TUESDAY SAYANTAN GHOSH 10 FEBRUARY, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard OUTRAGE HK JAILS EX-MEDIA TYCOON FOR 20 YRS Jimmy Lai, a critic of Beijing, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the longest punishment given so far under a China-imposed national security law. PAGE 9 DUTCH PREPARATIONS FOR T20 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Won’t allow any impediments in Bengal SIR: SC Election Commission alleges deliberate attempt to paralyse the process in the state S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y must go that the Constitution applies to all states,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearIN the wake of West Bengal ing for the Centre, said. Chief Minister Mamata BanerThe affidavit alleged that dejee’s apprehension of “mass liberate attempts were being exclusion” of voters in the Spe- made to derail, paralyse and cial Intensive Revision (SIR) of frustrate the SIR exercise in electoral rolls in the state, the West Bengal. “The actions demSupreme Court on Monday said onstrate complicity of the key it would not allow anyone to actors of the state, including create an impediment in the the state government, certain roll revision exercise. elected representaA bench comprising tives of the ruling parChief Justice Surya ty and party function, Kant and justices Joyaries,” it said. malya Bagchi and N V The bench also took Anjaria said they note of the West Benwould issue whatever gal government proorders or clarificaviding a list of 8,505 tions are required in Group B officers to the the matter. “We will ECI, and said they not allow anyone to may be trained and create any impediemployed in the SIR ment in the SIR exer- ECI has discretion process. It added that to replace EROs cise. It must be clear to the final decision on and use officers the states,” the CJI roll revision will alwho have now said while hearing a ways be taken by elecbeen placed at batch of petitions, intoral roll officers, and their service, cluding the one by that the manner of subject to their Mamata, related to the employment and work suitability SIR in West Bengal. profile of these 8,505 CJI Surya Kant-led The bench directed officers will be decidthree judge bench the extension of deaded by the poll panel. line for the scrutiny of Senior advo c at e documents and objections by at Shyam Divan, for Mamata, least for a week from February shared concerns about the ap14 — the scheduled date for pointment of micro-observers publication of the final list. and mass exclusion of voters in Taking note of an affidavit the SIR exercise. Divan argued filed by the Election Commis- that an extra-legal role has been sion (EC) which alleged mass given to the micro-observers. burning of its notices by some Justice Bagchi observed that miscreants, the bench directed ECI’s software was restrictive. the Director General of Police He cited instances of people (DGP) to file an affidavit. The getting notices over omission poll panel said that so far, no of ‘Kumar’ from their names, FIR has been registered against which is often the middle name the miscreants. “A message of Bengalis. @ New Delhi  NEW DELHI New tax rules Income Tax Rules, 2026, once notified, will replace I-T Rules 1962. The draft rules and forms for 2026 have been released PAN Mandatory for annual cash deposits/withdrawals exceeding `10 lakh Not required for hotel bills below `1 lakh  J8.00 Key dates Public feedback to be accepted till February 22 Final draft to be notified in March 1st week New rules to take effect from April 1 Easy to follow Simplified language, smart pre-filled forms Formulas, tables provided wherever necessary `5 lakh threshold for quoting PAN for purchase of vehicles, motorcycles I-T Rules 1962 Mandatory for immovable property priced above `20 lakh Draft I-T Rules 2026 Contains 511 rules and 399 forms Contains 333 rules and 190 forms WHAT’S NEW: Crypto exchanges to share info with tax dept. Central Bank Digital Currency accepted mode of e-payment  PAGES 12 Netherlands during practice ahead of their first T20 World Cup match against Namibia at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday. The two teams will play each other on Tuesday. India, who beat the USA by 29 runs in the first match on February 7, will play Namibia on February 12 in Group A. In first match of the tournament, Netherlands had a dream start against Pakistan but faltered towards the end losing the match by three wickets | P11 NEW I-T ACT FROM APR, OLD FORMS FOR 2026-27 P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi THE tax department is set to notify the new rules and updated return forms under the Income Tax Act, 2025 by the first week of March. However, several changes—especially those relating to data sharing and third-party reporting—will come into effect only in subsequent years, senior officials said. While the new tax framework will come into force from April 1, 2026, income tax returns for assessment year 2026-27 will continue to be filed using the existing forms prescribed under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The draft I-T Rules and Forms, 2026 have been released and the department has invited comments from stakeholders. “By February 22, we will receive the responses. In parallel, we will work on them for about a week, and then take another week to incorporate the required changes. By the first week of March, we expect to notify the rules,” an official said. On technological preparedness, officials said there will be an interplay between the 1961 Act and the new provisions for some time. “The forms will continue to be editable and largely pre-filled,” they added. At present, around 12 crore individuals pay taxes but only 9 crore file returns. Oppn readies no-trust against Speaker P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Conciliatory move WITH the Lok Sabha standoff showing no signs of easing, the Opposition on Monday moved a step closer to tabling a resolution to sack Speaker Om Birla for not allowing Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi to speak in the House during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address. Sources said the Congress has already gathered signatures of 102 MPs in support of the resolution. However, a final call on moving the motion is expected on Tuesday as the Oppo, sition is waiting to see whether the government or the Speaker makes any conciliatory move. The resolution mentions three grounds, denial of opportunity to the LoP to speak on the Motion of Thanks on national security, Speaker’s failure to initiate action against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey over allegations against Congress women MPs, and the suspension of eight MPs. In a bid to break the deadlock, Rahul, accompanied by TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and DMK leader T R Baalu, met Birla soon after the House was ad- A final call on the resolution to sack Speaker Om Birla may be taken on Tuesday, as the Opposition is waiting to see whether the government makes any conciliatory move. The resolution mentions denial of opportunity to the LoP to speak on the Motion of Thanks, no action against Nishikant Dubey, and suspension of eight MPs. journed on Monday following repeated disruptions. They told the Speaker they were prepared for a discussion, provided the LoP was allowed to speak. Sources said Birla told the leaders that he would discuss the matter with the government and get back to them. Rahul told the Speaker that he wanted to raise the issue of the suspension of eight Congress MPs and allegations levelled against women MPs, the sources said. If the Opposition fails to get a favourable reply, a notice could be given on Tuesday under Article 94(c) of the Constitution to move a resolution for the Speaker’s removal. If moved, this will be the fourth such notice against a Speaker. P7 FIR against leak of Gen Naravane’s book N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi DELHI Police has registered a case in connection with the alleged leak of former Army chief General M M Naravane’s book ‘Four Stars of Destiny’ in PDF version. The police took cognisance of information circulating on various social media platforms and online news forums, which spoke about the availability of book PDFs. The Special Cell of the Delhi Police will investigate the case. The availability of the book in any form runs contrary to the law, as the Centre has not yet cleared it for publication. “It was found that a PDF copy of a type-set book with the same title, and apparently prepared by M/s Penguin Random House India Pvt Ltd, is available on some sites and, also, some online marketing platforms have displayed the finished book cover as if it is available for purchase,” the police said. It added that the case was registered to carry out a “thorough investigation into this purported leak/breach of a yetto-be-approved publication”. The publisher’s website shows the book as published in January 2024 with a price of `699. But its sale links on Amazon and Flipkart were dead. The contents of Gen Naravane’s memoir became controversial when the Opposition, particularly LoP Rahul Gandhi , raised the description of the events of the 2020 Indo-China stand-off in Ladakh in Parliament. The book purportedly discusses the events in detail and Gandhi attempted to quote from the unpublished memoir before he was stopped. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other BJP leaders said that the book hadn’t yet been published, so the references to it by Gandhi could not be allowed to be quoted in the House. U-turn as Pak to play India in T20 WC E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai THE Pakistan government on Monday directed its team to play the upcoming T20 World Cup game against India in Colombo on February 15. “In view of the outcomes achieved in multilateral discussions, as well as the request of friendly countries, the Government of Pakistan hereby directs the Pakistan National Cricket Team to take the field on February 15, 2026, for its scheduled fixture in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” the government posted on X. Pakistan had earlier opted to boycott the game to stand in solidarity with Bangladesh after the latter’s request to play their games outside India was rejected. But after hectic parleys and back-channel lobbying, including with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), ICC and the governments of Sri Lanka, UAE and other member nations, PM Shehbaz Sharif asked the team to play . Earlier, the BCB also requested Pakistan to play the game keeping in mind the wider cricketing ecosystem. The ICC, too, in a conciliatory statement said no financial sanctions would be imposed on the BCB. ‘Following my short visit to Pakistan yesterday (Sunday),” board president, Md Aminul Islam said in a release via the BCB on Monday “and given the , forthcoming outcomes of our discussions, I request Pakistan to play the ICC T20 World Cup game on 15 February against India for the benefit of the ent i re c r i cke t e c o s y s t e m . ” Both India and Pakistan have won their Group A matches on P11 February 7. Today’s Matches 11am: Netherlands vs Namibia (New Delhi), 3pm: New Zealand vs UAE (Chennai), 7pm: Pakistan vs USA (Colombo) After chief ’s death, Confident Group clean chit to taxmen E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Kochi SEYCHELLES OUTREACH PM Narendra Modi on Monday held wide-ranging talks with Seychelles President Patrick Herminie and announced $175 million package for the nation. | PTI | P7 CONFIDENT Group managing director T A Joseph on Monday refuted allegations of harassment by income tax officials and said the inspections conducted at the group’s premises last month were routine. In the first press conference after the death of Confident Group chairman C J Roy, who shot himself dead on January 30 while I-T inspections were on at the group’s office in Bengaluru, Joseph rejected talks of violations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), asserting that the company has zero liability and that all its projects in Kerala and other locations were progressing without any disruption. “To my knowledge, Confi- dent Group has not faced any harassment from I-T officials. They treated us with respect. Routine GST inspections have also taken place in the past,” he said. Joseph said that he could not comment on Roy’s death, citing strict directions from the SIT, Karnataka. “I worked with Roy for over 20 years. He was a great motivator and a strong brand builder with over 40 lakh followers on social media,” Joseph said. On queries regarding the statements by Roy’s brother, Babu Roy who had alleged that , the chairman was under stress due to I-T harassment, Joseph dismissed the claim. “We were with Roy all the time, and personally, I do not feel that he faced any harassment. Roy was not someone who would tolerate harassment,” Joseph said. Referring to “misleading in- formation” being circulated about the group, Joseph said that it had created concern among clients. “Our projects are progressing smoothly, and Confident Group is a zero-debt company We have never cheat. ed anyone,” he said while rejecting reports film personalities had invested in the firm. Highlighting the firm’s performance during Covid, Joseph said the group had continued operations without slowdown. SC warns against parallel trials, asks Law student kills girl in classroom, then shoots self HC to decide Sengar plea in 3 months H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi WARNING lawyers engaged in conducting a parallel trial outside the court in Kuldip Sengar case, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to the expelled BJP leader and directed the Delhi High Court to hear his criminal appeal within three months in the case of the custodial death of the Unnao rape victim’s father. The three-judge bench, headed by CJI Surya Kant and including Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N V Anjaria, also declined to suspend Sengar’s jail sentence in the case, as it upheld the HC order against suspension. The HC had convicted and sentenced him to 10 years in jail in the custodial death of the Unnao rape victim’s father. “Why do we suspend a jail sentence? Only when we are uncertain about the time that will be taken in deciding the appeal,” the bench said, after noting the period of incarceration alone is not the sole criterion for suspension of sentence, especially when the appeal is already listed for a final hearing. The bench also came down heavily on the attempts made by some lawyers to influence the court proceedings outside the court through public commentary The court . said, “As a Chief Justice of India, I can’t tolerate these things. You are arguing here, and at the same time conducting a parallel trial outside the court. This is not acceptable. If you indulge in this kind of drama, there will be consequences.” A first-year woman law student was allegedly shot in the head by her male classmate inside a classroom at a private college in Tarn Taran district of Punjab, as their horrified friends watched. After shooting the woman, the man turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger. The woman has died, while her assailant is said to be in a critical state. The incident took place at Mai Bhago Law College in Usma village of Tarn Taran and was captured on a CCTV network. The police have zeroed in on the relationship angle after initial investigation. The shooter has been identified as 20-year old Prince Raj and his victim as 19-year-old Sandeep Kaur. Sources said that the CCTV footage shows Prince, Sandeep and another woman student to be in the classroom along with a few others. Then suddenly, Prince got up from his desk and shot Sandeep before shooting himself in the head and fell on the floor. A few students could be seen entering the classroom on hearing the gunfire, but ran away after seeing Sandeep lying in a pool of blood. Sandeep’s mother Harjinder Kaur said that she was told to reach the college by the management. “I was not told that Police probing relationship angle The first-year law student was shot in the head by her male classmate and then the man turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger. Police have zeroed in on the relationship angle after initial investigation. my child was shot. When I reached the college, I found her lying motionless,” she said and questioned how a student could enter the college with a weapon. “My daughter was engaged some time back. This boy had been troubling her and reached our house too,’’ she added. Tarn Taran SSP Surendra Lamba said that a “friendship angle” appears to be the primary lead. “We have seized the mobile phones of both students and sent them for forensic examination to understand the nature of their relationship and the events leading up to the shooting,” he said. The police have collected CCTV footage from the college and are recording the statements of students and staff, he added. There are conflicting reports about the accused’s condition. Nachachhattar Singh, the sarpanch of his village, claimed that Prince has died, but cops maintain that he is critical.