NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Tuesday said some mechanism needs to be devised, not necessarily punitive, to make voting compulsory so that democracy gets stronger by attracting more eligible people to contest elections and render Nota option redundant. A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the Nota option was devised to attract better candidates to the fray and to encourage voters to exercise their franchise. The decade-long experience shows that a minuscule percentage of voters exercised the option, the bench said.These observations came from the bench which was hearing a PIL by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy which argued for making Nota a candidate in the constituencies where only one candidate is in the fray to find out whether the lone contestant had the confidence of voters.Senior advocate Arvind Datar said that putting Nota on the ballot as a candidate would discourage the candidates with money and muscle power to make their opponents withdraw from the contest. The bench pointed out that to make Nota a candidate, Parliament would be required to carry out an amendment to the Representation of People Act. Attorney general R Venktaramani said when voting is not a fundamental right how could a PIL under Article 32, which is the recourse to approach SC directly in case of violation of fundamental rights, be maintainable.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar said putting Nota on the ballot as a candidate would discourage the candidates with money and muscle power to make their opponents withdraw from the contest.Attorney general R Venktaramani said when voting is not a fundamental right how could a PIL under Article 32, which is the recourse to approach SC directly in case of violation of fundamental rights, be maintainable.“Let judiciary not decide what amendments are to be carried out in the RP Act. It is for Parliament to decide if any deficiency is required to be remedied or any amendment is to be carried out in a statute,” said the attorney general.The bench said it is the educated and well-off people who do not come out in large numbers to vote, which is in stark contrast to the people in rural areas where voting day resembles a festival that everyone celebrates by exercising their franchise.Govt in its affidavit had opposed the PIL and said, “Nota option is not a person which has been duly nominated at any election, hence cannot be held to be a candidate under Representation of People Act, 1951. ‘Nota’ ought not to be given an artificial personality. ‘Nota’ is merely an option or an expression and does not fit within definition of ‘candidate’.”

US President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday (US local time), delivering his State of the Union speech at a politically sensitive moment marked by a Supreme Court ruling striking down his global tariff regime and growing tensions with Iran.The prime-time televised address comes days after the Supreme Court invalidated Trump’s sweeping tariffs, a centrepiece of his economic agenda. The president is expected to respond directly to the ruling and outline alternative legal pathways to restore most of the levies.According to Reuters, two White House officials said Trump will also discuss Iran, as Washington moves additional military assets to the Middle East amid heightened tensions over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The speech could mark his most detailed public case yet regarding possible military action.Trump is also expected to focus heavily on the economy, an issue central to his 2024 election victory. According to White House officials, he will “claim victory on the economy” and argue that he inherited economic challenges from his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. He is likely to cite stock market gains, private-sector investments and his tax legislation as evidence of progress, despite opinion polls showing continued voter concerns over the cost of living.The address comes as new data indicate slower economic growth and rising inflation. The Department of Homeland Security remains largely shut amid a dispute in Congress over immigration policy, further complicating the domestic backdrop.White House aides and Republican strategists have urged Trump to stay focused on economic messaging ahead of the November midterm elections, when control of Congress will be at stake. “This is the one opportunity the president has where the whole world is looking at what he has to say, and this is his opportunity to summarize everything that he’s done and not go off script,” said Amanda Makki, a Republican strategist and former Florida congressional candidate.Trump indicated on Monday that his address would be lengthy. His comparable speech last year ran nearly 100 minutes, the longest presidential address to Congress in modern history. One White House official said the speech was crafted with flexibility, adding, “We are planning around it.”Some Democrats plan to boycott the address. More than 20 lawmakers are expected to skip the speech in favour of an outdoor rally. Senator Jeff Merkley said the event would offer a more “honest description” of Trump’s record, rather than the “propaganda push” of the speech.Virginia Governor Abby Spanberger will deliver the official Democratic response, while Senator Alex Padilla will present the Spanish-language rebuttal.The speech will unfold against the backdrop of foreign policy uncertainty and domestic political pressure, with the midterm elections looming and scrutiny mounting over the administration’s economic and security policies.

