Category: TOP STORIES

Places of Worship Act: Mathura Shahi Eidgah mosque files intervention application in SC

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) A day ahead of the crucial hearing in the Supreme Court on pleas challenging the validity of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, the Committee of Management of Mathura’s Shahi Masjid Eidgah, on Wednesday, filed an intervention application, saying that the law was enacted by Parliament in the interest of the country’s progress, which has stood the test of time for more than 33 years.

The application said that the validity of the law, prohibiting the alteration of religious places of worship as they stood on August 15, 1945, has been upheld by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in M. Siddiq (D) Thr. Lrs. vs. Mahant Suresh Das & Ors. case.

It added that Parliament, in the exercise of its powers and in the interest of the forward progress of the country, had enacted the 1991 Act, which has stood the test of time for more than 33 years and the petitioners have chosen to challenge the enactment belatedly, after 29 years.

Further, it said that the adjudication of the petitions against the Places of Worship Act is likely to have a significant bearing on the adjudication of its special leave petitions pending before the apex court against the dismissal of their application filed under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC (Code of Civil Procedure) and the pending suits against the applicant mosque committee.

The application said that the mosque committee is party to 17 different suits being tried by the Allahabad High Court, where the plaintiffs have staked a claim over the entire parcel of land over which the Shahi Masjid Eidgah has been built, and have further sought the removal of the mosque structure from the said land, claiming the same to have been built over Krishna Janm Sthan.

“It would be in the interest of justice if the applicant (mosque committee) is allowed to intervene and assist this Hon’ble Court in the adjudication of the issues (relating to the validity of Places of Worship Act, 1991),” the application said.

The Supreme Court has notified a 3-judge Special Bench to hear a clutch of petitions challenging the validity of certain provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a special bench headed by CJI Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Vishwanathan will hear the matter on December 12.

A similar application has been moved by the Managing Committee of Varanasi’s Gyanvapi Mosque before the top court, saying that the consequences of declaring the 1991 Act unconstitutional are bound to be drastic and will obliterate the rule of law and communal harmony.

The mosque committee said that an Article 32 petition challenging a legislative enactment must indicate the unconstitutionality of the provisions based on constitutional principles and the rhetorical arguments seeking a sort of retribution against the perceived acts of previous rulers cannot be made the basis for a constitutional challenge.

“The Parliament, in its wisdom, enacted the legislation as a recognition of secular values of the Constitution. The applicant humbly submits that while this Hon’ble Court considers this challenge to the 1991 Act, the petition may be dismissed as being devoid of merits,” the application had added.

–IANS

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Sensex closes flat ahead of inflation data

Mumbai, Dec 11 (IANS) Indian frontline indices closed on a flat note on Wednesday as investors are waiting for November CPI (Consumer Price Index) data, which will be released by the government on Thursday.

At closing, Sensex was up 16 points at 81,526 and Nifty was up 31 points at 24,641.

The broader market trend was positive. On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2143 shares closed in the green, 1,839 settled in the red and 113 shares closed without change.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto, IT, Fin Service, pharma, FMCG, metal and realty were top gainers and PSU Bank, media, energy and pvt bank were top laggards.

Midcap and smallcap stocks outperformed the largecap in the trading session. Nifty midcap 100 index closed at 59,292, up 157 points or 0.27 per cent and Nifty smallcap 100 index closed at 19,657, up 74 points or 0.38 per cent.

According to the market experts, “The Indian market exhibited subtle movements, reflecting mixed sentiments prevailing in global markets ahead of the US CPI inflation data release, which could influence the FED policy. The US dollar strengthened, while bond yields saw a marginal uptick.”

“Defensive sectors, including FMCG and pharmaceuticals, experienced an uptick. Additionally, the metals sector saw gains driven by optimism surrounding potential stimulus measures from China,” they added.

In the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Maruti, Bharti Airtel and Hindustan Unilever were the top gainers. JSW Steel, NTPC, SBI, Reliance, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank and Titan were the top losers.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their buying on December 10, buying equities worth Rs 1,285.96 crore, while domestic institutional investors also bought equities worth Rs 605.79 crore on the same day.

