Decades of dispute later, SC: Not all Pvt property can be taken over by the state for the 'common good'

In a landmark ruling that has implications on the citizen's right to hold property, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that not all private property can be deemed a "material resource of the community" for redistribution under Article 39(b) of the Constitution.

The phrase "material resource" in Article 39(b) of the Constitution "may include privately owned resources... not all privately owned resources fall within the ambit of the phrase", the majority opinion of the SC said.

In new rules, UP to set up its panel for appointing DGP

Under new rules brought in by the Uttar Pradesh government, the state's police chief will be selected by a committee chaired by a retired High Court judge. 

This is a departure from the earlier process, under which the state would send a list of names to the Union Public Service Commission, which would make the final shortlist for the state to select one.

The 'Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh Selection and Appointment Rules, 2024', cleared by the state Cabinet said the DGP would be selected by a committee chaired by a retired judge of a High Court. 

It has a fixed two-year tenure for the DGP and said only such officers would be eligible who have at least six more months to retire at the time of creation of the vacancy. 

SC upholds UP Madarsa Act, strikes down provisions on higher degrees

Noting that the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 is "consistent with the positive obligation of the state to ensure that students studying in recognised Madarsas attain a minimum level of competency" to "effectively participate in society and earn a living", the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Act.

In doing so, the three-judge- bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra set aside the order of the Allahabad High Court which struck down the Act, calling it unconstitutional and violative of "the principle of secularism and Articles 14 and 21A of the Constitution".

The bench, however, held the Act's provisions allowing the Board to award higher degrees like Kamil (undergraduate degree) and Fazil (post-graduate degree) as unconstitutional, saying they conflict with the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.

Jaishankar: Temple attack shows space for extremists in Canada

Expressing Concern over pro-Khalistan separatists targeting the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Ontario, during a visit by Indian consular officials, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the incident showed how "political space" was being given to "extremist forces" in Canada. 

Jaishankar was responding to queries related to the incident and the ongoing diplomatic row between India and Canada, during a joint press briefing with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra. He is on an official visit to Australia from November 3-7.

On the diplomatic row between India and Canada, following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegation of the Indian government's "potential" involvement in the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Jaishankar reiterated that Canada has levelled allegations without providing specifics. 

A positive secularism

Since the Madarsa Act was struck down in the name of secularism, the judgment discussed the concept at length. 

It relied on the nine-judge bench judgment in S R Bommai v. Union of India (1994), which held that 'secularism is a positive concept of equal treatment of all religions'. 

The SC said that Articles 25 to 30 contain the other facet of secularism, that is, the practice of religious tolerance by the state. 

It observed that 'by recognising and regulating the Madarsa education, the State legislature is taking positive action to safeguard the educational rights of the minorities.'

How Dedicated Freight Corridors are adding to GDP growth, boosting Rail revenues

Dedicated Freight Corridors are improving India's GDP and adding significantly to the Indian Railways' revenue, a recent study by Australia's University of New South Wales has said.

The study said that reduction in freight cost and travel time due to the DFCs has helped reduce prices of commodities by up to 0.5 per cent, and the corridors have contributed to 2.94 per cent of the revenue growth realised by the Railways between FY 2022-23 and FY 2018-19. 

It analysed the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) data for FY 2019-20 and came up with its findings by using a Computable General Equilibrium model initiated by the central government. 

Why the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of UP Madarsa Act, 2004

The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 (Madarsa Act), barring the provisions relating to higher education. 

In doing so, it overruled the Allahabad High Court's earlier ruling which struck down the entire Act for violating the principle of secularism. 

What is the Madarsa Act? 

Madarsas provide both religious education in Islamic tenets and practices as well as mainstream secular education. Most madarsas follow the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) curriculum. 

The Madarsa Act provides a legal framework for these institutions in UP. It has established the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education (the Board), which prepares and prescribes course material, and conducts exams for all courses. The Act also gives power to the state government to create rules to regulate madarsa education.