18022025-TTB-01.qxd 2/18/2025 12:33 AM 13 PITRODA’S CHINA OPINION NOT OURS: CONG NATION /thetribunechd Page 1 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 48 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 MARY OFFERS TO QUIT AS IOA ATHLETICS CHIEF SPORT tuesday | 18 february 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com There’s a limit: SC livid over Worship Act pleas Days after Jathedar’s ouster, Dhami quits as SGPC president HEAD START CJI-led Bench takes exception to filing of fresh petitions Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 17 As various political parties and leaders file fresh petitions in a case related to validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, the Supreme Court on Monday took exception to it, saying there was a limit to it. “There is a limit to which petitions can be filed. Enough is enough. There has to be an end to this. Too many petitions filed,” a Bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said after several lawyers urged the Bench to allow new intervention applications in the matter. “We will not take up the Places of Worship Act matter Row as ’65 war hero Hamid’snameerased from UP school gate Ghazipur, February 17 Family members of Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid have expressed strong displeasure over the removal of the war hero’s name from the main gate of a primary school in Ghazipur where he once studied. After recent paint work, the school in Dhamupur village in the district was renamed ‘PM Shri Composite School’, according to officials. Jameel Ahmed, continued on page 8 UP’s REPLY SOUGHT AS PART OF MOSQUE RAZED The Supreme Court on Monday directed Uttar Pradesh authorities to respond as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for razing a portion of a mosque at Kushinagar in alleged disobedience of the apex court’s direction. today. It’s a three-judge Bench matter. List it sometime in March,” the Bench said and went on to post the matter for hearing in April. The top court dismissed petitions in which no notice had been issued even as it gave liberty to petitioners to file applications raising additional grounds in the ongoing matter wherein it’s seized of petitions challenging certain petitions of the 1991 Act and those seeking implementation of the controversial law. Enacted by Parliament during the PV Narasimha Rao government in the backdrop of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir agitation, this Act freezes the religious character of a place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, except that of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri continued on page 8 Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar holds on the head an idol of Lord Ganesha that he received as a memento during the unveiling of the Advanced Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme (A-EDSP) on “Functional Foods, Neutraceuticals and their Safety” at the National Agri-Food and Biomanufacturing Institute in Sector 81, Mohali, on Monday. PHOTO: VICKY INSIDE Amritsar, February 17 Harjinder Singh Dhami on Monday resigned from his position as president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and from the seven-member committee appointed by the Akal Takht Jathedar to oversee the membership drive of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The SGPC executive is yet to decide on the acceptance of his resignation, which could potentially trigger a power struggle among Panthic leaders vying for the top SGPC post. Dhami’s resignation comes days after Giani Harpreet Singh was removed as Jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib. It also fol- Was under fire from Takht over Giani Harpreet’s sacking AKAL TAKHT HAD REBUKED SGPC Two days after Giani Harpreet Singh was sacked, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh had, in an FB post on Feb 13, criticised the action, saying it undermined the Takht’s authority and threatened its independent existence lows strong criticism from Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, who condemned the dismissal of Giani Harpreet Singh, calling it an attack on the independence and authority of the institution of Jathedar. continued on page 8 Gyanesh new CEC, Haryana CS Joshi his deputy Blast outside cop’s house in Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 17 Gyanesh Kumar, who was appointed as an Election Commissioner in March 2024, will succeed Rajiv Kumar as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). Rajiv Kumar is set to demit office on Tuesday. Haryana Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch Haryana-cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as Election Commissioner in place of Prez Murmu clears names suggested by PM-led panel Gyanesh Kumar Vivek Joshi Gyanesh Kumar. The appointments were cleared by the selection committee for the CEC and ECs, led by PM Narendra Modi and comprising Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The committee recommended the names of the next CEC and EC to President Droupadi Murmu for final appointment. An official notification from the Law Ministry came late on Monday. A 1988-batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, the 61-year-old Gyanesh Kumar is the seniormost among the two Election Commissioners, the other being SS Sandhu, who was also appointed in March 2024. Kumar previously served as Joint Secretary in the Kashmir Division continued on page 8 c m y b Batala; probe on, says SSP Batala, February 17 A blast occurred outside the house of a police constable at Raimal village under the jurisdiction of the Kotli Surat Malhi police station here on Monday. No casualties were reported. The explosion took place around 7.45 pm a few yards from the residence of Jatinder Singh, a constable posted with the Batala police. Soon after the incident, SSP Suhail Qasim Mir dis- patched a team led by an SPrank officer. The team was investigating the incident. Sources said Jatinder Singh was involved in anti-gangster operations launched by the Batala police against members of the Happy Passia group. Jatinder is posted at the Ramdass police station. The gangster is believed to be behind recent blasts at various police stations in Batala, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Amritsar. — TNS Punjab VB gets new chief;DC suspended CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Government on Monday suspended Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Tripathi and ordered a Vigilance probe against him over corruption accusations. In a surprise move, the AAP government also replaced state Vigilance Bureau chief Varinder Kumar with G Nageswara Rao. Kumar has not been given any posting and told to report to the DGP INSIDE . Delhi jolted by 4.0 quake, no one hurt NEW DELHI: Delhi residents woke up to a loud boom in the wee hours of Monday as an earthquake of magnitude 4.0 hit the city. According to the National Centre of Seismology, the earthquake hit at a depth of around 5 km. However, no one was injured. Scientists said the loud noise accompanying the quake was due to high-frequency vibrations from shallow earthquakes. — TNS Tension after Nepal pupil dies in Odisha NEW DELHI: India and Nepal were left handling a diplomatic crisis after an engineering institute in Odisha ordered Nepal students to leave hostels following death by suicide of a Nepal-origin girl on Monday. Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli took to X, saying, “Our Embassy in New Delhi has dispatched two officers to counsel Nepali students affected in Odisha.” BACK PAGE