The market opened at a flat note. At around 9.27 a.m., Sensex was trading at 81,515.06 after gaining 5.01 points or 0.01 per cent, while the Nifty was trading at 24,623.8 after rising 13.75 points or 0.06 per cent.

–IANS

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Madras High Court dismisses case against Chennai Press Club elections

Chennai, Dec 11 (IANS) The Madras High Court has dismissed a case challenging the conduct of elections to the Chennai Press Club.

On Wednesday, Justice G. Jayachandran, a single-Bench judge, declined to entertain a suit filed by T.M. Viswanaath, a member of the Chennai Press Club.

The elections, scheduled for December 15, will take place after a 25-year gap, the last being held in 1999.

The elections aim to select a complete set of new office-bearers, including a president, two vice presidents, a general secretary, a treasurer, two joint secretaries, and five committee members.

Only primary members of the club are eligible to contest and vote in the elections.

Justice Jayachandran advised the plaintiff to approach the court after the declaration of results if he remained dissatisfied with the election process.

The elections are being conducted under the supervision of a Special Guidance Committee (SGC).

The 12-member SGC, led by veteran journalist N. Ram, had earlier constituted a subcommittee to finalise the list of members and appointed retired High Court Judge, V. Bharathidasan as the Election Officer.

The plaintiff sought to restrain the subcommittee from enrolling fresh members to the club.

However, P. Wilson, Senior Counsel representing the club, argued that the elections were being held after several years, and some individuals were attempting to block the process.

He noted that this group had been occupying the club for a long time.

Wilson further stated that the plaintiff had not challenged the election notification or the finalised voter list, and under such circumstances, the court could not grant an injunction against the polls.

Senior Counsel R. Singaravelan, representing another Chennai Press Club member who opposed the plea, emphasised that the elections, being conducted after decades, should not be obstructed.

Justice Jayachandran dismissed the case and clarified that the election process could proceed uninterrupted.

He added that any grievances could be raised in court after the elections and the announcement of results.

–IANS

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Two Mumbai-based fraudsters posing as Delhi cops arrested in Kolkata

Kolkata, Dec 11 (IANS) Two notorious Mumbai-based fraudsters engaged in extorting money from people posing as cops of the cybercrime division of Delhi Police were arrested from a hotel at Sealdah in central Kolkata on Wednesday.

The two accused have been identified as Vinode Kovinda Pawar and Dhanji Jagannath Shinde and are residents of Mumbai.

The arrests were made following a recent complaint by a city-based woman to the Charu Market Police Station in South Kolkata.

As per the complaint, the two approached her posing as cops of the cybercrime division of Delhi. They informed her of several serious cases registered against her with Delhi Police and threatened to arrest her.

The woman panicked and thereafter the two fraudsters gave an offer to her to settle the matter against a hefty amount. The woman in panic started transferring the money demanded by the two accused to their bank accounts.

After having paid a hefty sum of Rs 66 lakh with the demands for more money from the two accused persons continuing, she contacted the Charu Market police station.

The cops of the city police immediately contacted their counterparts in Delhi Police and came to know that no such case had been registered there against the women concerned.

Thereafter, the cops started tracking the SIM numbers of the mobile phones from where calls were made to the woman. Finally, the two were arrested from a hotel at Sealdah.

The police have also been able to track the money that the women paid into an account with a private bank registered in the name of the Shinde. The police have also seized mobile phones, SIM cards and bank documents from the possession of the two arrested.

Kolkata Police have again alerted the citizens of this new trend of crime where innocent people are being tapped by fraudsters posing as cops or CBI or NCB officials. The advice of the city police for the citizens is not to panic about such calls and immediately contact the local police station.

–IANS

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Australia’s largest telecommunications company fined over emergency service network disruption

Sydney, Dec 11 (IANS) Australia’s largest telecommunications company has been fined over an emergency services network disruption.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on Wednesday announced a three million Australian dollar ($1.9 million) fine for Telstra for failing to comply with emergency call rules during an outage of Australia’s triple zero network in March.

As the national operator of the triple zero service, Telstra is required to meet obligations in relation to the handling and transfer of calls made to the emergency service number, reports Xinhua news agency.

ACMA found 473 breaches of the rules during a March 1 incident in which Telstra’s Triple Zero call centre was hampered in transferring calls to emergency services for 90 minutes.

