tadepalligudem l friday l november 06, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION special committee to re-examine UGC’s equity norms in higher edu The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court it’s setting up a special committee to re-examine UGC 2026 norms on equity in higher education FOR TNIE EDITIONS looking to address student concerns caste-based discrimination a concern The government is examining ways to address concerns of students and ensure no section of the student community feels excluded, threatened or apprehensive under the regulatory framework, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta infor med a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. “The govt is contemplating appointing a committee,” the SG said ■ ■ The matter arose in Abeda Salim Tadvi versus Union of India. The 2019 petition was filed by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, who died by suicide after allegedly facing caste discrimination Key concerns centred on definition of “caste-based discrimination” under Regulation 3(1)(c), which focused on unfair treatment Aug 2026 is when the centre told sc the regulations were under review 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 E l ec t i o n c o m m i ss i o n In U-turn, Probe panel EC restores says hardly oversight of any plaint on its IT chief police excess ANNOUNCEMENT We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ravi Shankar as Editor and Kiran Prakash M S as Executive Editor of The New Indian Express and its Sunday edition. Ravi Shankar has been associated with the organisation for over two decades and was, until recently, Consulting Editor – Sunday Magazine. He brings with him rich experience in journalism and editorial leadership. E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi Kiran Prakash M S has been with the organisation for over a decade and was previously Resident Editor – Keralam. He brings extensive experience in journalism and editorial management. cristiano bids farewell They take charge from today. MANOJ KUMAR SONTHALIA Chairman and Managing Director TN boat, bodies of 5 fishermen washed ashore at K’patnam I V N P P r a s a d B a b u @ Ongole A fishing boat belonging to Tamil Nadu and bodies of five fisher men washed ashore at the Kothapatnam coast in Prakasam district on Thursday, causing a stir among the local fishing community . Having learnt about it, District Collector P Rajababu, along with Ongole RDO Chandrasekhar Naidu, Fisheries Department Joint Director Srinivasa Rao, visited Kothapatnam coast, and examined the boat. The bodies were shifted to the Ongole Government General Hospital mortuary . According to information, three fishermen teams from Tamil Nadu set out for fishing in three boats on October 29. Of them, two boats anchored safely near Ramayapatnam coast due to the rough weather under the impact of Cyclone Murasu. The third boat reached Nizampatnam. However, the fishermen of that boat intended to meet fellow fishermen, whose boats remained anchored at Ramayapatnam. On their way back, the boat drifted towards the Krishnapatnam coast due to severe cyclone weather conditions, and capsized. The Collector stated that a total of nine fishermen were travelling in the ill-fated boat, and their whereabouts He said they informed the matter to Tamil Nadu officials. An official team from Tamil Nadu is expected to reach Ongole tonight, the RDO told TNIE. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal legend and one of the greatest footballers of all time, announced his international retirement on Thursday. The 41-year-old’s international career spanned over 23 years in which he won one European Championship and two Nations League titles for Portugal. His World Cup dream remained unconquered despite six attempts | afp/ap SC: Detention starts 24-hr clock, not formal arrest Flags the potential for abuse in custody without judicial oversight other orders Plea to transfer Tirupati laddu trial rejected pearing in clause (2) of Article 22 i.e. ‘arrested’ and ‘detained’ are synonymous,” said the Four men in Tripura were bench of justices Ujjal Bhuyan stopped on suspicion of carry- and Atul S Chandurkar, disaping drugs at 2.30 pm on Septem- proving of orders from three ber 29, 2025. The search and sei- high courts that sought to difzure process was completed at ferentiate the two. 5 pm that day Their arrest was . The ruling came on the aprecorded at 11.15 am the next peal filed by the four men held day and they were produced be- in Tripura under the NDPS fore a magistrate that evening. Act, challenging denial of their What happened in the bail plea by the Tripu18 hours between ra HC. The SC ordered search, and seizure their release. “18 hours and formal arrest? in custody without juCustodial In June 2025, a temdicial oversight is a ple guard in Tamil violence is an long period, with misNadu was picked up unfortunate use and abuse of