FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLI No. 286 | INDORE | TUESDAY | MARCH 25, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY Sports TOP TRIO RETAINED P.16 US tariff will lead India to focus on self-reliance CASH-DISCOVERY ROW | Judicial work withdrawn from Delhi HC judge over alleged discovery of cash at residence JUSTICE VARMA SHUNTED BACK TO ALLAHABAD HC FP News Service Dhankhar praises transparency NEW DELHI The Supreme Court Collegium has decided to repatriate Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Verma back to his parent Allahabad High Court. The move came after a fire at the judge's house allegedly led to the recovery of a huge pile of cash, triggering a huge controversy. The decision was taken by the Collegium after holding two meetings - one on March 20 and another on March 24. Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court (HC) registry withdrew judicial work assigned to Justice Varma and in its new roster assigned his work to Justice Subramanium Prasad and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar. The Collegium resolution fp Briefs RIYADH US, Russia talks begin The high-stakes meeting between a US delegation led by US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Wiktkoff and Kremlin negotiators has started in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, where the Trump administration is pushing for a ceasefire. NEW DELHI 24% hike in MPs’ salaries The Centre on Monday notified a 24 per cent hike in the salaries of members of Parliament with effect from April 1, 2023, on the basis of the Cost Inflation Index, taking their monthly salaries to Rs 1.24 lakh besides certain allowances and perks. NEW DELHI PIL against honey-trap A PIL has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking a court monitored probe by the CBI into the honey-trap scandal in Karnataka involving a senior minister and 48 others — including legislators, netas and judges. Today in IPL MATCH NO. 5 GT Vs PBKS AHMEDABAD; 7:30 PM (Detail report on Sports Page) Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday lauded the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for making all material related to the controversy involving a Delhi High Court judge publicly available, calling it an "unprecedented" move since independence. notwithstanding, the fire at the outhouse of Justice Varma’s residence has left many questions unanswered, reports Bar and Bench. A security guard posted at the residence of Justice Varma is stated to have revealed that some debris and half burnt articles were removed on the morning of March 15.  The question that must be asked is on whose instructions were they removed? And where are they now? Pertinently, why was the room not properly sealed in view of such suspicious discovery? In his response to the allegations, Justice Varma has said that after the fire was doused, when his family and staff were allowed to go to the scene of the incident, they did not see any cash at the site. This has led Justice Varma to question the authenticity of the video in circulation and also any recovery of money having been made. 4Continued on | P8 Allahabad HC Bar Indefinite Strike The Allahabad High Court Bar Association, aggrieved by the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation to transfer Justice Yashwant Varma from Delhi HC to Allahabad HC, has announced an indefinite strike starting Tuesday. The Association has also requested the Central Government to intervene in this decision and have it immediately upturned. NTF lens HC upholds Hindu Marriage Act for Jains on student Sets aside family court’s order Our Staff Reporter INDORE In a landmark ruling, the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court has set aside an order by a local family court which had denied the applicability of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, to the Jain community. The division bench comprising justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Sanjeev S Kalgaonkar, ruled that Jains were covered under the Act, reaffirming their right to seek divorce under its provisions. The case involved an appeal by Nitesh Sethi, who had filed for mutual divorce under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, alongside his wife, Shikha Sethi. The couple got married in July 2017 as per Hindu rituals but had been living separately since April 2018. Seeking legal dissolution of their marriage, they approached the family court in Indore in July 2024. However, on February 8, 2025, the family court ruled that the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act did not apply to Jains, citing a 2014 notification by the ministry of minority affairs recognizing the Jain community as a minority. The court directed the couple to seek dissolution of the marriage through their customs under Section 7 of the Family Courts Act, 1984. deaths A On appeal, the high court found the family court’s order legally flawed. “The HC said that Section 2 of the Hindu Marriage Act explicitly includes Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, reinforcing that Jains are legally governed by the Act,” said advocate Varsha Gupta. The judges pointed out that the 2014 minority status notification did not amend or override existing personal laws and no legislative change had excluded Jains from the Act’s purview. Supreme Court bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan has constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to address the mental health concerns of students and prevent incidents of suicides and said the duty of colleges was not just to ensure academic excellence of the students but also ensure their mental well-being. Former apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat would be the chairperson of NTF, which will also have Dr Alok Sarin, consultant psychiatrist of Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi, as one of its members. The bench said the NTF includes representatives from diverse fields to ensure an interdisciplinary approach to tackling the issue of commission of suicides in higher educational institutions. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 High Court’s ruling Comic wants the last laugh Megha Kuchik MUMBAI Comedian  Kunal Kamra  has seemingly dug his heels in distant Tamil Nadu and told the police he does not regret his 'gaddar' remark, which was seen in some political quarters as an obnoxious allusion to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Rather, he said in a post on X that an entertainment venue is merely a platform and has no power or control over what he says or does; so attacking a venue is "senseless". he was referring to the hotel where the event was staged. " An entertainment venue is merely a platform -- a space for all sorts of shows. Habitat (or any other venue) is not responsible for my comedy, nor does it have any power or control over what I say or do. Neither does any political party. Attacking a venue for a comedian's words is as senseless as overturning a lorry carrying tomatoes, because you didn't like the butter chicken you were served," Kamra said. Referring to what he called "political leaders threatening to teach" him a lesson, Kamra said the right to freedom of speech and expression is "not only to be used to fawn over the powerful and rich even though today's media would have us believe otherwise". 4Continued on | P8 ujjain Land crisis stalls industrial growth Nirukt Bhargava UJJAIN Investment proposals worth around Rs 50,000 crore are in the pipeline for Ujjain’s Vikram Udyogpuri, with Rs 5,000 crore worth of proposals already pending before the authorities. However, a severe shortage of land has become a major roadblock to new industrial development. The Global Investors’ Summit (GIS) held in Bhopal were received for Vikram last month yielded positive Udyogpuri, but acquiring results for Ujjain, atsufficient land and detracting significant veloping necessary investment interinfrastructure reest. However, the mains a chalgovernment faces lenge.” challenges in acCurrently, E XC LU S I V E quiring land to acabout 325 acres of commodate these land in Vikram projects. A senior official Udyogpuri, located on from the Madhya Pradesh the Ujjain-Dewas Road, is Industrial Development fully occupied. FortyCorporation (MPIDC) eight companies have stated, “Investment propobegun setting up units, sals worth Rs 50,000 crore with some already start- FP ing manufacturing operations at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore. Notable firms such as Volvo Eicher, LKM, Adani, Sun Pharma, Bericap, and Om Logistics have submitted proposals amounting to Rs 5,000 crore. However, an additional 488 hectares of land is required to accommodate these projects, while only 15 hectares of government land is currently available. 4Continued on | P8 UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Judicial probity vital P.12 Cinema Salman returns with a bang P.14 CHINTAMANI REFUSES TO APOLOGISE Cong comes in support of legislator Life term to five for looting army officers, raping female friend SC notice to MP govt on Mandsaur firing Seeks response in 4 weeks Our Staff Reporter Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL BHOPAL BJP legislator Chintamani Malviya has stuck to his statement even after getting a notice from the party leadership. Malviya took the government to task over acquiring land from farmers for Simhastha. Malviya has further said he had not issued any statement at any public place. During an interaction with media persons on Monday, Malviya said a legislator had the special right to present his views before the House. SIMHASTHA REMARK There is no question of tendering an apology, Malviya said, adding that nor is he in the habit of doing so. Malviya has stuck to his guns over acquiring land from the farmers. But he is yet to receive any notice from the party, and when he receives, he will reply to it with evidence, Malviya said. The Congress has come in support of Malviya. In an interaction with media persons, MPCC president Jitu Patwari said serving notice on Malviya was an insult to farmers, Dalits and democracy. 4Continued on | P8 FP News Service MHOW Fourth Additional Sessions Judge of Mhow court Ravishankar Dohre on Monday awarded life imprisonment to five accused in connection with looting and abducting army officers and gang rape of the latter's female friend at a picnic spot near Mhow, about five and a half months ago. Special public prosecutor of Mhow court Sandhya Uike said the incident took place near Jaam Gate on MhowMandleshwar road between 2 and 3 AM on September 11 last year. A case under relevant sections was registered at Badgonda police station of Mhow the next day. The police completed its investigation along with necessary arrests and submitted the final report of the case in the court within a month, on October 12. The prosecution started evidence in court from October 26 and statements of defence witnesses were recorded on March 20 this year. Prosecution and defence counsels presented their final arguments on March 21 and after a gap of only five months and 12 days from the date of filing the case, the judgment was delivered on Monday. After hearing both sides, judge Ravi Shankar Dohre convicted the five accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment. He also ordered them to pay Rs 50,000 to the rape victim and Rs 10,000 each to the other three victims. Giving the details of the case, Sandhya Uike said, On the night of September 11, 2024 between 2 and 3 AM, two trainee officers of the Army s training institution Infantry School, Mhow had gone to visit the Jaam Gate area with two of their female friends. Suddenly, six people pointed a pistol, attacked them and thrashed them with sticks. They demanded Rs 10 lakh and threatened to kill them if they did not pay the money. They looted mobile phones and cash worth Rs 8000 from them and then told trainee officer Praneet and his female friend Riya to go to the Infantry School and arrange Rs 1100 lakh. In a major development, the Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government regarding the Mandsaur firing incident in June 2017, in which five farmers lost their lives. The court has sought a response from the state within four weeks. The notice was issued following a petition by former MLA Paras Saklecha, who has been demanding that the government should table the Jain Commission report in the Legislative Assembly. The Jain Commission was constituted on June 12, 2017, to investigate the firing incident at Parshvanath Chowpatty in Pipaliya Mandi, Mandsaur, where police opened fire on protesting farmers. The commission submitted its findings on June 13, 2018, but the report has not been made public or discussed in the assembly even after nearly seven years. Saklecha had initially moved theHigh Court on May 3, 2022, urging the government to act on the commission’s findings and table the report within six months of its submission. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 The incident took place near Jaam Gate on MhowMandleshwar road between 2 and 3 am on Sept 11, 2024