FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 232| INDORE | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 28, 2026 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Atiqa makes history with stunning WSK debut P.12 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE UJJAIN PUNE MONEY BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit CJI’s vision for high courts P.6 AIM TO IMPLEMENT INDIA-EU FTA BY END OF 2026: GOYAL Cinema Ethos of Mardaani is good versus evil P.14 SC declines MOTHER OF ALL DEALS | PM Modi and top EU leadership unveil grand agenda to leverage plea against trade and defence to shore up ties amid a fractious world order VIP darshan at Mahakal temple IANS NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a petition challenging the practice of ‘VIP darshan’ and selective entry into the 'Garbhagriha' of the Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain. A bench, headed by CJ) Surya Kant, observed that it was not a matter for judicial interference. Sensing the court's disinclination to entertain the plea, the petitioner’s counsel chose to withdraw the matter with liberty to make a representation before the authorities concerned. "Whether it should be allowed or should not be, it’s not for the apex court to decide. Ideally, maybe. But for that, let those who are at the helm of affairs take a decision, not the courts," the bench, also comprising Justices R. Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi, observed. The special leave petition challenged the Madhya Pradesh High Court order, which had dismissed the public interest litigation against alleged preferential treatment being given to VIPs to enter the 'Garbhagriha' to offer water to the deity, while denying access to the general public. 4Continued on | P8 INDIA-EU SEAL FTA Modi’s double engine pitch Ashwin Ahmad NEW DELHI After nearly 20 years of negotiation, India and the EU finally inked the long-awaited IndiaEU Free Trade agreement. The deal was signed at Hyderabad House in the presence of Prime Minister Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.  But while the deal is signed, its ramifications are not likely to come into place before it is vetted by the European Parliament and EU member nations, and the same process holds true for India. Nevertheless, diplomats say the signing of such a deal showcases political intent a fact that Prime Minister Modi stressed that India and the EU has concluded the “mother of all deals” on the sidelines of the 16th  India-EU summit. “This agreement will bring major opportunities for the public in India and Europe. This is a perfect example of a partnership between two major economies of the world...This agreement represents 25% of the global GDP and one-third of global Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for a "double engine" growth approach amid "turmoil in global environment" as India and the European Union signed the "historic" free trade agreement (FTA) on Tuesday. "There is turmoil in global environment; India-EU will provide stability to world order," the PM said ‘Delivering security in insecure world’ PM Narendra Modi with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during their meeting in New Delhi WIN-WIN WHAT EU GAINS WHAT INDIA GAINS l Over 97% of exports to India will see tariffs cut or eliminated. l Nearly 99% of exports by value will get preferential EU entry. l Tariffs will fall from 110% l To boost sectors like textiles, engineering goods, pharto 10% for cars. maceuticals, medical del Tariffs on wine to drop vices, electronics, from 150% to 20%, on chemicals, plastics and rubbeer from 110% to 50%. ber, leather, gems and jewellery, handicrafts, tea, l Easier market access for spices machinery and electrical equipment, aircraft and l Will benefit MSMEs, IT and spacecraft exports, IT-enabled services, educachemical, pharmaceutition sector, financial sercal, agri-food products. vices, tourism, construction 3 MoUs inked for generating 4k MW power at Rs 60k cr Pacts were signed with Adani, Torrent Power & Hindustan Thermal Project in presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Three MoUs were inked for three power plants in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday. The MoUs were for the production of 4,000 MW at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore. The power plants will be set up in the Anuppur district. The Managing Director of the MP Power Management Company Vishesh Garhpale; SB Khyalia of Adani Power Limited; Ratul Puri of Hindustan Thermal Projects, and Jigish Mehta of Torrent Power signed the MoUs. Additional Chief Secretary High Court, principal bench at Jabalpur, on Tuesday directed state government to submit a comparative chart explaining how lacunae pointed out in R.B. Rai case (2002) have been addressed in new promotion policy, 2025. The next hearing has been fixed for February 3. The order was passed by division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Anusuchit Jati–Janjati Adhikari Evam Karamchari Sangh (AJJAKS) withdrew its NEW DELHI Rijiju: Process on to impeach Justice Varma The process to impeach Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma is underway and the government is awaiting the report of a threemember committee set up by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to probe charges against him, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Tuesday. Birla set up the committee on August 12 last year to probe corruption charges against Justice Varma after admitting a multi-party notice for his removal. Justice Varma was repatriated from the Delhi HC to the Allahabad HC after burnt wads of currency notes were found at his official residence. (Energy) of the CM’s Secretariat, Neeraj Mandloi, was also present at the meeting. Nearly 8,000 people will get jobs, directly or indirectly, through the power projects to be set up on the basis of design, build, finance, on-andoperate model. The power plants have been given through a competitive bidding process. Hindustan Thermal will generate 800 MW, Torrent Power 1,600 MW, and Adani Power Limited 800 MW. Kalraj Mishra seeks review of UGC rules SC suggests attachment of properties of acid attackers Biswajeet Banerjee IANS NEW DELHI LUCKNOW Senior BJP leader and former governor Kalraj Mishra’s demand for a review of the newly implemented UGC regulations has brought internal unease within the ruling party into the open, amid widening protests by students and social groups across Uttar Pradesh, resignations by BJP office bearers, and disciplinary action against the Bareilly city magistrate. Calling the new UGC framework “highly discriminatory against the upper caste”, Mishra said that while every student has the right to complain about caste discrimination, no single caste should be targeted. He said the present rules violated this principle and urged the government to review the regulations to ensure justice for all. Anger against the rules was visible on the streets of several cities on Tuesday. The UGC implemented the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, from JaScan & Watch nuary 15. The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the pendency of acid attack cases across the country and called for more stringent measures, including the attachment of properties of convicts to ensure meaningful compensation to victims. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, while hearing a PIL seeking enforcement of guidelines earlier laid down EC chief flaunts OCI card States across India are set to benefit from the landmark India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with exports estimated at Rs 6.4 lakh crore expected to gain access to 27 EU markets under a single trade framework, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in a post on X. The FTA is expected to enhance market access for Indian products across a wide range of sectors. European Council President Antonio Costa showed his overseas Indian card during the joint press meet. "I'm the President of the European Council, but I'm also an overseas Indian citizen. Then, as you can imagine, for me it has a special meaning. I'm very proud of my roots in Goa, where my father's family came from and the connection between Europe and India is something personal to me" ‘Submit comparative chart on promotion policy 2025, Rule 2002’ Our Staff Reporter 4Continued on | P8 Rs 6.4L-cr export boost HIGH COURT TO STATE GOVT BHOPAL CM Mohan Yadav shows MoU at CM House on Tuesday. Ursula von der Leyen, referring to the defence partnership pact, said Europe and India have chosen to be reliable partners to one another. "We are not only making our economies stronger, we are also delivering security for our people in an increasingly insecure world. And today, the world's two largest economies and democracies launched their first-ever security and defence partnership," she said by the top court, noted the submission that 15 High Courts have so far furnished details of pending acid attack cases. As per the status report placed before the apex court, Uttar Pradesh alone has 198 pending cases, followed by Gujarat with 114, West Bengal with 60, Bihar with 68 and Maharashtra with 58 cases.In its order, the CJI Kant-led Bench noted that reports from the remaining High Courts are still awaited. 4Continued on | P8 petitions challenging validity of Rules 11 and 12 of Promotion Rules, 2025. Earlier, AJJAKS had questioned the new promotion policy, arguing that it does not provide any mechanism for meritorious reserved category officials to avail promotion benefits under unreserved (UR) category, which should be open to all categories. Appearing for Samanya Pichhda Alpsankhyak Kalyan Samaj (SAPAKS), advocate Anmol Shrivastava said the government has been given a last opportunity to clarify its stand in next hearing. 4Continued on | P8 ADG training Raja Babu Singh on Monday asked madrassa students to read Bhagavad Gita along with Quran, saying it has enlightened humanity for centuries. He was interacting with students of a madrassa in Doraha village of Sehore district through video conference on Republic Day. Singh said maulana of madrassa is his old friend and had requested him to address students on the occasion. “During interaction, I asked students about subjects they read and suggested they also read Bhagavad Gita along with Holy Quran, as it has been enlightening humanity for centuries,” he said. Singh congratulated students for education they are receiving and asked them and their teachers to develop concern for environment conservation, scientific temper and tolerance. He also told students that India is a vast country and it is duty of every citizen to uphold its “integrity and unity, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari”. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Jilted lover enters woman’s house, stabs family, bro dies Accused stabs himself before cops overpower him Our Staff Reporter INDORE A shocking incident of onesided love turned violent when a young man entered the house of a woman and attacked her mother and brother with a knife on Monday night. The attack resulted in the death of the woman’s brother, while her mother is undergoing treatment in a city hospital and her condition is stated to be critical. Aerodrome police station in charge Tarun Singh Bhati informed Free Press that the incident took place at the Vedant Solanki woman's house located on Anjani Nagar main road around 8.50 pm. The accused has been identified as 24-yearold Vedant Solanki, a resident of the Aerodrome area. Police said that Vedant reached her On Republic Day, students of a government high school in Bhatigwan, Maihar, were served halwa-puri on torn pages from old notebooks and books instead of plates. A video of the incident went viral on social media, triggering widespread outrage. Earlier in November 2025, a similar incident was re- BHAGIRATHPURA TRAGEDY Our Staff Reporter INDORE Indore Bench of High Court on Tuesday verbally dubbed the report on Bhagirathpura deaths “vague and merely an eye-wash” and slammed the government for use of term ‘verbal autopsy’ in it. Division Bench comprising Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi held a hearing of over two-and-ahalf hours on the public inter- State govt’s report admits to 23 deaths, including 16 due to contaminated water est litigations (PILs) filed in connection with the deaths allegedly caused by consumption of contaminated water in Bhagirathpura. The State government submitted a report stating that 23 deaths had been examined, of which 16 were attributed to contaminated water, four were described as inconclusive and three were said to be unrelated to water contamination. The court was also informed that water supply has been restored in ported in Sheopur, where mid-day meals were served on scrap newspapers. In the Maihar clip, students are seen sitting on the floor while eating. It is claimed that the person filming was stopped by organisers, but continued recording. Officials reportedly tried to cover up the incident once the video spread online. Action taken Maihar administration place carrying a knife to attack his f r i e n d named Vidhi whom he was reportedly harassing for a Vidhan few days. Seeing the knife, Vidhi’s mother 46-year-old Anita Lakhawat pushed her daughter back and tried to stop the accused. During the struggle, Vedant stabbed Anita multiple times in the stomach. Hearing the commotion, Vidhi’s brother Vidhan (20) rushed there. The accused then stabbed him in the chest. 4Continued on | P8 HC slams ‘eye-wash’ report; rejects ‘verbal autopsy’ term about 30 per cent of the affected area, covering a stretch of 9.5 kilometres. The Bench questioned the credibility of the report and expressed serious dissatisfaction with its contents. The Bench took objection to the use of the term “verbal autopsy” in the report and asked whether it was a medically recognised concept or an expression “invented” by the authorities. 4Continued on | P8 Halwa-puri served on waste paper to students Our Staff Reporter Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL trade.  Along with trade, the agreement is also reflective of our [India and European Union] shared commitment for democracy and rule of law.”   Stating that the India-EU FTA would complement the India-UK FTA and the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), prime minister Modi added that the agreement would particularly benefit those working in the textile, gems and jewelry, the leather and shoe sectors. “The trade will give a boost to the manufacturing sector while the services sector will also expand further.” On the issue of trade, the prime minister stated the India-EU FTA would “strengthen the confidence of every business and investor investing in India.” While the India-FTA agreement is yet to be passed as it has to first go through a "legal scrubbing," the expectations from both sides are high. The economic think tank, Global Trade and Research Initiative (GTRI) stated on Sunday that the Scan & Watch offgrid BHOPAL ADG training asks madrassa students to read Bhagavad Gita along with Quran tice to District Panchayat’s Midday Meal Branch incharge and DPC Vishnu Tripathi for negligence. A proposal for suspension of Government High School principal Sunil Kumar Tripathi has been forwarded to Commissioner of Rewa. Moreover, the one-month salary of contract employee BRC Pradeep Singh has been deducted. has moved swiftly following public outrage. Taking cognisance, Maihar collector issued a show-cause no- 4Continued on | P8 India: UN not delivering on peace, security UNITED NATIONS India on Monday said the United Nations is not perceived as an organisation that delivers on international peace and security, and that discussions are increasingly shifting to “parallel plurilateral frameworks”. “The multilateralism of universal membership, with the United Nations at its core, is under strain. The challenges facing this organisation go far beyond the budgetary realm. Paralysis and lack of effectiveness in tackling conflicts remain a significant shortcoming,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said. Speaking at the UN Security Council Open Debate on ‘Reaffirming International Rule of Law: Pathways to Reinvigorating Peace, Justice, and Multilateralism’, Harish said people around the world do not perceive the United Nations as an organisation that delivers on international peace and security.