visakhapatnam l thursday l september 24, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Germany ready to sign $8 billion submarine agreement with India The India-Germany deal to build six submarines under Project 75(I) has been finalised on the German side, its envoy to India Dr Jasper Wieck said Waiting for India’s green light: German envoy Review of tech transfer package pending “It has already been finalised and the German side has agreed to it. It is now up to the Indian side to complete and conclude its internal processes,” Wieck said. The proposed deal, estimated at roughly `90,000 crore, sees India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders partnering with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp to build six conventional submarines in India, with technology transfer ■ ■ A review of the proposed technology-transfer package remains among steps before the project can get final approval in India A key aspect of the proposed deal is the transfer of fuel-cell Air-Independent Propulsion technology, which allows conventional submarines to operate longer without the need to access surface air 2023 When Germany stepped in as foreign partner for project 75 (i) 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 Constitution bench to hear case on axing CJI from ECI pick panel In split verdict, Justice Dipankar Datta raps ’23 law dropping CJI from selection committee SUCHITRA KALYA N M O HA N T Y v Union of India case directed that appointments to the poll panel be made on the advice of T H E S u p r e m e C o u r t o n a committee comprising the Wednesday directed that a Prime Minister, Leader of Opbatch of petitions challenging position (LoP) in the Lok Sabthe 2023 law governing the ap- ha, and the Chief Justice of pointments to the Election India until Parliament enacted Commission be decided by a a law. Constitution bench after a diviWhile the law—the Chief sion bench delivered a split ver- Election Commissioner and dict on whether the matter other Election Commissioners should be referred to a larger (Appointment, Conditions of bench as sought by the Centre. Service and Term of Office) Justice Dipankar Datta re- Act, 2023—retained the format jected the Union’s plea for a ref- of the panel, it replaced CJI erence to a larger bench, while with a Union minister. Justice Satish ChanJustice Datta made dra Sharma saw the strong observations need for substantial about the composition interpretation of law. of the selection panel, Justice Sharma said saying it hands the exin his separate opinecutive a veto in apion that the arguments pointments. He said advanced on behalf of the Union minister, the Centre by the Atserving at the pleasure Justice Dipankar tor ney General R of the PM, cannot act Datta Venkataramani and as a neutral check in Solicitor General the selection panel. Tushar Mehta for re“Free and fair elecferring the issue to a tions depend on a truly larger bench are wellindependent ECI. It is founded. not enough for the ECI Despite the differto be independent; it ences in opinion, both must appear to be injudges directed that dependent,” he said, Justice Satish the papers be placed adding a “PM’s nomiChandra Sharma before the Chief Jusnee cannot be expected tice of India for setting to defy the PM.” up a Constitution bench of not Consequently, Justice Datta less than five judges, noting also said, the LoP becomes a that sending the matter to a mere ornamental presence, unthree-judge bench could only able to further the purpose of delay adjudication. his inclusion as an independBoth judges also recorded ent voice. concerns over the pendency of Justice Datta also criticised Constitution bench matters the selective manner in which and requested the Chief Jus- the Central government clears tice to explore the possibility of Supreme Court collegium proforming a permanent Constitu- posals at times. He added that tion bench. the judiciary often chooses not The 2023 law was enacted by to confront the executive on Parliament after the Supreme such matters to avoid head-on Court’s Constitution Bench conflicts and avert a possible judgment in Anoop Baranwal Constitutional crisis. @ New Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan greets Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the State Cabinet meeting on Wednesday | Express CM moots stringent law to protect public assets S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is learnt to have directed the ruling alliance to gear up for the local body elections, asserting that the NDA government is ready to face the polls whenever the State Election Commission (SEC) announces the schedule. Interacting with his Cabinet colleagues at the Secretariat on Wednesday, Naidu asked the District Incharge Ministers to strengthen coordination and unity among the TDP, Jana Sena and BJP, and work towards ensuring the success of alliance candidates in the local body elections. The Chief Minister told the Ministers to take responsibility for the electoral perform- ance of the alliance in their respective areas, and intensify coordination with the party machinery at the grassroots level. Law and order also figured prominently in the meeting. Naidu directed officials to examine the possibility of introducing a stringent legislation, on the lines of provisions applicable to offences involving railway property, against those who damage government and public assets. He alleged that anti-social elements were attempting to create disturbances under the guise of political activity He . accused YSRCP activists of trying to disrupt peace, and alleged that former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was instigating such P activities from Bengaluru.  4 express read SC to monitor Sai custodial death case New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed all proceedings pertaining to the Sai Krishna custodial death case in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, and decided to monitor the case directly | P3 CM to lay stone for horti hub on Oct 2 Vijayawada: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, along with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will lay foundation stone for the `1 lakh crore Rayalaseema horticulture hub at Madanapalle on Oct 2 | P4 Oppn renews demand to scrap SIR, impeach CEC Gyanesh Kumar PARV E Z SULTA N & M u k e s h R a n j a n @ New Delhi Opposition parties on Wednesday lit into the Centre and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after a media report suggested that the two election commissioners—Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi—objected to some orders pertaining to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as the poll panel claimed all its decisions were unanimous. Citing the report, Opposition parties called for action against the CEC and demanded that SIR be scrapped. While the Congress renewed its demand for Kumar’s impeachment, the TMC, AAP, and Shiv Sena (UBT) called for his arrest. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said any wrongdoings committed by the poll body amounts to “treason” and should be treated as such. DMK president M K Stalin said CEC Kumar has no right to continue in office and must resign forthwith. He also demanded that the SIR exercise be halted and called for an impartial probe “into everything that transpired within the EC” and called for action against those responsible. Rejecting the claims made in the media report, the Election Commission said differing views are a normal part of deliberation in any institution and stated that all its orders “are an Gyanesh Kumar, outcome of the unanimous decisions of the full CEC Commission in the past one year”. According to the report, the two ECs’ objections were about the way the statutory voter registration Form 6 was amended, the handling of additions and deletions from voter lists, and centralised control over the electoral roll database. Speaking to this paper, former Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat said the way changes to Form 6 were brought about was “absolutely wrong and illegal”. According to him, the reported objections raised by the two ECs were ‘a very serious issue’. He said: “The way Form 6 has been amended is wrong and illegal.” Rawat, who served as CEC from January to December 2018, said the law did not permit such changes without following the prescribed procedure. He referred to Supreme Court rulings which, he said, have held that changes to the statutory framework governing Form 6 require action by the government. “Such a situation has perhaps rarely emerged in the Election Commission. I have also been there, but I saw that decisions were P7 always taken unanimously Rawat said.  ,” 4 students run over by train in Srikakulam India raises concerns over Russia sanctions law with US E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi @ Srikakulam In a horrific tragedy, four Intermediate students were killed on the spot, and another was critically injured after being struck by a speeding passenger train near Jayakrishnapuram in Tekkali mandal of Srikakulam district on Wednesday afternoon. The deceased—identified as Visakharao, Dilip Kumar, Sarath Kumar and Shiva—were first year vocational students of the Government Junior College in Tekkali. Aged between 16 and 18, three of the deceased belonged to Damara village, and one hailed from Meliaputti. All the four stayed at the local Government Social Welfare Hostel in Tekkali. The injured youth, identified as Solomon Raju, a day scholar staying in a rented room nearby, sustained severe injuries in the incident, and was rushed to the Tekkali District Hospital, where he is currently undergoing emergency medical treatment. T h e i n c i d e n t o c c u r re d around 12.45 pm between Naupada (NWP) and Tekkali (TEK) railway stations at km No. 04/21. According to police and local officials, the district administration had declared a holiday for all educational institutions on Wednesday in view of heavy rains triggered by the deep depression in the P4 Bay of Bengal.  