The Editorial Page: In US tariff judgment, how judiciary drew the red line 10 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2026 Journalism of Courage MuMBAI, lATE CITy, 18 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 2020-25: In 4 of 5 appeals, green watchdog NGT rules in favour of developers to clear projects EXPRESS investigation Jay Mazoomdaar New Delhi, February 25 A LANDMARK 2021 judgment by the Supreme Court was unequivocal: the National Green Tribunal(NGT)isnotamereadjudicatory body but a “special- 108 136 168 71 ized” protector tasked with fostering environmental justice andequity.AffirmingtheNGT’s powers, the apex court underlinedthatthesewerethepivotal threads weaved into the Tribunal’s very fabric to safeguard public interest against ecological degradation. Today, those threads are fraying under the weight of a startling shift. An investigation by The Indian Express of over 100,000 NGT orders since 2020 reveals a deepening asymmetry. Inmattersofenvironmental and forest clearances (EC/FC), »CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 moSt ExpErtS IN trIbUNAL Now ArE Ex-Govt offIcErS p 9 BMC budget outlay up at Rs 80,952 crore; 60% push for capital works Pratip Acharya & Nayonika Bose NEW CLASS 8 BOOK WITH SECTION ON JUDICIAL CORRUPTION Will not let anyone defame institution: CJI on NCERT book The Indian Express report dated Feb 24 on the new NCERT textbook Express News Service Mumbai, February 25 NCERT stops book sale: ‘Regret... hold judiciary in highest esteem’ Abhinaya Harigovind New Delhi, February 25 New Delhi, February 25 THE BRIHANMUMBAI Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday tabled a Rs 80,952.56 crore budget for 2026–27, up 8.77 per cent from lastyear’sRs74,427.41croreoutlay, aligning the civic body’s spendingprioritieswiththeMahayuti alliance’s pre-civic poll promise of strengthening Mumbai’surbaninfrastructure. Nonewbigticketinfrastructure project was announced as thecivicbodyfocusedonpushing the existing projects along with augmenting water supply in the city involving the Gargai Dam project — a pet project of Municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani at a press meet in Mumbai. SANkhADEEP BANERjEE ChiefMinisterDevendraFadnavisthatwasscrappedbyformer chief minister Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government. Presentingthebudgetbefore the standing committee, municipalcommissionerBhushan »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TAKING NOTE of a report by The Indian Express that the newSocialSciencetextbookfor Class 8 by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) includes a section on “corruption in the judiciary”, Chief Justice of India(CJI)SuryaKantWednesday took serious exception to the content and said he “will not allow anyone on earth to play with the integrity and to defame the institution”. The Supreme Court later registered a suo motu case “In »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Linked by blood and sacrifice, back Gaza peace: PM to Israel Parliament Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, February 25 SC registers case, matter to be heard by CJI bench today It seems to be very calculated, deep rooted: CJI Surya Kant PACTS TO BE SIGNED TODAY THE NATIONAL Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has stopped the sale of its new Class 8 Social Science textbook after The Indian Express reported Tuesday thatitincludedasectionon“corruptioninthejudiciary”,triggeringstrongcriticismfromtheSupreme Court Bar and Bench. Sources in the Education Ministry confirmed that the book was pulled out of sale on Tuesday. On Wednesday, staff atthepublicationdivisionbook counter at the NCERT campus in Delhi said the book, which was being sold on Monday, was INAsignificantformulationbefore Israeli parliamentarians in theKnesset,PrimeMinisterNarendra Modi Wednesday backed theGazapeaceinitiative,saying it holds the promise of a “just anddurablepeace”forallpeople of the region, including by “addressing the Palestine issue”. His remarks are significant giventhatafragileceasefirebetween Israel and Hamas is holding in Gaza after two years of intense fighting. Becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to address the Knesset, hours after he was received by counterpart Benja- PM Narendra Modi being conferred with the ‘Speaker of The Knesset’ medal by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana in Israel’s Parliament. PTI minNetanyahuandhiswifeSara at the Ben Gurion international »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 business as Usual By EP UNNY Beed deploys drones to check cheating in exams Pallavi Smart Beed, February 25 no longer available. Thematterwasraisedinthe »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BEHIND THE drone footage of people scurrying away from an exam centre in Chausala village of Maharashtra’s Beed district a fortnightago,liesastory.Ofaregion’s attempt to shed its image asthegroundzeroofmass-copying attempts in the state, and of thedeploymentofdronesasthe latest measure to check them. February10wasthefirstday of Class 12 Maharashtra State Board exams, the paper was English,andthedronecaptured people attempting to pass answer chits through windows at theChausalacentre,beforethey rushed away on noticing the whirring device above. After a probe,anFIRwasfiledagainst17 people,includingthestaffatthe examcentre,whowerereplaced. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TUNE YOUR EQUITY-DEBT MIX TO MARKET CONDITIONS BALANCED ADVANTAGE FUNDS Zindagi ke liye SIP Benefits of Balanced Advantage Funds Investment across equity and debt instruments Dynamic Asset Allocation based on market conditions Aims to manage volatility over time An Investor Education and Awareness Initiative SCAN TO LEARN MORE SIP - Systematic Investment Plan | Visit https://www.hdfcfund.com/information/key-know-how to know more about the process to complete a one-time Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement to invest in Mutual Funds. Investors should only deal with registered Mutual Funds, details of which can be verified on the SEBI website (www.sebi.gov.in/intermediaries.html). For any queries, complaints & grievance redressal, investors may reach out to the AMCs and / or Investor Relations Officers. 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