DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES IN LINE WITH SPECIAL BULLETIN ISSUED BY U.S. FAA IN 2018 DGCAordersinspectionoffuelswitch lockingsysteminmostBoeingplanes Regulator tells airlines to complete exercise by July 21; some overseas carriers start voluntary checks SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, JULY 14 WITH THE investigation into the Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft crash last month focussing on the engine fuel control switches, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an inspection of the switches’ locking mechanism on most of the India-registered Boeing com- mercial aircraft by July 21. ThisisinlinewiththeSpecial Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in December 2018, with regard to the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature. A number of aircraft models were mentioned in the SAIB, includingvariantsof popularmodels787and737thatareoperated `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 THE EDITORIAL PAGE SHINE MORE LIGHT DGCA asking for inspection of fuel switch locking systems is welcome; preliminary report raises important questions PAGE 10 by Indian airlines. Air India operates the 787s, while Air India Express, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet operate variants of the 737. AirIndiaalsooperatesBoeing 777 aircraft, but these were not mentioned in the SAIB and are therefore not under the scope of theDGCAorder.IndiGoalsooperates a damp-leased 787, but that aircraft is not registered in India. AreportintheFinancialTimes said that when asked about the DGCA's decision, Boeing said it deferredtotheregulatorandde- clined to comment further. In its preliminary investigation report last week, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the Air India plane crashed after both its engines were starved of fuel as the two fuel control switches transitioned from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ position within a second of each other, moments after lift-off. The DGCA order came after a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MEETS WANG YI AHEAD OF SCO TALKS External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, Monday. PTI NRC COULD BE PART OF DOCUMENTS Assam to EC: Wait for our NRC before state’s intensive roll revision Assam NRC stuck in limbo since ’19 when 19.6 lakh individuals were excluded LIZ MATHEW & RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, JULY 14 OFFICIALS FROM Assam have told the Election Commission (EC) that since it is the only state to have already carried out the exercise of preparing the National Register of Citizens (NRC), this should be factored in whenever the poll panel frames its timelines and decides the list of eligibility documents for the state’s special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, The Indian Express has learned. SourcesintheAssamgovernmentsaidthatsincetheECisalso looking at the citizenship aspect todetermineeligibilityforinclusion in the electoral roll — and giventhatAssamhasalreadyundertaken a citizenship verification exercise — the NRC, once published,canserveasoneof the admissible documents for the SIR. Hence the state’s request. BLOs conduct a door-to-door drive for the Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bihar’s Madhepura district. X/@CEOBihar Not just Opp, Bihar BJP also worried, plans outreach on EC drive SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, JULY 14 AS THE confusion over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) being conducted by the Election Commission in Bihar continues, the BJP too is feeling the heat. Acting reportedly on adverse reports from the ground, Bihar BJP organisation secretary Bhikhu Bhai Dalsania on Monday held a meeting with 26 state functionaries,instructingthemtofan India-China ties have INSIDE BREAKING BARRIERS made good progress, UNDER 5% ELECTORS DEAD, SHIFTED: EC border de-escalation is key, says Jaishankar Shukla heads home after 18 days in Enjoy free speech Says restrictive trade measures and roadblocks should be avoided space, splashdown in Pacific today with self-restraint, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah scales the wall of Mazar-e-Shuhada to pay tribute to those killed by Dogra forces on July 13, 1931 — earlier observed as Martyrs’ Day — after he was allegedly stopped by security forces, in Srinagar on Monday. ANI REPORT,PAGE5 NEW DELHI, JULY 14 UNDERLINING THAT “differences should not become disputes” nor should “competition ever become conflict”, External AffairsMinisterSJaishankartold Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday that while India and China have made good progressinthepastninemonths towards the normalisation of bilateral relations, they should worktoaddressde-escalationon the border. This is Jaishankar's first visit BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY toChinasincethemilitarystandoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020. Meeting Wang Yi ahead of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Tianjin on Tuesday, Jaishankar said that terrorism is a “shared concern” and India hopes that “zerotoleranceforterrorismwill be strongly upheld” at the meeting. He also said that “restrictive trade measures and roadblocks” should be avoided. “Ourbilateralrelationshiprequires that we take a far-seeing CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JULY 14 Shubhanshu Shukla’s spacecraft Dragon Grace just before undocking on Monday. NASA Execution date nears, Centre to SC: ‘Nothing much govt can do’ NEW DELHI, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 14 RETAIL INFLATION EASES IN JUNE PAGE 13 NEW DELHI, JULY 14 KERALA NURSE ON DEATH ROW IN YEMEN ANANTHAKRISHNAN G & SHAJU PHILIP ECONOMY not abuse, says SC, talks of guidelines ANONNA DUTT AFTER SPENDING 18 days on the InternationalSpaceStation(ISS), during which he went around the Earth 288 times, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and his colleagues on the Axiom-4 mission began their 22-hour returnjourneytoEarthonMonday afternoon. Their spacecraft, named ‘Grace’, which undocked from the ISS at 4.45 pm India time on THE CENTRE on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it has done all it could to save KeralanurseNimishaPriya,who is set to be executed on July 16 in Yemen on murder charges. “There’s nothing much the government can do… looking at Nimisha Priya is set to be executed on July 16 the sensitivity of Yemen… It’s not diplomatically recognised… There’sapointtillwhichthegovernment of India can go. We have reached that. Yemen is not like any other part of the world. We didn’t want to complicate CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 the situation by going public, we are trying at a private level,” Attorney-General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, said. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing a plea by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council seeking the court’s intervention to direct the Centre to assist in the negotiations through diplomatic channels. The counsel for the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WEST BENGAL NO BREAKTHROUGH IN TALKS, TEACHERS SAY WILL MARCH TO CM’S RESIDENCE CABINET OKAYS JOBS TO FAMILIES OF BALASORE TRAIN ACCIDENT VICTIMS PAGES 4, 3 SAYING THAT citizens must know the “value of freedom of speech and expression” and exercise “self-restraint” on social media, failing which the state would intervene, the Supreme Court on Monday considered framing guidelines to control “divisive tendencies” on virtual platforms. Seeking the assistance of the counsel for the petitioner and thestate“vis-a-vistheguidelines to be issued to citizens”, the court said it was not “speaking about censorship” but would look beyond the petition in the “interestof fraternity,secularism and dignity of individuals”. The court was hearing a plea filed by a Kolkata resident, Wazahat Khan, seeking consolidation of FIRs registered against him in different states over his social media posts. “If they (citizens) want to enjoy the fundamental right of speech and expression, it should be with the reasonable restrictions also. Apart from that, there must be self-restraint and regu- E EXPLAINED SHUBHAJIT ROY PAGE 9 The horizontal ● approach IN A 2023 verdict, the Supreme Court recognised a horizontal approach to the right to freedom of speech and expression, which means a citizen can invoke the right not just against the state but also against other citizens. Essentially, a citizen can sue another citizen for violating free speech. INSIDE SC TERMS POST ON PM INFLAMMATORY PAGE 8 lation also, to enjoy the valuable freedom, not like this abuse,” said Justice B V Nagarathna. “One of the fundamental duties is to uphold the unity and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WHAT WILL NOT COUNTINBIHAR AN EXPRESS SERIES PART 10 Life sentence, Rs 10-lakh fine: Anti-sacrilege Bill introduced in Punjab House KANCHAN VASDEV CHANDIGARH, JULY 14 THE AAP government in Punjab on Monday introduced a Bill in the Assembly which proposes punishment of up to life imprisonment and fine of up to Rs 10 lakh for acts of sacrilege against religious scriptures. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann introduced the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against HolyScripture(s)Bill2025onthe third day of the ongoing special session. Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan deferred the discussion on the Bill for Tuesday after Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, citing seriousness of the matter, sought time to study the proposed legislation. Earlier in the day, a Cabinet meeting chaired by Mann cleared the Bill which proposes strict punishment for desecration of holy scriptures, including the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Quran. AccordingtotheBill,anypersonfoundguiltyof sacrilegemay face minimum imprisonment of 10yearsandminimumfineof Rs 5lakh.Thoseattemptingtocommit the offence may face a jail term of three to five years, and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At end of five-day gladiatorial fight, India falls just short, Jadeja stands tall EXPRESSIN ENGLAND SANDEEP DWIVEDI LONDON, JULY 14 AS ENGLISH off-spinner Shoaib Bashir,bowlingwithabandaged left hand, got the wicket of Mohammed Siraj, batting with a freshly bruised shoulder, a bloody,sweatyandthrillingfiveday-long gladiatorial fight came to an end. England won the Test by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the hotly-contested series, but only after cricket’s grandest colosseum had witnessed many acts of valour from both sides. This was the kind of Test that inspiresbooksandendlesshours of cricket speculation among fans. What if K L Rahul had survived the lbw? What if Jasprit Bumrah did not try the ambitious pull? What if Mohammed Sirajhadlastedatthecreaseabit longer? The 'ifs' and 'buts' would be discussed for the next couple of days, but history will remember England’s win and the grueling bat vs ball contest between cricket’s two great fighters, Ravindra Jadeja and England skipper Ben Stokes. IndiancaptainShubmanGill, involved in an ugly altercation with English players all through the Tests, suggested that tempers flaring was an indicator of a real close contest. “There would be times when there would be a little bit of heat from both sides. You're in the moment. You're tryingeverythingtobeabletodo whatever it takes to make your team win. I think it happens in a game of cricket,” he said. And that was the reason Lord's would almost see a football-style pushing-shoving episode on the cricket field when Jadeja would bump into English bowler Brydon Carse. Jadeja wasn't conceding an inch on the turf or in the game. He Ravindra Jadeja reacts after India’s loss in the third Test against England at Lord’s on Monday. PTI wasn’t giving up despite the collapse of the top-order and how the subsequent depressing scorecard read. Needing 193, India, from their overnight score of 58/4 would sink to 71/5, 81/6, 82/7, 112/8. But giving up isn’t what Indian cricket's greatest survivor does. Little wonder, he has outlived his contemporaries and the game's greats, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. They have retired, he is still selling dreams and keeping fans invested in Test cricket. Jadeja gets to do the team’s dirty work, he mostly gets to bat with tailenders. He is a seasoned chaperonof No.9,No.10andNo. 11. So, batting with Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj was not new. He stuck to the time-tested plan -- taking most of the strike and constantly asking the batting bowlers to curb their instincts to hit the ball along the ground. He and Bumrah would play out 22 oversandtakethescoreto147/9. With Siraj going step by step, they would take the score to 170/9. And just when a miracle was round the corner, the Bashir ball sneaked into Siraj’s so-far sturdy defence. Jadeja, at the other end, fell in a heap, head in his gloved hands, his flannels getting dirtier. Among those celebrating was another perennial trier -- Superman Stokes. In the morning session, he bowled for close to an hour-and-a-half. That was when he had taken the all-important wicket of the day -- K L Rahul, trapped lbw on a ball that swung in from a slightly short length. Through the day, he would bowl 19 energy-sapping overs, an achievement, and a risk, for someone returning after two hamstring surgeries. He also had the additional task of commanding his troops. With India inching towards a win, he took the punt and got in thespinner,Shoaib.Beforewalking out of the field as a winner, he would give a big warm hug to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata