DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 CHIEF JUSTICE BOBDE MINCES FEW WORDS Slamming Centre over protests and process, SC suggests stay on farm laws, panel for talks Staying the law: courts have been very cautious SC order today; AG says stay drastic; you failed to solve problem, says CJI ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, JANUARY 11 IN ONE of its rare outbursts against the Government in recent times, a Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, questioned the processbehindtheenactmentof the farm laws and expressed deep “disappointment” over the Centre’s handling of the farm protests. Scheduling its order for tomorrow,thecourtindicatedthat itcouldevenstaytheimplementation of the new farm laws to ostensibly “facilitate” a solution. CJIBobdemincedfewwords: “We do not think the Centre is handling the issue correctly. We don’t think you are being effective.” Suggesting that the court wouldappointacommitteethat “willtellusif thelawsareinpublic interest,” CJI Bobde said: “We proposetoformacommitteeand if thegovernmentdoesnot,then wewillstaytheimplementation of the farm Acts…We are doing this because you have failed to solve the problem. We are proposing to pass this order to facilitate resolution of this problem by a committee chosen by us...We will make the atmosphere comfortable and conducivefortalks.Tillthenthefarm BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, JANUARY 11 BEFORE THE ORDER, THE FRAMING The bench made key observations: ■ Not getting into question on repeal ■ Staying action on law isn’t same as staying law ■ Farmers’ groups can appear before govt, why not before committee ■ Want to resolve, create conducive atmosphere for talks laws can be put on hold...If laws areputonholdthennegotiations CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Farmers celebrate after the SC hearing, at the Ghazipur border Monday. Prem Nath Pandey Farmers thank SC but draw line: no panel, no stay, only repeal RAKHI JAGGA & AMIL BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI, JANUARY 11 WHILE WELCOMING the Supreme Court’s outburst against the Centre, unions representing protesting farmers turned down the idea of a committee to resolve the issue and KHATTAR, DUSHYANT RUSH TO DELHI ANOTHER SUICIDE BID AT PROTEST SITE PAGES 4, 6 reiterated their demand for a repealof thefarmlaws, notmerely a stay on them. On Monday, the apex court indicated that it could stay the implementationof thenewlaws and proposed the setting up of a committee. Hours after the court proceedings, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, a joint forum of farm unions, issued a statement that read, “…we informed CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India take it on the chest, in the ribs, for greatest of comebacks HOW THE Supreme Court operationalises its suggestion to stay the operation of the three farm laws and open fresh talks via a committee will be evident in its orderTuesday.However,alineof precedents shows that courts have been very cautious while passing interim orders to stay laws passed by the Legislature. “In matters involving the constitutionality of any legislation enacted by the legislature and rules, courts should be extremely loath to pass an interim order,” a two-judge Supreme Court bench had said in a 2013 ruling on the validity of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Regulation Act, 2003. “At the time of final adjudication,thecourtcanstrikedown the statute if found ultra vires of the Constitution. However, operation of the statute cannot be stultified by granting an interim order except when the court is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Students use ‘experts’ for GRE from home: Govt, US alerted Serum says order by govt for 11 mn doses, first lot may head out today ANURADHA MASCARENHAS & PRABHA RAGHAVAN PUNE, NEW DELHI, JANUARY 11 THE CENTRAL government has signedacontractwiththeSerum Instituteof India(SII)forthesupply of 11 million doses of Covishield, the Indian variant of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against the novel coronavirus, the Pune-based firm said on Monday. Doses of the vaccine could start shipping as early as Monday night, a source with direct knowledge of the development told The Indian Express. “(SII) may start despatching the vaccines very soon. It may happen either later tonight or early morning tomorrow,” the source said on Monday evening. The doses will be sent by multiple modes of transport, including by road and by air, the source said. In Pune, SII officials said the consignmentswouldbeflownto the nearest airport and then driven to the depots. Some 60 locations, including in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and Chennai, are mentioned in the consignee list, the SII officials said. TheSIIhasmanufacturedthe vaccine under licence in India. Thecountrywillstartitsmassinoculation programme against Covid-19 on January 16. Around CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AASHISH ARYAN & PRANAV MUKUL NEW DELHI, JANUARY11 R Ashwin (right), Hanuma Vihari after holding off Australia to ensure a draw in the third Test, at Sydney, Monday. AP MUMBAI, JANUARY 11 AFTER THE biggest loss in Adelaide and the grandest win in Melbourne, this Test series of extremes threw up the greatest draw in Sydney. In the end, India's pride was left scarless despite a broken hand, a bruised elbow, a sore hamstring, and a few dents on the chest as they hung on to finish the final day at 334 for five, leaving the four-game series at 1-1, with one more Test to go. This was the longest fourth innings by India in 41 years, after the draw against England in 1979. On Monday, they batted 131 overs with four batsmen — CheteshwarPujara(77),Rishabh Pant(97),HanumaVihari(23not out) and Ravi Ashwin (39 not EXPRESS NETWORK out) — playing over 100 deliveries each. And although the Australians perspired to conjure a result in their favour, they were left cursing in the shadows — their frustration amplified by stump microphones and later paraded by Indian fans as proud GIFs, mocking emojis, and celebratory hashtags. For India, a day that started with thoughts of defeat was astonishingly turned around by PantandPujara,bothfightingredemption battles of their own. During that heady second session, India even dared to dream of a victory. But after those two fell, an injured Vihari, who was CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL COVERAGE PAGE 18 PAGE 1 ANCHOR SHRIPAD NAIK INJURED, WIFE KILLED IN ACCIDENT PAGE 7 WORLD REPUBLICANS BLOCK MOVE FOR QUICK REMOVAL OF TRUMP PAGE 12 The all-woman crew of Air-India’s inaugural San Francisco to Bengaluru flight, lasting 17 hours, on landing Monday. The longest flight by an Indian commercial airline, it was captained by Zoya Aggarwal, with three crew members, and crossed over the North Pole. PTI Astrologer claiming political links dupes ex-HC judge of Rs 8 crore EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE BENGALURU, JANUARY 11 A SELF-STYLED astrologer, who claimed access to top political leaders, has been arrested by Bengalurupolicecrimebranchfor allegedly cheating a retired high courtjudgeofoverRs8crorewith the promise of a “high position” through his connections. Yuvaraj Ramadas, 52, who has a history of cheating cases, was arrested last month for allegedly duping retired judge Indrakala B S, 68. The arrest was based on a complaint filed by the former judge at the Wilson Garden police station alleging that Ramadas had cheated her between June 2018 and November 2019 of Rs 8.27 crore by promising her a “high position” in the country's administration. Following the arrest, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said that an FIR was registered on the complaint thatRamadas“falselyclaimedto know some important persons andpromisedtogetgovernment jobs and government work done”. “The CCB (Central Crime Branch) took a search warrant for the accused and raided his CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Covishield vaccine transport vehicles arriving at the Serum Institute of India in Pune on Monday. Arul Horizon Centre will pay for the first three crore shots: PM tells CMs KAUNAIN SHERIFF M NEW DELHI, JANUARY 11 THECENTREwillbearthecostof vaccinating three crore healthcareand frontline workers inthe first phase of the vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus disease, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Chief Ministers on Monday. The PM stressed on three critical aspects of the administration of the vaccine: ensuring that data are uploaded in real time for effective monitoring of beneficiaries; curbing rumours and misinformation about the vaccine; and ensuring effective reporting of adverse events, if any, after vaccination. “...The most important thing will be to identify and monitor the beneficiaries who have to be vaccinated.Forthiswewillbeusing modern technology; using Aadhaar, we will be able to identify the beneficiaries. It is my request that real-time data generated during the vaccination should be uploaded on the CoWIN platform. The states have to ensure this. Even a small glitch candamagethismission,”hesaid. “...Another critical thing is that every state and Union Territory will have to ensure there is no vaccine-related rumourormisinformation.Theexercisecannot be based on ifsand CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Bird flu triggers fresh fears, prices of chicken, eggs crash PARTHA SARATHI BISWAS & HARISH DAMODARAN PUNE, NEW DELHI, JANUARY 11 WINTER FOR the poultry industry is like summer for ice-cream makers. The winter months are when consumption of chicken and eggs peaks, with those rearing broiler and layer birds also realising better rates. But this time it is different, thanks to the outbreak of avian influenza, now confirmed in 10 states — Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, and Delhi. Since last Wednesday, when reports of deaths of birds from the disease started coming in, farmgate prices of broiler chicken have crashed from around Rs 82 to Rs 58 per kg in Maharashtra, Rs 94 to Rs 65 in Gujarat, and Rs 80 to Rs 70 in Tamil Nadu. Over the same period, egg prices have fallen from Rs 5.10 to Rs 4.20 per piece in Namakkal (Tamil Nadu), Rs 5.35 to Rs 4.05 in Barwala (Haryana), and Rs 5.30 to Rs 4.50 in Pune. E E X P L A I NE D SRIRAM VEERA THE FIRST FOUR CHEATING BY STUDENTS taking the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) online from their homes, following the Covid-19 outbreak, has been red-flagged by the largest Indian franchise of US-based The Princeton Review. The GRE, owned and administeredbythe US-headquartered EducationalTestingService(ETS), isastandardisedtestrequiredfor admissions to graduate schools in the US and Canada. In India, 85,050 candidates took the GRE in2019comparedwith90,146in Chinaand3.95lakhintheUS,according to the ETS. Besides informing the ETS about the rise in fraudulent activities,theIndianfranchiseehas written to the Ministry of Education and Niti Aayog highlighting the ‘moral’ aspect of using unfair means and its impact on student’ quality. The Indian Express spoke to several students who took the GRE with help from outside experts or ‘collaborators’. While none of them wished to be named, they revealed a meticulously-plannedmodusoperandi. In the “at-home” offering of the GRE, an online proctor asks Bird flu confirmed in Delhi, the Ghazipur chicken and egg market was shut on Monday. Abhinav Saha REPORTS, P3,9 Poultry birds ● mostlysafe ALTHOUGH BIRDS have died in 10 states so far, the only example of deaths in organised poultry farms has come from Haryana. Since birds in poultry farms are generally isolated, chances of their catching the virus from foreign avian species are low. An estimated 1.3 crore live broiler birds and 20 crore eggs onaveragearesolddailyinIndia, andthesenumberscanriseto1.5 crore and 28-29 crore during winter. The bird flu scare, however, has led to consumption dropping by 30-40 per cent in the last 4-5 days, according to B Soundararajan, chairman of the Rs 8,700 crore-plus-turnover Suguna Foods Pvt Ltd. This is almost a repeat of the collapse that took place after mid-January last year, when reports of the spread of the novel coronavirus in China were gathering momentum. The price crash then was triggered by unsubstantiated rumours about poultry products, especially chicken meat, posing the risk of Covid-19. Thistimetoo,fearisplayinga part.Thedeathsbeingattributed to the avian influenza outbreak are mainly of crows, pigeons, ducks, egrets/herons, peacocks, and other wild or migratory birds. Deaths of poultry birds have so far been confirmed only from Parbhani in Maharashtra and Barwala in Haryana. In Parbhani, free-range backyard hens have died; the deaths in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2