The editorial Page: The Ai challenge: How to maximise economic impact, spread gains evenly 8 MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2026 JournAlism of CourAge aHMedaBad, late CItY, 20 pageS ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com da I lY f R o M : a H M e da B a d , C H a N d I ga R H , d e l H I , j a I p u R , Ko l K ata , l u C K N o w , M u M B a I , N ag p u R , pat N a , p u N e , va d o da R a delHi PrOTeSTS: SC iSSueS nOTiCeS TO CenTre, POliCe, dMrC, SayS PriMa faCie CaSe Of COnTeMPT SC: Ensure no illegal detentions, restore Metro, internet services In special sitting, Bench underlines law and order conditions for lifting of curbs ananthakrishnan G New Delhi, October 11 AMID The ongoing protests in the Capital, the supreme Court on sunday directed the authorities to ensure that there are no illegal detentions, free and smooth movement of people is allowed, Metro and train services function normally, and internet services are not disrupted — all subject to law and order conditions. A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana held a special sitting to hear petitions challenging the restrictions put in place on saturday, allegedly in contempt of the court's directions on Friday to ensure there is “no complete prohibition on movement of Metro/ trains”, and the detention of protesters including political leaders. saying that there was a prima facie contempt case, the bench issued notices to the Centre, Delhi Police and the Delhi Metro rail Corporation (DMrC) to file affidavits and submit compliance reports. "having considered the submissionsofthelearnedcounsel for the parties and perused the avermentsinthecontemptpetition, we are of the opinion that the petitioners have made out a prima facie case. Accordingly, weissuenoticeuponthealleged contemnors. They are directed to file counter affidavit to the said petition, including a compliance report in terms of our orderasaforesaidby13.10.2026," the bench said in its order. The bench directed that in the interim, “Metro and rail facilities shall function normally until and unless regulations »COnTinued On PaGe 2 The ediTorial page BArricAdEs And dEtEntions do not fortify tHE Eci PAGE 8 inside PAGEs 12, 7 300 ProtEstErs dEtAinEd At sHivAji PArk in mumBAi indiA AGAin rEjEcts un riGHts officE concErns on mAss dEtEntions Pm narendra modi and Tamil nadu cm c Joseph Vijay take a metro ride in chennai, sunday. aNI PM: Govts kept changing, my resolve to help TN unbroken Launches Rs 13,000-cr projects; CM Vijay says strong states make strong India arun Janardhanan Chennai, October 11 cPi(m)’s rajya sabha member John Brittas being detained at connaught Place in new delhi on sunday. gajeNdRa Yadav CJP leaders released, CJI says no to Cong to seek new date for meeting request, Opp Jantar Mantar protest to march to SC today asad rehman & ananthakrishnan G New Delhi, October 11 cJP founder abhijeet dipke after his release in new delhi, sunday. ap alok Singh & nirbhay Thakur New Delhi, October 11 TheCoCKroAChJantaParty (CJP) leadership said on sunday that its protests would continue across the country until their demands are met, mainly the resignation of Chief election Commissioner gyanesh Kumar over the special Intensiverevision(sIr)ofelectoral rolls. The call for continuing the protest was made after CJP’s three top leaders — Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh ranka and saurav Das — were released from police custody on sunday morning,around24hoursafter beingheldunderpreventivearrest ahead of the protest they had called on saturday. on sunday night, the CJP announced in a post on X that ranka, Das and other CJP »COnTinued On PaGe 2 The Congress on sunday called for a march to the supreme Court on Monday afternoon to meet Chief Justice of India (CJI) surya Kant and submit a memorandum to him amid protests demanding the resignation of Chief election Commissioner (CeC) gyanesh Kumar. The CJI, however, declinedtherequestforameeting. In his reply to the opposition party, the CJI raised four points, it is learnt. First, he said that the grievances the opposition was seeking to raise, including the issue of special Intensive revision (sIr) of electoral rolls and those related to the CeC, were pending before the court. second, the CJI is learnt to have pointed out that in the Constitutional scheme, the