BHUBANESWAR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 14 LATE CITY EDITION SC THROWS OUT CURATIVE PETITION OF VODA, AIRTEL OVER MEGA DUES The court dismissed pleas by Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and others, seeking correction of alleged errors in the Adjusted Gross Revenue COURT’S BLOW COULD LAND TELCOS IN THE RED The court order will be a big blow to the telcos, especially Vodafone Idea, which analysts warned could face a financial crisis in the absence of AGR relief. The telecom companies had moved the Supreme Court claiming there were several errors in the government’s calculation of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues. The court dismissed the plea in 2021 after which the curative pleas were filed ■ 25 years NO MORE DISPUTES OVER AGR, COMPANIES TOLD ■ Vodafone-Idea’s liability is `58,254 cr and that of Airtel’s is `43,980 cr. The dues are currently on moratorium till September 2025 as part of a government relief package for the telcos approved in 2021 | P12 Dismissing the curative pleas, the top court said telecom companies shall not raise any dispute and there shall not be any re-assessment HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE VI TO ORGANICALLY PAY ITS DUES AS PER ANALYSIS BY MACQUARIE 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 DISCOVER THE WORLD OF NEW IDEAS, ENDURING ICONS AND DIVERSE IDENTITIES DHARMENDRA PRADHAN Union Education Minister PADMA SHRI KANAK VARDHAN SINGH DEO HALADHAR NAG Poet Deputy Chief Minister, Odisha SEPTEMBER 21 & 22 2024 Presenting Partner VIKAS SWARUP DEVDUTT PATTANAIK Former Diplomat & Author Author MK RAINA Actor & Author MANJARI DIVYA PRAKASH CHATURVEDI DUBEY Artiste Author HINDOL SENGUPTA Author FAISAL MALIK Actor DURGESH KUMAR Actor PEGGY MOHAN Author MEGHA RAO Poet Outdoor Partner Outdoor Partner Gold Partners Gold Partners Associate Partners Associate Partners Associate Partners Associate Partners Radio Partner Hospitality Partner TV Partner Print Partner Associate Partners Associate Partners Associate Partners Leading Out-Of-Home Media Owners Book Partner Book Partner MAYFAIR CONVENTION SOHINI CHATTOPADHYAY Author BHUBANESWAR TV Partner Print Partner ODISHA LITERARY FESTIVAL INDIA RUBBISHES PANNUN Army officer’s fiancée alleges she LAWSUIT AS UNWARRANTED was sexually assaulted by police PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with Trump not firmed up yet, says foreign secretary Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi FOREIGN Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday dismissed imputations in a civil lawsuit filed by Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun against the Indian government and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in an American court ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit. The case pertains to the alleged attempt to bump him off by a hired gunman. The court issued summons and sought a response within 21 days. The foreign secretary described Panun’s allegations as “unwarranted and unsubstantiated, adding “it doesn’t change our views about the underlying situation.” Misri said Pannun’s antecedants are well known. “I would also like to underline the fact that this person represents an organisation ment I cannot specifically tell which is unlawful and has you whether meetings have been declared as such under been fixed or not. We are lookthe Unlawful Activities (Pre- ing from all viewpoints, convention) Act of 1967 and it has sidering how much time we been done so on account of its have with whom the meetings involvement in anti-national can be arranged. We will upand subversive actividate once they are ties aimed at disruptfixed,’’ Misri said. ing the sovereignty and Regarding the Quad territorial integrity of summit, he said, all reIndia,’’ Misri added. gional, international, As for the buzz on geopolitical situations Modi meeting former will be on the agenda US President Donald and the essence from Gurpatwant Trump, Misri said it the discussions will be Singh Pannun reflected in the joint has not been firmed up yet. A couple of days statement. “All key ago, Trump had said he was challenges confronting the inlooking forward to meeting ternational community on deModi during the visit. “PM velopment, peace, security Modi is a fantastic man and is will be discussed.” coming to meet me next week,” The PM will depart on Sephe had said. tember 21 and his first engage“We are currently trying to ment is the Quad Summit at schedule several meetings of Deleware. The White House the prime minister, based on said China will be high on the the time available. At this mo- agenda of the summit. NO BILATERAL WITH YUNUS Modi will have a number of bilateral meetings with world leaders, but not with the head of the interim govt in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus. Besides, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has not requested a meeting with the prime minister, says MEA DIASPORA DIALOGUE On Sept 22, Modi will attend a diaspora event at Nassau Coliseum in New York. Arrangements for this event have been made privately, so there is no clarity on who all will be invited. Next day, Modi will address the Summit of the Future at New York FATF RED-FLAGS INDIA’S LOW CONVICTION RATE D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi DOCTORS TO JOIN EMERGENCY DUTY FROM SATURDAY Protesting junior doctors have decided to