PTI
NEW DELHI, May 22: India on Friday successfully test-fired short-range ballistic missile âAgni-1â from the integrated test range at Odishaâs Chandipur, the defence ministry said. The launch validated all operational and technical parameters, it said.âThe test was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command,â the ministry said.The Agni 1 to 4 missiles have ranges from 700 km to 3,500 km and they have already been deployed.
From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 22: Delhiites looking for authentic cuisine amid local vibes from the Northeast have finally got a choice with the Meghalaya-themed cafĂ© and community space O’Shillong being launched here on Friday with streams of people from the region already making a beeline for it.
The cafĂ©’s home-inspired Dukan Ja (diner) floor comes with a feeling of classic coziness, no matter what the season. The cafĂ©’s ground floor is marked by a hill-station styled Tyndur (bakery) that nods to all baked goods representing traditions around tea-time back in Meghalaya.
The four-storied cafĂ© in a posh locality in Safdarjung has a high concentration of people from the region. The cafĂ© also comes with a well-thought-out O’Shillong Studio and Co-Work that will provide a conducive atmosphere to creative professionals and artists from the region. Cha Dukan (cafe) at the terrace offers a close-up view of the Safdarjung neighbourhood stories.
Tipriti Kharbangar performs during the cafĂ©’s opening in New Delhi. (ST)
The opening was headlined by Shillong’s rockstar Lil Mama Tips (Tipriti Kharbangar). Garo band Skubo Project played a great supporting act in the celebrations, giving the guests a diverse Meghalayan flavour of music.
The Shillong star also launched the cafĂ©’s studio with an interesting chat on The Riniki Podcast. Rinki, a poetess, emphasised the importance of using her voice to advance environmental causes, with a special mention about her forest campaign in her Malki neighbourhood. She declared her happiness at the launch of O’Shillong.
“So happy to be part of the culture and community of O’Shillong, where the taste, traditions and tales of Shillong, our beautiful abode, find a home in the big city!” she said.
“We are a community where our people can engage, contribute and represent Meghalaya with pride and professionalism,” another partner of the cafĂ© said. (Contd on P-7)
PTI
NEW DELHI, May 22: The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to two Delhi riots accused Abdul Khalid Saifi and Tasleem Ahmad while justifying denial of bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam earlier this year, saying it was done not because Article 21 was considered subordinate but because, upon an accused-specific evaluation, the material did not justify overriding the statutory embargo.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and P B Varale granted interim bail of six months to Saifi and Ahmad, and imposed certain conditions on them, including that they will not speak to media or make social media posts about the case.
âBail was declined to two appellants not because Article 21 was treated as subordinate to Section 43D(5), but because, upon an accused-specific evaluation, the court found that their role, the prima facie material attributed to them, and the attendant concerns of trial integrity did not, at that stage, justify overriding the statutory embargo.
âEven in respect of those two appellants, liberty was reserved to renew the prayer for bail upon completion of examination of protected witnesses or upon expiry of one year, whichever was earlier.â
âThat course itself shows that the judgment treated Article 21 as a continuing constitutional check and not as a spent or excluded consideration,â the top court said about the January 5 verdict, denying bail to Khalid and Imam.
Justifying the verdict, it said the decision in Gulfisha Fatima case requires to be understood as it proceeded on the very premise that the KA Najeeb case of the 2021 verdict binds all benches of lesser strength as it is an authoritative pronouncement of a three-judge bench of this court.
âIt expressly recognised that Article 21 occupies a central place in the constitutional scheme; that the right to speedy trial is a facet of personal liberty; and that pre-trial incarceration can- not, by mere passage of time, assume the character of punishment.
It further recognised the KA Najeeb case as a constitutional safeguard against unconscionable detention and recorded that there can be no second opinion on the proposition that statutory restrictions must yield in an appropriate case,â it said.
The bench said the ratio of the KA Najeeb case, therefore, is neither a charter for indefinite incarceration under the cover of Section 43D(5) nor a mathematical command that the mere pas- sage of time, divorced from all surrounding circumstances, must automatically result in bail.
