26092018-TTC-01.qxd 9/26/2018 1:22 AM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | jammu | srinagar | vol.138 no.266 | 30 pages | ~4.50 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 | wednesday, september 26,2018 ! late city MUD-SLINGING WON’T WORK, SAYS PM; ASKS CONG TO DEBATE ISSUES PAGE 7 WORLD IS SUFFERING FROM BAD CASE OF ‘TRUST DEFICIT DISORDER’ PAGE 13 /thetribunechd THE TRIBUNE RELIEF FUND FOR KERALA SC fine with MPs, MLAs as lawyers LT GEN MANOJ MUKUND NARAVANE TO HEAD EASTERN COMMAND PAGE 16 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Highest sporting honour ‘COURT CAN’T MAKE LAW’ PHOTOS: MUKESH AGGARWAL/PTI truth, which is a termite to the citadel of democracy, be that as it may, the court cannot make the law No rule to ‘restrict them from practising’ Satya Prakash Tribune News Service An Appeal to Readers The flood fury of the Western Ghats has drowned the beautiful coastal state of Kerala in a sea of sorrow. The Tribune readers have always shown their magnanimity during such calamities in the past. The Tribune Trust, which has decided to contribute ~20 lakh, appeals to its readers to donate generously. Your donation will make a difference to the families of those who have lost their lives and homes. The names of all those who donate ~500 and above will be published. All such donations are eligible for deduction under Section 80-G of the Income Tax Act. Donations should be in the form of crossed cheques or demand drafts in favour of the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and sent to The Tribune Trust, Sector 29-C, Chandigarh – 160030 or to The Tribune offices in various cities. All donations will be duly sent to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. While making the donation, please clearly mention your name, address and PAN number. — The Tribune Trust IN BRIEF India lifting millions out of poverty, Trump tells UN United Nations: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called India a “free society” and lauded its efforts to lift millions of its citizens out of poverty as he addressed world leaders at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. In his second address to the General Debate of the UN General Assembly that opened here Tuesday, Trump said, “There is India, a free society (of) over a billion people, successfully lifting countless millions out of poverty and into the middle class.” PTI Renowned commentator Jasdev Singh passes away New Delhi: Renowned commentator Jasdev Singh, considered the voice of Indian sports on Doordarshan, died on Tuesday after prolonged illness. He was 87 and is survived by his son and daughter. From 1963, he also did commentary for the Republic Day celebrations for 48 long years. BACK PAGE New Delhi, September 25 The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to ban MPs and MLAs from practising as advocates, saying it was not backed by provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961, and Bar Council of India Rules. A three-Judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra rejected a PIL filed by Delhi BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who wanted the top court to debar MPs, MLAs and MLCs having Bar licences from practising in courts during their tenure as lawmakers. “The closest rule framed by the Bar Council of India is Rule 49 which, however, has no application to the elected people’s representatives as they do not fall in the category of full-time salaried employee of any person, firm, government, corporation or concern. “As there is no express provision to prohibit or restrict the legislators from practising as advocates during the relevant period, the question of granting relief, as prayed, to debar them from practising as advocates cannot be countenanced. Even the alternative relief to declare Rule 49 as unconstitutional, does not commend to us. As of now, the Bar Council of India has made its stand continued on page 7 55 IIT students back to safety from Lahaul 900 still stuck in HP I 493 bus routes off Shimla, September 25 As many as 270 stranded tourists, including 55 students from IIT-Rorkee and five from Kolkata, were rescued from the snowbound Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh today. However, over 900 persons, including foreigners, were feared to be stuck in Sarchu, Bharatpur, Jispa, Darcha, and Zing Zing Bar on the Manali-Leh highway and at Chandratal, Batal, Chatru, Kunzum Pass and Gramphu. Services on 493 bus routes remained suspended for the third day with 619 roads across the state blocked by landslides. An IAF chopper airlifted five tourists stranded at Patseo to Bhuntar. In another operation, 249 tourists, including the 55 IITRoorki students lodged in a hotel at Sissu, were evacuated to safety, BRO commander AK Awasthi said. CM Jai Ram Thakur undertook an aerial survey of rainravaged Kullu and LahaulSpiti. “We have urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for ~200 crore as immediate aid for relief, restoration and rehabilitation,” he said. — TNS Detailed reports page 10 Supreme Court Bench Tainted can contest polls Satya Prakash Tribune News Service Virat Kohli bows before receiving the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award — sharing the country’s highest sporting honour with world champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu (right) — from President Ram Nath Kovind in New Delhi on Tuesday as actor wife Anushka Sharma looks on. PAGE 14 Key SC rulings today, including on Aadhaar New Delhi, September 25 The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce on Wednesday a number of significant judgments, including the validity of the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme, live streaming of court proceedings and granting quota benefits in promotions to SC/ST employees. The verdict will also be delivered on whether the grant of stay on the conviction of a disqualified lawmaker by an appellate court would revive his or her House membership. There are several other cases in which the SC will pronounce its judgments in the coming days. — PTI Tribune News Service Jammu, September 25 Despite threats from terrorists, about 1,500 candidates in Jammu and Kashmir have filed their nominations for the first phase of urban local body elections scheduled for October 8. The elections are to be held in four phases. Nominations for the first phase closed on Tuesday. A total of 422 municipal wards will go to the polls on October 8. According to official sources, people in North Kashmir have virtually ignored the poll boycott call, with a sizeable number of candidates from this area. “In Kupwara district, 72 Gosain murder accused attacks Jalandhar groups point to language divide with Kerala clergy Sena leader Jalandhar, September 25 fit to be appointed to the post With the arrest of