LONDON: The great-grandson of British architect Edwin Lutyens, Matt Ridley, has criticised the removal of the bust of his ancestor from Rashtrapati Bhavan.President Droupadi Murmu unveiled its replacement — a bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first and last Indian governor-general of independent India — on Monday.Ridley, a science writer, posted a photo of himself on X next to Lutyens’ bust and wrote: “Sad to read that the bust of Lutyens (my great grandfather) is to be removed from the presidential palace he designed in Delhi. Here I am with it last year. I wondered at the time why his name had been removed from the plinth.”He posted a second photo of a replica of the bust on top of his bookshelf, saying: “For those suggesting I offer a home for Lutyens’s bust from Delhi, I already have a copy of it. It looks down on my desk as I write this. It was sculpted by Sir William Reid-Dick. I understand India’s wish to remove colonial statues but he was an architect, not a viceroy.”X user Oliver Lewis wrote: “This is genuinely appalling by the Govt of India. Lutyens designed the building and built for India probably the most fantastic Head of State ‘HQ’ anywhere in the world.” To which Ridley replied: “Agreed. Rashtrapati Bhavan is a more elegant, ingenious and imaginative building than Buckingham Palace, the White House, the Quai d’Orsay, the Kremlin or the presidential palace in Beijing. It carefully incorporates Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and Muslim architectural themes.”Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi agreed on X, writing: “Many countries preserve the heritage and legacy of their nation’s lived history for generations to remember — the good, the bad and the ugly included to learn from — but in new India we are hell-bent on replacing it with shiny new glass domes or convention centres with no soul or cultural context.”X user Palash wrote: “Lee Kuan Yew chose NOT to remove Sir Stamford Raffles’ statue from Singapore despite pressure from many leaders in 1965. His rationale was simple — “Singapore cannot enter a new future with anger towards the past.”Former CBI director Mannem Nageswara Rao wrote an apology to Ridley on X, saying: “This zero-sum act is not decolonisation; it is petty vandalism of history.”But X user SagasofBharat wrote: “Your grandfather Edwin Lutyens wasn’t just an ‘architect’, he was a nasty racist. You should be happy Indians didn’t knock that bust of your grandfather off with a hammer.”

NEW DELHI: Four people, including a six-year-old boy, were killed and 11 others injured after a speeding bus collided head-on with two smaller vehicles on National Highway 31 near Bagri Pul in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district on Tuesday evening, officials said.The accident took place around 6:30 pm in the Jhandapur police station area of Naugachia subdivision. According to authorities, the bus struck a small commercial vehicle and an e-rickshaw, leaving multiple passengers trapped and injured.Bhagalpur District Magistrate Nawal Kishor Choudhary told reporters, “In a head-on collision between a bus and two small vehicles, four people were killed and 11 others injured. The deceased include a six-year-old child and a woman.”In a separate statement from the spot, he said, “A head-on collision occurred between a big bus and two small vehicles. Four people have died; two of them have been identified – one of them was from Katihar and another from Khagaria. We are looking for documents in the vehicle but we have not found any. We will hand over the bodies to their families once they are identified…11 people are injured and they have been sent to hospital..,”The deceased have been identified as Arvind Mandal, 40, from Katihar district, Kunal Kumar, 6, from Khagaria district, and Purmi Devi, 35, and her husband Sunil Das, 40, both from Bhagalpur district.Of the 11 injured, eight are undergoing treatment at Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Bhagalpur, while three have been discharged. The district magistrate said all the injured are out of danger. He added that the administration is informing the victims’ families, including those residing outside Bhagalpur, through the concerned officials.Naugachia police district SP Prerna Kumar said, “Prima facie, it appears that two small vehicles were hit by a speeding bus on NH-31 around 6:30 pm.” She added, “We received information of a collision between a private bus and two autorickshaws. We reached there. Looking at the seriousness of the incident, all of us reached here…Prima facie, this looks like a speeding bus hitting the smaller vehicles. 4 people have died. Others have been referred to Bhagalpur for better medical treatment…”Police said an FIR will be registered and the driver and the bus owner will be identified for further legal action.Responding to concerns over frequent accidents on the highway, Choudhary said, “There is a lot of traffic on this road. On my request, the government has approved the proposal to widen it. Work will start on this very soon.” He urged motorists to drive safely.

NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday rolled out a series of stringent measures, citing a “recent surge in aviation incidents.”The enhanced safety directives were announced after a high-level meeting between the aviation regulator and Non-Scheduled Operators (NSOPs). The review came a day after an air ambulance en route to Delhi crashed in Jharkhand, killing all seven people on board, and nearly a month after a fatal crash involving a private aircraft carrying then Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on January 28.“The regulator emphasized that safety must remain the absolute priority, superseding all commercial operations, charter commitments, or VIP movements. The authority asserted that an organization’s leadership must prioritize safety above all other criteria. To support this, the authority reaffirmed that the Pilot-in-Command’s decision to divert, delay or cancel a flight for safety reasons is final and must be respected by operators without commercial consequences,” the DGCA said in a statement.It announced the following safety measures, to be implemented with immediate effect:

According to the DGCA, these guidelines constitute “phase 1” of a special safety audit of non-scheduled operators. The first phase is expected to be completed in early March, after which a second phase will be undertaken.DGCA on Ajit Pawar plane crashMeanwhile, the DGCA also announced that, following a safety audit of Delhi-based VSR Ventures Private Limited — which operated the Learjet involved in Pawar’s ill-fated flight — it is grounding the Learjet fleet with immediate effect.“The multi-disciplinary audit team observed several non-compliances of approved procedures in the organisation (VSR) in the area of airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations. In view of the non-compliances, it is decided to initiate the corrective measures by immediately grounding Learjet 40/45 aircraft with registration VT-VRA, VT-VRS, VT-VRV, and VT-TRI till continued airworthiness standards are restored,” the body noted in a separate statement.Pawar was flying from Mumbai to his hometown of Baramati, a short journey, when the plane crashed and burst into flames near Baramati airport. His personal security officer, the two pilots, and a flight attendant also lost their lives, leaving no survivors.

NEW DELHI: Pakistan star Babar Azam continued his poor run in the T20 World Cup, and his latest flop against England sparked a wave of memes on social media. Batting first against England at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, Babar scored 25 runs off 24 balls before getting bowled by Jamie Overton while trying to play a big shot.

His slow innings added to criticism over his form and strike rate in the tournament. And it also became the reason for using him as a meme template on social media platforms.Pakistan managed 164/9 in 20 overs, with Sahibzada Farhan top-scoring with 63. England’s bowlers, including Overton, Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson, and Adil Rashid, kept things tight and picked up key wickets.Earlier, Pakistan coach Mike Hesson had explained Babar’s role in the team, saying he was brought back to provide stability in the middle order rather than fast scoring in the powerplay.“I think he’s well aware that his strike rate in the powerplay in (T20) World Cups is less than 100. So clearly, that’s not a role that we think we need here. We think he’s a fine player through the middle, if required, particularly if we’re in a little bit of trouble. Or, as we saw against the USA, once he gets himself set, he can increase his strike rate at that point. So, we brought Babar back in for a specific role post the Asia Cup. We wanted some batsmanship through the middle, and he certainly brings that for us,” he said ahead of Pakistan’s opening Super 8 match against New Zealand. Despite this, fans mocked Babar’s struggles online, turning his latest dismissal into a meme trend as his nightmarish World Cup campaign continued.

The Union cabinet has approved three railway multitracking projects worth Rs 9,072 crore aimed at expanding network capacity and easing congestion across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, according to an official statement.The projects includes, Gondia–Jabalpur doubling, Punarakh–Kiul third and fourth line, and Gamharia–Chandil third and fourth line, will together add about 307 km to the existing Indian Railways network and are scheduled for completion by 2030-31.The cabinet said the projects will cover eight districts and improve connectivity for around 5,407 villages with a combined population of nearly 98 lakh people.The multitracking expansion is expected to enhance line capacity, improve operational efficiency and strengthen service reliability by reducing congestion on key freight and passenger routes. The projects have been planned under the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with a focus on integrated infrastructure planning and multimodal logistics connectivity.“The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways,” the cabinet statement said, adding that the projects are intended to streamline operations and support regional economic development.According to the government, the upgraded corridors will also improve rail access to several tourist destinations, including Kachnar Shiv Temple in Jabalpur, Kanha and Pench national parks, Dhuandhar waterfall, Bargi Dam, Chandil Dam and Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, among others.The routes are key freight corridors used for transporting commodities such as coal, steel, iron ore, cement, fertilizers, limestone, foodgrains and petroleum products. Capacity augmentation is expected to enable additional freight movement of about 52 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).The government said rail expansion would also support climate and logistics goals by reducing dependence on road transport. The projects are estimated to save about 6 crore litres of oil and lower carbon emissions by nearly 30 crore kg – equivalent to planting around one crore trees.The cabinet noted that improved connectivity and logistics efficiency are expected to generate employment and self-employment opportunities while supporting broader regional development aligned with the vision of a self-reliant India.