court does not have the powers to take cognizanceofsuchgrievancesonthe “administrative side”. After crackdown, Delhi eases curbs, over 500 detained in ‘flash protests’ CPI(M) MP John Brittas detained, says security personnel assaulted him Pragynesh, drishti Jain, Sakshi Chand, abhimanyu Hazarika & Mishal Mussaddique New Delhi, October 11 A DAy after Delhi Police and Centralforceslaunchedalarge- scale crackdown on the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protestdemandingtheresignation of Chief election Commissioner gyanesh Kumar, restrictions in the Capital were slightly eased sunday, with metro services resuming and The CJI told the opposition party that the court has the power of judicial review under Article 32 and other powers, and that if any petition highlightingthesegrievancesisfiled on Monday, it will be taken up for hearing the following day, when the already pending matters are listed for hearing. he also reiterated the court’s commitment to protecting the fundamental rights of citizens and that its doors were always open to them. hours earlier, Leader of opposition(LoP)rahulgandhiissued a “Chalo Dilli” call, urging students,civilsocietyorganisations,andoppositionpartiesto join a march to the supreme Court, where an opposition delegation was supposed to meet the CJI. The march is scheduled to begin at 1.30 pm from the Connaught Place-Barakhamba road junction and end at the supreme Court, around 2 km away. In a video message, gandhi »COnTinued On PaGe 2 Business as usual By EP UNNY internet restrictions lifted. however, groups of five or more people continued to face detention in central Delhi, which remains under prohibitory orders, even as some protestersstagedsmaller“flash protests”atvariouslocationsin the late afternoon. Around 30,000 police personnel, supported by 200 companies of paramilitary forces, »COnTinued On PaGe 2 ProMIsIng CenTrAL support to help Tamil nadu reach “newheights”onwhathecalled a“historicday”,PrimeMinister narendra Modi on sunday inaugurated and laid foundation stones for infrastructure projectsworthmorethanrs13,000 crore in the state, including the first operational stretch of Chennai Metro rail’s Phase II. “We want to build a Tamil naduthatcontinuouslyreaches new heights... Whatever help is required from the Centre, we stand with you with complete commitment,” Modi said during an event at IIT Madras. recalling his dealings with successive state governments, Modi said that as gujarat chief minister, he had several opportunities to interact with Tamil nadu chief ministers M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa, and asPrimeMinisterwithJayalalithaa, o Panneerselvam, edappadi K Palaniswami and M K stalin. “governments kept changing, but my resolve for the development of Tamil nadu and serviceofitspeoplealwaysremained unbroken... Today, with the same resolve, together with Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, we are taking forward this journey of Tamil nadu’s development,” the Prime Minister said. The projects, he said, would »COnTinued On PaGe 2 Riyadh airport attack: happening today One Indian killed, 10 others injured; Govt says ‘unacceptable’ lCanadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu will visit India with a delegation of 300 members, seeking to boost ties. lCJi Surya Kant will attend an event to mark the 33rd anniversary of the NHRC. Shubhajit roy & nikhila Henry New Delhi, Hyderabad, October 11 AnInDIAnnationalwaskilled and 10 others were injured in the missile attack on riyadh’s international airport on saturday, the Indian embassy said. Condemning the attack, India on sunday said it was “completely unacceptable”. Whilethegovernmentisyet to identify the victim, The Indian Express has learnt that he was a resident of hyderabad, and was part of a 13-member groupthathadgoneforUmrah. A part of the airport’s roof fell on him during the attack, said a relative. his family members are reported to be among those injured. A day after the attack in which 12 others were killed and over300injured,yemen’sIranbacked houthis claimed responsibility, and also warned airlines, travellers and airport workers to stay away from airports in saudi Arabia. hours later, the saudi-led coalitioninyemensaidan“unidentified projectile” had targeted riyadh’s international airport on sunday too. It said explained Home to more than 2.7 million indians The Indian community in Saudi Arabia numbers around 2.74 million, including skilled and semi-skilled professionals. Since the start of the West Asia war, India has issued statements condemning attacks on civilian targets. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also spoken to Saudi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the conflict. The world Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com The world P 17 russiA, ukrAinE HAvE rEAcHEd EnErGy cEAsEfirE AGrEEmEnt: trumP P 17 HoutHis issuE wArninG, riyAdH AirPort fAcEs frEsH AttAck saudi air defences had interceptedacruisemissileinthevicinity of the airport. Meanwhile, Us President Donald Trump said Washington was considering joining »COnTinued On PaGe 2 ‘ready to engage with india on even keel... must pass through intersection of dignity and shared benefits’ M riaz HaMidullaH HIgH CoMMISSIoNeR, BaNgladeSH PAGE 15 l Toddler dauGhTer of The 31-year-old was raPed and murdered in Pune A father’s anguish resonates on streets with play on women safety, reporting crime Chandan Haygunde ranAjunKiti(how many more cases like nasrapur) was performedrecentlybeforeganpati “Is IT my fault that I am a girl?”, Mandals in the city during the asks a rape victim, as people ganesh festival. around her rain questions At the end, Kulkarni comes down on her: “What were you ontothestageforafewminutes wearing?, “Who will marry you to speak to the audience about now?”.... Finally, she breaks being cautious regarding the down: “he (the rapist) hurt my criminal elements in their surbody, but society is roundings. hurting my heart.” But, as much as it page 1 This is a scene is about the safety of from a patha natya girls and preventing (street play) concepsexual violence tualisedbyshubhamKulkarni, against them, Kulkarni tells 31, the father of a 3-year-old girl The Indian Express, “The play who was raped and murdered sends the message that society this year in Pune. The 12-min- should not view the victim and uteplaytitledNasrapurPrakaher family negatively. It is Pune, October 11 anchor wrong to question the victim for the crime committed by the rapist.” The younger daughter of Kulkarni, who works as a priest and lives in Pune, was sexually assaulted and killed on May 1, 2026, while away at her grandmother’shouseinnasrapurvillage in Pune district, leading to widespread public outrage. The accused, 65-year-old Bhimrao Kamble with a previouscriminalrecord,wastried and convicted by a fast-track court. on June 29, the court awardedKambledeathpenalty under sections of the Bns and PoCso Act. Kulkarni, whose elder SpeCIal aRRaNgeMeNt The play was staged during the Ganesh festival in Pune recently daughter is 7, says while he was satisfied with the court order, the incident again highlighted the issue of safety of women. With that in mind, he started a charitablefoundationinhisdeceased daughter’s name. Around the same period, filmmaker Pramod Prabhulkar, who runs the Miracles Academy of Arts and Media, got in touch with the family, offering support for their legal battle. Prabhulkar’s Marathi film YouthTube, released in 2019, wasbasedonsimilarissuessurrounding rape. on september 12, Kulkarni asked Prabhulkar what he thought about performing a Ahmedabad street play to highlight what he felt about his daughter’s death. Prabhulkarofferedhissupport. Prabhulkar told TheIndian Express: “It was my duty to standwithafatherwhohadlost his daughter to such a serious crime. When I spoke to my team,15youngartistscameforward voluntarily to act in the play.” While Mitali Patwardhan preparedthescript,shreyasIndapur directed it. The play had its first performance on september 22 at the reputed Kasba ganpati Mandal in Pune, followedby10otherganeshMandals across the city. shravani Mohite, an engin- eer employed with a corporate company who calls acting her “passion”, performed the lead role. “When I heard about the play, I wanted to be a part of it because, like every other girl, I have faced such untoward experiences. Through the play, I wanted to contribute to the cause of women’s safety. The response from the audience has been overwhelming. hundredsofdevoteesgathered at ganesh Mandals saw the play. Many were left in tears,” says Mohite. Kulkarni points out that the play urges people not to hide incidentsofsexualabusebutto »COnTinued On PaGe 2