The Supreme Court of India has ruled that maternity leave is a fundamental right and cannot be denied to a woman based on the number of children she has from previous relationships. The court overturned a Madras High Court decision that had denied maternity leave to a Tamil Nadu government school teacher who had two children from a previous marriage. The Supreme Court emphasized the importance of reproductive rights, including maternity benefits, as part of international human rights law. The court also highlighted the right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which includes the right to health, dignity, and reproductive choice. The decision has significant implications for women's rights and reproductive healthcare in India.
The incident has brought back into focus the controversy that erupted last year when BJP-led governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand directed food outlets along the Kanwar route to display the names of their owners and staff.
"The entire nation was in shame due to the comments... We saw your videos , you were on the verge of using very filthy language but somehow better sense prevailed or you did not find suitable words. You should be shameful. Entire country is proud of our Army and you made this statement," Justice Surya Kant said.
"I had said on the soil of Bahraich that glorification of foreign invaders should be stopped and that the national heroes must be honoured. And 1,000 years ago, such a tale of courage and bravery was written by Maharaja Suheldev on this very soil of Bahraich," Adityanath said.
The Supreme Court of India has extended the interim bail of Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who was arrested for contentious social media posts on Operation Sindoor. The court, however, restrained him from posting anything online with respect to the cases against him, stating that there was no impediment on his right to speech and expression. The court directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to furnish the investigation report on the next date of hearing.
Acting on the Supreme Court's direction, Haryana's Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate two FIRs against Ashoka University associate professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad. The SIT, headed by Additional Director General of Police (Crime) Mamta Singh, will include Superintendent of Police (Karnal) Ganga Ram Punia and Superintendent of Police (STF, Gurugram) Vikrant Bhushan. The SIT will expeditiously complete the investigation and submit a report at the earliest. Mahmudabad was arrested on May 18 for his social media posts on Operation Sindoor, which were alleged to have endangered the sovereignty and integrity of the country. The Supreme Court granted him interim bail on Thursday, but refused to stay the investigation.
BJP and RSS leaders are once again pushing to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Constitution's Preamble, showing a deeper effort to change India's identity from a diverse, multi-religious republic to a Hindu-first nation, even though they don't have the numbers in Parliament to officially change the Constitution, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Thane unit of the ATS, with the assistance of the Thane rural police, started searches around 4 am at Padgha and Borivali villages in the district adjoining Mumbai, an official said without giving case details.
A Pakistani court has dismissed a plea to rename a chowk in Lahore after Bhagat Singh, citing a retired military officer's claim that the freedom fighter was not a revolutionary but a "criminal". The Lahore High Court upheld the decision of the local corporation, which had scrapped the plan to rename Shadman Chowk and place a statue of Singh there.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh deferred the hearing on Shah's plea after his counsel and senior advocate Maninder Singh made a request.
When asked about Prahar Janshakti Party leader Bachhu Kadu's hunger strike, Fadnavis said district guardian minister Chandrashekar Bawankule will speak to him.
Every word uttered by a minister has to be with a sense of responsibility at a time the country is undergoing "such a situation", the Supreme Court said on Thursday as it reprimanded Madhya Pradesh's Vijay Shah who is facing an FIR for his remarks targeting Col Sofiya Qureshi.
The Islamabad high court is set to hear the petitions requesting the suspension of sentences to Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the 190 million Pound Al-Qadir Trust case on June 11.
The motive behind the murder is yet to be revealed, even though the accused said he killed the woman because she caused a rift in the household.
Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, remains on high alert following violence that erupted on November 24 over a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. Police have deployed heavy security ahead of Friday prayers and a court hearing on the survey, which is expected to be tense. The violence, which left four people dead and several injured, stemmed from claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site of the mosque.
'Archaeological sites like Keeladi, having remained buried for 2,500 years, have come out and speak now.'
The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that nobody can claim right over government land and it is legally empowered to reclaim properties which are declared waqf by using the waqf by user principle.
For Madhya Pradesh Tribal Affairs Minister Vijay Shah, currently under fire for his comments aimed at Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, this is not the first time he has been embroiled in a controversy.
A court in Maharashtra's Nashik district has summoned Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him for his alleged objectionable remarks against Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday detained Bahubali Shah, one of the owners of the leading Gujarati newspaper Gujarat Samachar, following a raid on their premises in Ahmedabad, sources said.
While their suitcase remained at the Sohra homestay, they spent the night at a homestay in Nongriat before checking out early on May 23.
'What does Indira Gandhi want from me? At this age, what will I do to her?'
