SATURDAY Campaign to step up vax drive 21 Government concerned over slackened pace of vaccination MAY, 2022 The Centre on Friday flagged the declining Covid19 vaccination numbers in some states over last several weeks and announced that a two-monthlong campaign will be launched beginning June to accelerate the vaccination coverage in the country. epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard twitter.com/TheMornStandard Less than 17 lakh people aged 18-59 years have opted for the booster doses. Only about 1.3 crore children aged 12-14 years have been fully vaccinated yet. MILITARY MATTER FINAL TOUCHES TO TOUR OF DUTY Recruitments at soldier level in forces through the new system likely by month-end A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 7  NEW DELHI  vaccine shots administered so far PAGES 12  J8.00 192 cr Police deliberately killed gang-rape suspects: Panel SC transfers Gyanvapi case to district judge Says it’s a sensitive matter, better if a senior judicial officer hears it E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Friday transfer red the Gyanvapi mosque case to the district judge in Varanasi from that of the civil judge (senior division) in the city stating it is better if , a senior and experienced judicial officer hears it because of the complexities and sensitivity of the matter. The court also directed the district judge to prioritise an application of the mosque committee challenging the maintainability of the suit. It said its interim order of May 17 will continue till the maintainability is decided and eight weeks after that. The SC also directed appropriate arrangements for wuzu (ablution before namaz) on the mosque premises if they have not been made already. In the May 17 order, the SC directed that the area where the ‘Shivalinga’ is indicated to have been found should be fully protected while Muslims should get free access to the mosque for worship. The bench accepted the request of senior advocate Hufeza Ahmadi, appearing for the mosque committee, that the survey report should not be selectively leaked. Ahmedi went on to argue that his challenge is to the trial court’s decision to appoint the probe commission itself. “It is prohibited by the 1991 Act and the Constitution itself... Status quo that was in existence for DU professor arrested for Gyanvapi comment Associate Professor Ratan Lal of DU’s Hindu College was Friday arrested in connection with an allegedly objectionable social media post on a Shivling being found at the Gyanvapi mosque. An FIR was registered against him on Thursday. NO BAR UNDER 1991 ACT The SC noted that ascertaining the religious character of a place of worship is not barred under the Places of Worship Act of 1991. The bench said it has dealt with provisions of the Act in its 2019 Ayodhya verdict. the last 500 years has been altered. It is being sealed,” he said. The bench, however, said there are various nuances that will come into consideration. “The ascertainment of religious character of a place as a processual instrument may not fall foul of Section 3 or 4 of the Act. These are matters where we will not hazard an opinion,” the court orally remarked. On the question of maintainability, the bench said: “The moment you argue that the appointment of the commissioner is void ab initio because the suit is barred by the Act, it is far-fetched, because we can’t decide the maintainability of suit here right now. We have to adopt fair process... We have to maintain peace and balance on the ground.” It kept the special leave petition open and will hear the matter in July . Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court on Friday adjour ned the hearing on the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi Mosque issue till July 6. E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi File photo of police at the site where four gang-rape suspects were shot dead, on the outskirts of Hyderabad | EXPRESS WHAT NEXT THREE SCENARIOS High hearing pending PILs, does not take the 1 TelanganareportbutCourt resumingcouldSirpurkar Commission on record. Trial then go back to the Sessions Court in the main case of gangrape and murder If accepts panel’s it could take into consideration that a 2hasHCbeen established findings,prima faciealsothen case by the report. It can commit the case to Sessions Court for trial State govt moves claiming submitted before of inquiry 3admissible before aaSCcommissionevidence is not court of law JAB-O-METER May 19 13,07,905 doses TAKE May 20 13,41,844 doses YOUR SHOT TOTAL: 1,92,11,04,655 NATIONWIDE MAY 19 MAY 20 DELHI Fresh cases 2,364 2,259 Fresh cases Recoveries 2,582 2,614 Recoveries Deaths 10 20 Deaths MAY 19 MAY 20 520 817 01 530 678 00 SINDHU SEIZES SEMIFINAL SPOT IN THAILAND OPEN Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu eked out a threegame win 21-15, 20-22, 21-13 over world number 1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan to make it to the semifinals of the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament in Bangkok on Friday | P11 The doorto-door campaign, Har Ghar Dastak 2.0, will cover all the eligible population with first, second and even booster doses, Union Health Ministry said. BATTLING CRISIS People rush to collect water from a tanker in Chanakyapuri in New Delhi on Friday | PTI Just as mob lynching is unacceptable, so is any idea of instant justice. At any point of time, rule of law must prevail. Punishment for the crime has to be only by the procedure established by law Sirpurkar Commission report Grave violation of human rights by any standards - impunity is not justice for women Kalpana Kannabiran, legal scholar A Supreme Court-appointed panel that probed the alleged encounter killing of four persons in the gang-rape and murder of a young veterinarian in Hyderabad in 2019, tore into the police version of the events, saying it was “concocted”, adding the suspects were “deliberately fired upon with an intent to cause their death”. Pointing out that three of the four suspects were minors, the panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge V S Sirpurkar recommended trial of 10 accused policemen for murder. “It cannot be said that the police party fired in self-defence or in a bid to re-arrest the deceased suspects. The record Why no roads after Chola kings in Delhi? JNU V-C I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi INDIA is a “civilisation state” and reducing it to “a civic nation bound by a Constitution disregards its history, ancient heritage, culture and civilization”, JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit said at an international seminar on Friday . “There are only t wo c iv i l i s a t i o n states — India and China. When China speaks about cultural nationalism, it is secular, but when India does, it becomes communal. These kinds of arguments don’t work in academics,” she said while speaking at the seminar, titled ‘Revisiting the ideas of India from Swaraj to New India’, organised at Delhi University as part of its centenary celebrations. Talking about the need to bring in a new, Indic narrative, Pandit lamented that the current narrative was “making us loathe our history” and asserted that celebrating history be- yond religion was important. “The current narrative has made us imagine our history with self-loathing, self-hatred and of a land conquered by the defeated. One period is excessively glorified. I, who come from the South, feel even worse. The longest ruling dynasty in this country has been that of the Cholas. Any mention of the great kings of the Cholas or any roads on their names? Not one in Delhi...I feel we should revisit these ideas and look into the gaps.” Referring to historian Edward Hallett Carr’s dictum that ‘facts are sacred, their interpretation may vary’, the JNU V-C said, “Unfortunately, independent India and the university I belong to overturned this dictum and made it — interpretations are sacred, facts can vary This is very dangerous.” . Talking about feminism in India, pandita said, “Draupadi and Sita were the first feminists, long before the world even knew the concept.” shows that entire version of the police party beginning from the safe house to the incident at Chatanpally is concocted. It was impossible for the deceased suspects to have snatched the weapons of the police and they could not have operated the fire arms. Therefore, the entire version is unbelievable,” the report said. “...it cannot be believed that the deceased suspects might have died due to the indiscriminate firing from the pistols allegedly snatched by them and it has to be held that all the deceased suspects died due to the injuries caused by the bullets fired by the police party It can. not also be believed the deceased suspects opened fire towards the police,” it said. EXPRESS READ CBI raids at Lalu, family in new case New Delhi: The CBI on Friday carried out simultaneous searches at the 16 residential premises of former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, in Patna and Gopalganj in Bihar and in New Delhi. The searches were carried out in connection with a new ‘land-for jobs’ scam registered by the agency on May 18. In Patna, RJD workers protested and accused the CBI team of misbehaving’ with Rabri. P8 India slams China bridge in Ladakh New Delhi: India on Friday voiced strong opposition to China building a second bridge across Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh, and said it is in an area that has been under “illegal occupation” of that country for around 60 years. Responding to media queries, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India has never accepted such illegal occupation of its territory, nor has it accepted the “unjustified” Chinese claim or such construction activities. IN & OUT “We have apprised the court about his medical and food needs,” said Sidhu’s media adviser Surinder Dalla. A number of Congress leaders, including former MLAs Navtej Singh Cheema, Ashwani Sekhri, Hardial Singh