Russian President Putin set to visit India in early December
New Delhi (PTI): Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India around December 5 to hold annual summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that are expected to produce significant outcomes to further solidify bilateral strategic ties, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
While preparations are underway for the high-profile visit, it is not yet clear whether the Russian president will come for a day-long trip or if he will be in India for two days.
Ahead of Putin's trip, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to India next month to finalise the finer details of the presidential visit.
The Russian president had last visited New Delhi in 2021.
The two sides are also expected to hold a meeting under the framework of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) before Putin's trip, the people cited above said.
At the India-Russia annual summit, Modi and Putin are expected to deliberate on further expanding the "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" between the two countries. There is no official word yet on dates for Putin's trip.
The focus of the talks could be to deepen cooperation in areas of defence and security, trade and energy, said one of the people cited above.
India and Russia have a mechanism under which India's prime minister and the Russian president hold a summit meeting annually to review the entire gamut of ties. So far, 22 annual summit meetings have taken place alternatively in India and Russia.
In July last year, PM Modi travelled to Moscow for the annual summit. Russia has been a time-tested partner for India, and the country has been a key pillar of New Delhi's foreign policy.
It is learnt that India may also look to procure additional batches of S-400 air defence missile systems from Russia after the weapons played a significant role during Operation Sindoor.
In October 2018, India had signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions.
Russia already supplied three of the five S-400 regiments India ordered, with the remaining two expected to be delivered in 2026. The delivery schedule was delayed due to Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine.
A month back, Prime Minister Modi and President Putin held talks on the margins of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese city of Tianjin.
In the talks, the two sides vowed to strengthen their strategic ties. The Modi-Putin meeting took place days after the US doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duty for India's purchase of Russian crude oil.
Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.
In his televised opening remarks at the meeting, Modi told the Russian president that 140 crore Indians are eagerly waiting to welcome him in India in December.
"This is a reflection of the depth and scope of our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. India and Russia have always stood shoulder-to-shoulder even in the most difficult situations," he had said.
The prime minister said that close cooperation between the two countries is important not only for the people of both countries but also for global peace, stability and prosperity.
In their upcoming summit talks, the two leaders are also expected to deliberate on the Ukraine conflict.
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SC seeks ED's response on journalist's bail plea in money laundering case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its response within three days on a bail plea of journalist Mahesh Langa in a money laundering case linked to an alleged financial fraud.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the jailed journalist, to file rejoinder, if needed, to the ED's response within two days of it being filed.
The top court fixed the case for further hearing on December 15.
During the brief hearing on Monday, Sibal said a journalist has been facing as many as six cases.
"The journalist is accused of extortion," the counsel for the ED said and sought a short adjournment on the ground that Solicitor General Tuhar Mehta was unavailable at the moment.
The top court on September 8 sought responses from the Gujarat government and the ED on Langa's bail plea.
While issuing the notices on Langa's bail plea, the bench asked, "What kind of a journalist is he?"
"With due respect, there are some very genuine journalists. But there are also people who on their scooter say we are 'patrakar' (journalists) and what they actually do everybody knows," the bench told Sibal.
Sibal replied that these are all allegations.
"In one FIR, he gets anticipatory bail, then a second FIR is lodged and again anticipatory bail is granted but now he is booked under a third FIR for income tax evasion. There are other things also against him," Sibal submitted.
He added that there is a background to the case also.
On July 31, the Gujarat High Court rejected Langa's bail plea in the money laundering case on the grounds that if released on bail, prejudice would be caused to the prosecution case.
On February 25, the ED said it arrested Langa in a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged financial fraud.
He was first arrested in October 2024 in a GST fraud case.
The money laundering case against Langa stems from two FIRs filed by Ahmedabad police on charges of fraud, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, cheating and causing wrongful loss of lakhs of rupees to certain people.
