chennai l tuesday l october 28, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore EDITION CJI Gavai recommends Justice Surya Kant as successor Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, who is retiring on November 23, has recommended Justice Surya Kant as successor justice kant to have 14-month tenure 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 eXPRESS n EWS s ERV I CE @ New Delhi karur deaths Frame SOP for political meets in 10 days, HC tells TN govt 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 vijay apologises to kin of karur victims TVK chief Vijay apologised to the kin of the victims of the Karur stampede that left 41 dead, at a closed door meeting held at a private resort in Chennai | P4 `1.95 lakh crore in total liabilities, including AGR 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 SIR of electoral rolls in 9 states, 3 UTs from Nov 4 R S I VA K UMAR @ Chennai The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Tamil Nadu government to frame a draft standard operating procedure (SOP) within 10 days to regulate roadshows and public meetings of political parties to prevent incidents like the Karur stampede of September 27 in which 41 people died at the rally addressed by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief actor Vijay . The first bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan issued the direction while hearing a batch of petitions related to the tragedy. The court also said that it would issue Actor and TVK chief Vijay an interim SOP on its own if the state fails to come up with the SOP within the stipulated time. The bench further clarified that its order should not be treated as an impediment for considering applications filed by political parties seeking permission to hold public meetings, except those proposed on national and state highways. The judges said that the permissions for holding political campaigns should be granted a few days in advance of the scheduled date  of the event.  P5 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. Poll-bound oppn-ruled states TN, Kerala, Bengal under its ambit MU K ESH RAN J AN @ New Delhi security for cafe Monica Wright and Australia’s 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 P11 stray dogs case SC summons chief secs of almost all states, UTs SU C H I TRA K A LYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi 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 threejudge 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. 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 Matriculation/ Education certificate issued by recognised Boards/Univs Forest Rights Certificate Any identity cards/ certificate/ documents issued by Indian govt/ banks/local authorities/PSU A possible disaster may have been averted as a contractor of the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB), who is building 702 residential units at Andimaniyam Thottam, has torn down the constructed portions in all the four blocks of the project after the board flagged quality issues in his work. The TNUHDB found that the pre-fabricated concrete technology used in the construc- tion, being executed at a cost of `118 crore, was not as per quality standards. The main goal of TNUHDB is to make TN a slumfree state by providing affordable housing to urban poor While it is unclear how much money has been spent for the construction so far, sources said at least 20%-25% of the overall work had been completed before the anomalies were spotted. A TNUHDB official said, “If the construction is allowed to go, it could have had grave consequences for the residents.” In 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- e x p r e ss r e a d TN on rain alert as Montha gains pace Audit officer kills son over investment loss Chennai: Even as Cyclone Montha continues to gather strength over the Bay of Bengal, most districts in TN were free of rain on Monday. The RMC, however, has issued an orange alert for Tiruvallur district for Tuesday, while yellow alerts remain in place for seven districts across TN | P5 Chennai: Stressed over losses in online investment, Naveen Kanna (34), an audit officer at the Controller of Defence Accounts (CDA) office in Teynampet, allegedly killed his seven-year-old son and slashed his wife’s neck with a blade. The victim, Laven Kanna, was a Class 2 student of a private school in Chennai.  ENS The bare-bones structure of the remaining building at Andimania Thottam in Chennai | Ashwin prasath December 2021, a portion of the TNUHDB tenement in Tiruvottiyur collapsed due to age. Of the four blocks, the quality of blocks C&D were initially found to be poor, prompting further scrutiny of the other two blocks and projects of Ramalingam Construction being carried out across the city TNUHDB of. ficials later asked the contractor to change the construction methodology in blocks A&B as well due to poor quality . The contractor has now been told to revert to conventional Passport 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 Govt contractor told to partly demolish flats over quality issue @ Chennai DMK & allies oppose SIR, plan all-party meet on Nov 2 Exp r e s s N e w s S e r v ic e Birth certificate issued by competent authority affordable homes for poor N I RU P AMA V I SWANATHAN slam BJp, ECI construction methods instead of the prefabrication concrete technology where certain components of the structure like walls and beams are constructed off-site in a factory and assembled on the site. “They (the contractor) seem to have issues with the pre-fab technology but we spotted the deficiencies early on during work at the ground-floor level itself. We didn’t find any issues with their other projects during inspection,” said a senior official of the board.  P5 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.” @ Chennai Preparing the ground for a strong pushback against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Tamil Nadu, DMK chief and Chief Minister MK Stalin and his alliance partners invited leaders across the political spectrum to attend an all-party meeting in Chennai on November 2 to discuss the modalities to stop the exercise. “The BJP government is instigating the Election Commission of In- M K Stalin, dia to carry out Tamil Nadu CM this anti-democratic activity,” they said in a joint statement. The appeal came after a meeting of the Secular Progressive Alliance leaders held at Anna Arivalayam, following the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) announcement on Monday . In the statement, the leaders charged the BJP-led union government of relentlessly destroying democratic values and misusing independent institutions at will. T hey said the functioning of the ECI was not only controversial but also suspicious.  P5 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 | P7 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 AYANTH J A C O B @ New Delhi