Rush Hour: HC refuses to quash FIR against Mohammed Zubair, SC criticises ED in Tasmac case and more

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22-05-2025

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The Allahabad High Court has refused to quash a first information report against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in a case related to a social media post about Hindutva supremacist Yati Narsinghanand. The bench, however, permitted the interim protection from arrest granted to Zubair in December to continue till the filing of the chargesheet in the case.
The Alt News co-founder was booked on October 7 for allegedly promoting enmity between religious groups with a post about Narsinghanand. The priest of the Dasna Devi temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, Narsinghanand reportedly made a derogatory comment about Prophet Muhammad during a lecture on September 29, sparking protests by Muslim groups in several cities.
On October 3, Zubair had shared a purported video of the speech on the social media platform X and demanded legal action against Narsinghanand. Read on
All foreign nationals staying illegally in India, whether from Bangladesh or any other country, will be dealt as per law, New Delhi has said. This came amid reports that Indian authorities had forced persons, including Rohingya refugees and at least three individuals alleged to be Indians, into Bangladesh and Myanmar.
India's Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that there were more than 2,360 cases of persons 'required to be deported'. Many among them have already served their jail terms, but their deportation has been delayed because their nationality verification has been pending since 2020, he said.
Jaiswal urged Bangladesh to expedite the verification process.
Stating that the Enforcement Directorate was 'crossing all limits', the Supreme Court has stayed its money laundering investigation against the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation. Hearing a petition by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Tamil Nadu government and Tasmac, the bench said the central agency was violating the federal structure of the country.
Tasmac is a government-owned company that has a monopoly over the wholesale and retail sales of alcoholic beverages in Tamil Nadu. The ED has alleged that Tasmac is at the centre of a Rs 1,000-crore corruption network involving state officials, liquor distilleries and bottling companies.
The state government and the company have challenged the Madras High Court's order in April, which dismissed their plea against ED searches at the liquor corporation's headquarters. On Thursday, the bench questioned how the central agency could initiate a case against a corporation. Read on.
Pakistan has directed an official at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to leave the country within 24 hours. This came a day after India declared a Pakistani High Commission official in New Delhi persona non grata for allegedly 'engaging in activities inconsistent with his diplomatic role'.
In diplomatic parlance, an official declared persona non-grata is deemed unwelcome by the host country. This marked the second such expulsion by India and Pakistan within a week amid heightened tensions following cross-border firings.