FRIDAY 02 AUGUST 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘WILL IMPLEMENT TOP COURT ORDER IN JOB NOTIFICATIONS’ P7 P5 SENSEX 81,867.55129.21 WEATHER Rain/thundershower very likely to occur. Maximum, Minimum Temperature likely to be around 31°C and 26°C respectively. RAINFALL: 037.8 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 97% TEMPERATURE Max: 28.3°C (-4.2) SUN RISES 05:08 hrs MOON RISES 01:48 hrs NIFTY 25,010.9059.75 ` vs $ 83.73 Min: 26.9°C (+0.3) SUN SETS 18:18 hrs MOON SETS 16:03 hrs New Moon on 04 August THUMBNAILS Water Logging at Jhilmil Colony underpass, in New Delhi on Thursday. SNS Fisherman killed in collision with Sri Lankan naval vessel: A Rameswaram fisherman was killed in a collision involving a fishing trawler and a Sri Lankan naval patrol vessel at sea on Wednesday night in an incident that has stoked anger in Tamil Nadu. Another fisherman is said to be missing in the incident while two are in the hands of the Sri Lankan authorities. The Ministry of External Affairs, said that the Sri Lankan Acting High Commissioner was summoned and a strong protest was lodged over the incident. (Page 4) P12 SILVER 75,800 GOLD 71,975.00 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 79.930.22 States can sub-classify Rain havoc in Uttarakhand, SCs/STs, rules top court Himachal Pradesh: 18 dead Constitution Bench rules 6:1 that SCs are not a homogeneous group Min. 91% ROHIT SHARMA BACK IN BUSINESS MORE TO CELEBRATE THAN JUST CRICKET P4 ‘UNPRECEDENTED REFORMS IN DEFENCE MINISTRY’ PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 1 AUGUST n an important judgment unsettling the perceived homogeneity of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the purpose of reservation, a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday by a majority of 6:1 ruled that Scheduled Castes are not a homogeneous group and the subclassification amongst them is permissible for extending the benefits of affirmative action to the most deprived sections amongst them. Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, speaking for himself and Justice Manoj Misra, said that the 2004 judgment of a five-judge Constitution Bench holding that the sub-classification amongst the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was impermissible was not correct law and overruled it. In 2004, in the case of E.V.Chinnaiah vs.State of Andhra Pradesh, a fivejudge Constitution Bench of Justices Santosh Hagde, The State can subclassify, inter alia, based on inadequate representation of certain castes. However, the State must establish that the inadequacy of representation of a caste/group is because of its backwardness. I THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA S N Variava, B P Singh, H K Sema and Justice S B Sinha had held that the sub-classification amongst Scheduled Castes was impermissible. Finding no legal infirmity with the sub-classification amongst the Scheduled Castes, Chief Justice Chandrachud said: “The objective of any form of affirmative action including sub-classification is to provide substantive equality of opportunity for the backward classes. The State can sub-classify, inter alia, based on inadequate representation of certain castes. However, the State must estab- lish that the inadequacy of representation of a caste/group is because of its backwardness.” The court added: “The State must collect data on the inadequacy of representation (of the most deprived amongst the Scheduled Castes) in the “services of the State” because it is used as an indicator of backwardness.” Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma delivered separate judgments while concurring with the majority judgment pronounced by Chief Justice Chandrachud. The majority view also said that any sub-classification of Scheduled Castes for the purpose of extending the benefits of reservation could not be without empirical data backing any sub-classification. While applying the principles of equality amongst unequal, the top court said that 100 per cent benefits of reservation cannot go to any particular sub-group. Justice Gavai, in his separate but concurring judgment, also spoke about the ‘creamy layer’ amongst the Scheduled Castes but said that the criterion for the identification of the creamy layer amongst the scheduled castes will be different from that for Other Backward Castes (OBCs). Justice Bela M. Trivedi in her dissenting judgment, said that the threejudge bench in the instant case when referring the matter to a larger bench questioning the correctness of the 2004 five-judge bench judgment did not frame questions for reference as to why the 2004 judgment was incorrect in law. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE DEHRADUN, SHIMLA, 1 AUGUST At least 18 people died and several were missing due to heavy rains in the Himalayan states of Uttarakhand and Uttarakhand since Wednesday evening. While Uttarakhand witnessed two cloudbursts in the night that left at least 15 dead, in Himachal Pradesh over 50 people were reported missing while three were reported dead after cloudbursts in Shimla,Mandi and Kullu districts. A cloudburst at Lincholi led to complete blockade of the Kedarnath pilgrimage route, leaving more than 15,500 pilgrims stranded 4 km away from the shrine. The Uttarkhand State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said that three members of a family, including a husband-wife duo, perished under the debris of a hotel that crumbled owing to the cloudburst in Jikhyani area of Ghansali block in Tehri while a woman in the Rohida area of the state’s summer capital of Gairsain was buried under the debris as a thick mass of earth fell on her house’s roof, resulting in its collapse. In another rain-inflicted incident, six persons, includ- ing two children, died in Haridwar. The