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Sambhal mosque row: SC stays implementation of notice relating to well

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New Delhi, Jan 10: In an interim direction passed on Friday, the Supreme Court told the Sambhal’s Municipal Council to not give effect to its notice concerning a well situated near the Shahi Jama Masjid.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar asked the Uttar Pradesh authorities to file a status report within two weeks, and, in the meantime, ordered that the authorities will not give effect to any notice in relation to the well.

Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the mosque committee, said that the impugned notice referred to the site as ‘Hari Mandir’ and now, the other side will likely start using the well for ‘puja (worship)’, bathing, etc.

Ahmadi said the well, which is “half inside and half outside” the mosque premises, has been used to draw water by the mosque administration since time immemorial. On the other hand, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for the Hindu plaintiffs, contended that well situated outside the purview of the mosque cannot be a subject matter of the proceedings challenging the district court-ordered survey of the disputed site. At this, the apex court observed that it was keeping a close watch so that peace and harmony were maintained.

“Issue notice returnable on Feb 21. In the meantime, a status report will be filed by respondents in two weeks. The respondents (authorities) shall not give effect to any notice in relation to the well,” the SC ordered.

The matter will be heard next on February 21.

On November 29, the CJI Khanna-led Bench told the Uttar Pradesh government that “peace and harmony must be maintained” as it dealt with a plea filed by the Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid Committee seeking a stay on a district court-ordered survey of the mosque. However, it had asked the mosque committee to approach an appropriate forum against the district court-ordered survey and in the meantime, asked the trial court to not proceed with the matter.

The apex court had said that in case any appeal is preferred before the Allahabad High Court or any other forum, the appeal will be listed within three working days after it is filed.

Clarifying that the Supreme Court has not expressed any opinion on merits, it had ordered to re-list the matter in the week commencing January 6.

In its Special Leave Petition, the Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid Committee had sought an ad-interim and ex-parte stay on the operation of the impugned decision passed by Chandausi’s Civil Judge on November 19, where a survey was ordered in a plea filed by the Hindu petitioners, claiming that the mosque was built by Mughal invader Babur in 1526 after demolishing Shri Harihar Mandir. Further, it demanded that the report of the survey commissioner be kept in a sealed cover and the status quo be maintained until the issue is determined by the Supreme Court.

The petition had also sought directions to the effect that surveys should not be ordered and executed as a matter of course in cases involving disputes over places of worship without hearing all parties and allowing sufficient time for the aggrieved persons to seek judicial remedies against the order of survey.

The survey of Shahi Jama Masjid was undertaken on November 19 and November 24. As the second round of survey began at the mosque, violence broke out in the area resulting in the death of four individuals.

In a related development, the CJI Khanna-led Special Bench, in an interim order passed on December 12, had ordered that no fresh suits would be registered under the Places of Worship Act, 1991 in the country, and in the pending cases, no final or effective orders would be passed till further orders. The Special Bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan, 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, 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.

Business

Piyush Goyal to lead business delegation to Spain, Belgium and Finland to deepen trade, investment ties

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New Delhi, July 12: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead a high-level Indian business delegation on a five-day visit to Spain, Belgium and Finland from July 13 to 17, as India seeks to deepen its economic engagement with Europe through enhanced cooperation in trade, investment, technology, innovation and sustainability, it was announced on Sunday.

The delegation will include leading Indian companies from sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, digital technologies, gems and jewellery, food processing, healthcare and design. The visit is aimed at expanding business-to-business partnerships and exploring new opportunities for collaboration with European industries, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said.

The visit will begin in Spain on July 13, where Goyal will participate in a business roundtable jointly organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Spain, CEOE and ICEX Spain Trade & Investment. The discussions are expected to focus on sectors including automotive, renewable energy, railways, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, food processing and tourism.

The meeting will bring together industry leaders from both countries at a time when India and Spain are celebrating the Spain-India Dual Year 2026, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations. Several Spanish companies, including Iberdrola, Acciona, CAF, Talgo, Gestamp and Indra, have already established a strong presence in India, while Indian technology and engineering firms such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro are expanding their operations in Spain to support digital transformation and Industry 4.0 initiatives.