The investigation found that 127 calls during that period were not transferred to emergency services because Telstra neglected to update its backup phone data.

ACMA said the remaining 346 calls were successfully transferred, but Telstra failed to provide the caller’s digital location information to emergency service organizations.

“Telstra, as the emergency call provider, is at the centre of this critical public safety service. As such, it must have fail-safe systems and processes in place at all times. In this circumstance, its systems and contingency plans failed people in real need,” ACMA member Samantha Yorke said in a statement.

She said that Telstra has been open and apologetic about the outage and has taken steps to prevent a similar incident in the future.

Optus, Australia’s second-largest telecommunications provider, was fined 12 million AUD ($7.6 million) in November by ACMA after thousands of customers were unable to call triple zero during an unprecedented outage in November 2023.

–IANS

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K’taka: Four girls on education trip drown in sea; govt announces Rs 5 lakh compensation

Karwar (Karnataka), Dec 11 (IANS) A shocking incident has been reported from Murudeshwar coastal town in Karwar district of Karnataka, where four girl students on an educational trip drowned in the sea. The state government announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the family of each deceased girl on Wednesday.

The girls were swept away by strong currents while playing at Murudeshwar beach on Tuesday evening. Authorities managed to rescue four girls initially, and a search is underway for others. The deceased have been identified as 15-year-old Deeksha, Lavanya, Vandana, and Shravanthi.

Deeksha, Lavanya, and Vandana’s bodies were found on Wednesday morning. Shravanthi was rescued immediately after the incident on Tuesday but later succumbed to her condition. Two other students were successfully rescued by the authorities, and rescue operations continued to locate the remaining students.

The deceased were students of Morarji Desai Residential School in Kottur village near Mulbagal town in Kolar district. Including teachers, a total of 57 people were on the academic tour. The strong sea currents pulled the girls away while they were playing on Murudeshwar beach.

It is alleged that negligence on the part of the teachers and the tourism department contributed to the tragedy.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has expressed shock over the incident and announced compensation while paying his condolences over the tragedy.

Siddaramaiah stated, “I was shocked to learn the news of the students from the Morarji Desai Residential School in Mulbagal Taluk, Kolar District, who drowned in the sea near Murudeshwar during an educational trip. I pray for peace for the departed souls and offer my condolences to the grieving parents of the children.”

“The state government will provide compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the four students who died in this tragic incident. I have instructed the Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada district to make arrangements to transport the bodies to their hometowns,” Siddaramaiah stated.

CM further cautioned, “Teachers must exercise greater caution while supervising children during trips. When visiting dangerous locations, special care should be taken to monitor the children. I can understand the grief and pain of the parents who have lost their children. I pray that such tragedies never happen again.”

–IANS

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Japan to raise taxes for defence budget expansion: Media

Tokyo, Dec 11 (IANS) The Japanese government is finalising plans to increase corporate and income tax rates to fund its plan to nearly double defence spending to 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), local media cited sources as saying on Wednesday.

The government is targeting April 2026 for a 4 per cent hike in corporate tax rates, while the income tax rate is expected to rise by 1 per cent starting January 2027, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting Kyodo News.

Additionally, tobacco taxes will likely be raised incrementally from April 2026.

Japan plans to outlay a total of 43 trillion yen (about $284 billion) on national defence over the five years through fiscal 2027, and the government aims to collect an additional 1 trillion yen annually through tax increases, according to the report.

The government and ruling parties are drafting comprehensive tax reform plans for fiscal 2025, beginning next April. The finalised schedule for the tax increases is expected to be outlined in a draft to be completed by the end of December, the report added.

The expansion of Japan’s military budget has raised concerns domestically and internationally.

The country has set a goal outlined in its 2022 National Security Strategy of bringing defence spending to 2 per cent of the GDP in fiscal 2027, after long maintaining an informal cap of around 1 per cent, or about 5 trillion yen, under its war-renouncing Constitution.

–IANS

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Bangladesh court rejects bail plea of Chinmoy Krishna Das once again

Dhaka, Dec 11 (IANS) A Bangladesh court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu priest and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote also associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), who has been arrested and jailed by the local authorities on charges of sedition.

Local media reported that Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md. Saiful Islam, who is on vacation, passed the order on Wednesday citing that the plea was rejected because Das did not have a lawyer’s letter of attorney on his behalf.