children and two others were buried under the debris and eight family members were injured as their house collapsed in the Bahadrabad area of Roorkee. Two persons died of electrocution at Roorkee bus stand late Wednesday night amid heavy rains. Four persons, including two Delhi-based tourists, died in Dehradun in similar incidents, drowning after they were swept away by a sudden rise in water level when they had gone to bath in a stream. In Kumaon, a 48-year old man died in the Dhari area after being hit by a falling rock while two boys were swept away by overflowing seasonal rivulets. In Himachal Pradesh, at least three people are report- ed dead with over 50 persons missing in the wake of multiple cloudbursts. According to the state’s State Emergency Operation Centre, three persons are reported dead, around 52 are missing and at least nine persons were stranded. After chairing a highlevel meeting in Shimla to review the rescue and relief operations, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said Rampur Tehsil in Shimla, Padhar Tehsil in Mandi and Jaon in Nirmand Village of Kullu were the worst hit. Fifteen houses and four bridges were washed away or damaged and one National Highway and five roads were blocked. The tourist resort of Manali has been cut off following damage to the National Highway. Devastated Wayanad: Once-picturesque Kusale shoots bronze to add to India’s tally villages now resemble graveyards S S RAMASWAMY PARIS, 1 AUGUST ACHUTHANANDAN KUNIYIL KALPETTA, 1 AUGUST The death toll in the devastating landslides that hit Wayanad early on Tuesday morning has reached 283, while 240 people, including 29 children remain missing, as rescue and recovery efforts continue. The picturesque villages of Chooralmala and Mundakkai, which were among the soughtafter destination of tourists, now resemble graveyards with flattened houses, collapsed buildings, mangled vehicles, boulders, huge uprooted trees and mud. It is not yet clear how many people are trapped under the debris. Rescue and relief teams waded through knee-deep slush searching for life under mounds of debris, risking their own lives. Rescue teams of the Army, Navy, NDRF, Fire Force and Coast Guard are carrying out a detailed search at three locations at Attamala, Mundakkai and Chooralmala. Mundakkai, where one of the big landslides happened, was cut off from the rest of the district after the only bridge to the area was swept away. In such a situation, Army troops formed human chains with ropes to evacuate resi- Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi along with party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at a landslide site in Chooralmala, Wayanad, on Thursday. ANI dents fromMundakkai.In areas where the situation was even more precarious, people were ferried across a turbulent river on wooden platforms. On Thursday afternoon, team from the Army’s Madras Engineer Group, the Madras Sappers, completed the construction of a 190-m-long Bailey bridge over Chooralmala river, which will connect Chooralmala to Mundakkai. The Army has set up a Command and Control Centre in Kozhikode, led by Maj Gen Vinod Mathew, General Officer Commanding of Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area, and Brig ArjunSegan,tooverseeHumanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations.It was after the arrival of the Army that the rescue operations became more professional and intensified. The heavy rains lashing Mundakkai and Punchiri Mattam created severe problems for the rescue operations on Thursday afternoon.The rescue workers had to be called back due to the fear of landslides The mission will resume once weather conditions are favourable. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and formerWayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi reached Meppadi on Thursday afternoon. They visited the landslide-hit Choorimala, relief camps in Meppadi Govt Higher Secondary School, St Joseph UP School and Dr Moopans Medical College, hospital in Meppadi. Speaking to mediapersons in Kalpetta, Mr Gandhi said the disaster is very painful. “I don't know what to say to comfort the people of Wayanad. This is a very difficult day," he said. India extends $300 mn credit line for Vietnam's maritime security STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 1 AUGUST Against the backdrop of China's aggressive posturing on maritime issues, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced a $300 million credit line to strengthen Vietnam's maritime security and asserted that India will continue its cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation for a free, open, rules-based and prosperous Indo-Pacific. India andVietnam have also decided that they will intensify cooperation on the issue of terrorism and cyber security, he said at a press conference with visiting Vietnam Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh after wide-ranging talks between them. The two countries inked nine accords and made two significant announcements about virtually inaugurating an Army Software Park at Telecommunications University Nha Trang and Vietnam joining the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). One of the accords was on a 'Plan of Action' for the implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the 2024-2028 period. Mr Modi announced that the two countries have agreed that the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement should be reviewed and concluded at an early date to realise the mutual trade potential. CallingVietnam an “important partner” in the Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific vision, he stated that ties between India and Vietnam have strengthened in the past ten years. Mr Modi further said that he had discussions with the Vietnam PM on all areas of