TUESDAY SC SETS UP TASK FORCE TO ADDRESS RISING TREND OF STUDENT SUICIDES 25 MARCH, 2025 The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a national task force to be formed under former SC judge S Ravindra Bhat to study rising student suicides epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard CULTURE OF NEGLECT IN INDIA’S EDU INSTITUTES X.com/TheMornStandard A bench of justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said when academic environments fail to address mental health concerns effectively, they contribute to a culture of neglect. The court took note of reports of ragging, academic pressure, caste discrimination, sexual harassment, etc, that were driving students to suicide due to the absence of institutional support. P8 R I YA D H US AND RUSSIA DISCUSS TRUCE American and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss a partial ceasefire in Ukraine on Monday, as Donald Trump pushes to quickly end the war. PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  13,000 PAGES 12 DEMOLITION JUSTICE AGAIN CASH ROW SC Collegium recommends judge’s transfer S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y & N A M I TA B A J PA I @ New Delhi / Lucknow Shiv Sena workers vandalise Habitat Studio in Khar, where Kunal Kamra had performed; (right) a bulldozer takes down the home of an accused in the Nagpur riot case | PTI FIR against Kamra, lens on call data, bank account House of prime accused in Nagpur riots razed S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai AN FIR has been filed against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a comedy show. As part of the investigation, police will check Kamra’s phone call records and freeze his bank account, said Maharashtra minister of state (Home) Yogesh Kadam. This comes after Kamra courted controversy on Sunday night when he uploaded a video of a standup comic piece he had performed at the Habitat Studio at the Unicontinental Hotel in Mumbai’s Khar area. In the 45-minute video, Kamra used a parody in which he referred to Shinde as a “traitor”, sparking outrage from Shiv Sena workers. As per police, Kamra used a modified version of a Hindi song to mock Shinde over his 2022 rebellion against thenChief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. Within an hour of the video being uploaded, scores of Shiv Sena workers ransacked the property . BMC officials said they razed a temporary structure in the open space of the hotel where the studio is located, for building violations. A BMC official THE two-storey residence of Fahim Khan, an alleged mastermind behind the communal violence in Nagpur on March 17, was demolished on Monday by civic authorities who alleged it had been constructed in violation of norms. Two days ago, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said the cost of properties damaged during the violence will be recovered from rioters and the failure to pay up would lead to seizure and selling the properties to recover losses. The operation, which involved bulldozers and a heavy police presence assisted by drones, also saw the removal of an illegally constructed balcony at the house of another accused, Yusuf Sheikh, in the Mahal area. Just hours after the demolition began, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court intervened, issuing a stay on the demolitions and criticising the administration for its “highhandedness.” A division bench comprising Justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi questioned why the property owners were not given an opportunity for a hearing before the demolition of the building. The bench indicated that if determined that Kunal Kamra 12 SENA WORKERS GRANTED BAIL Mumbai: A local court granted bail to 12 workers of the Shiv Sena for ransacking the venue in Mumbai where Kamra made the ‘traitor’ jibe. The workers were arrested on Monday morning said they have taken measurements of the studio to probe if it violates building rules. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sought an apology from Kamra, stating that while the comic has the right to freedom of speech under the Constitution, he cannot insult leaders. “Kamra should read the Constitution ... where it is mentioned that you have freedom of speech, but it should not insult anyone. We demand an apology from Mr Kamra,” he said. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar distanced himself from the controversy, and said that there should be no pressure on the police during the investigation. Fahim Khan HOUSE WAS BUILT ILLEGALLY: OFFICIAL Nagpur: Civic body commissioner Harish Raut said they were acting on directives regarding the property illegally constructed on an expired lease from the Nagpur Improvement Trust the demolition was conducted unlawfully, the authorities might be liable for damages. Khan, a leader of the Minority Democratic Party (MDP), is currently in jail and facing charges of sedition in connection with the March 17 riots in Nagpur. The riots erupted after rumour about the burning of a ‘chadar’ featuring religious inscriptions during protests organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in