Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe Arrives In Delhi For 2-day Visit

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe today arrived in Delhi on a two-day official visit to India. Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan welcomed President Wickremesinghe at the airport.

Artists performed Garba at the airport to welcome Sri Lankan President. Mr Wickremesinghe is on an official visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi noted that President Wickremesinghe's visit will further boost the multi-prolonged partnership between India and Sri Lanka. It is Mr Wickremesinghe's first visit to India since assuming the office.

Arindam Bagchi tweeted, "Warm welcome to President @RW_UNP of Sri Lanka on his maiden visit to India since assumption of the Office of President. Received by @MOS_MEA at the airport. The visit will further boost the multi-pronged - partnership."

During his visit, President Wickremesinghe will meet his Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu and discuss various issues of mutual interest with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Indian dignitaries, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.

President Wickremesinghe is visiting India at the invitation of PM Modi. The visit will reinforce the longstanding friendship between the two countries and explore avenues for enhanced connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation across sectors.

In the press release, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) noted, "Sri Lanka is an important partner in India's Neighbourhood First Policy and Vision SAGAR. The visit will reinforce the longstanding friendship between the two countries and explore avenues for enhanced connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation across sectors."

Meanwhile, Ministry of External Affairs officials spokesperson Arindam Bagchi today said Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe's India visit is a major one as the country has important, multifaceted relations with the island nation.

"This is a very important visit, it is a neighbouring country with whom we have very important relationship, we have multifaceted relations," Arindam Bagchi said during MEA weekly briefing on today.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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No Proposal To Introduce Exams For Selection Of High Court Judges: Centre

There is no proposal to introduce a competitive examination for the selection of high court judges as they are being appointed according to constitutional provisions, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said today.

India has 25 high courts with a sanctioned strength of 1,114 judges and as on July 1, there were 333 vacancies, according to the law ministry's website.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Mr Meghwal said, "There is no proposal to introduce a competitive examination for selection of high court judges as the procedure as per the Constitutional provisions is being followed." In a sub-question, part of a larger question on high court judges, the minister was asked whether the government is planning to consult the Supreme Court for conducting a competitive examination for appointing HC judges.

Mr Meghwal explained that the appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts is made under Articles 124, 217 and 224 of the Constitution and as per the procedure laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) prepared in 1998 following the Supreme Court judgement dated October 6, 1993.

Citing Article 217(2) of the Constitution, he said a person will not be qualified for appointment as a judge of a high court unless he is a citizen of India, has held a judicial office in the territory of India for at least 10 years, has been an advocate of a high court for at least ten years or of two or more such courts in succession.

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Court Asks Archaeology Body To Clarify On Allowing Prayers In Protected Monuments

The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to clarify its policy on allowing prayers by devotees in religious places located inside protected monuments.

The court was hearing a petition against the stopping of prayers by devotees inside the Mughal Mosque which, according to ASI, falls within the category of protected monuments on account of being part of the Qutub complex.

Counsel for the ASI said according to his understanding, "there is no question" of permitting prayers in protected monuments.

Justice Prateek Jalan however said the lawyer's statement was "perhaps overboard" and asked him to clarify the ASI's position.

"We will hold ASI to it.. that in all protected monuments all over the country no worship is permitted by any religion. There can't be different rules for different monuments for different religions unless it is backed up by law.. Let us understand the policy," the court said.

"Let me take instructions on that," the ASI counsel said, adding in the instant case, no prayers were ever offered inside the Mughal Mosque ever since it was declared a protected monument.

The managing committee of the mosque, which was appointed by the Delhi Waqf Board, had approached the high court last year with the grievance that the officials of the Archaeological Survey of India completely stopped the offering of namaz in the mosque on May 13, 2022 in an "absolutely unlawful, arbitrary and precipitous manner".

Advocate M Sufian Siddiqui said prayers were being offered inside the mosque on a regular basis until last year when the ASI stopped the practice without any notice.