cooperation and the two leaders have decided to prepare a roadmap for the future. He said the development in the two nations had gained momentum due to India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and Vietnam’s 2045 vision. Rifle shooter Swapnil Kusale added another bronze to India’s tally of metals in the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympic Games here at the Chatearoux range today, making it three in all thus far. Following the double bronze medal haul by compatriot Manu Bhaker in the pistol events for women, it was the turn of the 29-year-old rifle shooter hailing from Kambalwadi in the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra to steal the limelight. Although in his first Olympics, Kusale is no spring chicken in his preferred sport as he showed by shooting his way to the third position in the ‘Kavach will cover entire rail network’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 1 AUGUST Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday told the Lok Sabha the government is implementing several major steps to improve passenger safety, including coverage of entire rail network by anti-collision device Kavach, renewal of worn-out tracks by highquality rails and introduction of India-designed accidentsafe LHB coaches. He was replying to a debate on the railway allocations in thegeneralBudget.TheOpposition staged a walk-out contending that he was not responding to their queries during his one-hour reply.Mr Vaishnaw said the yearly accident rate in the Indian Railways had fallen. There used to be 171 accidents every year during UPA rule and the number had fallen by 68 per cent. He said the 12 lakh employees of the railways are working day and night to serve the two crore passengers who travel on the rail network every day.The Congress was only trying to show the railways in bad light, he said. (See Page 5) CMYK 50 metre 3-position event. Kusale, who was part of the Indian team that won the gold in the same event in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, two years ago, clinched the bronze medal with an aggregate 451.4 points behind gold medal winner Liu Yukun of China (463.6 points) and Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish (461.3) who secured the silver medal. Kusale, coached by former international shooter Deepali Deshpande, came up with scores of 50.8, 50.9 and 51.6 for a tally of 153.3 in the kneeling position. He then fired 52.7, 52.2 and 51.9 to take his overall aggre- gate to 310.1 at the end of the prone position. Scores of 51.1 and 50.4 took his overall points to 411.6 after the standing position before he came up with 10.5, 9.4, 9.9 and 10.0 in successive shots in the stage 2 elimination round to get to 451.4 as his overall final aggregate. Later, Kusale, who has a bronze medal to his credit in the World Shooting Championships to embellish his growing haul, said he continued his practice of not listening keenly to the announcement of scores made on the public address system or looking at the scoreboard. All he did was control his breathing and concentrate on the task at hand. (See also Page 12) Allahabad HC allows civil suits in Krishna Janmabhoomi dispute W. Asia tensions: Indian nationals strongly advised to leave Lebanon STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 1 AUGUST PRAYAGRAJ, 1 AUGUST Allahabad High Court has said that the civil suit filed by the Hindu side is maintainable in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura. The verdict was given by a single judge bench of Justice Mayank Kumar Jain on the maintainability of 18 civil suits pending in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute on Thursday. The Eidgah Committee has announced that they will challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. The court held day-to-day hearings on the petition filed by the Muslim side regarding the maintainability of all the civil suits. After this, the decision was reserved in June this year. Civil suits from the Hindu side were filed demanding removal of the structure of the Shahi Idgah Mosque, handing over the possession of the land and reconstruction of the temple. It is claimed through the petitions that the Shahi Idgah mosque, dating back to the time of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, was constructed after allegedly demolishing the temple built at the birthplace of Lord Krishna, and that therefore, Hindus have the right to worship at that disputed site. The Muslim side claimed that the parties raising the dispute have no relation, association and concern with the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust and Idgah Committee and that there is no dispute between these two bodies. They also claim that the case is not maintainable even under the Places of Worship Act 1991.The identity and nature of the religious place will remain the same as it was on 15 August 1947, they contended. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE The government on Thursday “strongly advised” all its nationals to leave Lebanon in view of the "potential threats in the region" due to escalation of tensions in the Middle East. “In view of recent developments and potential threats in the region, Indian nationals are strongly advised against travelling to Lebanon till further notice,” the Indian Embassy in Beirut said in an updated advisory. “All Indian nationals are also strongly advised to leave Lebanon. Those who remain for any reason are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements and remain in contact with the Embassy of India in Beirut," it added. The advisory came two days after Israel targeted Hezbollah's top military commander Fouad Shukur in a strike in southern Beirut and a day after Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran’s Teheran.