WEDNESDAY 3-MEMBER SUPREME COURT BENCH DOES NOT KNOW ABOUT VANUATU 18 FEBRUARY, 2026 A three-judge bench of the SC on Tuesday said there is no country called Vanuatu, while hearing a bail plea in a cheating case epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard COMPARES IT TO FICTIONAL KAILASA A bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria was hearing a plea by the man challenging a Calcutta High Court order denying him bail. “You are a citizen of which country?” the bench asked. When the lawyer said the petitioner was a citizen of Vanuatu, the bench said, “There is no country like that. We also know a ‘country’ called Kailasa” IRAN KHAMENEI SAYS CAN SINK US WARSHIP The supreme leader warned Iran had the ability to sink a US warship deployed to the Gulf, as fresh talks between the two sides concluded in Switzerland. PAGE 9 ALLOWS PETITIONER TO WITHDRAW PLEA ■ A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI 5.6 lakh new voters added to Guj draft electoral rolls @ Ahmedabad EXPRESS READ Bhagwat: Hindustan a Hindu rashtra RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday called ‘Hindustan’ a ‘Hindu rashtra’, saying all Hindus are brethren. He said temples, wells and cremation grounds should be open to all Hindus without caste discrimination. P8 Compensation can’t replace jail term: SC Criticising the practice of courts hiking compensation to victims in grave offences and reducing jail term, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said the trend is sending a message that offenders can absolve themselves by paying money. Month-long ban on agitations in DU Delhi University (DU) on Tuesday imposed a month long ban on protests, and public meetings in the campus. Several teacher and student bodies have crticised the move, calling it ‘unconstitutional’. P4 J8.00 The world is going through a period of uncertainty. In such an environment, the India-France partnership is a force for global stability. We are combining France’s expertise and India’s scale D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA AFTER a three-and-a-halfmonth Special Intensive Revision drive, Gujarat’s final electoral roll was published on Tuesday revealing net addition , of 5.60 lakh voters even as 3.95 lakh names were deleted. The exercise digitised over 4.34 crore voter forms and reshaped district-wise electoral patter ns, with Ahmedabad leading in additions and Surat topping deletions. Before revision, Gujarat’s electoral base stood at 5.08 crore voters. Post-draft publication, the count rationalised to 4,34,70,109, signalling largescale removal of ineligible or duplicate entries. By the time the final roll was sealed, the voter base rose to 4,40,30,725. The arithmetic is revealing: after corrections and claims, Gujarat registered a net addition of about 5.60 lakh voters compared to the draft roll an indicator that new eligible voters, especially youth and migrants, successfully entered the system after scrutiny . Ahmedabad alone added 1,53,234 voters a significant surge pointing to rapid urban expansion and fresh eligibility . Surat added 1,01,578 voters, reinforcing its dual identity as both a high-migration and highregistration district. Rajkot (53,517), Vadodara (47,070) and Bhavnagar (40,074) also registered strong growth, signalling population consolidation in urban and semi-urban corridors. About 3.95 lakh voters were removed for death, migration or duplication. Chief Electoral Officer Harit Shukla credited statewide participation, cooperation from voters, media, political parties and the civil society. In all, 34 district election officers, 182 voter registration officers, 855 assistant voter registration officers, 50,963 booth level officers and many volunteers par ticipated in the exercise.  Narendra Modi PM Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron during a car ride, in Mumbai | PTI Spl global strategic partnership deal done with France J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi INDIA and France on Tuesday elevated their bilateral ties to a “Special Global Strategic Partnership,” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing the relationship as a “force for global stability” amid rising geopolitical turbulence after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai. Following comprehensive talks in Mumbai during Macron’s three-day visit, the two sides announced 21 outcomes spanning defence, critical minerals, high technology, renewable energy, health, skilling, startups and advanced materials. “The world is going through a period of uncertainty In such an en. vironment, the India-France partnership is a force for global stability . We are combining France’s expertise and India’s scale,” Modi said. He added that the two nations share a “very special relationship” built on trust and shared democratic values. “Together with President Macron, we have given this strategic partnership unprecedented depth and energy. Based on this trust and shared vision, today we are establishing our relationship as a ‘Special Global Strategic Partnership’,” he said. A key highlight of the visit was the virtual inauguration of the Air- bus H125 helicopter final assembly line at Vemagal in Karnataka. The facility set up by Airbus in collabo, ration with Indian partners, is expected to strengthen India’s aeronautical manufacturing capabilities, boost workforce skilling and generate employment. “Today’s inauguration of the helicopter assembly