The counsel for the Delhi Waqf Board said as per the law pertaining to ancient sites, offering of prayers cannot be stopped in a religious place after it has been taken over by the authorities on the ground of being an ancient monument.

The court asked the ASI to produce before it the record available with respect to the issuance of a notification declaring the mosque as a protected monument in 1914.

It also orally observed that if a statute provides for continuation of prayers in a protected monument, it has to continue.

The court said it is to be examined if the Mughal Mosque was part of the protected area and whether offering prayers there is liable to be prohibited.

In the course of the hearing, the ASI counsel also said the Mughal Mosque was distinct from Quwattul Islam Mosque, which is the subject matter of a suit before a lower court here in Saket.

The plea, pending before a Saket court, has prayed for restoration of Hindu and Jain deities inside the Qutub Minar complex claiming that 27 temples were partly demolished by Qutubdin Aibak, a general in the army of Mohamad Gauri, and Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque was raised inside the complex by reusing the material.

Being in the same complex, any determination on right to pray in the Mughal Mosque will, however, have a bearing on Quwattul Islam Mosque as "there is no question of worship by either communities in either of the mosques," the ASI counsel added.

In its reply to the petition, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has said that the mosque in question comes within the boundary of Qutub Minar and is thus within the protected area, and offering of prayers cannot be permitted there.

The ASI has cautioned that allowing prayers in Mughal mosque will "not only set an example but it may impact other monuments too".

"Qutub Minar is a Monument of National Importance and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is submitted that it is not a place of worship. Since the time of its protection the monument or any part of it has not been used for any type of worship by any community. It is submitted that the Mosque in question comes within the boundary of Qutub Minar Complex," the reply added.

The petitioner has asserted that the mosque is not "protected" and is outside the fenced area. It is also at a distance from the Quwwatul Islam Masjid and that there is overwhelming evidence to prove that the mosque was under religious use and regular prayers were being held there when the other structures in adjacent area were declared as centrally protected monuments, the petitioner has said.

The petition has sought restraining the authorities from causing any obstruction or interference in the performance of 'namaz' at the mosque in question which is a waqf property notified as 'Masjid adjacent to Eastern Gate of Qutab Minar, Mehrauli' in Delhi Administration's Gazette Notification.

The matter will be heard next in October.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Export Of Non-Basmati White Rice Banned By Government

The government on Thursday prohibited export of non-basmati white rice, according to a notification of the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT).

"Export policy of non-basmati white rice (semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed)...is amended from free to prohibited," the DGFT said in a notification.

However, it said that the consignments of this rice will be allowed to be exported under certain conditions such as where loading of this rice on the ship has commenced before this notification.

Export will also be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their governments, it added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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No Relief For Teesta Setalvad From Gujarat Court In 2002 Riots Case

A sessions court here on Thursday rejected activist Teesta Setalvad's application seeking discharge in a case related to alleged fabrication of evidence related to the 2002 Gujarat riots.

While rejecting the plea, additional sessions judge A R Patel also asked the prosecution and defense to "open the case" (start trial proceedings) from July 24.

The Gujarat government had opposed Teesta Setalvad's application, arguing that she abused the trust of riots victims and implicated innocent persons.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had granted bail to her in the same case after the Gujarat High Court denied her relief.

Setalvad and two others - former state Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt - were arrested by the city crime branch in June 2022 on charges of forgery and fabricating false evidence with the intent to implicate Gujarat government functionaries in the 2002 riots cases.

Judge A R Patel had earlier rejected Sreekumar's discharge plea. Bhatt has not sought similar relief yet.

In its written reply opposing Setalvad's discharge plea, the state government had alleged that she drafted affidavits in the names of riots victims to implicate innocent persons including then chief minister Narendra Modi, senior officers and state ministers.

The state government relied on the statements of witnesses Rais Khan Pathan who once worked at Setalvad's NGO Citizen for Peace, Narendra Brahmbhatt who had claimed that late Congress leader Ahmed Patel had paid the activist Rs 30 lakh, and riots victim Qutubuddin Ansari.

