MONDAY 01 VIRAT MARKS YET ANOTHER MILESTONE WITH TON IN RANCHI DECEMBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in The No 3 batter made a statement, alongside Rohit Sharma who scored a fifty, with a remarkable hundred against South Africa facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard SENIOR PROS STEP UP AS INDIA TAKE 1-0 LEAD ISRAEL BIBI SEEKS PARDON IN GRAFT CASE Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday asked the country’s president to grant him a pardon from corruption charges A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 Opener Rohit Sharma hit a fifty before Virat Kohli went on to hit a 120-ball 135 that took India to 349/8 with the help of late fireworks from Ravindra Jadeja and K L Rahul. South Africa came close to chasing it but Kuldeep Yadav (4/68) and Harshit Rana (3/65) delivered as bowlers keeping calm to secure India a 17-run win | P11 Poll panel extends SIR schedule by one week December 11 is the new deadline to submit forms; draft electoral rolls to be out on Dec 16; final list on Feb 14, 2026 SIR may heat up Winter Session starting today P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi A Mercedes SUV (above) lost control and rammed into three men waiting for a vehicle to return to home in Vasant Kunj in the early hours of Sunday | SHEKHAR YADAV 1 killed as Mercedes rams into 3 near Vasant Kunj mall vam, 29, a resident of Karol Bagh, was apprehended from A late-night wait for an autor- the spot. According to the poickshaw turned tragic for three lice, he was returning home afrestaurant employees in Vas- ter attending a wedding and ant Kunj when a Mercedes SUV was accompanied by his wife allegedly rammed into them and elder brother at the time of early Sunday, killing one and the crash. “The SUV is regisinjuring two others, the police tered in the name of one Absaid. The crash occurred near hishek, a friend of the aca mall on Nelson Mandela cused,” police said. Marg, where the vicPreliminary inquiry tims, all workers at a indicated that the verestaurant in Ambihicle lost control after ence Mall, had reportit hit a road divider edly finished their and crashed into a pole shift and were preparbefore veering sharply ing to head home. towards an auto stand, Officials said they ‘No alcohol’ where the three vicreceived a PCR call tims were waiting to about the accident at The police said a find a mode of transtest conducted around 2.33 am, folport, the police said. using a liquor lowing which a team According to offimeter did not from Vasant Kunj cials, an initial test show presence North police station conducted using a liqof alcohol in the uor meter did not indireached the spot. The police found a accused’s blood. cate the presence of “However, a s eve re ly d a m a g e d alcohol. “However, as medical Mercedes G63 opposite a matter of procedure, examination the mall and three a medical examinamen, aged 23, 35, and was also done,” tion was also conductthey said. 23, lying injured near ed to determine if the an auto stand. accused had consumed The three were taken to a liquor. Further probe is on,” a hospital where Rohit, 23, a na- senior police officer said. An tive of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli, FIR under BNS sections 281 was declared dead by doctors, (rash or negligent driving), while the other two injured per- 125(A) (act endangering life or sons, including Kapil and Lalit, personal safety of others), and are undergoing treatment, the 106(1) (causing death by neglipolice said. The car driver, Shi- gence) has been registered. E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi EXPRESS READ Airlines complete A320 software upgrades Indian carriers have completed the mandatory software upgrades on all A320 aircraft operating in the country, following an Airworthiness Directive issued to them. The software in the Elevator and Aileron Computer has been upgraded in the aircraft. MCD bypolls conclude with low turnout Bypolls held for 12 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi across 580 booths on Sunday saw a low voter turnout of just over 38.5% till 5.30 pm, when the voting ended. Chandni Mahal recorded the highest turnout at 55.93%, followed by Mundka at 44.5%. | P3 AMID complaints of inadequate time for voter-list verification, the Election Commission of India on Sunday extended the entire schedule of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by one week across nine states and three Union Territories. In an official statement, the ECI announced that the submission of enumeration forms, originally scheduled to conclude on December 4, will now continue until December 11. The draft electoral rolls will now be published on December 16 instead of December 9, and the final voters’ list on February 14, 2026, against the earlier deadline of February 7. The SIR is being rolled out in Goa, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. The Election Commission has come under scrutiny after reports of deaths and alleged suicides involving Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from multiple states, with Opposition parties linking the incidents to mounting work pressure during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls. According to reports, several BLOs, tasked with door-to-door verification, form collection and polling-station rationalisation, were working long hours to meet tight deadlines. The families and colleagues have alleged that the stress and work- House and urged the Rajya Sabha