The Supreme Court has stated that roads cannot be blocked for religious activities and that while religious denominations have autonomy in worship, the government can interfere if secular activities are affected.
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.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticizes Kerala's ruling Left government over the Sabarimala gold loss case, demanding a neutral investigation and accusing the government of protecting the real culprits. He also signals the start of the BJP's campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections.
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.
By asking Vijay to produce letters of majority support before inviting him to form the government, the governor risks overstepping established Constitutional principles, notes Harishchandra.
The extent of doubts over the fairness of this election can be assessed by juxtaposing two figures: Total votes polled by the two principal parties and the number of people who were disallowed from voting this time, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
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'.
An SIT investigating the Sabarimala gold loss case has questioned former Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran. The interrogation has sparked political controversy, with opposition parties alleging interference in the investigation.
The Congress-led UDF in Kerala has criticised the ruling LDF over the Sabarimala gold loss cases, the issue of women's entry to the shrine, and the state's health sector, where government doctors and private nurses are striking over wages.
'Lakhs of transgender people's identities will get erased. Many of them will go into hiding and lead depressing lives.'
The Sabarimala temple women's entry issue has resurfaced in Kerala, leading to a political debate between the ruling CPI(M) and the opposition Congress, as the Supreme Court is scheduled to consider review petitions related to its 2018 verdict.
'The reason why they rushed through the bill was they wanted to avoid using the 2026 Census because the 2026 Census by their own decision will be a caste census.' 'The BJP knows that a significant share of the OBCs who will get captured in the census, for the first time after the 1931 Census, are against the BJP. Only a segment of the OBCs are in their favour.' 'So they wanted to avoid the OBC reservation among women, which is a demand of a lot of Opposition parties.'
The Kerala High Court has ruled that a Muslim man seeking to register a second marriage must obtain the consent of his first wife, emphasizing constitutional rights over customary law.
A student in Kerala has been transferred to a new school after a controversy erupted over her wearing a hijab at St Rita's Public School. The parents cited stress on their daughter and lack of communication from the school as reasons for the transfer.
'The Supreme Court stated that once the delimitation plan is approved by Parliament and receives assent of the President, it cannot be undone. Nor can it be modified.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticised the Congress party for its alleged inaction in addressing Maoist violence during its long rule, while highlighting the Modi government's success in nearly eradicating Maoists from Bastar, Chhattisgarh.
The prosecution had 'miserably' failed to prove the conspiracy charge against Dileep in the sensational 2017 actress sexual assault case, a local court has observed while citing inconsistencies and lack of sufficient evidence against the Malayalam star.
In the fresh complaint, the woman allegedly stated that Mamkootathil had grievously exploited, assaulted, and emotionally abused her under "the false promise of marriage."
Prathichaya has timely ideas and an interesting moral core, but is weighed down by dated storytelling, predictable plotting, and uneven performances, notes Sreeju Sudhakaran.
BJP MP C Sadanandan Master addressed the Rajya Sabha, appealing for unity and highlighting the government's achievements while raising concerns about migration in Kerala.
A court in Thiruvananthapuram dismissed the anticipatory bail petition of expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil in a sexual assault case, citing the gravity of the allegations and potential impact on the investigation.
The direction came on an application filed in a suit by Congress member Pridhwyraj P, who was suspended from the party in 2019, seeking directions to quash the suspension order on the ground that it was in violation of the party's rules and by-laws.
Gehlot had on Wednesday refused to deliver the address to the Karnataka legislature, leading to a stalemate over the fate of the customary speech that outlines the government's policies.
A special court in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district granted bail to three persons, including two nuns from Kerala, arrested on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion.
The I-League, the country's second-tier football competition, will be restructured and rechristened as Indian Football League (IFL).
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
The Kerala high court has set aside crucial stages of the land acquisition process for the proposed Sabarimala greenfield airport, holding that the state failed to properly assess the minimum land actually required for the project.
The Bharat Mata controversy in Kerala shows how political and symbolic fights between the state and the Centre have taken attention away from education, throwing the state's oldest university into confusion and disorder, observes Shyam G Menon.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to accept the preliminary objections raised by opposition-ruled states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala to maintainability of Presidential Reference, saying the issues raised in it pertain to the very core and foundational modalities of the constitutional machinery.
The Supreme Court's opinion on the presidential reference can impact on any number of cases if and when governors, if not the President, take a literary view of the Supreme Court's 'ppinion' on their 'discretionary powers' without reference to the rider on 'reasonable time', points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
A controversy surrounding the gold-clad plates of the Dwarapalaka idols at Sabarimala temple has ignited a political row in Kerala, with opposition parties alleging theft and demanding a comprehensive investigation into temple inventories and the role of a sponsor in the replating process.
Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list commenced in nine states and three Union territories on Tuesday, amid objections from several parties with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the anti-SIR offensive in West Bengal with a rally in Kolkata and alleging 'silent, invisible rigging' through the exercise.
Can a culture survive as a way of life, even as the language and writing at its core, alter with time? Can we be rational and Malayalee or do we have to necessarily be religious and proudly cultural to be Malayalee? asks Shyam G Menon.
Outgoing Chief Justice of India BR Gavai defends the Supreme Court's verdict on governors' powers, emphasizing the principle of separation of powers and judicial independence.
The Supreme Court has requested the Election Commission to respond to petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The court has also asked the Madras and Calcutta High Courts to keep proceedings on similar petitions in abeyance.
In a federal democracy, the people must have a say (indirect or direct) in an office as important as that of governor. Especially in a governor who can now effectively veto a bill by simply refusing to sign it, argues Harishchandra.
The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to conduct a pan-India investigation into digital arrest scams and questioned the RBI about its lack of AI usage in detecting and freezing accounts used by cybercriminals.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Supreme Court of India has agreed to hear on May 6 the pleas of the Kerala government against the governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly. The court will consider whether the issues raised in the Kerala petition are covered by a recent judgment on a similar plea by Tamil Nadu, which set timelines for governors and the President on granting assent to bills.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission's voters' list cleanup exercise, will commence in nine states and three Union territories from Tuesday.