Kamboj, Pir mal Singh Khalsa and former MP Dharamvir Gandhi, and supporters visited the former PCC chief ’s house in the morning and a few of them accompanied him to the court, and then to the hospital. While Cheema drove Sidhu’s SUV. The former PCC was wearing a blue ‘Pathani suit’ while on way to the court. “Sidhu has been sentenced to one year. It is not all over. He will come back and shine in politics,” said Cheema. Sources said Sidhu is lodged in ward 10 of the central jail along with around ten inmates and there is no bed or television or other amenities but one toilet in the barrack. Sidhu’s surrender came just hours after he approached the Supreme Court seeking a week to surrender. A bench told senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Sidhu, that he could file an application before the CJI. Singhvi said he will mention the matter before the CJI. The Supreme Court had on Thursday sentenced Sidhu to one-year rigorous imprisonment in a 34 year-old road rage case saying any undue sympathy in imposing an inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system and undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law. A 65-yearold man, named Gurnam Singh, had died in the incident that P8 took place in 1988. N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Mumbai AFTER languishing behind bars for 27 months, Samajwadi Party (SP) stalwart Azam Khan walked free from the Sitapur district jail to the warm welcome by his two sons and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia leader Shivpal Yadav on Friday . Khan was released in compliance of the Supreme Court order which granted him bail in a cheating case. The SP strongman had been in jail since February, 2020 in connection with 89 cases pertaining to land grabbing, intimidation, forgery, theft among others. The Rampur MLA reached his home to a rousing welcome by his supporters and SP workers. Khan said he would never forget the treatment meted out to him and his family. “They have ruined my city My journey of . 40 years will not go in vain. I swear that these dried trees will come to life again. My time will also return,” the INDRANI Mukerjea walked out of the Byculla women’s jail on Friday, nearly six and a half years after she was arrested in her daughter’s high–profile murder case. While g ranting bail on Wednesday the Supreme Court , had observed that Indrani was in prison for a long period and the trial was not likely to get over soon. Subsequently, the CBI court had said that she can be out after furnishing a bond of `2 lakh. Indrani stepped out of the jail around 5.30 pm, hugged her lawyer, smiled and waved to the media waiting for her. “Today I , am really happy I don’t want to . comment on anything as there is no plan as such. Empathy and forgiveness have been given to people who have hurt me,’’ she told the media. Indrani was arrested for murdering her daughter Sheena (24) in April 2012 with the help of her then driver Shyamvar Rai and former husband Sanjeev Khanna. They allegedly strangled the 24-year-old legislator said. Without taking names, Khan claimed that biggest atrocities were committed by near and dear ones. “Those who put the poison in the roots of these withered trees were my own dear ones,” he said in an indirect hint to the Samajwadi Party leadership. “I fail to understand that why the present dispensation and the ruling party hate me so much,” he said. SOUMYADIP SINHA FORMER Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu was lodged in Patiala Central Jail on Friday a day after being , sentenced to one-year imprisonment by the Supreme Court in a 34-year-old road-rage case. The cricketer-turned-politician surrendered in the court of Patiala Chief Judicial Magistrate Amit Malhan, who signed off on the conviction warrant and ordered him to be sent to jail. The 58-year-old surrendered shortly after 4 pm, and was taken for the mandatory medical examination, conducted at the Mata Kaushalya Hospital. After the medical check-up, he was taken to the Central Jail in a police jeep. where he was lodged in ward 10 (Barrack). Senior advocate HPS Verma, who accompanied Sidhu to the local court, said: “Sidhu today surrendered before the court of CJM Amit Malhan.” Verma reportedly told the court that Sidhu underwent surgery, is on medication and needs a special diet which should not include wheat flour. SOURAV ROY H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh After 27 months, Azam Indrani Mukerjea steps Khan walks to freedom out of Mumbai prisson SOURAV ROY SIDHU SHARES BARRACK WITH 10 INMATES IN PATIALA JAIL Sheena in a car. Her body was later discovered in a forest in Raigad district. Indrani had recently claimed that her daughter was still alive. Asked about her plans, she said, “I learnt a lot in jail... I am going home. I have no plans. Just want to go home...I am very happy There are no other . emotions now. I am feeling very free.” Indrani said she is writing a book but it won’t be about her jail stint.