DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2025, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 CJI-LED BENCH SAYS WILL PASS INTERIM ORDER TODAY 90 118 145 60 MAHARASHTRA SCflags3aspectsofWaqflaw:‘Wedo notnormallystay...thisanexception’ Waqf-by-user, non-Muslims on Waqf boards, Collector powers up for review ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, APRIL 16 NMC APOLOGISES TO HC, SAYS UNAWARE OF SC DIRECTIVE CLASHES ERUPT IN NASHIK DURING DEMOLITION OF ILLEGAL STRUCTURE AROUND DARGAH, 15 ARRESTED PAGE 4 Justice Gavai set to be next Chief Justice of India Justice Gavai is the second most senior Judge in SC EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, APRIL 16 CHIEF JUSTICE of India Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday recommended Justice B R Gavai, the second most senior Judge in the Supreme Court, as his successor. CJI Khanna, who is set to retire on May 13, sent his recommendation to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice. On confirmation, Justice GavaiwillbethesecondCJIfrom theScheduledCastecommunity, afterformerCJIKGBalakrishnan. Asthe52ndChief Justiceof India, JusticeGavaiwillhaveatenureof oversixmonths—heisduetoretire on November 23, 2025. The retirement age of Supreme Court Judges is 65 years. Justice Gavai was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. He has been a part of several Constitution benches in the apex court which delivered landmark rulings. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE SUPREME Court on Wednesday indicated it is considering staying the operation of certain parts of the contentious Waqf Act, 2025, which include the concept of ‘waqf-by-user’, representation of non-Muslims on waqf boards, and the powers of the Collector to change the status of disputed waqf land. “We do not stay a legislation normallyatthisstageof thechallenge unless in exceptional circumstances. This appears to be anexception.Ourconcernisthat if waqf-by-user is de-notified, there could be huge consequences,” Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna said in an oral observation. The bench also comprised Justices P V Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan. The 2025 waqf law does away with the concept of waqfby-user for future transactions from the date of coming into force of the amendments, and saysitwilloperateforpasttransactionsonlyif suchwaqf created inthepastisregisteredandisnot in dispute and does not relate to My task is not to think of current problems, but long-term growth and issues of state and devise strategies for them” BUSINESS AS USUAL PRAVEEN PARDESHI, CEA TO MAHARASHTRA CM BY UNNY ‘We are raising over Rs 30,000 cr through off-budget financing to push capex in state’ Outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Tashi Tobgyal property which is government owned. Waqf-by-userislandusedfor Muslim religious or charitable purposes for a long period of time.Suchlandisdeemedtobea waqf evenif itwasnotregistered as such. The petitioners have argued this law could potentially raise questions on the status of several such waqf properties. “As far as waqf-by-user is concerned, it will be very difficult to register. So, there is ambiguity there. You may argue that waqf-by-user is also being CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CJI strikes balance, pushes Govt for answers, draws lines for petitioners APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, APRIL 16 AS HE winds down his sixmonth tenure, Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, hearing the contentious challenge to the validity of the Waqf Act, 2025, struck a balance: pushing the Centre to address some key questions even as he drew a line for the petitioners. “There are some good aspectstoo,whichneither side is mentioning,” Justice Khanna observed attheendofthetwo-hour hearing. The CJI asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to name one instance where the Parliament had allowed interfaithmembersinboardsdealing with religious affairs of another community. When Mehta said, “Take itfromme.Idon’twantto ● name but take it from me thattherearesuchcases,” the bench of CJI Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V E EXPLAINED 17/04/2025 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MARATHI & ENGLISH-MEDIUM SCHOOLS Maharashtra: Hindi as third language made mandatory from Classes 1 to 5 PALLAVI SMART MUMBAI, APRIL 16 STUDYING HINDI as a third language will now be mandatory for students in Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English-medium schools across Maharashtra, as opposed to the prevailing practice of studying two languages. The three-language formula has been brought for these classes in Maharashtraasapartof thenew curriculumimplementationunder the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The state school education department on Wednesday declared a phase-wise implementation plan of the new curriculum framework designed as per theNEP2020recommendations for school education. The GovernmentResolution(GR)declaredinthisregardclarifiesthat other medium schools in Maharashtra are already following three-language formula since English and Marathi are compulsory in the state; and they also teach the language which is their medium of CONTINUEDONPAGE2 NEW DELHI, APRIL 16 A LUXURY apartment in Gurgaon’s ultra-exclusive The Camellias — overlooking an expansive golf course — for Rs 43 crore; a premium TaylorMade golf set for Rs 26 lakh; transfers of over Rs 11 crore to their mother and spouses. And, hundreds of kilometres away, a mostly deserted manufacturing plant that was supposed to produce tens of thousands of elec- PAGE 1 ANCHOR Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi. LinkedIn tric vehicles (EVs). These are among the revelations made by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in an interim order on Tuesday, on how brothers Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi, promoters of EPC firm Gensol Engineering Ltd and EV cab service BluSmart, diverted substantial loan amounts through complex transactions for personal use -- including the acquisitionof luxuryrealestate- and misled investors. In all, the Jaggi brothers are alleged to have diverted Rs 262 crore -- loaned by governmentowned lending agencies to procure 1,700 electric cars -- towards personal indulgences and related-party entities. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MUMBAI, APRIL 16 WITHTHEstatewitnessingarise in revenue expenditure and stagnationincapitalexpenditure that holds key to growth and achieving its target of a GDP of $1 trillion, Praveen Pardeshi, the first Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) to Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendraFadnavis,said that the government has decided to fund capital expenditure through off-budget source of funding and has planned to raise and spend around Rs 30,000croreonseveralkeyprojects—completionof around140 irrigation projects stalled over severaldecades;developmentof 7,000 km of concretised rural roads; and setting up sewage treatment plants across 490 small towns in the state — over the next two to five years. As the state has appointed a CEA to the chief minister for the first time, Pardeshi said that his task is “not to think about current problems, but to think for thelong-termgrowthandissues of the state and devise strategies for the same”. He said that while the government is busy in ad- dressing daily issues, “I don’t haveapressuretodeliveronroutine matters and so I can think of strategies for the long-term growth and development of the state.Myjobistovisualisefuture problems and start working on them now”. He added that his role is only advisory in nature and there is no interference with the finance department. “Rather the person who we work closest with, is the finance minister of the state,” he said. Aiming to push capital expenditureandtherebygrowthin the state, Pardeshi said, “Capital expenditure in the state is only about 27 per cent. If you aim for aonetrilliondollareconomy,the investment has to go on capital formation. While we cannot cut revenue expenditure, we are working on raising the capital expenditure without burdening thetaxpayer,throughoff-budget financing... While we are taking Rs 15,000 crore from NABARD for the completion of 140 stalled irrigation projects over the next two years, we are getting about CONTINUEDONPAGE2 FULL INTERVIEW TOMORROW INDIA, ITALY VISIT FROM APRIL 18 TO 24 BREAKTHROUGH AT SILKYARA ■ Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami at a ceremony to mark the breakthrough — meeting of the two ends — of the 4.531-km Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, Wednesday. ■ The milestone comes more than a year after a portion of the tunnel collapsed in November 2023, trapping 41 workers for 17 days before they were rescued. PTI How BluSmart promoters ‘diverted’ Bihar gang lured businessmen from 3 funds: Luxury flat, crores for family states — until abduction went too far AGGAM WALIA & SOUMYARENDRA BARIK ALOK DESHPANDE & SANDEEP SINGH HIMANSHU HARSH PATNA, APRIL 16 ON APRIL 11, Laxman Sadhu Shinde, a 55-year-old businessman from Pune, stepped off a flight at Patna airport. Shinde, whoownedametalcastingunit, had received an email purportedly from Coal India, offering machinery and scrap at bargain prices for his company in Pune’s Khedshivapur. Lured by the promise of a lucrative deal, he came to Bihar’s capital — only to fall victim to a Express Gang promised the victims cheap materials: Patna SSP trap that would prove fatal. The next morning, his body was discovered on a roadside under the Ghosi police station limits in Jehanabad. It was eventually identified on April 14. “Shinde’s family told the police he was unreachable after landing in Patna on April 11, and registered a case at Patna airport police station on April 13,” Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Awakash Kumar said. “He boarded a flight from Pune to Patna at 5 pm on April 11,” states the FIR filed by his brother-in-law, Vishal Lavaji Lokhande. At 7:30 pm, he called his wife, informing her that one CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 