FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI A different Kashmir Trump switched planes in Turkey using catering truck amid Iran threat Page 6 Page 9 BRIEFLY India examining Dhaka’s request for Hasina’s extradition: New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said it was examining Dhaka’s request for the extradition of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in accordance with established procedures. Addressing a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the matter concerning Hasina’s extradition was being examined, while investigations into the case involving the suspects in the killing of Bangladeshi radical Islamist leader Sharif Osman Hadi were currently underway. “Our High Commissioner met with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh yesterday, and they discussed matters of mutual interest. On the other two issues that you raised about the extradition of the former Prime Minister, as also the case of Hadi,” he said. PERSPECTIVE Protests allowed PM a vital political reset VIBHA SHARMA New Delhi, 11 August T away” from a debate on student protests across the country. As they marched towards the Makar Dwar after attending their weekly Mangal Milan meeting, they raised slogans such as ‘Rahul Gandhi jawab do’ and ‘Rahul Gandhi bhago mat’ and also questioned Priyanka Gandhi over her silence on Jharkhand. The INDIA bloc MPs, meanwhile, continued to demand accountability from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged police excesses during the 20 July protests over examination paper leaks. The Lok Sabha passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 and the National Cooperative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 amid the din before being adjourned for the day. NASA invites ISRO to Apex court notice to Centre on plea to bring join ambitious Moon Base programme Netaji’s ashes home PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 11 August The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Central government on a plea by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s octogenarian daughter Anita Pfaff seeking repatriation of the ashes attributed to him and preserved at the Renkoji temple in Tokyo since 1945, so that he could be given a proper funeral and what she described as Netaji’s long “exile” could finally be brought to an end. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana sought the Centre’s response on the petition filed by Pfaff, an Austrian-German economist and Netaji’s sole living direct lineal descendant. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Ms Pfaff, told the Bench that Netaji’s daughter had approached the Court seeking the return of his ashes to India. While seeking a direction to the Central government to repatriate the ashes, Ms Pfaff has alternatively prayed that the government be directed to “facilitate her to repatriate the ashes” from Japan. The petition has questioned what it describes as the prolonged failure of the Government of India to take a final, reasoned and time-bound decision on bringing back the mortal remains/ashes attributed to Netaji and preserved at the Renkoji temple. Ms Pfaff has sought their repatriation to enable her, as Netaji’s sole living direct lineal descendant, to perform his last rites with dignity. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 11 August The United States has invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to participate in NASA’s ambitious Moon Base programme, building on the partnership between the two countries under the Artemis Accords. The two countries also agreed to advance discussions on cooperation in open scientific data sharing under the Accords during the ninth meeting of the India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG), hosted by India on 5-6 August 2026, at the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru, the US Embassy said on Tuesday. According to the Embassy, the two countries advanced discussions on civil and commercial space cooperation and focused on pursuing future partnerships in space science and human spaceflight technologies. Dr V Narayanan, Chairman, ISRO, and Secretary, Department of Space, and Sergio Gor, US Ambassador to India, addressed the opening session and highlighted the significance of further strengthening bilateral cooperation in space. (Representational Image) Tribunals Reform Bill, 2026: A fine balance JAYANT MEHTA New Delhi, 11 August The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2026, passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday, 10 August 2026, marks an important moment in India’s long experiment with specialised adjudication. The Bill seeks to bring about greater efficiency, independence, transparency, and uniformity in the qualifications, appointment, terms and conditions of service of 16 major tribunals. These tribunals deal with crucial sectors of industry and areas of the economy and society – including the Central Administrative Tribunal, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Securities Appellate Tribunal, Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, National Green Tribunal, Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal, etc. We have come a long way from such tribunals being “alternative” adjudicatory mechanisms to being mainstays of dispute resolution and justice delivery. However, the importance of the work that these tribunals do is betrayed by the many institutional ills plaguing them, including