The petition, which will be heard on January 2 next year now, states that Das – a monk who is suffering from various diseases including diabetes and respiratory problems – has been arrested in a false and fabricated case.

It also mentions that his lawyer Subhashish Sharma could not attend the hearing on December 3 due to security reasons.

“Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court Public Prosecutor PP Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan said that the state party informed the court that lawyer Rabindra Ghosh, who had applied for Chinmoy’s anticipatory bail hearing, had not given any power of attorney to fight the case on his behalf. Apart from this, Chinmoy’s lawyer Subhashish Sharma was also not present. Subhashish did not give anything in writing to Rabindra Ghosh to fight the case. Later, the court rejected the application made by lawyer Rabindra Ghosh,” reported the country’s leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo.

It was revealed that the bail hearing of two other accused in the case was also scheduled for Wednesday but could not take place due to the lawyer’s absence.

India has been reiterating that it hopes that the trial will be “fair and transparent” as the arrested Hindus have legal rights that should be respected.

New Delhi has also urged the interim government’s authorities in Dhaka to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all minorities, including their right of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression while highlighting that the arrest of Das follows multiple attacks on Hindus and other minorities by extremist elements in Bangladesh.

“The interim government must live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities. We are concerned at the surge of extremist rhetoric, increasing incidents of violence and provocation. These developments cannot be dismissed only as media exaggerations. We once again call upon Bangladesh to take all steps for the protection of minorities,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last month.

On Monday, during his visit to Dhaka, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had conveyed India’s concerns, especially those related to the safety and welfare of minorities, during his meetings with the Chief Advisor of the Interim Government of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus and the Foreign Affairs Advisor, Touhid Hossain.

“We also discussed some regrettable incidents of attacks on cultural, religious, and diplomatic properties. We expect, overall, a constructive approach on all these issues by the Bangladesh authorities, and we look forward to moving the relationship forward in a positive, forward-looking, and constructive direction,” Misri told reporters in Dhaka on December 9 following his meeting with Hossain.

–IANS

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Biden calls Trump’s tariff approach ‘major mistake’

Washington, Dec 11 (IANS) US President Joe Biden called President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff approach “a major mistake.”

“He seems determined to impose steep universal tariffs on all imported goods brought to this country on the mistaken belief that foreign countries will bear the cost of those tariffs rather than the American consumer,” Biden said in a speech at the Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution.

“Who do you think pays for this? I believe this approach is a major mistake. I believe we have proven that approach is a mistake over the past four years,” said Biden.

In the speech, the outgoing US President reflected on the economy he inherited from Trump and his administration’s work following the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency.

He also criticised Trump’s economic plan, warning that it means “another tax cut for the very wealthy.”

“(By) all accounts, the incoming administration is determined to return the country to another round of trickle-down economics and another tax cut for the very wealthy that will not be paid for or, if paid for, is going to have a real cost,” Biden said.

At a Wall Street Journal CEO Council event on Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also expressed concerns about Trump’s proposal to impose widespread import tariffs, warning that it could hinder progress in reducing inflation and lead to higher costs for both consumers and businesses.

In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump said he would fulfil a campaign promise to levy tariffs on imports from the United States’ major trading partners, saying that tariffs “cost Americans nothing.”

–IANS

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Brunei sultan urges united efforts from energy companies to face future challenges

Bandar Seri Begawan, Dec 11 (IANS) Brunei’s Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah has chaired board meetings of the country’s key energy companies, urging united efforts to face future challenges, local media reported.

The 413th Board of Directors Meeting of Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd (BSP) and the 191st Board of Directors Meeting of Brunei Shell Marketing Sdn Bhd (BSM) took place at the Brunei Prime Minister’s Office building on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting the official media Pelita Brunei.

The Sultan chaired the meetings and emphasised the need for strong leadership, along with technical expertise, unwavering commitment, and a united effort across the Brunei Shell Joint Venture and BGC to face future challenges, according to the report.

At the meeting, the participants discussed critical areas such as operational performance, safety, finance, and human resource development, as well as setting the strategic direction of BSP and BSM for the coming years.

Brunei is an important oil and gas producer in Southeast Asia.

–IANS

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