DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES Tirupati laddu war: Temple board backs Naidu, Jagan hits back, Centre weighs in too SREENIVAS JANYALA HYDERABAD, SEPTEMBER 20 THE ROW around animal fat allegedly being found in laddus served at Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati temple escalated on Friday, with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu accusing the previous YSR Congress Party government of committing “unpardonable mistakes”, Union Health Minister J P Nadda seeking a report from the state, and YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy saying Naidu was using God for political gains. “We have changed the ghee supplier. People are saying their AMENDED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IT RULES Third Judge breaks deadlock: Terms like ‘fake, false, misleading’ are ‘vague’ MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 20 sentimentswerehurt.Whenthe sentimentswerehurt,whenunpardonable mistakes were committed, should I spare (those responsible)?” Naidu said. Under fire, Jagan said at a press conference: “This is IN A setback to the Centre, the Bombay High Court Friday struck down as “unconstitutional”theamendedITrulesthat empower the Government to identify “fake news” on social media platforms through a Fact Check Unit (FCU). Following a split verdict on pleas challenging the amended rules by a two-judge division KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 20 IN A show of solidarity with the protesting junior doctors, a large number of people joined two separate marches in Kolkata on Friday, seeking justice for a woman trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at at R G Kar Medical College in Kolkata onAugust9.Thiscameafterjunior doctors, on Thursday late evening, announced a partial withdrawalof theirstrike,which India body is left red-faced as Chess Olympiad Cup ‘missing’ AMIT KAMATH MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 20 IN WHAT could become a major embarrassment for India, the ‘Nona Gaprindashvili Cup’, which is awarded to the best performing contingent at the ChessOlympiad,islearnttohave been misplaced by the All India Chess Federation (AICF). Three AICF office-bearers confirmed this to The Indian Express on Friday. The event is held once in two years, and the Indian team had won the Cup at the last Chess Olympiad in Chennai in 2022. It is learnt that a few weeks back, the global governing body of chess, FIDE, sent an email to theAICFrequestingthatIndiareturn the Cup, so that it could be handedtothewinnersof theongoing Chess Olympiad in Budapest on Sunday, after the end of Round 11. It was only then that the current AICF administration, which took charge on March 10 this year, reportedly realised that the Cup was supposed to be in India. A search was then launched — at theAICFofficesinNewDelhiand Chennai, as well as the Chennai hotel where it was last seen. The previous AICF office-bearers were contacted, and even the players were asked if they had taken the Cup. “Currently, we don’t know the whereabouts of the GaprindashviliCup.We’retrying very hard to locate it as it is a matter of national pride. We’re hopeful that our search will bear fruit,” AICF secretary Dev A Patel bench on January 31, a third judge, Justice Atul S Chandurkar, gavethedecidingopiniononthe matter and held that the rule was “ultra vires”, or beyond the powers, of the IT Act. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 vs free speech: Judicial review, not Govt stamp APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 20 IN STRIKING down the Centre’s FactCheckUnit(FCU)toregulate speech on social media as “vague”, and a “disproportionate”incursiononfreespeech,the Bombay High Court has drawn a red line on Government regula- tion of online speech. “The amended Rule seeks to imposerestrictionsbeyondthose permissible under Article 19(2) of theConstitution.Italsosuffers from manifest arbitrariness…,” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED PAGE 16 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Junior doctors to resume duty After attacks for emergency services from on Trump, today: ‘Our fight will continue’ security up for EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Justice Atul S Chandurkar of Bombay High Court began on August 9. While emergency services will resume on Saturday, doctors have warned of further protests if all their demands for improved security measures are not met. On Friday, junior doctors marchedfromSwasthaBhawan, the state health department headquarters, to the CGO complex, marking the end of their sit-in protest that began on September 10. The doctors' march drew a large crowd. Simultaneously, on CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY PM’s US trip WAR OF WORDS OVER FLOODS IN SOUTH BENGAL SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 20 AS PRIME Minister Narendra Modi heads to Delaware for his firststopinthethree-daypacked UStripearlySaturday,NewDelhi and Washington have worked on enhanced security measures for him due to heightened security concerns. The conversation between IndianandAmericansecurityofficials took place over the last 15 days, especially with the two assassination attempts on former US President Donald Trump. The Indian Express has learnt that the US Secret Service has “enhanced” the security in and around the venues, where the PM will visit in Delaware and New York. This is also keeping in mind CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 20 UNDERLINING THAT the Collegium is not a “search committee”, the Supreme Court on Friday asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to submit a report on the status of the names thatwere reiteratedforappointment as Judges but were yet to be cleared by the Centre. “You come out with a chart and tell us what is the status of each of the recommendations which has been reiterated by the Collegium and what is the difficulty in making those appointments,” Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud told CJI: The idea is to move forward Venkataramani. “The Collegium is not a search committee. It has a certainstatusintermsof theconstitutional fabric. In the case of a search committee, where the search committee makes a recommendation…there is absolute discretion whether to accept or not accept the recommendation… So you come back to us and tell us what CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Mamata blames Jharkhand & DVC, Scandalous charges: SC Centre says Bengal was in the loop pulls up CBI on plea for RAVIK BHATTACHARYA, transfer of Bengal cases ATRI MITRA & HARIKISHAN SHARMA Begins his three-day visit today APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES Collegium not search panel, give report on status of pending HC red line on fake news names, SC tells Govt BombayHCstrikesdownCentre’s FactCheckUnit:Unconstitutional OMKAR GOKHALE Sentiments hurt: Naidu; diversionary politics: Jagan `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & `17 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 KOLKATA, NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 20 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE WITH CHIEF Minister Mamata BanerjeeblamingJharkhandand theDamodarValleyCorporation (DVC) for the grim flood situation in south Bengal, and barring entry of commercial vehicles from the neighbouring state at three border points, the Centre Friday wrote to her, saying the state was kept in the loop about the release of water. It said the water was released to avoid any "catastrophic impact" in south THE SUPREME Court on Friday pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for making “scandalous allegations” and “castingaspersions”ontheWest Bengal judiciary in its plea seeking transfer of cases — related to the 2021 post-poll violence — to outside the state. Questioning Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, who appeared for the CBI, for the “blanket averment that courts DECISION NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 20 Trucks stranded at West Bengal-Jharkhand border Friday. ANI RELATEDREPORTS,PAGE3 Bengal due to possible dam failures following heavy rain. Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil wrote to Banerjee, hours after she shot off a letter to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 are illegally granting bail”, the two-Judge Bench of Justices A S Oka and Pankaj Mithal said: “Whatkindof groundsaretaken in this? That all courts in West Bengal have hostile environment? ...This is casting aspersions that the entire judiciary is under hostile environment.” TheASGsaidtherewasnointention to cast aspersions and some “loose drafting” may have crept into the petition, adding that he would amend it. But the court expressed the view that it should be withdrawn. Raju later CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 2024 ENGINEER RASHID TALK OF TOWN — WITH A DOUBT: WHO IS HE TO BJP? AT 19, BJP FOUGHT FEWER VALLEY SEATS IN 1996 PAGE 5 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD AS HEZBOLLAH HITS BACK AT ISRAEL, ITS LEADER KILLED FOCUS ON ECONOMY AS LANKA ELECTS PRESIDENT TODAY P 14 Kolkata