News Archive

Lionel Messi’s highly anticipated visit to Kolkata for the first leg of his G.O.A.T. Tour turned into a day of frustration for thousands of fans at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan. Many people had paid large sums for tickets, expecting a memorable experience with the football legend. Instead, a lack of proper visibility and crowd control left them disappointed and angry, creating tension that eventually forced organisers to escort Messi out of the venue earlier than planned.

Fifty-six retired judges from the Supreme Court and various High Courts have jointly criticised the impeachment notice issued against Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court. Their statement expresses strong concern about the direction in which this action may lead the country’s judicial framework, arguing that the move undermines the independence of the courts.

A Sessions Court in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, delivered a decisive judgment in the high-profile 2024 Ram Gopal Mishra murder case, a case tied closely to the communal violence that shook the Bahraich-Maharajganj region. In its ruling, the court sentenced the prime accused, Sarfaraz (also known as Rinku), to death, while nine other accused were given rigorous life imprisonment, bringing strong closure to a crime that had disturbed public order for months.

The Madhya Pradesh government has taken major action against senior IAS officer Santosh Verma after finding that he entered the Indian Administrative Service through fraudulent means.

Umar Khalid, one of the accused in the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi riots, has been given interim bail once again, this time so he can attend his sister’s wedding.

The Film Critics Guild (FCG), a private group of film reviewers, issued a strong statement this week to condemn the online reactions that followed reviews of the film Dhurandhar.

The Supreme Court on 11 December delivered a clear decision in the long-running matter involving former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt. The court declined his request to suspend the 20-year prison sentence he is serving for the 1996 drug planting case. This ruling came after yet another attempt by Bhatt to seek relief from the punishment imposed on him.

On 10 December, a serious incident raised new tension in the long-running case from Sandeshkhali. Bholanath Ghosh, who is considered a key witness in the case against Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, was badly injured after what was described as a road “accident”.

On 8 December, the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government introduced the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2025. While the State spoke of “dignity”, “equality” and “protection for all communities”, the written Bill tells a very different story.