New Delhi, May 23: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking action against Maharashtra government officials over protocol lapses during Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai’s first visit to the state on May 18 after taking over the country’s highest judicial post.

A bench of CJI Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih opined that the plea was filed with an intent to obtain “cheap publicity” and termed it a “publicity interest litigation”.

The bench refrained from imposing exemplary costs but asked the PIL litigant to deposit a cost of Rs 7,000.

In its order, the apex court said that soon after CJI Gavai expressed displeasure over the protocol lapse, senior Maharashtra government officials, including the Chief Secretary, came to meet him and expressed regret.

The top court, in a press statement released on Tuesday, said that CJI Gavai stressed that a “trivial issue should not be blown out of proportion” and requested everyone that “the matter be given a quietus”.

Following his taking oath as the 52nd CJI, Justice Gavai on Sunday (May 18) travelled to Mumbai for a felicitation programme by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa. “If the Chief Justice of India is visiting Maharashtra for the first time, and the state’s Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police, and the Mumbai Police Commissioner don’t feel it appropriate to be present, then they need to reflect on that. There’s nothing new about the protocol — it’s a matter of respect from one constitutional institution to another,” the CJI said.

“It’s a question of respect by the other organs of the institution to the judiciary,” he added.

The three pillars of democracy — the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive — are equal, and every organ of the Constitution must reciprocate and show respect to the other, he had said. Following the episode, the Maharashtra government issued protocol guidelines to ensure adherence to official decorum during the visit of the Chief Justice of India to Mumbai and other parts of the state. It designated the CJI as a Permanent State Guest in Maharashtra under the State Guest Rules, 2004. Accordingly, the Chief Justice of India will continue to be entitled to all protocol-related facilities, including accommodation, vehicle arrangements, and security throughout the state during visits.

New Delhi, May 23: The pilots of the IndiGo plane, which was damaged in rough weather en route to Srinagar, were denied permission by the Lahore ATC to venture briefly into Pakistan airspace to escape the hailstorm, in complete violation of humanitarian norms.

India’s civil aviation regulator, the DGCA, said the aircraft was cruising at an altitude of approximately 36,000 feet near Punjab’s Pathankot when it ran into a thunderstorm and hailstorm.

Experiencing severe turbulence, the crew first requested the Northern ATC of the Indian Air Force to allow the flight to deviate towards the International Border. However, the request was denied because it was felt that the plane would face danger from the Pakistan side due to the recently witnessed intense hostilities between India and the neighbouring country during Operation Sindoor.

The pilot then sought permission from the Lahore air traffic control (ATC) to briefly venture into Pakistani airspace to avoid the storm. But it was refused, too.

With limited options left, the pilot initially considered returning to Delhi. However, since the aircraft was close to the “thunderstorm cloud”, returning was considered an unsafe option. The pilot then decided to continue forward through the storm towards Srinagar on the shortest possible route, the DGCA statement said.

While navigating the thunderstorm, the aircraft encountered “extreme updrafts and downdrafts”, leading to the autopilot disengaging and its speed fluctuating.

“While in the thunderstorm cloud, warnings of an angle of attack fault, alternate saw protection lost, and unreliable airspeed indications were triggered,” the statement further said.

The DGCA said that at one point, the aircraft’s rate of descent reached 8,500 feet per minute. It further said that the crew took manual control of the aircraft during this critical phase till exiting the hailstorm.

The pilot then declared an emergency to the Srinagar ATC, which then activated radar vectors. The flight eventually landed safely in Srinagar with no reported injuries to any of the passengers or crew.

The DGCA said that the plane made a safe landing with the auto thrust system operated manually.

There was no injury to any of the passengers on board the flight. A post-flight check revealed damage to the nose of the aircraft. A full-fledged investigation has been launched into the incident, the statement added.

Visakhapatnam, May 23: The Vizianagaram police in Andhra Pradesh on Friday took into custody two men, arrested last week in connection with an alleged terror plot, and were being questioned.

A day after the Vizianagaram District Court remanded Siraj-ur-Rehman and Sayeed Sameer to police custody for a week, the police took them into their custody from Visakhapatnam Central Jail and shifted them to Vizianagaram for questioning.

Senior officials, including the in-charge Superintendent of Police Madhava Reddy, were questioning the accused to probe further the alleged terror plot.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is also investigating the case, may also interrogate the accused about their links with terror groups in India and abroad.

The duo is likely to be questioned about the plot and the activities of Al-Hind Ittehadul Muslimeen floated by them. The investigating officials will be trying to gather information about their contacts in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other states.

Siraj was arrested by Vizianagaram police following the recovery of explosives at his residence on May 17. The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of a second suspect, Sayeed Sameer, in Hyderabad.

Sameer was brought to Vizianagaram, and the duo were sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

They have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and also under the Explosive Substances Act of 1908.

The two suspects had allegedly procured explosives online and were planning a trial of explosions near Vizianagaram.

According to police, Siraj is an engineering graduate from Vizianagaram while Sameer is a lift operator and is a resident of Bhoiguda in Secunderabad.

The two suspects had allegedly formed a group by the name Al-Hind Ittehadul Muslimeen to carry out their activities. The organisation reportedly has 12 members in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Warangal.

Meanwhile, NIA and intelligence officials carried out searches late Thursday night at Tadigadapa in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. They reportedly searched a house in which seven people were staying.

The officials reportedly picked up a few suspects and whisked them away. Their identity was not known. It was also immediately not clear if the search was related to a terror plot busted by the Vizianagaram police.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack and its aftermath, police and intelligence agencies are maintaining a tight vigil on suspects.