clergyman of Bishop.” Auxiliary Bish- inside Ropar jail Franco Mulakkal last Friday op Agnelo Rufino Gracias Nuns protest in Kerala. FILE SUMMONS TO PRO OVER ‘VICTIM’ PIC Kottayam: Expanding its probe in the case of alleged rape of a nun by a Roman Catholic bishop, the Kerala Police on Tuesday issued a notice to the PRO of the Missionaries of Jesus congregation, asking her to appear before it over a complaint about releasing a photograph of the alleged victim. the Roman Catholic Union, went to the extent of saying, “Bishop Franco is being punished for he has been maintaining that Punjabis are not from Archdiocese Bombay, who has been given the administrator’s charge here, is yet to take over. Meanwhile, after the arrest of Bishop Mulakkal in the alleged rape case, not a single organisation has come out in his favour, barring about 20 Valmiki youth who demanded that he be freed. While some attribute it to groupism, there is also talk of an apparent PunjabiMalayali divide. Though headquartered in Jalandhar, the Diocese has more than 50 educational institutions in Punjab and Himachal. Another reason being attributed is that the percentage of Christians in Punjab is just 1.1 per cent, 90 per cent of them being Dalits. — TNS Governor shoots a silver in his first pro event Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 25 Age is just a number, as Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore proved on Tuesday. Participating in a professional shooting event for the first time in his life, Badnore, 70, won the silver medal in the veterans category of the trap event in the GV Mavalankar Shooting Championship in Bhopal. “I want to make it clear that 1,500 file papers for Phase I of J&K polls Now, clamour for Punjabi Bishop by Kerala Police, some Christian groups have raised the demand for having a Punjabi Bishop here. Lying low all these years, the Punjab Christian Movement, led by Hamid Masih, has raised the issue of a Punjabi Bishop “to cut across the language divide affecting Christians, largely Dalits”. “Priests from Kerala do not understand us and we are unable to make out what they say in English or Malayalam,” Masih said. United Christian Front president George Soni, though supportive of the Bishop unlike Masih, too backs the demand for having a Punjabi Bishop. Yet another Punjabi Christian leader, Peter Sahota, a member of Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore takes aim on Tuesday. my aim was not to win a medal here, it was to visit the shooting facility and see if we can have something better than this in our region,” Badnore told The Tribune. ❝ Thoughacriminalisation in politics is bitter manifest The tournament is being held at the MP Shooting Academy range in Bhopal. Admittedly, the field was rather sparse with only four contestants, but Badnore did well to score 14 points, nine points behind gold winner Pravinsinh Jaysingrao Ghatge of Maharashtra. The trap event involves shooting at flying clay targets released from a spring trap. Badnore had been preparing for the Bhopal tournament continued on page 14 Today’s issue is of 30 pages, including four-page Jobs and Careers six-page Chandigarh Tribune and four-page Life+Style. Tribune News Service Ropar, September 25 Shiv Sena leader Nishant Sharma, who was brought to the local jail on Monday after being convicted in a cheating case, was attacked by Ramandeep Singh Bagga alias Canadian, an accused in the killing of RSS leader Ravinder Gosain. Sharma had three years ago assaulted Babbar Khalsa activist Nishant Sharma Jagtar Singh Hawara while he was being taken for a court hearing in Chandigarh. On the hit list of Khalistanis since then, he had been given a police cover. On Tuesday, Ramandeep and two other inmates overpowered the sentry deployed at the barrack where Sharma was lodged and broke the lock on three gates to reach their target. Jail Superintendent Baljeet Singh Vaid said keeping in view the threat to the Sena leader’s life, Bagga had been confined to his cell since Monday evening. “This morning at 8.30 am, he came out of his cell on the pretext of preparing meals. Soon after, inmates Iqbal Preet Singh and Bahadurjeet Singh positioned themselves in front of Sharma’s barrack. continued on page 7 NUMBER GAME ■ Total wards going to polls 422 wards (149 in Kashmir, 26 in Ladakh and 247 in Jammu) ■ Total nominations 1,138 in Jammu, 106 in Ladakh and about 250 in Kashmir have filed papers for the 26 wards each in Kupwara and Handwara municipal committees. For the 17 wards of Bandipora MC, 48 candidates have filed papers while their number for the 21 wards of the Baramulla MC is 40.” The authorities refused to give details of the candidates in terror-hit South Kashmir. “Barring a few wards, we continued on page 7 New Delhi, September 25 Displaying judicial restraint, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refrained from debarring politicians facing serious criminal charges from contesting polls and instead left it to Parliament to enact a law to rid Indian politics of criminals. “In a multi-party democracy, where members are elected on party lines and are subject to party discipline, we recommend to Parliament to bring out a strong law whereby it is mandatory to revoke membership of persons against whom charges are framed in heinous and grievous offences and not to set up such persons in elections, both for Parliament and State Assemblies,” a fivejudge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said, dismissing a PIL that wanted the top court to debar politicians against whom charges had been framed in connection with a heinous crime. “This, in our attentive and plausible view, would go a long way in achieving decriminalisation of politics and usher in an era of immaculate, spotless, unsullied and virtuous constitutional democracy,” said the Bench, which also included Justices RF SC asks Parliament to enact debarring law Parties to publicise criminal antecedents Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra. “The judicial arm of the State being laden with the duty of being the final arbiter of the Constitution and protector of constitutional ethos cannot usurp the power which it does not have,” it said. Discussing the Vohra Committee report on criminalisation of politics, Law Commission’s 244th report on electoral disqualifications and its own verdicts on electoral reforms, the Bench expressed serious concern over criminalisation of politics. It cited a Law Commission report that said in the 10 years since 2004, 18 per cent of the candidates contesting either national or state elections have criminal cases pending against them (11,063 out of 62,847). The Bench directed a tainted candidate to fill up particulars about his/her criminal antecedents in bold letters while filing the nomination continued on page 7 edit: criminals in houses