DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2025, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 NOTICES ON JUSTICE YASHWANT VARMA IN LOK SABHA & RAJYA SABHA Dhankhar accepting Opposition notice to impeach judge rubbed Govt ‘wrong way’ Why RS may not see a new Chairman before Monsoon Session ends (He) got many opportunities to serve country in various capacities, including as V-P... Wishing him good health: PM NEW DELHI, JULY 22 WITHNOwordfromthegovernment on the resignation of JagdeepDhankhar,barringanacknowledgement by Prime MinisterNarendraModiTuesday noon, what precipitated his sudden move is being attributed to twosignature-collectiondrivesto move a motion to impeach Allahabad High Court judge JusticeYashwantVarmaforthealleged cash found in his premises. The first of these was by the Opposition which started two weeks ago but picked up momentum Sunday, to collect at least 50 signatures — the minimum needed to move a motion Resigned as V-P citing health reasons RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, JULY 22 THE EDITORIAL PAGE As V-P, Jagdeep Dhankhar often echoed establishment voice but was not afraid of speaking his mind. He should break his silence PAGE8 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RS Deputy Chairman Harivansh, President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday. ANI MOREREPORTS,P6 APACHE ATTACK CHOPPERS FOR ARMY AH-64 APACHE is one of the most advanced combat choppers; flown by US Army DEFENCE MINISTER Rajnath Singh called it a “significant step towards strengthening India's defence capabilities” THE APACHE choppers will India received the first batch of three AH-64E Apache attack helicopters — half of the six ordered for the Army — from Boeing at the Hindon airbase on Tuesday. PTI THE WORLD TRUMP SAYS MAY VISIT CHINA SOON: ‘PRESIDENT XI HAS INVITED ME’ PRESSURE MOUNTS ON ISRAEL AS ALLIES CONDEMN GAZA KILLINGS PAGE 12 EXPLAINED CLIMATE TRACKING INDIA’S CLIMATEGOALS P13 IAF to retire MiG-21 fighter jets in Sept, after six decades of service AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, JULY 22 AFTER PROTECTING the Indian skies through all major conflicts over more than six decades, the legendaryMiG-21fighterjetsare set to retire in September. Sources in the military told TheIndianExpressthattheIndian Air Force (IAF) is set to retire the remaining Russian-origin MiG21 fleet in a ceremonial decommissioning on September 19 at the Chandigarh airbase. Two squadrons of the MiG-21 Bisons are currently active. India procured over 700 MiG-21 aircraft of different variants, such as the Type-77, Type96,BISandtheBison,sinceitsinduction in the IAF in 1963. The phasing out of the aging MiG-21 fleet was originally scheduled to be concluded by 2022, but was held up due to the delay in the planned induction of otherfighterjets,includingthe indigenous Light Combat AircraftTejas,whicharesettoreplace the MiG-21 squadrons. Between 2017 and 2024, at least four MiG-21 squadrons were phased out. India has a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BCCI to come under sports governance Bill, says ministry; Board to wait, watch PRITISH RAJ NEW DELHI, JULY 22 THE GOVERNMENT is all set to introduce the National Sports GovernanceBillinParliamenton Wednesday,whichwillbringthe Indian cricket board under its preview along with the 45 National Sports Federations (NSFs). Once the Bill becomes law, the BCCI will have to be recognised by a proposed National Sports Board, Sports Ministry sources said. “Like all National Sports Federations,theBCCIwillhaveto comply with the law of the land once this Bill becomes an Act. Theydon'ttakeministryfunding but an Act of Parliament applies six months of a vacancy — it is unlikely that a new VicePresident will be in place before the Monsoon Session ends. This is because, under the Presidential and VicePresidential Elections Act, the Election Commissionisboundby a 30 to 32-day statutory timeline once it notifies ● the election schedule. The law allows 14 daysforfilingnominationsbycandidates, followed by one day for scrutiny and a two-day window for withdrawal of candidatures. E WHY HE RESIGNED intheRajyaSabha—toinitiatethe removalof AllahabadHighCourt WITH THE Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA)formally notifying Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation as Vice-President on Tuesday, the ball is now in the Election Commission’s court to begin the process of electing his successor. While the law does not prescribe a deadlineforholdingvice-presidential elections — unlike presidential polls,whichmustbeheldwithin EXPLAINED LIZ MATHEW tothem...Theywillremainanautonomous body like all other NSFsbuttheirdisputes,ifany,will also come to the