SC SAYS CENTRE, STATES HAVE EQUAL POWERS TO MAKE GST-RELATED LAWS

The Supreme Court on Thursday, in a judgment championing the importance of “cooperative federalism” for the well-being of democracy, held that Union and State legislatures have “equal, simultaneous and unique powers” to make laws on GST and the recommendations of the GST Council are not binding on them.

The apex court’s decision came while confirming a Gujarat High Court ruling that the Centre cannot levy Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) on ocean freight from Indian importers.

“The recommendations of the GST Council are the product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and the states. They are recommendatory in nature… The recommendations only have a persuasive value. To regard them as binding would disrupt fiscal federalism when both the Union and the states are conferred equal power to legislate on GST,” a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud held.

The court emphasised that Article 246A (which gives the States power to make laws with respect to GST) of the Constitution treat the Union and the States as “equal units”.

The issue had gained significance following news reports of fresh tax queries raised on ocean freight even as the dispute was pending in the top court.

Ending the controversy in favour of the importers and providing them great relief, Justice Chandrachud held that since “the Indian importer is liable to pay IGST on composite supply comprising of the supply of goods and supply of services of transportation, insurance, etc, in a Cost Insurance Freight [CIF] contract, a separate levy on Indian importers for the supply of services by the shipping line would be in violation of the Central GST Act”.

FORMER PUNBJAB CONGRESS LEADER SUNIL JAKHAR JOINS BJP

On Thursday, six days after he quit the Congress, Sunil Jakhar joined the BJP, a party he has spent his political career attacking.

In Jakhar, the BJP has got a formidable face in Punjab while for the three-time-MLA and one-time MP, the BJP offers a platform that can accommodate his experience.

Jakhar’s clean image – he does not carry any corruption taint or baggage – is another plus for the BJP. Son of the late Balram Jakhar, the longest serving Speaker of Lok Sabha and a staunch Gandhi family loyalist, Jakhar is a Jat Hindu leader but makes it a point to underline the secular character of the state and its people.

In the midst of the leadership crisis in the Congress govt, when Amarinder Singh was removed as Punjab CM, Jakhar was among the frontrunners for the post until senior Congress leader Ambika Soni is said to have insisted on a Sikh as CM. A hurt Jakhar had then said, “The making up of this Hindu vs Sikh issue is an insult to Punjab, which is so secular in character. We have faced so much in the state. It has come back to normal with so much effort.”

On Thursday, too, as he joined the BJP, he made it a point to say that Punjab is a template for communal harmony and brotherhood.

NO L-G NOD, HC SETS ASIDE DELHI GOVT'S DOORSTEP RATION SCHEME

The Delhi High Court on Thursday set aside the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP govt’s doorstep ration delivery scheme — Mukhyamantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana — in the national capital for want of approval from the Lieutenant Governor.

“Any such scheme framed by the GNCTD should comply with all requirements of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the orders issued under the Essential Commodities Act (ECA). The impugned scheme as presently framed by the Cabinet decision on March 24, 2021, does not comply with the provisions of the NFSA and TPDS order, 2015,” a Bench led by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi said.

“In case the Lieutenant Governor expresses his disagreement with his Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister, he may either require the Chief Minister to refer the matter to the President for his decision, or he may, on his own, refer the matter to the President for his decision….The final decision will rest with the President and both LG and the Council of Ministers will be bound by that decision and act in accordance with it,” it noted.

IMF 'CORRECTS' MATHS, SAYS INDIA TO BE $5-TRILLION ECONOMY BY FY27

The IMF has “corrected” an error in its calculations to now project that India would become a $5-trillion economy by 2026-27, which is what the finance ministry has been saying of late. Last month, the data given by the Fund had shown that this could be achieved by only 2028-29, two years after the ministry's latest projections and a four-year delay over the original goal set by the govt.

“IMF staff discovered a data input error that led to an error in calculating India's GDP denominated in US dollars, which was corrected,” Luis E Breuer, senior reside­nt representative — India, Nepal, and Bhutan, at the Fund, said.

