DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2025, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 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 commercial 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 by Indian airlines. Air India operates the 787s, while Air India Express, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet operate variants of the 737. CM TAKES A STEP UP NEW DELHI, JULY 14 SAYINGTHATcitizensmustknow 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 guidelinestocontrol“divisivetendencies” 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 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY E EXPLAINED EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE 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 9 be with the reasonable restrictions also. Apart from that, there CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 10 AirIndiaalsooperatesBoeing 777 aircraft, but these were not mentioned in the SAIB and are therefore not under the scope of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Assam to EC: Wait for our NRC before intensive roll revision Assam NRC stuck in limbo since ’19 when 19.6 lakh were excluded Demolishedportionof thehouseatUtraulainUP’sBalrampur district,whichthepolicesaidwastheheadquartersof the religiousconversionnetwork. Vishal Srivastav At centre of UP’s ‘large conversion racket’, a two-time pradhan and a search for ‘victims’ MANISH SAHU MADHPUR (BALRAMPUR), JULY 14 AT MADHPUR village, about 25 km from Balrampur district headquarters, and not far from Uttar Pradesh’s border with Nepal, silence hangs heavy. The village is still taking in the intense media spotlight on it, and the sight of JCBs pulling down a portionof ahouseallegedlybuilt on government land. For the past four years, the unassuming house -- described as a "mansion" in reports — had Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba was arrested on July 12 been home to 65-year-old JamaluddinaliasChhangurBaba, who was arrested on Saturday from Lucknow along with alleged associate Neetu Naveen Rohra alias Nasreen, 35. As per the UP Police, the housewasalsotheheadquarters CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 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 given that Assam has already CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 out across the state, meet voters, remove their apprehensions, and help the party’s supporters with the enrolment process. Sources said the worry in the party is that it has let Opposition — which has been warning of “mass disenfranchisement” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WHAT WILL NOT COUNTINBIHAR AN EXPRESS SERIES PART 10 INSIDE UNDER 5% ELECTORS DEAD OR HAVE SHIFTED: EC PAGE 8 18 days on space station, Shukla heads home, splashdown in Pacific today ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, JULY 14 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 Monday, is scheduled to make a splashdowninthePacificOcean, off the coast of California in the United States, around 3 pm on Tuesday. From the sea, the space capsule would be lifted by a crane on to a boat specially designed for this purpose. The astronauts would then come out and be airlifted to the shore. That will bring an end to the Axiom-4 mission that marked the return of three countries -India, Poland and Hungary -- to human spaceflight after a gap of over four decades. “Welcome back Shubhanshu! The entire nation eagerly awaits your arrival back home…asyoubeginyourreturn journey,” said Science Minister Jitendra Singh after the spacecraft began the return journey. After spending 433 hours at the ISS, the astronauts moved into their docked spacecraft around 2 pm India time. The preparations for the return journeytookovertwohours.Theautomatic undocking procedure that started at around 4:45 pm involved the spacecraft detaching the umbilical that connected CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NETWORK MARATHON RUNNER FAUJASINGH, 114, DIES P 9 Life sentence, Rs 10-lakh Govt ‘reached’ limit of fine: Anti-sacrilege Bill what it can do: Centre to across faiths in Punjab SC as execution nears KANCHAN VASDEV NEW DELHI, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 14 RETAIL INFLATION EASES TO 2.1% IN JUNE PAGE 13 DGCA asking for inspection of fuel switch locking systems is welcome; preliminary report raises important questions tioned from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ position within a second of each other, moments after lift-off. The DGCA order came after a few Boeing aircraft operators, mainly those overseas, initiated voluntaryinspectionsadvisedin the 2018 SAIB. A few foreign carriers,includingAbuDhabi-based Etihad, have begun voluntary checks of the fuel control switches on their 787 fleets despite the FAA and Boeing notifying operators of 787 jets that the KERALA NURSE ON DEATH ROW IN YEMEN ANANTHAKRISHNAN G & SHAJU PHILIP ECONOMY SHINE MORE LIGHT 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 deferredtotheregulatoranddeclined 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 transi- NRC COULD BE PART OF DOCUMENTS J&K CM 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, Monday. ANI PAGE6 Enjoy free speech with self-restraint, not abuse, says SC, talks of guidelines THE EDITORIAL PAGE Shukla’s spacecraft just before undocking. NASA 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 CHANDIGARH, JULY 14 Nimisha Priya is set to be executed on July 16 government can do… looking at the sensitivity of Yemen… It’s not diplomatically recognised… There’sapointtillwhichthegovernment of India can go. We CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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. According to the Bill, any CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At the end of a five-day gladiatorial fight with England, 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,sweatyandthrillingfive- day-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 Ravindra Jadeja reacts after India’s loss in the third Test against England at Lord’s on Monday. PTI 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. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow