The Editorial Page: Congress decline is a story of centralisation, missed opportunities 8 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2025 JOURNALISm of COURAGE MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 happening today l PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi will meet economists ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget 2026-27. lIN INDIA’S fINAL CRICKET match of 2025, Harmanpreet Kaur and Co will bring the curtains down on a glorious year for women’s cricket, with the final T20I of the series against Sri Lanka where they lead 4-0. Match starts at 7 pm in Thiruvananthapuram. lTHE PUNJAB ASSEMBLY will hold a one-day special session on the VB-G RAM G Act, which replaced the 20-year-old MGNREGA. The ruling AAP is set to pass a resolution against the new job guarantee law. lVICE-PRESIDENT C P Radhakrishnan, who is on a two-day visit to Puducherry, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, will be the chief guest at the valedictory ceremony of the 4th Kashi-Tamil Sangamam in Rameswaram. ThE wORLD pAgE 12 RUSSIA SAyS pUtIN homE AttAckEd by UkRAINE; It’S A LIE: ZELENSkyy bANgLAdESh: RAhmAN fILES hIS NomINAtIoN pApERS foR poLLS 129 157 196 92 NOTICES TO CENTRE, DELHI, RAJASTHAN, GUJARAT AND HARYANA SC stays 100-m rule for Aravalli it had cleared, cites ‘public dissent’ Ananthakrishnan G New Delhi, December 29 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Mumbai, NCP(SP) faces trouble as leaders quit; city chief joins BJP Alok Deshpande Mumbai, December 29 TWO WEEKS ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in Mumbai, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) is facing a mass exodus with majority of its leaders opting to join Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP, with practically no effort from the NCP (SP) to stop them. Three days after NCP (SP) Pune city chief Prashant Jagtap quit the party to join Congress, itsMumbaiheadRakheeJadhav MondayjoinedtheBharatiyaJanataParty(BJP).Jadhavislikely to contest from Ward Number 131 (Ghatkopar) in Mumbai, whichshehadrepresentedfrom the undivided NCP in 2017. According to sources, Jadhav was upset after Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra NavnirmanSena(MNS)allianceoffered only 5 to 10 seats to the party. The NCP (SP) had sought at least 30 seats in the BMC elections. BeforeJadhav,severalparty leaders from Mumbai, includingformercorporatorDhananjay Pisal, leader Manish Dubey, formercorporatorManishaRahate and general secretary Ashok Panchal, had already quit to join Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Another party leader Nitin Deshmukh, who was seeking ticket for his wife, met the NCP leaders, but later decided to withdraw from race. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SC stays HC order on suspension of Sengar’s life term Suomotu Some of the finest judges... But at review,same benchstrength: the same time, we are all prone to commit errors: CJI Surya Kant Whythisisa rarerecallorder Ananthakrishnan G 29 New Delhi, December Proposes to set up high-powered expert panel for roadmap ahead THE SUPREME Court Monday directed that its November 20, 2025 judgment, accepting the 100-metreheightdefinitionfor the Aravalli hills as recommendedbyagovernmentcommittee, “be kept in abeyance” until a high-powered panel of domain experts undertakes a comprehensive assessment of the committee’s report. Staying the earlier judgment,avacationbenchofChief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices J K Maheshwari and AGMasihsaid,“Itseemsprima facie that both the committee’s report and the judgment of this Courthaveomittedtoexpressly clarify certain critical issues… This stay shall remain in effect until the present proceedings reach a state of logical finality, ensuringthatnoirreversibleadministrative or ecological actions are taken based on the current framework.” The top court, which initiated suo motu proceedings followingpublicoutcryoveritsNovember 20 order, said environmentalists have expressed profound concern aboutthepotentialformisinterpretation and improper implementation of the 100-metre norm. “This public dissent and criticism appear to stem from the perceived ambiguity and lack of clarity in certain terms and directives issued by this Court,”thebenchsaid,stressing the need to prevent any regulatory gaps that “might undermine the ecological integrity of 2017 UNNAO RAPE CASE Apurva Vishwanath New Delhi, December 29 The SC order — which noted that the Aravallis were the ‘green lungs’ and an ‘indispensable ecological backbone’ of North-Western India — came on a day Delhi’s air quality deteriorated further to an average AQI of 401 (severe) and visibility plummeted due to dense fog. TASHI TOBGYAL Panel of experts to study impact of leaving out smaller hills, wider gaps Jay Mazoomdaar New Delhi, December 29 THE SUPREME Court’s order puttingonholdthereportofthe Environmentministry-ledcommittee that recommended the 100-metredefinitionforAravalli, and the apex court’s November20judgement that accepted it, is significant on multiplecounts. Itrecordsthreatsotherthan miningfacingtheAravallihills, acknowledges the alternative definition of Aravalli in continuing with the moratorium on renewing mining leases in areas defined under the Forest E. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Two reports from The Indian Express series on how the Environment Ministry ignored a range of expert opinions to push the 100-metre definition for the Aravallis THE SUPREME Court’s decision Monday to effectively put its own November 20 ruling that redefined the Aravalli hills on hold pending fresh expert review is unprecedented for several reasons. The decision by a special bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant is a de facto review of the earlier decision initiated by the bench itself in a suo motu case rather than through a conventional review petition filed by an aggrieved party. The review also comes justdaysafterformerChiefJusticeofIndiaBRGavai,whoauthoredthecontentiousruling,defended the reasoning in a television interview. The November20rulingwasbyathreejudge bench, which is now stayed by a bench of the same strength, going against precedent. A later bench, on the issue of law, is bound to follow the decision of an earlier bench of equal or higher bench strength. The Court has, in the past, reviewed its rulings following widespreadpublicoutcry.Such self-correction by the SC, although extremely rare, has beenatthebehestoflitigantsor theexecutive.Thesuomotuinterventionfollowsdaysofdemonstrations against what was seenasadilutionofprotections forthecriticalecologicalbarrier. In February 2019, a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra had ordered states to evict or THE SUPREME Court on Monday stayed the Delhi High Court’s order suspending the lifesentenceofUnnaorapecase convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar, noting that there are “various substantial questions of law which arise for consideration”. Hearing the CBI’s plea challenging the HC order, a threejudge bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices J K Maheshwari and A G Masih issuednoticetoSengar,seeking hisresponsewithinfourweeks. While suspending Sengar’s sentence on December 23, the HC had ruled that his former statusasanMLAdoesnotbring him under the ambit of a ‘public servant’ as defined under the IPC. TheSCsaidthatifitaccepted the HC’s interpretation, “a constableorapatwari...willbepublic servant for the purpose of committing this offence, but a Member of Parliament or elected member of State Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council... will be exempted”. The CJI said the HC judges who delivered the judgment “are some of the finest judges we have. They have made indepthanalysisofvariousprovi- Ex-MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar business as Usual By EP UNNY sions. But at the same time, we are all prone to commit errors.” “We are conscious of the fact that ordinarily, when a convict/ undertrial has been »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORT, PAGE 6 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 APR-NOV 2025 PRICE AT $67.6/ BARREL, WAS $80 IN APR-NOV 2024 With steep dip in crude price, India oil imports up 2.4%, but bill down 12% Sukalp Sharma New Delhi, December 29 RELATIVELYSUBDUEDprices of crude oil in the international market led to India’s oil import bill contracting by 12 per cent year-on-year in April-November despite higher oil import volumes and the country’s growing dependency on importedcrudeoil,asperthelatest datafromthepetroleumministry. Thecountry’snetoilandgas imports—crudeoil,petroleum products,andnaturalgas—for the eight-month period were alsodownover12percentyearon-year in value terms. Lower prices led to a reduction in the l India’soilandgastrade April-November 2025 Volume Value 163.4 (2.4%) Crude oil imports $80.9bn (-12.0%) Petroleum product imports 34 (-0.6%) $14.7bn (-7.5%) Petroleum product exports 42.3 (0.5%) $26.6bn (-8.0%) 23,102 (-8.9%) $9.2bn (-11.5%) LNG imports (Y-o-Y change); Oil volume in million tonne, LNG in million standard cubic metres; Source: PPAC, MoPNG valueofpetroleumproductimports despite stable volumes, while in the case of natural gas, lower import volumes amid price volatility was the primary reasonforthelowerimportbill. India’s oil imports in value terms in the first eight months of the current financial year 2025-26 (FY26) were $80.9 billion, down from $91.9 billion, even as oil import volumes increased to 163.4 million tonnes from159.5milliontonnesayear ago, an increase of 2.4 per cent, according to provisional data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG). Indiaistheworld’sthird-largest consumer of crude oil and dependsonimportstomeetthe bulk of its requirement. The country’s oil import dependency in domestic petroleum product consumption in AprilNovember increased to 88.6 per centfrom88.1percentinthecorresponding period last year amiddecliningdomesticoilproductionandrisingconsumption of petroleum products, which are derived from crude oil. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Police personnel at the site where a BEST bus was involved in an accident, leading to the death of 4 in Mumbai on Monday. DEEPAK JOSHI 4 killed in Bhandup after BEST bus runs over pedestrians Mohamed Thaver & Manish Kumar Pathak Mumbai, December 29 FOUR PEOPLE were killed and eight others injured after a BEST bus ran over pedestrians onthecrowdedStationRoadin Bhandup West late Monday night,triggeringscenesofpanic and drawing parallels with a similar fatal accident reported at Kurla last year, when a BEST bus rammed vehicles and pedestrians, killing nine people. According to police, driver Santosh Sawant (50) was taken into custody immediately after the incident that took place around 9.35 pm. The bus that operates on route no. 606, between Bhandup station and NardasNagar,wastakingaturn on the congested Station Road outside the Bhandup railway »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l MURDER OF 24-YEAR-OLD STUDENT: PRIMA FACIE, NO EVIDENCE OF RACIAL VIOLENCE, SAYS SSP After stabbing Tripura youth in Dehradun, accused bought liquor, partied Aiswarya Raj slurs before attacking the duo. As Michael struggled to get Anjel to the hospital, the group ON DECEMBER 9,SurajKhwas went back to their business; got invited five of his friends to cel- the liquor, went to Negi’s shop, ebrate his son’s first birthday at and celebrated, police say. Dehradun’sSelaquimarket.The On December 26, Anjel died plan was to buy liquor from a while undergoing treatment. shop and then head He had suffered inPAGE 1 to Avinash Negi’s tea juriestohisheadand shop. The group, spine, which proved comprisingthesetwo fatal. As the murder men,YagyaRajAwasthi,Sumit, causedoutragebothinUttarakand two juveniles, milled hand and in Northeast India – around the liquor shop when AnjelwasfromTripuraandwas theyranintobrothersAnjeland allegedly called ‘Chinese’ and Michael Chakma. In minutes, ‘momo’ before the stabbing — Anjelwasstabbed,andMichael Uttarakhandpolicedispatched seriously injured. In his com- twoteamstofindAwasthi,who plainttothepolice,Michaelsaid is on the run and believed to be thatthegrouphadhurledracial in Nepal, where he hails from. Dehradun, December 29 anchor OnMondaynight,however, DehradunSeniorSuperintendentofPoliceAjaiSinghsaidthat “prima facie, there is no evidenceofracialviolence”.“Ahot clashtookplaceafterwhichthe victim was injured and later died during treatment. There wasconfusionthattheaccused made a remark, which resulted in the fight,” he said. Threemenhavebeensentto judicial custody, and the juveniles, aged 15 and 17, to correctional homes. The FIR was registered under various sections, including murder and the Scheduled Castes and the ScheduledTribes(Preventionof Atrocities) Act. Three accused belongingtotheSC/STcommu- Anjel Chakma, 24, was stabbed on Dec 9 and died last Friday nity will not be charged under thelattersection,thepolicesaid. According to an officer privy to the investigation, trouble started when the six accused were laughing, and the Chakmas asked them what theywerelaughingabout.“The argument took a violent turn. The youngest was a hothead, and he hit Michael with his kada. All of them participated in the assault. Awasthi got hold of the knife from a pushcart selling fruits and stabbed Anjel.” The weapon has not been recovered so far. According to the police, Negi (25) lives in Shankarpur, Sumit(26),whoonlygoesbyhis first name, in Tilwari, and Khwas (21), originally from Manipur,livesinDhulkot.Awasthi (25), whose father is a priest at a temple in Haridwar, is originallyfromKrishnapurinNepal andwasdoingoddjobsinIndia. Negi’s mother, who visited the hospital where Anjel was admitted, said his family was “furious, rightfully so”. “Any parent would react that way,” she said. Her husband, an Armyman, died when she was pregnant with Negi. And while her other son went on to become a soldier, Negi attempted the written exam twice but failed. He took up a job at an AC manufacturing unit, and two months ago, opened a tea shop with his friends. After the incident on December 9, he didn’t come home, his mother said. “Two days later, he came home and didn’t say a word. He said he was at the shop. The next day, the police came,” she said. Sumit’s family said he worked in a factory, making Rs 12,000 a month. Born in Landour, Sumit and his family moved to Dehradun seven years ago, where they live in a two-room house on the city’s outskirts. The family said he had a daughter six months ago. “His phone was switched off, and he didn’t come home that night. The next day, he came to the hospital where his father was admitted for an illness, but he didn’t inform us. On the day he was arrested, I got to know. I went to the police station and shouted at him,” said his mother, Pavni. Sumit knew Negi from when he worked at the factory. One of the juveniles studied »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Mumbai