New Delhi, April 1: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the constitutional validity of a provision of the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

In the alternative, a bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar suggested the PIL litigant to move an intervention application in the pending clutch of pleas challenging the validity of the contentious law, which prohibits the filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947.

The CJI Khanna-led Special Bench, in an interim order passed on December 12, 2024, ordered that no fresh suits would be registered under the Places of Worship Act in the country, and in the pending cases, no final or effective orders would be passed till further orders.

As per the latest petition filed through advocate Shweta Sinha, Section 4(2) of the 1991 Act is manifestly arbitrary, irrational and violative of Articles 14, 21, 25, and 26 of the Constitution.

“This provision not only closes the doors of mediation but also takes away the power of the judiciary. The legislature cannot take away the power of the judiciary to preside over disputes. This has been done through colourable legislation,” stated the plea.

In March 2021, a Bench headed by then Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde sought the Centre’s response to the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay challenging the validity of certain provisions of the law, prohibiting the filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947.

The plea said: “The 1991 Act was enacted in the garb of ‘public order’, which is a state subject (Schedule-7, List-II, Entry-1) and ‘places of pilgrimages within India’ is also a state subject (Schedule-7, List-II, Entry-7). So, the Centre can’t enact the Law. Moreover, Article 13(2) prohibits the State from making a law to take away fundamental rights, but the 1991 Act takes away the rights of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs, to restore their ‘places of worship and pilgrimages’, destroyed by barbaric invaders.”

“The Act excludes the birthplace of Lord Rama but includes the birthplace of Lord Krishna, though both are incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the creator and equally worshipped throughout the world, hence, it is arbitrary,” it added.

New Delhi, April 1: The Life Insurance Corporation of India’s (LIC) potential acquisition of a 40-49 per cent stake in ManipalCigna Health Insurance could reshape the health insurance market, a JP Morgan report said on Tuesday.

According to the brokerage, the potential acquisition is expected to be a strategic move for LIC, leveraging its extensive agency distribution network of 1.4 million individual agents to scale its new health venture.

“Despite the relatively small size of ManipalCigna compared to LIC, the acquisition is anticipated to bring substantial value over the next few years,” the brokerage noted.

LIC India is reportedly in the final stages of acquiring a significant minority stake in ManipalCigna Health Insurance, a standalone health insurer.

The deal, valued at Rs 3,500-3,700 crore, would see LIC owning 40-49 per cent of ManipalCigna, which is currently owned by Manipal Education and Medical Group (51 per cent) and Cigna Holding Overseas (49 per cent).

JP Morgan analysts believe that LIC’s entry into the health insurance market could be disruptive, with competitive initial pricing aimed at gaining market share.

However, the key challenge for LIC will be managing the health loss ratio, a critical factor in ensuring the success of this venture.

ManipalCigna, with a market share of 1.4 per cent in the total health insurance industry and 4.7 per cent within the standalone health insurance space, has shown promising growth.

“LIC’s competitive advantage in the health insurance space lies in its economies of scale, majorly due to its established agency distribution,” the brokerage noted.

Despite industry debates, LIC has continued to expand its coverage. The insurer reported a 28.29 per cent rise in group yearly renewable premiums and a 7.9 per cent growth in individual premiums during the first 11 months of FY25.

As of February 2025, its total premium collection reached Rs 1.90 lakh crore, up 1.90 per cent from the previous year.

In February alone, LIC issued 12.02 lakh policies in the individual segment, while the group yearly renewable category recorded 1,430 policies and schemes. Across all categories, LIC’s total number of policies stood at 12.04 lakh for the month.

New Delhi, April 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Thailand, beginning Thursday, for the sixth BIMSTEC Summit, during which he will meet his counterpart, Paetongtarn Shinawatra and hold bilateral ties.

During the visit, PM Modi will be enhancing India’s deep civilisational linkages, maritime connectivity, and cross-cultural exchanges with member countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit.

At the summit, themed ‘BIMSTEC – Prosperous, Resilient and Open’, the leaders are also expected to discuss various institutional and capacity-building measures to augment collaboration within the BIMSTEC framework, the Ministry of External Affairs said last week.

India has been taking several initiatives in BIMSTEC to strengthen regional cooperation and partnership, including in enhancing security; facilitating trade and investment; establishing physical, maritime and digital connectivity; collaborating in food, energy, climate and human security; promoting capacity building and skill development; and enhancing people-to-people ties,” read a statement issued by the MEA.

PM Modi’s visit to the South Asian country at the invitation of the Thai government is expected to strengthen ties and reaffirm India’s commitment to regional cooperation.

This would be the second meeting between PM Modi and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Earlier, PM Modi visited Thailand in 2019, and this visit is expected to build on the positive momentum of bilateral relations.

The last BIMSTEC Summit was hosted by Colombo in virtual format.

Established in June 1997, the BIMSTEC regional grouping forms a unique link between South and South-East Asia with five members from South Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka – and two from South-East Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.

Thailand is India’s maritime neighbour, a valuable partner in the Act East policy and vision for the Indo-Pacific, and also a highly valued partner in BIMSTEC.

India and Thailand are maritime neighbours with shared civilisational bonds underpinned by cultural, linguistic, and religious ties.

Notably, India recently sent the holy relics of Lord Buddha and two of his main disciples for a 25-day exposition across five different cities of Thailand, and its unprecedented success cemented age-old ties between the two nations.