National News
Places of Worship Act: Centre yet to file counter affidavit, SC to hear petitions on Feb 17

New Delhi, Feb 14: The Centre is yet to file its counter affidavit to a clutch of petitions pertaining to the Places of Worship Act, 1991, though the Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday the 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.
As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna, Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan will resume hearing the matter on February 17.
In an application filed before the apex court on January 21, the Committee of Management of Mathura’s Shahi Masjid Eidgah pleaded that the right of the Centre to file its reply in the matter should be closed. The application said that in an order passed on December 12, 2024, the apex court noticed that the Union government had not filed its reply to the petitions challenging the 1991 Act for over three years and directed that a common counter affidavit be filed by the Centre within four weeks.
The mosque committee said that the Union of India is “deliberately” not filing its counter affidavit with the intention to delay the hearing, and thereby, obstructing those who are opposing the challenge to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 in filing their respective written submissions, as the stand of the Centre would have a bearing on the same.
The Shahi Masjid Eidgah’s application contended that since the Supreme Court has fixed the date of hearing of the batch of petitions as February 17, “it would be in the interest of justice if the right of the Union of India to file its counter affidavit/ reply/pleadings/submissions is closed”.
In March 2021, a Bench headed by then Chief Justice of India (CJI) 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 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.”
It further added, “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.”
In an interim order passed on December 12, 2024, CJI Sanjiv Khanna-led Special Bench had 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.
The CJI-Khanna bench had asked the Union government to file within four weeks its reply to the batch of petitions challenging the validity of the Places of Worship Act (Special Provisions), 1991.
National
Five Pakistani aircraft destroyed in Operation Sindoor: BJP’s Amit Malviya

New Delhi, May 24: The Indian Air Force (IAF) and ground forces downed at least five Pakistani aircraft, including a Chinese JF-17 and two F-16 fighter jets, during Operation Sindoor, in-charge of the BJP’s National Information and Technology, Amit Malviya, said on Saturday.
The information related to the setbacks to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), shared by Malviya on his social media handle X, comes in the backdrop of intense politics over Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi seeking information about IAF’s aircraft losses and the BJP questioning him for not caring to inquiring about Pakistani losses during the conflict.
Hailing IAF’s precision strikes and air dominance during Operation Sindoor, Malviya listed the PAF aircraft casualties as: one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters on the ground and in the air.
A Pakistani SAAB-2000 airborne early warning system was destroyed as far as 315 kilometres away deep in Pakistan, said Malviya.
The Saab 2000 Erieye AEWC aircraft owned by Pakistan is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system.
Malviya quoted a media report which said that the IAF also has proof of its missiles having downed one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters on the ground and in the air.
The BJP leader also commended the performance of the S-400 air defence system. “India’s S-400 air defence system in Adampur went into action no less than 11 times during Operation Sindoor,” he wrote.
Adampur Air Base is the one which Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited after the ceasefire ‘understanding’ with Pakistan.
Malviya also shared other details of the IAF strikes on May 10, pointing to Rafale-launched SCALP missiles and SU-30 MKI-launched Brahmos missiles taking out the northern air command-control network at Nur Khan airbase in Chaklala in the first strike itself.
Talking about the precision missiles that struck Pakistan four times, he wrote on X, “The last strike was carried out at Jacobabad and Bholari air bases, but by that time Pakistan had folded and was seeking US intervention for a ceasefire.”
Malviya’s claims about IAF success against the enemy also demolish claims made in fake news circulated on social media and attributed to a British newspaper. The posts carried an article with the headline “Pakistan Air Force: The Undisputed King of the Skies.”
Crime
Seer arrested for raping minor in Karnataka’s Belagavi

Belagavi, May 24: A prominent Hindu seer has been arrested on charges of raping a 17-year-old girl in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, police said on Saturday.
The police have filed a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case against the accused.
A case in this regard was registered at the Bagalkot Women’s Police Station and subsequently transferred to the Mudalagi police station.
The accused is the head pontiff of a prominent mutt in a village in the Rayabagh taluk of Belagavi district.
According to police, the seer allegedly raped the girl repeatedly and threatened to kill her if she revealed the incident.
The accused seer had taken the girl to Raichur on May 13 and stayed there for two days.
Later, he took her to Bagalkot on May 15, staying there for another two days.
The accused seer took the girl with him, claiming to drop her back at her residence, and took advantage of the situation to commit the crime.
The seer left the victim at the Mahalingapura bus stop in Bagalkot district on May 17. Later, the girl revealed her ordeal to her parents, and a complaint was lodged against the seer at the Bagalkot Women’s Police Station.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the girl’s parents, who were devotees of the mutt and revered the accused seer, used to leave their daughter at the mutt often for weeks. The seer allegedly took advantage of this.
Police said there are allegations against the mutt and the seer of carrying out illegal activities.
It also came to light during the investigation that in 2021, the accused seer was beaten by villagers.
Local people have appealed to the police to initiate strict legal action against the accused seer.
The police have recorded the statements of the villagers and the victim.
The accused seer has been produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.
Crime
Murder accused shot by TN Police after attacking officers in Salem

Salem, May 24: A 26-year-old man accused of the brutal murder of a 70-year-old woman in Omalur, Salem, was shot in the leg by police early Saturday after he attacked two officers with a machete while trying to escape from his hideout near Sankari Fort.
The accused, Naresh Kumar of Kattikaranoor village in Omalur block, is a habitual offender with over 20 robbery cases registered against him across various police stations in the district.
The incident traces back to May 20, when the victim, Sarasu alias Saraswathi, a resident of Chinnerikadu in Omalur, was murdered while grazing her cattle. Her body was discovered by locals along a roadside path, bearing injuries to her ear and nose.
Initial investigation suggested that she had been attacked for her gold jewellery, with at least one sovereign of gold reported stolen. A murder and robbery case was registered by the Deevattipatti police. In response, special teams were formed to track down the suspect.
Based on intelligence inputs and surveillance, police identified Naresh Kumar as the prime suspect and located his hideout at the foothills of Sankari Fort.
During the early hours of Saturday, a special police team closed in on his location. However, as officers attempted to apprehend him, Naresh Kumar brandished a machete and violently attacked Sub-Inspector Vijayaraghavan and Constable Selvakumar, injuring both.
In an act of self-defence and to prevent his escape, one of the officers fired a service pistol, hitting the accused in the leg. Naresh Kumar collapsed on the spot and was immediately taken into custody.
He, along with the injured policemen, was admitted to the Government Hospital in Sankari for treatment.
According to police sources, Naresh Kumar has a criminal history of targeting elderly women in rural areas, primarily for jewellery snatching. Previous incidents have been reported from Sankari and Magudanchavadi.
The incident has raised concerns about the safety of senior citizens in the region and the increasing audacity of repeat offenders. Police have intensified surveillance and patrolling in vulnerable rural zones to prevent further attacks.
-
Crime3 years ago
Class 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra8 months ago
Mumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra7 months ago
Mumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Maharashtra8 months ago
False photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News7 months ago
Ministry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Crime7 months ago
Baba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report
-
Maharashtra6 months ago
Maharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News8 months ago
J&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface