EAM Jaishankar, US secretary of state Rubio hold talks in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday held talks with his American counterpart Marco Rubio amid efforts by the two sides to reset bilateral ties that have come under severe strain over punitive US tariffs on Indian goods.
Jaishankar and Rubio met in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"Glad to meet @SecRubio this morning in Kuala Lumpur. Appreciated the discussion on our bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues," the external affairs minister said in a post on X.
Glad to meet @SecRubio this morning in Kuala Lumpur.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 27, 2025
Appreciated the discussion on our bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues.
🇮🇳 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/mlrqoyZypB
The relations between New Delhi and Washington have been reeling under severe strain after US President Donald Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India including an additional 25 per cent levies for its procurement of Russian crude oil.
India described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".
It is understood that Jaishankar and Rubio also broadly delved into the proposed trade pact between the two sides.
Five rounds of talks have been completed so far for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the US.
According to an official, the proposed trade deal is "very near" to concluding.
On Sunday, Jaishankar held separate talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and his Thai counterpart Sihasak Phuangketkeow.
The 11-nation ASEAN is considered one of the most influential blocs in the region, with India and several other countries, including the US, China, Japan and Australia, being its dialogue partners.
Malaysia is hosting the annual ASEAN summit and related meetings in Kuala Lumpur in its capacity as the current chair of the grouping.
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SC refuses plea against Andhra Pradesh govt panel reviewing SIT report on Tirumala laddu row
New Delhi (PTI): In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to restrain a one-member committee appointed by the Andhra Pradesh government from reviewing an independent Special Investigation Team's (SIT) report on the Tirumala laddu controversy.
The top court, on October 4, 2024, had set up the five-member independent SIT to probe the allegations of animal fat used in preparing Tirupati laddus to "assuage the feelings of crores of people", while making clear that the court cannot be used as a "political battleground".
On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi was told by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy that the state government's decision to appoint the one-member committee amounts to setting up a parallel inquiry that would affect the SIT's probe. The plea also assailed statements made by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on the row.
Rejecting the submissions, the CJI noted that the SIT probe is already over and the matter is sub-judice as two chargesheets, including a supplementary one, have been submitted in the court.
"Such an administrative enquiry cannot be called as overlapping with the criminal proceedings which led to the chargesheet and the supplementary chargesheet," the CJI said.
"There is no conflict of interest/overlapping, and the scope of the investigation/enquiry, having been well demarcated, shows that apprehension of the petitioner does not have a solid foundation. Let both processes continue strictly in accordance with the law," the court said.
Swamy argued that the state government's move undermines the authority of the SIT, constituted earlier by the Supreme Court itself to probe irregularities surrounding the laddus distributed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the SIT has completed its investigation and filed its final report.
He underlined that according to the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) manual, if administrative lapses not connected to a criminal matter are found during a probe, then those have to be intimated to the state government, and as the SIT has found certain administrative lapses, the Andhra Pradesh government's panel is looking into those.
The panel replaced the state government's SIT, constituted on September 26, 2024, following the politically-sensitive row over the alleged use of animal fat in the laddus.
The controversy erupted after Naidu's claim that animal fat was used in preparing Tirupati laddus during the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led regime in the southern state.
The YSR Congress Party has accused Naidu of levelling "heinous allegations" against it for political gains, while the ruling Telugu Desam Party in the state has circulated a laboratory report to back its claim.
A batch of pleas, including those seeking a court-monitored probe into the alleged use of animal fat in making the laddus, was then filed in the apex court.
