TUESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard KEY INFRA SECTORS’ GROWTH SLOWS TO THREE-MONTH LOW OF 4.8% IN AUGUST RUSSIA The output of nine sectors slowed to 4.8% in August amid fall in coal, natural gas, crude oil and fertiliser production, official data showed PUTIN’S PARTY SET TO RETAIN POWER Putin’s United Russia party won a record supermajority in the Duma after a tightly controlled election concluded without parties critical of the Kremlin PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  Sonia’s poll roll entry case back under judiciary’s lens PAK JETS ATTACK AT AFGHAN BORDER 28 people have been killed as Pakistani jets bombed terror sites on Afghan border on Monday, days after Pakistan warned of retaliation | P9 PRESSINTAKE Russian oil law blow to US-India relations, says Kugelman | P7 Bihar Class X student molested, dragged on road by mob | P8 105 incidents of donation thefts in Ayodhya temple: SIT to SC | P7 A Delhi court on Monday set aside a magistrate’s order that had declined to direct a probe into allegations that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s name was entered in the electoral roll three years before acquiring Indian citizenship in 1983, and sent back the matter for fresh consideration. Special Judge Vishal Gogne, while hearing a revision petition by advocate Vikas Tripathi, vice-president of the Central Delhi Court Bar Association at Rouse Avenue courts, held that the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) had passed a “non-speaking order” that “suffers from a manifest error in law”. Tripathi’s complaint alleges that Sonia’s name was unlawfully entered in the electoral roll of the New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency in 1980, Casual dismissal The court said rather than finding if the allegations constituted a cognisable offence, the ACJM “casually dismissed the extract of the electoral roll as being a photocopy of the photocopy of uncertified roll of 1980.” though she acquired citizenship only on April 30, 1983. The name was deleted in 1982 but re-entered in 1983, before she became a citizen, the complaint said. “An order of the court must maintain fidelity towards the law, and not flirt with facts,” the judge said. “The sanctity of the electoral roll is an article of faith for 43 million Korean won (Around `17 to `18 lakh) The amount went missing from Indian embassy’s bank account in Soul between 2005 and 2008 every citizen in a parliamentary democracy Gogne said any .” allegation of fraudulent inclusion of a non-citizen or use of false documents “merits a reasoned order”. The judge said the ACJM did not discuss the sequence of inclusion, deletion and re-inclusion of Sonia’s name in 1980, 1982 and 1983. He also found that the magistrate did not hear the police or call for a status report, as Section 175(3) of the BNSS requires before ordering an investigation. The magistrate also failed to weigh two options open in law: directing an FIR, or examining complainant and witnesses. The matter, posted for September 29, was sent back to ACJM court for a fresh hearing. Faculty forum backs professor IN the face of student protests, IIT-Bombay on Monday apologised and withdrew its earlier statements on the death of Sahil Wakode. It also removed Suryanarayana Doolla, booked for abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST Act, from the post of Dean of Administrative Affairs. The institute on Saturday claimed that Sahil, a secondyear engineering student, had been caught using ChatGPT by Doolla in an exam hours before he died by suicide. The Maharashtra government has handed the probe into the death to the IIT-Bombay’s Faculty Forum on Monday issued a statement backing Doolla (pic), saying he was merely carrying out his duties under Senateapproved academic regulations. The IIT Madras Faculty Association too expressed solidarity with Doolla while condoling the death of Sahil Wakode Mumbai Crime Branch. In a statement posted on X on Monday the institute said, “We , apologise for the statements contained in our earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahil.” “In view of the ongoing investigation, it was inappropriate to have set out or character- ised details relating to the events preceding his demise before they had been duly established through the appropriate investigative process,” the institute said. IIT-Bombay also clarified that its director, Shireesh Kedare, had not resigned. The institute has agreed to discuss and act on an 18-point charter EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi A 31-year-old inmate was stabbed to death by two fellow prisoners with a sharp-edged weapon when he was returning to his barrack on Monday The . incident took place in Central Jail No. 10 of Rohini. Police were informed by BSA Hospital regarding the admission of a jail inmate, who had sustained stab injuries and was declared brought dead, a senior police officer said. Pradeep, alias Mohinder, was lodged in Barrack No. 203. He sustained stab injuries on his neck, DCP (outer north) Shobhit Saksena said. A police team examined the footage of the CCTV cameras installed in the jail and registered