auin a theft case by poa clear reality of our thorityadded. possibillice. After 12 hours in ity it ,” custody — without country and is “The endeavour of judicially formal arrest — he this Court has always died, allegedly from acknowledged been to eliminate custorture. It is these intodial violence which Supreme Court stances that the Suunfortunately takes preme Court evoked place during the time in its ruling on Thursday hold- when a person is under deten, ing that the 24-hour deadline to tion and not shown as formally produce an accused before a arrested, in the process delaymagistrate begins from deten- ing production before the magtion and not formal arrest. istrate” the court said. If deten“The prescription of 24 hour- tion continues beyond 24 hours time period would commence before the person is produced the moment a person is de- before the magistrate, he tained by the arresting author- should be released, the SC said, ity suspecting him to have com- adding the detaining authority mitted an offence, when his must ensure detention does not liberty is effectively curtailed. exceed a reasonable period, To that extent, the words ap- even within the 24-hour limit. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r vi c e @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea for transferring trial in the Tirupati ‘laddus’ ghee adulteration case out of Andhra Pradesh. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi dismissed the plea by Machindra Shantaram Lanke, a Maharashtrabased businessman, whose counsel Siddharth Dave sought the transfer due to “a hostile atmosphere for free trial”. Contempt against Punjab chief secretary stayed The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed contempt proceedings initiated by Punjab and Haryana HC against Punjab’s chief secretary in a dearness allowance case. Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan passed the order on a plea challenging the high court order to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Chief Secretary K A P Sinha. The bench asked Sinha to be present during the next hearing. SC’s reservation on right to bail verdict and NDPS A bench of justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar on Thursday expressed reservations about another two-judge bench’s judgment in Sukhwinder Singh, which held that right to speedy trial under Article 21 can’t override bail requirements under Section 37 of NDPS Act. The SC said the right under Article 21 must be exercised within the framework of Section 37 of NDPS Act. SUCH I TRA K ALYA N MOHA N TY @ New Delhi THE Election Commission has issued a fresh work allocation order that requires its top IT official Seema Khanna to route files through a senior deputy election commissioner. The new order restores a layer of oversight an earlier order had removed. An order dated July 28 had relieved Deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar of the charge of IT and ICT and let Director-General (IT) Seema Khanna report directly to the poll panel. The decision was put in abeyance after the two election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, objected. The latest work allocation order, issued on Wednesday, requires Khanna to route files through Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma. According to the poll panel’s submission to the Supreme Court, the July 28 order was not implemented. The Commission said the internal distribution of work “has been continuing” Reporting to dy EC under an earlier office order dated Sep- Officials said Khanna’s reporting structure has tember 23, 2025. It said the July 28 remained the same and order was issued by that she “has always an IAS officer who been reporting to a was on deputation deputy election to the Commission. commissioner-level Sandhu and Joshi officer”. EC’s affidavit to wrote separately to SC said there internal Cabinet Secretary work has been done per T V Somanathan on a Sept 23, 2025 order July 29, saying Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg issued the orders without the poll body’s approval. A panel note, issued as per decisions of its meeting held on September 26 and carrying the approval of the full Election Commission, said the letter to the Cabinet Secretary “was not related to any policy matter of the Commission or IT division”. It concerned the working of an officer on deputation to the EC, the note said. It clarified that the work re-distribution orders were “not actually implemented” after the objections of the two Commissioners, and the oversight over the IT division by the deputy election commissioner “was never actually withdrawn”. THE High-Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC) constituted by the Supreme Court to probe alleged police excesses during the Cockroach Janta Party-led protests at Jantar Mantar told the top court on Thursday that it has received hardly any complaints from those affected. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi permitted the HPEC to examine all materials, including video clips, submitted by petitioners before the court on behalf of the victims. The committee, headed by former Supreme Court Judge R Subhash Reddy, informed the court that despite activating a portal and providing a dedicated email address for filing complaints online and physically, it had received hardly any responses. The SC had set up the panel to examine whether police used disproportionate force, whether protesters violated c o n d i t i o n s, a n d what led to the escaFresh notices lation. The panel SC directed HPEC to was also asked to issue fresh public notices suggest measures to in Hindi and English, to prevent such inciopen an online portal for dents in future. complaints, and to Appearing for the extend the time limit. It Committee, its directed Delhi Police to counsel said public share all records, notices had been isincluding wireless logs, sued, but the reduty rosters and video sponse was minifootage mal. T he bench observed that affected persons may not know about the Committee or may be apprehensive about deposing against police. During the hearing, the counsel for the CJP told the Court that several workers sustained injuries in the alleged baton charge by police but were scared to file formal complaints. He sought directions to allow anonymous complaints and to ensure protection to witnesses. Delhi Police submitted that its action was lawful and proportionate. It said protesters had blocked roads, raised provocative slogans and pelted stones, forcing police to intervene. The matter will be heard again after the interim report is filed. e x p r ess r e a d Cyclone causes H1,918.55 cr loss Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced that he would personally visit cycloneaffected areas on Friday to assess the situation at ground level. The cyclone has caused an estimated loss of `1,918.55 crore | P4 Highlighting the lack of basic road connectivity, residents of Jeelugulova hamlet in Anakapalli district carry an 80-year-old man in a doli to a polling station | Express ZPTC, MPTC elections K’taka Adi Shankaracharya idol drives nat’l inscription hunt record good turnout Divine intervention B ini ta J a i s w a l @ Chennai A sculpture recovered from an ancient brick structure in a Karnataka village last month, has given the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) a fresh lead as it searches for traces of Adi Shankaracharya in thousands of inscriptions. The ASI’s iconography team has confirmed that the sculpture found at Hampapura village in KR Nagar taluk of Mysuru district represents Adi Shankaracharya, said ASI Epigraphy Director K Munirathnam Reddy The idol was . found inside a brick structure (Left) Adi Shankaracharya idol found inside a brick structure in Mysuru; (top) Tiruchy’s Cholamadevi temple, which has inscriptions of his philosophical work | MK Ashok Kumar dating back to the ninth century he said. , The ASI’s Epigraphy Branch has taken up a project to identify and compile inscriptions associated with Adi Shankara- charya. The initiative, assigned by the Union Ministry of Education, began just a fortnight ago and aims to create a comprehensive collection of epigraphic records relating to Shankaracharya for academic research and cur riculum development. “There are very few epigraphical records [known so far] that can be directly linked to Adi Shankaracharya. One of the earliest possible references is a copper-plate inscription discovered in Gujarat, dating to around 500-515 CE. Another significant reference is the 11th-century inscription found at Cholamadevi temple in Tiruchirappalli district, which refers to his philosophical work. If implemented effectively, this project could bring to light more historical evidence about Adi Shankaracharya, his travels and the spread of his philosophical teachings,” said G Sankaranarayanan, professor of Sahitya, National Sanskrit University  . E x p r e s s N e w s Se r vi c e @ Vijayawada The Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) and Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) elections in Andhra Pradesh concluded on Thursday, barring a few sporadic incidents. Polling began at 7 am, and continued till 5 pm. Voters who were in queues at polling stations by the closing time, were allowed to exercise their franchise. Voters showed enthusiasm to cast their votes in the local body elections. Of the total 659 ZPTC and 9,821 MPTC seats in the State, elections were unanimous in 77 ZPTCs and 2,051 MPTCs. Polling was held for the remaining 582 ZPTC and 7,767 MPTC seats. As many as 21,012 candidates are in the fray for the ZPTC and MPTC polls. According to the data released by the State Election Commission, 58.55% of voting was recorded by 3 pm. However, the exact voting percentage by the closing time of the polling was not yet released when reports last P4 reached in.