17042025-TTC-01.qxd 4/17/2025 12:34 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 105 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 MAMATA BLAMES SHAH, BSF FOR FUELLING UNREST IN WB NATION /thetribunechd ARUN PALLI SWORN IN AS HIGH COURT CHIEF JUSTICE J&K GOLD SOARS ~1,650 TO JHAJJAR’S SURUCHI WINS SCALE FRESH PEAK OF SHOOTING WC GOLD, ~98,100 BUSINESS BHAKER SILVER SPORT thursday | 17 april 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com ANI Will Muslims also find place on Hindu boards, SC asks Centre No coercive action against Bajwa till April 22: HC to Pb Sanjeev Singh Bariana Tribune News Service Justice Gavai to be Says will ‘balance the equities’, moots stay on Waqf Act provisions next CJI, will take Satya Prakash from ex officio ones, would be EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER BENGAL VIOLENCE included in the Waqf council. charge on May 14 NewDelhi, April 16 The Bench pointed out that The Supreme Court expressed serious concern over the vioTribune News Service New Delhi, April 16 Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday recommended to the Centre to appoint Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, as the next CJI. Justice Gavai will become the 52nd CJI following the retirement of Justice Khanna on May 13. He would be administered the oath of office on May 14 after continued on page 8 Amid violent protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act2025 in West Bengal and other states, the Supreme Court on Wednesday proposed to stay some of its key provisions, including the power to denotify properties declared as Waqf by courts and inclusion of non-Muslims in central Waqf councils and boards. The contentious issue of allowing non-Muslims in the governance of Waqf proper- lence in West Bengal during protests against the amendment. “One thing is very disturbing… the violence that is taking place. If the matter is pending here, it should not happen,” the SC said. ties saw sharp exchanges between a three-judge Bench led by CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The Bench, which also included Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice KV Viswanathan, questioned the logic behind permitting nonMuslims in Waqf governance, while a similar reciprocity did not apply to Hindu religious endowments. “Are you suggesting that Muslims could now be part of Hindu endowment boards as well? Please state it openly,” the CJI told Mehta, who clarified that not more than two non-Muslim members, apart under the new Act, only eight of the 22 members of the Central Waqf Council would be Muslims. “If eight are Muslims, two may be judges who might not be Muslims. That leaves a majority of non-Muslims. How is this consistent with the religious character of the institution,” it asked. The tensions briefly escalated when the law officer appeared to question the neutrality of continued on page 8 Congress workers protest ED action against party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul in New Delhi on Wednesday. PHOTO: MUKESH AGGARWAL Graft vs vendetta: BJP, Cong face off over ED action against Gandhis Aditi Tandon and Ubeer Naqushbandi Tribune News Service Dulat’sbookclaims Farooq ‘backed’ Art370abrogation Haryana slaps ‘no work, no pay’ on contractual staff for strike in 2024 SRINAGAR: Pradeep Sharma Former RAW chief and long-time Kashmir watcher Amarjit Singh Dulat’s revelation that former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had “backed” the Article 370 abrogation triggered a political storm in the Valley on Wednesday. Farooq accused Dulat of “cheap stunts” to boost the sales of his book. INSIDE Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 16 The Nayab Singh Saini government today cracked the whip on contractual employees who had gone on strike seeking the regularisation of their services from July 20 to August 3, 2024, by invoking the principle of “no work, no pay”. NO BREAK IN SERVICE Though the Haryana Government has decided against paying salaries, there will be no break in the service of the staff An order of the Haryana Human Resources Department, issued on behalf of the Chief Secretary, said the strik- ing employees would not be paid any remuneration for the strike days. However, taking a liberal view, the government has decided not to effect any break in their service. Thousands of contractual employees had gone on strike demanding the regularisation of their services last year. continued on page 8 US Vice-President Vance to visit India from April 21 to 24 NEW DELHI: US Vice-President JD Vance and his wife Usha, the first Indian-American Second Lady, will visit India from April 21-24, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The visit will see him hold talks with PM Modi amid increasing global trade disruptions over the Trump administration’s tariff tussle. BACK PAGE c m y b New Delhi, April 16 The action of the Enforcement Directorate against the Gandhis in the National Herald case kicked up a political storm today with the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress mounting counter-narratives to make their points. While the BJP led by former , minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, framed the issue as an alleged “corporate conspiracy by the Gandhis to grab public assets”, Congress veterans Jairam Ramesh and Abhishek Singhvi called the Vadra grilled for second consecutive day BACK PAGE ED action a “political vendetta meant to digress from government failures”. At the heart of the matter is Subramanian Swamy’s private complaint that the Gandhis used Congress funds to take over Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), publishers of the National Herald newspaper, and later illegally acquired AJL assets worth thousands of crores. The Congress argues that as part of its commitment to legacy newspaper National continued on page 8 Chandigarh, April 16 In a relief to Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday directed the Punjab Government not to initiate any coercive action against him till April 22 in connection with an FIR lodged over his “50 bombs have reached Punjab” remarks. Justice Deepak Gupta’s Bench issued a notice to the state government on Bajwa’s plea seeking quashing of the FIR, while directing the Congress leader to cooperate with the investigation. The case will next be heard on April 22. The controversy stems from Bajwa’s TV interview where he claimed “50 bombs have reached Punjab, out of which 18 were used”. The Congress leader was later booked. The high court specifically barred Bajwa from making any press statements about the case. Bajwa’s counsel APS Deol pointed out that the FIR was politically motivated and violated free speech rights, noting no preliminary inquiry was conducted as required. The state countered that preliminary inquiries weren’t mandatory before lodging an FIR for cognisable offences.