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

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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.

Crime

UP Shocker: Mother Of 5 Children Dies After Beaten Up By 24-Year-Old Lover Over Breakup In Noida

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A mother of five children died after her 24-year-old allegedly beaten her up following a heated argument over breakup on Monday in Noida. According to reports, the victim has been identified as Neeraj. The police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and arrested the accused boyfriend.

According to police, woman’s husband Satish, originally a resident of village Hathni Gud in Badaun district, works in a private company. He lives on rent in a house located in Mamura village with his wife Neeraj and five children. Neeraj had an extramarital affair with Arjun, a resident of village Sahpur in Shahjahanpur district who lived in the neighbourhood, for the past three years.

Arjun worked as a housekeeper in a private company located in Sector-59. Husband Satish was unaware of their affair. Neeraj went to meet Arjun in his room in the neighbourhood on Monday evening around 6 PM. Here, a fight broke out between the two about breakup. After the argument, Arjun physically assaulted Neeraj. During this, Neeraj became unconscious and fell to the ground.

Panicked Arjun rushed her to a nearby hospital, from where the woman was referred to Kailash Hospital. Seeing no improvement in her condition, the woman was referred to the district hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

After being alerted, police arrived and sent the body for the post-mortem. They also took boyfriend Arjun into custody. Family members allege that Arjun murdered Neeraj by strangulation.

According to police, the woman had married Satish about 13 years ago. The couple has five children. To educate the children, Satish brought Neeraj from his ancestral village to Noida about five years ago. While living in lane number eight, Neeraj became friends with Arjun, who lived in the neighbourhood. Gradually, the friendship between the two turned into a love affair. Arjun is 24 years old and unmarried.

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Odisha Self-Immolation Case: Congress Workers Stage Protest Over Balasore Student’s Death Outside AIIMS Bhubaneswar

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Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Tensions flared outside AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Tuesday morning as Congress workers staged a protest following the death of a 20-year-old student from Balasore who had attempted self-immolation.

The protesting Congress workers were detained by police.

AIIMS Bhubaneswar Confirms The Death Of The Student

Earlier on Monday, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar confirmed the death of the 20-year-old student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Odisha’s Balasore, who had attempted self-immolation.

The Department of Burn Centre, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, said in a statement that the patient was brought to the casualty on July 12 and was referred from Balasore District Headquarters Hospital to AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

“She was admitted to the Burns Centre ICU. The patient was resuscitated with IV fluids, IV antibiotics, intubated and put on mechanical ventilation. Despite adequate resuscitation and all possible supportive management, including renal replacement therapy at the Burns ICU, she could not be revived and was declared clinically dead at 11:46 PM on July 14,” the statement said.

The 20-year-old student set herself on fire after allegedly facing prolonged sexual harassment by her college’s Head of Department. Despite lodging a formal complaint and seeking help from the principal, her pleas were ignored, leading to the tragic incident. The incident occurred at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College.

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi Expresses Grief

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief and assured the family of the deceased that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law.

In a post on X, CM Majhi said, “I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the demise of the female student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College. Despite the government’s fulfilment of all responsibilities and the tireless efforts of the expert medical team, the victim’s life could not be saved. I pray for the eternal peace of her departed soul and beseech Lord Jagannath to grant strength to her family to bear this irreparable loss.”

“I assure the family of the deceased student that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law. For this, I have personally issued instructions to the authorities. The government stands firmly with the family,” the Odisha CM emphasised.

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UP Rains Fury: 13 Dead, Villages Cut Off Amid Lightning Strikes, Floods In Bundelkhand & Purvanchal

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Torrential rains wreaked havoc across Bundelkhand and eastern UP on Saturday, claiming 13 lives and displacing hundreds. With no immediate relief in sight, multiple districts reported house collapses, electrocutions, and flood related isolation.

According to the meteorological department, Chitrakoot saw the highest rainfall at 216 mm, followed by Kanpur (126 mm) and Banda (115 mm). Rain continued through the night in many parts of Purvanchal, flooding homes and cutting off access in rural areas.

In Banda’s Badokhar area, lightning struck a mud house, killing one child and injuring two others. Another lightning strike in Kamaisin village killed a farmer. Across the state, five deaths were reported due to lightning, including in Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Chandauli, and Bhadohi.

In Chitrakoot, a wall collapsed as flash floods claimed three lives. In Mahoba, swelling rivers and overflowing drains cut off 20 villages, forcing residents to travel an extra 30 km for basic access. Schools and homes flooded, leaving children stranded. In Unnao, a youth died while planting paddy in a field during a lightning strike. Hamirpur recorded one fatality and multiple injuries from a similar incident, with fields turning into death traps amid the downpour.

Rescue efforts continued late into the evening, including the dramatic 10-hour rescue of a farmer stranded on an island in Banda after the Ranj river’s sudden rise. With more rain forecast through the week, residents brace for further disruptions and losses.

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