“More broadly, the Indian economy is recovering well from the pandemic with real GDP estimated to have recovered to above its pre-pandemic level by end-March 2022. The recovery is expected to continue although it is facing downside risks, including from external factors,” Breuer said.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST / May 20

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Thursday 2,259

Active Cases 15,044 (-375)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 5,24,323 (3

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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MARIUPOL IN GRASP, RUSSIA NOW EYES SE UKRAINE ‘ANNEXATION’

As hundreds more Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol surrendered to Russia on Thursday, Moscow was also seeking to project control over southeastern Ukraine, where a high-ranking official declared that seized parts of the region would “take a worthy place in our Russian family. ” The visit this week by a deputy Russian prime minister, Marat Khusnullin, to the occupied city of Melitopol suggested that the Kremlin was trying to lay the groundwork for annexing the region — even without having announced such plans outright.

Russia’s control over the south, however tenuous, covers a vast expanse of territory including Ukraine’s agricultural heartland, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and several key ports. Along with Russia’s naval dominion in the Black Sea, annexing the region would allow Moscow to tighten its stranglehold on the Ukrainian economy and solidify its blockade of Ukraine’s southern coast. The Ukrainian military has warned that Russia is fortifying its defensive positions in southern Ukraine, even as its forces have retreated in the northeast and failed to gain ground in the eastern Donbas region. Moscow’s announcements are also part of a propaganda campaign aimed at conveying control over territories where military analysts say its forces could still face both public uprisings and counteroffensives.

Meanwhile in Germany, G7 financial leaders agreed to provide Ukraine with $18 billion in funds that Kyiv says will help in speed up its victory.

TOP US AND RUSSIAN GENERALS SPEAK FOR 1ST TIME SINCE WAR

The top US military officer, General Mark Milley, spoke by phone with Russia’s chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov, the Pentagon said on Thursday, the first conversation between the two since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “They discussed several security-related issues and agreed to keep lines of communication open,” said a spokesman for Milley. The US military readout did not mention any specific issues that were discussed. RIA, citing the Russian defence ministry, said the two discussed issues of “mutual interest,” including Ukraine.

CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES 737 CRASH MAY HAVE BEEN INTENTIONAL NOSEDIVE

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 crash that killed all 132 people onboard in March may have been caused deliberately, The Wall Street Journal reported. Data recovered from the plane's black box suggests someone in the cockpit had input controls that sent the plane into a near-vertical descent, the paperreported.

The Boeing 737-800 plane, which was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, was cruising at a steady altitude and speed before it started a rapid descent from 29,000 feet on March 12. It crashed minutes later into a mountainside in southern China's Guangxi province.

The pilots did not respond to repeated calls from air traffic controllers and nearby planes during the rapid descent.

THE REST

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DEBRIS OF TEMPLES, HINDU MOTIFS SEEN IN GYANVAPI COMPLEX: SURVEY REPORTS

In claims likely to deepen the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi row, two reports on a videography survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex state that debris of old temples were found at the corner of the northern and western walls outside the barricading, and Hindu motifs such as bells, kalash, flowers and trishul were visible on pillars in the tehkhana (basement).

The two reports have been submitted to the Varanasi court which ordered the survey. Also Thursday, the Supreme Court, agreeing to a request to defer the hearing on an appeal challenging the orders of the Varanasi court, asked the court not to take any further action in the matter until Friday.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who filed an application in the Supreme Court “for bringing on record additional facts and documents”, said “after the reports filed by the Advocate Commission, it is evident that the disputed structure is having the religious character of a Hindu temple”. He said Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s “action of taking forcible possession of a religious place cannot change the nature of property and also the ownership rights of the existing deity.”

