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United News of India
30-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
SC stays Bombay HC order allowing Bishops to continue beyond retirement age
New Delhi, May 30 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Friday granted an interim stay on the Bombay High Court's order dated May 5, 2025, which had allowed Bishop N.L. Karkare and Bishop Subodh C. Mondal aged 76 and 73 respectively, to continue as 'Active Bishops' of the Methodist Church of India, despite exceeding the prescribed retirement age. A bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma passed the interim order after hearing arguments from both sides. 'We have heard the senior counsels for the petitioners and the senior counsel for the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2. Interim stay of the order until further orders,' the bench recorded. Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Mukul Rohatgi appeared for the petitioner, the Methodist Church, arguing that the continued service of the two bishops violates the Church's constitutional bylaws, specifically the 'Book of Discipline', which mandates retirement at the age of 70. Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Ranjit Kumar appeared on behalf of the Respondents. Singhvi contended that the delay in conducting the mandatory Quadranium, a Church conference held every four years to address administrative matters, including retirements had led to the current situation. He emphasised that the Respondents do not wish to remain in office beyond their retirement period and will step down as soon as the Quadranium concludes, scheduled for July 2 or 3, 2025. Addressing the Court's concern about manipulation of Church processes, Singhvi raised an issue involving Petitioner No. 5, Bishop Dr. Anilkumar Servand, who is currently 69 years and 11 months old. Singhvi alleged that the petitioner was seeking to conduct elections before his 70th birthday in order to be elected and thereby continue beyond the retirement age under the cover of a Quadranium session. 'He is saying, conduct the election before July 2 so he can continue beyond 70. He wants to cross 70 after getting elected, which would extend his term unfairly,' Singhvi argued. To this, Justice Nagarathna remarked, 'Petitioner No. 5 can't stay just for the election.' Ranjit Kumar and another advocate for the Respondents reiterated that none of the bishops wished to overstay their term and that the delay in transition was purely due to the adjournment of the 2023 Quadranium session, which had been postponed due to budgetary constraints within the Church. The bench has stayed the High Court's interim relief and will hear the matter further at a later date. The matter raises significant questions about internal governance within religious institutions and the limits of judicial intervention in ecclesiastical affairs, Singhvi contended. UNI SNG RN
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Time of India
NEET-UG: Doc among 2 arrested for planting proxies for candidates
Patna: Two people, including a doctor posted at Begusarai jail, were arrested in Samastipur district on Sunday for allegedly orchestrating a racket that placed impostors in the NEET-UG 2025 on behalf of original candidates. The arrests were made on the day of the examination, exposing a cheating operation that involved tampering with admit cards and charging candidates up to Rs 5 lakh to secure a proxy. Police said the accused replaced genuine candidates with academically stronger proxies by editing admit cards, allowing them to gain access to exam centres. The second arrested person is a resident of Darbhanga. Town additional superintendent of police (ASP) Sanjay Pandey said, "We received an input from Patna, which led to the search for the gang. Near the exam centre at Mohanpur bridge, two people were found sitting on Sunday evening. Upon suspicion, they were questioned and their cellphones were checked, revealing several students' admit cards. Both were arrested and identified as Dr Ranjit Kumar, stationed at Begusarai jail, and Rambabu Malik, a resident of Laheriasarai in Darbhanga." During interrogation, Dr Ranjit confessed that they had manipulated admit cards to insert scholars into the exam in place of weaker candidates. "They admitted to charging between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh per candidate. We suspect two to three scholars were placed at the Mohanpur bridge centre alone," said ASP Pandey. He added, "We are now verifying which exam centres in Samastipur were affected. The cellphone recovered from the doctor contained several admit cards, which we are matching with those who sat the exam. A special police team has been formed to pursue further leads." Meanwhile, Patna police launched a separate operation on the night of May 3, raiding hideouts linked to exam mafias in the city. The raids targeted exam mafia Mithilesh Kumar, who evaded arrest, but three suspects were detained for questioning. Their call records are under examination, though police have declined to release further details at this stage. The NEET-UG 2025 examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency on May 4, saw over 22 lakh candidates appear across the country in hopes of entering medical, dental and AYUSH programmes. The revelations have heightened concerns about the growing influence of organised cheating in competitive exams.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Time of India
2 brothers held for cybercrime
1 2 3 Patna: The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police has arrested two cybercriminals who orchestrated scams by impersonating journalists and officials from federal agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The accused, identified as Rajesh Kumar and his brother Ranjit Kumar , are residents of Sultanpur Bhatta (Ward 15) under the jurisdiction of Danapur police station in Patna. During the investigation, digital communications retrieved from the accused revealed evidence of fraudulent activities involving several victims. The EOU has seized two three cellphones from the duo. Sanjay Kumar, deputy inspector general (cyber), EOU, said that on May 2, a demand for Rs 2 lakh was made from a doctor at a hospital located at Saguna Mor in Patna. "The unidentified criminals posed as a retired commissioner from the Indian Administrative Service and threatened ED action by calling the doctor on his mobile number. The accused later demanded Rs 2 lakh under the guise of managing the case with the ED. The complainant reported the matter to the EOU and action was taken against the criminals, resulting in the arrest of two people," Kumar told reporters on Saturday. Further examination of the mobile data revealed that the accused were using an account bearing the name of a retired commissioner, Karu Ram, to impersonate officials. This account contained evidence of similar fraudulent communications with other people. "Efforts are on to identify other people targeted by these criminals using the same method of extortion and to trace the accounts through which the extorted money was collected," the DIG added.
