kochi l saturday l september 05, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION SC asks 7 States to hike age of retirement of judicial officers addressing attrition in lower courts The Supreme Court directed the states to amend the service rules and enhance the age of superannuation in the judicial service to 62 years Noting that it is necessary to stop attrition of experienced and talented judicial officers and to ensure access to justice, the Supreme Court directed seven states to increase the retirement age of judicial officers in district judiciary from 60 to 62 years. Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, MP, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have consented to the proposal ■ 23 covers those who retired in march too ■ A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi passed the order in the All India Judges Association (AIJA) versus Union of India (UOI) case The order also covers officers who retired on or after March 31, 2026. They can exercise the option if they have not taken up another job states/ut have been asked to share their viewpoint 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 CJP’s Saurav Das, Nagina MP Chandrasekhar Azad with the daughter of Sanjay Kumar | PTI Influencer held after CJP protest exp r e s s n e w s s e r v i ce @ New Delhi DELHI Police detained selfproclaimed influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj in Uttar Pradesh on Friday hours af, ter the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station in Delhi demanding his arrest for assaulting a student’s father, a crime he bragged about in an interview. The detention came after CJP representatives including co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, along with supporters, marched to the Parliament Street police station demanding Swatantra B h a r dw a j ’s Bhardwaj arrest. They were accompanied by Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad and MP Pappu Yadav, who met police officials and were assured that action would be taken against Bhardwaj within 72 hours. The protest followed a viral podcast clip in which Bhardwaj openly said he had orchestrated a violent assault on Sanjay Kumar, the father of minor student activist Nishu Azad during the Jantar Mantar protests. The CJP-led delegation sought addition of attemptto-murder, criminal intimidation and SC/ST Act provisions to the case and demanded a separate FIR over rape threats targeting Kumar’s daughter. E x p r e s s Re a d Palayam Imam counters Kanthapuram T’Puram: Days after Samastha leader Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar’s remarks on women’s presence in public spaces sparked controversy, Palayam Juma Masjid Imam V P Suhaib Maulavi has come out stating that there is no gender discrimination in Islam and that nowhere does Islam prohibit women from going out and participating in social spaces. P4 16 pages, including 4 pages of kochi Express Marijuana+ pilot 2 pulled alive from tunnel of Aug 4 Phuket nine days after Nepal floods AI flight sacked S V K RISHNA C HAITAN YA @ Kathmandu Two workers trapped inside a tunnel of the Trishuli-3A Hydroelectric Project in Rasuwa were rescued on Friday, nine days after a devastating flood tore through the Bhote Koshi river system, raising hopes that others missing inside underground hydropower structures could still be found alive. The rescued workers were identified as Sanjay Sah and Kabir Maharjan. Sah briefly said he was chanting ‘Hare Krishna mahamanta’ for the past nine days. Both were pulled out from the tunnel by a joint search and rescue team and airlifted to a hospital. The breakthrough came as rescue teams continued a race against time across several hydropower projects damaged by the August 26 disaster. One body was also recovered during the Trishuli-3A operation, while the search for others trapped inside the tunnel remains underway . Around 900 workers have been reported missing from hydropower sites. The scale of the underground rescue operation has been immense. Preliminary AAIB report flags triple hydraulic systems failure in the Phuket-Delhi flight S LALITHA @ New Delhi AIR India on Friday terminated the services of the pilot-incommand of the Phuket-Delhi flight that experienced a series of technical failures on August 4, resulting in injuries to 24 people onboard. The airline’s action came hours after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary probe report, expressing serious concern about the pilot’s drug use. Captain Sudeep Vashistha, 34, had tested positive for marijuana on August 12. “The Pilot-in-Command of the Phuket-Delhi flight tested positive for a psychoactive substance. In line with Air India’s zero-tolerance approach to violation of safety fitness or regu, latory requirements, the pilot’s employment has been terminated with immediate effect,” an Air India statement read. Sources said Captain Vashistha is planning to move court against the termination. According to the AAIB report, all three hydraulic systems of the flight failed within seconds of each other, triggering an autopilot disconnect, a brief ‘stall’ warning, and an