National News
Delhi HC seeks Police response on Mohammed Zubair’s plea against laptop seizure

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of the Delhi Police on a plea moved by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair challenging a lower court order allowing his police custody and seizure and examination of his laptop in connection with a 2018 contentious tweet case.
Zubair was seeking restoration of the device/laptop or document seized by the police, being beyond the allegation in the FIR.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav allowed four weeks’ time for the Police to respond to the plea. The court also granted liberty to the fact-checker for filing rejoinder and additional documents in response.
On July 1, while dealing with the plea, a vacation bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula directed the police to file a counter-affidavit within two weeks.
In the last hearing, Zubair’s counsel Vrinda Grover argued that her client was arrested in breach of the Arnesh Kumar guidelines issued by the Supreme Court and that it was an attempt to breach his journalistic freedom as the police seized his mobile phone and laptop.
The Supreme Court had last week granted bail to Zubair in all the six FIRs registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police in different districts over his tweets and clubbed these FIRs with the Delhi FIR.
The top court disposed of Zubair’s plea by granting him bail in all the UP Police cases and also gave him liberty to move the Delhi High Court seeking the quashing of the cases. The top court clarified that its directions will apply to future cases, registered on the basis of tweets that were part of the previous FIRs.
Last month, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Courts, Snigdha Sarvaria had allowed custody of Zubair to Delhi Police in connection with one of his tweets on the micro-blogging platform Twitter in 2018 in which he allegedly hurt the religious sentiments of a community.
In a follow-up of the case, the Special Cell of Delhi Police flew Zubair to Bengaluru to recover his laptop which he used for uploading various contents on social media sites.
Zubair was charged under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) for one of his objectionable tweets.
“Transmission and publication of such posts have been deliberately done by Mohammed Zubair through electronic media to insult the religious feelings of a particular community with the intent to provoke breach of peace,” read the FIR.
As per the FIR, accused Zubair had used a screengrab of an old Hindi movie which showed an image of a hotel, with its board reading ‘Hanuman hotel’ instead of ‘Honeymoon hotel’. In his tweet, Zubair had written, “BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel”.
Crime
UP Shocker: Teacher ‘Bribed’ 16 School Girls With Candies, Molested Them In Unnao School; Accused Arrested

Unnao: The head teacher of a co-educational school in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district has been arrested on charges of molesting 16 girl students. The children said the teacher bribed them with candies to indulge in improper acts.
The matter came to light when the girls lodged a complaint on the portal of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
NCPCR member visited school
Taking cognizance of the matter, NCPCR member Preeti Bhardwaj Dalal visited the school for a probe and recorded the statements of the survivors and prima facie found the charges against the accused, Rajesh Kumar, to be true.
The teacher has been booked under the POCSO Act and molestation charges under the IPC, following a complaint lodged by the cook of the school, Ruby Devi.
The cook said she had informed another teacher about the alleged harassment. The district’s basic education officer has also suspended the accused.
A three-member team headed by basic education officer-level officer is further investigating the case. ASP Shashishekhar Singh said: “The head master, who was absconding since the FIR, has been arrested.”
National News
‘What About Aarti At Temples?’: Gujarat HC Rejects Plea To Ban Loudspeakers For Azaan At Mosques

