RSS chief says Indian Muslims did not demolish Ram Mandir, vows to 'fight' for it

New Delhi, Jan 29: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the plea by Mukesh Kumar Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, challenging the rejection of his mercy petition by the President.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice R Banumathi said that expeditious disposal of mercy plea by the President doesn't mean non-application of mind by him.

The court also said that alleged sufferings in prison can't be grounds to challenge the rejection of mercy petition.

The bench said all relevant material including judgments pronounced by trial court, high court and Supreme Court were placed before the President when he was considering the mercy plea of the convict.

The bench also comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna rejected the contentions of the counsel appearing for Singh that entire materials of the case were not placed before the President when he was considering his mercy plea.

The bench, while referring to two files placed before it by the Centre on Tuesday, said that as per the January 15 covering letter which was sent by the Delhi government to the Ministry of Home Affairs, all relevant documents were sent.

The bench noted that detailed judgements of trial court, high court and the Supreme Court, curative petition filed by Singh, his past criminal history and his family background were sent to the Home Ministry by the Delhi government.

"All the documents were taken into consideration by the President while rejecting the mercy petition," the bench said.

The bench also dealt with submissions advanced by the convict's counsel, who had argued that the mercy plea was rejected at "lightning speed".

The bench said that if a mercy petition is expeditiously dealt with, it cannot be assumed that it has been adjudicated upon in a pre-conceived mind.

Apr 13: The Supreme Court of India has said Indian expatriates stranded abroad cannot be flown back immediately. All petitions before India's apex court which sought directions or orders to 'bring back Indians stranded in various countries abroad' has been deferred for four weeks, according to Indian media reports.

The Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde led bench took up matters pertaining to evacuation of Indian citizens stranded abroad amid the Covid19 pandemic.
Supreme Court today deferred for 4 weeks, all the petitions before it which sought directions or orders to 'bring back Indians stranded in various countries abroad'.

A total of seven petitions seeking directions from Court on the immediate evacuation of Indian nationals from UK, US, Iran and Gulf countries were taken up simultaneously.

Bobde said, "Stay where you are. People in other countries cannot be brought back right now"

Foreigners stuck in India granted visa extension

Furthermore, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced a visa extension for all foreigners who are stranded in in India due to ongoing travel restrictions imposed by the government.

Regular visa,e-visa or stay stipulation of such foreigners stranded in India due to travel restrictions by Indian Authorities&whose visas have expired/would be expiring between 01.02&30.04, would be extended till 30 April on gratis basis,after online application by foreigners:MHA

Kochi, Apr 4: France on Saturday evacuated 112

French citizens stranded in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in a special Air India flight, official sources said here.

The Embassy of France had made a request to the Kerala government to facilitate the journey of the French citizens stranded due to the lockdown announced by the central government to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus.

The French citizens, mostly tourists and those who came for Ayurvedic treatment, were brought here by the state tourism department 24 days ahead of their trip.

They underwent a medical examination before boarding the flight for Paris from Cochin International Airport at 08.13 am on Saturday, officials said.

The Air India flight was chartered by the French government for evacuating its citizens in various cities in India including Kochi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

On Friday, Gulf nation Oman had evacuated its 46 citizens stranded in Kochi in an Oman Air flight.