610

#UP: Supreme Court Grants Azam Khan Bail, Tells UP Govt To Unseal Land Attached To His University

Giving relief to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, the Supreme Court on Friday granted him regular bail and ordered the UP government to immediately unseal the land attached to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.

The court also turned down the Uttar Pradesh government's request to stop him from going to Rampur.

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and J B Pardiawala was hearing a plea filed by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan against certain conditions imposed by the Allahabad High Court while allowing him bail in an alleged case of enemy property and using it for the construction of Mohammed Ali Jauhar University.

At the outset of the hearing the bench expressed its displeasure at the new trend in bail orders, wherein the High Courts' are exceeding their authority to delve into issues which are not relevant to the determination of the bail pleas and said, "This is yet another matter where the High Court has referred to matters which are unrelated to the reference to bail. The High Court ought to consider only the aspect of the matter and shall not have gone into the aspects unrelated to bail."

609

#ArmyRecruitment: Why Army Needs Caste And Religion of Soldiers, Questions Opposition From Govt

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh recently stoked a controversy when he claimed that the Indian Army recruitment application asks aspirants to furnish caste and religion certificates. Sanjay in a Twitter post highlighted the section of the application seeking candidates to provide the details.

He didn't stop here and instead mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn't consider Dalits, backwards and tribal people capable of joining the Army. Besides, he claimed that "this is the first time in India's history that caste is being asked in army recruitment."

The opposition parties saw an opportunity in Sanjay Singh's allegation to train guns at the Modi government without verifying the fact. But is Sanjay Singh's contention really valid? A BIG NO.

608

#Russia-UkraineWar: US Pledges More Military Aid To Ukraine, Peace Seems Far Off

The United States promised more military support for Ukraine, including drones, and is doing preliminary work on whether to send fighter aircraft, as fighting raged on in the east of the country five months into Russia`s invasion. Moscow and Kyiv signed a landmark deal on Friday to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports. However, representatives declined to sit at the same table and avoided shaking hands at the agreement ceremony in Istanbul, reflecting wider enmity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed Friday`s agreement as unlocking around $10 billion worth of grain exports, needed to ease a food crisis.

But on the war, he said there could be no ceasefire unless lost territory was retaken.

560

#PresidentialPolls: Cross-voting For Murmu Bares Cracks In Opposition Unity

As counting of votes in the Presidential election concluded Thursday, it became clear that NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu's spectacular win had also been helped by some cross-voting. It was also proof of the division and confusion in Opposition ranks over thwarting the first tribal woman's bid to occupy the highest office in the country.

The ruling BJP claimed that 17 MPs from the two Houses of Parliament and 126 MLAs from states defied respective party lines and voted for Murmu. Many regional parties, despite their political reservations against the BJP, had indicated their willingness to see Murmu in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

She bagged 2824 of the total 4701 valid votes, leaving just 1877 votes for the Opposition's Yashwant Sinha.

559

#UkraineRussiaWar: Ukraine Can Inflict Major Damage To Russian Forces, Says President Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukraine's military has the potential to make gains on the battlefield and inflict major losses on Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday after meeting senior commanders. Zelensky, speaking in a late-night video address, said the meeting had discussed the supply of modern weapons, adding the intensity of attacks on the Russians had to be stepped up.

"(We) agreed that our forces have the strong potential to advance on the battlefield and inflict significant new losses on the occupiers," he said.

Kyiv hopes that Western weapons, especially longer-range missiles such as U.S. HIMARS which Ukraine has deployed in recent weeks, will allow it to launch a counterattack and recapture territory.