Srinagar, Sept 15: Here are top headlines from Kashmir and beyond this past week.

J&K High Court restrains police from filing charge-sheet against MLA Mehraj Malik

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has restrained police from filing a charge-sheet against Doda MLA Mehraj Malik, while permitting the investigation to proceed.

The case invokes Section 356(2) (assault with intent to dishonour), Section 79 (obstructing a public servant), and Section 351(2) (use of force to deter a public servant).

After show-cause notice, PDP MLA Para says speaker must speak in defence of legislators

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed Para on Friday said as the custodian of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, the speaker must speak in defence of the legislators to protect the “institution of MLA”.

The remarks of Para, the MLA from Pulwama, came after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice to him for his social media post claiming the Assembly Secretariat endorsed the detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

J&K LG Manoj Sinha inaugurates high Capacity Parcel train

Nepal’s interim PM Karki vows to step down after 6 months

Nepal’s newly-appointed interim prime minister Sushila Karki has said she will serve in office for no longer than six months, pledging to hand power to a new government after elections scheduled for 5 March next year.

“I did not wish for this job. It was after voices from the streets that I was compelled to accept,” Karki told reporters in her first public remarks since being sworn in on Friday, according to the BBC.

J-K: 400 shifted to shelters as land subsidence damages houses in Poonch

Nearly 400 residents of Kalaban village in Mendhar sub-division of Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district have been shifted to temporary shelters after several houses developed cracks due to land subsidence triggered by continuous rainfall, officials said on Monday.

Authorities, with the support of a local NGO, are providing relief material and essentials to the displaced families. The administration has declared Kalaban unsafe and directed residents to evacuate until further notice.

Govt allocates Rs 124 crore for health sector upgrades: Health Minister Sakina Itoo

Health Minister Sakina Itoo on Friday said that the government has earmarked over ₹124 crore to boost health infrastructure across Jammu and Kashmir.

In a post on X, Minister Itoo said the allocation includes CT Scan facility at GMC Jammu, MRI machines for GMC Baramulla, GMC Kathua and GMC Rajouri, a Cath Lab at GMC Doda, and a PET Scan for GMC Srinagar.

She added that the plan also provides for strengthening telemedicine services with 80 units across the Union Territory, ensuring wider access to modern healthcare.

Chickenpox outbreak forces closure of north Kashmir school indefinitely

An outbreak of chickenpox has prompted authorities to suspend class work at Government Middle School Khonchipora in Kunzer zone of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

According to an official order issued by the Zonal Education Officer Kunzer, the decision was taken after cases of chickenpox were reported among students. A medical team dispatched to the school yesterday for examination and preventive measures.

New Delhi, Sep 15: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Waqf law, saying there was a “presumption” of constitutionality in its favour, but stalled the operation of certain provisions, including the one which said only those who are practising Islam for the last five years can create a waqf.

Pronouncing an interim order, a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih said, “We have considered prima facie challenge to each of the sections and found no case was made out to stay the entire statute.”

The top court, however, stayed the provision which said that persons practising Islam for the last five years can only create a waqf.

It also stayed the provision which enabled an officer designated by the government to determine the dispute whether the Waqf property has encroached on a government property.

“We have held presumption is always on constitutionality of statute and in rarest it can be done. We have found that the entire Act is challenged, but the basic challenge was sections 3(r), 3C, 14,…,” the CJI said.

It directed that as far as possible the Chief Executive Officer of the Waqf Board should be a Muslim, while refusing to stay the amendment allowing the appointment of a non-Muslim as a CEO.

It also said the number of non-Muslims in state waqf boards and central waqf councils cannot exceed three.

The detailed judgement is awaited.

The top court on May 22 had reserved its order on three key issues, including the power to denotify properties declared as “waqf by courts, waqf-by-user or waqf by deed”, which cropped up during the hearing of pleas challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

New Delhi, Sep 15: The Income Tax Department has clarified that the deadline for ITR filing for Assessment Year 2025-26 is September 15 and there is no further extension as circulated on social media.

In a late night post on X on September 14, the department termed “fake” a statement in circulation on social media stating that the due date of filing ITRs has been further extended to September 30, 2025.

Asking taxpayers to only rely on official updates on @IncomeTaxIndia, it said “The due date for filing ITRs remains 15.09.2025”.

A host of chartered accountants and individuals have taken to social media over the past couple of days claiming that the I-T portal is facing glitches while making tax payment and downloading AIS (Annual Information Statement).

“The e-filing portal is working fine. Please clear your browser cache or try accessing the portal through a different browser,” the I-T department said in reply to one such post on Monday morning.

Replying to X posts claiming issues with uploading ITR and tax payment, the department has been asking individuals to share their details (along with PAN and mobile number) to e-mail id orm@cpc.incometax.gov.in.

On September 14, the I-T department had replied to users claiming issues with downloading AIS/TIS saying: “We’ve checked with our team. The AIS/TIS facility is functioning without any issues. May we request you to please try accessing it again. In case you continue to face difficulties, please share your details (along with your mobile number & public IP address) with us at cmcpc_support@insight.gov.in.”

In a post on X , the department said to assist taxpayers for ITR filing, tax payment and other related services, its helpdesk is functioning on a 24×7 basis, and is providing support through calls, live chats, WebEx sessions & Twitter/X.

On September 13, the department had said that over 6 crore ITRs had been filed till afternoon.

The department had in May announced an extension of the due date for filing ITRs for Assessment Year (AY) 2025-26 (for income earned in financial year 2024-25) by individuals, HUFs and entities who do not have to get their accounts audited from July 31 to September 15.

The extension was on account of “structural and content revisions” in the income tax return (ITR) forms, which was notified in late April and early May. The changes made in the ITR form for AY 2025-26 also need modifications to be made in ITR filing utilities and the back-end system.

ITR filings have shown consistent growth over the years, reflecting rising compliance and widening of the tax base. For AY 2024-25, a record 7.28 crore ITRs were filed up to July 31, 2024, compared to 6.77 crore for AY 2023-24, registering a 7.5 per cent year-on-year growth.