proposed National Sports Tribunal, which will become the dispute resolutionbodyforsportsmattersranging from elections to selection,” the sources said. The move is significant CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 7/11 Mumbai blasts: How pressure cooker theory of prosecution blew up in court OMKAR GOKHALE MUMBAI, JULY 22 THEPROSECUTIONintheJuly11, 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts casehadreliedonakeyfindingin theMaharashtrapolice’sinvestigation — that the bombs that rippedthroughthetraincoaches were packed in pressure cookers thattheaccusedallegedlyplaced on the luggage racks. While acquitting the 12 accused on Monday, the Bombay High Court, however, raised doubts over the reliability of accounts of certain witnesses who claimedtohaveseensomeof the accused placing “black rexine bags”withthebomb-filledpressure cookers. Police claimed that during theirinvestigation,oneof theaccused led them to a marshy location near the tracks on Mira Roadfromwheretheyrecovered “a brown plastic bag in mud, containingseveralitems,including 7 rubber gaskets, 5 whistles, Fuel switch checks on Boeing fleet completed, no issues found: Air India SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, JULY 22 AIR INDIA and its low-cost airline arm, Air India Express, have completed precautionary inspection of the engine fuel control switches’ locking mechanism on all their Boeing 787 and 737aircraft,and“noissues”were found in any of the planes, the Tata Group airline said Tuesday. As mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the checks were conducted on Air India's Boeing 787 aircraft and Air India Express's Boeing 737 aircraft. “In the inspections, no issues werefoundwiththesaidlocking mechanism.AirIndiahadstarted Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui (centre), one of the 12 acquitted, at Mumbai airport. Sankhadeep Banerjee broken electric wires...” They also seized a five-litre 'Kanchan' brand pressure cooker from the house of another accused, Faisal Ataur Rahman Sheikh. Further, an eye witness, shopkeeper Mohanlal Kumawat, claimed that “some Kashmiri-looking persons purchased eight cookers” from him in May 2006. The policethenwentontojointhese dotstoallegethatpressurecookers were used in the blasts. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY voluntary inspections on July 12 and completed them within the prescribed time limit set by the DGCA. The same has been communicated to the regulator. Air India remains committed to the safety of passengers and crew members,” Air India said. With the investigation into the June 12 crash of the Air India CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 be deployed at Jodhpur, for the western border SC to hotels on Kanwar Yatra route: Comply with the law, display licence EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JULY 22 ASSERTINGTHATitwasonlytrying to balance the sentiments of pilgrims and the rights of hoteliers, the Supreme Court said Tuesday that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route “shall complywiththemandateof displaying the licence and the registration certificate as per the statutory requirements”. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N K Singh underlinedthat“consumeristheking” and should be given the choice to know what food a restaurant serves, including outside the KanwarYatraperiod,sothatthey can make an informed decision. “If a hotel is vegetarian all through, without any diversion, then you are right, the question of indicatingthenameandother things will not arise. But only for the purpose of yatra, if somebody stops (serving) non-vegetarianandgoestovegetarian,the consumer should know. Even then we agree with you, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 As schools in UP are merged, longer walks and safety fears keep some away PAGE 1 ANCHOR ASAD REHMAN & MANISH SAHU RAMPUR & LUCKNOW, JULY 22 UNLIKE CLASS 3 student Manoj Yadav,7, who is sitting at his assignedseatatthePattiKalyanpur primaryschoolinUttarPradesh’s Rampuronaweekdayafternoon, his sister Laxmi, 7, also a student of Class 3, hasn’t been attending classes since July 1. Since July 1, students of the primary school at Abbas Nagar have been attending the school at Kalyanpur. Gajendra Yadav On July 1, the sole primary school in their village Abbas Nagar, 1 km away, was ‘paired’ with the bigger Kalyanpur school. While Manoj walks with a group of students from their village to the Kalyanpur school daily, his parents feel the path is unsafe for Laxmi. In line with a recent directive by the Basic Education Department under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, which emphasises greater CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow