Ten Odisha towns record temperature above 43 deg C
NEW DELHI: There was no respite from the scorching sun in Odisha where mercury crossed the 43-degree mark at 10 places even as the Met department forecast a possibility of thunderstorm and rain in Delhi for Friday.
It was cloudy and sunny day in patches in the national capital with both the maximum and minimum temperatures settling within normal levels.
Delhi witnessed a windy morning. Six Delhi-bound flights had to be diverted to the Jaipur International Airport owing to the weather condition.
Gruelling heatwave swept across Odisha throwing life out of gear, particularly in the western parts of the state, where roads wore a deserted look during the day as people chose to remain indoors due to scorching heat.
Jharsuguda was the hottest place in the state at 44.4 degrees Celsius. The mercury breached the 43-degree mark in 10 towns and 40-degree mark at at least 15 places, with the MET office forecasting that heat wave will intensify. The maximum temperature in the state capital of Bhubaneswar dropped marginally to 37.8 degrees Celsius from 40.8 recorded yesterday.
The weather remained dry in parts of Uttar Pradesh where Etawah was the hottest place at the maximum of 42.2 degrees Celsius. Day temperatures otherwise remained normal throughout the state.
The weatherman has predicted that rain and thunderstorms with gusty winds are likely at isolated places over the state for tomorrow and the day after.
In Rajasthan, the mercury is once again on the ascendance at most of the places after a brief spell of respite due to rain. Churu was the hottest place where the maximum touched 41.7 degree Celsius followed by 41.4 in Kota, 41.0 in Ganganagar, 40.8 in Jaisalmer. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it was "alive" to its earlier orders which had held that Aadhaar should be "voluntary". "We are alive to the orders passed by this court which says it should be voluntary," a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said. The apex court made these observations while hearing the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of section 139AA of the Income Tax (IT) Act, which was introduced through the latest budget and the Finance Act 2017.
Section 139AA of IT Act provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns and making application for allotment of PAN number with effect from July 1 this year. Senior counsel Shyam Divan, representing the petitioners, argued that section 139AA was unconstitutional and it was in "direct collision" with the Aadhaar Act.
"The entire Aadhaar Act is voluntary. It creates a right in favour of citizens. It does not create a duty. The Act is entirely voluntary. How can they make it mandatory under the Income Tax Act? The scheme under the Aadhaar Act is in direct collision with the provision of section 139AA," he said.