resume emergency services | P5 PARIS-based Financial Action Task Force has asked India to reduce the number of pending trials in money laundering cases. In its mutual evaluation report released on Thursday, the money laundering and terror financing watchdog said India must increase conviction-based confiscations. The report notes that the Enforcement Directorate has made non-conviction based seizures to the tune of `16,497 crore from FY19 to FY23, while confiscations based on convictions were worth `39 crore. During the five-year period, the ED started 4,163 investigations, of which 28 cases ended in conviction. In 132 cases, the ED decided to not probe further. According to the report, the number of investigations has been increasing but the number of prosecution complaints has not kept pace. To increase the rate of conviction, the FATF suggested that India enhance resourcing for ED and specialised courts to be able to swiftly conclude pending prosecutions and sustain timely investigation, prosecution, and conviction. The evaluation report praises India for its “strong provisional measures for depriving criminals from the benefits of their crimes and helping prevent asset flight through the attachment (seizure) of proceeds of crime”. CONTINUED ON P5 EAR TO THE GROUND Addressing Lankan democracy deficit, graft as important as economy DILRUKSHI HANDUNNETTI Award-winning journalist and lawyer, founder and director of the Colombobased Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is directly linked to its governance crisis, and unless accountability issues, including corruption and democracy deficit, are addressed, the island may not be in a position to overcome its current challenges, subject experts say . As Sri Lanka goes to polls on September 21, poor governance remains a key concern. To restore public trust and to change the country’s trajectory, a few measures must be taken in the first 100 days of a new presidency, including the abolition of executive presidency, steps to return to a parliamentary system and create the post of independent public prosecution, says Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, internationally renowned rights advo- National People’s Power’s presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayaka (3L), greets Buddhist monks during a rally in Colombo ahead of the Sept 21 poll | AFP cate, Executive Director of the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives and Co-Convenor of the Center for Monitoring Election Violence. Addressing governance concerns are as critical as economic reforms and relief to the people, he says. “The 2024 presidential election is not about selecting the best formula for economic revival. The IMF diagnostic report and a Sri Lankan civil society study have both identified systemic corruption as a significant malaise. The 2022 people’s move- ment was not just a reaction to the economic crisis but more of a reaction to the governance crisis. People called for an end to corruption, to drive corrupt politicians home, to create a meritocracy. Curbing corruption is at the centre of any future solution,” adds Dr Saravanamuttu. Saliya Peiris, PC, former president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, says, democracy and governance are tied to sustainable development. CONTINUED ON: P9 E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar THE fiancée of the army officer on Thursday made shocking revelations of sexual assault, illegal confinement and humiliation at the hands of a group of female and male cops on September 15 night when she along with her partner went to the police station in Bhubaneswar seeking help. The victim told mediapersons that when she and the army officer were returning after closing her restaurant, unidentified miscreants intercepted them at about 1 am. This led to a scuffle but the two somehow got away and went to Bharatpur police station to seek assistance. When they reached the police station, a woman constable in civil dress was sitting at the reception They tied my hands using my jacket, and legs with a lady constable’s scarf before putting me in a room. A male officer then came inside, removed my innerwear and started kicking my chest continuously The victim desk. The officer and his fiancée requested her to register the complaint and send a patrol to nab the miscreants who misbehaved with them but to no avail, she said. When she demanded assistance, the on-duty police personnel allegedly abused her. Despite disclosing that she was a lawyer, the abusive behaviour got worse. “A while later, some lady and male officers arrived at the police station and gave an opportunity to my fian- cee to write a complaint but suddenly they took him into custody When , . I requested that putting an army officer in custody was unlawful, two women officers caught hold of my hair, started thrashing me and just did not stop,” the visibly distraught woman said. The woman further alleged the police personnel dragged her on the corridor of the police station. When a woman constable tried to throttle her, she bit her hand. “They tied my hands using my jacket, and legs with a lady constable’s scarf before putting me in a room. A male officer then came inside, removed my innerwear and started kicking my chest continuously she said. ,” She said, the harrowing ordeal did not end there. CONTINUED ON P5
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.