KOCHI l friday l december 05, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION Ex-DU prof Hany Babu, held in Elgar case, gets bail after 5 yrs A bench of Justices A S Gadkari and R R Bhonsale of the Bombay High Court granted him bail due to prolonged incarceration without proper trial Hany Babu, Ex DU prof all about NIA case against the professor ten other accused already out on bail The NIA had accused Hany Babu of being a co-conspirator for propagating Maoist activities and ideology for the banned CPI(Maoist). The case relates to “inciting people and giving provocative speeches during an Elgar Parishad event organised by Kabir Kala Manch at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which promoted enmity between caste groups” ■ ■ Ten other accused, including Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha, Sudhir Dhawale, and Rona Wilson, are out on bail Babu’s counsel argued for bail on the basis that charges are yet to be framed and a discharge application is still pending before a trial court 2018 was when Pune police had filed the case, which later went to nia 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 Day’s developments FM, RM meet delegation RT India to go live today Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met a Russian delegation led by First Deputy PM Denis Manturov and discussed various issues, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a delegationlevel meeting with his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov Congress expels Palakkad MLA after court denies him bail On Friday, Putin will launch RT India, the Indian arm of statefunded Russia Today. The TV channel will air English news programmes and it aims to “boost the traditional ties between India and Russia and the countries’ influence in a multipolar world” What the Cong says State Congress president Sunny Joseph said the decision to expel Rahul Mamkootathil was taken “in view of the serious complaints and cases registered against him”. He said Rahul should step down as legislator as he is no longer a Congress member Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi sit inside a limousine at New Delhi’s Palam Air Base on Thursday | PTI Red-carpet welcome In rare gesture, Modi receives Putin at airport J AYA N TH J AC O B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi stood on the tarmac of Delhi’s Palam airport on Thursday evening greeting Russian President Vladimir Putin with a warm hug and a rare personal welcome in an unmistakable signal of the weight India attaches to its relationship with Russia. Traditional dancers swayed, cameras flashed and the red carpet stretched long as the two leaders slipped into the same car, echoing their drive together just three months ago after the SCO summit in Tianjin, China. Soon after Putin’s touchdown in Delhi, Modi hosted him for a private dinner mirroring the hospitality the Russian leader extended to him in Moscow last year. “Delighted to welcome my friend, President Putin to India. Looking forward to our interactions later this evening and tomorrow. India-Russia friendship is a time IndiGo to cut operations from Monday, full normalcy in Feb S L a l i t h a @ New Delhi On a day when over 500 more flights were cancelled, IndiGo told the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that normal and stable operations can be fully restored by the airline only by February 10. It said flight cancellations would continue for the next 2-3 days, adding it would start cutting down on flight operations from December 8 to minimise disruption. The airline urged the regulator to exempt its A320s from certain Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) nor ms, which mandate a maxim u m o f t wo night landings as against the earlier six. The DGCA advised it to submit in detail the FDTL relaxations it required to normalise flights operations. IndiGo made its presentation on Thursday at meet with the Director General of the DGCA. “IndiGo has assured DGCA that corrective actions are underway and that normalised and stable operations will be fully restored by 10 February 2026,” the regulator said. More cancellations will continue over the next 2-3 days, the airlines said. IndiGo acknowledged that the disruptions arose primarily from misjudgment and planning gaps in implementing Phase 2 of FDTL, which kicked in on November 1. 18 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express tested one that has greatly benefitted our people,” Modi said in a post on X, shared in both English and Russian. Their conversation on Thursday would set the tone for the 23rd IndiaRussia annual summit on Friday, a meeting watched closely in Western capitals as both nations navigate a tense global climate amid efforts to bring a halt to the war in Ukraine. On Friday morning, Putin will receive a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan before laying a wreath at Rajghat and heading to Hyderabad House for formal talks over a working lunch. Defence cooperation will dominate the talks and both sides are expected to unravel a set of agreements and blueprint for economic cooperation. Hours before Putin landed, the two countries’ defence ministers held wide-ranging talks on India’s plans to procure additional S-400 missiles that proved decisive during Operation Sindoor and to explore further military hardware, including the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet. Agreements on logistics support and the movement of Indian workers to Russia are also expected to be sealed. Trade and energy will feature prominently as India seeks to address a ballooning deficit and navigate the impact of US tariffs and sanctions tied to Russian crude purchases. Moscow has offered additional discounts on oil after India’s intake dipped in recent weeks, and cooperation in fertilisers, small modular reactors and a proposed free trade pact with the Eurasian Economic Union will also be on the table. Putin is expected to brief Modi on the latest diplomatic developments around the Ukraine conflict, with India reiterating its stance that diplomacy alone can end the war. Putin is scheduled to depart Delhi around 9 pm on Friday . According to the leadership, the decision has the approval of AICC ‘Prima facie involvement' Rejecting Rahul’s anticipatory bail plea, the principal district and sessions court said the materials produced by prosecution prima facie revealed Rahul’s involvement in the offences It noted that the offence was of grave nature and granting bail will adversely affect the investigation Bye-Bye, Rahul E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram Soon after a court in Thiruvananthapuram rejected the anticipatory bail petition of Rahul Mamkootathil, the Congress, in a facesaving act, expelled the disgraced MLA from the party. With pressure mounting from within and outside the party, the Congress state leadership had no other option but to oust Rahul, who is absconding after being booked for rape. The AICC had on Wednesday authorised the state leadership to take a decisive action once the court pronounced its order. In a statement, state Cong ress president Sunny Joseph said the decision was taken “in view of the serious complaints and cases registered against Rahul”. Speaking to reporters in Idukki later, he said Rahul should also resign from the assembly as he is no longer a Congress member. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan termed the decision an example other parties should follow. “The decision to expel Rahul was taken on Wednesday It’s insignifi. cant whether it was issued yesterday or today I am proud of my party he said. . ,” Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil — Rahul’s mentor in the party — said the Congress has taken an exemplary action. Talking to reporters in Kozhikode, Shafi said he supported Rahul’s politics but not his activities in a personal capacity. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said the Congress’ priority is to uphold the party’s dignity and image before the public. “The KPCC’s decision has the approval of the AICC. It is up to Rahul to decide whether to continue as an MLA. This is as swift a decision as a party can take,” said Venugopal. Rahul was forced to step down as Youth Congress state president on August 21 after an actor first accused him of inappropriate behaviour. On August 25, the leadership suspended him from the party after more allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against him. Despite the suspension, Rahul was active in candidate selection for local body polls and campaigning in Palakkad. A powerful faction within the Congress leadership was accused of shielding Rahul even as Satheesan and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala demanded stern action. Several leaders, including UDF convenor Adoor Prakash and former KPCC presidents M M Hassan and K Sudhakaran, publicly backed Rahul, with the leadership maintaining that suspension was the “most possible step” as neither the KPCC nor the police had received a formal complaint. However, the emergence of multiple audio clips and chats linked to Rahul put the party ● More on P7 under intense pressure.