SIDHU GETS 1-YEAR RIGOROUS IMPRISONMENT IN 34-YR-OLD ROAD RAGE CASE

Observing that consequences of loss of temper must be borne, the Supreme Court on Thursday enhanced the sentence of Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu to one-year rigorous imprisonment in a 1988 road rage incident in which a 65-year-old man had died.

Sidhu, 58, took to Twitter to say he 'will submit to the majesty of law' as the cricketer-turned-politician rode an elephant in Patiala earlier in the day to register a symbolic protest against rising prices of essential commodities.

According to Additional Solicitor General of India Satyapal Jain, Sidhu is left with no other option but to surrender before police. If Sidhu does not surrender, police will have to arrest him, officials said.

The apex court said in the given circumstances, tempers may have been lost but then the consequences of the loss of temper must be borne, adding any 'undue sympathy' to impose an inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system and undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law.

The court, which gave its verdict while allowing the review plea filed by the family of the victim on the issue of sentence, said the principle of just punishment is the 'bedrock of sentencing' in respect of a criminal offence. Though the apex court had in May 2018 held Sidhu guilty of offence of 'voluntarily causing hurt' to Gurnam Singh, who was declared dead in a hospital, it spared him a jail term and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000.

Gurnam's family thanked the Almighty and said they are satisfied with the jail sentence for Sidhu.

KRISHNA JANMABHOOMI: A MATHURA COURT ALLOWS LAWSUIT DEMANDING MOSQUE REMOVAL

The Mathura district court on Thursday said a plea seeking to remove the Shahi Idgah Masjid from the complex it shares with the Katra Keshav Dev Temple is admissible.

A lower court which had earlier dismissed the plea is now bound to hear it.

An application was also moved in a court in Mathura on Thursday for sending an Archeological Survey of India (ASI) team to the Shahi Idgah Masjid to report on the presence of 'signs of a Hindu temple' there.

The plea to remove the Shahi Idgah Masjid was originally filed in a lower court -- the court of civil judge senior division -- on September 25, 2020 by Lucknow-resident Ranjana Agnihotri and six others as the 'next friend of Bhagwan Sri Krishna Virajman'. They had claimed in the plea that the Shahi Idgah Masjid is constructed on a part of 13.37 acre land belonging to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust. They had demanded the mosque be removed and the land returned to the Trust.

However, the civil judge senior division had rejected the suit on Sept 30, 2020 as non-admissible.

SET UP 25 SPL COURTS FOR 33L CHEQUE-BOUNCE CASES: SC

As more than 33 lakh cheque bounce cases are pending in different courts and blocking judicial dockets, the Supreme Court on Thursday decided to experiment with the idea of setting up of special courts headed by retired judicial officers exclusively to deal with such cases. As a pilot project, a bench of justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai and S Ravindra Bhat directed setting up of total 25 such special courts in five districts of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh where the pendency of the cheque bounce cases is the highest. The court said that the special courts will start functioning from September 1 for one year and the court would take a further call to expand it across the country after evaluating their one year performance.

ASSAM TEACHER JAILED FOR BRINGING COOKED BEEF TO SCHOOL

The headmistress of a school in Goalpara district of Assam was arrested and sent to jail for bringing cooked beef to school as her lunch. Legal experts and opposition parties in Assam have slammed the police for arresting the teacher and the judiciary for sending her to jail as consumption of beef, even in public places, is not illegal in the state.

The headmistress, Daliman Nessa, was taken to the police station on May 16 after a complaint was lodged against her.

Consumption of beef is not illegal in Assam, but the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, bans cattle slaughter and sale of beef in areas where Hindus, Jains and Sikhs are in a majority and in areas within a five-km radius of a temple or satra (Vaishnavite monastery).

Additional Superintendent of Police Mrinal Deka said the president of the management committee of Hurkachungi Middle English School in Lakhipur police station area had lodged a complaint against the headmistress alleging that she had brought beef for lunch.

"We brought her to the police station on May 16. After questioning she was arrested and the court sent her to judicial custody on the next day," he added.

