7th WEDNESDAY 04 RANK OBTAINED BY IIT-B IN EMPLOYER REPUTATION CATEGORY NOVEMBER, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard IISc BENGALURU, 5 IITs AMONG ASIA’s TOP 100 UNIVERSITIES A D M I S S I O N S D ATA HARVARD HOLDS ITS GROUND India continued to remain Asia’s second most represented higher education system, with 325 ranked universities, as per QS rankings A judge dismissed a lawsuit against Harvard University over its alleged failure to provide admissions records that the justice dept had demanded. All 6 institutes drop in y-o-y rankings A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 ‘STAY IN DELHI’ MHA suspends ACP day after joining protest outside HQ MUKESH RANJAN AND U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi ACP Manasvi Vashishtha, who has been in the eye of the storm due to his tiff with lawyers, was suspended by the Union Home Ministry on Tuesday. The suspension order came a day after hundreds of police personnel protested outside the Delhi Police headquarters, in which he also participated. The ministry announced that action against the 2019-batch DANIPS officer would take place with immediate effect due to “pending departmental proceedings against him”. He has also been directed not to leave the national capital without obtaining prior permission from the competent authority . Earlier, lawyers accused Vashishtha of misbehaving with them when they went to meet him to complain against the SHO of Shahadra police station. Lawyers in all districts courts in the city went on an indefinite strike after this incident, which was called off after the SHO and Vashishtha were transferred. Sources say the transfer led to anger within the police force and many personnel decided to protest at the police headquarters. Vashishtha said that the protest was organic and he had not called it. The bar association of the Rohini district courts called on lawyers to abstain from work on Tuesday over Vashishtha’s remarks against lawyers. However, they called it off after the ministry’s action. A group of lawyers urged the Delhi High Court to take suo motu cognisance of Vashishta’s conduct. The matter was mentioned before a bench of acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma. A PIL was filed later in the day . “Suspension is not a wrong action; it is a departmental action. I believe 100% that the system will do a fair inquiry and make a fair judgment,” Vashishtha said. J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi INDIA and Israel were the only two countries to vote against a United Nations General Assembly First Committee resolution on conventional arms control at regional and subregional levels, with New Delhi arguing that security concerns cannot be confined by geographical boundaries. The draft resolution, moved by Pakistan and Belarus, was adopted with 180 votes in favour, two against and no abstentions in the 193-member world organistation.  J8.00  PAGES 12 Explaining India’s vote, Anmol Sher Bedi, First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, said conventional arms control was a global issue and should not be addressed primarily through regional and subregional frameworks. “We read this request with a certain degree of curiosity,” Bedi said, questioning the need for further deliberations on a subject that had already been extensively discussed within the UN Disarmament Commission. The resolution argues that conventional ar ms control should primarily be pursued at regional and subregional levels, noting that most threats to peace and security in the postRegional security India opposed a draft resolution paragraph on arms control in South Asia, which noted regional initiatives like consultation among Latin American nations, and its use for regional security Cold War era arise among countries within the same geographical regions. It also calls for agreements aimed at strengthening regional peace and security while maintaining armaments and military forces at the lowest possible levels. Bedi pointed out that the Commission had adopted three consensus outcomes on the subject: guidelines and recommendations on regional disarmament in 1993, guidelines on conventional arms control and disarmament in 1999, and rec- ommendations on practical confidence-building measures involving conventional weapons in 2017. “We fail to understand why a subject already deliberated at length needs another round of deliberation unless the aim is to keep the UN disarmament machinery busy Bedi said. ,” India also objected to the resolution’s emphasis on maintaining a balance in defence capabilities within specific regions, arguing national security concerns often extend beyond geographical limits. SC: No one can occupy a protest site indefinitely Says protests must be time-bound, directs traders to implead INDIA bloc in their plea day but they remained in Jantar Mantar for 17 days. In their plea, the trades arTHE Supreme Court on Tues- gued that the Opposition parday said everyone has the right ties’ protests against the Speto protest but no individual or cial Intensive Revision have led organisation can occupy a pro- to traffic diversions, police bartest site indefinitely as it will ricading and restricted access deny the right of others to shops, causing huge to use the venue. financial losses to small “You cannot occupy a shops and businesses. site for all times. Where The plea sought direcwill farmers, journaltions to shift the protest ists, etc go? The desigto an alternative site or nated sites must be givlimit the duration of en for a designated the demonstration. ‘Implead period,” said a bench