vacancies, short-staffing, deficiencies in qualification, and alarming pendency of cases. As of March 2026, approximately 5.08 lakh cases were pending across 16 major tribunals in 2025. The Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) had the highest pendency at 2.45 lakh cases, followed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) with 71,454 cases. It is estimated Dilip highlights slip positioning, Kohli’s fielding intensity ahead of Tests Page 12 Page 7 Parliament stalled amid Govt-Oppn showdown he Parliament complex on Tuesday witnessed an unusual showdown as MPs of the ruling BJP-led NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc came face-to-face at the main gate of Parliament, holding placards and raising slogans against each other, even as security personnel formed a cordon between the two groups. While NDA members raised the issue of alleged police action against job aspirants in Jharkhand, Opposition MPs protested against the police action during the 20 July student protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and raised the issue of alleged theft of donations at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. NDA MPs also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of “running Wednesday, 12 August 2026 SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL | that clearing pending cases at existing disposal rates could take a decade. As noted by the Supreme Court in the case of L. Chandra Kumar in 1997, scrapping tribunals is not the answer ~ “That the various Tribunals have not performed up to the expectations is a self-evident and widely acknowledged truth. However, to draw an inference that their unsatisfactory performance points to their being founded on a fundamentally unsound principle would not be correct.” What is needed, therefore, is not an overhaul but urgent reform, which comes in the form of the 2026 Bill. The Bill does not alter the jurisdiction or powers of any of the tribun- als that it deals with, or diminish their independence or integrity, and nor does it seek to overreach the pow ers of the courts. Instead, it strikes a fine balance between ideals of efficiency and independence, and streamlines the many concerns that have been articulated about the operation of tribunals, from their inception in 1976 to the present day. A lesson from history: from 1976 to 2026 The story of tribunals in our country is an eventful one, which begins with the 42nd Amendment in 1976, which introduced Articles 323A and 323B into the Constitution providing for Administrative Tribunals. These tribunals were intended as specialised adjudicatory fora and also meant to relieve the pressures and delays plaguing traditional courts. • Turn to Page 5 With just two more days to go before the Monsoon Session ends on Thursday, sources say the government may be willing to hold discussion on the Ram Mandir donation theft provided the Opposition first allows a proper discussion on students’ agitation across the country in a proper format. “After the protests in Jharkhand, the government wants the discussion to cover similar issues in other parts of the country as well,” they say. Opposition parties, which have been cornering the BJP government in Parliament over paper leaks and police action against protesting students, are facing protests in states ruled by them. This has given an opportunity to the ruling BJP at the Centre to corner the Opposition, in particular target the Congress for its “silence” on other protests, and especially Jharkhand. JPSC-JSSC row: Students seek direct talks with J’khand CM STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Ranchi, 11 August Students protesting alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC recruitment examinations sought direct talks with Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Tuesday, a day after police action during their proposed Assembly gherao, and said the agitation would continue. The protest at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium was relatively subdued compared with Monday, with fewer students present. However, representatives of the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch said the lower turnout did not mean the movement had weakened and that they would continue to press their demands peacefully. “We want to speak directly with the Chief Minister now,” Reform Manch representatives Ravindra and Piyush said, adding that several rounds of discussions had already been held with the governmentappointed committee. The students said Tuesday’s protest was being conducted peacefully and silently following Monday’s police action. They maintained that the agitation would continue until their key demands were addressed. The health of several protesters remained a concern. Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato, who had been on hunger strike, was admitted to hospital after his condition deteriorated. At least four other protesters are also undergoing treatment, while several candidates injured during Monday’s police action are receiving treatment at Sadar Hospital, according to the organisers. Six protesters from the two student platforms at the stadium are currently on hunger strike, with their health being monitored, the organisers said. A candidate associated with the JPSC-JSSC Nyay Manch staged a symbolic protest by writing “Hum gunde nahi hain” on his body. The gesture aimed to assert that the protesters were job aspirants raising recruitment-related grievances, not troublemakers.