New Delhi, July 3: The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Union government’s Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) to decide, within 15 days, an appeal seeking removal of a YouTube video uploaded by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, which has been alleged to contain defamatory content and hurt religious sentiments.

A single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma passed the direction while disposing of a plea filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva, who had sought a direction to the GAC to decide her appeal against the video titled “Can Hindus eat BEEF? | Kerala Story 2 EXPOSED”, uploaded on March 21.

“The appellate authority shall decide the petitioner’s appeal expeditiously, within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of this order. In case of any further grievance, the petitioner can file a fresh petition,” the Delhi High Court ordered.

It further clarified that any disregard of its directions would be viewed seriously. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Union government, submitted that the intermediary ought to have exercised due diligence by taking down the content.

ASG Sharma argued that the video contained disparaging material against Hindu deities and was harmful and divisive. Referring to a previous Delhi High Court judgment, he submitted that intermediaries were required to assess whether content was harmful to society and remove such material by exercising due diligence.

The Centre’s law officer further submitted that either Google should voluntarily remove the video or an order could be passed in terms of the law laid down earlier by the Delhi High Court.

Counsel appearing for Google LLC informed Justice Sharma that a response had already been furnished to the petitioner and that an appeal was pending before the GAC. The counsel also submitted that the intermediary would comply with any judicial order passed in the matter.

Recording the submission, the Delhi High Court disposed of the petition and directed the GAC to decide the appeal within 15 days.

According to the plea, the impugned video falsely claimed that revered Hindu figures, including Lord Ram, Sita and Lord Krishna, consumed meat and alcohol, thereby hurting the religious sentiments of devotees.

The petition alleged that the video was “highly derogatory, inflammatory and communally sensitive” and sought its removal.

Petitioner Sachdeva has also initiated criminal proceedings in relation to the video before a metropolitan magistrate, where an action taken report has reportedly been sought from the police.

Ahmedabad, July 3: Global institutions and India’s largest mutual funds have backed multiple Adani Group companies, marking a sharp turnaround in investor sentiment.

Adani Group has emerged as one of the biggest draws for institutional investors over the past year, attracting around Rs 40,000 crore of fresh equity into its flagship company alone while also seeing marquee global and domestic investors increase their exposure across several listed entities.

Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) this week upsized its qualified institutional placement (QIP) to Rs 15,000 crore after receiving bids worth about Rs 38,000 crore, or 3.8 times the base issue size. The fundraising comes less than a year after the company’s Rs 25,000 crore rights issue, taking its total equity capital raised over the past year to about Rs 40,000 crore.

The latest offering attracted some of the world’s largest institutional investors, including Capital Group, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Blackstone, and Nomura. Domestic participation was equally broad-based, with HDFC Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual Fund and Tata Mutual Fund among the investors.

People familiar with the transaction said the order book was fully covered before the issue formally opened, with bankers describing investors as “clamouring for allocations.” The company launched the QIP with a base size of Rs 10,000 crore before increasing it to Rs 15,000 crore on the back of strong demand.

The fundraising is the latest sign of a sharp shift in investor sentiment toward the Adani Group. After a period when Adani stocks were among the least preferred by several institutional investors, they have become some of the most sought-after names among both global funds and domestic asset managers.

Over the past year, leading institutional investors have participated in fundraisings and secondary transactions across companies including Adani Power, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Green Energy, alongside Adani Enterprises. The lineup of investors has consistently featured some of the world’s largest asset managers and nearly every major domestic mutual fund, reflecting growing conviction in the group’s long-term investment pipeline.

The latest demand also comes despite a US federal judge pausing the formal dismissal of criminal charges against the Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and directing the Department of Justice to justify its decision to withdraw the case. The strong institutional participation suggests investors have remained focused on the group’s operating businesses, capital allocation, and growth prospects.

Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship incubator, is expanding businesses spanning airports, AI and data centres, solar and wind equipment manufacturing, roads, PVC, metals and mining. A day before the QIP, the company announced an $11.5 billion investment with IHC to establish India’s largest aluminium manufacturing project, marking the biggest foreign direct investment announced in India’s metals and mining sector.

Bengaluru, July 3: The Karnataka Police on Friday arrested three persons in connection with the stone quarry boulder collapse at Madapattana village in Bengaluru South taluk that claimed the lives of seven workers.

The arrested accused have been identified as Panduranga, owner of Sai Ram Crusher; Lokesh, the quarry in-charge; and Raju, the local in-charge.

According to the police, the three have been taken into custody for questioning. Panduranga had taken Basaveshwara Crusher on lease and was operating the quarry. A case has been registered under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) based on a complaint filed by worker Gopikrishnan.

Police are also likely to question Uday Shankar, the owner of Kaveri Crusher, and D. Anandaswamy, the owner of Basaveshwara Crusher, as part of the ongoing investigation.

The tragedy occurred early Thursday morning at the Kaveri Crusher unit in Madapattana village under the jurisdiction of the Tavarekere Police Station when a massive boulder rolled down from an upper quarry and crashed onto workers at a lower quarry.

Seven workers were killed in the incident, while five others sustained injuries. One of the injured remains in critical condition, and four workers managed to escape.

The deceased were identified as Ramu, Rajpal Singh, Satyanarayan Singh, Ram Avtar Singh, Rajendra Prasad, Nuhar and Bhuvaneshwar Singh, all aged between their 30s and 40s. According to police, one of the deceased hailed from Yadgir district in Karnataka, while the others were from Madhya Pradesh. One of the injured workers is from Chhattisgarh.

Central Zone IGP S. Girish said the accident involved two adjoining quarries owned by different entities.

“There are two quarries at the location. The upper quarry belongs to one owner, while the lower quarry is owned by another. Work was underway at both sites early this morning. A JCB excavator operating at the upper quarry moved boulders, one of which rolled downhill and fell onto the workers at the quarry below,” he said.

“A total of 16 workers were at the lower quarry. Seven of them died on the spot. Five have been admitted to the hospital, one of whom is in critical condition, while four others managed to escape,” Girish added.

A worker from Tamil Nadu, Gopi, who narrowly escaped the accident, alleged that workers at the upper quarry failed to warn those working below before moving the rocks.

“Those working above should alert the workers below, but no one informed us. I have been working here for the past eight years. Four of us managed to escape. If they had warned us, we would have known about the danger. A stone hit me, but I still managed to run away. Around 15 to 30 people were working at the site. Tractors and excavators were mangled in the incident,” he said.

The force of the boulder impact crushed the victims beneath the rocks, making identification difficult. Police said some bodies were mutilated beyond recognition. A tractor, a tipper and other heavy machinery at the site were also extensively damaged.

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, reacting to the incident on Thursday, said a detailed report had been sought from officials.

“A tragic incident has taken place at two adjoining quarries on Magadi Road. I have received information that seven persons have died. The bodies have been recovered, and senior officers have visited the spot. It has been ascertained that no blasting took place. I will receive a detailed report. It is yet to be determined whether the quarries were operating legally or illegally. The prescribed rules must be followed,” the Chief Minister said.

He added that action would be initiated after the report is received and compensation would be announced once complete details are available.

Karnataka Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka visited the injured workers at the hospital on Thursday and alleged that the tragedy was the result of negligence on the part of the state government, while demanding accountability for the loss of seven lives.