chairman to allow a discusTHE stage is set for a stormy sion on the SIR exercise on start to Parliament’s Winter Monday, the first day of the Session on Monday, with the Winter Session of Parliament, Opposition demanding a full said a source. discussion on the Special Inten“Opposition parties conveyed sive Revision of electoral rolls, that they want Parliament to while the ruling party is push- run smoothly They also sought . ing for a discussion on 150 years a short discussion on the urof Vande Mataram. gent need for further electoral During the Business Adviso- reforms at 2 pm on Monday If . ry Committee (BAC) the discussion is not meeting of the Rajya held, the government Sabha on Sunday, the must be held responsigovernment declined ble for disrupting Parto clarify whether any liament, they said,” The opposition debate would take parties feel if no the source said. place on the broader discussion is held A senior opposition topic of electoral re- on SIR, this means leader said they also forms, despite repeatthe government suggested titles, indoes not want ed demands from the cluding “urgent need Parliament to Opposition. for further electoral function Earlier, at an all-parreforms” or “urgent ty meeting, the Oppo- Pramod Tiwari, deputy n e e d t o f u r t h e r sition parties put up a leader of Oppn in RS strengthen integrity united front demandand transparency of ing discussions on SIR, electoral process” for labour codes and national secu- the discussion. “However, the rity. Parliamentary Affairs Parliamentary minister said Minister Kiren Rijiju had stat- they will get back,” he added. ed that the decision on a discusWhile the government is sion on the SIR would be taken pushing for a discussion on at the BAC meeting. Vande Mataram, Opposition At the BAC meeting chaired said they would not cooperate by Vice President and Rajya unless there is a debate on SIR Sabha Chair man C P Rad- or electoral reforms. hakrishnan, opposition leaders The government has listed 13 agreed to cooperate to ensure legislative bills and one finansmooth functioning of the cial bill for passage. | P7 P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Booth Level Officers assist a voter in filling out the enumeration form for the Special Intensive Revision, in Bikaner, Rajasthan | PTI load may have contributed to the deaths, prompting widespread outrage and demands for accountability . The sharpest attack came from the Trinamool Congress, which accused the Election Commission of having “blood on their hands,” arguing that the SIR timeline was “unrealistic” and had placed an unprec- 100% DIGITISATION IN LAKSHADWEEP Lakshadweep and Goa completed distribution of enumeration forms. The former also registered 100% digitisation of forms. Form distribution status in Rajasthan, Bengal, MP, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Andaman & Nicobar, and UP is over 99%, while it is over 98% in Kerala and TN, the EC said edented burden on field-level officials. A 10-member TMC delegation on Friday met with the EC and alleged that around 40 SIR-related deaths had occurred in West Bengal so far, accusing the poll panel chief of having “blood on his hands”. However, the EC has dismissed the charges. Other Opposition parties including Congress, DMK, CPI(M) and Samajwadi Party also questioned whether the EC had adequately assessed on-ground constraints before imposing the revised schedule. The Congress said the EC realised that the SIR cannot be completed in such a short time. Congress leader and party’s deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, told reporters that the EC and the Election Commission should shed ego and hold the exercise as per the schedule of 2003 when the last such exercise was held. Tech-led police reforms key for Viksit Bharat: PM Govt to bring E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged the police forces to change the way they work and are perceived by the public, stressing the need for greater professionalism, empathy and quicker response , time. Speaking on the last day of the 60th All India Conference of Director Generals and Inspector Generals of Police in Raipur, Modi pushed for innovative policing strate gies backed by technology . The three-day event at the Indian Institute of Management focused on ‘Viksit Bharat: Security Dimensions’ and brought together top police officers from across the country . Modi highlighted the benefits of linking data through the National Intelligence Grid with artificial intelligence to turn information into actionable intelligence that can help fight Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the last day of the conference of DGPs and IGPs in Raipur on Sunday on different aspects of India’s security infrastructure | X There’s a need to make effective use of databases integrated under NATGRID, and link these systems through AI to generate actionable intelligence — Narendra Modi, PM crime more effectively . The call from the PM to radically transform police infrastructure came on a day when 37 cadres of CPI (Maoist) relinquished their ideology and sur- rendered in Dantewada, about 400 km south of Raipur. Twenty-seven among them carried a cumulative bounty of `65 lakh, the Dantewada police said. Discussions ranged widely— from planning policing reforms up to 2047 to tackling terrorism, ensuring women’s safety through tech, bringing back Indian fugitives abroad, and improving forensic investigations. Modi also spoke about raising public awareness about new