The Supreme Court has agreed to list for final hearing the pleas challenging the validity of certain provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
Delhi Police have arrested a man for allegedly placing objectionable material at the gate of a temple in the Dayalpur area of northeast Delhi. An FIR was registered, and an investigation is underway to determine the motive and any other individuals involved.
Delhi Police have launched an investigation after 'objectionable material' was found at the gate of a temple in the Dayalpur area of northeast Delhi. An FIR has been registered, and police are reviewing CCTV footage and deploying forces to maintain calm.
Bangladesh Police have issued a nationwide security alert following intelligence reports of potential militant attacks on key installations, including the parliament complex and places of worship.
Police have registered a case against unidentified individuals for allegedly setting off fireworks near the Kedarnath temple and sharing the video on social media. This action follows several incidents of controversial videos being filmed at the shrine since the Kedarnath Yatra began.
Two Indian men were shot dead in Covo, Italy, as they left a warehouse used for Vaisakhi festival celebrations. The incident occurred near a gurdwara, and police are investigating the possibility of a planned execution.
The Supreme Court of India has stated that religious institutions must have structure and norms for their functioning, emphasising that the right to manage a religious institution does not imply an absence of order.
The Shabari story in the Ramayana found mention before a nine-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday while hearing petitions related to discrimination against women at religious places, including the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
UN experts have voiced serious concerns regarding the ongoing abduction and forced religious conversion through marriage of women and girls from minority communities in Pakistan, highlighting that impunity is fuelling the practice.
A nursing assistant in Kerala has been booked for allegedly exposing himself at a local temple and attempting suicide when confronted by temple authorities. He is currently in the ICU after undergoing surgery for self-inflicted wounds.
Fourteen individuals have been arrested in Varanasi for allegedly defiling a place of worship and hurting religious sentiments after a video surfaced showing them consuming chicken biryani during an Iftar party on a boat in the Ganga river.
A Varanasi court has remanded 14 people to judicial custody after they allegedly held an Iftar party and consumed chicken biryani on a boat in the Ganga river, sparking outrage and accusations of hurting religious sentiments.
The Metropolitan Police in London are increasing patrols and resources following a series of antisemitic attacks, including an incident targeting a Jewish charity. Counter-terrorism officers are investigating the attacks, which are suspected to be linked to an Islamist group with ties to Iran.
A nine-judge Supreme Court bench has commenced hearing on petitions related to discrimination against women at religious places, including the Sabarimala temple, and the scope of religious freedom across faiths.
The Supreme Court questioned the chief priest of the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple regarding the constitutionality of preventing believers from touching the deity, during hearings on discrimination against women at religious sites.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), managing the Sabarimala temple, argued in the Supreme Court that religious beliefs should be judged subjectively by the community, as the court hears petitions related to discrimination against women at religious places.
The Centre has supported the restriction on women of menstruating age entering Kerala's Sabarimala temple, arguing that the Supreme Court's 2018 judgement assumes male superiority.
The Supreme Court is hearing petitions related to discrimination against women at religious places, including the Sabarimala temple. A nine-judge bench is examining the scope of religious freedom and the exclusion of women based on age and menstrual status.
The strength of the human spirit in the face of oppression and collective action is a theme well suited to these divided times, but Pallichattambi needed to be more precise and focused in its imagination to the make the noble intentions stick, notes Arjun Menon.
The Supreme Court of India has asserted its jurisdiction to determine what constitutes a superstitious practice within a religion, during a hearing on petitions related to discrimination against women at religious sites.
The Supreme Court of India questioned the Centre regarding the eligibility of non-devotees to challenge the customs of the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, during a hearing on religious freedom and discrimination against women at religious sites.
'It was a disaster on his part to give an oral remark which allowed ascertainment of the religious character of places of worship.' 'This disrupted the social harmony of the country.'
The law prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
The Centre has asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its judgements decriminalising adultery and same-sex relationships, arguing they were based on a subjective application of 'constitutional morality'.
The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that the restriction on women of menstruating age entering Kerala's Sabarimala temple is a matter of religious faith and denominational autonomy, falling outside the purview of judicial review. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that courts should not apply 'secular standards of reason' to religious practices.
Four individuals have been arrested in Shravasti, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly dumping non-vegetarian food waste near a freshwater drain used by an ashram temple. The incident sparked outrage and led to charges of hurting religious sentiments and promoting disharmony.
Police in Navi Mumbai have detained two juveniles for allegedly vandalising a statue representing the Agri-Koli community and circulating the video on social media.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar also indicated that it may not take up the pending scheduled petitions, heard earlier by a three-judge bench, during the day as it was sitting in a combination of two judges.
The Allahabad High Court has criticised Uttar Pradesh officials for restricting the number of people allowed to pray at a mosque in Sambhal, stating that officials should resign if they cannot enforce the rule of law.
Samajwadi Party leader and Kairana MP Iqra Choudhary has moved the Supreme Court seeking effective implementation of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. This move comes amidst several petitions challenging the law's validity, including those filed by the Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samiti and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay. The Supreme Court, in December 2022, had restrained all courts from examining fresh suits and passing interim orders in pending cases seeking to reclaim religious places. The Act aims to maintain the religious character of places of worship as they existed on August 15, 1947, but the dispute relating to Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid at Ayodhya was kept out of its purview. The court has listed Choudhary's plea with other pending pleas for February 17.
The Act prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
Tension gripped Sihora town in Jabalpur district after a communal clash involving stone-pelting and vandalism, leading to police intervention and multiple arrests.
The Supreme Court has announced that a nine-judge bench will begin final hearings on petitions related to discrimination against women in religions, including the Sabarimala Temple case, starting April 7.
The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear a batch of petitions challenging the validity of certain provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits lawsuits to reclaim a place of worship or change its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947. The pleas, including one filed by Ashwini Upadhyay, argue that these provisions violate the right to judicial remedy and create an arbitrary cut-off date. The matter will be heard in the backdrop of several ongoing cases related to places of worship, including the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura. The Muslim side has cited the 1991 law to argue that such suits are not maintainable. The Supreme Court had previously sought the Centre's response to Upadhyay's petition, which alleged that the law creates an "arbitrary and irrational retrospective cut-off date" for maintaining the character of places of worship.
India has strongly condemned Pakistan's recent drone attacks on Indian cities and civilian infrastructure, calling it a "deranged fantasy" and a desperate attempt to deceive the world. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also accused Pakistan of attacking religious sites, including a gurdwara in Amritsar, in an attempt to give a communal color to the situation. Misri criticized Pakistan's "blatantly farcical denial" of the attacks and said the country is resorting to disinformation tactics.
Protests erupted in Kashmir following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading to restrictions on movement and mobile internet speeds.
The armed forces of India will be wise to remember that its public interface needs to be tempered with discretion, maturity and example, keeping in mind the nation's multi-cultural and multi-religious fabric which is its greatest strength but which can also become its biggest fault-line, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
The attack came less than three months after a suicide bomber killed 12 people in a blast outside a district and sessions court building in Islamabad.
He said that just as there are rules related to religious conduct in mosques and churches, there are also traditional rules in Hindu religious places.
Basant Panchami is dedicated to Devi Saraswati, the goddess of learning and an auspicious occasion to visit shrines in her honour.
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