NEW DELHI, Dec 14: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would consider a plea for early listing of submissions challenging the Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 which had given special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
“We will examine and give a date,” a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha said when intervenor Radha Kumar, an academic and author, sought early listing of the petitions on the issue.
Earlier on April 25 and September 23, a bench headed by the then CJI N V Ramana, since retired, had agreed to list for hearing the pleas challenging the Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370.
The apex court will have to re-constitute a five-judge bench to hear the pleas as ex-CJI Ramana and Justice R Subhash Reddy, who were part of the five-judge bench which had heard the pleas, have retired.
Besides the two former judges, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, B R Gavai and Surya Kant were part of the bench which, on March 2, 2020, had declined to refer to a larger seven-judge bench the batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
Several petitions challenging the Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which split J-K into two Union Territories “Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh” were referred to a Constitution Bench headed by Justice Ramana in 2019 by the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi.
By abrogating Article 370, the Central government had revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
NGO, People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, and an intervenor had sought referring of the matter to a larger bench on grounds that two judgements of the apex court — Prem Nath Kaul versus Jammu and Kashmir in 1959 and Sampat Prakash versus Jammu and Kashmir in 1970 — which dealt with the issue of Article 370 conflicted each other and therefore, the current bench of five judges could not hear the issue.
Disagreeing with the petitioners, the bench had said it was of the opinion that “there is no conflict between the judgements”. (Agencies)
Article 370 : CJI DY Chandrachud Agrees To List Petitions Challenging Abrogation Of J&K Special Status
Mercury Plummets In J&K As Srinagar Records Season’s Coldest Night At Minus 3.4°C
SRINAGAR, Dec 14: Freezing weather conditions continued unabated as minimum temperature in Srinagar plunged to minus 3.4°C on Wednesday.
A meteorological department official said Srinagar saw a fall by 1.2°C against previous night’s temperature. While the mercury was around 2.4°C below normal during this time of the year, the official said, it equaled the temperature endured by people on December 5 and the lowest recorded so far this season in the city.
Qazigund recorded a low of minus 3.0°C against minus 2.2°C on the previous night. The temperature 1.9°C below normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.
He said that Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 5.3°C against minus 3.0°C on previous night and it was 1.5°C above normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Kokernag recorded a low of minus 0.3°C against minus 0.4°C on the previous night and it was 0.8°C above normal for the place, he said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 4.0°C against minus 5.5°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 0.2°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the official said
In Kupwara town, the mercury settled at minus 2.8°C against 1.7°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 1.1°C below normal for the north Kashmir place, he said.
Jammu recorded a low of 6.4°C against 8.0°C on the previous night. It was 2.8°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said. Banihal recorded a low of 3.6°C (above normal by 1.9°C), Batote 3.5°C (0.2°C below normal), Katra 8.1°C (0.3°C above normal) and Bhadarwah 1.0°C (0.6°C above normal).
Ladakh, Leh recorded minus 11.5°C and Kargil minus 11.3°C, the official said. The MeT department has forecast mainly dry weather till December 21. (AGENCIES)
Sitharaman’s comments on Hindi speaking skills of Telangana people criticised
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks on poor Hindi speaking skills of the people of Telangana has created a furore in the state with both Congress and BRS denouncing it.
The finance minister had made the comments while replying to a question by Congress MP A Revanth Reddy from Telangana on depreciation of rupee. She said: “Those who hail from Telangana their Hindi speaking skills are weak. My Hindi speaking skills are weak too but even them I am replying to poor Hindi with my weak Hindi speaking skills.”
Revanth Reddy retorted saying “I am a shudra, so I may not be able to speak pure Hindi. She is a Brahmin, so her language might be better. But that should not be a problem.” But this had earned Reddy a chiding from the Speaker of Lok Sabha.
But Sitharaman’s comments on the Hindi language skills of Telangana did not go down well among the people. Today Congress supporters protested in Hyderabad against the comments made by Sitharaman.
BRS MLC and ex MP of Nizamabad Kalvakuntla Kavitha took a jibe at her and said: “ It would be better if Nirmala Sitharaman responded on the issue of weak rupee instead of weak Hindi.”
“It is this supremacist attitude that will bring this ruling dispensation down,” said Konatham Dileep, who is also associated with the BRS. Scores of people took to social media to criticise her comments. BRS cadres who trolled her even posted clips of Bandi Sanjay, BJP from Karimnagar speaking in the Parliament and switching to Telugu after beginning his speech in Hindi taking a dig at his inability to speak in Hindi at length. It may be pointed out in South India Telangana is the only state where people speak Hindi. Hyderabadis speak Deccani, a dialect which is a mixture of Dehlavi, Marathi, Kannada and Telugu. Sitharaman who is married to a Telugu is not unaware of this uniqueness of theTelangana state.
India reports 152 fresh Covid-19 cases; active tally rises to 3,846
New Delhi, Dec 14: India saw a single day rise of 152 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases have increased to 3,846, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The total tally of COVID-19 cases stands at 4.46 crore (4,46,75,247).