criminal laws that have replaced old colonial-era rules and the importance of monitoring banned groups while developing areas liberated from Left Wing Extremism. On natural disasters, the PM emphasised better disaster preparedness and coordination, especially with cyclones and floods. He said quick planning and team effort are key to saving lives and reducing damage. Modi also awarded the President’s Police Medals to Intelligence Bureau officers. More than 700 officers joined the event virtually with senior gov, ernment officials. Pak-backed terror module busted in Cong leader booked for city, 3 held for Punjab grenade attack targeting rape survivor E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @New Delhi CITYSCAPE CAPITAL’S BID TO DECONGEST ROADS A multilayered strategy to decongest the capital and involving massive road projects in all directions around its periphery is 69% complete | P4 THE Special Cell of Delhi Police has busted a Pakistan-backed terror module allegedly run by fugitive gangster-turned-terrorist Shahzad Bhatti. It arrested three key operatives accused of executing and facilitating a grenade attack outside the City Police Station in Punjab’s Gurdaspur on November 25. The Eastern Range of the Special Cell made the arrests following a multi-state surveillance operation spanning Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Officials seized a semi-automatic pistol, 10 live cartridges, and mobile phones containing incriminating chats and reconnaissance videos from their possession. Accord- ing to police, the three arrested persons—Vikas Prajapati, alias Betu, 19, Hargunpreet Singh, alias Gurkaranpreet, 19, and Asif alias Arish, 22—were radicalised and recruited by Bhatti through social media platforms. Investigators began tracking the network after intercepting online communication between Bhatti, who is believed to be operating from Pakistan, and Vikas, a labourer from Datia in Madhya Pradesh. The police said Vikas was wanted in an arms-smuggling case and later emerged as a key link in Bhatti’s alleged terror network. “After receiving instructions from Bhatti over Instagram and video calls, he al- legedly travelled to Gurdaspur to collect a parcel that was found to contain a grenade,” the police said. According to officials, Bhatti guided Vikas on how to activate the explosive and directed him to conduct recce of Gurdaspur City Police Station and Amritsar Town Hall Police Station. Vikas allegedly sent videos of the targets to Bhatti, after which he handed over the grenade to Hargunpreet and an associate and helped arrange a motorcycle. Hargunpreet, a 12th pass from Firozpur, allegedly executed the attack while riding pillion. Asif had also been given maps for a planned strike but was awaiting further directions. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Thiruvananthapuram THE Kerala cyber police has arrested activist Rahul Easwar and booked four others, including state Congress leader Sandeep Warrier, for allegedly unleashing cyberattacks against the woman who had filed a complaint against MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, accusing him of rape and forced termination of pregnancy . Rahul was detained on Sunday afternoon. His arrest was recorded later in the evening after sustained interrogation. He has been booked under BNS sections 72 and 79 and IT Act sections 43 and 46—for insulting the modesty of woman and revealing identity of the survi- vor. Rahul will be produced before the court on Monday . The cyber cops swung into action and registered cases against the five accused after a massive cyber attack was reported against the complainant. The three others who were booked are Mahila Congress leader Renjitha Pulickan, Deepa Joseph, and Deepa Mathew. The police action came following the survivor’s complaint, alleging that her personal details were being circulated on social media. As per the FIR, the accused shared the details of the woman, including her photographs, on Facebook and YouTube. The same sections have been invoked against all the accused. bill to impose 70% cess on tobacco D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi THE Central government is set to replace the Compensation Cess with a new levy of 70% or higher on tobacco and tobaccorelated products. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha on Monday to replace the existing GST Compensation Cess currently imposed on these products. Under the new Bill, tobacco and related products will attract a 70% cess over and above 40% GST, while cigarettes will face a specific cess ranging from `2,700 to `11,000 per thousand sticks, depending on length. The move is aimed at safeguarding tax revenues once the Compensation Cess is phased out. According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the Compensation Cess on tobacco and related products will be discontinued after all interest payments and loan liabilities under the cess account are fully settled. The amendment is intended to provide the government with fiscal space to increase the central excise duty on tobacco to “protect the tax incidence”. The proposed overhaul reflects the government’s intent to maintain the historically high tax burden on tobacco. Currently, tobacco, cigarettes and related items are taxed at 28% GST, plus a compensation cess of 5–290%. The FM will also introduce the Health Security and National Security Cess Bill, 2025, which proposes a new cess on pan masala and possibly other products to be notified later.