a case at Samaypur Badli police station. This is not the only crime of this nature, where prisoners have lost lives. In 2023, gangster DELHI HC GETS 7 NEW JUDGES, STRENGTH INCREASES TO 50 Tillu Tajpuriya was killed by four assailants in Tihar Jail. He was involved in over 11 criminal cases in Delhi and Haryana that included the 2021 Rohini court shootout in which gangster Jitender Gogi was gunned down. In May 2024, an inmate was stabbed to death by another in jail number 3 of Tihar jail while lunch was being served to the prisoners. An argument broke out between two inmates—Deepak Soni (29) and Afghan national Abdul Bashir Akhondzada (44)—over food. Abdul stabbed Deepak with an improvised sharpedged weapon, leading to his death. In August 2015, a 30-year-old undertrial prisoner at Tihar Jail was killed by four other inmates. In June 2020, a prisoner in Tihar jail stabbed another inmate to death to avenge the rape of his sister. Seven new judges on Monday swore-in in the Delhi High Court, increasing its strength to 50, with Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya administering the oath | P3 ENQUIRIES DONE BY CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION MEA DEPARTMENTAL PROCEEDINGS 25 CHEQUES USED TO FRAUDULENTLY CENTRAL WITHDRAW ADMINISTRATIVE THE AMOUNT TRIBUNAL Amount mismatch on cheques and cash book Fake signatures of attaché S U M I T K U M A R S I N G H @ New Delhi IT is a mystery that has now dragged on for 18 years. Between 2005 and 2008, around 43 million Korean Won, roughly `17 to `18 lakh at the time went missing from the bank account of the Indian embassy in Seoul. The money was withdrawn through 25 cheques. And despite an inquiry by the Ministry of External Affairs, a CBI investigation, departmental proceedings and now a triCAT quashes bunal order, one basic question remains dismissal unanswered: where did the money go? The latest twist The latest twist came earlier this in the case came month, when the Central Administrative earlier this month Tribunal quashed the dismissal of an when the Central embassy official who had been held reAdministrative sponsible for the alleged embezzlement. Tribunal quashed MEA officially said that Won 43,269,861 the dismissal of an had been withdrawn through 25 cheques. official who had Three embassy officials came under inbeen held guilty vestigation Assistant, later Assistant for the alleged Section Officer, Thomte Thangchinkhup; embezzlement. Drawing and Disbursing Officer and Attaché (Administration) D Banerjee; and Head of Chancery TW Sherpa. The MEA said some of the cheques carried amounts that didn’t match the cash book, while others contained fake signatures of Banerjee. A handwriting expert, the ministry said, found that the dates and amounts on the cheques were written by Thangchinkhup, although the signatures were not genuine. But Thangchinkhup told a different story His lawyer told . the tribunal that he had dealt with only three cheques, writing them on Banerjee’s verbal instructions, withdrawing the cash and handing it directly to Banerjee. The other 22 cheques, he said, were handled by Banerjee “himself or through somebody else” about which he had “no idea.” The ministry claimed that Thangchinkhup confessed to the embezzlement in November and December 2008. He said the confession was obtained under threat. The ministry lawyer “categorically denied” that allegation. CONTINUED ON P4 of demands raised by student protestors, following a latenight meeting between Kedare and protesters on Sunday . The 18 demands include suspension of Doolla, who was invigilating the exam, an independent inquiry with student and external representation, greater administrative accountability, mental-health reforms, and assurances that no action will be taken against protesting students. Sahil’s is the fourth death by suicide at IIT-Bombay in seven months. His father Ravindra Wakode has alleged that his son had been subjected to caste discrimination. Inmate stabbed to death by 2 prisoners in Rohini jail, kin allege negligence ARTICLE 22(1), (2) No trace of Seoul mission money heist after 18 yrs IIT-Bombay apologises for cheating charge on Sahil S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai PAGES 12 Production of coal, natural gas, crude oil, and fertiliser contracted by 3.8%, 4.9%, 3.6% and 12.4% respectively, compared to the same period last year. Output in the refinery products, steel, and iron ore sectors grew, albeit at slower rates of 2.6%, 3.4% and 5.5% respectively, as against 3.4%, 15.3% and 7.9% in August 2025, the government data showed | P10 OFFICIAL SECRET Special judge raps magistrate’s ruling, says it mustn’t flirt with facts U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi 5-6% PREDICTED DROP IN THE INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL FOUR SECTORS REGISTER NEGATIVE GROWTH SC adds more safeguards for re-arrest S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi IN a far-reaching order, the Supreme Court on Monday said if a person is not informed of the grounds of his arrest in writing and in a language understood by the accused, it would amount to a violation of his fundamental rights, rendering the arrest illegal. “An arrested person must be provided the grounds of arrest by the probe agency at the time of arrest and it must be in written from and in language understandable to the arrested person,” said a two-judge bench of justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul Chandurkar. The court, further, ruled disciplinary proceedings be initiated against any police officer who arrests a person without furnishing the grounds of arrest in writing. The court made these observations while holding as illegal the arrest of Jaskaranjit Singh, Shiromani Akali Dalaffiliated Mullanpur Dakha constituency in-charge, in a case of alleged sexual assault of a minor. The court said the grounds of arrest were not furnished to Singh, adding its orders have to be followed for offences even under PMLA and UAPA cases. It also held that police must seek a magistrate’s permission to re-arrest a person released by a court for not furnishing grounds of arrest in writing. Articles 22(1) and 22(2) of the Constitution, which say no person can be arrested without being provided grounds of arrest, and that every person arrested be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, can’t be tinkered with, the court said. ROW IN ROWING CAMP AFTER CHANGES IN ELEVENTH HOUR I ALL SMILES (From left) Himanshu Dhillon, Rudrankksh Patil and Parth Rakesh Mane after winning silver medal in the 10 metre rifle men’s team event in the ongoing 20th Asian Games 2026, in Nagoya, Japan on Monday | PTI | P11 F true, this is something unheard of during any Games, let alone something as big as the Asian Games. The athletes are confused and have threatened to stay away from practice if the need arises. According to sources, some of the rowers have been shifted from their pet events while another athlete, a reserve at first, is in line to feature. This seemingly happened after the morning practice on Monday . A small recap. Initially, the rowing events were scheduled to start on Monday However, with an im. pending weather system threatening to hit the city the , start was pushed back to Wednesday. Meanwhile, the team management shunted INDRANEEL DAS EXPRESS @ ASIAN GAMES NAGOYA athletes from one category to other, which according to some, is not possible because the rules do not allow it. Though there is a section that says changing team composition is a norm depending on the conditions. Officials close to the development said the case is not what it looks like. There is another section that says things might change on Tuesday as combinations have not been finalized yet. A top official explained that the change was made in consultation with the foreign coach Antony John Patterson. The logic is simple. The schedule got truncated because of the presence of a typhoon. In a late development here, officials are even saying that the number of combinations may reduce by Tuesday . One of the officials said that they made the changes to increase the chances of winning medals. “Because the tournament days have been reduced, it would be impossible for the rowers to compete multiple times since rowing is an exhausting sport,” said one official. “The change in combination was based on the truncated schedule and the weather conditions,” said an official who is part of the team. P11 ALTERNATIVE ROUTE Not official entry, but Angh enters Oscars race with Toronto win B H H A R S H @ Mumbai Had lost out to Marathi film Gondhal as official pick NAGALAND film Angh, which was in the running for India’s official Oscar entry but lost to Gondhal, has now earned a direct qualification for the 99th Academy Awards after it won the Platform Prize at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The Platform jury, led by filmmaker Pablo Trapero, awarded the film the festival’s top prize in the section. Angh, directed by Naga filmmaker Theja Rio, had lost out to Marathi film Gondhal, directed by Santosh Davakhar, in the race to become India’s official entry for the Oscars 2027. Another film in the running was Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga. The 99th Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles in March next year Under the new eligibility rules introduced by the Academy this year, any non-English language film can enter the International Feature Film Competition if it wins a designated award at any one of the six prominent international film festivals — the Golden Bear for Best Film at Berlin, the Busan Award for Best Film at Busan, the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, the Plat- form Award at Toronto and the Golden Lion at Venice. With its Platform Award at Toronto, Angh now stands eligible for a nomination in the International Feature Film category next year at the 99th Academy Awards that will be held in March 2027. Set in the early 1960s in Nagaland, Angh tells the story of a former village chief and his young son who are part of one of the last communities holding on to an ancient way of life. Their solitary and alienated existence is disrupted by the arrival of an American missionary compel, ling them to confront questions of faith, cultural identity and a changing world in their relationship.