The editorial Page: To ease energy transition, ramp up storage, strengthen transmission 10 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2026 JournAlism of CourAge lucKNOw, lATE cITy, 16 PAGEs ₹6.00 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 s.I.r. oF eleCtoral rolls leGal, Its ProCess jUstIFIeD: Poll PaNel EC papers over objections within, presents united front in SC affidavit happening today Says no change in Form 6; observations and questions by ECs not decisions of Commission, ECINet team obligated to ensure EROs function smoothly lIsraelIs wIll vote to elect the Knesset. The first poll since the Hamas attack in Oct 2023, and the subsequent Gaza war, it will decide whether Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving PM, stays in power. Track This and more on www.indianexpress.com The Indian Express report published on september 23 ananthakrishnan G world PaGe 12 lula da Silva winS record fourth term aS Brazil PreSident New Delhi, October 26 in An affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the election Commission of india (eCi) sought to clarify that observations, suggestions and questions by individual commissioners were just that, and not the eCi’s decisions. it said the Special intensive revision of the electoral rolls is legal, its process justified, and that the petitioners’allegationsrelating to changes in voter registration procedures and decision-making process are misconceived. The eC’s affidavit, filed in response to a petition by social activist rakesh kumar Singh, said it “has been approved for filing… by a unanimous decision of the three members of the election Commission, i.e., two election Commissioners and the Chief election Commissioner.” Singh’s petition and the eCi affidavitcomeinthewakeofthe September 23 report in The indian express which pointed to several file noting by election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh SandhuandVivekJoshiraising questions on the eCi’s Special intensive revision process, observations that access to the electoral roll was getting restricted for officers statutorily responsibleforthevoterlist,and thatchangestoForm6(formfor registration of first-time voters) »CoNtINUeD oN PaGe 8 EC says decisions unanimous, silent on why 2 members were not informed ritika Chopra Mumbai, October 26 TheeLeCTiOnCommissionof india’s affidavit in the Supreme Court is, in one sense, a defence of unanimity. Approved for filing by a unanimous decision of allthreemembers,itinsiststhat the Commission’s major decisions on the Special intensive revision (Sir) of electoral rolls weretakencollectively.notesrecording suggestions, observations or queries by individual Commissioners,itargues,donot themselvesconstitutedecisions of the Commission and are part of the consultative process. That distinction would answer an objection raisedbeforeadecision. Most of the 14 notes recorded over 10 months by election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, objecting to decisions taken in the Commission’s namewithouttheirknowledge, were written after the fact — about decisions already taken, systemsalreadybuilt,ordersalready issued and cases already filed, and what they recorded was that the two had not been told.Theissuetheinvestigation by The indian express raised was not whether the Commission eventually approved the decisions. it was whether two of its members were being consulted and informed about actions carried out in the Commission’s name. A petition filed on the strength of that report asked the court to examine how the »CoNtINUeD oN PaGe 2 For UPloaDING orDers oN s.I.r. aPPeals Judges of Bengal tribunals ask EC to fix portal, drop Aadhaar authentication Damini Nath New Delhi, October 26 JuDgeS OF Tribunals appointed by the orders of the Supreme Court to decide appeals of those affected by the Special intensive revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal have flagged at least twice in the last four weeks that the election Commission requirement for Aadhaar authentication in its portal is holding them back from issuing final orders. Official records accessed by The Indian Express show that the judges had taken exception to the introduction of the Aadhaar authentication required for them to issue orders on the appeals in September, and again less than two weeks ago. Just three days after the Aadhaar-authenticationscreenwas introduced on September 21, the judges sought its removal, in writing, on September 24. As recently as October 13, the incharge of the tribunals once again asked the eC to “fix the issue” to ensure proper functioning of the tribunals such that final orders can be uploaded, the records show. The judges also separately raised concerns with the election Commission and the »CoNtINUeD oN PaGe 2 Parking dispute turns fatal, Lucknow man shoots dead 3 of neighbour family express News service