Here are the top 5 news updates of August 19, 2021:
The Gujarat High Court today put a stay on the operation of some sections related to interfaith marriages of the state's new anti-conversion law. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Biren Vaishnav said the interim order has been passed to protect people from unnecessary harassment. The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021, which penalises forcible or fraudulent religious conversion through marriage, was notified by the state government on June 15. Last month, the Gujarat chapter of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind filed a petition saying some of the amended sections of the law were unconstitutional.
Observing that there are "definite and proved" allegations that complaints of the victims of violence in the aftermath of the West Bengal assembly polls were not even registered, the Calcutta High Court today ordered a CBI investigation in all alleged cases of heinous crimes like rape and murder, while accepting the recommendations of an NHRC panel. A five-judge bench, passing a unanimous judgement on a batch of PILs seeking an independent probe into incidents of alleged violence after the polls which the ruling TMC won by an overwhelming majority, also ordered constitution of an SIT to probe all other cases. The SIT will include Suman Bala Sahoo, Soumen Mitra and Ranveer Kumar, all IPS officers of the West Bengal cadre.
The self-proclaimed 'caretaker' President of the Afghanistan Amrullah Saleh today said that the country is too big for Pakistan to swallow and too big for Taliban to govern. "Nations must respect the rule of law, not violence. Afghanistan is too big for Pakistan to swallow and too big for Talibs to govern. Don't let your histories have a chapter on humiliation and bowing to terror groups," Saleh said in a tweet. His comments were in response to the tweet of Michael Johns, a former White House official which stated: "Afghanistan's constitution, adopted in 2004, addresses the nation's governance under circumstances such as those that have just unfolded. In such a case, first vice president @AmrullahSaleh2 assumes the role of the presidency. Nations must respect the rule of law, not violence."
Amid mounting criticism from the public over the US drawdown from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden said that Washington is committed to evacuating Americans and if necessary, troops could remain in Kabul past the August 31 deadline. Biden defended his decision to withdraw the US troops from Afghanistan while speaking to ABC News on Wednesday. Asked if the US drawdown could have been handled better, Biden replied: "No, I don't think it could have been handled in a way that ... but the idea that somehow, to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don't know how that happens." "One of the things we didn't know is what the Taliban would do in terms of trying to keep people from getting out," he said. "They're cooperating, letting American citizens get out... But we're having some more difficulty having those who helped us when we were in there," Biden added.
An inquiry commission headed by a retired high court judge has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh for not appearing before it. The Maharashtra government in March this year formed a one-member commission of Justice (retd) Kailash Uttamchand Chandiwal to conduct a probe into corruption allegations levelled by Singh against the then state home minister Anil Deshmukh. As Singh failed to appear before the commission on Wednesday, a fine of Rs 25,000 was imposed on him, a government lawyer said today. During the previous hearing, the probe panel had given Singh the "last chance" to appear before it. This is the second instance of fine being imposed on Singh.
