Vol. 67 No. 179 | SATURDAY | APRIL 27, 2024 | 34 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in MEMBER: AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2023 EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper REVIEWS THIS WEEK Check out our verdict on films and OTT releases EDIT KHARGE’S LETTER NEEDS ATTENTION DEAR VOTERS, TRUST EVMs SC REJECTS ALL PETITIONS FOR 100% VERIFICATION OF EVM VOTES, INSTEAD GIVES DIRECTIONS OUR BUREAU / NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Friday rejected all petitions seeking 100% verification of EVM votes with the VVPAT slips and also negated the plea for going back to paper ballots. The court also underscored the need to nurture a culture of trust. "While balanced perspective is important but blindly doubting a system can breed scepticism and thus meaningful criticism is needed. Be it judiciary legislature etc. democ, racy is all about maintaining harmony and trust among all the pillars. By nurturing a culture of trust and collaboration, we can strengthen the voice of our democracy the court said. ," The court had, in a previous hearing observed that it cannot change the thought process of those doubting the advantages of polling machines. However, the Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Di- pankar Datta gave the following directions to EC for making EVMs foolproof: l On completion of symbol loading, the loading units shall be sealed, and the sealed container shall be kept in strong rooms for 45 days; l The burnt memory semi- Vijay Diwas for Democracy: PM DHEERAJ KUMAR / PATNA Within hours of the Supreme Court delivering its judgement on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday demanded that leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc apologise to the people for allegedly creating doubts in their minds about the authenticity of these machines and demanding a return to the ballot paper system. Modi addressed two election rallies in Bihar: at Court slams Kejriwal for not quitting ONLINE REPORT / NEW DELHI The Delhi High Court on Friday came down heavily on Arvind Kejriwal for not resigning as the chief minister. The court said that Kejriwal had put personal interest over national interest by not resigning after his arrest in the money laundering case. The court also hit out at the AAP-led Delhi government, saying that it was “only interested in power”. These observations were made during a hearing on the alleged failure of Delhi Municipal Corporation’s failure to provide textbooks to over 2 lakh students. The Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora pulled up the Delhi government over non-availability of textbooks and uniforms and observed that the Delhi government is only interested in appropriation of power. "Your client is just interested in power. I don’t know how much power do you want? The problem is because you are trying to appropriate power which is why you are not getting power," court said. the When the Delhi government counsel certain decisions were held up since the Chief Minister is in custody, ACJ Manmohan replied that the same cannot be an excuse. The court remarked that the Delhi government is least bothered about students not going to school or having textbooks. "All that you are interested in is power. This is arrogance of power at its highest," the court added. CONTD. ON NATION Forbesganj in Araria district and in Munger. Attacking the Congress and its ally RJD in Araria, the prime minister contended, “INDI leaders have committed a sin by sowing seeds of doubts about EVMs. The Supreme Court has given a tight slap to the opposition, clearly stating that the era of ballot papers will not return. It is ‘Vjay Diwas’ for democracy .” “Earlier, during the RJDCongress dispensation in the state, there were instances of booth capturing and loot of controller in 5% of the EVMs shall be verified by engineers of the manufacturing companies post announcement of the result on a written request to be made within seven days of the declaration of results. CONTD. ON NATION “The Supreme Court has given a tight slap to the opposition… It should apologise to the people” ballot papers, thereby denying the poor their voting rights. Now, when the poor and honest voters of the country have got EVMs, the opposition leaders have started creating doubts," he remarked. Modi charged that the RJD, the Congress and INDI alliance leaders did not care for democracy and constitution. “For decades, poor people were prevented from reaching polling booths. Dreams of those intending to loot ballot boxes have been shattered." CONTD. ON NATION MKTS SNAP 5-DAY RALLY; SENSEX FALLS 609 PTS On a weekly basis, the Sensex rose 641.83 points and NSE Nifty climbed 272.95 points 0 0 35 c. 28 c. Sunrise : 06:13 am Sunset : 07:00 pm Nation’s achievements being eroded: Judge ONLINE REPORT / NEW DELHI Over the years, certain vested interest groups have been trying to undermine the achievements of the nation, remarked Justice Dipankar Datta while concurring with a decision to stand by the reliability of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), reports Bar and Bench. Justice Datta further observed that there seemed to be a concerted effort to discredit, diminish, and weaken the progress of India on every possible frontier. Any such effort has to be nipped in the bud, he said. "No Constitutional court, far less this Court, would allow such attempt to succeed as long as it (the court) has a say in the matter. I have serious doubt as regards the bona fides of the petitioning association when it seeks a reversion to the old order," Justice Datta said. He added that any suggestion to revert to a paper ballotbased system appeared inexplicable. It is only improve- ments in EVMs or even a better system that people would look forward to in the ensuing years, he said. Justice Datta further said that he agreed with the Election Commission’s submission that the suggestion itself indicated that the petitioner was lacking bona fides (good intentions). "I have no hesitation to accept the submission of senior counsel for the ECI that reverting to the 'paper ballot sys- tem' of the bygone era, as suggested, reveals the real intention of the petitioning association to discredit the system of voting through the EVMs and thereby derail the electoral process that is underway by , creating unnecessary doubts in the minds of the electorate," Justice Datta added. Justice Datta rejected submissions that there was a public trust deficit when it came to the present voting system (EVMs). CONTD. ON NATION A lifetime award for championing corporate governance, transparency and excellence was presented to M Damodaran, former SEBI Chairman, at India’s Best Annual Report Awards (2023) organised by the Free Press Journal. (L-R) Abhishek Karnani, President, Free Press Journal, Sanjeeb Chaudhari, Chairman, IDFC First Bank, Dilip Piramal, Chairman, VIP Industries, M Damodaran, Former SEBI Chairman, Ashok Karnani, Director, Free Press Journal, Utpal Sheth, CEO, RARE Enterprises. Princeton expels Indian origin student PTI / NEW YORK An Indian-origin female student studying at the Princeton University is among two students who have been arrested and barred from the campus for staging proPalestine protests on the campus. Achinthya Sivalingan, born in Coimbatore and raised in Columbus, has been barred from the campus and faces disciplinary action, said a university spokesperson. CONTD. ON NATION Too hot to vote: Low turnout lowers Mahayuti spirits FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI The relatively low percentage of voting has the ruling Mahayuti worried. This is because the alliance was expecting a higher turnout, given the extensive voter mobilisation drive by its members and the slew of public rallies addressed by national leaders. BJP activists said the searing heat was pre- venting voters from stepping out of their homes. A voter turnout of 53.51 per cent was recorded till 5pm in eight constituencies of Maharashtra in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday, officials said. This was the lowest among all states which went to polls on Friday. In the first phase of polling held on April 19, there was a turnout of 63.70 per cent for five seats – Nagpur, Ramtek, Bhandara-Gondia, Gadchiroli-Chimur and Chandrapur. On Friday, there was voting in Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Wardha and Yavatmal-Washim seats in Vidarbha (eastern Maharashtra) and Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani constituencies in central Marathwada. CONTD. ON NATION