The accused in the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder case, Sanjay Roy, was brought to the Sealdah court on Monday. Kolkata Police, fearing he would make further controversial statements, kept blowing the horn of the vehicle carrying him, preventing journalists from hearing his voice. This comes after Roy made remarks against the former Kolkata police commissioner and claimed innocence during his previous court appearance. The trial, which is being heard in-camera on a day-to-day basis, continues with the testimony of three witnesses on Monday. The CBI is investigating the case following an order from the Calcutta High Court. The body of the on-duty doctor was discovered in the seminar room on August 9, sparking nationwide outrage and protests. Former principal Sandip Ghosh and former officer in-charge Abhijit Mondal, accused of tampering with evidence, had their judicial remand extended till December 2.
After a thorough police investigation, Dinesh Kumar Sen from the same village was arrested near Basuhar turn on Tuesday.
The Nagpur municipal chief has offered an unconditional apology to the Bombay High Court for the demolition of houses belonging to accused in a riots case, citing ignorance of Supreme Court guidelines on such actions. The civic officials were unaware of the Supreme Court's order, which mandates procedural safeguards before demolishing properties linked to riots accused, the commissioner stated in an affidavit. The court has granted the Maharashtra government two weeks to respond to the matter.
'Government cannot pick and choose as to against whom they want to take action and against whom they do not want to take action.'
The Supreme Court of India has directed its registry to call for a report from IIT Kharagpur and Kota, Rajasthan, after the suicides of a student and a NEET aspirant came to light. The court is seeking to ascertain whether FIRs were registered in both cases, highlighting the disturbing pattern of student suicides in educational institutions. The court has also previously ordered the formation of a national task force to address mental health concerns and prevent suicides in higher educational institutions.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to examine a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a judicial probe into the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
The brother of Sonam Raghuvanshi, who is among the five arrested for the murder of her Indore-based husband Raja Raghuvanshi, on Wednesday came out in support of the victim's family and vowed to fight a legal battle to get justice for them.
A former NCP leader from Pune, Rajendra Hagawane, and his son Sushil were arrested on Friday for their alleged involvement in a dowry harassment and abetment to suicide case involving Hagawane's daughter-in-law. The arrests came after the duo were expelled from the NCP by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The victim, Vaishnavi, had allegedly hanged herself on May 16 at her in-laws' house. Her parents alleged that the Hagawane family had harassed her for dowry despite receiving a substantial amount of gold, silver, and an SUV at the time of her marriage.
A court in Sonipat on Tuesday remanded in judicial custody till May 27 Ali Khan Mahmudabad, the head of Ashoka University's political science department who was arrested for his social media posts related to Operation Sindoor, his lawyer said.
The violence, which erupted over the setting up of a shop in Maheshtala under Rabindranagar police station in South 24 Parganas district, quickly escalated, turning the area into a virtual battlefield.
Legal experts have lauded Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna's decision to make public crucial documents related to a controversy surrounding the alleged discovery of cash from Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma's residence. They also welcomed the formation of an in-house committee to further investigate the matter. While some expressed concerns about the incident's impact on the judiciary's image, others emphasized the need for transparency and a fair inquiry. The Supreme Court released the inquiry report by Delhi High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya, which included photos and videos of the alleged cash discovery. Justice Varma has denied the allegations, calling them a "conspiracy to frame and malign him."
In a post on X, Sherman said that he 'emphasised to the Pakistani delegation the importance of combatting terrorism, and in particular, the group Jaish-e-Mohammed, who murdered my constituent Daniel Pearl in 2002'.
A court in Mysuru, India, has ordered an investigation into the police's handling of a murder case after the woman allegedly murdered by her husband was found alive. Suresh, the husband, spent 1.5 years in jail on murder charges after his wife, Mallige, went missing. The police found a skeleton and filed a charge sheet against Suresh, but a DNA test later showed a mismatch. Mallige was found alive in Madikeri and admitted to eloping and marrying another man. The court has ordered the Superintendent of Police to submit a report on the lapses in the investigation.
The Supreme Court of India has taken a strong stance against child trafficking rackets, canceling the bail granted to 13 accused and criticizing the Uttar Pradesh government for its inaction. The court expressed concern over the rising number of trafficking cases and the changing patterns of the crime. It also directed the state to ensure trafficked children are admitted to schools and receive support for their education.
The Supreme Court of India has ordered a status quo on a private well located near the entrance of the Sambhal Jama Masjid, prohibiting any action regarding the well without its permission. The order came in response to a plea by the mosque's management committee, which challenged a lower court order that allowed a survey of the mosque, citing concerns over violence and loss of life during previous surveys. The court also instructed the authorities to file a status report within two weeks.
Raja Raghuvanshi, the Indore resident killed while honeymooning in Meghalaya, was told by his wife Sonam that she would let him consummate the marriage only after making an offering at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, investigators said on Wednesday.
Justice Gavai's comment came while the apex court bench, also comprising Justice Augustine George Masih, was considering a fresh plea seeking an inquiry into the recent violence in West Bengal during anti-Waqf law protests.
Prayers were performed in a cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi on Wednesday night following court orders allowing the resumption of a practice said to have been discontinued three decades back, Kashi Vishwanath temple trust president said.
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