Lucknow, October 26 A pArking dispute in Lucknow ended in tragedy after a manallegedlyopenedfireathis neighbours, killing two brothers and one of their sons. The accused, rishabh Shukla (34), who works with merchant navy, was arrested from the spot after he did not attempt to flee from the scene of crime. policesaidtheincidenttook placeat10.30amonMondayin Lucknow’s Old City area. The accused allegedly used an il- Police inspect the crime scene in naubasta sahadatganj area of Lucknow on monday. ExPrEss legalpistoltoopenfireatShivaji Tiwari (63), his brother Shivendra (54), and Shivaji’s son Suyash (29). Tarun gauba, Lucknow’s Commissioner of police, told The Indian Express that a family member of Shivaji Tiwarihadparkedacarinfrontof theirhouse.Tiwaris’neighbour rishabh Shukla objected. Accordingtoaneyewitness, the argument between neighbourssnowballed.Atonepoint, rishabh ran into his home and returned with a pistol. »CoNtINUeD oN PaGe 2 aditya Kalra New Delhi, October 26 AgrOupof21newspublishers has challenged india’s privacy law in court, arguing it would trampleinvestigativeworkand let new Delhi identify journalists’ sources, documents show. The government last year announced implementation of a privacy law to protect digital personal data of users, raising compliance requirements for platforms like Meta and google. The publishers have said that since media outlets were not exempt, the law was an invasion of press freedom. Media companies received assurances in an August meeting with the government that the law would protect press freedom, but not having a written carve-out for journalistslikeintheeuropeanunion, Singapore and Britain was alarming, india's Digital news publishers Association (DnpA) said in a confidential filing at the Supreme Court, reviewed by Reuters. The October 6 lawsuit, beingreportedforthefirsttime and due to be heard on Tues- day, is the most high-profile challenge to the privacy law. until now, only free speech activists and a group of smaller news outlets had challenged it. DnpAandthemediagroups did not respond to requests for comment from reuters, and neither did india's information technology ministry. Thepublishersaredemanding that most of the law’s contentiousprovisions,whichkick in from May 2027, should be quashed. They are arguing the law could force a journalist to get prior consent from a person they want to investigate and forcepublisherstoerasestories. They also say powers granted by the law to demand information could expose reporters’ sources. The law would “render investigativejournalismabenign and neutered recorder of events,” the 698-page filing said.Theprovisions“constitute pre-censorship which is anathema to any democracy worth its name”. Concerns over consent DnpA’s members include »CoNtINUeD oN PaGe 2 CalcuttaHC ordersremoval ofPM-adani videoacross socialmedia Press trust of India Kolkata, October 26 BRICS Parliamentary Forum opens Pm narendra modi, Lok sabha speaker om Birla and rajya sabha deputy chairman harivansh with delegates attending the 12th Brics Parliamentary Forum, at the Parliament complex, monday. PTI P4 Uttar pradesh BJP-SPwarofwordS overinfiltration heatSuP, PaGe 3 express special Backrooms to seats at table: delhi imprint in aaP’s Punjab govt Kanchan vasdev Lucknow, October 26 »CoNtINUeD oN PaGe 2 Digital News Publishers Association includes The Indian Express, Network18, NDTV By EP UNNY Manish sahu Chandigarh, October 26 Leader of opposition rahul Gandhi with his legal team in sultanpur, UP, monday. ANI Censorship, gag on investigations: Publishers move SC against privacy law Business as usual UP court acquits Rahul in defamation case linked to 2018 remarks on Shah ACOurTinSultanpuronMonday acquitted Congress leader rahul gandhi in a defamation casefiledinconnectionwithhis remarks about union home Minister Amit Shah in 2018, rulingthattheBJpleaderwhofiled the complaint was not an aggrieved person and that the commentswerenotdefamatory. HearING toDay AS The Aam Aadmi party (AAp) government nears the completion of its first term in punjab, it bears a striking resemblance to a past government run by it: that in Delhi. A fresh reminder came when the enforcement Directorate(eD)raidedabungalowin Sector39,Chandigarh,occupied Punjab chief minister Bhagwant singh mann with delhi’s former deputy cm manish sisodia and party leader aman arora in Ludhiana on september 18. GurMEET sINGH by senior AAp leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain. The eD carried out a 50-hour search, from September 22 to 24, of the premises as part of its investigation into allegedirregularitiesintheaffairs of the greater Mohali Area DevelopmentAuthority(gMADA). Jain was not present at the bungalow,whichisofficiallyallotted to AAp leader Sunny Singh Ahluwalia, Chairman of the punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board. Apart from Jain, the eD