WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard GST 2.0 BOOSTS AUTO DEMAND AND AFFORDABILITY, SPURS INVESTMENT SRI LANKA 15 CONVICTED FOR ’19 EASTER BOMBING The tax cuts following rollout of GST 2.0 a year ago has driven a 20% surge in auto sales, with passenger vehicle demand hitting new highs Auto industry bosses remain bullish A Sri Lankan court convicted 15 men on Tuesday over their involvement in the 2019 Easter bombings, which killed over 260 people and wounded 500 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 VANDE MATARAM  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said that PV sales for them grew about 36% year-on-year during Apr-Aug 2026. Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD, Mahindra Group, said since the GST rationalisation, SUVs sale grew 17%, while LCVs and tractors grew 20%. Tarun Garg, MD & CEO at Hyundai India, said 4 lakh-unit monthly sale mark is the new normal | P10 US Prez claims he has to decide whether to make a deal with Iran or annihilate it; berates the country for stalling an accord on Hormuz until after the midterm polls No criminal Don defends Iran war; says he’ll action on conscientious use Russia tariff tool if required objectors: SC A G E N C I E S @ United Nations S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi “WE expect no criminal consequences for conscientious objectors to Vande Mataram,” the Supreme Court on Tuesday told the Centre on Tuesday while hearing a plea filed by Carnatic musician and author, T M Krishna. Krishna’s writ petition challenges the constitutional validity of the 2026 amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971, which extends penal protection to Vande Mataram, read with the Ministry of Home Affairs’ directions mandating singing of all six stanzas of the song at official functions. The last four stanzas of the song, which refer to Hindu deities, violate the secular character of the nation, his petition contended. The Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices V Mohana and Joymalya Bagchi said it will examine whether the right not to sing the song, recognised in Bijoe Emmanuel, is protected under the amended law. The SC added it expects the 1986 precedent to apply ensur, ing no penal action against those who do not sing the Vande Mataram T M Krishna on religious grounds. The court said it is for the state to decide the contours of the song, but religious freedom under Articles 25 and 26 must be safeguarded. The SC judgment in Bijoe Emmanuel versus State of Kerala protected the right of individuals to refuse to sing the National Anthem on grounds of religious conscience. Opposing the challenge, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, argued that the issue should not be viewed narrowly through the lens of secularism. Senior advocate S Muralidhar, who appeared for Krishna, questioned the legal framework extending statutory protection to Vande Mataram. Krishna’s plea argued that the directions and amendment effectively compel citizens to participate in singing the last four stanzas and are violative of fundamental rights. S-G’s ‘Naxalite’ remarks draw objections During the hearing, the S-G’s remark that “law-making cannot be as per Naxalites’ idea,” drew objections from Muralidhar, who sought its withdrawal. Afterwards, Muralidhar again sought a retraction but Mehta said, “I said that is the constitutional way, not what the Naxalite wants. And I am not sorry about it.” On sanctions against Russia and AI 1 Donald Trump said he will use, if needed, sanctions to end the “disastrous war” between Russia and Ukraine 2 Trump repeated his claim that he settled the war between India and Pakistan last year 3 Signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security 4 Told UNGA that artificial intelligence will be named “super intelligence” in all US govt documents PRESIDENT Donald Trump returned to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, defending his decision to go to war with Iran even as the conflict weighs o n h i s p a r t y ’s m i d t e r m prospects. “I have a big decision to make -- will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?” Trump said. Trump accused Iran of stalling to make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate an endgame to the war until after the US midterm elections. He insisted the tactic would have no effect on how he approaches the conflict. “We will get it (deal) done one way or another. We will get it done and get it done fast,” Trump said. “The terrorist regime is behaving badly because they are weak and desperate,” Trump said. “If we stand united, we will see a world free of the menace of Iranian terror.” Most of Iran’s delegation walked out of the chamber as Trump railed against the Islamic Republic. On Russia, he said he continues to seek an end to the disastrous war with Ukraine. “Last week, in honour of As president of the most extraordinary nation in history, I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day. I do not believe in letting problems fester Donald Trump, US President at UNGA Senator Lindsey Graham, I signed a powerful new law passed by Congress providing me with enormous new tariff authorities - and if necessary I , will use them... “It is time to stop the killing,” Trump said. Referring to the proposal to slow down development of artificial intelligence (AI) and calls for their international supervision, Trump called them a “glo- balist scheme” to control the new technology He instead an. nounced that the US government would henceforth use the term “super intelligence” instead of AI in its communications. “It sounds much better” and “it’s much more accurate,” he added, wondering whether the rest of the world would adopt the term. He also dismissed warnings about climate change. “The very same people who said we’ll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming... are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster.” The president renewed his attack on what he said were “globalist” bodies, including the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, which he urged other countries to boycott. He, however, hailed a deal with Greenland under which he said Washington would build a couple of bases in the Arctic. Later, US and Iranian officials held talks on options to end the war. Trump confirmed the talks but offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange. “It was a very good meeting ... It’s to their advantage to make a deal,” he said. The Iranian side did not confirm the meeting. Shastri, Krishi Bhavan to fall as Kartavya rises PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi THE old government quarter of Lutyens’ Delhi is preparing for another disappearance. Shastri Bhavan and Krishi Bhavan, two office buildings on Dr Rajendra Prasad Marg that have housed ministries for decades, are being emptied before they are pulled down. The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has asked ministries and de- partments occupying the buildings to vacate them by the end of September. The two sites will then make way for Kartavya Bhawan 4 and 5, part of the Central Vista redevelopment. The tender for the new administrative blocks has already been formally awarded. Most rooms in Shastri Bhavan have been vacated. Officials said the process would be completed by October, after which the buildings will be surrendered to the CPWD. The move had been held up around May as some divisions of the ministries of information and broadcast- ing and external affairs were still functioning from the two buildings. The I&B ministry has since been given space at Soochna Bhawan on Lodhi Road, while MEA divisions have moved to the Samrat Hotel in Chanakyapuri. In a recent note, CPWD asked the ministries to remove furniture, electronic equipment and all other belongings and hand over the rooms. CONTINUED ON P4 SC flags mechanical SIR notices in capital, seeks EC response S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Tuesday flagged “mechanical and machine-generated” notices to 33 lakh voters over “logical discrepancies” during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Delhi’s electoral rolls. It sought the Election Commission’s reply after hearing a plea saying that voters flagged for “logical discrepancies” weren’t told what inconsistency had been found or what documents would resolve it. The bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notice on the petition filed by Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri. Justice Bagchi said additional human filters were necessary before notices were issued. The bench said the notice itself should guide the voter, asking, for example, whether the person voted in Delhi or elsewhere in a particular year, rather than using vague terminology . Cops told to explain why missing realtor’s body cremated The Supreme Court directed the Delhi Police commissioner and Gurugram police to file affidavits explaining why the body of missing realtor Yuvraj Singh Manchanda was cremated despite lack of identification. P3 The court underlined the role of BLOs, saying they should not act as mere postmen but as facilitators who help voters trace old entries, certificates or the 2002 roll. It also mooted a concise FAQ of 10-15 questions with standard answers, to be published in news- papers, on the EC website, through municipalities and BLOs, and via SMS where mobile numbers are available. The court directed the EC to spell out the immediate steps taken. It posted the matter after two weeks, saying since Delhi is not headed for polls soon, there is a window to fix the process. The plea seeks transparency on how many voters have been issued notices. Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, said, “Subjecting electors—including senior citizens, poor and marginalised—to mandatory scrutiny notice proceedings, and , potential deletion merely because of an algorithmic anomaly regarding their age gap relative to a parent/grandparent or number of siblings is inherently illogical and arbitrary. This is turning the SIR process into an unreasonable.” P3 PLAYING TO GALLERY Japanese announcer, pamphlets & baseball connect SPECIAL SESSION OF PARLIAMENT A special session of Parliament to push the delimitation bill and women’s reservation could be held during Navaratri | P7 N ISSHIN mayor Hiroki Kondo was watching the women’s cricket gold medal match between India and Sri Lanka from the sidelines with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha for company . “We will continue playing cricket here after the Games,” he told this daily as India went on to secure their first gold at the ongoing Asian Games. “We will have 18 days of cricket here in a year. This is Japan,” he smiled. Cricket is still an obscure sport in this country The venue itself . INDRANEEL DAS EXPRESS @ ASIAN GAMES NAGOYA was a baseball practice ground, which also doubles up as a public park with tennis courts as well as a football ground close by. The only permanent structures here are the toilet and the baseball dugouts. To help the crowd, the organisers also distributed pamphlets about the game in Japanese. Naofumi and Chisato are Japanese pamphlet at the venue explaining cricket from the neighbourhood and have never watched cricket. This is their first experience. Mimi Hirayama, the official announcer at the venue, is Japanese who lives in England. Her biggest challenge is engaging the audience who can barely differentiate between bat and ball or pad and helmet. “I was mainly talking about rules, because the Japanese audience is not familiar with this sport,” she said. Apart from the pamphlets, they also had Hirayama for company throughout Tuesday P11 . Gang rape case forces college to shut classes I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi THE police arrested three men on Tuesday for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl in a park near the Kalkaji Mandir after posing as policemen and threatening the victim and her male friend, officials said. The alleged rape took place in an old, dilapidated stone structure inside the Aastha Kunj Park, where the three accused allegedly took turns assaulting the girl, police said. Lady Shri Ram College for Women has suspended classes from noon on Tuesday after one of the accused was captured after an encounter barely 50 metres from the college’s back gate. The accused, identified as Asif, was shot in the leg during an early-morning operation after he allegedly opened fire at a police team that had gone to apprehend him. The incident occurred in close proximity to the college boundary triggering immediate precaution, ary measures by the administration. The college asked students, faculty and staff to avoid gathering near the back gate. Guest faculty particularly was directed to conduct classes online on Wednesday as well. “After we got to know about the unfortunate incident, we cancelled classes. The safety security and well, being of our students is of paramount importance to us. We have requested our faculty mentors and college counsellor to remain available for any support students may require,” principal Kanika K Ahuja said. P4 NATIONAL HONOUR President Droupadi Murmu confers the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role on Mammootty, during the National Film Awards, at Kevadia | PTI T’gana HC sets aside CAT order quashing BrahMos boss pick J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi THE Telangana High Court on Tuesday set aside a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order that had quashed the appointment of DRDO scientist Jaiteerth R Joshi as Director General of BrahMos Aerospace, ending the immediate legal challenge to the leadership of the Indo-Russian missile joint venture. The HC had in January suspended the operative portion of the CAT order, allowing Joshi to remain in the post. A division bench on Tuesday however, , allowed pleas filed by the Centre and Joshi against the December order of the CAT’s Hyderabad bench, which had found “manifest arbitrariness” in the selection process, struck down his appointment, directed the authorities to reconsider the candidature Dr Jaiteerth of senior DRDO scientist SivasubramaniR Joshi am Nambi Naidu and ordered an interim arrangement to head BrahMos that excluded Joshi. Joshi was appointed DG of BrahMos Aerospace in November 2024. Naidu subsequently challenged the appointment, arguing that he had been superseded despite being the senior-most eligible candidate. It centred on the weight to be given to seniority and scientific grade in selecting the head of a strategic defence joint venture, and extent of discretion available to the competent authority to select a candidate on the basis of overall suitability . This newspaper had reported the CAT order against Joshi issued on on December 29.