The bench headed by Justice Kumar, whose January 5 judgment denying bail to Khalid and Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case came under severe criticism by another bench earlier this week, said that the question of law on whether prolonged incarceration and delay in trial can override the statutory restrictions on bail needs an authoritative pronouncement.
âThe controversy raises a broader question concerning the manner in which constitutional courts are to approach bail where prolonged incarceration is asserted in prosecutions governed by special statutes imposing restrictive bail conditions.
âIn this background, it would be imperative or, in other words, necessary for the appropriate bench that may be constituted by the Chief Justice of India to clarify or expound the position of law laid down in the KA Najeebâs case.
Particularly in the back- drop of the rigour of 43D(5) which imposes restriction consciously and has received the assent of Parliament, which obviously was brought in keeping in mind the valuable right enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India,â the bench ordered.
The 5th Edition of Farmers’ Market will be or-ganised by the 1917iTEAMS at the parking lot, Directorate of Fisheries, opposite St. Edmund’s College, from 9:30 am to 4 pm.
NEW DELHI, May 22: The NDA is likely to lose one Rajya Sabha seat in the biennial elections for 26 seats in 12 states across the country, while the Congress-led opposition is set to gain three.
The Election Commission on Friday announced elections for 26 Rajya Sabha seats on June 18 following the retire- ment of incumbents, including former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, Con- gress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Digvijaya Singh, besides two Union ministers Ravneet Singh and George Kurian.
In a statement, the EC said the elec- tions for the Rajya Sabha seats will be held in 10 states where 24 incumbents are retiring on different dates beginning June 21 to July 10.
Of the total 26 seats where elections are being held, the NDA currently has 18 and the Congress four while one seat is with the JMM and three are with the YSRCP.
The NDA is likely to get 17 seats in these elections, while the Congress will get five, the JMM two and the TVK one.
The NDA currently has 149 MPs in the upper house while the opposition has 78 and non-aligned regional par- ties have 17 MPs in the 244-member house.
The Rajya Sabha elections will be held in four seats each in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka, three seats each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two seats in Jharkhand and one seat each in Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.
Besides, one seat each in Maharash- tra and Tamil Nadu will also go to the polls on June 18.
The last date for filing of nomina- tions is June 8, according to the EC.
In a separate notification, the EC also announced by-elections to fill the vacancies created by the NCP’s Sunetra Pawar in Maharashtra and the AIAD- MK’s C Ve Shanmugam in Tamil Nadu following their resignations after they were elected to the state assemblies.
While the NDA is set to bag Pawar’s seat, going by its strength in the state assembly, the TVK is likely to get the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Tamil Nadu going for a bypoll.
The tenure of Pawar’s seat will be till July 4, 2028 while that for the Tamil Nadu seat will be till June 29, 2028.
In Andhra Pradesh, the TDP will win all the four states for the Council of States and the BJP will bag all four seats in Gujarat.
In Jharkhand, the JMM-Congress alliance is likely to win both the seats, but the BJP which has 21 seats of its own may try to bag one seat with the help of cross-voting by four opposition members.
In Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the Congress will get one seat each while the BJP will win two seats in each of the states, going by their cur- rent numbers.
In Karnataka, the Congress will win three seats and the BJP will get only one seat.
Among those who are retiring from the Rajya Sabha are Gowda, Congress president Kharge (both from Karna- taka), Union ministers Ravneet Singh (Rajasthan) and George Kurian (Mad- hya Pradesh), former chief minister Digvijay Singh, and Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil.
Besides Ravneet Singh, the members whose tenure is ending in Rajasthan are Neeraj Dangi of the Congress and Rajendra Gehlot of the BJP.
Rajasthan has a total of 10 Rajya Sabha seats.
The BJP and the Congress currently have five members each. Given the present strength of parties in the 200- member Rajasthan Assembly, the BJP is expected to win two of the three seats, while the Congress is likely to secure one.The BJP has 118 MLAs in the Assembly, while the Congress has 67 members. The BSP has two MLAs, the Bharat Adivasi Party, the Rash- triya Lok Dal one, and Independents eight. (PTI)
===AUTHOR===
PTI
PTI
GANGTOK, May 22: The Sikkim home department on Friday lodged an FIR seeking immediate legal and cyber action against unknown persons for creating and circulating a forged document falsely attributed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, claiming a purported merger of Sikkim and Darjeeling, officials said.
According to an official communica-tion, the fabricated document was widely circulated on social media with the intent to spread misinformation, create panic, and disturb communal harmony and public order in the state.
Taking serious cognisance of the matter, the state government directed registration of an FIR and initiation of an investigation into the origin and circulation of the fake content.
Accordingly, an FIR has been registered at Sadar police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.
The investigation has been handed over to the Cyber Crime police station for technical analysis to trace the origin, IP addresses and individuals involved in creating and dissemi-nating the content.
According to the communication, the state government has also initiated necessary steps for blocking and removal of the misleading content from social media platforms in co-ordination with the authorities.
Surveillance and monitoring mechanisms have further been strengthened to prevent the spread of misinformation and malicious propaganda online, it said.
The state government has appealed to the public to refrain from believing, sharing, or circulating any unverified and fabricated information that may adversely affect peace, unity, and communal harmony in Sikkim.
The government further reiterated its commitment to safeguarding the territorial integrity, unity, and harmony of the state and stated that strict legal and cyber enforcement action would be taken against individuals found involved in spreading misinformation through digital and social media platforms.
(PTI)
NEW DELHI, May 22: The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has decided to bring back some people, who were earlier deported to Bangladesh, to India and would then verify their claim of Indian citizenship.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant that keeping in view the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and by not treating it as a precedent to be followed in other matters, the government has decided to bring them back.
“The government would bring them back and thereafter examine their status. Depending upon the outcome, we will take steps accord-ingly,” Mehta told the bench, which also comprised Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi.
The top law officer said that it may take 8-10 days to bring these persons back to India.
The bench posted the matter for hearing in July.
The top court was hearing a plea of the Centre challenging a Septem-ber 26, 2025 order of the Calcutta High Court by which it had set aside the central government’s decision to deport Sunali Khatun and oth-ers to Bangladesh and termed it as “illegal”.
On December 3 last year, the top court allowed on “humanitarian grounds” the entry of Khatun and her eight-year-old child into India, months after they were pushed into Bangladesh.
It had asked the West Bengal government to take care of the minor and directed the chief medical of-ficer of Birbhum district to provide all possible medical assistance to pregnant Khatun, including free of cost delivery.
On April 24, the apex court grant-ed last opportunity to the Centre and asked its counsel to take instruction and get back to it on the issue.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Sanjay Hegde, appearing for Kha-tun’s father Bhodu Sekh, had said it was a “bit unfair” on the part of the Centre which has not apprised the court about its views in the matter.
Earlier, the top court had noted the submission of Mehta that the competent authority had agreed to allow the woman and her child into the country purely on humanitarian grounds without prejudice to rights and contentions, and they would be kept under surveillance.
Sekh alleged that the families, working as daily wage earners in Sector 26 of the Rohini area in Delhi for over two decades, were picked up by police on June 18, last year on suspicion of being Bangladeshis and subsequently pushed across the border on June 27.
On September 26 last year, the high court quashed the Centre’s de-cision to deport Khatun and Sweety Bibi, residents of Birbhum district in West Bengal, along with their families to Bangladesh after terming them as “illegal immigrants”.
The high court had directed the Centre to ensure that the six deported citizens are brought back to India within a month and rejected the gov-ernment’s appeal to grant temporary stay on the order.
The high court had passed two orders in connection with a habeas corpus petition filed by Sheikh, who claimed his daughter along with her husband Danesh Sheikh and five-year-old son were detained in Delhi and pushed to Bangladesh.
Another petition from the same Birbhum neighbourhood by Amir Khan made a similar claim stating that his sister Sweety Bibi and her two children were detained by Delhi police from the same area and pushed to the neighbouring country.
The deportees were then report-edly arrested by Bangladesh police.
The high court had noted that the Centre stated in its affidavit that FRRO (Foreigner Regional Registration Office), Delhi being a civil authority, has been repatriating illegal migrants of Bangladesh as per instruction dated May 2, 2025 issued by the Union home ministry in a memo.