has named in the case Jain’s OSD Amarender Jha and Manish Sisodia. The AAp punjab in-charge, Sisodia, was the party’s Deputy Chief Minister, Delhi. The AAp has rejected the allegations against Sisodia and Jain as “completely false, »CoNtINUeD oN PaGe 2 The CALCuTTA high Court on Monday barred the publication, uploading and sharing of a documentary on prime MinisternarendraModiandindustrialist gautam Adani until January 31 next year. The injunction followed a plea by Adani enterprises Limited before the high Court's vacation bench against tech entrepreneur Sabeer Bhatia, whoisallegedtohavemadethe video,andothers,seekingaban on its circulation and damages for defamation. JusticeAryakDuttrestrained the respondents, including the ownersandoperatorsofX,YouTube and instagram, their agentsandallactingundertheir authority, from publishing, republishing,uploadingandsharingthevideooranyclip,excerpt, ormateriallyidenticalreproduction of it, through any medium or platform. The court directed that the interim injunction will remain inforceuntilJanuary31,2027,or until further orders, whichever is earlier. it said the matter will come up for hearing before the »CoNtINUeD oN PaGe 2 l The Three-year-oLd TiGress TraveLLed 35 km inTo assam, LeavinG aUThoriTies To scramBLe aFTer iT Brought in from Bihar to help repopulate Bengal reserve, tiger goes to Assam ravik Bhattacharya Then T-138 pulled a fast one onWestBengal—ittravelled35 km into neighbouring Assam’s When T-138, the three-year- raimonanationalpark,leaving oldtigressbroughttoWestBen- authorities to scramble after it. gal’s Buxa Tiger reserve from Analerthasnowbeensounded Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger reserve at raimona national park. A team from West Bengal is onSeptember30,arrived,there wasmuchtocelebrate.Afterall, now in raimona national park it was meant to be not only the in Assam’s kokrajhar district, beginning of a programme to near the indo-Bhutan border, to keep track of the reintroduce tigers in page 1 tigress, West Bengal an area that has not Forest Minister seenastablepopulaManoj Oraon told tion in decades, but also marked the first time a The Indian Express. “The tigress is exploring the tiger had been successfully airlifted between states in india area. it’s not uncommon for tigerstocover70to80kmtoexfor such an initiative. Kolkata, October 26 anchor plore an area. So far, we’ve not disturbedit.We’reallowingitto explore. Later, if required, we’ll tranquiliseitandbringitback.” According to sources at Assam’s raimona national park, the gpS-tagged T-138 is being carefully tracked, with officials sayingtherewerereportsthatit had killed a domestic pig and was still in the vicinity. Since being brought to West Bengal on September 30, the tigresshasroameddifferentparts ofBuxabeforeheadingtowards theSankoshriverandentering Assam, one source said. Meanwhile, there is also some fear among locals in the l acrossthreestates Assam raimona national park Valmiki tiger reserve Bihar Buxa tiger reserve West Bengal vu: in December 2024, tigress Zeenat travelled 300 km from Odisha’sSimilipaltotheforests of Bengal, sending forest authorities into a scramble. The tigress was captured on December 29, 2024, after 21 days on the move. The operation involved the efforts of both the Odisha and West Bengal forest departments. Why T-138 matters Assam reserve, which has its own resident tigers. According tosources,residentshaveasked the forest department to im- mediately tranquilise the big cat and safely relocate it. For authorities, T-138’s slippingintoAssamisacaseofdéjà T-138’sintroductioninBuxa Tiger reserve, a protected forest and national park spanning approximately 760 square km in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district, was part of a larger re- introduction plan. historically animportanttigerlandscapein north Bengal, habitat degradation, changes in land use and a declineinpreyavailabilityhave significantly affected the conditionsneededtosustainaresident tiger population, the Ministry of environment, Forest andClimateChangehadsaidin a statement. The tigress’s releasewasmeanttomarkthebeginning of a phased recovery. Afterbeingtranquilisedand caged, the tigress was flown in on a military aircraft to hasimara Air Force Station in Alipurduar in the early hours of September 30. it was then taken to the rajabhatkhawa forest area under Buxa Tiger reserve. On October 2, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari released the tigress into the wild from its 2.2-hectare soft enclosure. The plan, Forest Minister Oraon had said then, was to first establish one tiger unit — one tiger and two tigresses. To ensure an undisturbed habitat and expand the area’s prey base, the forest department had earlier relocated 242 households from core villages such as Bhutia Basti and gangutia Basti. in a post on X, union »CoNtINUeD oN PaGe 2 Lucknow