Rush Hour: Protesting opposition leaders detained in Delhi, Medha Patkar's conviction upheld & more
Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were among Opposition leaders who were briefly detained by the Delhi Police during a protest against the Bihar voter roll revision. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)'s Sanjay Raut and Trinamool Congress' Sagarika Ghose were also among those detained.
All the detained members of Parliament were released around two hours later.
The police said that although the Election Commission had allowed 30 parliamentarians to meet its members, over 200 MPs marched to the poll panel's office from Parliament.
As part of the Bihar voter roll revision process, persons whose names were not on the 2003 voter list needed to submit proof of eligibility to vote. The Opposition has been alleging that the exercise risked disenfranchising voters as they may not be able to produce the necessary documents.
The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of activist Medha Patkar in a 24-year-old defamation case filed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. However, the bench set aside a penalty of Rs 1 lakh imposed on her.
The court also modified a probation condition requiring Patkar to appear before the trial court periodically, instead allowing her to furnish bonds.
The case was filed in 2001, when Saxena was heading the Ahmedabad-based non-governmental organisation National Council for Civil Liberties. Saxena alleged that Patkar had defamed him in a press note titled 'True face of patriot', which the activist had issued in November 2000.
A metropolitan magistrate held Patkar guilty of criminal defamation in May 2024. The conviction was later upheld by a sessions court and the Delhi High Court. Read more.
The Supreme Court has told the Delhi government and municipal corporations of Noida and Gurugram to capture and shift street dogs to shelters, saying that 'immediate steps' needed to be taken to address the problem. The court told the authorities to start building shelters for 5,000 to 6,000 dogs within six weeks and report back to the court within eight weeks.
The shelters must have sufficient personnel to sterilise and immunise the dogs, who should not be released into public places, the bench said.
The court added that if any individual or organisation comes in the way of rounding up street dogs, it will order action against them. Read more.
Five journalists from Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera were killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza on Sunday. The channel said that this was a 'targeted assassination' and a 'premeditated attack on press freedom'.
Correspondents Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, and camerapersons Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa were in a tent for journalists near Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital when it was struck by Israeli forces, Al Jazeera said.
Al Jazeera alleged that the killing of its employees followed 'repeated incitement' and calls by several Israeli officials and spokespersons to target Al-Sharif and his colleagues.
The Israel Defense Forces claimed on Monday that Al-Sharif was a 'terrorist' belonging to the Palestinian militant group Hamas and had 'posed as an Al Jazeera journalist'.
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