WEDNESDAY SC SLAMS MANEKA GANDHI FOR CRITIQUE OF STRAY DOGS ORDER 21 The court on Tuesday lambasted former Union minister for calling the order ‘impractical’ JANUARY, 2026 JAN 28 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard IS WHEN THE SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR THE MATTER NEXT GREENLAND DISPUTE IGNITES EU-US TRUST CRISIS The EU’s top official on Tuesday described US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs over Greenland as a ‘mistake’ between long-standing allies. PAGE 9 In a 1st, K’taka suspends DGP over obscene video scandal SC FLAGS DISREGARD OF ITS NORMS ON STRAYS A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI PARTY REIN IN NABIN HANDS PAGES 12 A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria said Maneka made “all kinds of comments” without thinking, but added it was not initiating contempt proceedings because of its magnanimity. Her counsel Raju Ramachandran said his client’s words were not contemptuous as politicians do make such statements Terrible Tuesday: Sensex dives to lowest in 3 months, wipes off `10L cr of investor wealth 82,180. The sell-off was such that 48 stocks in the Nifty50 pack ended in the red and the market capitalisation of BSElisted fir ms came down to `455.76 lakh crore from `465.19 lakh crore. Investor sentiment across the globe has taken a hit over concerns related to US President Donald Trump proposing tariffs on countries opposing his bid to control Greenland and a subsequent pushback from Europe. This has revived fears of renewed global trade disruptions, prompting investors to exit equities. Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments said domestic markets remained cautious ahead of the US Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump- RECORD TUMBLE 25,500 25,400 25,300 NSE NIFTY 25,232.50 25,200 9.15 am 11 am BSE SENSEX 1 pm 3 pm 4 pm 82,180.47 83,000 82.500 82.000 9.15 am 11 am 1 pm 3 pm 4 pm era tariffs, with renewed uncertainty over US trade policy prolonging the recent consolidation. He added that continued FII outflows, rising US and Japanese bond yields, and a weakening rupee weighed on investor confidence. In the near term, market sentiment will hinge on the earn- TALE OF TWO GOVERNORS Governor RN Ravi walks out of Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday without delivering customary address | EXPRESS I can say Nitin Nabin ji is a millennial. He belongs to a generation that has witnessed a great deal of change... When it comes to party matters, Mananiya Nitin Nabin ji... I am a worker, and you are my boss Narendra Modi, PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the newly elected BJP president Nitin Nabin at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. A five-time MLA from Bihar, Nabin, 45, was declared elected unopposed, becoming the youngest ever in BJP to occupy the top post. “BJP is the only party where it is not necessary to belong to any particular family to hold major positions,” Nabin said. Soon after taking over charge from J P Nadda, he sought to set the tone for the upcoming state polls targeting opposition parties on a range of issues including the “changing demographics” | SAYANTAN GHOSH | P4 & 7 Bilateral strain visible in sporting domain Strains have also surfaced in the sporting domain. Bangladesh’s Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul said the national cricket team will not travel to India to participate in the T20 World Cup. His statement followed reports that ICC asked Dhaka to confirm participation by January 21 ing ground conditions. Bangladesh is preparing to hold its first national election since the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government was ousted in a violent, student-led protest in August 2024. Election campaigning is sched- uled to begin on January 22, with authorities promising strict security arrangements. However, the period leading up to the polls has been marked by sporadic violence, contributing to concerns among foreign governments and diplomatic missions. The safety of minority communities has emerged as a key issue in India’s recent engagement with Dhaka. India’s decision to shift its mission to a non-family posting signals that it views the current situation as sufficient enough to warrant added caution. Such measures are usually adopted when host countries face prolonged political uncertainty or elevated security risks, even as routine diplomatic engagement continues. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan receives Governor Rajendra Arlekar ahead of the assembly session | VINCENT PULICKAL Ravi refuses to Arlekar altered deliver customary policy address, speech in House alleges Pinarayi T M U R U G A N A N D H A M @ Chennai E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ T’Puram FOR the third consecutive year, Governor RN Ravi’s annual customary inaugural address to the Assembly became a flashpoint, with the governor once again refusing to read the speech prepared by the state. He left the House abruptly, declining to deliver the speech, alleging insult to national anthem and unsubstantiated claims in the state-prepared text. Minutes after the walkout, the governor’s office released a statement listing out 13 reasons as to why he had declined to read out the prepared speech. The statement from the Lok Bhavan, among other things, alleged that the gover nor’s microphone was switched off repeatedly and the national anthem was insulted by not being rendered at the beginning of the session (Thamizh Thaai Vaazhthu was rendered first as conventionally done in the TN Assembly). The other 11 reasons dealt with various alleged issues of concern in the state. The governor’s office alleged that the prepared speech was marked by unsubstantiated claims, particularly on investment inflows, with many MoUs remaining unrealised, declining FDI rankings, severe stress on MSMEs, and growing discontent among lowerlevel employees over their unaddressed demands. “It ignored social concerns like rising crimes against women, rising Pocso cases, rampant drug abuse among youth leading to thousands of suicides, escalating atrocities against Dalits, and TN’s alarming suicide rate,” the Lok Bhavan’s statement said. DRAMATIC scenes unfolded in the Kerala Assembly on Tuesday as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan sought to correct Governor Rajendra Arlekar’s policy address after the latter had finished his speech and left the House. While Vijayan flagged “omissions” and “alterations” to the text approved by the Cabinet, sources close to the governor said Arlekar had read out an amended version of the address to which the government had earlier agreed but backtracked later. Immediately after seeing off the governor from the House following his two-hour policy address, the CM drew attention to the “mismatch” between the Cabinet-approved text and what was actually delivered. He urged the Speaker to rule that the policy address approved by the Cabinet would prevail. Vijayan was provoked by the governor’s omission of a passage critical of the Centre: “Kerala continues to face severe fiscal stress arising from a series of adverse Union government actions that undermine the constitutional principles of fiscal federalism.” Another omission was about the ongoing tussle between the governor and the state government over delays in granting assent to bills passed by the Assembly . Lok Bhavan sources said the governor skipped some “factually incorrect” portions. Speaker A N Shamseer later ruled that only the speech ratified by the Cabinet would be recognised as the official version. Dateline Noida: A foggy night, a pit of negligence and a father’s unseen agony N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow FOUR days after Yuvraj Mehta was left to die by an inefficient and indifferent system in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, in the suburbs of the national capital, the machinery of law has finally stirred into action. Builder Abhay Kumar of MZ Wiztown has been arrested and charged with culpable homicide due to negligence, while ings season, while geopolitical developments and global trade conditions remain important influences, he said. The rupee ended at 90.98 per dollar, slightly weaker than Monday’s close of 90.91. In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 underperformed the frontline indices, falling by up to 3 per cent each. FIIs sold equities worth `2,192 crore on Tuesday mark, ing the 11th consecutive session of net outflows this month. In the Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index settled lower. Markets in Europe were trading over 1 per cent lower. Vehicle NOC only after pending toll dues cleared PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi India’s Bangladesh mission now a non-family posting INDIA has designated its diplomatic mission in Bangladesh as a non-family posting for the time being, citing security concer ns. As a precautionary measure, dependents of the Indian Mission and Post officials have been advised to return to India, while all diplomatic missions and posts in Bangladesh remain open and fully operational, sources said. The decision reflects New Delhi’s assessment of the prevailing security environment following months of political instability and rising tensions over the treatment of minority communities. Sources described the move as precautionary taken in view of evolv,  NOT INITIATING CONTEMPT PROCEEDINGS: SC Markets in red over Greenland THE fortune of Indian equity market, it appears, is firmly tied to the vagaries of US president Donald Trump. He seems to be the biggest ‘cue’ the domestic equity market is paying heed to as `10 lakh crore worth of investors’ wealth was wiped out on Tuesday amid US’ deepening standoff with Europe over Greenland. The stock market fell sharply on Tuesday, with benchmark NSE Nifty nosediving to its lowest level in three months and experiencing its biggest singleday fall since April 2025. The NSE Nifty settled 353 points or 1.38% lower at 25,232.50 while the BSE Sensex tumbled 1,066 points or 1.28% to close at @ Bengaluru J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi J8.00 