kalaburagi l tuesday l october 28, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION CJI Gavai recommends Justice Surya Kant as successor justice kant to have 14-month tenure Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, who is retiring on November 23, has recommended Justice Surya Kant as successor Was part of article 370 verdict Justice Surya Kant, the second senior-most judge of the Supreme Court after Justice Gavai, will become the 53rd CJI. He will have a tenure of 14 months before retiring on February 9, 2027. The retirement age for Supreme Court judges is 65 years. Kant was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2019 and has been part of several landmark verdicts ■ ■ He was on the bench that upheld the Central government’s decision to abrogate the special status of Jammu and Kashmir Kant headed the bench that asked the Election Commission to disclose the details of 65 lakh names excluded from the draft electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar Nov 24 when Justice kant is due to take charge as the chief justice of India 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 SC allows govt to reassess Vi’s dues eXPR ESS n E WS s E RVICE @ New Delhi Govt removes RSS man from trust after protest IN a major relief for Vodafone Idea (Vi), the Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Centre to reassess the demand for adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues raised against the telco. While passing the order, a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran observing that the decision on any relief to the telecom operator is a policy matter and the court need not interfere. The matter pertains to a plea by Vi against the Department of Telecommunications’ de- mand for an additional `9,450 crore towards AGR dues. Vi, the country’s third-largest telco, also sought a waiver of interest and penalties, arguing that several components of the dues remain disputed. “Taking into consideration the status of the case now—the government has infused substantial equity into the company and that it will have a direct bearing on 20 crore customers—we see no issue in the Union reconsidering the issue and taking appropriate steps,” the CJI said. Welcoming the SC order, Vi report by Oct-end The Special Investigation Team probing the alleged Dharmasthala mass burial case has been instructed to submit its final report by Octoberend, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara said | P4 AGR is the income figure to calculate the licence fees and spectrum charges that telcos must pay the government. At present, VI owes the government around `76,000 cr in AGR dues, plus `1.19 lakh cr in deferred spectrum payment ‘Matter within policy domain no need for SC to interfere’ The SC bench observed that reviewing AGR is within the Union’s policy domain, and the court has no reason to stop govt from taking an appropriate decision given the peculiar facts of the case Poll-bound oppn-ruled states TN, Kerala, Bengal under its ambit security for cafe Monica Wright and Ashleigh Gardner were given a police escort on their way to a cafe in Mumbai. Wright shared the pic on her Insta handle. Security was beefed up in Mumbai too after the ‘stalking and molestation’ incident in Indore Shreyas in icu after injury India vice-captain had a fall while diving to take a catch in the third ODI. He suffered a spleen laceration P13 smart alecs Plumber, 3 others hire hackers, steal `47 crore from NBFC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Bengaluru In a financial fraud belying their education, an eighth pass plumber and 10th pass digital marketing employee, along with two other accused from Dubai, hired hackers from Hong Kong and stole around Rs 47 crore from a non-banking financial company (NBFC), operating from Bengaluru, recently . Of the four accused, Sanjay Patel, 43, a plumber from Udaipur in Rajasthan, and Ismail Rasheed Attar, 27, from Belagavi who is the digital marketing employee, have been arrested. The Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths are now searching for the two other accused who are in Dubai. Of the Rs 47 crore, Rs 10 crore that was in mule accounts has been frozen. The gang had sent money to over 650 mule accounts. The senior manager of the NBFC, located on Outer Ring Road in Marathahalli, had filed a complaint at the Cyber Crime police station on August 9, stating that between August 6 and 7, 2025, several unauthorised and suspicious money transfers had been done from the company’s bank accounts. The company investigated internally and found that the transactions had not been carried out from its official systems or registered IP addresses. CONTINUED ON: P7 SC summons chief secys of almost all states and UTs M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi @ Bengaluru D’sthala SIT may submit `1.95 lakh crore in total liabilities, including AGR SIR of electoral rolls in 9 states, 3 UTs from Nov 4 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e The state government on Monday removed RSS activist Dr Sridhar from the ‘Yeshasvini cooperative members’ health protection Trust’ after an uproar from within the ruling Congress. KPCC General Secretary CB Shashidhar had written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday, asking him to rescind the order appointing Dr Sridhar from Tiptur as the trustee. The government modified the earlier order to drop the doctor’s name from the list. Shashidhar had mentioned in his letter that Dr Sridhar had taken part in an RSS route march on October 12 and had also offered an ambulance for the rally . Tiptur Congress MLA K Shadakshari, who was blamed for recommending Dr Sridhar’s name, said he had done so as the doctor is popular and is serving society “His fans had approached . me with the proposal. I did not know that he had taken part in the RSS march. I apologise to the CM for the embarrassment,” he clarified. The cooperation department had appointed Dr Sridhar, head of Kumar hospital in Tiptur, as one of the 13 trustees on October 23. The chief minister is both the chief patron and patron of the trust as the cooperation portfolio lies with him. The department secretary is the chairperson. Dr Sridhar was among the five specialist doctors appointed to the trust. said: “We look forward to working closely with the Department of Telecommunications to resolve this matter in the interests of our nearly 200 million subscribers.” During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that the government now holds 49% equity in Vodafone Idea, and that 20 crore consumers depend on its services. He said under the new circumstances, the Centre was willing to examine the issues to ensure consumer interests are safeguarded. @ New Delhi The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine states and three Union Territories in two phases — door-to-door enumeration forms distribution and collection — from November 4 to December 4. The final voters’ list would be published on February 7. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said the draft rolls would be published on December 9; claims and objections can be filed from December 9 to January 8; and hearing and verifications from December 9 to January 31. The nine states are Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and the UTs are Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Puducherry Tamil Nadu, . Pondy Kerala and West Bengal , will go to the polls in 2026. As for Assam, where polls are due in 2026, the revision of rolls will be announced separately, as a separate provision of the Citizenship Act was applicable to the state. “Under the Citizenship Act, there are separate provisions for citizenship in Assam. Under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the exercise of Required indicative documents for the revision of draft electoral roll Any identity cards, pension payment order issued to regular employee/pensioner of any Central government/State govt/PSU Birth certificate issued by competent authority Matriculation/ Education certificate issued by recognised Boards/Univs Forest Rights Certificate Any identity cards/ certificate/ documents issued by Indian govt/ banks/local authorities/PSU Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh is bracing for the impact of Cyclone Montha, which is rapidly advancing toward the Kakinada coast at a speed of 17 kmph, according to the latest cyclone alert. As part of proactive measures against Cyclone Montha, 787 pregnant women have been shifted | P7 checking citizenship is about to be completed. The June 24 SIR order was for the entire country. Under such circumstances, this would not have applied to Assam,” Kumar said. Ruling out any confrontation with the West Bengal government, where the ruling Trinamool Congress has expressed reservations about the SIR exercise in the state, Kumar said, “There is no hurdle between the Election Commission and the State government. The Commission is doing its consti- UK-Indian woman racially attacked London: A 20-year-old woman, identified as being of Indian heritage, was attacked in a ‘racially aggravated’ rape in West Midlands of England. The police said a 32-year-old man was arrested on Monday morning on suspicion of rape after a manhunt was launched in the wake of the attack on Saturday evening. B’luru, Mysuru lifeline KSPCB chief: Untreated water polluting Cauvery, Kapila E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Mysuru Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) Chairman and MLA PM Narendra Swamy on Monday expressed concern that Cauvery and Kapila rivers, the lifeline of Mysuru and Bengaluru, are increasingly getting polluted because of discharge of untreated waste water, including industrial effluent and household sewage, into these water bodies. At the golden jubilee celebrations of KSPCB at Maharaja’s College Grounds here on Monday he said the board has sub, mitted a technical report to the Mysuru district administration and Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), recommending urgent measures to prevent pollution of rivers. “Both Cauvery