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SC gives Centre two weeks to file affidavit on plea against Places of Worship Act

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The Centre on Friday undertook before the Supreme Court that it will respond within two weeks on petitions challenging the validity of certain provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

In March last year, the apex court had sought Centre’s response on petitions challenging the provisions of the Act, but it is yet to file its response.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, specifically asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, whether the Central government will file its response in the matter or not?

The bench, also comprising Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and P.S. Narasimha, noted that a notice was issued on the petition filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay long ago, and queried Mehta, has the Centre filed any response in the matter? Mehta said the government will file its response.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing a petitioner, submitted before the bench that the right of judicial review of the Act, cannot be taken away and relied on judgment in Minerva Mills.

BJP leader Subramanium Swamy, a petitioner in the matter, emphasized on reading down the Act so that along with Ram Janmabhoomi, the Kashi Vishwanath and Mathura matters can also be taken up.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing a petitioner, said the question of reading down will arise only if it is found that the Act is not ultra vires of the Constitution.

After hearing submissions, the top court permitted all the applications, including the plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, to intervene in the hearing of the pleas challenging the validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits the filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or changing its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947.

It noted that a bench of two judges of this court had issued notice in the matter in March 2021, thereafter this petition has been coming up on a few occasions. However, the Union of India has not put in any response, it added.

The bench said the matter be heard by a three-judge bench on October 11 and asked the parties to complete the pleadings before the hearing. It said the Solicitor General has been granted two weeks to file an affidavit.

On March 12, 2021, a bench headed by then Chief Justice S.A. Bobde had sought the Centre’s response on the plea filed by Upadhyay challenging the validity of certain provisions of the law.

Upadhyay’s 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 to make law to take away fundamental rights but the 1991 Act takes away the rights of Hindus Jains Buddhist Sikhs to restore their ‘places of worship and pilgrimages’, destroyed by barbaric invaders.”

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Controversy and tension over removal of ‘I Love Muhammad’ banner in Mumbai’s Kurla VB Nagar, ‘I Love Muhammad’ banners and widespread protests in Maharashtra

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Mumbai: After an FIR was registered in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, UP, after peaceful protests across the country and the world, banners of Maharashtra and Mumbai ‘I Love Muhammad’ were displayed, after which last night the Kurla VB Nagar Police along with the BMC issued an order to remove the banners of ‘I Love Muhammad’, after which Muslim youth protested against it and the youth said that they are ready to take a case in this matter but will not remove the banners. The ‘I Love Muhammad’ movement has intensified in Maharashtra and Mumbai. In this matter, Senior Inspector Popat Ahwad of Kurla VB Nagar confirmed this and said that the situation is peaceful and there was some mistrust, which has been resolved. At present, the police in Mumbai and Maharashtra have temporarily stopped the process of removing the banners, this has been confirmed by a senior police officer. Similarly, at 8:30 pm last night, an ‘I Love Muhammad’ banner was placed by unknown persons near the Bhiwandi ACP office. Mumbai And now in Maharashtra, communal elements are trying to spoil the atmosphere under the guise of the banner of I Love Muhammad. A senior police officer has emphasized the need to be alert. The I Love Muhammad movement intensified in Maharashtra and Mumbai on Friday. In such a situation, communal elements are conspiring to spoil the atmosphere on this issue. In Mumbai and Maharashtra, there was a huge protest against the registration of an FIR against Muslim youth in Kanpur for writing I Love Muhammad. In Mumbai, Muslims protested carrying placards of I Love Muhammad. The streets echoed with the name of I Love Muhammad. Mumbai Police has now started monitoring the situation after this controversy, along with this, monitoring is also going on on social media.

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Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway Tragedy: 16-Month-Old Toddler Dies After Ambulance Carrying Him To Hospital Gets Stuck In Traffic On Thane’s Ghodbunder Road

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Palghar: A 16-month-old boy lost his life on Thursday after the ambulance carrying him to a Mumbai hospital was trapped in a prolonged traffic jam on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway in Thane district, according to people close to his family.

The child, had been staying at his grandmother’s home in Pelhar, Palghar district, when he accidentally fell from the fourth-floor balcony while playing. He sustained serious abdominal injuries in the fall.

Neighbours said that the child was initially rushed on a motorbike to a private hospital in Naigaon, where doctors managed to stabilise him briefly before advising urgent transfer to a specialised hospital in Mumbai. His family arranged for an ambulance, but the vehicle became stranded in gridlock on the highway due to repair work on the Thane-Ghodbunder Road, which had forced closure of a key stretch from 6 am to 9 pm.

Unable to move further, the ambulance diverted to a hospital in Sasoon Navghar, between Thane and Vasai, where doctors declared the toddler dead on arrival. Hospital officials later confirmed that he had passed away before admission.

The tragedy has triggered widespread anger among residents, who blamed civic and traffic authorities for poor planning and lack of emergency measures. Citizens have demanded immediate implementation of green corridors for ambulances, stricter restrictions on heavy vehicles during peak hours, and accountability for lives lost due to prolonged congestion.

Traffic snarls have paralysed commuters for several days on both the Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Mumbai-Nashik highways, with vehicles reportedly stranded for up to six hours. In another incident on Thursday, a woman recently discharged from Bhaktivedanta Hospital had to wait for more than five hours on the roadside near Fountain Hotel as her father’s car remained stuck in traffic at Vasai.

On July 30, a 49-year-old woman, Chhaya Kaushik Purav, a resident of Madhukar Nagar in the Saphala area who suffered severe injuries in a tree fall incident, died when the ambulance ferrying her got stuck in a massive traffic jam on a highway in Palghar.

The authorities are yet to issue a formal statement on the condition of the highway, leaving commuters uncertain about when relief can be expected.

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Delhi Court Adjourns Bail Plea Of BMW Crash Accused Gaganpreet Kaur To September 24 As Police Cite Pending Probe

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New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday put off till September 24 the hearing on the bail application of Gaganpreet Kaur, the main accused in the Delhi BMW fatal accident case, accepting the police plea that they were yet to seize her mobile phone and driving licence.

Judicial Magistrate Ankit Garg was told by investigators that they were not in favour of granting bail to her at this stage as the probe was still at a nascent stage.

Opposing Kaur’s plea, the police said that the mobile phone used by her to contact family members after the accident was a crucial piece of evidence.

“We have not yet recovered the mobile phone and driving licence of the accused,” said the prosecution lawyer.

The defence counsel informed the court that Kaur’s phone is with her husband and it will be handed over to the police by Saturday evening.

He claimed that Kaur’s driving licence was earlier given to investigators but if it is still not on record the family shall resubmit it to the police.

Kaur has been arrested in connection with the death of Navjot Singh, Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, and serious injuries to his wife, Sandeep Kaur, in an accident on September 14 near Dhaula Kuan.

The fatal accident occurred around 1 P.M. on September 14, near the Delhi Cantt Metro Station. The victim couple was returning from Bangla Sahib Gurdwara on a motorcycle when they were hit by a BMW car, allegedly driven by Gaganpreet Kaur. Her husband, Parikshit, was seated in the passenger seat at the time of the crash.

In a parallel development, the court issued notice to the police on a separate application filed by the accused, requesting preservation of CCTV footage from the accident site.

On Thursday, the court indicated that there was no legal provision allowing sharing of CCTV footage with the accused in a criminal case.

After the accident, the police registered a case under various penal provisions, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and rash and negligent driving. The police is also probing possible attempts to tamper with evidence.

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