THURSDAY 11 JULY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR TRUMP-PROOFING NATO DAHAL’S DOWNFALL IS ON THE HORIZON P7 SENSEX 79,924.77426.87 MANIPUR CM HIGHLIGHTS MODI'S ROLE IN RESOLVING STATE CRISIS P6 NIFTY 24,324.45108.75 P10 ` vs $ 83.49 CHALLENGES FOR GAMBHIR P12 SILVER 94,500600 GOLD 73,200 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 82.550.40 Partly cloudy sky. Light rain/thundershower likely to occur in some areas. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 34 °C and 28 °C respectively. ‘Dialogue, diplomacy Muslim woman can seek maintenance from husband path to Ukraine peace’ under Sec 125 CrPC, says SC RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY ASHOK TUTEJA WEATHER India, Austria ready to contribute to any effort for peace in Ukraine, says PM Max. 88 % Min. 58 % NEW DELHI, 10 JULY Max: 34.9 °C (+2.1) SUN RISES 04:59 hrs MOON RISES 08:42 hrs Min: 28.8°C (+1.9) SUN SETS 18:25 hrs MOON SETS 21:36 hrs rime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said both India and Austria favour dialogue and diplomacy for the earliest restoration of peace and stability in Ukraine and are ready to provide every possible assistance in this endeavour. “I have already said in the past that this is not the time for war. Problems can't be resolved on the battlefield. Wherever it is, the killings of innocent people are not acceptable,” he said at a joint press interaction with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer after wideranging talks between the two leaders in Vienna. Mr Modi, who arrived in Vienna last night on a twoday visit to Austria, said he had discussed with Chancellor Nehammer in detail the conflict in Ukraine as well as the situation in West Asia, apart from other global developments and bilateral issues. He said there were discussions also on the challenges like climate change and terrorism. On climate, he said India has invited Austria to join initiatives like the TEMPERATURE Full Moon on 21 July THUMBNAILS Elderly voters show their ink-marked fingers as they leave after casting their vote for the Maniktala Assembly by-elections, in (PAGE 3) Kolkata on Wednesday. SNS Centre calls news item on NCERT textbooks misleading, issues clarification: The government on Wednesday refuted a media report that aimed to create confusion around the NCERT textbooks, stressing that all Grade 6 textbooks will be made available by NCERT within July.The news report claimed that Class 6 NCERT textbooks would take another two months to reach students and it was not communicated properly by the CBSE whether only classes 3 and 4 would receive revised textbooks or classes 9 and 11 would also be included. Double-decker bus collides with tanker, 18 dead in UP STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE P Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses for a selfie with Austrian Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer during his visit to the Federal Chancellery in Vienna on Wednesday.  ANI International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the Global Biofuels Alliance. “We are both opposed to terrorism and we agree that the menace in any form is not acceptable. It can't be justified in any manner,'' Mr Modi added. The PM said the two countries also emphasised the need for reforms in the United Nations and other international institutions to make them more contemporary and effective. Mr Modi said he was happy that during the beginning of his third term in office, he got an opportunity to visit Austria. ''This trip of mine is historic and special. After PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 10 JULY The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a Muslim woman is entitled to maintenance against her husband under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure whichprovides that a first-class magistrate can order a person to pay monthly allowance for the maintenance of his wife or such child, father or mother facing neglect or refusal of their maintenance. Holding that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 will not prevail over the secular law, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih dismissed a plea by a Muslim man against the direction to pay interim maintenance to his divorced wife under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Both Justice Nagarathna and Justice Masih delivered separate but concurring judgments. “We are dismissing the criminal appeal with the conclusion that Section 125 CrPC would be applicable to all women and not just married women,” Justice Nagarathna said, pronouncing the order. Clarifying that if during the pendency of a petition The SC held that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 will not prevail over the CrPC. It also said that the remedy under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 is in addition to the remedy under Section 125, CrPC. under Section 125 of the CrPC, a Muslim woman is subjected to divorce through ‘triple talaq’ then she can take recourse to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019. The court said that the remedy under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019, is in addition to the remedy under Section 125 CrPC. “When divorce is void and illegal, such a Muslim woman can also seek remedy under Section 125 of the CrPC,” Justice Nagaratna stated. The 2019 Act criminalised the practice of ‘triple talaq’ which was declared as void by the Supreme Court in 2017. Section 5 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 specifies that a woman, who has been subjected to ‘triple talaq’, will be entitled to claim subsistence allowance from her husband. The court also held that Muslim women who got married under the Special Marriage Act 1954, are also entitled to invoke Section 125 CrPC. The top court ruling came while addressing the question whether a Muslim woman is entitled to maintenance from her estranged husband under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The issue arose in the wake of a petition by one Mohd. Abdul Samad challenging the Telangana High Court order directing him to pay maintenance to his estranged wife under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. EAM Jaishankar to host ‘Moscow committed to SC holds maintainable West Bengal BIMSTEC counterparts for govt’s suit against CBI probing cases sending back Indians retreat in Delhi on 11-12 July working for Russian Army’ been set up. The West BenPARMOD KUMAR STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 10 JULY NEW DELHI, 10 JULY UNNAO, 10 JULY In a road accident on Lucknow-Agra Expressway, at least 18 people were killed and 19 others injured when a private double-decker sleeper bus collided with a milk tanker in Unnao district early on Wednesday. According to police, the bus was going from Sheohar in Bihar to Delhi on the LucknowAgra Expressway when the accident took place. The bus collided with the milk tanker on the airstrip within Behta Mujawar police station limits when the bus driver tried to overtake from the left side at around 5:30 am. As per the report, 18 bus passengers, including two women and a 10-year old child, died in the accident. As many as 19 passengers were seriously injured. 41 years, an Indian PM has visited Austria. We discussed new possibilities to strengthen our ties further. We have decided to give these ties a strategic direction in sectors like infrastructure development, renewable energy, hydrogen, water and waste management, and artificial intelligence.We will work towards linking each other's capabilities," he said. An agreement has already been reached on mobility and migration partnership. It will help in legal migration and movement of skilled workforce. The exchange between cultural and educational institutions will also be pro- moted, he said. The Austrian Chancellor noted that before arriving in his country, PM Modi paid a visit to Moscow. “Therefore, it was particularly important for me to hear about the Prime Minister's personal assessment regarding the intentions of Russia in respect of the peace process. Our shared objective is to achieve a comprehensive, just and permanent peace in line with the UN Charter. My Cabinet has been in constant contact with the EU,” he said. He said that for him it was an important signal that India, as a founding member of the BRICS, participated in the Swiss Peace Summit on Ukraine. “Today, we have been talking about an even stronger commitment and about the possibilities of reviving the peace process. PM Modi and myself discussed the unique position of India in the so-called Global South. India is an important, influential and credit-worthy country. India is the biggest democracy in the world. Therefore, India's role, especially for Austria, is more than important when it comes to the peace process and future peace summits,” he added. (More on Page 5) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will host his counterparts for the 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat in New Delhi on 11-12 July. The retreat will present an opportunity to the foreign ministers of the BIMSTEC countries to discuss, in an informal setting, avenues to broaden and deepen cooperation across various sectors including in the fields of security, connectivity, trade and investment, people-topeople contacts etc, in the Bay of Bengal region and littoral, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Bhutan Foreign Minister D N Dhungyel and Myanmar's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister U Than Swe arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday to attend the Retreat. The first edi- tion of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat was held in Bangkok on 17 July 2023. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), brings together seven countries of South and South East Asia for multifaceted cooperation. The seven countries are India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar. The annual BIMSTEC Summit is scheduled to take place in September in Thailand, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to attend. The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the West Bengal government’s suit against the Central government challenging the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing cases in the state even after the 16 November 2018 withdrawal of general consent by the state government is maintainable. Rejecting the preliminary objections of the Central government on the maintainability of the West Bengal government’s original suit, a bench of Justice B R Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta said that the state government's suit against the CBI probing cases despite the withdrawal of consent shall proceed in accordance with law on its own merits. The court said that the hearing of the suit will take place on 13 August for fram- ing of issues to be adjudicated. The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Central government, said that the observation in the judgment would not impact the hearing later. The court said that it will be open to both sides to advance their argument on all the issues arising in the matter. The court observed that West Bengal's suit raised a legal issue as to whether after the general consent for the CBI to investigate cases is revoked by a state, the agency could still register and investigate cases in violation of Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act under which the Central Bureau of Investigation has gal government in its suit has challenged the registration of cases by the CBI without its consent. It has referred to the provisions of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946, stating that the CBI is mandated under the statute to take the State government’s consent before registering cases. The state government had contended that such a situation where CBI is undertaking investigation into the cases in the state without its statutorily mandated prior consent, would be in derogation of the federal nature of Centre-State relationship under the Indian Constitution. While questioning the maintainability of the suit, the Central government on the other hand had contended that the Bengal government in its suit has made the Central government respondent and not the CBI. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 10 JULY Russia on Wednesday said it has established a mechanism of interaction with India for sending back Indian nationals currently serving in the Russian Army. Addressing the media here a day after the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit in Moscow, Russian Charge D’Affaires Roman Babushkin (photo) said his country is committed to sending back to India the Indian nationals who were misled into the Russian Army to participate in the ongoing Ukraine conflict. “We are on the same page with India on this problem. The Russian Army does not need them...there may be 50, 60 or 100 Indians and they don't really change the situation in the battleground in any way. It's our common problem,” he said. Mr Babushkin said these Indians were cheated by agents who are involved in criminal activities and sent to Russia illegally. ''We are committed to finding a solution to this problem as early as possible,” he added. The issue was also raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The Russian leader assured Mr Modi that the Indian nationals in the Russian Army would be discharged. He noted that Modi’s visit to Moscow was “watched by the whole world,” describing the summit between the two leaders as a significant event between “two independent global powers.” Remains of three Army instructors buried under avalanche in Ladakh last year retrieved BMW crash: Shah admits he was at the wheel, sent to police custody till 16 July STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE AGENCIES JAMMU, 10 JULY Mountaineers of the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) have retrieved the bodies of three Army instructors who were buried under an avalanche 10 months ago during an expedition to Mount Kun in Ladakh. The expedition team was hit by an avalanche on 8 October 2023 when four instructors fell into a crevasse. The mortal remains of only one instructor, Lance Naik Stanzin Targais, could be retrieved at that time and the bodies of Havildar Rohit, Havildar Thakur Bahadur Ale, and Naik Gautam Rajbanshi remained trapped deep within a crevasse, buried under layers of snow and ice. Mountaineers of HAWS after determined efforts have now retrieved the bodies of the three and the mortal remains have been transported to their respective families with full military honours, said a defence spokesman on Wednesday. In July 2023, a 38-member mountaineering expedition from HAWS set out to conquer Mount Kun in Ladakh. The expedition commenced on 1 October 2023 and the team hoped to attain the summit by 13 October. The treacherous terrain and unpredictable weather in this glaciated region posed immense challenges. While fixing ropes on a snow wall, the team was struck by a sudden avalanche on 8 October at a height of over 18,300 ft, between Camp 2 and Camp 3 on the Fariabad Glacier. Four members were caught in the deadly slide, falling into the crevasse and getting buried under a large volume of snow. Despite frantic efforts, the rest High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) mountaineers recover the mortal remains of their fallen comrades.  ANI of the team could only recover the body of Lance Naik Stanzin Targais. The bodies of Havildars Rohit, and Thakur Bahadur Ale, and Naik Gautam Rajbanshi remained trapped. Refusing to leave their brothers behind, HAWS launched a meticulously planned rescue mission, codenamed Operation RTG (after the missing soldiers ~ Rohit, Thakur, and Gautam), on 18 June 2024. While a road head camp was established about 40 kms short of Khumbathang, a Base Camp was set up approximately 13 km from the road head at a height of about 14,790 ft, where Major General Bruce Fernandez, Commandant, HAWS, stationed himself to oversee the rescue efforts. Brigadier SS Shekhawat, the Deputy Commandant of HAWS, personally led the search operation. The rescue team, consisting of 88 expert mountaineers, was equipped with satellite phones, special tents, and advanced tools, and supported by dedicated helicopters stationed 20 km away. The first breakthrough came when the body of Havildar Rohit Kumar (Dogra Scouts) was found under some 30 ft of snow and ice in the crevasse on 4 July. The team went 10 ft deeper in the crevasse, where the remains of Havildar Thakur Bahadur Ale (Gorkha Rifles) were recovered on 7 July. The search continued for the body of Naik Gautam Rajbanshi (Assam Regiment) and the mission aim was finally accomplished on 8 July, as the mortal remains of all three trapped soldiers were recovered. CMYK MUMBAI, 10 JULY Mumbai BMW crash prime accused Mihir R. Shah, the son of Shiv Sena leader Rajesh Shah, on Wednesday confessed that he was driving the car when it hit a twowheeler, killing fisherwoman Kaveri P. Nakhwa on 7 July. Mihir (24) who was absconding for nearly 60 hours after the accident before he was tracked down and arrested, was produced by the Worli police before a Sewri court and after a brief hearing, he was sent to police custody for a week till the next Tuesday. Earlier, his father Rajesh Shah, who was abruptly removed from his Shiv Sena post on Wednesday morning, was arrested and sent to 15 days judicial custody on Monday, but then released on Police inspect the BMW vehicle of Mihir Shah at Worli Police Station, in Mumbai, on Wednesday.  ANI bail. Family driver Rajrishi Bidawat has been sent to police custody till Thursday (11 July), in the sensational case that created a political storm with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi slamming the MahaYuti government. Mihir was arrested from Virar on Tuesday. He was brought to Sewri court in Mumbai on Wednesday. Following the tragic incident, the deceased woman's husband, Pradeep Nakhwa, had questioned the delay in the arrest of the accused and alleged that he dragged his wife from Ceejay House to Sea Link Road. “The delay is due to politics. The accused would not be arrested until the Vidhan Sabha session ends," Mr Nakhwa had claimed.