key infra sector growth at 3-month low of 4.8% The output of nine sectors slowed to 4.8% in August amid fall in coal, natural gas, crude oil, and fertiliser production, official data showed. Production of coal, natural gas, crude oil, and fertiliser contracted by 3.8%, 4.9%, 3.6% and 12.4% respectively, compared to the same period last year. Output in the refinery products, steel, and iron ore sectors grew, albeit at slower rates of 2.6%, 3.4% and 5.5% respectively, as against 3.4%, 15.3% and 7.9% in August 2025, the government data showed belagavi l tuesday l september 22, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION 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 Sonia’s poll roll entry case back under court lens Special judge raps magistrate’s ruling, says a court order must not flirt with facts IIT-B apologises for cheating charge on Sahil S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai IN the face of student protests, IIT Bombay on Monday apologised and withdrew its earlier statements on the death of Sahil Wakode. It also removed Suryanarayana Doolla, booked for abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST Act, from the post of Dean of Administrative Affairs. The institute on Saturday claimed that Sahil, a secondyear engineering student, had been caught using ChatGPT by Doolla in an exam hours before he died by suicide. The Maharashtra government has handed the probe to the Crime Branch. In a statement posted on X on Monday, the institute said, “We apologise for the statements contained in our earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahil.” u d aya n k i s h o r e @ New Delhi A Delhi court on Monday set aside a magistrate’s order that had declined to direct a probe into allegations that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s name was entered in the electoral roll three years before acquiring Indian citizenship in 1983, and sent back the matter for fresh consideration. Special Judge Vishal Gogne, while hearing a revision petition by advocate Vikas Tripathi, vice-president of the Central Delhi Court Bar Association at Rouse Avenue courts, held that the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) had passed a “non-speaking order” that “suffers from a manifest error in law”. Tripathi’s complaint alleges that Sonia’s name was unlawfully entered in the electoral roll of the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency in 1980, though she acquired citizenship only on April 30, 1983. The name was deleted in 1982 but re-entered in 1983, before she became a citizen, the complaint said. “An order of the court must maintain fidelity towards the law, and not flirt with facts,” the judge said. “The sanctity of the electoral roll is an article of faith for every citizen in a parliamentary democracy Gogne .” said any allegation of fraudulent inclusion of a non-citizen or use of false documents “merits a reasoned order”. The judge said the ACJM did not discuss the sequence of inclusion, deletion and re-inclusion of Sonia’s name in 1980, 1982 and 1983. He also found that the magistrate did not hear the police or call for a status report, as Section 175(3) of the BNSS requires before ordering an investigation. The magistrate also failed to weigh two options open in law: directing an FIR, or examining complainant and witnesses. The matter, posted for September 29, was sent back to ACJM cour t for a fresh hearing. W Ghats report may hit lives in 10 dists, says CM Express News Service @ Bengaluru Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday warned that the Centre’s move to implement the Dr K Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats could adversely affect the livelihoods of people in 10 districts and create fear among farmers. Speaking in the Assembly on the opening day of the threeday special session convened to discuss the report and drought, he said the government is committed to protecting the interests of farmers and people. Bloodshed if report implemented: Araga Senior BJP MLA from Thirthahalli, Araga Jnanendra, on Monday warned that any attempt to implement the Dr K Kasturirangan report in its present form could lead to “bloodshed”. | P4 The special session will debate the 7th draft notification on the ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) based on the Kasturirangan report that was issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on July 27, 2026. The state has to submit its objection by September 27. Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, “It is the responsibility of the government to save the environment and keep people’s welfare in mind. We need to balance the two.” The draft notification is not final and there is time for the state to submit objections and suggestions. There is no question of vacating farmers and local people. Any unscientific restrictions could cause serious anxiety among people dependent on agriculture and other livelihood activities, he said. Shivakumar said he interacted with farmers, legislators, MPs and representatives of farmers. “I understood the farmers’ right to livelihood, their anger and self-respect. All MPs and MLAs expressed their views, and thousands of people submitted petitions,” the chief minister added. P4 Rowers cry foul, officials say ‘everything is fine’ SC orders SIT, fresh probe into Sowjanya case f true, this is something unheard of during any Games, let alone something as big as the Asian Games. The athletes are confused and have threatened to stay away from practice if the need arises. According to sources, some of the rowers have been shifted from their pet events while another athlete, a reserve at first, is in line to feature. This seemingly happened after the morning practice on Monday . A small recap. Initially the rowing events , were scheduled to start on Monday However, with an im. pending weather system threatening to hit the city the , start was pushed back to Wednesday. Meanwhile, the team management shunted athletes from one category to Agencies @ New Delhi I Indraneel Das Express @ asian games Nagoya other, which according to some, is not possible because the rules do not allow it. Though there is a section that says changing team composition is a norm depending on the conditions. Officials close to the development said the case is not what it looks like. There is another section that says things might change on Tuesday as combinations have not been finalized yet. A top official explained that the change was made in consultation with the foreign coach Antony John Patterson. The logic is simple. The schedule got truncated because of the presence of a typhoon. In a late development here, officials are even saying that the number of combinations may reduce by Tuesday . One of the officials said that they made the changes to increase the chances of winning medals. “Because the tournament days have been reduced, it would be impossible for the rowers to compete multiple times since rowing is an exhausting sport,” said one official. “The change in combination was based on the truncated schedule and the weather conditions,” said an official who is part of the team.  P15 The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Karnataka government to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) and conduct a fresh probe into the the 2012 rape-murder of Sowjanya in Dharmasthala, observing that the manner in which the investigation was conducted shocks the very conscience of the court. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva directed that the fresh investigation should be concluded within three months and the police report be filed before the court concerned in accordance with law. The bench passed the order on a plea filed by the victim’s mother Kusumavathi. P7