Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Monday said there was 'nothing wrong' in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his residence on Ganpati Puja and underscored the need for a 'sense of maturity in political sphere' on such issues.
The Supreme Court of India will hear a plea from the mosque management committee challenging an order rejecting its petition in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh on January 15. The Allahabad High Court had rejected the mosque committee's plea, stating that the religious character of the Shahi Idgah mosque needed to be determined. The case involves claims that the mosque was built after the demolition of a temple, a claim disputed by the mosque committee. The Supreme Court will now decide on the maintainability of the mosque committee's plea.
Questions are being raised on the future of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as differences among its constituents come to the fore and several parties call for serious introspection by the Congress after a string of debilitating electoral losses.
'Unless Justice Chandrachud's judgment is (over)turned, there is no end to it.'
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
Challenging the verdict is a deterrent to future peace and harmony and a socially irresponsible act, argues Vivek Gumaste.
The proceedings in the case at the Central Bureau of Investigation court in Lucknow ended on Tuesday with the advocates for some of 32 accused presenting their oral arguments.
The Allahabad high court will hear Wednesday a plea against the acquittal of all 32 accused, including Bharatiya Janata Party veterans L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, in the Babri mosque demolition case.
'We have been fighting to treat political prisoners differently.' 'Except for Hyderabad and Kolkata, the concept of keeping political prisoners separate doesn't exist in India.'
A four-member team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted a survey of the recently-discovered Shri Kartik Mahadev temple, five pilgrimage sites, and 19 wells in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India. The survey followed the discovery of three damaged idols inside a well of the Bhasma Shankar temple, which was reopened after being shut for 46 years. The Shri Kartik Mahadev temple, also known as the Bhasma Shankar temple, was reopened on December 13 after authorities found the covered structure during an anti-encroachment drive. The temple houses an idol of Lord Hanuman and a Shivling and had remained locked since 1978. The district administration has requested carbon dating of the temple, including the well, from the ASI. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has restrained courts across India from entertaining new lawsuits or passing any orders in pending ones seeking to reclaim religious places, especially mosques and dargahs, until further notice. This action halts proceedings in approximately 18 lawsuits filed by Hindu parties seeking surveys to determine the original religious character of 10 mosques, including the Gyanvapi at Varanasi, the Shahi Idgah Masjid at Mathura, and the Shahi Jama Masjid at Sambhal, where four individuals died in clashes. The Supreme Court will examine the legality, scope, and boundaries of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits the conversion of places of worship and ensures the preservation of their religious character as it existed on August 15, 1947.
Owaisi criticized the court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, saying it weakens India and distracts from real issues like inflation and unemployment.
His five-year rule saw the Babri Masjid demolition, the rise of the saffron forces and also the country being placed firmly on a new economic path, away from the Nehru years of public sector socialism.
He hinted that the same hue and cry is not made about 1984 riots not being in textbooks.
Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leaders L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi reacted to the court acquitting them in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
Top BJP leaders hailed the special CBI court order acquitting all the accused and described it as a victory of truth and justice.
Commencing hearing on pleas challenging the constitutionality of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to reply to cross-pleas against or seeking implementation of statute.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has shifted its focus back to Hindutva after suffering significant losses in the recent Maharashtra assembly elections. The party has been vocal about attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and has taken a stance to "protect" a Hanuman Temple in Mumbai. Observers say this move is an attempt to regain its core voter base and counter the BJP's narrative on Hindutva, ahead of the upcoming civic polls. Analysts believe the party's "secular" stand may not be effective in the BMC elections and that its return to Hindutva is a sign of frustration from electoral setbacks.
'What is at stake is not one mosque or temple, it is the question of the principle of secularism which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution as declared even by the Supreme Court of India.'
'He failed to foresee that the campaign of hatred need not be continuous; a sporadic, scattered campaign is enough.' 'What was important is to keep the pot boiling, not let it overflow like happened during the masjid-mandir days,' notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Iqbal Ansari, one of the main plaintiffs who fought for the right of the community over the disputed land, says Muslims in Ayodhya won't be satisfied if the Sunni Waqf Board accepts the five acres in Dhannipur.
The court is conducting the trial of accused persons, including BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi, Uma Bharti and others.
The Babri mosque demolition trial is presently at the stage of the recording of statements of 32 accused in the case under Section 313 of Code of Criminal Procedure during which they also get an opportunity to refute the prosecution evidence against them.
The court also observed that late Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal wanted to save the structure because Ram idols were inside.
'...to think apna time aa gaya after the 2024 election.'
Nasreen accused Hasina of pleasing the 'Islamists', however, the same 'Islamists' have been in the student movement who forced the former Bangladesh PM to leave the country on Monday.
'You can see both being used in our textbooks already and that will continue in new textbooks'
The Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) demanded the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Centre to move applications in the Allahabad High Court for daily hearing to expedite trial and judgement in the mosque demolition case.
He could have blazed a trail that few Indian judges had. It was a missed opportunity of a lifetime, notes Ramesh Menon.
Following is the chronology of events in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case.
The statement of the 86-year-old leader was recorded in the court of Special Judge S K Yadav through video conference.
"Is the current government a government for a particular community? Is it a government only for Hindutva?" Owaisi said.
From the kind of food to the art which will be displayed at the museum, historian Pushpesh Pant shares his vision.
Senior advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, told the bench that they have complied with the top court's direction and extended the tenure of the special judge till he delivers the judgment in the Ayodhya demolition case.
A generation has passed and the demolition appears to be a story of an era gone by, says Sharat Pradhan, who shares his experience as a witness in court in the Babri Masjid demolition case. On the 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, we republish this 2011 special.
The judge said the CBI's case became weaker or "forceless" in view of the fact that it did not probe and ruled out the Pakistan angle to the demolition to make the criminal conspiracy charge stand the judicial scrutiny.
Sources said that Shah was accompanied by a battery of government lawyers as he met Advani at the 92-year-old leader's residence in connection with the case.
The EC on Saturday had issued a show-cause notice to Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast accused currently out on bail, over her remark made during an interview to a news channel.
While that created a stir so did the decision on his penultimate day at work with the Supreme Court rechristening its summer vacation "partial court working days", an issue that has led to criticism that the apex court judges enjoyed long breaks.
The ruling came after the Apex court heard a petition in the Babri mosque demolition case opposing the dropping of criminal conspiracy charges against Bharatiya Janata Party veterans.
Five members of a school management near Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district have been booked.
