Suspension of IPL - an Overdue Decision

The Supreme Court on Monday while hearing a petition against the stand of Karnataka High Court's view that shouting 'Jai Sriram' inside a mosque was not an offence, sought the stand of the State of Karnataka in the matter.

A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Sandeep Mehta was hearing the matter.

"Alright, they were shouting a particular religious slogan. How is that an offence?" Justice Mehta asked, as bench posted the matter for January 2025.

The bench asked if the accused persons had been identified. Kamat replied that CCT visuals had been collected and the police identified the accused persons, as recorded in the remand report. The bench asked if merely spotting the accused near the mosque would mean that they shouted the slogans.

"Are you able to identify the actual accused? What material you have brought?" the Court asked. Kamat clarified that he was only representing the complainant (caretaker of the mosque) and it is for the police to conduct the investigation and collect the evidence. The FIR need only give information about the offence and need not be an 'encyclopedia' containing all evidence, he added.

This comes after a petition was filed in the Supreme Court questioning the Karnataka High Court's order of September 13, 2024 which quashed an FIR lodged against two men for raising the 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan within mosque premises.

The high court's single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna had said, "It is ununderstandable as to how if someone shouts 'Jai Shri Ram' it would outrage the religious feeling of any class, when the complainant himself states that Hindu - Muslims are living in harmony in the area".

Mangaluru City Corporation Mayor Manoj Kumar issued a stern directive to GAIL Gas Limited, instructing them to immediately restore roads damaged during their ongoing gas pipeline project.

The issue, which has left motorists and residents frustrated, dominated discussions at a special meeting chaired by the mayor on Monday. Corporators unanimously criticized the delay in road restoration, with Opposition Leader Anil Kumar warning that the project should be halted if the roads remain neglected.

Corporator Naveen D’Souza pointed out that permissions granted for the pipeline project were limited to two years, yet the roadwork disruption has dragged on for over five years. He demanded criminal charges and penalties against responsible officials for the prolonged inconvenience.

Adding to the outcry, Corporator Sangeetha Nayak called for MCC engineers to inspect the affected areas, while Corporator Varun Chowta flagged a severe lack of coordination between MCC, GAIL, and Jalasiri 24x7 officials.

The mayor directed GAIL Gas Limited to submit a report within two days addressing the complaints raised. He also insisted on a detailed update on the project’s implementation to be presented at the next review meeting, aiming for a resolution to the ongoing chaos.

Russia says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has issued orders for a peaceful transition of power before he resigned and departed from the country.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that President Assad decided to step down after negotiations with “a number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic.”

Assad, Russia said, gave “instructions for a peaceful transfer of power.”

The ministry did not provide further information regarding Assad's whereabouts.

According to the statement, Moscow “did not participate in these negotiations,” but it calls on all “parties involved to refrain from the use of violence and to resolve all issues of governance through political means.”

"In that regard, the Russian Federation is in contact with all groups of the Syrian opposition."

Moscow said Russia's military bases in the Arab country had been put on a state of high alert, but that there was no serious threat to them at the current time.

On Saturday evening, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged "political dialogue" between the Syrian government and militant groups after a meeting with foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey in the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday evening.

Araghchi said there was a consensus among all the participants that hostilities in Syria must end immediately and the country’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty must be respected based on the UN resolution.

The meeting was also attended by United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, who had urged all parties “to spare bloodshed and focus on a political solution in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254.”

The conflict began when Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group launched a large-scale attack in Aleppo and Idlib provinces in the northwest of Syria on November 27, seizing several areas.

The group took control of parts of the country's second-biggest city, Aleppo, and advanced southward toward the city of Hama. Earlier on Sunday, the armed group declared that they had captured the capital, Damascus.