A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on December 11 unanimously upheld the power of the President to abrogate Article 370 in August 2019, leading to the reorganisation of the full-fledged State of Jammu and Kashmir to two Union Territories and denuding it of its special privileges. The five-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud confirmed that the President could “unilaterally issue a notification that Article 370 ceases to exist”. The court held that the President had power to abrogate Article 370 if “special circumstances warrant a special solution”.
Parliament Winter Session Day 6 updates — December 11, 2023
The sixth day of the Parliament’s Winter Session sees the Rajya Sabha take up the Jammu-Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and Jammu-Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 as passed by the Lok Sabha for discussion. Both Bills are being discussed jointly. The discussion comes as the Supreme Court passes a judgement upholding the constitutional validity of the Executive Order abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution and scrapping statehood for J&K.
The Constitution Bench of Supreme Court has ordered the Election Commission to conduct elections to Jammu and Kashmir Assembly before September 30, 2024. The top court also directed Centre for the restoration of Statehood. A five-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on December 11, 2023, upheld the constitutional validity of Constitutional Order which abrogated Article 370.
Ujjain BJP MLA Mohan Yadav to be new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
Ujjain Dakshin Mohan Yadav is set to become the 19th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh as he has been elected as the leader of BJP legislature party. A three-term MLA representing Ujjain Dakshin Assembly constituency, Mr. Yadav has previously served as Education Minister in the incumbent Shivraj Singh Chouhan Government, between 2020 and 2023.
United Nations mission in Mali officially ends after 10 years
The United Nations mission in Mali officially ended a 10-year deployment in the country on December 11, its spokesperson said, in a pull out ordered by Mali’s military leaders. The mission, known as MINUSMA, lowered the United Nations flag on its headquarters in the capital Bamako, its spokesperson Fatoumata Kaba told AFP. The symbolic ceremony marks the official end of the mission, she said, even though some of the elements of it are still there. A “liquidation phase” will take place after January 1, involving activities such as handing over remaining equipment to the authorities.
“The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a fresh summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam on December 12,” official sources said. “Soren has been asked to depose at the federal agency’s office in Ranchi and get his statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA),” the sources said on December 11. “The summons for the Chief Minister is for December 12,” they added. This is the sixth notice issued to Mr. Soren, but he never deposed as he filed a petition before the Supreme Court and later the Jharkhand High Court seeking protection from the ED action and terming the summons as “unwarranted”. Both the courts had dismissed his petition.
Sensex scales 70,000-peak, Nifty closes just shy of 21,000 on gains in metal, IT shares
Equity benchmark Sensex breached a new milestone of 70,000 points before closing 102 points higher, while Nifty settled just shy of the 21,000 mark on December 11, driven by gains in banking, IT and metal shares. After a gap-up opening, the 30-share index rose to a record intra-day high of 70,057.83 points. Later, it shed some of the gains to close at 69,928.53 points, showing gains of 102.93 points or 0.15%.
Chandrayaan, Jawan, and IPL claim top spots in India’s 2023 Google search
2023 was a landmark year for India on multiple fronts. From the historic moon landing to an Indian song capturing global attention. The year saw Indians searching for topics inlcuding the country’s moon landing mission, movies, self-care and more. Looking at the rundown of what Indians searched for on Google in the year 2023, we see the historic success of Chandrayaan-3 topping the charts. India’s G20 presidency led ‘What Is’ search queries showcasing significant curiosity towards the event. Karnataka Election Results, Israel news, Matthew Perry and Manipur news were also among the top ten searches.
The opposition BJP, which suffered an embarrassment in the Assembly last week due to lack of floor co-ordination among its members on whether to boycott or stage a dharna, has now taken precautionary measures. The party has introduced a system of holding a meeting of its senior and prominent members on a daily basis before commencement of the session to decide its legislature floor plan. About 15 senior members of the party, including former ministers S. Suresh Kumar and State president B. Y. Vijayendra, participated in the co-ordination meeting convened by Leader of Opposition R. Ashok on December 11.
A Constitution Bench on Monday held that there should be a reasonable nexus between the actions of the President and the object for which State emergency is declared under Article 356 of the Constitution. The Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud was responding to arguments by petitioners that the proclamation of President’s Rule in the State of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 356 on the ground of failure of constitutional machinery on December 19, 2018, followed by the abrogation of Article 370, was constitutionally invalid.
Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra moves Supreme Court challenging her expulsion from Lok Sabha
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra moved the Supreme Court on December 11 challenging her expulsion from the Lok Sabha, after the House adopted the report of its ethics committee that held her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest. On December 8, after a heated debate in the Lok Sabha over the panel report during which Ms. Moitra was not allowed to speak, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion to expel the TMC MP from the House for “unethical conduct”, which was adopted by a voice vote.
Baku to the future: After stalemate, UN climate talks will be in Azerbaijan in 2024
A long-time stand-off that had turned the choice for next year’s United Nations climate talks into a melodrama and mystery resolved as part of a prisoner swap settlement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. It set the stage for the COP29 climate talks in 2024 to be in a city where one of the world’s first oil fields developed 1,200 years ago: Baku, Azerbaijan. It also means that for back-to-back years an oil powerhouse nation will be hosting climate talks — where the focus is often on eliminating fossil fuels. And it will become three straight years that the U.N. puts its showcase conference, where protests and civil engagement often take center stage, in a nation with restrictions on free speech.
BJP members in the Lok Sabha on December 11 raked up the issue of recovery of a huge amount of cash from a distillery company linked to Congress’ Jharkhand Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu. Sanjay Seth, the BJP member from Ranchi, raised the issue during the Zero Hour, seeking a reply from the Congress. Several other BJP MPs sitting next to him displayed newspapers with reports of the recovery of cash to drive home their point.
The world is pinning hope on India’s leadership and intellectual powerhouse for providing a solution to the climate crisis, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has said. The world is pinning hope on India’s leadership and intellectual powerhouse for providing a solution to the climate crisis, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has said. n an interview with PTI at the annual climate conference (COP28) in Dubai, Ms. Scotland said she waits in “joyful anticipation to see what India will decide to do”, as negotiators at the summit haggle over the best ways to slash greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worsening of already severe climate impacts.
Retail inflation is stable now, asserts Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
The country’s consumer price inflation is now “stable” and within the official tolerance band of 2% and 6%, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman conveyed to the Lok Sabha on December 11, attributing the weakening price rise pressures largely to a steady drop in core inflation. “India’s retail inflation has declined from an average of 7.1% in April-October 2022 to 5.4% in the corresponding period of 2023. The core inflation [that excludes food and energy costs] has declined from 5.1% in April 2023 to 4.3% in October 2023,” the Minister said in response to a starred question from MP Sushil Kumar Rinku on retail inflation “increasing steeply”.
Asad Shafiq announces retirement from all forms of cricket, set to become Pakistan selector
Pakistan Test batter Asad Shafiq has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after experiencing a dip in his passion for the game. The 37-year-old made the announcement on December 10. I am not feeling the same excitement and passion playing cricket and neither do I have the same fitness levels required for international cricket. Which is why I have decided to say goodbye to all cricket,” he told a press conference after leading Karachi Whites to the National T20 Championship title.