Detailing the protocols to be fol-lowed for deportation, the memo states that in respect of Bangladesh/ Myanmar nationals identified to be staying in an unauthorised manner in any particular state or Union ter-ritory, an inquiry will be conducted by the state government or Union territory concerned, following which the process of deportation would be taken up.In its order, the high court had observed that “the proceeding for deportation was conducted in hot haste” by the authorities and in viola-tion of the provisions of the memo.
“The detainees have their rela-tions residing in the State of West Bengal…the kind of overenthusiasm in deporting the detainees, as visible herein, is susceptible to misunder-standing and disturbs the judicial climate in the country,” the order had stated.
From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI, May 22: Assam Governor Laksh-
man Prasad Acharya on Fri-
day addressed the 16th As-
sam Legislative Assembly,
highlighting the economic
transformation of the state,
powered by the growth in
Gross State Domestic Prod-
uct (GSDP) over the past
five years.
Delivering his speech on
the second day of the Assem-
bly session, the Governor
outlined a robust roadmap
charting Assam’s trajectory
toward transitioning into a
Rs 10-lakh crore economy by
financial year 2028-29.
Acharya highlighted the
measures to be undertaken
in the coming days to safe-
guard Assam and the nation’s
borders, while addressing the
issue of illegal infiltration.
“Assam Police and BSF
will jointly take strict action
against illegal infiltrators,”
he said.
“With the cooperation of
the central government and
the West Bengal govern-
ment, the path has now been
paved for taking effective
steps towards resolving this
issue,” Acharya said.
The Governor further
stated that the Assam govern-
ment, under the leadership
of chief minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma, would work
towards fulfilling the com-
mitment of providing two
lakh jobs to youths in the
next five years.
He also highlighted the
government’s focus on
strengthening industrial in-
frastructure and making As-
sam self-reliant in energy
production. “Assam will
become a power-surplus
state in the next five years,”
Acharya said.
He further pointed out
the state government’s com-
mitment towards protect-
ing land rights, enhancing
citizen-centric services and
strengthening border areas.
“The Uniform Civil Code
will be implemented in As-
sam while fully protecting
the traditional rights, cus-
tomary practices and social
institutions of the state’s
tribal and indigenous people.
Besides, ensuring women’s
safety and security will be
one of the government’s top
priorities,’ he said.
Opp MLAs stage walkout
The Governor’s address
was however disrupted to
an extent by slogan shouting
from the Opposition MLAs.
Minutes after the Gover-
nor made the speech in the
House, the Opposition MLAs
trooped into the Well of the
House, holding placards to
protest against escalating
prices of essential commodi-
ties.
They subsequently boy-
cotted the address alleging
that the speech failed to ad-
dress the growing hardships
faced by the people of the
state, and only highlighted
the achievements of the state
government during its previ-
ous term.
Speaking to the media
persons outside the Assem-
bly, Congress legislator, Re-
kibuddin Ahmed criticised
the Governor’s speech for
allegedly ignoring issues of
common citizens.
“The Governor’s speech
failed to outline the hardships
faced by the common man as
prices of daily essential com-
modities have shot up amid
inflation,” Ahmed said.
“Therefore, we boycot-
ted the Governor’s address
as a mark of protest against
the government’s failure to
acknowledge the distress
caused to consumers amid
inflation and rising cost of
living,” he said.
NEW DELHI, May 22: A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 30-year-old man here, who apparently recorded the act and later blackmailed her with the clips, subjecting her to repeated sexual assault, police sources said on Friday.The accused was arrested after the victim’s family lodged a complaint on May 21, with police registering an FIR under charges of rape and provisions of the POCSO Act.âThe victim had recently shifted to a rented accommodation with her family. The girlâs family alleged that she came in contact with the accused as the latter frequently visited her sister, who lived in the same building where the girl stayed earlier,â the source said. (PTI)
PTI
ITANAGAR, May 22: Flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall wreaked havoc in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri district, washing away crucial bridges, damaging houses, and disrupting connectivity in several villages, officials.
The District Disaster Management Authority has issued an advisory, urging people to refrain from venturing into rivers for fishing and other activities amid forecasts for more downpour. The district administration is closely monitoring the evolving situation, while a detailed assessment of damages is currently underway, they said.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Centre here forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall on Saturday.