A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE FOR the first time in the history of Karnataka, a Director General of Police (DGP) rank officer has been suspended. Hours after an alleged intimate video involving K Ramachandra Rao surfaced online on Monday, the state government cracked the whip against him. Rao, a 1993-batch IPS officer, was heading the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE). The undated 47-second compilation, consisting of three separate video clips, and two audio recordings, surfaced on Monday afternoon. In the video, the DGP is allegedly seen in a compromising position inside his office during working hours. Speaking to reporters at the residence of home minister G Parameshwara on Monday, Rao claimed the Ramachandra Rao v i d e o w a s “fabricated” and demanded a thorough investigation. Late on Monday night, the government issued an order alleging that Rao acted in an obscene manner, unbecoming of a public servant and caused embarrassment to the government. It added that his conduct amounted to a violation of Rule 2 of the All-India Services (Conduct) Rules and suspended him pending inquiry The order fur. ther stated that Rao shall not leave headquarters under any circumstances without prior written permission from the state government. In 2025, Rao was sent on compulsory leave after his stepdaughter, Ranya Rao, was arrested in a gold smuggling case. A probe later cleared him of charges of aiding his stepdaughter in smuggling.  The bench also flagged concerns over the nonimplementation of norms on stray animals for the last five years his partner Manish Kumar remains elusive. The builders left an open excavation pit completely unprotected—a negligence that cost the young techie his life. Now, as the law plods forward in its cold, unfeeling way, those who stood near the water-filled pit on that foggy Greater Noida night will never forget the desperate wails of the young man they heard from just a few me- Yuvraj Mehta tres away unable to save him. , The night of January 16 in Greater Noida was thick with fog, a pall of mist that swal- lowed the edges of the world. On that eerie stretch, the 27year-old software engineer drove home from Gurgaon. He was unknowingly steering toward tragedy . The road twisted sharply—a 90 0 turn poorly marked and barely protected. A builder’s negligence had left an open excavation pit, a watery trap dug for a future basement, over 20 feet deep, filling slowly with rainwater. No barricades. No reflective markers. No warnings. Just a yawning void, invisible in the dense fog, waiting like a silent predator. Yuvraj’s car skidded. The vehicle struck the low boundary, teetered, and then plunged. Water swallowed metal and glass, chilling him instantly. Panic seized him, every second stretching into an eternity He . climbed onto the roof of his half-submerged car, water lapping at his knees, his face pale, eyes wide. “Mera accident ho gaya hai, mujhe bacha lo papa,” he cried into the phone, voice atremble. His father felt the world collapse. He alerted the police and rushed to the spot. He could hear his son’s desperate gasps and pleas, see the water rising, yet could do nothing CONTINUED ON P4 but watch. THE government will not allow transfer of ownership or issue fitness certificate if unpaid toll charges are not cleared by the vehicle owner. To strengthen compliance towards user fee payment at the toll plazas on national highways, the government has notified the ‘Central Motor Vehicles (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026’. T hese amendments are aimed at improving user fee compliance, enhancing efficiency of Electronic Toll Collection and discouraging user fee evasion on national highways. For commercial vehicles seeking a National Permit, the amended rules make it mandatory that the vehicle must not have any unpaid user fee. Under the amended rules, a new definition of ‘unpaid user fee’ has been introduced and it refers to the user fee payable for the use of a national highway section, where Electronic Toll Collection system has recorded the vehicle’s passage, but the applicable fee has not been received in accordance with the National Highways Act, 1956. “T he amendments link the clearance of unpaid National Highway user fee with vehicle-related services. As per the provisions, an NOC for transfer of ownership or transfer of a vehicle from one State to another shall not be g ranted until any unpaid user fee is cleared. In addition, renewal or generation of a Certificate of Fitness for vehicles will not be permitted unless outstanding user fee dues have been paid,” said officials of the ministry of road transport and highways. EXPRESS READ SC to court: Start trial in builder-bank nexus cases The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked a special CBI court in Delhi to take cognisance within two weeks of the three chargesheets filed by the probe agency and proceed with trial on the “unholy nexus” between banks and developers, through which NCR homebuyers were duped. In July last year, the top court had allowed CBI to register 22 cases in the cheating instances | P3