HYDERABAD SATURDAY MAY 18, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 16 LATE CITY EDITION RELIEF FOR SPICEJET OVER PAYOUT TO SUN GROUP’S KALANITHI MARAN Delhi HC on Friday set aside a single bench order that upheld an arbitral award asking SpiceJet to refund `270 cr to its ex-promoter DISPUTE DATES BACK TO JANUARY 2015 TRIBUNAL HAD SET 18% INTEREST TO BE PAID The dispute between Maran and SpiceJet dates back to January 2015 when Ajay Singh, who used to own SpiceJet before Maran, bought it back from him. Maran reportedly transferred his 58.46% stake to Singh in return for redeemable warrants, which were allegedly not issued to him. Maran then approached Delhi HC for payout, which referred the matter to arbitration ■ The arbitral tribunal gave its order in July 2018 and ordered SpiceJet to refund `270 crore to Maran. The tribunal also asked the airline to pay interest of 12% per annum on the amounts paid towards warrants and 18% per annum on the sums awarded to Maran if the money is not paid on time ■ SpiceJet then moved the Delhi HC to challenge the arbitral order | P10 5.46% SPICEJET STOCK CLOSED AT `63 A SHARE ON BSE ON FRIDAY, UP FROM THURSDAY’S `59.74 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 Cabinet to discuss funds for crop loan waiver today TG REPLACES TS IN OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION Hyderabad: The state government on Friday issued a circular to all departments, directing them to replace ‘TS’ with ‘TG’ in all official communications with immediate effect. The circular said: “All the departments of Secretariat are directed to replace all references to ‘TS’ with ‘TG’ in the nomenclature of all state PSUs, agencies, autonomous institutions, official documents, websites and any other official communication” | P4 SC seeks EC’s response on booth-wise turnout data S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Friday sought the ECI’s response on a plea seeking directions to the poll body to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of polling for each phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. It gave the poll body a week to file its affidavit. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the petitioner, had sought the uploading of scanned copies of Form 17-C (record of the number of votes polled in a booth). A three-judge bench led by CJI D Y Chandrachud asked ECI counsel Amit Sharma what was the difficulty in putting up the voter turnout details on the website. Sharma replied it was time consuming. “But every polling officer submits data on the app by evening? So returning officer has data of full constituency,” the bench asked Sharma. He replied, “No, not immediately .” FIGHT GETS NASTY Swati Maliwal leaves Kejriwal’s house. She had earlier recorded her statement on the assault by Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav | PTI | P7 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad THE state Cabinet, which will meet here on Saturday is expect, ed to discuss several crucial issues, including mobilisation of funds for the crop loan waiver and the future course of action with regard to the damaged Medigadda barrage. The Cabinet is also likely to discuss the pending issues of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has already instructed the officials to initiate the process of taking back the buildings like Lake View Guest House, which were allotted to Andhra in Hyderabad. Hyderabad will no longer be a common capital after June 2. So the government wants to take back its assets from Andhra and utilise them. The chief minister has already announced that crop loans would be waived by August 15. The Con- Supplementary ED chargesheet names Kejri, AAP Eighth chargesheet in the money laundering case linked to the excise policy scam so far U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi Court, the ED had said it was contemplating to make AAP an THE Enforcement Directorate accused and invoke Section 70 on Friday filed a supplementary of the PMLA to probe the aschargesheet in the money laun- pect of “vicarious liability”. dering case linked to the Delhi Last month, the Delhi High excise policy scam in which it Court had suggested while named Delhi Chief Minister hearing the case that a political Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam party could be brought within Aadmi Party as accused. the purview of the PMLA. It The chargesheet said a political party was filed before a spemeans “an associacial court here under tion” or “a body of invarious provisions of dividuals”, which falls the Prevention of within the ambit of Money Laundering Section 70 of the Act (PMLA). Special PMLA. Subsequently, Judge Kaveri Baweja the ED had likened the is likely to take it up Accused in 2 AAP to a company and for cognisance in the Kejriwal its director. capacities coming days. The federal agency Arvind Kejriwal This is the eighth had arrested Kejriwal, has been made chargesheet filed by 55, also the AAP’s nathe probe agency in the an accused in the tional convenor, from case in his case in which it has arhis official residence rested 18 people so far. personal capacity here on March 21. He as well as the Last week, a similar is currently out of jail national complaint was filed by on interim bail. convenor of his the ED against BRS The ED had labelled leader and former Tel- Aam Aadmi Party Kejriwal as the “kingunder various angana chief minister pin and key conspirasections of Chandrashekar Rao’s tor” of the Delhi exthe PMLA daughter K Kavitha cise scam. It alleged and four others. that he acted in colluOn Tuesday, the ED had in- sion with his ministerial colformed the Delhi High Court leagues, party leaders and oththat it will name the AAP as an er persons. accused in the case. ED’s lawThe case pertains to alleged yer had said there were con- corruption and money laundercerted efforts by the accused to ing in formulating and executdelay the process of framing of ing the Delhi government’s excharges in the case. cise policy for 2021-22, which Even before the Supreme was later scrapped. gress has promised a waiver of crop loans up to `2 lakh per farmer. The government, which needs `30,000 to `40,000 crore for the crop loan waiver, is planning to float a corporation and raise loans to keep its election promise. The modalities for the crop loan waiver might figure in the Cabinet’s agenda. The Cabinet may also discuss the Kharif action plan and the progress of purchase of Rabi paddy. It is likely to discuss and approve the decision to increase the market value of land to augment state revenues. The government may revise market values of lands before presenting the full budget either in June or July . The Cabinet is also likely to discuss the interim report submitted by the expert committee of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) and decided what to do with the barrages — the damaged Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla — that are part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS). As the next academic year will commence in June, the Cabinet is also expected to discuss the arrangements, including distribution of textbooks, uniforms, enrolment of students and other issues. Sonia hands Rae Bareli fight to son P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi STRIKING an emotional chord with the voters in Rae Bareli, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said on Friday that she is handing over her son to the people of Rae Bareli with the promise that her son won’t disappoint them. Addressing a joint election rally at the meeting at ITI ground in Rae Bareli, the former Congress chief asked the people to consider her son as their own. “Rahul will not disappoint you,” said Sonia, flanked by her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka on the stage. “Everything I have is given by you. So, brothers and sisters, I am giving you my son. Consider him yours,” she said. Sonia said she has taught her children the values that she learnt from her mother-in-law and former PM late Indira Gandhi and the people of Rae Bareli: To respect all, protect the weak, fight against injustice for the rights of people. “Don’t EXPRESS READ Monsoon likely to reach TG by 2nd week of June Hyderabad: As the state continues to experience premonsoon showers, the weather in the upcoming weeks, according to officials, would continue to remain favourable with low temperatures and intermittent rains. Moreover, the southwest monsoon is very likely to hit Telangana in the second week of June, with Good progress of the monsoon in the initial phase | P2 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi greets his mother Sonia Gandhi during a public meeting in Rae Bareli on Friday, as his sister Priyanka looks on | PTI be afraid, because your roots of struggle and traditions are very deep,” she added. Sonia said the Gandhi family roots are deeply connected to Rae Bareli. “This relationship is as sacred as Mother Ganga is with the farmers of Awadh and AMETHI PITCH Rahul Gandhi said if he wins, he would treat Amethi and Rae Bareli equally on development. “If `10 is spent in Rae Bareli, it would be the same for Amethi too,” he said Rae Bareli. It started with a movement and continues till today she said. ,” Sonia said Indira Gandhi, who was an MP from Rae Bareli, had a special place for the constituency in her heart. “I saw her closely while working. She had immense affection for you,” she said. Sonia was first elected as an MP from Rae Bareli in 2004 and represented the seat till she vacated it early this year after getting elected as a Rajya Sabha member. 2 held for rape, murder of 50-yr-old teacher Mulugu: Tadvai police on Friday arrested two persons for allegedly raping and murdering a woman Anganwadi teacher, R Sujatha (50), in Mulugu on Wednesday. The accused, A Ramaiah (45) and P Japaiah (42), residents of Roheer village of Eturnagaram mandal were apprehended and the police seized a two-wheeler, a gold ornament and a bank passbook belonging to Sujatha. Police said that accused were acquaintances of the victim | P5 Catch-22 as Excise, CT depts lock horns over `54 cr dues V V B A L A K R I S H N A @ Hyderabad THE dispute between the Commercial Taxes and Excise departments over payment of `54.53 crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) remains unresolved as the latter has refused to pay the amount and is reportedly planning to take legal action. The Commercial Taxes (CT) department on March 15 this year issued a show-cause notice to the Excise department to pay `54,53,75,754 towards GST for supplying holograms to distilleries and depots between 2017–18 and 2023–24. The Telangana State Beverages Corporation Limited (TSBCL), which supplies holograms at 30 paise each to the distilleries, has to pay 18% GST, contended the authorities of Commercial Taxes. According to sources, the Excise department did not pay the GST even two months after receiving the show-cause notice. Interestingly, the tussle between the two government departments will ultimately benefit the Central government, if the Excise department pays the tax. The Commercial Taxes department officials said in the show-cause notice that the Excise department has to pay 9% CGST and 9% SGST. If the Excise department pays the tax, then `27,26,87,877 will go to the Central exchequer. If it does not pay the amount, there would be no loss to the State’s exchequer. It means, if the Excise department responds positively to the Commercial Taxes department’s