TIRUCHY  FRIDAY  AUGUST 21, 2026  `9.00  PAGES 14  LATE CITY EDITION IN TIT-FOR-TAT, INDIA PULLS DOWN STUCTURES OUTSIDE PAK MISSION ILLEGAL BARRICADES OUTSIDE COMPOUND Authorities used a JCB machine to remove the structures and barricades erected along the lane outside the compound, including queuemanagement installations near the visa section. The move came after Pakistan removed parking poles outside the Indian mission in Islamabad this week. Visuals showed that the demolition left a trail of rubble Indian authorities carried out the demolition as the structures were beyond the Pakistani high commission’s approved boundary limit ACTION COMES AMID DEEP FREEZE IN TIES ■ ■ The visa section remained visible amid the debris, with service windows marked “Window 1”, “Pakistani Passport Only” and “Window-5 / Collection of Visa Applications The action by Pakistani authorities and subsequent demolition of the unauthorised structures by India came amid a deep freeze in relations May 2025 IS WHEN INDIA’S OP SINDOOR HIT TERROR INFRA IN PAKISTAN 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 Former SC judge Subhash Reddy SHAH MOOTS BRAHMAPUTRA, to head panel on police excesses GODAVARI, CAUVERY LINKING S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi A five-member high-powered committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice R Subhash Reddy will examine allegations of police excesses against student protesters in Delhi recently and violence against police personnel. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said its order on August 18, uploaded on Thursday, that the committee would also comprise former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Delhi High Court Judge Shalinder Kaur, former CBI director Rishi K Shukla and retired Meghalaya DGP L R Bishnoi. The bench passed the or- der on a batch of petitions filed by lawyer Shailendra Mani Tripathi and others challenging police excesses on Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protesters and students at Jantar Mantar on July 20. The court recommended that the panel prioritise examination of alleged police excesses as well as violence on the part of protesters and allegations of harassment and molestation of women agitators. The panel may also examine issues pertaining to the grant of interim compensation to those injured on either side, the court added. The court added that the panel’s work will not be a one-time exercise, but a continuous assessment of issues R Subhash Reddy, Former SC judge @ Chennai Police action during the July 20 Delhi protest march | EXPRESS flagged by by the petitioners. “This HPEC has been constituted bearing in mind a wide variety of considerations, including the individual expertise and experience of each of its members, as well as the diversity of the Committee, among other factors. We are confident that the committee will be able to undertake a comprehensive assessment of all such issues as merit due contemplation,” the bench said. No bar to inquiries The bench said the constitution of the committee shall not debar police authorities from taking disciplinary action against any of their officers found to be in contravention of rules governing their conduct. UGC equity regulations under review, says govt SC suggests deferring three-language policy from Class 6 by a year S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION @ New Delhi THE Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it was ‘reconsidering’ the 2026 University Grants Commission (UGC)’s equity regulations, which were formulated to prevent caste-based discrimination on campuses. On January 29, the apex court had directed that the regulations be kept in abeyance, after prima facie observing that they were vague and could be misused. When the matter came up on Thursday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the SC that the Union government was actively reconsidering the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations 2026, which were formulated to address caste-based discrimination in colle ges and universities. Mehta requested the bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana to defer the formulation of questions to be determined until the Hearing after 4 weeks The bench did not consider any arguments on Thursday, and adjourned the hearing by four weeks, by which time the UGC should file a comprehensive affidavit. The petitioners may file rejoinder, if any, within two weeks thereafter process is over. Taking into record Mehta’s submissions, the court asked the UGC to file a counter affidavit within four weeks. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the mothers of Rohit Vemula and Payal Tadvi, who died by suicide allegedly due to caste discrimination, sought a timeline for the Centre’s decision. The UGC regulation had triggered protests among students from non-reserved categories, who demanded its rollback. They opposed Regulation 3(1) (c), which restricted castebased discrimination as something “only on the basis of caste or tribe” against members of SCs, STs, and OBCs. THE Supreme Court on Thursday said there is nothing wrong in introducing CBSE’s three-language policy under the National Education Poli, cy (NEP) 2020, but the only concern was about the manner in which the refor m was being initiated. The court was hearing a batch of pleas challenging CBSE’s policy mandating studying three languages, including two native Indian languages, for Class 9 students from July 1. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana sought CBSE’s view on whether the third language should begin in Class 6 or from Classes 3-4, and asked the board to lay out a roadmap. “There is no doubt that sooner or later, it has to be introduced. There is nothing wrong with that. But how it is to be streamlined ...you may find a solution to those,” the bench told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, for Centre, and fixed next hearing after two weeks. “If you have chosen Class 6 as the starting point, you may consider giving a reprieve to Class 6 students of this year. You can introduce it from next year,” it said. “Another thing which needs to be looked into is where do you draw the line. Whether it is Class 6, Class 4 or Class 3... we don’t want children to come under any pressure.” The bench said learning any language is something invaluable. “Let us not have any impression of inferiority complex with respect to regional languages...should respect all these languages.” Ladakh set to get J&K High Court bench E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi THE Union territory of Ladakh will soon have a high court bench, home minister Amit Shah said on Thursday . Announcing the Union Cabinet’s decision through a post on X, Shah said the bench of Jammu and Kashmir High Court will improve access to justice in the remote Union Territory . He added that the new bench would significantly enhance access to legal services for people living in the geographically challenging region by reducing the time and distance involved in seeking judicial relief. “The government is fully committed to the all-round development of Ladakh and to ensuring constitutional safeguards,” Shah said. The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court is currently a common high court for the two Union Territories. Delimitation: CM seeks centre’s legal assurance EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS Bichu Devi (No. 9) shares a hug with a teammate after India held England in their last Pool D encounter at the World Cup. Thanks to the 0-0 draw, they advanced to the next phase of the competition | HI EXPRESS READ Pocso: Pastor sentenced to death HC upholds Speaker’s decision Tirunelveli: A pastor was handed down four death sentences by the Special Court for Pocso cases in Tirunelveli on Thursday for sexually assaulting four minor girls in 2022. The court sentenced the convict, Abraham (47) of Tirunelveli, observing that the case fell under the ‘rarest of rare’ category | P2 Chennai: The Madras HC has upheld the decision of Speaker JCD Prabhakar to drop the disqualification proceedings against 21 of the 25 AIADMK MLAs who cross-voted in favour of TVK in Assembly, stating that disqualification sought under 10th Schedule of the Constitution does not survive | P2 UNION home minister Amit Shah on Thursday made a grand pitch for linking major rivers, including the Brahmaputra in the Northeast, with the Cauvery and Godavari in Peninsular India, saying such an initiative could ensure that India faces no water shortage for the next 100 years. Chairing the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council here, Shah said protecting the interests of individual states was not wrong, but questioned the rationale of states remaining deprived of water for years while surplus water elsewhere flowed into the sea. He said river-linking could help overcome such situations and also facilitate the creation of multiple waterways, reducing fuel consumption, benefiting the environment and providing a cost-effective system of transportation. Stating that the southern states have been the main pillars of India’s progress, Shah said, “Whether it is agriculture, industry healthy citizens , or the environment, water is the soul of this region in all these four areas.” The South has many excellent traditions in the fields of innovation and revenue generation. India should learn from the South in these two areas Amit Shah Dropout rate Shah also stressed the need to tackle school dropouts, malnutrition and stunting, saying the national school dropout rate of 9.5% should be brought below 3% through incremental effort by all states EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai TN CM Joseph Vijay greets Union home minister Amit Shah at Kovalam | EXPRESS As for inter-state water disputes in the North, he said five of the eight issues had persisted since the pre-British era. An agreement was finally reached five months ago, resolving all issues from Kashmir to UP . Shah called for the early resolution of pending water-related issues in the South through joint meetings of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Home Affairs, Inter-State Council and the concerned states. Chief ministers C Joseph Vijay N Chandrababu Naidu, D K , Shivakumar and V D Satheesan, Lt Governors K Kailashnathan, Admiral (Retd.) D K Joshi and Telangana deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka attended the meeting. CHIEF MINISTER C Joseph Vijay on Thursday urged the union government to provide a clear legislative assurance that no state would suffer a reduction in its percentage of representation in Parliament because of its success in population stabilisation. Addressing the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council at Kovalam near Chennai, Vijay said the southern states had been at the forefront of population stabilisation, human development and economic growth, and that their achievements in fulfilling national priorities should not result in a reduction in their parliamentary representation. His remarks came against the backdrop of the approaching end of the freeze on the allocation of Lok Sabha seats based on the 1971 Census and push to pass the Delimitation P5 Bill 2026.