UEFA members to boycott FIFA events FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors was hit hard Thursday by his former colleagues at UEFA, who agreed to boycott all the global soccer body’s competitions in protest. “UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions,” the European body said. COIMBATORE l friday l july 31, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE 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 No legal action against protesters HC penalty on false complaints The Delhi government said it will not pursue any further legal action against people involved in the Jantar Mantar protests, while making it clear that the relief will not apply to those with criminal antecedents. In the first penal action against NEET-UG retest students who filed false complaints alleging tampered OMR (answer) sheets, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has imposed a fine of `5,000 each Pellet guns can be used in exceptional cases, says SC Directs govt to preserve ammunition log of the Rapid Action Force Anti-leak bill clears Rajya Sabha s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court said on Thursday pellet guns cannot be banned as long as the existing advisory permits their use for crowd control in exceptional circumstances by security agencies, while making it clear that allegations of specific misuse can be examined on a caseby-case basis. The court took was hearing a plea on the use of metallic pellet guns during the recent students’ protests against NEET paper leak in Delhi. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana also asked the Centre to preserve the ammunition log of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) deployed at the Jantar Mantar. Observing that police, as per the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) advisory are empowered to use pel, let guns in exceptional situations, the bench termed as “vague” a prayer in the plea seeking a complete ban on such usage. “Prayers are not to use pellet guns. In exceptional cases, police regulations permit the use of pellet guns. If you Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge during a debate on the bill | PTI Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 by a voice vote amid an Opposition walkout. The legislation had been approved by the Lok Sabha a day earlier. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge linked the Bill to recent student protests, stating that the amendment had been introduced only after sustained Opposition pressure are interested in phasing out pellet guns, you will have to challenge that very provision as ultra vires to Article 21 (right to life),” Justice Bagchi said. The bench also took note of submissions of senior advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the petitioners, and asked the Delhi government to provide the best treatment to Prashant Kumar, Sheikh Irshad Mansoori and others who suffered pellet gun injuries during the July 20 protest. Former Central Information Commissioner and retired IPS officer Yashovardhan Azad and the two victims had moved the court seek- ing a complete ban on the use of metallic pellet guns to deal with law and order situations. The petition also sought compensation, medical treatment and rehabilitation for those injured in the Jantar Mantar protests. Grover, for the petitioners, said,“There can be rubber, plastic and metallic pellets. These were metallic and recovered from the bodies.” Justice Bagchi said the court is “not averse to examining the use of pellets in individual use”. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the forces may have to take on-the-spot decision based on the event. CWMA upholds water release to TN E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on Thursday upheld the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) order directing Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu every day for the next 15 days, despite Karnataka’s objection citing poor storage and weak monsoon. The direction was issued during the 54th CWMA meeting, which was attended by the representatives of Cauvery basin states, including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Water Resources Department (WRD) secretary Satyabrata Sahoo represented Tamil Nadu during the meeting, held via video conference, in New Delhi. Officials said Karnataka is likely to explore legal options against the order, with the state government expected to convene an all-party meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday — the day before the scheduled meeting of TN Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay with his Karnataka counterpart DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru — to decide its future course of action. According to senior WRD officials, Tamil Nadu informed CWMA that Karnataka had failed to release its due share of water as stipulated in the Supreme Court’s final verdict. Against the scheduled release of 37.4068 tmcft between June 1 and July Wasia back on boil, Modi takes stock MUK E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired the fourth special meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to review the evolving situation arising from the ongoing conflict in West Asia and assess the preparedness of various ministries to mitigate its impact. Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan briefed the committee on the geopolitical situation and outlined measures taken to safeguard the country’s energy security and en- India-bound ships Two tankers carrying Saudi crude for India exited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by sailing “dark” after Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipments, a Reuters report said sure uninterrupted supplies of petroleum products, including LNG, LPG and fertilisers. Somanathan said the government has diversified sources for LPG procurement, while overall stocks and supplies of major petroleum products remain adequate. “Sufficient availability of crude oil has enabled state-owned refineries to operate at 100% capacity en, suring continued production of petrol, diesel and other essential fuels,” he said. The committee also reviewed the availability of fertilizers ahead of the upcoming Rabi season. The welfare of Indian seafarers serving on both domestic and foreign-flagged vessels operating in conflict zones also figured prominently in the deliberations. E x p r e s s Re a d SC to hear Balaji’s bail plea today Credit demand shifting: CIBIL report New Delhi/Chennai: The SC on Thursday decided to hear on Friday an appeal of former minister and DMK leader V Senthil Balaji challenging the Madras High Court’s dismissal of his anticipatory bail plea in the case over alleged corruption in Tasmac. Balaji had filed the bail application after DVAC registered an FIR against him on Tuesday | P4 Mumbai: Indicating the rising indebtedness of households, credit demand has been shifting from asset ownership to consumption, data released by Transunion CIBIL on Thursday showed. As of March 2026, consumption is the largest sector for loans at 51%, up from 34% in March 2017. India’s retail loan size is estimated at over `170 lakh cr 28 in the current water year, Tamil Nadu has received only 3.5730 tmcft, leaving a shortfall of 33.8338 tmcft. “We pointed out before the Authority that Karnataka has violated the water-sharing schedule. We also explained the severe distress in the Cauvery delta districts and urged CWMA to direct Karnataka to release water immediately to save standing crops and enable farmers to take up cultivation,” a senior WRD official told TNIE.  P7 Criticism from all quarters for orange jersey sw a r o o p sw a m in at h a n @ Bengaluru WHAT’S in a colour? For a sports team, it’s everything; a lifeblood. It gives them a sense of pride, belonging and an identity It is this identity that Hock. ey India (HI) has changed with less than three weeks to go for the next edition of the World Cup. At the quadrennial event, both senior teams will swap their iconic blue jerseys to wear one in saffron. V Baskaran, who led India to gold at the 1980 Olympics, can only laugh. “Blue isn’t just a colour for Indian hockey and our fans,” he tells this daily. “It’s an emotion.” The comments that former India captain Viren Rasquinha had received on his X feed were also clearly political.  P13