National News
SC judge, part of judgments upholding PMLA provisions, decriminalising gay sex, retires

Supreme Court judge, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar — who has been part of several crucial judgments including the Aadhaar case, most recently the one upholding several provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and also the one where the court upheld SIT’s clean chit to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 63 others in the 2002 riots — retired on Friday.
Justice Khanwilkar, who was sitting with Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and two other judges on the ceremonial bench, said: “As parting words I will only say thank you to all for the love and affection. Thank you so much. God bless you.”
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Vikas Singh said Justice Khanwilkar is known as a “workaholic” and added: “It is always difficult for us when a judge retires… He has been there as a colleague of ours. As members of this Bar, we used to share our chambers in the same corridor in the Supreme Court.”
Singh said the age of 65 years is very young for a Supreme Court judge to retire.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is down with Covid, appeared virtually, said the Attorney General is also down with Covid-19, otherwise he would have expressed his views on Justice Khanwilkar.
Mehta said: “We will miss the smile on his face. Everyone will agree with me that even while dismissing a petition, he would do this with a smile on his face… never left the courtroom with bitterness.”
Senior advocate Harish Salve, who was appearing virtually, said: “It has been an honour and pleasure of knowing Justice Khanwilkar for almost four decades as a colleague… I would say only one thing, that please treat it as the beginning of a second inning and not a retirement.”
Justice Khanwilkar, authored the verdict upholding the Enforcement Directorate’s powers to arrest, attachment of property, search and seize under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
He was also part of a constitution bench which declared that the central government’s flagship Aadhaar scheme is constitutionally valid but struck down some of its provisions — linking it to bank accounts, mobile phones, and school admissions.
He was part of the bench, which, in 2018, held Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) , which criminalised consensual gay sex, as “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary”.
The bench struck down part of the British-era law that criminalised consensual sex on the ground that it violated the constitutional right to equality and dignity.
Recently, a bench headed by Justice Khanwilkar upheld the SIT’s clean chit to Modi and 63 others in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The top court said the SIT investigation into 2002 Gujarat riots revealed that no material was discovered pointing to a meeting of minds in the higher echelons, or the political establishment conspired with other persons to cause riots or turned a Nelson’s eye when the riots were raging.
In a judgment on petitions challenging provisions of the FCRA Amendment Act in April this year, a bench headed by Justice Khanwilkar said that receiving foreign donations cannot be an absolute or even a vested right, and free and uncontrolled flow of foreign contributions has the potential of impacting the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.
Justice Khanwilkar was also part of the five-judge constitution bench, which paved the way for entry of women of all ages into the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala. He was also part of a constitution bench which ruled adultery is no longer a crime in India.
Justice Khanwilkar was elevated as an apex court judge in May 2016. He was born on July 30, 1957 in Pune, and did LLB from a law college in Mumbai. He was appointed the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on April 4, 2013, and later the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court on November 24, 2013.
National News
‘My Mother’s Tears Fell When Terrorists Killed My Father’: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Reacts To Union HM Amit Shah’s Remarks On Sonia Gandhi’s Tears

New Delhi: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks referencing her mother, Sonia Gandhi’s tears, stating that her mother wept when her father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was killed by terrorists, and that she understands the pain of the Pahalgam terror victims.
Addressing the Lok Sabha during the discussion on Operation Sindoor, Priyanka Gandhi said, “Union Home Minister spoke about my mother’s tears today. I want to answer this. My mother’s tears fell when terrorists killed my father. Today, when I talk about those 26 people (victims of the Pahalgam attack), it is because I understand their pain.”
Her remarks came after Union Minister Shah said that Sonia Gandhi was “sobbing” at the Batla House incident.
“I remember one morning during breakfast, I saw Salman Khurshid crying on the TV. He was coming out of Sonia Gandhi’s residence… He said that Sonia Gandhi was sobbing at the Batla House incident. She should have cried for Shaheed Mohan Sharma instead of the terrorists of the Batla house…” Shah had said.
Further questioning the Union Home Minister over the ceasefire, Priyanka Gandhi said, “The Union Home Minister today spoke about what Nehru and Indira Gandhi did. He even went on to talk about my mother’s tears. But he never answered why the ceasefire was announced…”
Furthermore, Congress leader Vadra accused the government of “escaping” the questions and having “no sense” of accountability towards the citizens of the nation.
“This government always tries to escape the questions…They have no sense of accountability towards the citizens of the nation. The truth is that they have no place for the public in their heart. For them, everything is politics, publicity…” she said.
“Most of the people who are sitting in this House today have a security cover…But on that day in Pahalgam, 26 people were killed in front of their families. All those people who were present in Baisaran Valley on that day did not have any security. No matter how many operations you conduct, you cannot hide behind the truth…” she stated.
Maharashtra
Mumbai 26 July 2005 Floods: When City Was Submerged With 944 mm Of Rain In 24 Hours Leaving 914 Dead, Thousands Displaced

