MCS/204/2020-22 RNI NO. MAHENG 2002/21899 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM The Liquid Drape A sari has always been about style and common sense. Now, women (and men) are reimagining the many ways to wear it MUMBAI, DECEMBER 14, 2025 DOWN IN JUNgLELAND BY RANJIT LAL One can spot harriers, Brahminy kites and, if you are lucky enough, Amur falcons in Goa’s Socorro LATE CITY 16 + 4 PAGES ₹6.00 D A I L Y F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , C H A N D I G A R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N A G P U R , P A T N A , P U N E , V A D O D A R A CM ANNOUNCES PROBE, APOLOgISES TO MESSI, FANS ‘CJI AS MASTER OF THE ROSTER… ROLE IS HEAVILY MISUNDERSTOOD’ Collegium far more open than it once was… room to do better: CJI ‘Trolling must be ignored... justice will suffer if we shift focus from duty to what’s being said on social media’ Ananthakrishnan g New Delhi, December 13 SIGNALLING CONTINUITY with reform, new Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant has said the Collegium system of judicial appointments is “certainly far more open and transparent today than it once was” and “there is always room to do better.” “Change is the only constant,andassocietyevolves,institutions must also adapt their mechanisms accordingly. The same applies to the Collegium system, which is certainly far more open and transparent todaythanitoncewas.Thereis, however, always room to do better,” he said. In an interview to The Indian Express, the CJI said that while the Collegium has evolved, “any system or practice, no matter how well-established, will at some stage require improvement”. He pointed to the introduction of ExPrEss interview JUSTICE SURYA KANT CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA in-person interactions with candidates as “a very welcome step”, adding that it allows members to “arrive at a more objective view.” Q&A ON P 7 “My focus on judicial appointments, whether to the High Courts or the Supreme Court, would be to place strong emphasisonmerit,experience, integrity,andthetemperament required to serve as a judge,” said CJI Kant who took oath on November 24. “Going forward, I believe an even stronger emphasis must be placed on the credentials of the candidate — their merit, theirintegrity,andtheirexperience.Theseshouldremaincentral considerations in every appointment,” he said. On transparency, he noted that reasons are now increasingly being recorded for approvals and disapprovals, but cautionedthat“itiscrucialtostrike abalanceandalsomaintainthe integrity of the system”. OntheChiefJustice’sroleas “master of the roster”, he said »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 MAHARASHTRA 14/12/2025 103 131 162 90 Happening today l CONgRESS WILL hold a rally over its “vote chori” allegations at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi are likely to address the event. lCHILE HOLDS its presidential run-off. Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast is set to become the country's most conservative leader since its military dictator Pinochet. l A TOTAL OF 1.36 CRORE rural electors will vote for the zila parishad and block samiti elections in Punjab. The rural polls are significant as they come just over a year before the Assembly elections scheduled for 2027. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm sChEmE to rEdEvELoP mUmbAi’s rEstriCtEd zonEs PAgE 4 Housepanel recommends five-dayjail sentencefor fourjournalists Express News Service Nagpur, December 13 APRIVILEGEcommitteeofthe MaharashtraLegislativeCouncil has recommended a fiveday jail sentence for four journalists for “defaming MLC Amol Mitkari by running false and fabricated news against him”. BJP MLC Prasad Lad, chairman of the committee, informed the Upper House on Saturday that a YouTube channel named ‘Satya Ladha’ had broadcast fabricated and false reports against Mitkari to tarnish his public image. Mitkarihadfiledabreachof privilege motion against the four Akola-based journalists -Ganesh Sonawane, Harshada Sonawane, Amol Nandurkar and Ankush Gawande -- and SatyaLadhaeditorSatishDeshmukh. Lad informed the Council that the Special Privileges Committee conducted an inquiry into the complaint and concluded that Ganesh Sonawane, Harshada Sonawane, Nandurkar and Gawande were responsible for broadcasting defamatory and misleading material. The committee recommended no action against Deshmukh, as he has submitted a written apology, said Lad. The panel has proposed that the four journalists be sentenced to five days imprisonment.Itsuggestedthatthefour journalists be punished during the ongoing winter session of thestatelegislature,or,ifthatis notpossible,therecommendation must be implemented in the next session. Messi tour Day 1: Chaos as angry fans ransack stadium in Kolkata; organiser held Soccer superstar escorted out in 20 minutes Tanusree Bose & Sayak Dutta Kolkata, December 13 CHAOS AND pandemonium broke out at Salt Lake Stadium inKolkataonSaturdayasthousands of football fans, angry and disappointed they could hardly catch a glimpse of Argentinian soccer superstar Lionel Messi at the stadium, tore down banners, hurled water bottles and chairs, and ransacked the ground. Messi is in India as part of his three-day ‘GOAT Tour’ across Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi from December 13 to 15. Fans had paid for tickets ranging from Rs 3,800 to Rs 11,800, with many queueing up outside the venue since early morning. He arrived at the stadium at about 11.30 am and walked around the ground, but was surrounded by a barricade of security as well as VIPs, and others. Since fans in the stadium could not get to see him, they became restless, started shouting “We want Messi… we want Messi”, finally breached the barricades and »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 At the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday. PARTHA PAUL ‘Waste of time & money’: How VIPs hijacked event, leaving fans fuming Sayak Dutta, Ravik Bhattacharya & Atri Mitra Kolkata, December 13 FOR LIFELONG Lionel Messi fan Sabyasachi Ghosh (25), the triptoSaltLakeStadiumonSaturday morning was to be a pilgrimage, a chance to pay homage to the global football deity. By noon, he would stand stunned, his eyes searching for the5’7”Argentinewhoseposter adornedhisroom’swall.“Waste of time, waste of money,” was »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 Lionel Messi signs a young fan’s T-shirt in Kolkata. PARTHA PAUL morE rEPorts, P 3, 15 DETERIORATINg AQI IN MUMBAI December 13: The Nation Remembers PM Narendra Modi, LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and others at an event Saturday marking the 24th anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack. PRAVEEN KHANNA U.s. And UKrAinE to disCUss trUCE in bErLin PAgE 12 At kisan mela near UDF comeback in Kerala, Pune, beeline to a quiet BJP stuns ruling Left in corner on mental health Thiruvananthapuram Rohit Yadav Thiruvananthapuram, December 13 THE RULING CPM-led LDF in Kerala was dealt a stunning blow Saturday ahead of the Assembly polls in the state, losing heavily to the Opposition UDF led by the Congress in elections to local bodies and surrendering the prized Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation after a 45year run to the BJP. The UDF made a strong comeback, winning or leading in four out of six corporations, 54 of 86 municipalities, 79 of E. Pune, December 13 ExPlAINED Wake-up call Its poor performance in the local body polls is a wake-up call to the ruling LDF given that Assembly elections are due next year. The Congressled UDF, which has been in Opposition since 2016, and BJP will now step up plans for the state polls. 152 block panchayats, and 504 out of 941 gram panchayats. »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 A FARMER from Latur, the 46 year-old stopped at a pavilion which had a chart with a meter onitandthewords‘Kaimajhya manat’ (What’s on my mind?). Puttingdownhisbag,thefather ofthreelookedatthepamphlet handed to him by a woman. He went to the extended space behind the counter and sat down to talk. Of successive crop failures, sleepless nights and his fears about the family’s future. Anotherfarmer,a31-yearold from Satara, opened up about his struggle with alcohol addictionanditsimpactonhisfamily. At the bustling Kisan Mela Pratip Acharya Mumbai, December 13 LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS Shaju Philip BMC’s ultimatum: Projects over Rs 1,000 crore must set up AQI monitors on sites by end of next week AMID RISING pollution concerns in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has chalked out a slew of short-term plans to tackle construction and road dust. Civic officials said these plans will be implemented within 15 days to check manmadeactivitiesthatleadtodust displacement. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s dashboard, Mumbai recorded an AQI of 104 on Saturday. Speaking to The Indian Express, Additional Municipal Commissioner Avinash Dhakane, who is in charge of the civic body’s environment department, said one key measure is to ensure that all contractors install Air Quality Index (AQI) monitoring systems within their premises. He said measures are being implemented immediately to ensure the city’s overall AQI stays under control. »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 A pavillion set up by Institute for Psychological Health at Kisan Mela 2025 in Moshi. ROHIT YADAV 2025underwayinMoshi,about an hour’s drive from Pune city, whereagriculturalinnovations and entrepreneurship are being showcased, this one corner is quietly sowing the seeds of resilience. »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 A digital signboard displays air pollution levels at a construction site in Prabhadevi in Mumbai. AMIT CHAKRAVARTY l FARMERS FEAR THE PLANT IN HANUMANGARH DISTRICT WOULD POLLUTE GROUNDWATER In Rajasthan, anger against ethanol unit boils over, farmer from other states join in PAGE 1 anchor Parul Kulshrestha Tibbi (Hanumangarh), December 13 A VIOLENT clash, hundreds namedinFIR,40arrestsandan echo in Lok Sabha — Tibbi, a town in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district, this week became ground zero for a protest that brought farmers from several north Indian states together against the construction of an ethanol plant. Their fear: the plant would pollute groundwaterandhinderfarminginone ofRajasthan’smostfertileareas. The past week saw a clash between police and protesters after the latter demolished a boundary wall of the underconstruction plant with tractors. The clash took place following a mahapanchayat by the protesting farmers. The clash was intense — protesters vandalised and set ablaze several vehicles, while police fired teargas shells and used lathi charge to bring them under control. A Congress MLA,AbhimanyuPoonia,who was at the site to support the agitating farmers, was injured. The plant’s management filed a complaint, following which an FIR was registered against 273 people. The Tibbi Circle Officer also filed a suo motu FIR against 108 people. As many as 40 people have been arrested, including two Congress MLAs, former MLAs and farmer leaders. One of the farmer leaders, Jagjit Singh Jaggi, said another mahapanchayat would be held on December 17 under the banner of the All-India Kisan Sabha and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, where leaders such as Rakesh Tikait are expected, along with protesters from Punjab,HaryanaandUttarPradesh. On Friday night, however, the protest was “suspended” after the farmers and the administration reached a “con- Protesters in Tibbi town of Hanumangarh district. PARUL KULSHRESTHA sensus” on key issues. The mahapanchayat, though, will proceed as planned, farmers said. Theproposed40-megawatt grain-based ethanol plant is being constructed by Dune Ethanol Private Limited, a Chandigarh-headquartered company that was incorporated in 2020. While the company says it will support the Centre’s ethanol-blended petrol (EBP) programme, locals, especially farmers, apprehend itwillleadtopollution,particularly affecting groundwater. Company officials were unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts, but governmentofficialsassuredtheplant would not cause pollution. “The factory was constructed after taking an NOC (no objection certificate) from the pollution control department and the state groundwater department. This is a ‘zero liquid discharge’ factory, where the wastewater, including all the industrial effluent, will be treated, recovered, and reused within the plant. This will leave no discharge to surface water or soil. When the rules are clearly stated and when the company has agreed toit,thisissueisbeingraisedfor political gain,” said an official who did not wish to be identified. Political slugfest Rajasthan ministers Sumit Godara and Jogaram Patel allege the protest was being orchestratedbythegovernment’s political opponents. “This has been made a political issue by Congress leaders. This is not a farmers’ protest, but something orchestratedbytheOpposition,which wants to create tension in the area. The government is ready for dialogue and will consider all legitimate demands, but people should not take the law intotheirhands,”saidJogaram Patel. Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena said on Thursday thatthelandforthefactorywas »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2