MADURAI l tuesday l march 25, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE city EDITION SC sets up task force to address rising trend of student suicides 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 Culture of neglect in India’s Edu institutes Students form 7.6% of suicides reported 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 ■ ■ 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 accounted for 7.6% of total suicides in India in 2022, with 1.2% attributable to career problems and 1.2% to exam failures 13,000 Student suicides reported in India in 2022 alone CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI demolition justice again CASH ROW SC Collegium recommends judge’s transfer S U C H ITRA KALYA N MO H A N T Y & N AMITA B AJPAI @ New Delhi / Lucknow 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- 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 nsh i @ Mumbai S u d h i r S u r ya w a nsh 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 . The Habitat Studio, where the show was filmed, was demolished by Mumbai’s civic body on Monday for ‘building violations’. A BMC official said 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 A video shared on platform ‘X’ by Savukku Shankar shows sewage being dumped inside his house | sourced pic ‘Sanitary workers’ ransack Savukku Shankar’s home E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai A group of more than 20 vandals, suspected to be sanitary workers, barged into the house of YouTuber Savukku Shankar in Kilpauk on Monday morning and dumped sewage inside his house besides allegedly assaulting his mother who was alone at that time. After Shankar blamed Greater Chennai Police (GCP) Commissioner A Arun for the attack, a CSR booked on the basis of a complaint filed by A Kamala, Shankar’s 70-year-old mother, has been transferred to the CB-CID as per DGP Shankar Jiwal’s order on Monday evening. In her complaint filed with the Kilpauk police station on Monday, Kamala said the group attacked and verbally abused her, broke the backdoor to enter the house and ransacked it. Besides opposition parties AIADMK and BJP, DMK ally VCK, too, has condemned the attack. P7 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 the temporary shed and other structures comprising the studio created in the basement of the hotel have been razed. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sought an apology from Kamra, stating that while the comic has the right to freedom of speech, 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. 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. Unanswered questions Several crucial points are missing in the cash-at-judge’s-home story. Here’s a look: 1 Who ordered removal of debris from the scene on the morning of March 15. Where is this debris now? 2 According to reports, half-burnt sacks containing cash were seen. Then why wasn’t the scene sealed immediately? 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? Girl dies on spot as rock fragment from boulder blasted illegally hits head clear the boulder. According to police, E GayatA 10-year-old girl grazing goats hri of Thirukunam Madura T with her mother was killed on Kosapalayam village, a Class 5 the spot after a piece of student of a gover nment rock from a boulder, illegally school, had joined her mother blasted with gelatin sticks 200 E Muthulakshmi in grazing metres away, hit her head on goats on land owned by P Sunday evening near Krishnamurthy on SunVikravandi. day as it was a holiday . After the incident After the child colsparked tension in the lapsed at the spot, lolocality, police on Moncals, who heard the day arrested a 45-yearwoman’s cry, informed old villager on the the Kanjanur police. charge of illegally usVikravandi sub-diviing gelatin sticks to E Gayathri (10) sion DSP G Nandakuclear a boulder in a camar and a police team nal for dredging. from Kanjanur rushed The police are also question- to the spot and conducted an ing the president of Thiruku- inquiry. The body was sent to nam panchayat Prakash upon Villupuram Medical College whose suggestion the villager and Hospital in Mundiyampaallegedly used gelatin sticks to kkam for autopsy . P7 SC seeks Balaji’s reply in bail case within 10 days Assault on senior: Cops arrest 6 Kovai students New Delhi: Enraged over the “technical defence” adopted by Senthil Balaji’s counsel in the case against bail to the TN minister, the Supreme Court on Monday expressed its displeasure. “We are being taken for a ride,” said the bench, and told Balaji to file his response within 10 days | P7 Coimbatore: In connection with the assault of a PG student of a private engineering college in Coimbatore, the police arrested six students on Monday. Five of them, who are aged 17, were sent to a juvenile home, while another student has been remanded in Coimbatore Central Prison | P2 TN MPs to meet Modi, press for ‘fair delimitation’ E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday announced in the Assembly that a delegation of 39 MPs from the state would soon call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for a fair delimitation of Lok Sabha seats. It is to retrieve the rights of Tamil Nadu and that of similarly placed other states by taking forward the ‘Tamil Nadu will fight, Tamil Nadu will win,’ slogan, the CM said. Addressing the Assembly on the Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting held in Chennai on March 22 for a fair delimitation, the CM said the state’s awareness campaign on the issue has had a national impact. “Through this House, I wholeheartedly thank the principal opposition party — the AIADMK — and other parties that took part in the all-party meeting and those that are part of the JAC,” he said. One of the resolutions adopted by the JAC meeting said, “The core committee of MPs shall submit a joint representation on the above lines to the PM during the ongoing parliamentary session.” Stalin recalled that the TN Assembly, for the first time in the country, adopted a unanimous resolution on February 14, highlighting how the democratic rights and political representation of states would be affected due to the 2026 delimitation. A resolution was adopted later during the all-party meeting on March 5, urging the PM to unequivocally assure the Parliament that the 1971 Census would remain the basis for delimitation for 30 years (till 2056), he recalled. P7 24% hike B a g a l a v a n P e r i e r B @ Villupuram express read CM M K Stalin addressing the Assembly on Monday | Express in salary on parliamentarians 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 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 | P9 dual nationality? Govt gets a month to decide on Rahul citizenship row 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. 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 .