WITHDRAW CASH FROM ATMS WITH QR CODE

Account holders can soon withdraw money from ATMs without any card by using their mobile phones and scanning a QR code. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks and ATM operators to provide an option of interoperable cardless withdrawal at ATMs.

While the UPI would be the mode of customer authentication, the settlement would continue to be through the National Financial Switch (NFS), which forms the backbone of ATM networks.

Most of the other rules, including those pertaining to withdrawal limits on thirdparty ATMs, would be similar to regular card withdrawals on ATMs. Several banks are already providing a facility for cardless withdrawal to their customers using the bank’s mobile app. The new framework puts a common standard, allowing customers to withdraw from any bank.

The RBI does not see the cardless withdrawal facility doing away with the need for cards. RBI officials said this was an additional option and asecurity feature. There have been many phishing cases of fraudsters either cloning cards from data or placing devices over the card slot in the ATM to read the card information. UPI would eliminate such skimming frauds.

Another advantage would be the customers would not be inconvenienced even if their card issuance was delayed. Currently, banks face some issues with card supply because of a global chip shortage. This QR code withdrawal would be helpful if there is somelarge-scale re-carding to be done in the case of a data breach, as it happened in the past with some banks.

IPL MATCH 67: KOHLI KNOCK KEEPS BANGALORE'S IPL PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE

Virat Kohli rediscovered his scoring touch to smash 73 off 54 balls and lead Royal Challengers Bangalore to an eight-wicket win over table toppers Gujarat Titans on Thursday, keeping his side's playoff hopes alive.

Set a target of 169 to win their final league game, Kohli opened the innings again and smashed eight fours and two sixes to give Bangalore a platform to chase down the total and move up to fourth place.

Kohli has had a poor season by his standards, which includes three ducks in the tournament. The knock was only his second fifty in 14 IPL innings.

Bangalore must wait as Delhi Capitals, who have a better net run rate, could move level on points and reclaim fourth spot if they beat bottom side Mumbai Indians in their final game on Saturday.

INDIA'S NIKHAT ZAREEN WINS A GOLD IN WORLD BOXING CHAMPION

Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen lived up to India's expectations as she clinched the coveted gold in flyweight (52 kg) division with a facile 5-0 win over Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas in the final of the Women's World Championship in Istanbul on Thursday.

Capping off a stupendous campaign that saw her dominate all her rivals, the Telangana boxer out-punched her Thai opponent to win via unanimous verdict with judges scoring the bout 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 in her favour.

She won via a unanimous 5-0 verdict.

Six-time champion Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018) Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006) and Lekha KC (2006) are the other pugilists who have won the world title.

Apart from Zareen's gold, Manisha Moun (57 kg) and debutant Parveen Hooda (63 kg) will return home with bronze medals.

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GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.94 /US$, Jap.Yen 127.95 /US$, Aus$ 1.42 /US$, Sing 1.38 /US$, Bang Taka 85.85 /US$, Can$ 1.28 /US$, Mal Ring 4.40 /US$,

Pak Re 198.99 /US$, Phil Peso 52.31 /US$, Russian Rouble 62.69 /US$, NZ$ 1.57 /US$, Thai Baht 34.48 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 29.30 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 30,243

Dollar Index 103.13 Brent Crude 111.14 BDI 3,289

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,836 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,051 / 4,630, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 65,100

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Begin with the end in mind' is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things. - Stephen R. Covey

OFF TRACK

One of our friends is always telling his wife that her housekeeping would be a snap if only she would organize her time better. Recently he had a chance to put his theory into practice while his wife was away.

When I popped in one evening to see how he was managing, he crowed, "I made a cake, frosted it, washed the kitchen windows, cleaned all the cupboards, scrubbed the kitchen floor, walls and ceiling and even had a bath."

I was about to concede that perhaps he was a better manager than his wife, when he added sheepishly, "When I was making the chocolate frosting, I forgot to turn off the mixer before taking the beaters out of the bowl, so I had to do all the rest."