altitude drop of 292 feet. TNIE broke the story on August 10 that the failure of all three hydraulic systems led to the accident. In its 10-page report, AAIB said its findings are after analysing the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. It said the flight took off from Phuket on August 4 at 6.11 am IST. As it entered the Kolkata Flight Information Region, the air traffic control instructed the pilots to climb from 34,000 feet to 36,000 feet. The accident occurred while the aircraft was cruising at 36,000 feet. Ripped door of the overhead luggage compartment of the Aug 4 AI flight | File pic Damage to aircraft According to AAIB, the aircraft suffered some damage. The overhead ceiling panel was cracked at 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 18th, 19th and 20th row. The forward right hand emergency exit handle was broken. The passenger unit panels were found dislocated and bent Citing the post-flight report generated by aircraft maintenance personnel, the AAIB said loss of pressure in the green hydraulic system was detected at 09:32:43 am. Four seconds later, the blue and yellow hydraulic systems also failed. At 9:32:48 am, the autopilot got disconnected and a continuous chime alert was sounded. At 9:32:51 am, a ‘stall’ warning was triggered for two seconds. The co-pilot, who was flying the plane, tried to take control of the situation but could not. The captain then took over. At 9:32:52 am, the blue hydraulic system recovered, followed by the yellow and green systems. This resulted in recovery of the flight control systems and normal operating conditions were restored. SO V I V I D YA D HARAN @T’Puram BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s latest organisational rejig puts the party’s focus on the 2029 Lok Sabha polls and its bid to strengthen connect with Gen Z at the centre of its strategy . The expanded role assigned to 41-year-old general secretary Anoop Antony as the ‘narrative in charge’ of Mission 2029, alongside charge of the state cells, signals an attempt to sharpen the BJP’s digital outreach and to craft messaging that resonates with a younger, digitally connected Two electorate. Giving a rela- clusters tively younger M T Ramesh leader a formal put in charge of role in shaping the Kozhikodethe party’s nar- Palakkad cluster rative suggests that communi- S Suresh will cation and so- oversee the Ekmcial media out- T’Puram cluster. reach are set to assume greater importance in BJP’s preparations for 2029. The move also assumes significance at a time when the party’s support among younger voters has been seen as slipping of late. Besides, Anoop is seen to be close to both the national leadership and the state president. The reshuffle seeks to balance organisational responsibilities across regions and factions within the state unit as well. The development signals the division of the state’s organisational responsibilities equally between general secretaries M T Ramesh and S Suresh. Ramesh has been put in charge of the Kozhikode-Palakkad cluster, while Suresh will oversee the ErnakulamThiruvananthapuram cluster. “Assigning the two clusters separately also provides clearer organisational responsibility while potentially accommodating the party’s internal equations,” a senior leader ● More on P4 said. Big data 275: Indian nationals missing 166: Indians rescued so far 1,907: Indians safely crossed into Nepal from China 95 tonnes: Relief material supplied to Nepal on 7 aircraft 54: Personnel sent to support relief and rescue efforts 30: Tunnel rescue experts deployed in Nepal 19: Forensic experts 5: Medical team members 21 tonnes: Relief material flown to Kathmandu on Thursday Teams have had to clear collapsed sections, remove huge quantities of mud and debris, drain flooded passages and create access routes into tunnels that were cut off by the disaster. Excavators, mud pumps, generators, cameras, rafts and other equipment are being used at different sites to reach workers who may still be trapped. At Trishuli-3A, the rescue operation involved 75 Nepali Army personnel and 18 personnel from the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, along with technical experts.  Continued on: P9 Chief Minister V D Satheesan along with other ministers participating in the ‘Reimagining Kerala’ strategic leadership workshop held at the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode on Friday | Express | P4 HarperCollins gets to be publishing biggie of the year ISRO launches ‘Eye in Pa r a m i ta G h o s h @ New Delhi IN 1980, Delhi publisher Vision Books published My Truth, the closest to an Indira Gandhi official autobiography Printed as . a series of interviews with a French journalist, it includes her childhood, Jawaharlal Nehru advising her to be physically active, touches upon her marriage and contextualises “her truths” of her momentous years— the Bangladesh Liberation War and Emergency — for all readers. It was also not a time known for high-voltage book launches First came the announceand announcements. In com- ment of Alfred A Knopf (an imparison, the notice of her print of Penguin Random daughter-in-law SoHouse) publishing it, nia Gandhi’s memSonia then a clarification that oir, Belonging: A memoir Penguin India is not Journey of Love, has its India publisher, gone out with a and finally the Harpbang, a bump, and erCollins announceagain a second blow ment. The publishof the trumpet. ing biggie of the year While it has generno doubt belongs to ated excitement HarperCollins, which about its contents, on Friday morning the bigger exciteconfirmed it was pubment has been about lishing Sonia’s mema story of ‘refusal’. oir, one of the most anticipated political ‘autobiographies’ of our times. The book hits the stands in India on November 10, 2026. Sonia, the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party , has had both a ringside and an insider’s view of Indian politics, as a member of the NehruGandhi family which has been , at the helm of affairs for over 50 years at the Centre. In My Truth, Indira Gandhi’s interviews with a foreign journalist were aimed at shoring up her international reputation as well. Tragic tale of Malayali kalari duo on colonial Oz tour uncovered A German writer based in America has unearthed the tragic story of two Muslim kalaripayattu practitioners from Malabar, who set out for Australia, then a British colony in , the 1850s to earn money by displaying their martial art skills. In his article in the book ‘Faith, Commerce, and Cultural Exchange in the World of Ibn Battuta,’ William Gilcher juxtaposes the experience of per- A worker rescued from a tunnel at Trishuli 3A hydropower project | EXPRESS class of ’26 ‘Victims of otherness’ M P P r a s h a n t h @ Kozhikode State BJP’s organisational rejig signals Gen Z push formers from Germany with that of the Malayali duo, who became victims of discrimination and cultural insensitivity . Mahomet Cassim and his companion Mahomet Abdallah performed for audiences across Australia. “Speaking little English, they stood out from the European colonists by their Muslim religious beliefs as well as their dark skin colour,” says the author. The locals called them ‘Indian jugglers’ knowing nothing of kalaripayattu. Despite their skill in the martial art, difficulties with communication prompted them to appoint a person from Kolkata as manager. But to their dismay, Cassim and Abdallah one day found that the manager had disappeared with their hardearned money search of jobs, .In they joined hands with Henry Burton, owner of the National Circus, the most “important enterprise of its kind in Britain’s Australian colonies.” Musician Michael Gilcher from Germany was the other important figure in the company “The two Malabaris, after . working closely with Michael Gilcher and Henry Burton, became star performers, despite their limited English, drawing large audiences and praisefilled reviews.” In a twist, the Malayalis were arrested after mortal remains, suspected to be that of their manager, were found at a village in 1863. They were charged with murder and later faced trial in court. After the trial, the duo was sentenced to death. Abdallah’s sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. The author recounts the last moments to Cassim’s life “who chose to accept his death as ● More on P4 martyrdom.”  the Sky’ imaging sat B OS K Y K HANNA @ Bengaluru THE Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday scripted history by successfully launching the advanced Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-05) into a geo-orbit, placing an imaging satellite in a high-altitude of 36,000 km above earth. This comes as a relief for the Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) programme following the unsuccessful EOS-03 (GSLV-F10) mission in 2021, and two failed missions of PSLV-C61/EOS-09 in January 2026 and PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 in May 2025. The EOS-05 satellite has been placed in a geosynchronous orbit above the South Asian landmass, which means it will remain stationary in relation to the location above which it has been parked in space, synchronising its revolution around Earth in tandem with the rotation of the planet. The 2,367-kg satellite—the heaviest that GSLV Mark II has put in space so far—was launched on board the GSLV Mk II-F17 mission (GSLV-F17) at 2.55 am from the second launchpad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota amid light rainfall. After the orbit-raising operations are completed, the satellite is to be placed above the South Asian land mass at an inclination of 19.28 degrees to the equator. Once operational, EOS-05 will become India’s first dedicated imaging satellite from the geo-orbit, providing “strategic data” for the country, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said after the launch, while describing EOS-05 as a “strategic satellite”. He, however, dismissed speculations that it is a “spy satellite”. What does it do? EOS-05 will provide real-time data for weather monitoring, cyclones, floods and cloudbursts. It carries multispectral and hyper-spectral bands to capture field images every 5 minutes & entire country every 30 minutes. It will relay info to ground stations every 30 minutes