400 AND COUNTING: DJOKOVIC CREATES ANOTHER HISTORY On a dramatic Saturday, Jannik Sinner survived heat to advance, while Serb former World No 1 Novak Djokovic became the first man to win 400 Grand Slam matches. Djokovic, chasing a record 25th Major, saw off Netherlands’ Botic van Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4). The 10-time winner at Melbourne Park hasn’t won a Slam since 2023 but he’s feeling fresh and injury free P13 SHIVAMOGGA  SUNDAY  JANUARY 25, 2026  `12.00  PAGES 26  CITY EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI SC judge criticises executive influence in judge’s transfer intrusion of executive influence into what is constitutionally supposed to be an indeA sitting judge of the Supreme pendent process,” he asserted. Court publicly criticising its colLast October, the collegium legium that appoints and trans- headed by the then CJI BR Gafers judges to the higher judici- vai had revised its initial proary is decidedly rare. However, posal to transfer Justice Atul Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Satur- Sreedharan from the Madhya day stuck his neck out Pradesh High Court to by questioning a decithe Chhattisgarh High sion of the collegium Court, recommending to transfer a high court instead his transfer to judge at the request of the Allahabad HC. The the Centre. colle gium said the Observing that the change was made folexecutive has absolowing a government lutely no say in the request. matter of transfer and In Chhattisgarh, Juspostings of judges, tice Sreedharan would The Central Justice Bhuyan made have joined the HC colthe larger point that government can legium, whereas in Alhave no say in the judges should not be lahabad his seniority matter of transfer seen as bending over would be much lower. and posting of backwards to justify The decision drew critiHigh Court denial of liberty or hucism due to his reputaJudges... It is man rights. He warned tion as an independent within the that “if we lose our exclusive domain judge. Earlier, Justice of the judiciary credibility, nothing Sreedharan had taken will be left of the judi- Justice Ujjal Bhuyan suo motu action against ciary Justice Bhuyan .” a Madhya Pradesh minmade the point while ister for remarks against delivering the G V Pandit me- a serving female Colonel. morial lecture on “ConstituJustice Bhuyan, without tional Morality and Democratic naming Justice Sreedharan Governance” at ILS Law Col- questioned the reason for his lege, Pune. transfer from one HC to anoth“When the collegium records er, just because he had passed that the transfer of a high certain inconvenient orders court judge was being made at against the government. “Does the request of the Central gov- it not affect the independence ernment, it reveals a striking of the judiciary?” he asked. S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi T20 WC: B’desh out, Scotland in EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai AND just like that, the Asian bloc, the most powerful bloc in inter national 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. Though there have been withdrawals in the past, because of the passion involved in the sub-continent, this seems more high profile and talked-about. P13 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 WITH THIS ISSUE 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- EXPRESS READ India votes against UN resolution on Iran OUR REPUBLIC OF RARE RITUALS PLUS 12 P AGES NEW DELHI: India voted against a resolution at the 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 against the measure P9 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. 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 the Indian exporters Eating honey? Most samples in South India untested B O S K Y K H A N N A @Bengaluru CONSUMERS in South India are at a health risk of consuming synthetic, adulterated or pesticide-ridden honey even as the demand for the nectar and its byproducts is rising for health and beauty reasons. Far too few honey samples from southern states are coming up for testing under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission – or Madhukranti, despite the rising number of honey-testing laboratories across India. To take the quality of honeytesting a few notches higher, the ICAR-IIHR Bengaluru is working on creating methods to detect and trace levels of antibiotics and pesticides in honey P6 .