7  All females on the left and right were dressed up for send-off parties (9)

 8  A North Indian bureaucrat’s backing a sporting champion (5)

 9  Soldier finally leaves command centres seeking quiet places to go (9)

10/22D/16 Arjun, say, gets a damsel to concede nothing (4,1,,6,4)

12 Substitute fellow 's digging the ground in the middle (4,2)

13 Airport played a Byzantine hymn (8)

14 Giacomo Casanova was one flummoxed by a ploy (7)

17 Offshore banks? (7)

20 God entered secretly (2,6)

22 Island withdraws free place of worship (6)

24 Head of Programming walks out of Oracle's home town (5)

25 This collector is left negotiating Brexit (2-7)

26 Maharaja wantonly arrests a fighter (5)

27 Smoking grass, dear, is concerning (2,7)

 2  Outbreak of leptospirosis infected the partner with devastating effect (8)

 3  At the centre, pizza pot's leaking hot concentrate (4,2)

 4  The Tamil coast is replete with recurrent wind and rain, say (7)

 5  Well-done masala dosas without mixed fresh vegetables is a crunchy snack (6)

 6  Non-partisan Hazare loudly told a story (8)

11 With oil, kale and spinach heads are sauteed in these (4)

15 Very old retreat, say, in Lonavla- almost done up (8)

16 See 10 Across

18 A born criminal- mad and lecherous, to start with - might be this (8)

19 Commie leader of China’s wearing smart pants (7)

21 Off-limits, chary Osama re-created a place to meditate (6)

22 See 10 Across

23 One end is, in some way, restricted (6)