12042018-TTC-01.qxd 12-04-2018 01:23 Page 1 13 established in 1881 thursday,april 12, 2018 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | jammu | srinagar | www.tribuneindia.com | vol. 2 no. 100 | 16 pages | ~4.50 | regd. no. chd/0006/2018-2020 /thetribunechd /thetribunechd 5% GST now on canteen, mess in institutions Prerogativeof CJI to allocate cases, rules SC New Delhi, April 11 Food and drinks in a mess or canteen of an educational institution would attract 5 per cent GST. However, if schools up to higher secondary level supply food directly to students, then the same are exempt from the Goods and Services Tax, the finance ministry has said. Meanwhile, the Kerala Bench of the Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has said that recovery of food expenses from the employees for canteen services provided by a company is taxable as a supply of service under the GST. — TNS/PTI Dismisses PIL seeking guidelines Rescuers are seen around the wreckage of the Algerian plane which crashed near the Boufarik airbase on Wednesday. REUTERS Govt scraps ban on sale of cattle for slaughter New Delhi, April 11 The government has withdrawn a ban on the sale of animals for slaughter in livestock markets across the country, in draft rules pertaining to prevention of cruelty to animals. Once the new rules are notified, cattle, including cows, can be sold in animal markets, even for slaughter wherever it is legal. The old notification mandated declarations by sellers and buyers that the animals would not be taken for slaughter, drawing widespread criticism. — PTI 257 die in Algerian IL-76 crash Military transport plane goes down after take-off in agricultural field Algiers, April 11 More than 250 persons were killed when a military plane crashed in a field near Algeria’s capital on Wednesday, state media said, with witnesses saying they saw a wing catch fire shortly after the plane took off. Dozens of firefighters, rescue workers and military officials worked around the blackened fuselage of the aircraft, which had been ripped open near its wings. Bits of mangled and smouldering debris were scattered across the field near Boufarik airport southwest of Algiers. “An Ilyushin military transport plane crashed directly after takeoff in an agricultural field that was clear of residents,” Maj Gen Boualem Madi said. A line of white body bags could be seen on the ground next to the wreck of what media said was a Russian Ilyushin IL-76, part of which was still intact. “After taking off, with the plane at a height of 150 metres, I saw the fire on its wing. The pilot avoided crashing on the road when he changed the flight path to the field,” Abd El Karim, a witness, said. A total of 257 persons were killed, most of them military, the defence ministry said. Ten crew and other people described as family members died, and a number of survivors were being treated. A member of Algeria’s ruling FLN party told Ennahar the dead included 26 members of the Polisario Front, an Algerian-backed group fighting for the independence of neighbouring Western Sahara, a territory also claimed by Morocco in a long-running dispute. A source close to Polisario said the dead included four refugee children and that 30 refugees who had received medical treatment in the capital had been killed. The plane had been heading to Tindouf on the border with Western Sahara. Tindouf is home to tens of thousands of refugees. The UN has long been trying to broker a settlement for Western Sahara, contested since 1975 when Spanish colonial powers left. — Reuters New Delhi, April 11 The Chief Justice of India is the “first among equals” and occupies a unique position having the “exclusive prerogative” to allocate cases and set up Benches to hear cases, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday. The verdict assumed significance as it came in the backdrop of the January 12 unprecedented press conference of the seniormost judges, including Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, raising the issue of improper allocation of cases. Former law minister Shanti Bhushan has also recently filed a PIL seeking clarification on the administrative authority of the CJI as the ‘master of roster’ and laying down of principles in preparing the roster for allocation of cases to Benches. “In his capacity as a judge, the CJI is primus inter pares: the first among equals. In the discharge of his other functions, the Chief Justice of India occupies a position which is sui generis (unique)... Article 146 reaffirms the position of the CJI as the head of the institution. “From an institutional perspective, the Chief Justice is placed at the helm of the Supreme Court. In the allocation of cases and the constitution of Benches, the Chief Justice has an exclusive prerogative,” a Bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said. Dismissing a PIL filed by lawyer Ashok Pande seeking a “set procedure” to constitute Benches and allot cases, the Bench said that as a “repository of constitutional trust, the Chief Justice is an institution in himself”. “The ultimate purpose behind the entrustment of authority to the CJI is to ensure that the Supreme Court is able to fulfil and discharge the constitutional obligations which govern and provide the rationale for its existence,” it said. The entrustment of functions to the CJI as the head of the institution is with the purpose of securing the position of the SC as an independent safeguard for the preservation of personal liberty, it said, adding “there cannot be a presumption of mistrust”. — PTI Soldier killed as Pak targets Poonch posts Jammu, April 11 A soldier was killed in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan on Wednesday in the Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district. The Pakistan army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms and mortars at 4.45 pm on forward posts to which the Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively. Naik Thorat Kiran Popatrao (31) was grievously injured and succumbed. Naik Popatrao belonged to Fakirabad Wadi village of Aurangabad, Maharashtra, and is survived by his wife Shrimati Aarti. — TNS ~5,280-cr loan toMehulChoksi under CBI lens New Delhi, April 11 A loan of Rs 5,280 crore extended by a consortium of 31 banks led by ICICI Bank to the companies of absconding jeweller Mehul Choksi has come under the scanner of the CBI. The agency questioned three officials from foreign branches of Indian banks, which had given credit facilities to the companies of absconding billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, on the basis of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) issued by Punjab National Bank’s Brady House branch in Mumbai. — PTI TRIBUNE PHOTO: MANOJ MAHAJAN 4 civilians, soldier killed; militants escape Locals in Kulgam parade three ultras after security forces withdraw post 16-hr gunfight Suhail A Shah Anantnag, April 11 After a 16-hour gunfight, in which four civilians and a soldier were killed and two houses were reduced to rubble, at least three militants were brought out alive by locals and paraded through the streets in Khodweni area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Wednesday. “The encounter is over and I am told the militants have been brought out alive by the people,” Director General of Police SP Vaid said. Vaid said four civilians were killed in the crossfire during the encounter: Sarjeel Ahmad of Khodweni, Aijaz Ahmad Palla of Bijbehara, A house in flames during the encounter in Kulgam. AMIN WAR Bilal Ahmad Dar of Hawoora near Khodweni and Faisal Ilahi of Shopian. At least 67 persons, two of them Army men, were injured. The slain Army man was identified as Sepoy Sada Gunaka Rao from Andhra Pradesh. The gunfight erupted late on Monday night in Wani Mohalla area, which was cordoned off following inputs on the presence of militants. “As the area was being cordoned off, the militants fired in a bid to escape. The forces retaliated, confining the militants to a cluster of houses,” a senior police official said. He said the fire was halted soon after the initial burst and resumed in the wee hours of the morning. “Three Army men were injured and one of them later succumbed to his injuries,” the official said. The gunfight continued till late afternoon after which the guns fell silent even as security forces employed choppers to survey the site. “Bulldozers were brought in to rummage through the rubble to try and locate the bodies of the militants,” the police official said, adding that the operation was called off as no bodies were found. However, soon after the security forces withdrew, people marched to the encounter site and brought out three militants alive. The militants, sources said, were paraded through the area in a celebratory fashion as two of them rode a bike and another one, injured, was carried on shoulders. “The militants clicked selfies and then fled,” sources said. In the morning, hundreds of people had marched towards the encounter site. “The forces used bullets, pellets and tear smoke shells to disperse the protesters,” sources said. Guv meet shifted FB for ‘integrity of India polls’ from UT to Delhi Zuckerberg says will ensure data protection, no interference To be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 4-5 Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 11 In a surprise development, the National Conference of Governors scheduled to be held in Chandigarh from May 18 to 20 has now been shifted to New Delhi and will be held as per the precedent at Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 4 and 5. Government sources said a formal communication to this effect was sent to the UT Administration on Wednesday. However, the UT top brass remained tightlipped over the development. Even as Rashtrapati Bhavan cited no reason behind the shifting of the conference from Chandigarh, it is learnt that the closure of the local airport (from May 12-31 for runway repairs) during that period was one of the major reasons behind the move. It was for the first time that the National Conference of Governors was scheduled to be held in Chandigarh as all the previous 48 annual conferences had been held at Rashtrapati Bhavan only. Ever since the