FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 BRIEFLY Everyone should be able to practice own religion, says CM: | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI T he second phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls covering 12 states and Union Territories, with a focus on poll-bound states, will roll out from 4 November, the Election Commission of India announced on Monday. Announcing the schedule, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar told a media conference that the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls will be held in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa,Gujarat,Kerala,Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. He said Assam has been left out for now because the citizenship criteria differ in the state, and the SIR would be held later. Draft electoral rolls will be published on 9 December and the final electoral rolls on 7 CEC Gyanesh Kumar (centre), along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu (left) and Vivek Joshi during a press conference at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on Monday. AGENCIES February 2026, Mr Kumar said. The SIR aims to update and clean up the electoral rolls, ensuring that only eligible citizens are included in the voter list. The Election Commission has been preparing for this exercise, with a recent two-day Conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) held in New Delhi to finalise the SIR roadmap. "We have been working tirelessly to ensure that the electoral rolls are updated and accurate. The SIR is a crucial step in this process, and we are committed to conducting it in a free, fair, and transparent manner," said Mr Kumar. The SIR exercise will involve door-to-door verification, claims and objections, and updating photo ID cards, among other tasks. The ECI is working to ensure that the electoral rolls are accurate, and every eligible citizen is included in the voter list, the CEC said. CJI Gavai recommends Justice Surya Kant as the 53rd Chief Justice of India SC summons Chief Secretaries over non-compliance of orders in stray dog menace case PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 27 October New Delhi, 27 October name his successor. Born on 10 February 1962, in Hisar district, Haryana, Justice Kant obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Law in 1984 from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak. Beginning his legal practice at the District Court, Hisar, in 1984, Justice Kant became Advocate General for Haryana in July 2000, and was elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 9 January 2004. He took charge as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on 5 October 2018, and was elevated to the Supreme Court on 24 May 2019. PARMOD KUMAR The Supreme Court on Monday directed the personal presence of Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories that have failed to submit compliance affidavits on measures taken, in pursuance to its 22 August directions, to address the stray dog menace across the country. The top court has fixed 3 November for their appearance. A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice N.V. Anjaria noted that, so far, only the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), West Bengal, and Telangana had filed their affidavits. The Bench ordered that the Chief Secretaries of all the remaining States and UTs must be present in Court at 10:30 a.m. on 3 November, along with explanations as to why compliance affidavits have not been filed. THE BENCH ORDERED THAT THE CHIEF SECRETARIES OF ALL THE REMAINING STATES AND UTS MUST BE PRESENT IN COURT AT 10:30 A.M. ON 3 NOVEMBER Expressing displeasure, Justice Nath remarked, "Continuous incidents are happening and the image of the country is being shown as down in the eyes of foreign nations. We are also reading news reports.” When one counsel highlighted instances of cruelty to dogs, the Bench retorted: “What about the cruelty towards humans?” The Delhi government, too, had not filed its compliance affidavit. Questioning the lapse, the Bench asked Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Daveas as to why the Delhi government has not filed a compliance affidavit. EAM reaffirms India’s commitment to peace & maritime cooperation at East Asia Summit AGENCIES Key Indian, US officials meet in Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur, 27 October External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday reaffirmed India's full commitment to ensure a peaceful, progressive and prosperous future for the region and furthering maritime cooperation at the 20th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Kuala Lumpur. Mr Jaishankar, in his address on Monday, said that "India values EAS' contribution to peace, progress and prosperity" and looked forward to the positive outcomes of the Summit. He said that India "fully supports" the activities and future direction of the East Asia Summit. | BHUBANESWAR No friction over conducting SIR in Bengal: CEC New Delhi, 27 October Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Monday initiated the process for appointing his successor by recommending Justice Surya Kant, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court after him, to the Central government. If approved by the government, Justice Kant will become the 53rd Chief Justice of India (CJI) and assume office upon Justice Gavai’s demitting charge on 23 November. Justice Kant will have a tenure of over one year and two months, serving as CJI until 9 February 2027. As per convention, CJI Gavai handed over his letter of recommendation to Justice Kant on Monday itself. The recommendation follows the Law Ministry’s 23 October communication requesting the outgoing Chief Justice to SILIGURI SIR of voter lists in 12 states, UTs to begin on 4 November STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata: Every person in India should be allowed to practice his own religion without any fear, said CM Banerjee as she inaugurated a Chhath Puja at Dai Ghat along the Hooghly river this afternoon. She also inaugurated an old temple after renovation. Miss Banerjee said: “Our long cherished legacy is unity in diversity and we will continue to uphold this philosophy. In personally take part in every religious festival & will continue to do so throughout my life. I come to attend the Chhat festival every year.” She prayed for everyone’s peace and prosperity on the occasion. Page 3 | “We recently hosted the EAS knowledge exchange workshop on energy efficiency policies and a conclave of higher educational institutions,” the EAM said. Mr Jaishankar also conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's greetings at the start of his address on the EAS's 20th anniversary. Highlighting India's focus on maritime security and connectivity, Mr Jaishankar said that the country's commitment remains strong under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of External Affairs' Secretary (East) P Kumaran met US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, S Paul Kapur, in Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur on Monday as both sides exchanged views on India-US relations. The Indian-American security expert was officially sworn in on 22 October, marking a key appointment of the Trump administration for the region. New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar dismissed as imaginary all conjectures about a disagreement between the ECI and the Bengal government over the issue of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. “There is no friction over the Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal. All constitutional institutions conduct their business as per the Constitution. By preparing to conduct the Special Intensive Revision, the Election Commission is performing its constitutional duty and, in the same manner, every state government will also perform its duty,” he said. | Tuesday, 28 October 2025 SC dismisses Centre’s plea against HC directive to resume MGNREGA in state STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi/Kolkata, 27 October Handing a major win to the West Bengal government, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Union government’s petition that challenged the Calcutta High Court's order directing the resumption of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme in Bengal from 1 August. The top court upheld an 18 June Calcutta High Court order that directed the central government to implement the MGNREGA, stalled in West Bengal since 2022, from 1 August. “We are not convinced that the impugned order requires any interference. The (Union government’s) SLP is dismissed," a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said. On 9 March 2022, the central The scheme of the act does not envisage a situation where it would be put to cold storage for eternity. government stopped releasing funds under the MGNREGA in the state, alleging embezzlement of funds. In its order, Calcutta High Court had said that cases from the period when the allegations of corruption in MGNREGA were made should be investigated. However, the court said the MGNREGA cannot be discontinued ‘for eternity’ and directed the Centre to resume the initiative from 1 August. “The scheme of the act does not envisage a situation where it would be put to cold storage for eternity. The central government has sufficient means to enquire into the irregularity in the disbursement of wages...however, there can be a line drawn between past actions and future steps to be taken for implementation. This in the opinion of this court, would be in the public interest and subserve the interest in which the act was enacted. Therefore, while allowing the central government to proceed with their enquiry, this court directs that the scheme be implemented prospectively from 1st August 2025," the High Court had observed.