line in India is another shining example of this deep trust. We are proud that India and France will jointly manufacture the world’s only helicopter capable of flying to the heights of Mount Everest. And we will also export it to the entire world,” Modi said. “In other words, the India-France partnership knows no boundaries; it can reach from deep oceans to the tallest mountains.” The agreements signed include enhanced defence cooperation, collaboration in critical minerals and advanced materials, and expanded engagement in clean energy and health sectors. Both sides also launched the ‘India-France Year of Innovation’ initiative to deepen people-to-people and startup linkages. Macron described India as one of France’s most trusted partners and underlined the expanding defence relationship. “From Rafale jets to submarines, we are expanding defence cooperation,” he said. India and France have decided to elevate their strategic partnership to the level of a Special Global Strategic Partnership. In diplomacy, that is a big deal Emmanuel Macron H125 ASSEMBLY LINE 1 Both leaders virtually inaugurated a final assembly line in Karnataka to build Airbus H125 helicopters. It will enhance India’s aerospace manufacturing capabilities 2 Referring to global flashpoints like Ukraine, Wasia and the IndoPacific, Modi said both nations support a multipolar world 3 The ModiMacron meeting, included a joint drive through Mumbai in a show of personal rapport  PAGES 12 Anthropic AI pact with Infy after rattling the IT sector PA D M I N I D H R U V A R A J @ Bengaluru A fortnight ago, the launch of US-based Anthropic’s AI tool had given Indian IT majors the jitters, raising questions about their future. On Tuesday how, ever, Infosys announced its partnership with Anthropic to develop advanced artificial intelligence solutions for businesses, aiming to bridge the gap between AI models that perform well in demonstrations and those that can operate effectively in highly regulated industries. The two companies plan to help organisations in tightly regulated sectors adopt AI more effectively Telecommuni. cations, financial services, manufacturing and software development are expected to be the key beneficiaries. Shares in Infosys climbed nearly 3% to about `1,407 on NOW bureaucrats and officials who do not attend telephone calls by legislators can come under scrutiny, Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said on Tuesday . Pathania said the officials increasingly avoiding the telephone calls of elected representatives, prompted him to demand accountability from those in charge. The Speaker asked the MLA to submit the names of such officials, so that action can be initiated against them under the Creating customised AI agents for clients Anthropic’s Claude AI models will be combined with Infosys’ Topaz AI platform. Together, they aim to create customised AI agents capable of handling complex tasks. To begin with, a dedicated Anthropic Centre of Excellence will be set up for the telecom sector Tuesday following the announcement and closed the session with 2% higher. “There’s a big gap between an AI model that works in a demo and one that works in a regulated industry – and if you want to close that gap, you need domain expertise,” said Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of Anthropic. HC pulls up Mandhira, Priya in Kapur will case U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed late businessman Sunjay Kapur’s wife Priya Kapur and sister Mandhira Kapur Smith to refrain from making public statements against each other and “conduct themselves with dignity”. Justice Mini Pushkarna, who is hearing various pleas related to Sunjay’s property dispute, passed the directions while hearing a civil suit filed by Priya seeking `20 crore in damages from Smith for allegedly defaming her. The judge also issued a notice to Smith in the case, and directed her to file her response within five weeks. “Issue notice. List after five weeks. In the meantime, both parties are directed to exercise restraint in making statements against HP babus under Speaker’s scanner for ignoring MLAs H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh ■ The counsel argued that the petitioner was already granted bail in four other cases. The bench then asked the lawyer for West Bengal, “How much time will you take to conclude the trial?” The state’s counsel said it was likely to conclude within six to eight months. The Supreme Court permitted the petitioner to withdraw the petition each other, directly or indirectly We expect you not to make ... any public statements against each other… Conduct yourself with dignity, this is what the court expects,” the judge said. The matter was posted for further hearing on May 14. The suit, filed on February 1, has claimed that Smith made the statements and allegations “injurious to her (Priya’s) reputation” on a podcast “in the public domain”. The suit has also arrayed the podcast host as a respondent in the suit. As per the suit, Smith allegedly made statements in the podcast portraying Priya Kapur as an outsider who has no legitimate right to represent or control the Kapur family legacy estate, or business affairs. , Priya had earlier filed a criminal defamation complaint against Smith. MODI INVITES NEW PM RAHMAN TO VISIT INDIA Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla handing over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invite