UT Administration had got the information that the conference would be held in Chandigarh, it had been busy making elaborate arrangements for the mega event, which is presided over by the President. Besides the Vice-President, PM all 27 Governors and three Lieutenant Governors take part in it. On April 6, Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore had called a high-level meeting to discuss the preparations. Washington, April 11 Facebook is committed to ensure the integrity of elections in countries like India, Pakistan and the US, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said as he was questioned for nearly five hours by senators over the Cambridge Analytica scandal that has shaken the social media giant. Zuckerberg’s first day of testimony came after it was recently revealed that the British marketing firm Cambridge Analytica tied to US President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign improperly collected profile data of up to 87 million Facebook users. The scandal shook confidence in Facebook. Zuckerberg, 33, who is also the founder of Facebook, said data privacy and foreign interference in elections were topics that they have discussed at board meetings. “These are some of the MY DATA WAS SHARED TOO: FACEBOOK CEO ❝ Yes... my personal data was included in that of 87 m or so Facebook users that was improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. Mark Zuckerberg, FACEBOOK CEO . biggest issues that the company has faced, and we feel a huge responsibility to get these right,” he told lawmakers, adding that “this is one of my top priorities in 2018”. “2018 is an incredibly important year. Not just in the US mid-terms, but, around the world, there are important elections — in India, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan and Hungary. We want to make sure we do everything we can to protect the integrity of these poll,” he said. “What we’re going to do is to ask a valid government identity and we’re going to verify the location,” he added. — Agencies Freedom of a country is not freedom of its govt: Ex-PM Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 11 Quoting Dr BR Ambedkar thrice, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the “freedom of a country is not the freedom of its government... it is the freedom of people, which in turn is not the freedom only of its privileged and powerful, but the freedom of every Indian”. Returned to alma mater Panjab University in a more familiar role, the former Prime Minister delivered a lecture in memory of his mentor Prof SB Rangnekar, before a packed house. “Freedom is the freedom to question, to express one’s views, howsoever troubling they may be for others. The only constraint to freedom must be the freedom of others — in other words, the freedom of one person or a group should not be used to constrain the freedom of other individuals or groups,” he said in his lecture on “The 70th anniversary of our Independence — Strengthening the roots of our democracy”. The former PM said a dangerous and false binary was surfacing in the Indian political discourse, which must be firmly rejected. “It is that we have to choose between freedom and development. It is not a new binary. The argument was put to Mahatma Gandhi that good governance and development are ‘GOVERNANCE IS SLOW, COMPLEX, MESSY’ ❝ Governance is complex. It is messy. It is slow. Its benefits are long term. It requires great patience. Above all, democracy is a system in which people without privilege have a decisive voice in governance. If this is lost, democracy becomes meaningless ‘FALSE BINARY EMERGING’ We need to ask ourselves whether we are losing patience with democracy and turning to more authoritarian alternatives that may well yield superior short-term results, but in the long term will end up destroying our country Dr Manmohan Singh, FORMER PRIME MINISTER better than Swaraj. The argument was also widely advanced that India was not ready for freedom, that continued British Raj would be better for us. The choice of the people of India then was, and still is, clear and unambiguous. We will be free and independent.” Stressing that hatred should never be allowed to enter India’s shores ever again, Dr Singh said: “Who can ever forget when at the time of Partition in 1947, the ancient fabric of our deeprooted fraternity was sought to be deliberately torn and destroyed? I bear personal witness to its unspeakable consequences.” On the electoral system, he said there was widespread concern it was being undermined by money and muscle power. “The faith of people in democratic elections as the best system to select a government that would govern in the common interest is today being eroded — as much by a sustained campaign to attack democratic institutions and elected representatives as by the increasing political corruption and the capture of political parties and elected office by vested interests.” “Dr Ambedkar once worried that the day may come when people may prefer a government for the people to government by and of the people. He saw that as a great danger,” the former PM cautioned.