NEW DELHI 25 january 2026 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 28  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in PLUS: 16 PAGES Cuts from the Future On the Earth’s Margins MAGAZINE Intimations of Mortality Exclusive Voices Our Republic of Rare Rituals Goes after collegium SC judge criticises executive influence in judge’s transfer s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi express read fta Ursula lands in New Delhi European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen landed in Delhi on Saturday to attend the R-Day celebrations here and to hold summit talks with the PM on the proposed trade agreement between India and EU on January 27. ZUBEEN GARG Family writes to PM for fast trial The family of Zubeen Garg on Saturday wrote to PM Narendra Modi requesting a special court for expedited trial and appropriate diplomatic-legal action in Singapore in connection with his death in the island country. ndmc Community halls turn night shelters The NDMC announced on Saturday that its barat ghars and community halls will be available as night shelters for patients’ and their kin near major government hopsitals. The facility would remain available till March 15. Bastar villages to hoist tricolour for the first time to celebrate Republic Day. Police said, this will mark a historic milestone for the Maoist-hit 54 remote locations | P8 A sitting judge of the Supreme Court publicly criticising its collegium that appoints and transfers judges to the higher judiciary is decidedly rare. However, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Saturday stuck his neck out by questioning a decision of the collegium to transfer a high court judge at the request of the Central government. Observing that the executive has absolutely no say in the matter of transfer and postings of judges, Justice Bhuyan made the larger point that judges should not be seen as bending over backwards to justify denial of liberty or human rights. He warned that “if we lose our credibility, nothing will be left of the judiciary .” Justice Bhuyan made the point while delivering the G V Pandit memorial lecture on “Constitutional Morality and Democratic Governance” at ILS Law College, Pune. “When the collegium records that the transfer of a high court judge was being made at the request of the Central government, it reveals a striking intrusion of executive influence into what is constitutionally supposed to be an independent process,” he asserted. In October last year, the collegium headed by the then Chief Justice of India B R Gavai had revised its initial proposal to transfer Justice Atul Sreedharan from the Madhya Pradesh High Court to the Chhattisgarh High Court, recommending instead his transfer to the Allahabad High Court. The collegium said the change was made following a government request. In Chhattisgarh, Justice Sreedharan would have joined the High Court collegium, whereas in Allahabad his seniority would be much lower. The decision drew criticism due to his reputation as an independent judge. Earlier, Justice Sreedharan had taken suo motu action against a Madhya Pradesh minister for remarks against a serving female Colonel. Justice Bhuyan, without naming Justice Sreedharan questioned the reason for his transfer from one HC to another, just because he had passed certain inconvenient orders against the government. “Does it not affect the independence of the judiciary?” he asked. Delhi woke up to clear skies on Saturday morning, a day after the city received a spell of widespread rainfall. The rain brought a dip in the temperature, offering the city a brief relief from pollution levels. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 192 at 4 pm on Saturday. In the morning, the average AQI settled at 256, in the The Central government can have no say in the matter of transfer and posting of high court judges... It is within the exclusive domain of the judiciary Justice Ujjal Bhuyan Autonomy must for Collegium Justice Bhuyan emphasised that the collegium system must remain completely independent. If collegium members are getting swayed by executive influence, they are drifting away from the original purpose of the collegium system, Justice Bhuyan said j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi INDIA voted against a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) condemning Iran’s violent crackdown on recent protests and extending international investigative mandates. The resolution was adopted at the Council’s 39th special session with 25 votes in favour, seven against and 14 abstentions. Besides India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia and Iraq voted a g ainst the measure. European Union members led the support, joined by the UK and Iceland, along with several Latin American countries. The resolution expressed concern over what it said were “widespread and systematic” violations following protests “poor” category against 293 on , Friday, according to CPCB’s Sameer app. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that Safdarjung station recorded a minimum temperature of 7.6 degrees Celsius, 0.1 degrees above the season’s nor mal, marking a sharp fall from Friday’s low of 13.7 degrees Celsius, which was the highest in four years. The IMD has forecast partly cloudy sky for Sunday . Earlier instances of abstention by India New Delhi sees this special UNHRC session as “unwarranted”. India has previously abstained on similar resolutions. In November 2022, it abstained on the resolution establishing the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, and again in April 2024 on extending its mandate. Officials said those decisions were shaped by broader Council dynamics at that time that began on December 28, 2025, citing reports of thousands of deaths, including children, mass arrests and injuries to civilians. India’s vote comes amid sen- Swami Sukhabodhananda speaks The Interplay of Love and Happiness Path open to lift 25% tariff: US Russian oil import down, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sees possibility of easing levy P u s h p i ta D e y @ New Delhi A couple of booster shots have arrived just before the Union Budget, which could possibly lift the sentiments of the Indian economy further. Even as the country is all set to sign a free trade deal with the European Union, which both sides see as the ‘mother of all deals’, the US hinted at a diplomatic path to lift the 25% additional import duty it levied on Indian goods after a “marked decline in India’s imports of Russian oil in recent months”. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted during a media interaction that the US administration could consider reducing the 50% tariff imposed on several sectors of Indian exports, as there has been a significant fall in imports of Russian oil in recent months. The indication is being seen as hints of a potential easing of We put 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. And Indian purchases of Russian oil have collapsed. I would imagine there is a path to take them off Scott Bessent Relief for exporters Removal of the US tariff, and FTA with the EU, will bring much respite to Indian exporters trade headwinds at a crucial juncture. Coming just a week ahead of the Union Budget 2026, the development has raised hopes of improved export prospects, stronger bilateral trade sentiment, and a more supportive global backdrop for India’s growth narrative. During his interaction with an American news outlet Politico at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bessent said: “We put 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. And the Indian purchases, by their refineries, of Russian oil have collapsed. That is a success.” Bessent assured that the administration will be open to discussions to ease them. “The tariffs are still on. I would imagine there is a path to take them off.” US President Donald Trump announced a total of 50% tariff (including a 25% tariff due to imports of crude oil from Rus- NRI shoots wife, relatives dead in US H a r p r e e t Ba j wa @ Chandigarh A man of Indian origin, identified as Vijay Kumar, 51, was arrested in the US on charges of shooting his wife and three relatives in a residence in the Georgia state purportedly due to a family dispute. In a post on X, the local county police said Kumar was taken into custody a short distance from the Lawrenceville residence, where the shooting occurred on Friday . The victims have been identified as Meenu Dogra, Kumar’s wife, and three others—Gourav Cumar, 33, Nidhi Chander, 37, and Harish Chander, 38. According to police, the in- Taken into custody The local county police said on social media that the accused was taken into custody a short distance from the Lawrenceville residence where the shooting occurred on Friday. vestigation revealed that an argument broke out between Dogra and Kumar at their home in Atlanta. The couple then travelled with their 12year-old child to a residence on Brook Ivy Court in Lawrenceville. Gourav Cumar, Nidhi Chander and Harish Chander lived at the Brook Ivy Court home along with two children aged seven and 10. After the incident, the 12year-old child called 911. Police said it is not yet known what the argument was about, why the family went to the Brook Ivy Court residence, or what led to the shooting. Kumar has been charged with four counts of aggravated assault, four counts of felony murder, four counts of malice murder, one count of first-degree cruelty to children, and two counts of third-degree cruelty to children, the statement added. Meanwhile, the Consulate General of India in Atlanta expressed grief over the incident, confirming the arrest. India votes against UN resolution condemning crackdown in Iran A day after rain, capital gets clear sky, AQI down e x p r e ss n e ws s e r v i c e @ New Delhi A Thousand Flights in the Himalayan Sky Anand Neelakantan Prabhu Chawla Ravi Shankar Shampa Dhar-Kamath Santwana Bhattacharya Shankkar Aiyar Siddhaant Mohta The Renaissance Man ‘A Vulnerable Woman is Just as Strong’ sitive diplomatic and strategic considerations. New Delhi is currently in talks with the United States over an extended sanctions waiver for the Chabahar port project in Iran, which expires in April 2026. Iran’s Ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, welcomed