to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman (pic), shortly after the latter took his oath of office and secrecy, to visit India at a mutually convenient time, in Dhaka on Tuesday. “I take this opportunity to invite you, along with Dr Zubaida Rahman and your daughter Zaima, on a visit to India at a mutually convenient time. A warm welcome awaits you in India,” Modi wrote. “The convergence between our respective developmental priorities shall serve as a guiding principle for our cooperation,” he said | P7,9 Assembly rules. The matter was raised by Congress MLA from Gagret in Una, district, Rakesh Kalia, during the Question Hour. He said the telephone allowance being given by the government to officers should be stopped as they do not take calls even of MLAs, who are public representatives. Urging CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to take such officers to task, Kalia said, “Kindly pull up these officials who refuse to take calls even by MLAs, who wish to raise public issues, which is their duty towards their constituents.” “Infosys has exactly that kind of expertise across important industries — telecom, financial services, and manufacturing. Their developers are already using Claude Code to accelerate their work and to create AI agents for industries that demand precision, compliance, and deep domain knowledge,” he said. The partnership focuses on building intelligent AI tools for enterprise use. “AI is not just transforming business — it is redefining the way industries operate and innovate,” said Salil Parekh, Infosys CEO. Early this month, Anthropic unveiled new automation tools for its Claude platform that can carry out tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis functions. It triggered a bloodbath in Indian IT stocks, with the Nifty IT Index declining by 14%. DANGEROUS REEL Dwarka crash accused dad to be booked under MV Act E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi THE father of the minor who was driving the SUV that hit and killed a motorcycle-borne youth in Dwarka on February 3 will be chargesheeted under the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, police said on Tuesday . According to the victim’s mother, a single parent, her 23-year-old son, Sahil Dhaneshra, was in the final semester of BBA, and was all set to fly abroad. He had already received a call letter. While demanding justice for Sahil, the woman, Inna Makan, said that the incident cannot be brushed away as a mistake and cannot just be called an accident. Her son died as the accused, with his sister in the car, was driving recklessly Fighting . back tears, she said her son’s room has several motivational quotes, including “2025 will be my year, $1,000,000 year”. Police said the incident took place on February 3. The youth riding a motorcycle was killed, and a cab driver got injured after an SUV rammed into their vehicles in the Dwarka area. Police got information about the incident at 11.57 am near Lal Bahadur Shastri College. “He was barely 200 metres away from his workplace when the Scorpio hit him. His sister was sitting in the passenger seat, and they were making reels. The reels clearly show how fast he driving,” Makan told mediapersons. Police said initially, the boy claimed that he was 19 years old, but during verification of documents, his age was found to be 17 years. SPIRIT OF CRICKET 14 former captains to Pak govt: Treat Imran with dignity E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai IN a moving gesture, 14 former captains from different nations are rallying behind Imarn Khan, who is struggling with ill-health. Expressing deep concern over the jailed cricketerturned-politician’s deteriorating condition, the captains including Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have written a letter to the Pakistan government ap- pealing for adequate medical attention and dignified conditions in line with international standards for him. Even former captains like Sourav Ganguly supported it. The words of the letter are laced with emotion. “We, the undersigned for mer captains of our national cricket teams, write with deep con- cern regarding the reported treatment and incarceration conditions of Imran Khan, the distinguished former Captain of Pakistan and a legendary figure,” read the letter titled Appeal by former International Cricket Captains. “Recent reports concerning his health — particularly the alarming deterioration of his vision while in custody — and the conditions of his imprisonment over the past two and a half years have caused us profound concern.” The letter has also been signed by Michael Atherton, Allan Border, Michael Brearley , Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Belinda Clark, David Gower, Kim Hughes, Nasser Hussain, Clive Lloyd, Steve Waugh and John Wright. Gower told this daily that the intitative was taken be Greg. “He asked I would sign, and I said yes,” he said. No Pakistan player has signed the letter that ends with emotional lines that transcends politics. “Cricket has long been a bridge between nations. Our shared history on the field reminds us that rivalry ends when the stumps are drawn — and respect endures. Imran Khan embodied that spirit...” Today’s Matches 11am: South Africa vs UAE (Delhi), 3pm: Pakistan vs Namibia (Colombo), 7pm: India vs Netherlands (Ahmedabad) Aussies out After Australia’s loss to Sri Lanka, ZImbabawe-Ireland match was washed out. With this, Zimbabwe progressed to Super 8s