01042026-TTC-01.qxd 5/1/2026 12:46 AM Page 1 c m y b 13 SUU KYI TO BE MOVED TO HOUSE ARREST WORLD /thetribunechd CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 119 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 friday | 1 may 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com ON SAME TRACK PTI Remove time limit on rape victims’ MTP: SC New Delhi, April 30 The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to consider further amending the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 to remove the gestational time limit for termination of pregnancy of rape victims. “Please amend your law…When there is pregnancy due to rape, there should not be a time limit…Law needs to be organic and in sync with evolving time,” a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said while dealing with the case of a 15year-old rape victim carrying a 30-week pregnancy. Reiterating its pro-choice stand, the Bench refused to entertain a curative petition by AIIMS doctorsforreconsiderationofitsorder to terminate the minor rape victim’s 30-week pregnancy, saying it has to be the choice of the survivor and her parents. “This is a curative petition. Unwanted pregnancy cannot be thrust upon a person. Imagine! She is a child… She should be studying now. But we want to make her a mother. Imagine the pain, the humiliation the child continued on page 8 edit:Abortion autonomy AAP govt plans trust motion today; issues whip to MLAs for spl session TMC claims ballot box tampering, EC rejects charge Satya Prakash Tribune News Service Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union MoS Jitendra Singh and J&K CM Omar Abdullah at the flag-off ceremony of first direct Vande Bharat Express Girls outshine boys in ICSE, ISC results NEW DELHI: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations has declared the ICSE (Class X) and ISC (Class XII) results, with pass percentages of 99.18 and 99.13, respectively. Girls outperformed boys in both examinations. INSIDE Export duties on jet fuel, diesel slashed NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday cut export duties on diesel and aviation turbine fuel and left duties on domestic consumption of petrol and diesel unchanged. In a notification, the government said the export duty on diesel was cut to ~23 per litre from ~55.5. — Reuters between Jammu and Srinagar. Vaishnaw promised to focus on linking remote areas such as Poonch, Rajouri and Uri with the country’s rail network. INSIDE Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 30 Ahead of the special Assembly session on May 1, Punjab’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party has issued a whip to all its MLAs, directing them to attend the one-day session. Though officially the government has said the session is being convened to honour the working class, the corridors of power are abuzz with the talk that the AAP government will bring a “confidence motion” to reaffirm its majority in the House amid the ongoing political developments. A day ahead of the ses- INDIA, ITALY EXCHANGE COOP PLAN BACK PAGE Mann to meet Murmu without MLAs on May 5 HC ON BHAJJI’S PLEA Issuing a notice to Punjab on MP Harbhajan Singh’s security plea, the HC has directed the government to ensure no injury is caused to him and his family in the state. MP’S FACTORY RAIDED A PPCB team raided a Trident Group factory in Barnala, six days after group owner and RS MP Rajinder Gupta defected to the BJP from AAP INSIDE . sion, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan called on AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, where he claimed he had an “in-depth discussion regarding the current political situation in Punjab”. After the defection of seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs and the group’s merger with the BJP , the leader of this group, Raghav Chadha, has been claiming that 63 AAP MLAs are in touch with him and ready to leave AAP Though this seems . more of a boast than an actual claim, it has sent shockwaves in the party. It was in this connection that a “confidence building exercise” was carried out at a private institute in Jalandhar on Wednesday, where AAP continued on page 8 c m y b New Delhi, April 30 High drama was witnessed in Kolkata on Thursday evening as TMC leaders sat on a dharna outside a counting centre at Netaji Indoor stadium, alleging that ballot boxes and even POLLSTER PREDICTS BJP LANDSLIDE IN BENGAL postal ballots were being opened without the presence of relevant party stakeholders. The Election Commission, however, rejected the charge. The drama unfolded after leaked video footage purportedly showed people inside a counting centre and apparently segregating postal ballots. INSIDE ~ hits all-time intraday low of 95.34 against $ as crude spirals past 122 per barrel West Asia tensions keep currency under pressure Aditya Rangroo Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 30 The rupee on Thursday gained four paise to settle at 94.84 against the US dollar after touching a record intraday low of 95.34, tracking a correction in global crude prices which hit $122.11 per barrel amid volatility in West Asia that kept the currency under pressure. However, the local currency was negatively impacted by the uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran negotiations, which restricted gains. The rupee opened the day at 95.01 in comparison to the US dollar on the interbank foreign exchange market, but it lost further ground to hit an all-time intraday low of 95.34 before ending at 94.84, up four paise from the previous day. The local currency fell 20 paise against the US dollar on Wednesday, closing at its previous all-time low of 94.88. Meanwhile, the US Fed maintained interest rates despite significant inflation pressure driven by rising oil prices. Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP said the main , effect on the rupee was of the rising oil prices, which touched $122 per barrel and India-flagged tanker ‘Desh Garima’ unloads crude at a terminal after transiting the Strait of Hormuz amid US-Iran conflict, in Mumbai. REUTERS looked headed for further upside as the US continued with its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran did not allow any ship/tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the exchange data stated that foreign institutional investors sold stocks valued at about Rs 2,460 crore on Wednesday. About half of India’s natural gas demands and 88 per cent of its crude oil needs are fulfilled by imports, with the Strait of Hormuz being the main route. The rupee has dropped by almost 5 per cent so far in 2026, following a similar decline last year. SENSEX TUMBLES 582POINTS CLOSES AT 76,913.50 Indian benchmark indices closed on a negative note on Thursday as persistent selling from the FIIs and higher crude prices continued to weigh on market sentiment. Nifty declined 180.10 points to settle at 23,997.55