Mirabai Chanu celebrates her silver medal on Wednesday | PTI Weight, wait off lifter Mirabai’s shoulders Indraneel Das Express @ asian games Nagoya F IRST, the news. Mirabai Chanu, 32, won her first Asian Games medal here on Wednesday: silver, India’s first in any weightlifting discipline at this level since Karnam Malleswari in 1998. It is like completing the Grand Slam for a tennis player or a treble with the World Cup for a footballer. But the story of her medal goes beyond the news. Mirabai’s lifting is no longer about barbells and weights. It has transcended that. Doctors, physios and nutritionists have become part of her life. Preparation no longer depends only on lifting weights and physical training. It goes beyond that. Every time she has been written off, she has found a way That is why this . medal would be rated among the biggest of her career. Not because it took her 12 years, but because of the timing — when the body is ageing, with aching bones and muscles because of multiple injuries and when the end is in sight. Just before the Paris Olympics, one of her coaches had narrated a poignant story Af. ter returning from the last Asiad, it seemed like the walls were closing. No one came to wish her. “When I lose, no one comes; it’s really sad,” the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist had said. She was hurt. Physical pain is part and parcel, but it was this disregard that had caused her more pain. On Wednesday she had some pro, found words to say “My life is . complete now.” And it’s easy to see why This was the only . thing missing from her CV. Now, she feels relieved. A burden has been lifted. Her support cast — head coach Vijay Sharma, physio Rohit Chhabria, nutritionist Tajinder Kaur, psychologist Mugde Bavare and doctor Dinshaw Pardiwala — has also played an integral part in her journey . External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has raised India’s “interests and concerns” over the United States’ new Russia sanctions legislation during a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly . “Reiterated India’s interests and concerns with regard to SRIA. Also discussed the Gulf and Ukraine situations,” Jaishankar said in a post on X. The talks between the two leaders came after US President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law last Friday It gives the US Pres. ident the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries, including India and Chi- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar greets US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the UN General Assembly | PTi na, that purchase Russian oil and gas. The legislation is widely seen as a rapid expansion of Washington’s sanctions framework targeting Russia. The White House said the law “authorises and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran.” India continues to purchase Trump backs IMEEC corridor US President Donald Trump said he strongly supports India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, saying there is a need to shift energy infrastructure away from Iranian checkpoints amid multiple strikes on West Asian countries Russian energy which has been , an important part of its strategy to secure affordable supplies amid disruptions. Jaishankar’s meeting with Rubio also covered the conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine. Sources said Rubio is likely to visit India on October 19. And he may travel to Australia for the QUAD foreign ministers meeting. IIT Prof sent on leave over student death, panel formed S u d h i r s u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai IIT Bombay Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who is an accused in the alleged suicide death of a 20-year-old second-year B Tech student Sahil Wakode, has been sent on compulsory leave to enable an impartial probe, sources said on Wednesday . Earlier, he was removed as the dean of Administrative Affairs. It comes as IIT Bombay’s Board of Governance formed a 10-member highlevel panel to examine the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death on the campus. It will also look into the concerns raised by the student’s parents, including allegations of c a s t e based harassment at t h e institute. S Doolla The panel has a week to submit its findings. Prof Ramesh Venkateswaran, chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT-Palakkad, will head the panel, which has three students, members of the faculty an administra, tor, a former vigilance officer, and a psychiatrist. Meanwhile, Mumbai police crime branch revealed that after returning from the exam hall on September 18, Sahil went to his hostel room around 1.30 pm. He dialed a friend at 2.20 pm. In what was likely his last call, Sahil reportedly said, “I made a mistake. My earlier Thermodynamics paper did not go well either, and now this has happened.” Seafarer from India killed in ship attack off Oman An Indian seafarer was killed in an attack on a merchant vessel, MV Cape Dao, off the east coast of Oman while it was transiting towards India, the Indian Embassy in Oman said. The ship had 20 Indian seafarers Deep depression makes landfall near Kalingapatnam S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, particularly the north coastal belt, were placed on high alert as the deep depression over the Bay of Bengal made landfall near Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district around midnight. The process of landfall continued for nearly three hours.   According to bulletins issued separately by the India Mete- Prasant Madugula orological Department and the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, the storm system’s landfall triggered widespread power disruptions across the northern region, and pushed local river basins to high-alert levels.   Heavy to very heavy rainfall is forecast across Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam, with Ranastalam, Laveru, and Etcherla warned of extremely heavy downpours.  P4