India

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine the validity of a newly enacted law which makes the practice of instant divorce through triple talaq among Muslims a punishable offence entailing imprisonment of up to three years.

A bench of justices N V Ramana and Ajay Rastogi issued notice to the Centre on a batch of petitions which has sought to declare The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019 as "unconstitutional" on grounds that it allegedly violates the provisions of the Constitution.

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to pass orders within two weeks on extension of tenure of the special judge conducting trial in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case, involving BJP veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti, in Lucknow.

A bench of justices R F Nariman and Surya Kant said a fresh letter has been written by the special judge on July 27 in which he had made five requests including providing him security.

Kolkata, Aug 22 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday termed as "very depressing" the way Congress leader and former union minister P Chidambaram was arrested and alleged that the judiciary was not coming to the help of a "crying" democratic system.

In her first reaction after Chidambaram's arrest by CBI in INX media case on Wednesday evening, Banerjee quoted Rabindranath Tagore and said the "message of justice is crying silently in isolation".

Mumbai, Aug 22 (PTI) The Indian rupee on Thursday plunged to an over eight-month low of 71.81, dropping 26 paise against the US dollar as tumbling equities and incessant foreign fund outflows weighed on sentiment.

Also, the sudden drop in Chinese yuan led to increased volatility in emerging market currencies, including the rupee, forex dealers said.

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) A petition was filed in the Supreme Court Thursday challenging the newly enacted law which makes the practice of instant divorce through 'triple talaq' among Muslims a punishable offence entailing imprisonment of up to three years.

The fresh plea has been filed by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, a Muslim body, which sought to declare The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 as "unconstitutional" on the ground that it allegedly violates the provisions of the Constitution.

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir's political leaders, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, are likely to be in custody for some more time with no clarity on their release as the Valley continues to be on edge.

A senior government official also made it clear that any decision on the release of the people under detention in Jammu and Kashmir will be taken by the local administration depending on the ground situation.

Palghar, Aug 22 (PTI) A 33-year-old woman from Nalasopara in Palghar district allegedly stabbed her husband to death as she was unhappy over the birth of their second girl child, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place at their residence in Gala Nagar early on Wednesday, police said.

The accused, Pranali Sunil Kadam, was arrested late Wednesday night for killing her 36-year-old husband, Palghar police spokesperson Hemant Katkar said.

Aligarh (UP), Aug 22 (PTI) An Aligarh Muslim University student was arrested after his Facebook page showed an objectionable poster on Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried recently by anti-India protesters in London, police said.

Mohammad Zaid Rashid (20), admitted at the university's off-campus centre in Bihar's Kishanganj this year, was here when he downloaded a picture from the protests over the scrapping of the special status for Jammu and Kashmir.

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) A plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday challenging the constitutional validity of the amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on the ground that these infringed upon the fundamental rights of citizens.

The bill for amendments to the UAPA was passed by Parliament on August 2 and it received the President's ascent on August 9. The amended Act allows the Centre to designate individuals as terrorists and seize their properties.

Nagpur, Aug 22 (PTI)Three separate cases of murder including a suspected contract killing were reported in Nagpur city in the space of five hours, police said on Thursday.

Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra, is the hometown of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also handles the home portfolio.