Morning Brief: SC To Resume Hearing In Ayodhya Case Today; UK Court Allows Indian Banks To Enter Mallya’s Estate Near London; Legalise Gambling, Betting On Sports, Says Law Panel

Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.

Supreme Court To Resume Hearing In Ayodhya Case Today

The Supreme Court is set to resume hearing in the Ram Temple-Babri Masjid land dispute case today. During the last hearing on 17 May, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and SA Nazeer had heard submissions on behalf of Hindu groups opposing the plea filed by parties demanding the construction of a mosque to refer the case to a larger bench. On Tuesday, the apex court had declined urgent listing of Subramanian Swamy’s plea seeking enforcement of his fundamental right to worship at the Ram temple

The Supreme Court is currently hearing appeals against a judgement of a three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court. In a 2:1 majority ruling, the bench had in 2010 ordered that the ‘disputed land’ be partitioned equally among three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

UK Court Allows Indian Banks To Enter Mallya's Estate Near London

A court in the United Kingdom has granted permission to a consortium of 13 Indian banks to enter fugitive economic offender Vijay Mallya’s sprawling estate near London and seize his possessions. After fleeing India, the former liquor baron has been staying in the quintessentially English upper-class area called Tewin. The banks were granted permission after Mallya lost a case in the British High Court against the registration of the Bengaluru Debt Recovery Tribunal judgement in UK courts.

The order gives Indian banks the legal option of entering the properties of Mallya. A UK enforcement officer "may use reasonable force to enter the property if necessary," the court order says. The liquor baron fled to the UK in 2016. India's extradition case will come up for hearing in a UK court on 31 July.

Legalise Gambling And Betting On Sports, Says Law Panel

The Law Panel has asked the government to legalise gambling and betting on sports and to make it taxable under the direct and indirect tax regimes to generate revenue. According to reports, the panel has told the Law Ministry that it was not possible to completely prevent these activities and “effective regulation” seemed to be the only viable option. The panel has called for overturning of India's historically stringent laws that heavily restrict such activities and recommended that the government turn match-fixing and sports fraud into criminal offences.

For the creation of jobs, the panel has asked the government to modify its policy and allow foreign direct investment in the casino and online gaming industry. The commission said this would “bring investment to states that decide to permit casinos, propelling the growth of tourism and hospitality industries”.

J&K Cop Kidnapped, Killed By Terrorists

A policeman abducted by terrorists in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir was found dead on Thursday. The 27-year-old policeman, identified as Javed Ahmad Dar, was abducted by the terrorists near his home at Vehil Chatwatan. He was a personal security officer for former superintendent of police Shalinder Mishra.

This incident comes just weeks after Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in the Kashmir valley abducted a soldier of 44 Rashtriya Rifles, who was on his way back home for Eid, and killed him. In 2017, a 22-year-old officer with the Rajputana Rifles of the Indian Army was abducted and killed. Only five months into service, the officer was on leave to attend his cousin's wedding in Shopian.

ISRO Tests Key System Required For Human Spaceflight

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully tested the crew escape system, moving a step closer to human spaceflight. Crew escape system is a critical technology designed to quickly pull out the crew to a safe distance in case of a launch abort. The first test successfully demonstrated the safe recovery of a crew module in case of an emergency. This is the first in a series of tests required to establish the technology. ISRO Chairman K Sivan said the teams also tried out at least five new secondary technologies.

The test was conducted at Satish Dhawan Space Center and lasted 259 seconds. The module carrying 12.6 tonne payload soared 2.9 km into the sky before parachuting down into the Bay of Bengal. At least 300 sensors recorded various mission performance during the test flight, the ISRO release said.

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SWARAJYA SPECIAL

In Telangana, SHE’s The Force Behind Women’s Safety

Telangana’s successful women-centric police initiatives, beginning with SHE Teams, offer a solution to many problems of women’s safety. Police departments in some states are trying to implement the SHE Teams model, with Karnataka police being the latest. It is in the interest of other states to follow.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

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