The Editorial Page: Congress decline is a story of centralisation, missed opportunities 8 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2025 JOURNALISm of COURAGE LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES ₹6.00 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 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 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 Ananthakrishnan G rarerecallorder New Delhi, December 29 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 expressedprofoundconcernabout 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 RELATED REPORTS PAGE 5 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. 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 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 in- Ex-MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar Business as Usual By EP UNNY depthanalysisofvariousprovisions. 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 Willcontinue fight...ourlife turnedintoa joke:Survivor Sakshi Chand New Delhi, December 29 “PHANSI JABTAK nahi hogi, tabtakladailadungi(Iwillcontinue to fight until he is hanged),” said the survivor in the 2017 Unnao rape case on Monday, hours after the Supreme Court stayed the Delhi High Court’s order suspending the life sentence of Kuldeep Singh Sengar. “It’s a fight for justice, not just mine but for all the women and daughters in this country who are supporting me or have gonethroughthesameordeal,” she told The Indian Express. “I am very happy with this decision.Ihavegotjusticefrom theSupremeCourt.Ihavebeen raising my voice for justice from the very beginning... I do not make allegations against any court. I have faith in all courts, but the Supreme Court has given me justice and will continue to do so,” she said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court on Monday that the survivor was “a child aged 15 years, 10 months and 13 days at the time of the crime”. She is now married, and a mother of two. “I have two toddlersathomewhomydifferently-abled mother is taking careof.AftertheHighCourtverdict, my husband was removed from his job. Only my family knows how we are trying to manageourfinances,”shesaid. “Mazaak bana ke rakh diya hain jeewan (Our life has been turned into a joke),” she said. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 APR-NOV 2025 PRICE AT $67.6/ BARREL, WAS $80 IN APR-NOV 2024 Steep dip in crude price, India 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-yearinApril-November despite higher oil import volumesandthecountry’sgrowing dependencyonimportedcrude oil,asperthelatestdatafromthe l India’soilandgastrade April-November 2025 Volume Value 163.4 (2.4%) $80.9bn (-12.0%) 34 (-0.6%) $14.7bn (-7.5%) 42.3 (0.5%) $26.6bn (-8.0%) 23,102 (-8.9%) $9.2bn (-11.5%) Crude oil imports Petroleum product imports Petroleum product exports LNG imports (Y-o-Y change); Oil volume in million tonne, LNG in million standard cubic metres; Source: PPAC, MoPNG petroleum ministry. 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 valueofpetroleumproductimports despite stable volumes, while in the case of natural gas, lower import volumes amid »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Happening Rs 700-cr cough syrup racket: UP drug today regulator seeks stricter supply chain rules lIN INDIA’S FINAL CRICKET Bhupendra Pandey TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPRESS.cOM AFTER AUTHORITIES unearthedaRs700-crorecartel dealingincodeine-basedcough syrup(CBCS)andfoundglaring lapsesinthesale,purchase,and supply of the medicine, the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has proposed making the rules 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. Lucknow, December 29 morestringentandtransparent forthewholesaledruglicensing systemtocurbnon-medicaluse and illegal supply of the syrup. In a proposal sent to the UP government, the department has suggested geo-tagging of wholesale establishments, verificationofstoragecapacity, and photographic documentation. It also proposed verificationofexperiencecertificatesof technicalpersonnelbydruginspectors. The FSDA is also sending a proposal to the Centre for issuing necessary notifications and guidelines for the manufacture, bulk supply, distribution, and monitoring of codeine-based cough syrup. AccordingtoFSDAofficials, the decision to send proposals Begin with Systematic Investment Plan (SIP). »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 Aiswarya Raj Dehradun, December 29 ON DECEMBER 9,SurajKhwas invited five of his friends to celebrate his son’s first birthday at Dehradun’sSelaquimarket.The plan was to buy liquor from a shop and then head to Avinash Negi’s tea PAGE 1 shop. The group, comprising these two men, Yagya Raj Awasthi, Sumit, and two juveniles, milled around the liquor shop when they ran into brothers Anjel and Michael Chakma. In minutes, Anjel was stabbed, and Michael seriously injured. In his complaint to the police, Michael said that the anchor Anjel Chakma, 24, was stabbed on Dec 9 and died last Friday grouphadhurledracialslursbefore attacking the duo. As Michael struggled to get Anjel to the hospital, the group went back to their business; got the liquor, went to Negi’s shop, and celebrated, police say. On December 26, Anjel died while undergoing treatment. He had suffered injuries to his head and spine, which proved fatal.AsthemurdercausedoutragebothinUttarakhandandin Northeast India – Anjel was fromTripuraandwasallegedly called‘Chinese’and‘momo’before the stabbing — Uttarakhand police dispatched two teamstofindAwasthi,whoison the run and believed to be in Nepal, where he hails from. 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 The key to harnessing the power of compounding is to remain invested for a longer tenure, allowing the Investment to compound. 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