With no fatalities being reported for the third consecutive day, the death toll stands at 5,30,658, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprises 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the health ministry website.
An increase of one case has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4.41 crore (4,41,40,743), while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry’s website, 219.98 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4, three crore on June 23 last year and four crore on January 25 this year. (Agencies)
Bill for assembly representation to KPs, ST/SC status to 5 J&K castes soon in parliament
JAMMU: A bill to grant representation to Kashmiri Pandits in the Jammu & Kashmir assembly and another one to bestow Scheduled Tribe status to Pahari, Padri, Koli and Gada Brahmin communities in the Union Territory, and Scheduled Caste status to Valmikis, are likely to be introduced in the current session of Parliament.
Ministries of law, home, tribal affairs and social justice and the J&K administration are in the midst of final deliberations for piloting the bills this session.
The representation for Pandits is likely to be given by amending the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The bill to give communities ST/SC status will be moved by the tribal affairs ministry, officials informed.
“States can now grant Other Backward Caste status, but for SC/ST, a legislation will have to be presented before Parliament,” a senior government official said.
The legislation comes after recommendations to the effect by the delimitation commission and the interim report of Justice GD Sharma Committee on Socially and Educationally Backward Classes. The bills, incidentally, also come after several government employees from the Pandit community fled the Kashmir valley following targeted killings by militants, despite government assurances of protection.
They also come ahead of J&K assembly elections, which could be held in the first half of 2023. J&K has been without an elected government since BJP withdrew support to coalition partner PDP in June 2018. The state was brought under President’s rule in December 2018 and split into two UTs in 2019.
EC officials said if the law and order situation holds up after winter assembly polls to the UT would be held. The Election Commission has wrapped up most processes necessary for holding polls, from revision of electoral rolls to rationalisation of polling stations as per the delimitation panel’s report.
The delimitation panel had recommended reservation for at least two members (including a woman) from the Kashmiri Pandits in the assembly and such members may be given voting rights as bestowed on nominated members of the Puducherry assembly, another UT.
Persecution of Kashmiri Pandits over three decades and the need to help them preserve their political rights were cited as reasons for the nominated seats. The Centre nominates 3 MLAs to the Puducherry assembly, while 30 are elected. The rights of nominated MLAs in Puducherry were upheld by the Madras HC.
The panel had also recommended that the Centre consider the nomination of people displaced from Pakistan occupied Kashmir to the assembly. However, the Centre is yet to decide on the recommendation. ST status to Pahari and other communities were made in the interim report of the Sharma commission submitted in October. Gujjars and Bakerwals, wary that it will eat into their quota, have opposed the idea.
However, home minister Amit Shah had said during his recent visit to the UT that their quota will not be diluted. After the bifurcation, the J&K Reorganisation Act has allocated 114 seats for the UT assembly. Delimitation has seen reservation of 9 assembly seats for STs, for the first time. Six of the reserved assembly seats will be in Jammu and three in Kashmir. SCs already have reservation in the J&K assembly.
Over 10.38 lakh Aadhaar cards issued in Srinagar
DC Srinagar Aijaz reviews progress on Aadhaar saturation and Aadhaar seeding under beneficiary-oriented schemes
SRINAGAR- With a view to achieve saturation under Aadhaar enrolment process, a meeting of all concerned Officers was held under the Chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner(DC), Srinagar, Mohammad Aijaz Asad here on Tuesday at Meeting Hall of DC Office Complex.
Besides Additional Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Syed Shabir Ahmad, Chief Planning Officer and Mohammad Yaseen Lone, the meeting was attended by all District Officers of concerned Departments.
At the outset, the DC took department wise review of the Aadhaar seeding with regard to Government sponsored beneficiary oriented schemes and stressed on 100% Aadhaar coverage in District Srinagar within a specific time frame. He asked the concerned to pace up the speed of the process and mobilize its men and machinery to achieve the left out target.
On the occasion, the DC asked for holding special Adhaar Enrolment camps in all Wards of the District over next two weeks to register the uncovered population.
The DC said that Aadhaar is a unique identity of every citizen by which they are able to avail any Government service in hassle free manner. He directed all the Officers to take up Aadhaar saturation in mission mode so that effective and efficient public services are provided to the people.
The DC enjoined upon the Officers to formulate a concrete plan for optimum utilisation of Aadhaar centres in order to achieve the 100% saturation. He also stressed on mass mobilization to designated Aadhaar centres through awareness campaigns by involving local representatives.
The DC was informed that a population of over 10.38 lakh have been covered under the ambit of Aadhaar enrolment in Srinagar so far and process of registration of remaining population is being carried out across the District.
The DC was also apprised that most of the Departments providing beneficiary oriented schemes have already achieved 100 percent Aadhaar seeding including FCS&CA, Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Cooperatives, KVIB, KVIC, Labour, Social welfare and RDD through different beneficiary oriented schemes like PM-Kissan, KCC, IDDS, IPDP, FD, Soil cards etc.
