Author: Parvathy Pillai

On April 30th, 2022, a Pocso court in the Kollam district sentenced a Catholic priest to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing teenage seminarians. The sentence was handed down to Thomas Parekkulam, age 35, of the Catholic community society of St. Eugene De Mazendo. Additional district judge (Pocso) K. N. Sujith handed down the sentence. Parekkulam, the priest, was accused of sexually abusing four underage boys in four consecutive incidences. At the time of the crime, all of the victims were 16 years old and students at a seminary in Punalur, Kollam district, where Parekkulam worked as a parish…

PV Sindhu lost to Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals, and she expressed her dissatisfaction with the “unfair” call. PV Sindhu semi-final match against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the Badminton Asia Championships on April 30th, 2002, sparked controversy when the Indian shuttler was given a point penalty for waiting too long to serve. Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, was leading 14-11 in the second game after winning the first when the chair umpire gave her a penalty for a serve delay. Following the umpire’s call, the 26-year-old Indian shuttler had a lengthy debate with the umpire, prompting the chief referee to…

Nitin Hundiwala, who sustained knee and head injuries after jumping from an overcrowded train in November 2011, received the judgement earlier this month in his first appeal.  The Mumbai High Court ruled that boarding a crowded train for a Mumbaikar was a “calculated risk,” not a “criminal act,” and ordered the railways to pay a septuagenarian over Rs. 3 lakh in compensation when he slipped and collapsed shortly after entering a crowded train in 2011. A sum of Rs 1.5 lakh is provided to him for the financial loss he suffered as a result of a train accident in 2011,…

Lithara’s family members levelled allegations against her coach, Ravi Singh, saying she was mentally harassed repeatedly by him  Kerala basketball player Lithara committed suicide at her flat in Patna on April 26th, 2022. Her family members levelled allegations against her coach, Ravi Singh, saying she was mentally harassed repeatedly by him due to which she had skipped training sessions and matches. Meanwhile, her friends and teammates are in complete shock after learning that she was discovered hanging in her Patna flat. Police personnel at Patna’s Rajiv Nagar station have already filed a FIR and begun an investigation.  Lithara was a…

Serena Williams praised the effort that went into the building’s construction and hoped that it would inspire people to be their best selves. Serena Williams has broken more records than any of her contemporaries, going from a young girl in Compton who was trained by her father to one of the greatest athletes of all time. Between her first US Open victory in 1999 and her last, in 2014, there was a 15-year gap, demonstrating the durability of this one-of-a-kind champion. Williams has a staggering 73 career titles, including 23 Grand Slam titles, including seven Australian Open victories, making her…

Namaha’s Public Interest Litigation against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was dismissed by an Allahabad High Court division bench, which also levied a fine of one lakh on the petitioner.   The petitioner, who filed public interest litigation against UP’s Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, was fined one lakh by the Allahabad High Court, which dismissed the PIL. While hearing a PIL filed by Namaha, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Piyush Agrawal issued this order.   In the petition, filed by a person named Namaha, in the public interest, the court asked to order respondent No. 2 to reveal…

The Supreme Court on April 25, 2022, was entitled to gratuity, a basic social security measure.  The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that over 25 lakh Anganwadi workers and helpers who work at the grass-root level across the country are entitled to gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. The SC has asked the Centre and state governments to “take serious note of their plight” because they are paid inadequate remuneration despite being the backbone of various welfare schemes and rendering important services to society.   Anganwadi workers and organizations were represented by prominent lawyers Sanjay Parikh, P.V. Surendranath, and…

NIA to take suo motu cognizance of terror activities in any part of the country and file a case, as well as to enter any state or Union Territory without the approval of the concerned government, investigate, and arrest suspects.  Image source: Deccan Chronicle  Officer near the site of the attack in Jammu  The twin regions of the Union Territory—Jammu and Kashmir Valley—witnessed a series of armed clashes between uniformed forces and separatists just before and during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir, leaving at least eight militants dead, including a top commander of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayyaba…

A bench led by Chief Justice N V Ramana had taken note of senior attorney Vikas Singh and lawyer Aman Panwar’s submissions that the case needed to be heard quickly due to the impending fear of ‘jhuggis’ being demolished.  The Supreme Court granted interim relief to jhuggi/slum residents of Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar on Monday, ordering the Central Government to refrain from adopting forceful measures to evict them. A case filed by jhuggi dwellers from Sarojini Nagar against demolition/eviction orders without rehabilitation or relocation of the slum residents was being considered by a bench of justices, KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy.…

Carbon-Neutral Panchayat – Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 500 KW solar plant located at Palli, country’s first carbon-neutral panchayat. Palli village in Jammu’s Samba district has become the country’s first carbon-neutral panchayat, powered entirely by solar energy, with all records digitised and all central initiatives completely utilised. With the help of villagers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it would take three weeks to move a “sarkari” file from Delhi to Jammu and Kashmir, but the 500 KW solar plant at the country’s first carbon-neutral panchayat was finished in a record time of three weeks. Mr. Modi said he was present…