DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 CASH AT HOME ROW: ALLAHABAD BAR ASSOCIATION CALLS STRIKE SCshuntsJusticeVarmatoAllahabadHC;Bar opposes,callsforFIRandmovetoimpeachhim Even if Govt clears his transfer, Justice Varma, who will be No. 9 there, won’t sit in court as judicial work is withdrawn SOHINI GHOSH NEW DELHI, MARCH 24 EVEN AS the Allahabad High Court Bar Association protested Monday, the Supreme Court Collegium stood firm on its decisiontorepatriateDelhiHighCourt judge Justice Yashwant Varma, caught in the eye of a storm after wads of burnt currency were allegedlyfoundathishomeduring a fire, to his parent High Court. OnMonday,theSCCollegium published its recommendation: BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Justice Yashwant Varma “The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meetings held on 20th and 24th March, has recommended repatriation of Justice Yashwant Varma, Judge, High Court of Delhi, to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad.” JusticeVarmawillbeninthin NEW DELHI, MARCH 24 ANANTHAKRISHNAN G IMAGINE A quick strip test that reveals whether a patient has been taking their tuberculosis (TB) medicines regularly or not. Or a simple test that can detect the infection in blood, saliva or even stool samples. Picture drones flying across remote areas, delivering life-saving medicines and transporting patient samples with ease. These aren’t just ideas. These innovations,selectedbynational NEW DELHI, MARCH 24 NOTING THAT the number of student suicides has surpassed instances of farmers killing themselves due to agrarian distress, the Supreme Court on Monday set up a national task forcetoaddressstudents’mental health concerns and prevent suicides in higher educational institutions. The 10-member task force will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat. “The recurring instances of student suicides in higher educational institutions, including private educational institutions, serve as a grim reminder of the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of the existing legal and institutional framework in addressing mental health concerns of studentsoncampusesandpreventing them from taking the extreme step of committing suicides,”saidabenchof Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan. “These tragedies underscore theurgentneedforamorerobust, comprehensive, and responsive mechanism to address the various factors that compel certain students to resort to taking their own lives,” the bench said. The task force will include representatives from diverse fields to ensure an interdisciplinary approach to tackling the issue. It will draw up a comprehensive report identifying the predominant causes that lead to student suicides, including CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 1 ANCHOR CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, MARCH 24 FIVE POLICE personnel who wereamongthefirstresponders during a fire at the residence of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma on the night of March 14 have submitted their phones to the Delhi Police headquarters, The Indian Express has learnt. The devices, highly placed sources said, will be used in the inquiry being conducted by a three-member committee of judges set up by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna in the wake of cash allegedly being found during the blaze. OnMondaymorning,thefive police personnel, including the station house officer of Tughlaq Road police station, were called by Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora to his office. It is learnt that Arora asked them to cooperate with the inquiry and not to hesitate in divulging any information. The five personnel include the SHO, a sub-inspector, two head constables and a constable. One of the head constables is also the investigating officer (IO). CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED PAGE 12 Test to check regular intake of medicines, AI to read slides: Tech may join TB fight ANONNA DUTT SC sets up task force to curb student suicides seniorityatAllahabadHCbutitis likely that he will not sit in court. CJI Sanjiv Khanna on March 22 had instructed the Delhi HC Chief Justice “not to assign any judicial work” to Justice Varma. On Monday, the Delhi HC Registrar of listing division had notified that judicial work from Justice Varma stands “withdrawn with immediate effect”. TheAllahabadHighCourtBar Association, in its general house meeting Monday, passed a resolution, opposing Justice Varma’s To ‘aid inquiry’, 5 cops who reached fire site submit phones to police HQ experts recently, could soon become part of India’s fight against TB. At last week’s India InnovationSummit,whichlooks for pioneering solutions to end TB, the country’s top experts chose five innovations from 228 cutting-edge ideas from across the globe. Each innovation was scored basedonitsreadinessforhuman use, whether it was cost-effective or not, and if it could be implemented in India, particularly within the country’s national TB elimination programme. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WHY THIS MATTERS India accounts for 26% of the global TB cases It accounts for 29% of deaths due to TB INDIA TB REPORT 2023 2024 Estimated TB cases 27.4 lakh 27.8 lakh Number of cases reported 24.2 lakh 25.5 lakh 3.2 lakh 3.2 lakh Estimated mortality 100-DAY CAMPAIGN ■ Total number of vulnerable people screened: 12.97 crore ■ Number of patients diagnosed: 7.19 lakh ■ Number of asymptomatic patients diagnosed: 2.85 lakh ■ Number of chest X-rays conducted (technology recently included in the programme): 80.31 lakh Source: Global TB Report, India TB Report, Report on 100-day campaign GANDHINAGAR, MARCH 24 CONGRESS MLA from Ahmedabad's Jamalpur constituency Imran Khedawala – the only Muslim legislator in Gujarat Assembly – on Monday sought protection from the Speaker against alleged “insulting” references made towards him by members of the ruling BJP while referring to him as a person “from a specific community”. Following this, Speaker Shankar Chaudhary advised all the members of the House to refrain from making personal references. The issue cropped up during the Question Hour when a starred question raised by Khedawala was taken up for discussion. The legislator had sought to know the details relatedtotheproposedoverbridge between Vishala Circle and Sarkhej Crossroads in Focus on bilateral trade agreement during meetings over four days RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, MARCH 24 WITH INDIA indicating its willingness to offer tariff cuts on a range of American products underthebilateraltradeagreement (BTA),ahigh-levelUSdelegation, including the Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, Brendan Lynch, is set to begin a four-day visit to India starting Tuesday. The visit comes days before the US plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on April 2, which are feared to affect Indian exports of keyproductssuchasagriculture, meat and processed food, automobiles, diamonds, gold products, chemicals and pharma products, where tariff differentials range between 8 and 33 per cent. Indicatingabroad-baseddiscussion with India, the US Embassy on Monday stated that “trade” as well as “investments” would be part of the four-day bilateralmeetingstartingTuesday. India’s trade agreements, especially with developed countries, are increasingly being modelled on investment commitments in exchange for tariff cuts. However, government officials have told industry executivesthatIndiaisplanningtoset- E ● Key US visits FROM US Vice President J D Vance to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, a series of high-level visits to India are scheduled in the coming months, seeking to boost the strategic partnership between the two sides. These visits will prepare the ground for President Donald Trump’s likely visit for the Quad Summit later this year. tlemosttradeissuesduringtalks with the US team on a bilateral trade deal. “Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, along with a team of US government officials, will be in India from March 25 to 29 for meetings with Indian interlocutors as part of ongoing bilateral trade discussions,” the US Embassy said in a statement. On the US delegation’s visit, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GUJARAT Police outside Mumbai’s The UniContinental hotel on Monday, a day after it was vandalised over stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s video on Deputy CM Eknath Shinde. Sankhadeep Banerjee BULLET TRAIN GANTRY COLLAPSES ON RAILWAY LINE; SERVICES OF 51 TRAINS HIT HOW POLICE SAVED PASTOR FROM DIGITAL ARREST P3 Kamra booked, BMC team lands at hotel where Shinde video was shot Won’t apologise, don’t fear mob, says Kamra THE EDITORIAL PAGE A JOKE Target Kunal Kamra, shrink space for irreverence — and hope India will be a creative superpower PAGE6 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, MARCH 24 A DAY after comedian Kunal Kamra posted a video of his stand-upshowinwhichhetakes a jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde among others, the Mumbai Police on Monday booked him for defamation. The Brihanmumbai Kamra posted a photo with the Constitution on Monday Municipal Corporation (BMC) alsosentateamtothehotel(The UniContinental) in Khar area whichhousesthestudio(Habitat Studio) where the video was shot. The team carried out an in- spection of the site and got an unauthorisedshedpulleddown. Meanwhile, police also registered an FIR against some members of Shinde's Yuva Sena for vandalising the studio on Sunday. While 12 Shinde Sena workers were arrested, they were later released on bail. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Gujarat’s lone Muslim legislator seeks protection over ‘insulting’ references; be respectful: Speaker to all MLAs PARIMAL A DABHI Ahead of reciprocal tariffs, US trade delegation to begin India visit today EXPLAINED TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES Congress MLA Khedawala (L) had taken exception to minister Vishwakarma’s words during a discussion on encroachments. Ahmedabad city. The road passes through minority dominated Juhapura and Sarkhej areas of the city. The government replied that the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approvedtheoverbridgeatthecost of Rs 1,295.39 crore and its work isexpectedtobeoverby2027after getting necessary approvals. In his supplementary question, Khedawala sought to know when work on the bridge will be commenced and completed. In reply, Minister of State Jagdish Vishwakarma said that initiating the work and its completion depends on a number of factors, including the number of encroachments on the road. Vishwakarma then said, “I want to say that if the work on the road is to be completed expeditiously, then I will have to take help of Imranbhai. On that single road, there are more than 700 non-veg lorries, shops, kiosks; more than 1,200 rickshawslieonthatroad,around11 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 BJP stalls House over Shivakumar remarks, Cong says another bid to dodge discussions LIZ MATHEW & DIVYA A NEW DELHI, MARCH 24 PARLIAMENT proceedings remaineddisruptedonMondayas the BJP alleged that senior Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had spoken of “changing the Constitution” to implement a Muslim quota. Dismissing the BJP’s claims, the Congress called it another tactic bytherulingpartytoavoidadiscussion on serious issues in the House,includingallegedcashrecovery from Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma’s house. At the same time, Congress leaders are wary of the BJP using its claims regarding Shivakumar to weaken the party’s campaign around the Constitution against the BJP. On Monday morning, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in Rajya Sabha, Monday. PTI KirenRijijuledthechargeagainst Shivakumar, with BJP leaders saying they could not remain quiet on an “extremely serious” statement by a person “who is holding a constitutional post”. Rijiju demanded that the CongresssackShivakumarorthe party clarify whether it would indeed change the Constitution CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IN PARLIAMENT PAGE 10 After Nalanda, another Bihar university set to rise from the ruins SANTOSH SINGH ANTICHAK (BHAGALPUR), MARCH 24 A DECADE after Nalanda University came up in the foothills of Rajgir, work is on to revive another ancient centre of learning in Bihar — Vikramshila. While the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has, since December last year, been developing the site of the ancient VikramshilaUniversitytoattract more tourists, the Bihar government recently identified 202.14 acres at Antichak village in BhagalpurdistrictfortheCentral university. Though the Centre had approved the project in 2015 and sanctioned Rs 500 crore, with the state government unable to identify a suitable land for the project, there had been little progress until now. Speaking in Bhagalpur on February 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said,“Atitspeak, Vikramshila University was a centre of knowledge for the world. We have already fused ancient Nalanda university’s glory with the new Nalanda University.AfterNalanda,itisthe turn of Vikramshila as we are opening a Central university.” On a weekend morning, workers at the site of the ruins of the ancient Vikramshila Mahaviharweededoutvegetationand carefullybrushedoffthesoiltoexpose the underlying features. As part of the conservation and preservation process, the entire site has been divided into grids. Risingabovetheruins,glisteninginthesun,isacruciformbrick stupa, the centrepiece of the Vikramshila site. All around the stupaarethecells—208of them, 52oneachside—wherestudentmonks of one of the most splendid universities of its times practised Tantrayana, the last of the three great vehicles of Indian Ruins of the ancient Vikramshila University in Bhagalpur. ASI Buddhism after Hinayana and Mahayana.Tantrayana,whichincorporated tantric practices and rituals, is what the scholars at Vikramshila excelled in. Founded by king Dharmapala of the Pala dynasty in the late 8th to early 9 Century AD, Vikramshila Mahavihar existed and flourished at the time of Nalanda. “While Nalanda university flourishedfromtheGuptaPeriod (320-550 AD) to the 12th Century, Vikramshila thrived during the Pala Period (8th to 12thcentury).WhileNalandagot more international fame for teaching varied disciplines, Vikramshilawastheonlyuniversitythatspecialisedintantricand occult studies. In fact, during Dharmapala’sreign,Vikramshila reigned supreme and is known to have controlled Nalanda’s affairs as well,” said ASI Superintending Archaeologist (Patna Circle) Sujit Nayan. While Nalanda is the older of thetwouniversities,atonepoint, the two centres of learning, which had a common patron in king Dharmapala, exchanged knowledge and even teachers, who were called Acharyas. At its peak, subjects such as theology, philosophy, grammar, metaphysics and logic were taught at Vikramshila. But the most important branch of learning were the tantras because Vikramshila flourished in the days of tantricism, when occult sciences and magic were subjects of study both in Buddhism as well as Hinduism. Theuniversityproducedseveral eminent scholars, among them, Atisa Dipankara, who playedakeyroleintheestablishment of Buddhism in Tibet. The institution prospered for about four centuries before fading out along with Nalanda around the 13th century — a decline that experts attribute to a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad