hyderabad l Monday l November 10, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Judiciary exploring AI tools, says CJI-designate surya Kant Justice Surya Kant said on Sunday the judiciary has begun exploring AI-based tools with a view that tech must augment, not replace, the human mind ‘Humanity gives justice its moral core’ The Chief Justice of India-designate emphasised that technology must be harnessed as a tool, without surrendering the humanity that gives justice its moral core. Kant said, “The law, after all, is not a mere algorithm. It is a reflection of human conscience, shaped by empathy, moral reasoning, and an understanding of context that machines cannot replicate” Nov 24 AI can help improve justice delivery: Kant transcription and data analytics. He added that they could help improve efficiency and analytical precision in the delivery of justice ■ He was speaking at the valedictory function of the Sixth Full Meeting of the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts in Delhi ■ Justice Kant said AI-based tools are being considered for research, when justice surya kant will take charge as the 53rd cji 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 CM bets on history repeating, says Cong will govern till 2034 the final showdown Invoking Telangana’s political history, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday predicted a decade-long reign for the Congress, arguing that the state, in contemporary times, has consistently given two consecutive terms to its ruling parties. Speaking at the ‘Meet the Press’ programme organised by the Press Club in Hyderabad, he said this pattern would see the Congress in power until June 2034, a projection meant to counter BRS working president KT Rama Rao’s claim that his party would return to power within 500 days. “There are still over a thousand days left in this five-year term. I don’t know how Rama Rao is calculating the remaining days, but mark my words — from today November , 9, the Congress will be in power for another eight years. There is a possibility of Jamili (simultaneous) elections being held in June 2029 for a five-year term, which will continue until June 2034. Until then, the Congress will remain in power,” the chief minister said, adding that his goal was to implement development plans covering a hundred years within the next 10. In a wide-ranging and fiery interaction with journalists, Revanth mixed political attacks with developmental promises and sharp jibes at his rivals — former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Rama Rao and Union minister G Kishan Reddy . Revanth began by recalling the Congress’ pivotal role in the formation of Telangana, crediting former AICC president Sonia Gandhi for “keeping her word” despite political costs. He contrasted what he described as “10 years of development during the UPA regime between 2004 and 2014” with “10 years of destruction under BRS rule”. “KCR brought `8.11 lakh crore of untraceable debt and left the state bankrupt — even salaries couldn’t be paid by the time I assumed office,” he said. The chief minister announced that his government would introduce a policy document in the Assembly before the commencement of the next financial year. “An expert commit- INSIDE 58 tee is studying how the government can mobilise and utilise resources in the upcoming Budget sessions,” he said. drones to be used for monitoring polling  Up to `120 crore is set to be given to voters for “poll engineering”, according to insiders  A party allegedly distributed `1,000 per vote early Sunday morning to about one lakh voters and is likely to give another `1,000 each to another one lakh voters Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at a presser in Hyderabad on Sunday | SRI LOGANATHAN VELMURUGAN There are still over a thousand days left in this five-year term. I don’t know how Rama Rao is calculating the days left, but mark my words: from today, November 9, the Congress will be in power for another eight years. There is a possibility of Jamili (simultaneous) elections being held in June 2029 for a five-year term, which will continue until June 2034. Until then, the Congress will remain in power A Revanth Reddy, chief minister Every Congress MLA is unhappy. With its state leadership in tatters, with only one family enjoying power, there is simmering anger and rage in the Congress. After the polls, the contradictions will intensify. Elections are imminent in 2027 KT Rama Rao, BRS working president Ahead of every election, BRS and Congress leaders have repeatedly questioned the Union government’s role in Telangana’s development. Both parties have pushed the narrative that the Centre has neglected the state and that, as a Union minister, I have hindered its growth and welfare. These allegations are entirely false and politically motivated A BYelection TO REDEFINE the SHAPE OF POLITICS in TelanGANA | p6 G Kishan Reddy, Union minister Top gangsters Guj ATS thwarts suspected from Haryana ISIS-K ricin terror plot detained in Georgia, US H ar p reet B a j w a @ Chandigarh Two wanted Haryana gangsters, Venkatesh Garg and Bhanu Rana, have been detained in Georgia and the United States, respectively and are , expected to be deported to India soon, a top police official told this newspaper. “ team of Haryana police is A already in Georgia to bring back fugitive Venkatesh Garg, while deliberations are ongoing to bring back Bhanu Rana from the US,” the official said. Venkatesh Garg is associated with the Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu gang and hails from Narayangarh in Haryana. More than 10 criminal cases have been registered against him. He fled to Georgia after being implicated in the murder of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader in Gurugram. He has been operating an extortion racket and recruiting youth from the state as well as from Rajasthan and Delhi, into his criminal network, sources said. Meanwhile, the other gangster, Bhanu Rana, a close associate of the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang from Karnal, has been operating across Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. His name surfaced during investigations into a grenade attack in Punjab earlier this year. In June, when the Special Task Force in Karnal arrested two men carrying hand grenades and pistols, they reportedly confessed that they were acting on Rana’s orders. 