organisers’ S e n i o r a dvo c a t e of Chief Justice Surya Mukul Rohtagi, appearKant and justices Joy- SC directed the ing for Kirana Commitm a lya B a g ch i a n d traders’ body to tee Delhi, said: “We implead the V Mohana, while emhave lost thousands of organisers of phasising that the right crores. Nobody is able protests at to protest must be balto do business in ConRamlila anced against the rights naught Place. ThouMaidan, be it of others, including sands of auxiliary traders and daily-wage political parties workers connected to or social workers. these businesses are The bench was hear- organisations, without jobs as sales as parties to ing a litany of petitions are down in the middle the petition including one filed by of the festive season.” Kirana Committee DelRohtagi said busihi, which alleged that traders nesses have suffered losses runsuffered huge loss of business ning into thousands of crores due to the protests. and sought a two-month restricSolicitor General Tushar Me- tion on protests, especially durhta, appearing for the Centre ing the festive season. and Delhi Police, said the CockThe court asked him to imroach Janta Party’s protest in plead the organisers of the proJuly was permitted only for one tests as parties to the plea. S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi mented on the ground? People are openly selling banned crackers,” the CJI observed orally . “WHAT is the point of passing The SC sought response from orders if they are not imple- the Centre, Delhi government, m e n t e d ? ” t h e S u p r e m e Delhi Police and CAQM on the Court said on Tuesday , kind of steps taken to pointing to the unreenforce its directions. stricted sale of fireThe bench also asked crackers in Delhi marthe authorities to conkets despite the ban. duct surprise inspecAsking the Centre to tions in wholesale and ensure compliance, a retail markets and seize bench comprising CJI banned crackers to enCrackers Surya Kant and Justicsure the stop of the sale on Diwali es Joymalya Bagchi of banned crackers. and Vipul M Pancholi The SC sought The SC had earlier altook note of a media re- response from lowed the sale and the Centre, port on the open sale of bursting of only green Delhi govt, crackers in markets firecrackers with repolice and ahead of Diwali. duced emissions durThe bench said it had CAQM to check ing limited hours on air pollution. passed clear orders reDiwali. The bench had stricting the sale and directed police to enbursting of firecrackers other sure strict compliance and take than green ones in Delhi-NCR action against violators. On to curb air pollution. Tuesday the SC noted that trad, “You have to ensure compli- ers were reportedly selling ance. What is the point of pass- banned varieties brought from ing orders if they aren’t imple- neighbouring states. @ New Delhi NEW DELHI India votes against Pak’s UNGA arms resolution NO POINT IN PASSING ORDERS WITHOUT ENFORCEMENT: SC S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y  According to the London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), IIT-Delhi was ranked 59th last year and slipped to 66th this year, followed by IISc Bengaluru, which was 64th last year and is 79th now. IIT-Bombay fell from 71st to 83rd, IIT-Madras from 70th to 85th, IIT-Kharagpur fell from 77th to 90th, and IIT-Kanpur fell from 77th to 97th | P4 & P7 TRUMP’S MIDTERM TEST Voters wait to cast their ballots in the Queens borough of New York on Election Day, Tuesday. Americans voting in the midterm elections will decide who gets to control Congress for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, along with dozens of governorships and thousands of state offices. The first results are expected from 6 pm EST (4:30 am IST Wednesday) | AP | P9 S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai THE Bombay High Court on Tuesday slammed BJP leaders for their remarks against actor Dia Mirza and her video message for a peaceful and pollution-free Diwali posted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on the HC’s orders. Stating that India is a secular country the HC said politicians , should not give a religious colour to awareness campaigns. A division bench of justices Girish Kulkarni and Dr Neela Gokhale, taking suo moto cognisance of the issue, said it was “disturbed by the stray com- ments made by some politi- awareness on the harmful efcians” against Mirza, who had fects of firecrackers and need participated in the campaign in to follow the restrictions imaccordance with its posed by the court. directions. The court Referring to the Sudirected the BMC, preme Court’s obserwhich had taken down vation that Diwali is the video after the recelebrated by people marks by BJP leaders, irrespective of their to re-upload the video caste or religion, the on its social media HC questioned the handles. logic behind objecting The bench asked to Mirza’s participaDia Mirza why the actor’s partion on religious ticipation in an awaregrounds. ness campaign should become The HC said Mirza delivered a matter of religious controver- a “really good message” and sy and stressed that the cam- warned leaders against spinpaign was intended to create ning any other angle. Mirza Court grants MP protection from arrest in sexual harassment case Warfare has changed, modernisation of Armed Forces a top priority: Singh A Delhi court on Tuesday granted protection from arrest to Congress MP and JNU professor Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, accused in a sexual harassment case. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh said that no coercive action would be taken against Akoijam till the next date of hearing, i.e., on November 5. P4 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has stressed on the urgent need for the modernisation of the armed forces and new military structures. While chairing a meeting in Jaisalmer on Tuesday, he said the role of technologies like drones, missiles and air defence systems is rapidly increasing in modern warfare. Haryana landowners to get 50% of saleable area as Saini tweaks policy THE Haryana cabinet on Tuesday approved the Land Pooling Policy 2026, replacing the exist, ing 2022 variant. It said that the new policy would facilitate landowners’ participation in development projects. The 2026 policy has the provision that landowners be offered 50% of the total saleable area of a project as per the approved layout plan, while the remaining 50% would be retained by the development agency. The earlier provisions linking the landowners’ share to market value have been removed. E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi A 33-year-old flyer who tried to open the emergency door of an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Pune has been booked for endangering the life of his co-passengers, police said on Tuesday . The incident took place Indigo flight 6E 6884, which took off from IGIA at 12.26 am on Monday, with over 200 passengers. The incident happened within 20 minutes after take-off. The accused has been identified as Gaurav Satyendra Rautela. Police said Rautela was seated on 19D (next to the emergency door). “Despite being aware that the life and personal safety of other passengers in the flight was in danger, he attempted to open the door,” an FIR lodged under Section 25 (unauthorised interference with the aircraft equipment) of of the Aircraft Act 1937 and Section 125 (negligent act which endangers human life or personal safety) of BNS, stated. “The passenger was declared unruly and handed over to relevant authorities as per standard procedures,” sources in IndiGo told this newspaper. News reports quoting police in Pune said that the passenger had tried to open the emergency exit “out of curiosity”. The flyer’s act activated the electronic sensor on the door giving anxious moments to the crew. The sensor when activated sends a safety alert both inside the cockpit and the cabin. HC raps netas over Dia Mirza’s awareness video EXPRESS READ H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh 33-yr-old flyer booked for trying to open emergency exit Actual area determination The actual area allotted will be determined in proportion to the land contributed. Commercial plots as kiosks or booths will be allotted, as applicable, where the land contribution exceeds 2,000 square metres. The policy provides annual interim financial support of `1 lakh per acre, proportionate to the land contributed, for four years from the date of registration of the sale deed. If the amount is not transferred within 15 days of the execution of the sale deed, the landowner will be entitled to simple interest at 9% per annum for the period of delay . The new policy mandates that the development agency completes building infrastructure facilities within four years from the date of final approval of the project, failing which the land will revert to landowners. The minimum sizes of developed plots to be offered to landowners have been fixed at 100 square metres for residential plots, 250 square metres for industrial plots and 500 square metres for institutional plots. made the video at the BMC’s request as part of its effort to spread awareness about HC’s directions prohibiting bursting of crackers on streets. The BMC had also posted videos by actor Madhuri Dixit and former cricketer Ajinkya Rahane on its social media handles. However, BJP’s Mumbai unit chief Amit Satam and Mayor Ritu Tawde objected to Mirza’s participation, labelling her “anti-Hindu”. On Tuesday, Satam claimed he had not opposed Mirza on the basis of caste and religion, but he had the right to “speak against the people who speak against India”. TN man killed as copters collide near Everest camp G A U T H A M S E LV A R A J A N @ Chennai TWO helicopters collided on Tuesday while trying to land just below Mount Everest’s base camp, killing Vasanth Kumar (47) of Chennai and injuring three others at Pheriche village, which is located at an altitude of 4,200 metres (13,780 feet), in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district. Vasanth’s fellow passenger Shailesh Krishna Patel from New Zealand and Nepalese pilots Rabindra Prajapati (Fishtail Air) and Prajwal KC (Dynasty Air), who were injured, were taken to Kathmandu for treatment. The two helicopters collided around 8.11 am (local time). Vasanth’s mortal remains were sent to Kathmandu for a postmortem. Anxiety gripped Vasanth’s house in Chennai as shocking visuals of the chopper crash flashed across news channels. The cries of Vasanth’s parents Balaramanadu (80), mother Parameshwari (74) and maternal grandparents from their firstfloor house could be heard on Rescue workers inspect the mangled wreckage of the helicopter at Pheriche in Nepal on Tuesday | PTI the street. Vasanth’s annual trip to India was just a month away . Roughly 12,000 km away in Canada, Vasanth’s wife, Anal Chauhan, and their 12-year-old son, Vivaan, were also left in shock. Vasanth, the elder of Balaramanadu’s two sons, worked at a software company in Bengaluru before moving to Canada with his wife and son eight years ago. Anal worked at an oil and gas company there, while Vasanth was taking care of Vivaan, who is on the autism spectrum, Kishore, a family friend said.