a precondition on 70year-old Patkar of depositing Rs 1 lakh as fine. Probation is a method of non-institutional treatment of offenders and a conditional suspension of sentence in which the offender, after conviction, is released on bond of good behaviour instead of being sent to prison. Hearing an appeal filed by Patkar against her conviction and sentence in the case filed in 2000, additional sessions judge Vishal Singh said, "Following the doctrine of proportionality of punishment, it is observed that punishment must be commensurate to gravity of offence." In the present case, the court said, the offence was not such that the sentence of imprisonment was warranted. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Entry only with Aadhaar cards he Ashram management has announced that there will be no entry in the Ashram without Aadhaar cards on April 11 because of the Prime Minister’s visit. Along with this, those who carry online passes will get entry the Ashram on that day. T 52 KG GOLD, `11 CRORE BELONG TO SAURABH SHARMA: ED CHARGE SHEET Agency submits charge sheet against 12 accused in PMLA case Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL In its charge sheet submitted to the special court on Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate has claimed that the 52 kg gold bars and Rs 11 crore found in a car belong to former RTO constable Saur- abh Sharma, officials said. The ED filed its roughly 3,000page charge sheet against the 12 accused in the money-laundering case, including Sharma, his mother, Uma Sharma, his wife, Diviya Sharma, his in-law, Accused can apply for bail today The lawyers of Saurabh Sharma, his associates Sharad Jaiswal and Chetan Gaur, who are in jail, can apply for bail in the court on Wednesday. The case is to be heard on April 11, and there can be a debate on the bail that day. Rohit, and his aides, Chetan Singh Gaur and Sharad Jaiswal. On Tuesday, only Sharma’s mother was present in the court, and she left after signing her order sheet.  4Continued on | P8 CHANDIGARH Two persons have been arrested in connection with a blast at BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia's residence in Jalandhar, said a senior police officer on Tuesday. An e-rickshaw used in the crime has also been recovered, said Special Director General of Police (law and order) Arpit Shukla while addressing the media here. He said Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had hatched a conspiracy to create communal tension in Punjab and police have foiled it by taking immediate action in the matter. Shukla said police cracked the case within 12 hours of the incident. "It was a major conspiracy of Pakistan's ISI. Zeeshan Akhtar, who is an associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and (Pakistani gangster) Shahzad Bhatti, they had hatched this conspiracy," said Shukla. 4Continued on | P8 WAQF ACT COMES INTO FORCE PM meets Dubai Crown Prince, boosts Indo-UAE ties PTI New Delhi Image: X/@colossal Online Report S cientists have revived dire wolf, a species that went extinct nearly 12,500 years ago, through genetic engineering. The two pups that have taken the scientific world by storm are named Romulus and Remus. They are just six months old, but they already measure nearly four feet and weigh over 36 kg. The company behind their resurrection, Texas-based Colossal Bio- sciences, said it created the dire wolf pups by using ancient DNA, cloning and gene editing, as per online media report. The dire wolf was made popular by HBO series 'Game of Thrones'. The scientists used the DNA of its closest living relative, the gray wolf. The dire wolf was a top predator that once roamed North America. They are larger in size than the gray wolves and have a slightly thicker fur and stronger jaw. The Supreme Court would likely on April 15 hear a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The Centre, however, on Tuesday filed a caveat in the apex court and sought a hearing before any order was passed in the matter. Caveat is filed by a party in the high courts and the apex court to ensure that no orders are passed without hearing it. A Government notification, in the meantime, said Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which was passed by Parliament last week, comes into force on Tuesday. 4Continued on | P8 Hasin(a) msg for supporters: Allah kept me alive... Online Report F PM Narendra Modi with Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum PTI NEW DELHI India and the UAE Tuesday agreed to boost defence ties, including possible codevelopment of military equipment, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Ham- dan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, focusing on cooperation in strategic domains. Following his meeting with Al Maktoum, Modi said the Dubai Crown Prince's "special" visit to India paved the way for a stronger bilateral collaboration. 4Continued on | P8 ormer Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina has said, "Allah kept me alive for a reason", and the "day will come" when those targeting Awami League members will be brought to justice. The Awami League president, who escaped to India after a nationwide movement ousted her from power, made the remarks when she was interacting with family members of her party leaders during a social media interaction. When a supporter asked how she is, Sheikh Hasina replied, "I am alive, son." Another supporter told her, "May Allah grant you the opportunity again." She replied, "He will. That's why Allah has kept me alive. I am coming."