08122024-TTC-01.qxd 12/8/2024 12:34 AM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 8 NO. 339 | 28 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 MOTION TO IMPEACH SOUTH KOREAN PREZ FAILS WORLD /thetribunechd DUAL POWER CENTRE HURTING UT: VALLEY LEGISLATORS J&K REMEMBERING NEK CHAND ON HIS BIRTH CENTENARY SPECTRUM NO PROPOSAL FOR BRICS CURRENCY, SAYS EAM BACK PAGE sunday | 8 december 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com 3-judge Bench to take up pleas against Places of Worship Act 6 petitions pending before top court | Matter to be heard on Dec 12 Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 7 The Supreme Court has constituted a Special Bench to hear a batch of PILs challenging the validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits filing a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947. The Special Bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice KV Viswanathan, will hear the matter on December 12. The Act prohibits the conversion of any place of worship, except Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, and freezes the religious character of a place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. There are six petitions, including those filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar ACT ARBITRARY, CLAIM PETITIONERS ■ There are six pleas against certain provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 ■ Hindu groups have sought to reclaim several mosques, Upadhyay and former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, against certain provisions of the law. Some of the petitions have been pending since 2020. The petitioners alleged the 1991 law created an “arbitrary and irrational retrospective cut-off date” of August 15, 1947, for maintaining the character of the places of worship or pilgrimage against encroachments done by “fundamentalist and barbaric invaders and lawbreakers”. claiming these were built after razing temples ■ The Muslim side has sought dismissal of all pleas saying there are attempts to disrupt communal harmony The top court had on January 9, 2023, sought responses of the Centre on pending pleas challenging certain provisions of the 1991 Act, which took away the right of judicial remedy to reclaim a place of worship of any person or a religious group. The hearing assumes significance in view of the fact that there are several mosques and dargahs which Hindu groups have sought to reclaim on the ground that they were built on pre-exist- ing temples. In an intervention application filed in the top court, the managing committee of Anjuman Intezamia Masajid, Varanasi, has sought the dismissal of all petitions against the Act on the ground that these are based on “rhetorical and communal claims” that could disrupt communal harmony and the rule of law. The committee listed disputes concerning Shahi Idgah Masjid, Mathura; Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Qutub Minar, Delhi; Kamal Maula Mosque, Bhojshala Complex in Madhya Pradesh; Bija Mandal Mosque, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh; Teele Wali Masjid, Lucknow; Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Rajasthan; Jama Masjid and dargah of Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh; Baba Budangiri Dargah, Hosakoti, Karnataka; Badruddin Shah Dargah, Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh; continued on page 13 ISKCON temple set afire, idol damaged near Dhaka Dhaka/Kolkata, December 7 A group of people set an ISKCON temple on fire in Bangladesh’s Dhaka district on Saturday. The attack at Dhour village, under the Turag police station in Dhaka district, took place in the early hours of Saturday. A police official said a manhunt had been launched to track the culprits. According to Charu Chandra Das Brahmachary, gener- Avoid travel to Syria, govtissuesadvisory DELHI: As Islamist-led rebels continue to make further advances in Syria, India has advised its citizens to avoid travel to the country and urged those staying there to exercise “utmost precaution”. In an advisory, the MEA asked the Indians living in the country to leave by the earliest available commercial flights. — PTI NEW Against changes to Waqf:ChristianMPs NEW DELHI: Christians should take an in-principle stand on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as it affects the rights of minorities as enshrined in the Constitution, MPs from the community are learnt to have told the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. INSIDE M&M to contest for ‘BE 6e’ trademark NEW DELHI: Mahindra & Mahin- dra has decided to rename its new electric vehicle brand as ‘BE 6’ but noted that it will continue to contest in court with InterGlobe Aviation for the trademark ‘BE 6e’. The aviation firm has taken the automaker to court over the usage of 6E in its new EV brand. — PTI al secretary of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Bangladesh, the temple was set on fire after lifting the tin roof. “The fire was, however, doused quickly but an idol was damaged and curtains burnt,” he added. In India, Radharamn Das, vice-president, ISKCON, Kolkata, said the “vandals set ablaze idols inside the temple at the property.” “The ISKCON Namhatta Centre burned down in Bangladesh. The deities of Sri Sri Laxmi Narayan and all items inside the temple were burned down completely,” Das said in a post on X. Condemning the attack, BJP’s West Bengal unit president and Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar said it was an act of hatred against a place of worship. “Immediate action must be taken to bring the culprits to justice and ensure the safety of religious minorities,” Majumdar said. The relations between India and Bangladesh came under strain after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power after deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country on August 5 following students’ led protest. — PTI Raj miners eat into Nuh Aravallis; Haryana to claim costs, plug gaps Sumedha Sharma Tribune News Service Gurugram, December 7 The Haryana Government has decided to recover from Rajasthan loss worth crores of rupees caused due to illegal mining in the Aravallis by licensed miners of the neighbouring state. As per an estimate, mining contractors from Rajasthan have caused Haryana a loss of Rs 2,500 crore in the last two years by illegal mining in the Aravallis along Nuh border in the garb of “confusion over jurisdiction”. To curb the menace, the Haryana Government said it would go for remote sensing technique Lidar (light detection and ranging) and demarcate the boundary along the Aravalli hills using GPS. Talking to The Tribune, Environment Minister Rao Narbir said, “Confusion over few land assets in the border area is common, but when mining operations are carried out over large tracts of land, it is not acceptable. Aravallis are crucial for the ecology of the region. We will not just sort out issues concerning demarcation and jurisdiction but also recover costs from Rajasthan. We will assess the loss and ask the neighbouring state to recover it from its miners and com- Days after oath, Ajit Pawar gets relief in ~1,000-cr assets case New Delhi, December 7 Days after taking oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar has got a big relief with the Prevention of Benami Property Transactions Appellate Tribunal dismissing charges of benami property ownership against him and his family. NO EVIDENCE OF BENAMI OWNERSHIP: TRIBUNAL Police personnel inspect a site of illegal mining in Nuh district. FILE ILLEGAL OPS AMID UNCLEAR DEMARCATION ■ Contractors from Rajasthan expand mining ops to Nuh citing lack of demarcation ■ In 2023 alone, miners fattened several hills in Nahari- ka, Chittora and Rava villages of Nuh district ■ Haryana will now demarcate the boundary and recover ~2,500 cr from Rajasthan pensate us. We will also act against police inaction over illegal mining complaints.” In 2023 alone, over 8 crore metric tonnes of mining minerals from hills spread across Naharika, Chittora and Rava villages in Nuh vanished, which not just flattened the hills but also caused the state a loss of over Rs 2,100 crore. Villagers claim since no action was taken despite registration of FIRs, mining continues unabated in the hills continued on page 12 Following the tribunal’s verdict, the Income Tax Department has cleared his properties worth over Rs 1,000 crore in a benami case, seized during the 2021 investigation. The tribunal’s ruling comes soon after Ajit Pawar took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister along with Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, during the swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister. The tribunal found no substantial evidence to support claims of benami ownership and concluded that all the payments for the ‘properties in question’ were made via legitimate channels and hence they were being cleared of the benami charges. “There is no evidence to suggest that Ajit Pawar or his family transferred funds to acquire benami continued on page 12