The Supreme Court on Monday said religious conversions by means of force, allurement or fraud may “ultimately affect the security of the nation and freedom of religion and conscience of citizens” while directing the Centre to “step in” and clarify what it intends to do to curb compulsory or deceitful religious conversions. “There may be freedom of religion but there may not be freedom of religion by forced conversion… This is a very serious issue. Everybody has the right to choose their religion, but not by forced conversion or by giving temptation,” a Bench of Justices M.R. Shah and Hima Kohli said.
The government on November 14 in the Supreme Court sought more time to clarify its stand on the validity of the Places of Worship Act, saying “detailed consultations” are needed at a “particular level”. A Bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud ordered the Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, to file its affidavit clarifying its views by December 12. The court agreed to list the case for hearing in the first week of January. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, said the government had sought similar adjournments in the case twice before.
Retail inflation cools to 6.77% in October from 7.41% in September
India’s retail inflation cooled to 6.77% in October from 7.41% in September, slipping below the 7% mark for the first time in three months and only the second time since April’s eight-year high mark of 7.8%. This is the tenth month in a row that inflation has been over the 6% upper tolerance threshold mandated for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Rural consumers continued to face 7% inflation in October, slightly lower than the 7.6% in September, while urban India consumers’ price rise eased to 6.5% from 7.3% in the previous month.
After 18 months, Wholesale inflation slipped below 10% in October
India’s wholesale price inflation slipped below 10% for the first time in 19 months this October, when it eased to 8.4% to 10.7% in September, thanks to base effects and cooling commodity prices. This is the fifth successive month of wholesale inflation moderating since it hit a record high of 16.63% in May.
A fast-track court on Monday postponed till November 17 its judgment on a plea seeking permission to allow the worship of a “Shivling” claimed to have been found inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex here. Civil Judge (senior division) Mahendra Pandey postponed the judgment till November 17, Assistant District Government Counsel Sulabh Prakash said. After hearing the arguments of both the sides to the dispute, the court had, on October 27, reserved its order on the suit for November 8.
Swift, transparent decision-making needed for country’s combat readiness: Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said swift and transparent decision-making and availability of optimal resources were needed for a country’s combat readiness. In his address at the Controllers’ Conference 2022 organised by the Defence Accounts Department (DAD), Mr. Singh further said that a delay in making a decision leads to loss of both time and money, and affects combat readiness. Resources around the world are limited, the Defence Minister said, and emphasised on exercising “financial prudence” in using them. Resources should be used at the right places and there should be no wastage, he added.
2020 Delhi riots: SC refuses to stay criminal proceedings against ex-AAP councillor Tahir Hussain
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea by Aam Aadmi Party councillor Mohammed Tahir Hussain challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to not stay proceedings in multiple FIRs registered against him in relation to the 2020 Delhi riots. A Bench led by Justice Ajay Rastogi was not impressed by the submissions of Mr. Hussain’s lawyer, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, who argued that fresh FIRs have been filed on the same offence. Such multiple proceedings based on the same incident would be an infringement of his right against self-incrimination. The Bench said the issue was sub judice in the High Court and there was no reason to interfere at this stage. The High Court had refused to stay proceedings on the fresh FIRs in mid-September.
National Herald case | Karnataka Congress chief D.K. Shivakumar appears before ED again
“They have summoned me again on the Young Indian issue...I had sent some papers to them (ED) but probably they are not satisfied,” Karnataka Congress president D.K. Shivakumar said. “We respect them, we respect the summons and we respect the institution. There is nothing to hide and whatever we have given (as a donation to Young Indian) is for charitable work,” he added. Mr. Shivakumar and his brother D.K. Suresh have donated an unspecified amount of money in the past to Young Indian.
Will discuss issues of “global concern” in Bali: PM Modi
“During the Bali Summit, I will have extensive discussions with other G20 Leaders on key issues of global concern, such as reviving global growth, food & energy security, environment, health, and digital transformation,” said PM Modi announcing he will meet with counterparts of member countries of G-20 on the sidelines of the summit which is likely to be dominated by the ongoing Ukraine crisis.
Israeli forces kill 19-year-old woman during West Bank raid
Israeli forces shot and killed a 19-year-old Palestinian woman during a raid in the occupied West Bank, the Palestine Health Ministry said on Monday. The Israeli military said soldiers opened fire on a vehicle that was accelerating toward them after they signaled for it to stop, adding that the incident was under review. The Palestine Health Ministry identified the woman as Sanaa al-Tal, 19. The incident occurred in the city of Beitunia, where the military said troops were on an arrest raid. Palestinians and rights groups accuse Israeli soldiers of using excessive force against Palestinians, without being held accountable. The military says it contends with complex, life-threatening scenarios.
Biden, Xi greet each other warmly as they meet for talks ahead of G20
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden met on November 14 for long-awaited talks that come as relations between their countries are at their lowest in decades, marred by disagreements over a host of issues from Taiwan to trade. The two, holding their first in-person talks since Mr. Biden became president, met on the Indonesian island of Bali ahead of a Group of 20 (G20) summit on Tuesday that is set to be fraught with tension over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey accuses Kurdish PKK over Istanbul bomb attack
Turkey’s Interior Minister accused the Kurdistan’s Workers’ Party (PKK) of responsibility for a bombing in a busy Istanbul shopping thoroughfare that killed six people and said Monday a suspect has been arrested. A suspect was arrested by the early hours of Monday. “The person who planted the bomb has been arrested,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a statement broadcast by the official Anadolu news agency. “According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organisation is responsible,” he said.
Mary Kom, Sindhu, Mirabai, Keshavan elected in IOA Athletes’ Commission
Five-time world champion boxer M C Mary Kom, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and multiple-time winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan were among 10 eminent sportspersons elected unopposed as members of the IOA Athletes Commission in the polls held here on Monday. The other seven members of the apex body are Tokyo Olympics silver medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, 2012 Olympics bronze winner shooter Gagan Narang, veteran table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal, ace hockey player Rani Rampal, cyclist Bhavani Devi, rower Bajrang Lal and former shot putter OP Karhana.
Kohli, Suryakumar named in “Most Valued Team” of 2022 T20 World Cup
Tournament’s leading run-getters Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav were on Monday named in the “Most Valuable Team” of ICC 2022 T20 World Cup. Indian superstar Kohli ended as the tournament’s most prolific batter with 296 runs at a stunning average of 98.66. Kohli kick-started his campaign with a pivotal 82 not out against arch-rivals Pakistan to anchor his side to a heart-thumping final-ball four-wicket victory.