central Maharashtra. According to civic officials, prior to the demolition, Khan had received a notice citing multiple violations, including the lack of an approved plan. 8 Kerala CPM men sentenced to life for killing BJP worker Unanswered questions SEVERAL CRUCIAL POINTS ARE MISSING IN THE CASH-AT-JUDGE’S-HOME STORY. HERE’S A LOOK: 1 Who ordered the removal of debris from the scene on March 15 morning. Where is the debris now? 2 According to reports, half-burnt sacks containing cash were seen. Then why wasn’t the scene sealed immediately? EXPRESS READ Cheetah mother, cubs pelted with stones in MP A Namibian female cheetah Jwala and her four cubs were pelted with stones by villagers in MP’s Sheopur district, when they tried to hunt a cattle calf. The Kuno National Park members rescued them and they are in a healthy state, said officials. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kannur THE Thalassery Principal Sessions Court on Monday sentenced eight CPM workers to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of BJP’s Elambilayi Sooraj, 32, in 2005. Judge K T Nisar Ahammed imposed a fine of `50,000 each on the convicts. The court sentenced the 11th accused to three years in prison and fined him `25,000. Among the convicted, T K Rajeesh, E V Yogesh, K Shamjith, P M Manoraj and Neyyoth Sajeevan (accused 2 to 6) were found guilty of murder, while Prabhakaran Master, K V Padmanabhan and Monambeth Radhakrishnan (accused 7 to 9) were convicted for criminal conspiracy. The 11th accused, Puthiapurayil Pradeepan, was sentenced for helping the other accused. Manoraj is the brother of chief minister’s press secretary P M Manoj. The 10th accused was acquitted after a key witness turned hostile. The murder, which occurred on August 7, 2005, was reportedly driven by political rivalry after Sooraj defected from CPM to join BJP Special prosecutor . P Premarajan said assailants first hurled a bomb at Sooraj before hacking him to death with an axe and machetes. THE Supreme Court on Monday confir med the transfer of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma, who is under scrutiny after a huge pile of cash was found at his official residence, to the Allahabad HC. “The Supreme Court Collegium in its meetings held on March 20 and 24 has recommended the repatriation of Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge, High Court of Delhi, to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad,” read the Collegium’s resolution, uploaded on the SC website on Monday . The confirmation came amid stiff opposition from the Allahabad High Cour t Bar Association (HCBA), which said the high court is not a “dumping ground for corrupt and tainted judges”. The HCBA called for the impeachment of Justice Varma and announced an indefinite strike from Tuesday against the Collegium’s resolution. The proposed transfer of Justice Varma, who has now been stripped of all the judicial responsibilities, will become effective if and when the Centre accepts the Col- US team arrives today for trade pact talks HEAVY LIFTING Restoration work underway after a massive segmental launching gantry (crane) skids off during the construction of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, near Vatva-Ropda Road, in Ahmedabad on Monday | PTI Ahead of President Donald Trump’s proposed announcement regarding reciprocal tariffs on countries, a US delegation will arrive on Tuesday for advance discussions on a framework for the Bilateral Trade Agreement. P7 HC FIAT Rahul Brit or Indian? Or both? Govt call in 4 weeks N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow THE Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday granted the Central government a month’s time to take a decision regarding the status of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘dual citizenship’. A PIL by BJP worker S Vignesh Shishir based in Karnataka sought cancellation of Rahul’s citizenship owing to his alleged concealment of his British citizenship. Deputy Solicitor General of India Surya Bhan Pandey rep, resenting the Centre, requested the division bench comprising Justice Attau Rehman Masoodi and Justice Ajai Kumar Srivastava for two months to make a decision on Rahul’s citizenship, but the bench directed that the matter be listed in the week commencing April 21 for the next hearing. Vignesh’s counsel told the court his client had presented a detailed representation-cum-complaint to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, asking for the cancellat i o n o f R a h u l ’s I n d i a n citizenship. The petitioner had sent emails to the UK government seeking details about Rahul’s citizenship records. He learnt that UK had already received a similar request from one VSS Sarma (respondent no. 14) in 2022. legium’s recommendation. The HCBA also demanded registration of an FIR and probe by the CBI and ED against the judge, who has denied all the allegations against him claiming the whole affair was a conspiracy to tarnish his image. The association said Justice Varma’s past judgments need to be reviewed to safeguard the integrity of the judiciary It . also called for an overhaul of the Collegium system saying the current practice of appointing judges lacks transparency . Meanwhile, a three-member probe panel set up by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is looking into the allegations against Justice Varma. The probe panel comprises Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court; Justice Gur meet Singh Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court; and Justice Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the Karnataka High Court. While dousing a fire at Justice Varma’s Delhi residence on March 14, firefighters found a huge quantity of partially burnt currency notes. The judge was not at home when the incident took place. Vignesh then approached Sarma who agreed to share the confidential emails of the UK government which hinted at Rahul’s British nationality The . plea added that in the email, the UK government stated that it could not provide information about Rahul Gandhi unless it got a letter of authority from him (Rahul). The PIL alleged that the email of the UK government was an outright admission of Rahul’s British nationality . 3 Delhi HC CJ’s aide reported seeing debris on March 15 night. How is it possible if it was removed in the morning? 4 A video showing burnt currency notes has gone viral. Has the device on which it was recorded been recovered? STUDENTS FORM 7.6% OF SUICIDES REPORTED According to the 210th report of the Law Commission of India, suicide was identified as one of the most significant factors contributing to the premature and unnatural cessation of human life STUDENT SUICIDES REPORTED IN INDIA IN 2022 ALONE HC sets aside family court’s order on Jain couple divorce A N U R A A G S I N G H @ Bhopal THE Madhya Pradesh High Court has set aside an Indore family court’s February 8, 2025 order that denied divorce by mutual consent to Jain couples under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act. The family court had argued that Jainism, being a separate religion from Hinduism since 2014, was not covered under the Act. However, the MP High Court’s double judge bench in Indore, comprising Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Sanjeev S Kalgaonkar, set aside the family court judge’s February 8 order. It ruled that the family court had erred in dismissing the applications, stating that the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act apply to all Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists. “The impugned order is set aside and the appeal of the parties allowed,” the HC said. The court emphasised that the central gover nment’s notification recognising Jains as a minority does not exclude them from the Act, and both Jain and Hindu marriage practices are similar. The court directed the family court to proceed with the petitions in accordance with the law. T his decision followed appeals from 28 Jain couples who had been denied relief. 24% HIKE IN SALARY OF PARLIAMENTARIANS The Centre notified a 24% hike in the salaries of MPs with effect from April 1, 2023, on the basis of the Cost Inflation Index. Their monthly wages now stand at `1.24 lakh plus allowances and perks | P7 All eyes on Budget today as Yamuna, pollution and infra top focus of BJP govt A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi WEEKS after a new government was formed in the national capital, CM Rekha Gupta is set to table its first Budget on Tuesday. This marks the first time in over 27 years that a BJP government is presenting the Delhi Budget. According to sources, the Budget for the next financial year is estimated to be around `80,000 crore. Delhi government officials have hinted that the Budget will focus on infrastructural development, cleaning of the Yamuna River, pollution-related measures, women’s economic empowerment and job creation, among others. A major challenge for the BJP government is to ensure the delivery of freebies given by the previous government and allocate `5,100 crore for the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana. Besides, the newly formed Delhi government will have to make budgetary provisions for other poll promises, such as free and subsidised cylinders for poor families. The Delhi CM has maintained that a diverse group of people, including educators, traders, farmers and lawmakers, had been consulted for the ‘Viksit Delhi Budget 2025’. Reportedly, residents of CM Rekha Gupta during the ‘kheer’ ceremony on Monday | PARVEEN NEGI Delhi had shared over 10,000 suggestions for the Budget via email and WhatsApp. Gupta said, “This Budget will truly be the people’s Budget.” She kicked off the five-day Budget session of the Delhi ass e m bly o n M o n d ay w i t h ceremonial kheer, a first. However, Leader of Opposition and former CM Atishi slammed the BJP-led Delhi government for not presenting the Economic Survey ahead of the Budget, saying, “Delhi’s Budget cannot be formed by making kheer, but on the figures of the e c o n o my. ” T h e d ay a l s o witnessed a walkout by AAP MLAs against Speaker Vijender Gupta’s alleged decision to block a discussion on Mahila Samriddhi Yojana. P3