5 stories you must read today, September 22: From SC’s notice on Air India crash probe to Modi inaugurating Tripura Sundari Temple and more

The Supreme Court on Monday criticised what it termed as ‘unfortunate’ media reporting, which pinned the blame on pilot error for the Air India Flight 171 crash on June 12, which killed 260 people. While hearing a plea by an NGO, the SC also issued notices to the Centre, and the DGCA to ensure a free, fair, impartial, independent and expeditious investigation by an expert body. The NGO, citing selective leaks in the media, purportedly, from the preliminary findings by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had argued that it was incomplete, selective, and lacking in transparency. The plea also sought to make public the details of the flight data recorder, which the SC declined. Read more 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the redeveloped five-century-old Tripura Sundari Temple. The temple, dedicated to Goddess Tripura Sundari, locally known as Devi Tripureshwari, is located in Udaipur town of Gomati district. The Tripura Sundari temple was redeveloped at a cost of Rs 52 crore along with a nearby site that has a replica of all 51 shaktipeethas, with funds from the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive or ‘PRASAD’ scheme of the Ministry of Tourism, besides a contribution of Rs 7 crore from the state government. Read more

The Uttar Pradesh government has prohibited caste-based political rallies saying they were a threat to “public order” and “national unity.” The order also prohibits “caste-based markings in police records as well as public display of caste-based signs.” According to the government order issued on Sunday, vehicles bearing caste names, slogans and stickers will also be penalised. Earlier this month, the Allahabad High Court had directed state government to prepare a regulatory framework to amend the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) to explicitly ban caste-based slogans and caste identifiers on all private and public vehicles. Read more

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that he is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States. He, however, makes it clear that North Korea is unwilling to give up its nuclear status to have better relations with the US. In a recent speech, Kim cited what the US did to countries after they gave up their nukes as a cautionary tale. The North Korean dictator, however, said that he has “fond memories” of US President Donald Trump, whom he met in 2018. Read more

Perplexity’s AI has launched its AI browser, Comet, in India. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas made the announcement on Monday, stating that Comet will be available on Mac and Windows devices for Pro subscribers in India. Srinivas, however, added that the Comet browser can be pre-ordered for Android devices on the Google Play Store. Perplexity launched Comet, which is powered by the company’s AI search engine, in July 2025, and is aimed at people who depend on the internet for work, research, and other purposes. Read more