Every year, the monsoon season disrupts life across Indian cities with heavy rainfall, waterlogging and traffic chaos. But July 26, 2005, stands out as a day that etched itself into Mumbai’s history as one of its darkest and most devastating.
On that day, Mumbai received an unprecedented 944 mm of rain in just 24 hours, nearly half of its annual average. Between 8 am and 8 pm alone, 644 mm poured down. It remains the eighth-highest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded anywhere in the world. The city, unprepared for such intensity, was brought to a grinding halt.
Internet Flooded With Old Visuals, Still Haunting Mumbaikars
Several netizens took to social media to share haunting visuals from the 2005 Mumbai floods, recalling the day when the city came to a complete standstill. Many described it as an unforgettable chapter in Mumbai’s history, marked by chaos, resilience and unity.
While some reflected on the overwhelming scale of the disaster, others remembered how the crisis revealed the undying spirit of Mumbai, with strangers helping each other and communities coming together in the face of adversity.
Mumbai’s Lifeline Took Serious Hit, 52 Local Trains Damaged
As floodwaters rose, roads vanished beneath torrents of water. Local trains, the city’s lifeline, stopped completely, with tracks submerged and 52 trains damaged. Thousands were stranded in stations, schools and offices overnight. Low-lying areas like Dharavi and the Bandra-Kurla Complex were heavily inundated, while vehicles were swept away or immobilised.
The scale of disruption was staggering. Over 37,000 auto-rickshaws, 4,000 taxis, 900 BEST buses and 10,000 trucks and tempos were either damaged or rendered unusable. Even the skies were no refuge. For the first time ever, Mumbai’s airports shut down, with Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and the Juhu airstrip closed for more than 30 hours. More than 700 flights were cancelled or delayed, creating nationwide ripples in air traffic.
Over 900 Killed, Property Worth ₹5.5 Billion Destroyed
The economic loss was estimated at Rs 5.5 billion (around 100 million USD). But the cost in human lives and suffering was far greater. According to official reports, 914 people lost their lives, many due to drowning, electrocution and landslides. More than 14,000 homes were destroyed, leaving thousands without shelter, food or drinking water.
Communication networks also failed. Around 5 million mobile users and 2.3 million landline connections went dead for several hours, hampering emergency rescue operations. Emergency services were overwhelmed, as the city grappled with a disaster it had never imagined.
The 2005 floods served as a harsh wake-up call, exposing Mumbai’s vulnerability to extreme weather. In the years since, the government has worked on improving disaster preparedness, such as creating specialised disaster management units, upgrading early warning systems and installing floodgates and dewatering pumps at critical points.
Yet, even two decades later, as visuals from 2005 resurface each year, a haunting question persists: Is Mumbai truly prepared to face another flood of that magnitude?
National News
Congress Leader Jairam Ramesh Slams PM Modi’s ‘Boasted Friendship’ With Donald Trump, Cites US Engagement With Pakistan

New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “much boasted friendship” with US President Donald Trump is now proving to be “hollow” and cited several overtures the latter recently made to Pakistan.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh also alleged that Indian diplomacy was failing in the light of the US partnering with Pakistan.
“The abject failure of Indian diplomacy, especially in the past two months, is revealed most tellingly by four facts. These expose the tall claims made by the Prime Minister and his drum-beaters and cheerleaders,” he said in his post.
Ramesh said that since May 10, 2025, Trump has claimed 25 times that “he personally intervened to stop Operation Sindoor, threatening India and Pakistan that if they didn’t bring the war to a halt, they would not have a trade agreement with the USA.” On June 10, 2025, he claimed, Gen Michael Kurilla, the head of the US Central Command, hailed Pakistan as a phenomenal partner of the US in countering terrorism.
On June 18, 2025, Trump held an unprecedented luncheon meeting with Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in the White House, Ramesh noted.
“Two months earlier, Munir’s inflammatory, incendiary, and communally provocative remarks had provided the backdrop to the brutal Pahalgam terror attacks on April 22, 2025,” he said.
Just yesterday, the Congress leader claimed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and thanked Pakistan for its partnership in countering terrorism and preserving regional stability.
“The PM’s clean chit to China on June 19, 2020, has already cost India heavily. His much boasted friendship with President Trump is now proving to be hollow,” Ramesh said in his post.
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