New Delhi’s stance. “I extend my sincere gratitude to India for its principled and firm support of Iran at the UNHRC, including opposing an unjust and politically motivated resolution,” he said in a social media post and added that the vote reflected “India’s commitment to justice, multilateralism, and national sovereignty .” Sources said India’s position was guided by long-standing opposition to country-specific resolutions. Republic’s rhythm As the last-minute preparations continue for the Republic Day, the Indian Army band performs during a rehearsal for the grand Beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Saturday | Pti sia) on several Indian exports, including textile, apparel, carpets, gems and jewelleries from August-end. This additional tariff came as a penalty for buying Russian oil. According to Bessent, the tactic of pressuring India has worked as the import of crude oil from Russia has come down considerably in the last few months. As per Kpler, a real-time trade intelligence tool for global markets, India’s Russian crude import in December stood at 1.2 million barrels per day down 35% from 1.8 mbd in , November. Despite Russia being the top exporter of oil for India, its share in India’s crude imports dipped to 25% in December from the peak of 35%. On the other hand, oil imports from the US have been increasing from a low of 67,000 barrels per day (kbd) in December 2024 to 3,30,000 barrels per day in December 2025. Harassment Ex-PWD secy sent back to jail in suicide case P r a sa n ta M a z u m da r @ Guwahati The Itanagar bench of Gauhati High Court has overturned a lower court order that had granted bail to the IAS officer Talo Potom, named in a 19-yearold’s suicide notes last year. Potom, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, was the special secretary (PWD), Government of Delhi, at the time of his first arrest in October. He was released within seven days. In an order, Justice Yarenjungla Longkumer directed that Potom be immediately taken into custody and criticised the lower court judge for granting bail to the accused “without proper application of mind”. The father of the deceased had filed a criminal petition in the HC under sections of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita praying for the quashing of the bail. He said that his son, found dead at his rented accommodation at Lekhi village on October 23 last year, had accused Potom and senior engineer Likwang Lowang of “sexually exploiting” and harassing him for a long time in his suicide notes. The bench said the trial court had completely failed to take into account the pertinent factor that the offence had shocked the collective conscience of the society The order further stat. ed that the release of an influential person like the IAS officer at a nascent stage of investigation, when there was a clear prima facie case against him, would have derailed the investigation process. big decision It’s official: Bangladesh out, Scotland in for T20 World Cup E x p r e s s N e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai AND just like that, the Asian bloc, the most powerful bloc in international cricket seems to be in tatters, at least for the time being. But there was no way out once Bangladesh stood their ground of not travelling to India so close to the T20 World Cup beginning from February 7 in India and Sri Lanka. Though there have been withdrawals in the past, because of the passion involved in the sub-continent, this seemed more high profile and talked-about. On Saturday, Bangladesh carried through its threat of not travelling for the T20 World Cup in India. The end result? The International Cricket Council (ICC) gave their spot to Scotland. The European outfit, who fell during the qualifiers, will now be in Group C with Italy, England, Nepal and West Indies. Bangladesh may have the option of going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport previous major instances 1996 World Cup 2003 World Cup 2009 T20 World Cup West Indies and Australia forfeit matches in Sri Lanka England do not travel to Zimbabwe because of the Mugabe regime Zimbabwe pull out of England event for political reasons, Scotland replace it (CAS) but the events of the last three and a bit weeks will take years to repair, if at all. In the 90s, when Bangladesh, regarded as one of the game’s lesser nations, were fighting for Test status, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) believed in them. When Jagmohan Dalmiya was in charge of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Bangladesh finally became a full-member. A few months later, a full-strength In- dia team travelled to Dhaka for Bangladesh’s first ever Test. One can argue that Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made this issue more political than it ought to have been as well. The ICC, on the other hand maintained that there is no issue of security threat in India and it is safe for Bangladesh but to no avail. There will be a major financial implication too. In any case, the team would be losing at least $250,000 from T20 WC participation fee. And there could be reduction in annual revenue share as well.