Ahmedabad, November 28: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to impose a prohibition on the utilisation of loudspeakers for broadcasting azaan, or the Islamic call to prayer, from mosques. A bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P. Mayee termed the petition as “wholly misconceived”.
Shaktisinh Zala alleged that amplifying azaan via loudspeakers resulted in ‘noise pollution’
The PIL by Bajrang Dal leader Shaktisinh Zala alleged that amplifying azaan via loudspeakers resulted in “noise pollution,” adversely affecting the health of the general populace, particularly children, and causing other inconveniences.
The petitioner’s claims lacked empirical evidence and scientific basis
Ahmedabad, November 28: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to impose a prohibition on the utilisation of loudspeakers for broadcasting azaan, or the Islamic call to prayer, from mosques. A bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P. Mayee termed the petition as “wholly misconceived”.
Shaktisinh Zala alleged that amplifying azaan via loudspeakers resulted in ‘noise pollution’
The PIL by Bajrang Dal leader Shaktisinh Zala alleged that amplifying azaan via loudspeakers resulted in “noise pollution,” adversely affecting the health of the general populace, particularly children, and causing other inconveniences.
The petitioner’s claims lacked empirical evidence and scientific basis
However, the court observed that the petitioner’s claims lacked empirical evidence and scientific basis. In its judgment, the bench emphasised that azaan, typically lasting a maximum of 10 minutes, was unlikely to reach decibel levels that could constitute a significant noise pollution hazard.
The court further questioned the petitioner’s counsel about the sounds of bells and gongs during temple rituals
It expressed skepticism regarding the petitioner’s ability to establish that the human voice, amplified through loudspeakers during azaan, could generate sufficient decibels to create a public health hazard. The court further questioned the petitioner’s counsel about sounds of bells and gongs during temple rituals.
‘Morning aarti with drums and music also starts early at 3 AM’
“In your temple, the morning aarti with drums and music also starts early at 3 am. Does it not cause noise? Can you claim that the noise of ghanta (bell) and ghadiyal (gong) is confined within temple premises only and does not extend outside?” the bench asked.
10-minute azaan could not result in noise pollution
Highlighting the existence of scientific methods for measuring noise pollution, it noted that the PIL needed to furnish concrete data or studies to substantiate the claim that a 10-minute azaan could result in noise pollution.
National News
‘Expecting To See Some Results By 5 PM,’ Tunnelling Expert Chris Cooper On Uttarakhand Silkyara Tunnel Rescue Ops To Save 41 Workers

Uttarkashi: The rescue operations underway to save the 41 trapped workers in Uttarkashi’s Silkyara tunnel is in its final stage and micro mining expert Chris Cooper said that a breakthrough is expected by 5 pm (IST).
The statement by the micro tunneling expert that the rescue teams expect to “see” some people by “5’0 clock” comes as a new lease of life and hope for the workers who have been trapped in the collapsed Sillkyara tunnel for the last 17 days now.
“So we are still mining, we have got a couple of more meters to go, it’s going quite easily, we are expecting to see some results by 5’0 clock,” said the expert.
When asked how many meters were left, he replied, “2-3 meters.” He also added that “we should see some people,” when asked if all the 41-workers will be rescued by today itself.
Preparations underway
With just few hours to go for at least the initial batch of workers to be rescued, preparations were underway on Tuesday (November 28) to immediately rush the rescued workers to hospital as soon as they are out of the tunnel.
a dedicated ward with 41 oxygen-supported beds for the workers are ready at the community health centre in Chinyalisaur, which is some 30 km from Silkyara.
separate ward comprising 41 oxygen-supported beds has been readied at the community health centre in Chinyalisaur, about 30 km from Silkyara, for the workers.
“The pipe has gone in up to 52 metres. Earlier, it was at 51 metres. It was pushed one metre further in my presence. It will be pushed two metres more to 54 metres after which one more pipe will be laid,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had said on the status of the rescue operations on Tuesday (November 28) morning.
-
Crime1 year ago
Class 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Crime2 years ago
‘You must stop this’, SC expresses concern on hate speeches made at Dharam Sansads
-
Entertainment11 months ago
Rakhi Sawant changes name to Fatima after her wedding with Adil Khan Durrani – Check viral Nikah pics
-
Bollywood3 months ago
Jawan Leaked Online! Shah Rukh Khan’s Film Falls Prey To Piracy Within Hours Of Release
-
Bollywood2 years ago
Anushka Sharma starts shooting for her ‘Chakda Xpress’
-
Maharashtra2 years ago
Corona third wave knocked in Maharashtra!
-
Maharashtra7 months ago
Maharashtra: Political heavyweight Sharad Pawar steps down as NCP chief
-
Uncategorized1 year ago
Sufi conference in J&K’s Bandipora hosts a sizeable gathering