11 14  For the first time, Turning to urban development, Revanth said Hyderabad emerged as a knowledge hub because of the policies of previous Congress governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh that balanced welfare with growth. “The pharma and IT sectors came here due to the vision of Congress,” he asserted, adding that flagship BRS projects such as Kaleshwaram, the Secretariat and the Integrated Command and Control Centre were marred by corruption. He accused the previous BRS government of fiscal mismanagement, pointing out that the Congress had handed over a state with a `60,000 crore surplus in 2014, but received it back with a debt burden of `8.11 lakh crore. “By the time I took charge as chief minister on December 7, 2023, there was no money left even to pay government employees. KCR didn’t leave the option of taking advances from the Reserve Bank of India,” he said. He added that his government had since made progress, achieving a record paddy yield of 2.85 lakh metric tonnes, the highest in the country . Taking a dig at Rama Rao, Revanth urged voters in Jubilee Hills — where polling will be held on November 11 — to choose between policies that “support agriculture” and those that “promote a drug culture”. Listing the state government’s key achievements, he cited the launch of new welfare schemes, the introduction of classification and caste census, the declaration of February 4 as Social Justice Day and the revival of the loss-making RTC. “I didn’t cancel a single BRS scheme — only added more,” he claimed. Answering a question on the BJP’s claim that it holds a 50% stake in Telangana politics after winning eight of the 17 Lok Sabha seats, Revanth challenged the saffron party to first secure its deposit in the next Assembly elections.  continued on P4 The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) thwarted a chilling terror plot to unleash mass casualties in the state using ricin and arrested three suspected Islamic State operatives from the state’s Gandhinagar and Banaskantha districts. The first of the three to be arrested was Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, a Hyderabad-based MBBS graduate who studied in China. Saiyed, the alleged mastermind of the plot, had allegedly begun synthesising a deadly poison from cyanide and ricin, a lethal toxin that can be used as a biological weapon. According to ATS Deputy Inspector General Sunil Joshi, intelligence inputs indicated that Saiyed entered Gujarat to execute a terror strike under the ISIS-K or ISKP banner. Multiple ATS teams were mobilised to track him down. The team intercepted a silver Ford Figo on the Ahmedabad-Mehsana highway . Inside, they found Saiyed with Polling on Counting on November November candidates in fray ‘Hyderabad became pharma, IT hub due to Cong’s vision’ Dili p S ingh Kshatri ya @ Ahmedabad Rama Rao said while Telangana stood No. 1 in GST collections in 2023, it came down to No. 28 this year because of the Congress government’s “negative policies”. Campaigning for Jubilee Hills bypoll ends Counters KTR’s claim of BRS returning to power in 500 days E x p ress N e w s S ervi c e @ Hyderabad ‘NEGATIVE POLICIES’ hyderabad Doctor among 3 arrested Hyderabad: Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, a Hyderabad native, was among the three suspected terrorists arrested at Adalaj in Gandhinagar. Officials said Saiyed, who earlier lived in Tolichowki, had been running a hotel and a real estate business. He reportedly earned his MBBS degree in China and was preparing the highly lethal poison ‘ricin’ to carry out a terror attack | p2 pistols, 30 live cartridges, and four litres of castor oil, a precursor to ricin poison. Police said Saiyed’s interrogation revealed transnational links. He reportedly confessed to receiving instructions from Abu Khadija, an Afghan-based ISKP handler with Pakistani contacts. He had also procured raw materials and lab equipment to produce chemical toxins.  Its main rival is reportedly offering `2,500 per voter & is aiming to reach 2.5 lakh voters in the segment  226 polling stations have been identified as ‘critical’ out of the total 407  Total cash seized: `3.6 crore  Total of 27 cases of MCC violations filed  All liquor stores closed from 6 pm on November 9 to November 11 evening, and again from 7 am on November 14 until the results are declared.  230 rowdy-sheeters bound over Litmus test For the Congress, the result will be a test of the Revanth Reddy government’s performance For the BRS, it is a do-or-die fight after its 2023 Assembly elections defeat and 2024 Lok Sabha polls wipeout The BJP seeks a win to project itself as the main challenger to the Congress in 2028 BRS working president KT Rama Rao at a roadshow in Yousufguda, Hyderabad KTR: Public wrath will consume Cong in JH K alyan T holeti @ Hyderabad BRS working president KT Rama Rao asserted that Hyderabad is the pink party’s bastion and will continue to remain so. In a free-wheeling chat with TNIE on Sunday he urged vot, ers to manifest their anger with the Congress government in the upcoming Jubilee Hills byelection so that “the ruling party mends its ways”. Denying the ruling party’s allegations that the BRS regime left the state debt-ridden, Rama Rao said, “[Chief Minister] A Revanth Reddy and his colleagues lie every day The . talk of `8 lakh crore debt is absolute trash. One minister says `6 lakh crore, another says `8 lakh crore. Let them back it up with evidence. The Government of India stated explicitly that as of December 2023, it was `3.5 lakh crore. Do we believe that or some random figures?” Posing a counter-question to the Congress government, Rama Rao said, “Let CM Revanth Reddy explain how the `2.3 lakh crore debt his government borrowed has been spent.” All eyes on Bihar women voters as final phase campaigning winds up R a j esh K umar T hakur & R amashankar @ New Delhi/Patna CAMPAIGNING for the second and final phase of the Bihar Assembly elections concluded on Sunday evening, capping nearly a month of intense canvassing and clamorous exchanges between the ruling NDA and the opposition Mahagathbandhan. Polling will take place on November 11 across 122 constituencies in 20 districts, marking the decisive round of a highstakes contest. The first phase on November 6 saw a record voter turnout of 65.08 percent, the highest in the state’s history with women out, numbering men at poll booths. The turnout of women voters in this phase may well decide whether, as many put it, “Rajnitik badlav ki hawa chali ya nahi (if a political wind of change has blown).” Among key seats going to polls in this phase are Chakai, from where JD(U) minister Sumit Kumar Singh is seeking re-election, BJP MLA Shreyasi Singh’s Jamui, JD(U) minister Leshi Singh’s Dhamdaha, and BJP minister Neeraj Kumar Singh’s Chhatapur. In the second and final phase of Bihar Assembly elections, all eyes are on women voters— 1.74 crore of them out of 3.70 crore total electors—are expected to play a crucial role in shaping the outcome. “Women voters have certainly become a segment that could determine the fortunes of both the ruling NDA and the opposition Mahagathbandhan (MGB),” said Ravi K Sinha, a Patna-based political analyst. Both alliances have aggressively courted women voters. Nitish Kumar has leaned on elfare schemes such as the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, under which `10,000 was directly credited to over two crore women to promote financial independence. During his 71 rallies, the chief minister framed his campaign around women’s empowerment and safety, contrasting his record with the “Jungle Raj” years under the RJD. Tejashwi Yadav’s campaigns sought to link women’s vote with the twin concerns of unemployment and rising prices. Women account for nearly 47% of Bihar’s electorate. According to Election Commission figures, 1,302 candidates, including 136 women, are contesting the final phase, which covers 19 constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes and two for Scheduled Tribes. Sashastra Seema Bal forces have been roped it to tighten security in districts bordering Nepal, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand untill polling ends. Eleven ministers are in the fray in the final phase, including Bijendra Prasad Yadav (Supaul) and Prem Kumar (Gaya Town), each seeking a ninth consecutive term. mom’s birthdate proves lucky Khammam man wins `240 crore jackpot in UAE B S at yanarayana R e d d y @ Khammam Bolla Anil Kumar, a 29-yearold resident of Bheemavaram village in Vemsoor mandal of Khammam district, has hit the jackpot by winning a `240 crore lottery in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). After completing his education in Hydera- bad, Anil moved to Abu Dhabi, where he has been working as an IT professional for over a year and a half. Recently, he purchased 12 tickets, one of which — bearing the date of his mother Bhulakshmi’s birthday — turned out to be the winning number, fetching him the Dh100 million (`240 crore) prize. The joy of Anil Kumar’s parents, Madhava Rao and Bhulakshmi, knew no bounds when they learnt that their son had won the lottery. Speaking to TNIE from their home in Bheemavaram, they said, “We have no words to express our happiness.” Madhava Rao, 60, is a small farmer who owns five acres of land. The couple also have an elder son, Subramanyam. Speaking to Khaleej Times in Abu Dhabi, Anil Kumar said he intends to continue working and plans to call the UAE home for at least the next decade. His top priority, he added, is to move his parents and brother to the UAE so the family can live together.  continued on p5 He alleged that growth in Telangana has stagnated after the Revanth government came to power. “The state’s revenue per month in 2014 was `6,000 crore, and when we left, it was `18,500 crore. In November this year, the monthly revenue was the same, as per the CM,” the Sircilla MLA added. The senior BRS leader also alleged that while Telangana stood No. 1 in GST collections in September 2023, it came down to No. 28 in September this year because of the Congress government’s “negative policies”. On the AIMIM, Rama Rao said he sympathises with its supremo and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi. “While the Congress is insulting him every day with its minority department chairman and MP Imran Pratapgarhi and Md Shabbir Ali calling Majlis the B team of the BJP, the MIM supremo is still forced to back the ruling party in Jubilee Hills. I don’t know what his obligation is. I only wish my friend the best,” Rama Rao added.  Full interview on P4 in defence RSS a body of individuals, says Bhagwat E XP R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru IN a veiled remark against Congress leaders criticising the RSS for operating without registration, the Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said his organisation is recognised as a body of individuals. “The RSS was established in 1925. Do you expect us to have registered with the British government?” Bhagwat asked, replying to a question during an in-house question and answer session organised by RSS. ‘Can be a Hindu Rashtra tomorrow if people wish’ India can become a Hindu Rashtra “tomorrow morning” if 1.4 billion people take a collective decision, Bhagwat said. “Hindu rashtra is the essence of Bharat’s identity which means harmony , , equality and unity not domina, tion.”  continued on p7 eggsof taken out midday meals in Hyd govt schools for over a month P2 climate conference kicks off in the amazon | P7