All residential and commercial properties to get unique digital door number in Jammu
Jammu, December 14:
All the residential and commercial properties falling in the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) limits would be geo-tagged and a unique digital door number (DDN) would be assigned to each property, an official of the Jammu Smart City Limited (JSCL) said on Tuesday.
The mapping of the residential and commercial properties would enable the citizens to avail maximum benefits of civic services as well as governance, the official said.
He said JSCL, in coordination with JMC, is expeditiously working on the project – Geographical Information System (GIS), which also includes mapping of all the natural and man-made assets such as streams, rivers, elevations, drainage networks, road networks and utility poles onto the digital ward map of Jammu.
“Such captured data would also equip the administration for conducting spatial planning for various projects pertaining to infrastructure development in the municipal wards of Jammu. The technology can further be leveraged to strengthen the existing grievance redressal system, the official said.
He said the project would not only provide the digital addresses of the property but also revamp the delivery and monitoring of all civic services being provided by the government.
“The project will play a vital role by reducing manual interventions which will further plug the leakages in the systems and thereby promote transparency,” the official said.
He said the QR code-based digital door number (smart address) would be allotted and subsequently, a DDN plate fixed outside each property.
“For this purpose, the survey team duly authenticated by JMC is capturing the data against a few property attributes such as owner details, property measurements like plot area and built-up area, electric and water connection details and other relevant information.
“The data thus captured would be linked to the DDNs which will bring in several benefits like ease of address navigation for the citizen on a digital map, garbage collection monitoring,” the official said.
“The GIS technology can be exploited up to such an extent wherein the dimensions (length and width) captured against the road and drainage network across the city would act as one of the deciding factors for critical vehicular movements such as fire brigades and ambulances,” the official said.
7 JKAS officers transferred
SRINAGAR: Seven Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) Officers has been transferred by the Jammu and Kashmir government by immediate effect.
According to a government order, Samir Ahmad Jan, JKAS, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Gulmarg, has been transferred and posted as General Manager, DIC, Kupwara, against an available vacancy.
Ms. Naeem Ul Nisa, JKAS, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Surankote, Poonch, holding additional charge of SubRegistrar, Poonch, has been transferred and posted as Assistant Commissioner Panchayat, Poonch. Syed Altaf Hussain Musvi, JKAS, Assistant Commissioner Panchayat, Bandipore, has been transferred and posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Gulmarg.
Rizwan Asgar, JKAS, Assistant Commissioner Panchayat, Shopian, has been transferred and posted as SubDivisional Magistrate, Surankote. “He shall also hold the charge of the post of Sub-Registrar, Surankote, in addition to his own duties, till further orders,” the order reads.
Bashir Ahmad Lone, JKAS, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sumbal, has been transferred and posted as General Manager, DIC, Kulgam, relieving Shurjeel Ali Naiku, JKAS, Assistant Commissioner Panchayat, Kulgam of the additional charge of the post.
Umesh Shan, JKAS, Assistant Commissioner Panchayat, Reasi, has been transferred and posted as Deputy Director, Tourism, Jammu, against an available vacancy.
Aamir Choudhary, JKAS, BDO, Nowgam, has been transferred and posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sumbal.
Sino-India border situation “generally stable”: China; silent on Yangtse clash
Beijing, Dec 13: China on Tuesday said the situation was “generally stable” along its border with India, days after the troops of the two countries clashed in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, resulting in minor injuries to some soldiers on both sides.
At a media briefing here, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin also said the two sides have maintained smooth communication on border-related issues through diplomatic and military channels.
Wang, however, declined to provide details of the December 9 clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers at the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector.
Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a statement in Parliament in New Delhi on the incident in the Tawang sector.
“The Indian Army bravely prevented the PLA from encroaching on our territory, and forced them to withdraw to their posts. Some soldiers from both sides were injured in the skirmish,” he said in his statement in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Asked about the incident during the media interaction, Wang said: “As far as we know, the current border situation between China and India is generally stable”.
“As for the specific questions you mentioned, I suggest you refer to the competent authorities,” Wang added.
The Chinese Defence Ministry has not reacted to the incident so far.
Wang also said Beijing hopes that the “Indian side will work with us in the same direction and smoothly deliver the important common understanding reached by leaders of both sides.
“And act strictly on the spirit of relevant bilateral agreements signed by both sides and jointly preserve peace and tranquility in the border areas”.
It is the first major clash between the Indian and Chinese armies since the fierce face-off in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. (Agencies)
SMVDU Forms Human Chain during Women Pakhwada
National Service Scheme, (NSS) and Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) SMVDU organised
a human chain formation event to make aware students about discrimination against
women at workplace. The event was organized during the “Discrimination against Women
Pakhwada”. The event started with the briefing on the topic by NSS Programme Coordinator
Dr. Rajiv Kumar. The participants formed a human chain in the shape of “NO” to give a
message to stop such discriminations against women and say NO to such instances in every
organization. NSS volunteers, Ayush Arya and Muneeb also shared their views on the
occasion. The event was successfully conducted by the NSS volunteers. Dr. Sharada M.
Potukuchi, Presiding Officer, Internal Complaint Committee appreciated the efforts of the
volunteers.