A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh said it was not going into the other issues over display of names of the hotel or dhaba owner and the QR code, Tuesday being the last day of the Kanwar Yatra.
The United States has issued an advisory cautioning against travel to the immediate vicinity of the India-Pakistan border and the Line of Control due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict and to the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Observing that the final NRC list, which validates bona fide Indian citizens of Assam, has excluded 19 lakh residents, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom on Friday said that a number of domestic and international organisations have expressed concern that the NRC is a "targeted mechanism to disenfranchise Assam's Bengali Muslim community, implicitly establishing a religious requirement for citizenship and potentially rendering large numbers of Muslims stateless."
The ceasefire follows Israeli airstrikes on Syria on Wednesday, which Israel said were carried out to protect the Druze, a minority Arab religious group.
The Allahabad High Court has sought details from the Uttar Pradesh government on funding of religious institutions like madrasas recognised and aided by it, and asked whether the policy to provide financial aid to such institutions is consistent with the secular scheme of the Constitution.
"India risks becoming one of the world's main generators of instability, atrocities and violence because of the massive scale and gravity of the violations and abuses targeting mainly religious and other minorities such as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and others. It is not just individual or local, it is systematic and a reflection of religious nationalism," he said.
India on Thursday dismissed allegations made during a US Congressional Commission briefing that "violence" against minorities was taking place after the advent of the Modi government, saying it was based on lack of understanding of India, its Constitution and society.
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.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused Opposition parties of trying to divide society, drawing a parallel between the violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh and historical events in Ayodhya and Sambhal. He criticized those who indulge in caste-based politics and said they are responsible for the current situation. Adityanath's comments come amid widespread violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh following the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina government.
The Supreme Court of India will likely hear a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 on April 15. The Act, which came into force on April 8, has been met with widespread criticism from various stakeholders, including politicians, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind. They argue that the law is discriminatory and violates the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution. The petitions allege that the amendments give the government more control over the administration of Waqf, effectively sidelining the Muslim minority from managing their own religious endowments.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has announced that his government will introduce a new stringent law to prevent religious conversion of tribal people, and possibly others. He also advocated for the delisting of tribals, removing them from the Scheduled Tribe category if they convert to another religion, saying it will prevent proselytisation.
Several eminent officials and experts from both India and the United States have told American lawmakers that a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre would be detrimental to the basic rights of the religious minorities in India.
The Lok Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, with the ruling NDA defending it as beneficial for minorities while the opposition called it "anti-Muslim". All amendments moved by the opposition were rejected and the bill was passed with 288 votes in favor and 232 against. Union Minorities Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that India is the safest place in the world for minorities, refuting claims of their insecurity.
One person was injured on Friday during the Rath Yatra procession in Ahmedabad, when a male elephant, agitated by excessive noise, broke a barricade and rushed into a narrow lane, officials said.
Land grabbers have illegally occupied the land surrounding a 100-year-old Shiv temple near Tando Jam in Pakistan's Sindh province, obstructing access to the temple and starting construction on the surrounding land. The Hindu community representative, Shiva Kachhi, has appealed to the government to stop the illegal activities and protect the temple and other historical Hindu sites in Sindh.
The matter would be heard by Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih.
BJP leader PC George was granted bail by a court in Kottayam, Kerala in a hate speech case. George had surrendered before the court on Monday and was remanded to police custody. The High Court had rejected his anticipatory bail plea, observing that granting bail would send the wrong message to society. George was accused of delivering a hate speech against a minority community during a TV channel discussion. He was booked under sections 196(1)(a), 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act.
President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which has sparked controversy and legal challenges. The Bill, passed by Parliament after heated debates, has been criticized by opposition parties as "anti-Muslim" and "unconstitutional". The government, however, maintains that the reform will benefit the Muslim community. Several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Bill, alleging discrimination against Muslims and undermining their religious autonomy. The Bill repeals the Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923, and introduces restrictions on Waqf properties and their management, which have raised concerns about the impact on the Muslim community.
Merely because an educational institution is regulated by a statute does not take away from it the character of a minority institution, the Supreme Court observed on Tuesday as it commenced hearing the vexed question of minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
The share of the Hindu population declined by 7.8% to 78.06%.
In contrast, the share of the Muslim and Christian populations increased by 43.15% to 14.09%, and by 5.4% to 2.36%.
Nearly 650 people have been killed in the recent unrest in Bangladesh between July 16 and August 11, the United Nations Human Rights Office has said in a preliminary report, suggesting a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions.
India last travelled to Bangladesh in 2014 when they played three ODIs.
The Indian government has defended the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 in the Supreme Court, arguing that there cannot be a blanket stay on the law as there is a presumption of its constitutionality. The Centre countered the pleas challenging the law's validity, asserting that the amendments were undertaken after a comprehensive study by a parliamentary panel. The government also highlighted the "reported misuse" of earlier provisions and the increase in waqf land, claiming that over 20 lakh hectares were added after 2013.
India witnessed religiously motivated killings, arrests, riots and coerced religious conversions and the police in some cases failed to respond effectively to communal violence, according to the US State Department report on International Religious Freedom.
A bench of the Bangladesh High Court ordered the release on bail of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was arrested in November on charges of defaming the country's national flag. The two-judge bench granted the bail after a final hearing on their previous rule asking authorities why he should not be granted bail. Das, a former ISKCON leader, was arrested at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25.
A US government report on Monday praised the religious freedom in India despite mentioning instances of attacks on religious minorities, and lauded the "independent" judiciary and a "vibrant" civil society for acting against violations whenever they occur.
About 50 people from various religious group attended a press conference on April 11, in West Sacramento, where California Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, D-Davis, announced the introduction of Assembly Bill 1964, which would strengthen religious freedoms in the workplace.
According to the available information, two Hindu leaders, who were incidentally leaders of Hasina's Awami League party, were killed in north-western Sirajganj and Rangpur, Debnath said, adding that the Council was still gathering more information.
The Supreme Court Friday granted the 'last opportunity' to the Centre to file its reply on a public interest litigation seeking directions for framing of guidelines identifying minorities at the state level as Hindus are in a minority in 10 states and are not able to avail the benefits of schemes meant for minorities.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin announced that his party will file a case in the Supreme Court against the Waqf Bill passed in the Lok Sabha. The opposition AIADMK expressed solidarity with the DMK's stance, while the BJP members staged a walkout from the Assembly in protest. The CM argued that the amendment was passed at the behest of a few allies despite opposition from majority parties and that it is an attack on the Constitution and religious harmony. The DMK claims the bill threatens the autonomy of the Waqf Board and the Muslim minority population.
India previously rejected the US religious freedom report, saying it sees no locus standi for a foreign government to pronounce on the state of its citizens' constitutionally protected rights.
There has been speculation within state's political circles, especially within the ruling Congress, for some time now about the CM change later this year, citing the power-sharing agreement involving incumbent Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
'Whenever present-day politics do get involved, history sinks to the level of a morality play, with advocates for this or that cause seeking to praise their heroes or condemn their villains.'
A three-judge Supreme Court bench will hear petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, on April 16. The petitions, including those by politicians and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, were filed in the top court challenging the validity of the newly-enacted law. The Centre has filed a caveat in the apex court, seeking a hearing before any order is passed.
It said AMU is not and cannot be a university of any particular religion or religious denomination as any university which has been declared an institution of national importance cannot be a minority institution.
A court in Kottayam, Kerala, has remanded BJP leader P C George to judicial custody in a hate speech case. The Erattupetta Munsif Magistrate Court rejected George's bail application and sent him to police custody until 6 pm. George surrendered before the court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea. He was accused of delivering hate speech against a minority community during a TV channel discussion. The case was based on a complaint by Muhamed Shihab, a Muslim Youth League leader, who alleged that George made remarks capable of "inciting religious hatred."
'...We should first look at and acknowledge what we have done to ourselves.' 'To not do so opens us to the accusation of rank hypocrisy and also reduces the stature of our globetrotting peaceniks,' asserts Aakar Patel.
The citizenship rights will protect their cultural, linguistic, and social identity and it will also ensure economic, commercial, free movement, and property purchase rights.
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has written to House Speaker Paul Ryan, asking him to raise the issue of religious freedom in India during his meeting with PM Modi.
The Asian Centre for Human Rights has in its report stated that the National Commission for Minorities is communalising the riots in Assam.