US V-P Vance in India next week: PM meeting, visits to Jaipur and Agra SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, APRIL 16 USVICEPresidentJDVance,who is going to be in India next week, is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi over dinner on April 21. Thatistheonlyconfirmedofficialprogrammesofar,asVance — accompanied by wife Usha Vance, who is of Indian-origin, and their children — will continuewithprivateengagements, including a wedding in Jaipur, according to sources. During their four-day official visit starting from April 21, they will also go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, sources said. Announcing the visit, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday: “Vice President J D Vance and the Second Family will travel to Italy and India from April18to24.TheVPwilldiscuss shared economic and geopoliticalprioritieswithleadersineach The US Vice President will be accompanied by wife Usha Vance, their children country... In India, the Vice President will visit New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. The Vice President will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Vice President and Second Family will also participate in engagements at cultural sites.” This will be Vance’s first visit to India — and Asia — since assuming office. The overall IndiaUS bilateral relationship, issue of tariffs, and negotiations on the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Odisha to Maharashtra, via Lanka: 4,500-km journey of Turtle 03233 NAYONIKA BOSE & SUJIT BISOYI MUMBAI, BHUBANESWAR, APRIL 16 EARLIER THIS year, volunteers of the Maharashtra forest departmentfoundasolitaryturtlenestingatRatnagiri’sGuhagarbeach. On closer examination, they found two glistening metal tags, one on each of its front flippers. Almost immediately, the Olive Ridley turtle had an identity — 03233 — and a back story. Theturtle,researchersfound, had made a long, arduous journey of nearly 4,500 km — start- ing from Gahirmatha in Odisha, down the east coast, possibly taking a bend around Sri Lanka, going up to Jaffna in the north, turning around and travelling down to Thiruvananthapuram before powering further up along the west coast and finally reaching the shores of Ratnagiri. Here, on the white sand beach of Guhagar, the turtlesettled down tonest,laying125eggs,of which at least 107 have since hatched. The flipper tags, bearing the number03233,revealedthatthe turtle had been tagged by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) on March 18, 2021, at Odisha’s Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary. The turtle was one of 12,000 Olive Ridleys that got the tags clipped on to their flippers (the four flattened limbs that help turtles swim and which they use during mating and nesting) that year to help researchers track their migration patterns and areas of foraging. According to the researchers, this is the first such migratory feat recorded among Olive Ridley turtles, which are known to be excellent navigators. Dr Suresh Kumar, senior scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun, who has studied the movements and migration of Olive Ridley turtles RECORDING A MIGRATORY FEAT Odisha’s Gahirmatha Mumbai Ratnagiri’s Guhagar beach Route taken by the Olive Ridley turtle Jaffna SRI LANKA At Guhagar beach, the turtle laid 125 eggs, of which 107 hatched as part of his doctoral research, says the turtle's journey took him by surprise. “I never imagined that the turtle could come all the way from the east coast to the west coast. While it may not be a rare occurrence, this is perhaps the first recorded instance of a turtle tagged on the eastern coast being discovered on the west coast. We never knew that such a migration was possible among the species.” DrKumarsaysthatwhilescientists“stronglybelieve”theturtle took the 4,500-km route aroundSriLanka,aknownforaging ground for Olive Ridley turtles, “it's possible that it took an alternative,shorterroutethrough the Pamban corridor” that links the island of Rameswaram to mainland Tamil Nadu. ZSI’s Dr Basudev Tripathy, who tagged Turtle 03233, says that its discovery on the shores of Ratnagiri in Maharashtra throws new light on the nesting patterns of Olive Ridleys. The turtles are known to exhibit a uniquesynchronisedmassnesting behaviour called arribada, as part of which thousands of female turtles converge on beaches, mostly on the Odisha coast, to lay eggs. Tripathy says that the research so far had suggested that Olive Ridleys would come to the coastsof OdishafromEasternSri Lanka, stay six months, and return after the mass nesting. “That this particular turtle nestedonRatnagiri’sshoressuggests that all Olive Ridleys don’t come to Odisha or the eastern coast for mass nesting and that sometraveltowardsthewestern coasts for nesting. This implies that we need to not only protect the east coasts (for the turtles) butalsothewestcoasts,”hesays, adding, “We can’t draw any conclusionsbasedonthemovement of one turtle. To confirm if its journey was accidental or CONTINUED ON PAGE 2