Daily Briefing: What’s next in Bilkis Bano case, fissures in INDIA bloc, and more

The Bilkis Bano Case

Stating that the Gujarat government’s decision to grant remission to the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case was “an instance of usurpation of jurisdiction”, the Supreme Court struck down the relief granted to 11 men, and ordered them to surrender to jail authorities within two weeks.

So, what’s next for the case? The ball is in Maharashtra government’s court to decide on the remission — whether it extends any relief to the 11 convicts.

Moreover, can the convicts apply for remission again? Here are the legal options before them.

But where are the convicts? When The Indian Express visited the twin villages of Randhikpur and Singvad, where at least nine of the 11 convicts lived, we found that the men are now “missing”.

Meanwhile, Indira Jaising opines that this judgment by (Justices) BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan is a “reassertion of the SC’s lost power”.

Only in Express

“We have no copyright on Ram Bhakti… I will also tell BJP members – rid yourself of the arrogance that only you can do bhakti of Ram. I will tell the Opposition – rid yourself of the fear that you must not go there (Ayodhya temple consecration),” says Uma Bharti, BJP leader and a key face of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Read all that she told The Indian Express.

Meanwhile, the INDIA bloc is looking to step up its seat-sharing exercise ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. In West Bengal, however, the already strained ties between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress party have become more hostile. Here’s what Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has to say.

From the Front Page

‘Boycott Maldives’ has been trending on Indian social media ever since the Maldives’ now-suspended ministers made remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his promotion of Lakshadweep as a tourist destination. But did you know, in the last five years, Indian tourists to Maldives nearly doubled to 11% of all tourist arrivals in the island nation? Read more.

In a new book, former Indian envoy Ajay Bisaria has revealed that Pakistan’s spy agency ISI had tipped off India through the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about an al-Qaeda plot to carry out an attack in Kashmir in June 2019 – and it turned out to be genuine.

Must Read

As the Lok Sabha elections approach, the BJP is looking to break its Kerala jinx and breach the southern state where it has never won a parliamentary seat. But instead of spreading itself thin, the party has chosen to focus on a handful of seats. Shaju Philip dissects why Thrissur is one of them.

Aditya-L1 was launched by ISRO on September 2, 2023 and arrived at its destination, L1 or the first Sun-Earth Lagrangian point, on January 6. Experts take you through why Aditya is at ‘L1’ and what it means.

And Finally…

As we gear up for the upcoming T20 World Cup, Venkata Krishna B breaks down why bringing in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli back into the fold may not be ideal.

Delhi Confidential: The nomination of Sikkim legislator D T Lepcha for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state has come as a big relief for a section of the BJP. Here’s why.

🎧 In today’s ‘3 things’ podcast, we discuss Supreme Court’s latest ruling on the Bilkis convicts, the story of the largest radio telescope, and the incident in West Bengal where the Enforcement Directorate officials were attacked by a mob.

Until tomorrow

Sonal Gupta and Navmi Krishna