The government also highlighted `contradictions' in the affidavits of riots victims prepared by Setalvad and their own statements recorded before the courts.

"There is sufficient evidence and reasons to file a chargesheet against the accused," the government affidavit said.

Rejecting the allegation that evidence was fabricated to frame innocent people, Setalvad's lawyer had submitted that the affidavits which are alleged to be false had been signed by the witnesses and submitted before various courts.

These affidavits, therefore, can not be considered as `fabricated evidence', the defense said.

Even testimonies of witnesses were recorded by the courts based on the signed affidavits, it pointed out.

The case against Setalvad and others was registered following a judgement by the Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, on a petition of Zakia Jafri who had alleged the existence of a larger conspiracy behind the 2002 post-Godhra communal riots.

Zakia Jafri is the wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was among those killed during the riots.

The Supreme Court judgement of June 2022 upheld the clean chit given to (now prime minister) Narendra Modi and other state functionaries and observed that some people kept "the pot boiling" of the case "for ulterior design" and "all those involved in such abuse of process, need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with the law. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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पटना में लाठीचार्ज में बीजेपी नेता की मौत के मामले पर सुप्रीम कोर्ट से जल्द सुनवाई की मांग

बिहार के पटना में 13 जुलाई को बीजेपी के प्रदर्शन के दौरान पुलिस लाठीचार्ज में बीजेपी के नेता की मौत के मामले में गुरुवार को सुप्रीम कोर्ट से जल्द सुनवाई की मांग की जाएगी. सुप्रीम कोर्ट में जनहित याचिका दाखिल कर बिहार के डीजीपी और मुख्य सचिव के खिलाफ CBI द्वारा एफआईआर दर्ज कर जांच की मांग की गई है.  

सुप्रीम कोर्ट में दाखिल याचिका में बिहार के डीजीपी, मुख्य सचिव, बिहार के मुख्यमंत्री और डिप्टी सीएम को पक्षकार बनाया गया है.  इस याचिका में मामले को सुप्रीम कोर्ट के रिटायर्ड जज या हाईकोर्ट के रिटायर जज की अध्यक्षता में गठित कमेटी द्वारा जांच की भी मांग की गई है. 

टीचर भर्ती को लेकर हुए प्रदर्शन में लाठीचार्ज में जांच की मांग की गई. याचिका में नीतीश कुमार और तेजस्वी यादव की इस पूरे मामले में भूमिका की जांच की मांग की भी गई है.

पटना में 13 जुलाई को शिक्षकों की नियुक्ति को लेकर हुए विरोध प्रदर्शन के दौरान लाठीचार्ज में बीजेपी नेता की मौत का गई थी. दरअसल बिहार में शिक्षकों की नियुक्ति को लेकर पटना के गांधी मैदान से विधानसभा तक मार्च निकालकर बीजेपी कार्यकर्ताओं को विधानसभा का घेराव करना था. उस दौरान बीजेपी कार्यकर्ताओं पर पुलिस ने लाठीचार्ज कर दिया. इसकी वजह से एक बीजेपी कार्यकर्ता की मौत हो गई और कई अन्य घायल हो गए. 

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Health Ministry Eases Covid Restrictions For International Travellers

The Centre has further eased the guidelines for international travelers in the context of COVID-19 and the earlier requirements for RT-PCR-based testing of a random two per cent subset of international travelers to India have been dropped.

Health Ministry said that it has further eased guidelines for international travelers in the context of COVID-19 taking note of the prevalent COVID-19 situation and the significant achievements made in vaccination coverage across the globe.

"Vide these new guidelines, which shall come into effect from 0000 Hrs (IST) of July 20, 2023, the earlier requirements for RT-PCR based testing of a random 2% subset of international travelers to India, now stand dropped," a Health Ministry release said on Wednesday.

However, the earlier advice for precautionary measures to be followed in the context of COVID-19 by airlines as well as international travelers shall continue to apply.

The updated guidelines have been made available on the official website of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

The release said that Health Ministry continues to follow the COVID-19 scenario closely.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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