show-cause notice, the state would suffer a loss of `27.26 crore. However, the Commercial Taxes department officials concerned refused to comment on the issue. When contacted, an official said: “It is a matter between two government departments and it is not appropriate to speak to the media.” It all started when the Congress government felt that though the Excise revenue increased in the past, the Commercial Taxes department did not get the tax amount. Now, it is a catch-22 situation for the government. Clash of surprise picks in Mumbai North Central Phone-tapping case: CID seeks CBI help to S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai MUMBAI North Central Lok Sabha constituency, home to several celebrities and spread across many posh areas including Bandra and Vile Parle, is witnessing a close contest between renowned lawyer Ujjwal Nikam of the BJP and Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad. Interestingly neither Nikam , nor Gaikwad was the first choice of their respective parties. The BJP denied ticket to sitting MP Poonam Mahajan and wanted to field its Mumbai city president Ashish Shelar, who declined to contest saying he is not ready to enter national politics. Then Nikam was picked at the last moment. As for the Congress, it was considering former Maharashtra minister Naseem Khan, who was very keen to contest from the constituency. That Mumbai North Central has around 4 lakh Muslim voters was also a factor favouring his candidacy. However, alliance partner Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) proposed the name of Varsha Gaikwad as the joint candidate saying Muslim votes alone won’t be enough to win the election. “If Marathi candidate Varsha Gaikwad is fielded, then Shiv Sena (UBT) will easily transfer its votes to Gaikwad in the fiercely contested battle. The calculation is that there are over 4 lakh Muslims, 1 lakh Christians, 1 lakh Dalits, and a considerable number of Marathi and non-Marathi voters. The BJP won the last two e l e c tions because of support from the Shiv Sena. But the BJP does not have it this time; so, it will face an uphill task even though it has a high-profile lawyer as its candidate,” said a senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, who did not wish to be named. According to reports, Gaikwad herself was not expecting to fight from Mumbai North Central: her first preference was Mumbai South Central, the constituency of her late father Eknath Gaikwad. However, Uddhav successfully pushed his party’s candidate Anil Desai for the Mumbai South Central seat. Nikam is a well known lawyer, having appeared for several high-profile Ujjwal Nikam and Varsha Gaikwad ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR cases including the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist case, 1993 Bombay bomb blast case, Gulshan Kumar case, and the sensational Pramod Mahajan murder case. The BJP hopes his popularity will help, on top of the Modi factor. “To win, the BJP needs to get Marathi votes in significant numbers. Otherwise, history will repeat like in 2009, when Congress candidate Priya Dutt trounced senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani of the BJP in the Mumbai North Central seat by nearly 1,75,000 votes,” said a political observer. Towards this strategy, the BJP is trying to breach the Sena’s traditional Marathi vote bank by arranging rallies by MNS chief Raj Thackeray . Also, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar, who is spearheading the campaign for Nikam at the ground level, has held several meetings with prominent leaders of the Christian community to secure minority votes. issue Red Corner notice against 2 accused P R I YA R AT H N A M @ Hyderabad THE Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has approached the CBI with a request to issue Red Corner notices against T Prabhakar Rao, former State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief, and A Sravan Kumar, owner of a private news channel, in connection with the phone-tapping case. Police sources confirmed that the CID submitted relevant documents to the CBI. The central agency will now study the documents provided by the CID and forward the same to Interpol. A Red Corner notice is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. However, sources said that the CID’s move might not serve any purpose, as the two accused have furnished their overseas addresses and expressed their readiness to cooperate with investigators. Prabhakar Rao and Sravan are currently in the US. Sources pointed out that a Red Corner notice is issued only against fugitives. Moreover, the duo are not categorised as absconders, they said. Prabhakar Rao even filed an affidavit in a local court through his advocate, sources pointed out. Shortly, the summer vacation of the court will be over and there is a possibility of the two accused taking legal action against the CID’s move. Meanwhile, it is suspected that the accused took the assistance of a cyber security firm to help them in the process of deletion of the information on the hard disks. According to sources, the other accused in the case, Praneeth Rao and Thirupatanna, who operated with 12 officers and 17 systems and eight officers and seven systems respectively destroyed , a total of 62 hard disks. MOVE MIGHT NOT SERVE ANY PURPOSE: SOURCES Red Corner notices are issued against fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. A Red Corner notice is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. Sources said that the CID’s move might not serve any purpose, as the two accused have furnished their overseas addresses and expressed their readiness to cooperate with investigators.
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.