MADURAI l friday l october 30, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE city EDITION cji: Opposition from bar halted hiring retired judges for hcs CJI Surya Kant on Thursday said efforts to battle pendency of cases by appointing former judges to high courts were blocked by Bar associations ‘no cji can risk annoying the bar’ supreme court’s january 2025 exception ”Chief Justice Bobde, Justice Kaul and my bench, we virtually revived the practice of appointing ad hoc judges from among retired judges. We thought we would bring this practice into vogue. But opposition from Bar associations prevented the initiative from taking off... they started passing resolutions... no Chief Justice can risk annoying the Bar,” the CJI said ■ ■ Considering a huge backlog of criminal cases, the Supreme Court on January 30 last year had allowed high courts to appoint ad hoc judges, not exceeding 10 per cent of the court’s total strength Article 224A establishes a constitutional mechanism that allows retired high court judges to be temporarily reappointed as HC judges 18 lakh criminal cases are stuck in litigation in high courts CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Bid to alter system via violence? No job in u.p. n a m i ta b a j pa i @ Lucknow THE Uttar Pradesh government has tightened character verification norms for candidates selected through direct recruitment, stating that individuals associated with organisations seeking to alter the existing social or political system through violence would henceforth not be eligible for government jobs in the state. The order, issued by the appointments department, will apply to recruitments across departments, corporations, councils and local bodies. This comes amid a political row over recent calls for “regime change” during protests. The state gover nment, however, clarified that political ideology alone cannot be grounds for denying employment. It said mere registration of an FIR or a pending investigation would not automatically disqualify a candidate. Authorities have been asked to assess circumstances of each case rather than rely solely on criminal complaints or ongoing probes. The rules seek to distinguish between political beliefs and involvement in violent activities, signalling a tougher approach towards applicants linked to organisations advocating violence. Theni escape orchestrated by disabled inmate: IG J EYALAKSHMI RAMANU J AM @ Madurai A partially disabled prisoner, Linga Prasath, is suspected to have initiated the plan that led to the escape of the 17 remand prisoners from the Theni jail on Monday night, after his chances of securing bail had diminished, police said. The inmates began discussing the plan around 6.30 pm after some of them learnt that their bail pleas had been rejected, and executed it between 9.30 pm and 10 pm, Southern Zone Inspector General Vijayendra Bidari said. Speaking to TNIE, Bidari said Linga Prasath had suggested that the inmates break out of jail, board a train, and flee to northern states.“Three prisoners, including Meenakshi Sundaram and Linga Prasath, were upset after their bails were rejected,” he said. After police teams were alerted around 10.30 pm, the routes leading out of the area were sealed and the fugitives were forced to hide in the surrounding forest.  P5 TN to commence social Pak envoy joins SCO’s luncheon justice survey next year ahead of Civilisational Dialogue State to file review plea in SC over quota for Muslim converts E X PRESS NE W S SER V ICE @ Chennai The Tamil Nadu Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, on Thursday decided to constitute a commission headed by a retired High Court judge to conduct the Social Justice Survey (SJS). The cabinet also decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Cour t a g ainst the cour t’s verdict re g arding quashing of a GO providing reservation benefits to converted Muslims in the next few days. The commission to assess the socio-economic status of the people will be formed in February-March next year, after the conclusion of the census operations. The TVK government had announced its plan to hold the SJS in the first customary address delivered by Governor Rajendra Arlekar in the Assembly. Law Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar, who briefed reporters on the decisions taken at the cabinet meeting, said the proposed commission would also include IAS officers, and its exact structure would be finalised soon. Nirmal Kumar said the CM instructed ministers to ensure the delivery of essential services, review the implementation of gover nment schemes in their respective districts and examine public grievances to ensure appropriate redressal. The CM also directed the ministers to ex- Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay greets ministerial colleagues at the cabinet meeting in Chennai on Thursday | express K e y d e c i s i o n s o f TN C a b i n e t Anadheenam land regularisation 550 2,000 acres in Thalambur village to be regularised residential properties and 16 educational institutions expected to benefit Registration freeze on 450 acres, valued at `4,000 cr, to be reviewed quota for converts TN to file review petition in the SC SC binned TN’s appeal against HC verdict that struck down a 2024 GO on quota for Muslim converts Incentives for eight companies across multiple sectors Sectors include defence, aviation and textiles, among others Three proposals cleared for expansion of existing operations pedite precautionary measures for the monsoon season, the minister added. Separately, the cabinet offered incentives to eight companies across multiple sect o r s, i n c l u d i n g d e f e n c e, aviation and textiles, among other sectors. Three of the proposals cleared by the cabinet pertain to the expansion of existing operations, Industries De par tment sources said.  INDIA bloc’s ‘Public impeachment’ of Gyanesh today P r e e t h a N a i r @New Delhi THE INDIA bloc will hold a three-hour “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s official residence on Friday, with former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presiding over the proceedings. Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, will move the motion to impeach Kumar, while LoP in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will conclude the discussion before the ‘motion’ is passed by voting, sources said. The contours of the proceedings were finalised at a meeting of the bloc leaders at Kharge’s residence here on Thursday . At least 30 speakers, including representatives of 21 Congress’ Jairam Ramesh, KC political parties, are expectVenugopal, Meira Kumar, Priyanka ed to participate in Friday’s Gandhi Vadra, TMC’s Derek O’Brien, proceedings. Sources said an JMM’s Mahua Maji at the meet | PTI invitation has been extended to the BJD, but the party is yet to confirm its participation. Civil society representatives and persons affected by the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls will share their accounts. The symbolic impeachment comes ahead of the Opposition’s November 1 rally in Delhi against alleged “vote theft” and the SIR exercise. CPM MP John Brittas said they had decided to conduct a “public impeachment” rather than a mock exercise, as it would give expression to people’s concerns over the electoral process. “If the Prime Minister is keen to attend our programme, he is most welcome,” he added. Asked who would occupy the ‘treasury’ benches, Brittas said none wanted to as it could be interpreted as support for CEC. Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien and SP’s Harendra Malik were among those at Thursday’s meeting. CM also told ministers to ensure delivery of essential services to people, review implementation of welfare schemes and address public grievances CTR Nirmal Kumar, TN Law Minister press Intake DVAC raids 25 locations linked to ex-minister KN Nehru in cash-for-jobs scam | P4 DMK ex-MLA surrenders in `100 cr private school approval scam case | P4 TN prisons DGP Sandeep Rai Rathore moved to Tangedco after Theni jailbreak | P4 TN to launch `200 grocery gift hamper for Deepavali | P2 New weather system to bring heavy rain to TN from Nov 1 | P2 MIDS prof meets CM at secretariat after row over illegal detention | P2 J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Pakistan’s Chargé d’Affaires to India, Saad Ahmad Warraich, attended a luncheon reception hosted by the Secretary (West) in the External Affairs Ministry, Sibi George, for resident envoys of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states and partner countries, as India prepares to host the grouping’s first Civilisational Dialogue Forum next month. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the discussions focused on strengthening cooperation within the SCO framework, particularly cultural and civilisational exchanges, and preparations for the upcoming dialogue forum scheduled for November 20. “The interaction underscored In- Modi’s initiative The forum will bring together representatives from more than 25 countries at Purana Qila, a 16th-century fort in Delhi. The initiative was proposed by Modi at the SCO leaders’ summit in Tianjin in 2025 and subsequently adopted by the grouping dia’s commitment to strengthening longstanding civilisational connections and people-to-people ties with the SCO region,” Jaiswal said. India will host the SCO Civilisational Dialogue Forum in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to inaugurate the event. Pakistan has yet to confirm its rep- resentation at the forum. Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurungzeb Khan Khichi, is among those invited. If Khichi attends, it would mark the first visit by a Pakistani minister since then foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa in May 2023. The luncheon comes amid continued diplomatic strains between New Delhi and Islamabad. However, both countries remain engaged through multilateral platforms such as the SCO. In September last, India sent its SCO National Coordinator, Alok Dimri, to Islamabad for a meeting ahead of Pakistan’s presidency of the grouping and its planned SCO leaders’ summit in August 2027.