In Belgium, where the delegation will travel on July 14 and 15, the minister will visit the Port of Antwerp to study Europe’s leading logistics hub and gain insights into multimodal connectivity, green logistics and resilient supply chains.

During the Belgium visit, Goyal will hold CEO-level meetings with senior executives of Thales Group and Silox Group.

The minister will also participate in the India-EU Business Roundtable and the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Plenary, where discussions will cover foreign direct investment, trade facilitation, sustainable technologies and resilient supply chains.

The final leg of the tour will take the delegation to Finland on July 16 and 17. Goyal will participate in the India-Finland Business Roundtable, engaging with Finnish companies across digitalisation, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and the circular economy.

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Crime

Speeding Ferrari crashes into apartment building in Hyderabad Jubilee Hills

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Hyderabad, July 12: A speeding Ferrari car crashed into the gate of an apartment building in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills area in the early hours of Sunday. There were no casualties, said officials.

The incident occurred on Road Number 5 in the upscale Jubilee Hills under the Film Nagar Police Station limits.

The occupants abandoned the heavily damaged Ferrari Roma, said to be worth more than Rs 3.50 crore, and fled before police arrived at the scene.

The gate of Fort View Apartments was completely damaged in the collision. The front portion of the luxury car was badly mangled.

The man driving the vehicle escaped after the accident. Police suspect that the person at the wheel was under the influence of alcohol and driving the vehicle at a high speed and in a rash manner.

Police registered a case and launched an investigation into the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. Police were examining the CCTV footage to ascertain if there were other persons in the vehicle.

Police shifted the damaged Ferrari to the police station with the help of a towing vehicle.

This is the second such incident in Jubilee Hills in less than a week. An SUV had crashed into Tollywood actor Dharma’s residence on the night of July 9.

A man who was under the influence of alcohol had rammed the SUV into the residence of Dharma on Road Number 10. The compound wall of the actor’s house was damaged in the incident.

The accused was identified as Karthik Kumar, who drove the SUV in a rash and negligent manner before losing control and ramming into Dharma’s house. Luckily, there were no casualties.

The actor alerted the police, who rushed to the spot and arrested the accused. A breathalyser test confirmed that the accused was drunk while driving the SUV.

Police registered a criminal case against Kartik Kumar and launched further investigation.

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National News

4.5 magnitude earthquake in Bay of Bengal triggers tremors in Visakhapatnam

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Visakhapatnam, July 12: A 4.5 magnitude earthquake in the Bay of Bengal triggered tremors in parts of Visakhapatnam and adjoining districts of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

Some areas in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam were jolted by the tremors around 5.05 a.m.

The tremors were felt in Gajuwaka, Mangalapalem, Sagar Nagar, Pedda Waltair, Arilova, MVP colony, Appughar and other areas.

According to the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), a mild earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred in the Bay of Bengal early on Sunday, and mild tremors were felt in several parts of Visakhapatnam city.

National Center for Sesimology said the earthquake occurred at 5:05:46 a.m. IST at a depth of 10 km, with its epicentre located about 225 km off the Kakinada coast in the Bay of Bengal. The epicentre was located at latitude 16.805 degrees N and longitude 84.381 degrees E.

No casualties, property damage or any other loss have been reported due to the earthquake.

There are reports of tremors being felt in parts of Anakapalli, Vizianagaram, Kakinada and Konaseema districts.

Experts described it as a shallow earthquake. They said there was no need for people to be worried as the tremors were mild due to structural adjustments. They pointed out that the region is considered tectonically stable.

In November last year, Visakhapatnam and Alluri Sitharamaraju districts were jolted by a mild earthquake.

An earthquake of magnitude 3.7 had struck the Alluri district in north coastal Andhra on November 4, 2015. The tremors triggered panic among residents in some areas. People ran out of their houses on hearing a loud sound. However, there were no casualties or any other damage. According to the National Center of Seismology, the epicentre of the earthquake was at G. Madugula in Alluri Sitharamaraju district at a depth of 10 km. The epicentre was 110 km from the port city of Visakhapatnam.

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