and Kapila are vital to Mysuru and Bengaluru, but sadly both have be, come polluted. The KSPCB has set up several water-monitoring stations to track river water quality. The district administration and MCC must take re- sponsibility and initiate action to prevent further contamination,” he said. According to the KSPCB report, untreated sewage, industrial waste and UGD water are being directly released into the rivers without proper treatment at Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) set up by the board. Swamy said that protecting rivers is not only the duty of local authorities, but also a shared responsibility of citizens. “Every individual must contribute. People should begin by segregating waste at source,” he said, adding that nearly two lakh Permanent resident certificate issued by State authority OBC/ST/SC or any caste certificate National Register of Citizens (wherever it exists) Family register prepared by state/ local authorities Any land/ house allotment certificate by govt Aadhaar as an option proof of identity, but not as a proof of date of birth or citizenship express read AP braces for Cyclone Montha Passport small pieces of milk packet covers enter the soil every day in Mysuru. “Every household buys milk daily, and when we cut open the packet, that small plastic piece ends up in the soil, posing a threat to the environment. Citizens and organisations must cooperate with the administration to make Mysuru the cleanest city in the country again,” he urged. He also raised concern over coffee estates in Kodagu discharging wastewater into rivers. CONTINUED ON: P7 tutional duty by carrying out the SIR under Article 326 of the Constitution and the State government will discharge its constitutional duties.” As for Kerala’s local bodies elections, due in November-December, Kumar said, “The notification for the same was yet to be issued and the state governments are bound by Constitution to provide the necessary personnel to the Election Commission of India for the preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of polls.” S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y The Supreme Court on Monday directed the chief secretaries of almost all states and Union Territories to appear before it on November 3 to explain why no compliance affidavits have been filed yet in the stray dogs case. “Your officers don’t read newspapers? They don’t read social media? They want a formal notice to be issued to them?” a three-judge bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria said. They directed all chief secretaries, except those of Telangana and Bengal to be present before it on November 3, otherwise “we will hold the court in auditorium”. The court had, on August 22, reversed an earlier order directing authorities to move all stray dogs to shelters and said they can be released to the same area from where they were captured after proper sterilisation and immunisation, except those infected with rabies or exhibiting aggressive behaviour. It barred the feeding of the dogs in public places. The August 22 order expanded the scope of the stray dogs case beyond the Delhi NCR and directed that all states and Union Territories be made parties in the matter, and instructed them to file compliance affidavits. West distorting global energy markets: Govt The comments came just hours after he met US SecreExternal Affairs Minister S tary of Marco Rubio on the Jaishankar on Monday took a sidelines of the summit. His swipe at the Western nations, public remarks underscored accusing them of selectively New Delhi’s willingness to call applying global prinout perceived Westciples and distorting ern hypocrisy while the international enasserting an indeergy market through pendent foreign polirestrictive practices. cy stance. Speaking at the East Jaishankar argued Asia Summit in Mathat the global order laysia, Jaishankar must evolve to reflect said the world is goa more multipolar EAM, Rubio ing through “complireality “Change has . discuss trade, cated times” marked bilateral issues a life of its own. The by shifting global world will inevitably alignments, compe- Jaishankar met US respond to new cirtition over technolo- Secretary of State cumstances… gy, resources and Marco Rubio on the Multipolarity is not sidelines of the supply chains. just here to stay but “Energy trade is ASEAN and East Asia to grow,” he said and increasingly con- Summits, and rooted for “serious stricted, with result- discussed a host of g l o b a l c o nve r s a ing market distor- issues, including the tions” on competitions. Principles are ongoing bilateral tiveness, technology , applied selectively trade talks | P9 and market access. and what is preached On terrorism, he is not necessarily practiced,” said: “The world must display he said, in remarks seen as di- zero tolerance; there is no room rected at Western-led sanctions for ambivalence. Our right of regimes and certain protection- defence against terrorism can ist policies. never be compromised.” J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi