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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday thanked Lord Hanuman as he stepped out of Tihar Jail on interim bail and sought people's support in his “fight against dictatorship”.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor was granted interim bail till June 1 by the Supreme Court earlier in the day.

He walked out of the prison in the evening amid dhol beats and sloganeering by AAP workers and leaders. Standing through the sunroof of a car, Kejriwal then addressed AAP workers and supporters amid slogans of ‘Jail Ke Tale Toot Gaye, Kejriwalji Chhoot Gaye’.

Beginning with slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Inquilab Zindabad’, the Delhi Chief Minister said, “I am fighting against dictatorship with all my might but 140 crore people (of the country) will have to come together to fight against it.”

He further said that he would visit the Hanuman temple at Connaught Place at 11 am on Saturday and address a press conference at the AAP office at 1 pm. “I am feeling great to be with you. I had told you that I would come out soon... First of all, I want to pay obeisance to Lord Hanuman. I am among you because of the blessings of Lord Hanuman,” Kejriwal added.

The AAP leader also thanked people for their love and blessings and asked them to come together to fight against dictatorship.

“I want to thank you all. Crores of people of the country sent their blessings to me. I want to thank the Supreme Court because of which I am here,” he added.

Star grapplers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia on Friday welcomed Delhi court's decision to frame sexual harassment charges against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, calling it a big victory for country's women wrestlers.

“This is a big victory for the struggle of women wrestlers,” Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang, one of the leading faces in the protest against Singh, wrote on 'X'.

"The daughters of the country have had to go through such difficult times, but this decision will provide relief. Those who trolled women wrestlers should also be ashamed. Satyamev Jayate." Rio Olympic bronze medallist Malik had retired after a faction led by Sanjay Singh, an aide of the former WFI President, was elected to head the federation in December last year.

“...We thank the honourable court. We had to sleep on the streets for many nights in the heat and rain, had to give up on our stable careers, only then have we been able to take a few steps forward in the fight for justice,” Malik, one of the leading faces in the protest against Singh, wrote on ‘X’.

“Heartfelt gratitude to those who showered love and blessings and may God bless those who trolled and said bad things. Long live Mother India.” The trioka of Sakshi, Bajrang and Vinesh Phogat were the prominent faces during the year-long protest which started in January 2023 at Jantar Mantar in the national capital.

A Delhi court on Friday ordered the framing of charges against former Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a sexual harassment case lodged by six female wrestlers.

The court ordered framing of charge for criminal intimidation against Singh. It will formally frame the charges on May 21.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot also discharged Singh in a complaint filed by one of the six women wrestlers. It also ordered framing of charges against co-accused and former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the case.

The Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet in the case against Singh, a six-time MP, on June 15 under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Nearly 11 years after rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune, a special court on Friday convicted his two assailants and sentenced them to life imprisonment for the murder. 

Dabholkar (67), an anti-superstition crusader, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne men while he was on a morning walk on Omkareshwar Bridge in Pune city on August 20, 2013.

The court acquitted three others, including alleged key conspirator Virendrasinh Tawde, for want of evidence. Reading out the order in a packed courtroom, Additional Sessions Judge (Special Court) P P Jadhav, presiding over UAPA cases, said the prosecution had proved the charges of murder and conspiracy against shooters Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar.

The court sentenced them to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh each.

The court acquitted three accused, ENT surgeon Tawde, Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave, for want of evidence. The court observed that some sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), an anti-terror law, were invoked in the case, but due to the competent officer's negligence, these charges were not proved.

The judge said though Tawde was charged as the conspirator in the case and there was ample scope for doubt against him, the prosecution had failed to convert the suspicion into evidence, which is why he was acquitted of all charges.

"In the case of Bhave and Punalekar, even if there is scope for suspicion, there is no evidence, and therefore, both have been acquitted of all charges for want of evidence," the judge said. Reacting to the judgement, Dabholkar's daughter Mukta said the masterminds of the murder were still at large, and they would appeal against the order in the high court. His son Hamid Dabholkar said if the masterminds of the killing were not brought to justice, such incidents would be repeated.

Dabholkar's murder was followed by the murders of three other rationalists/activists in the next four years: communist leader Govind Pansare (Kolhapur, February 2015), Kannada scholar and writer M M Kalburgi (Dharwad, August 2015) and journalist Gauri Lankesh (Bengaluru, September 2017).

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar Jail on Friday, hours after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail till June 1.

Workers and leaders of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had gathered outside the prison complex to welcome him.

Kejriwal left from Tihar in his convoy. He was accompanied by his wife Sunita Kejriwal, his daughter Harshita and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a fresh charge sheet in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case naming BRS leader K Kavitha as an accused, official sources said.

The sources said the prosecution complaint was filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The federal agency had arrested 46-year-old Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, from Hyderabad on March 15. Kaveri Baweja, the special judge for CBI, ED cases, is likely to take up the charge sheet for cognisance on May 13.

A similar complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is expected to be filed next week.

This is the seventh charge sheet by the ED in this case in which it has arrested 18 people so far including Kejriwal, who was given interim bail by the Supreme Court on Friday.

The AAP welcomed the Supreme Court decision on Friday to grant interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and said truth can be troubled but not defeated.

In a major relief to Kejriwal, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail till June 1 to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"Truth can be troubled but not defeated. The decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court is welcome. The dictatorship will end. Satyamev Jayate," AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said in a post in Hindi on X. AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak told PTI, "We welcome the Supreme Court order. Satyamev Jayete! The dictatorship will end."

Delhi Congress chief on Friday welcomed Supreme Court's decision granting bail to Kejriwal, stating this will boost the faith of the people in democracy.

"We have been saying that the BJP and its leaders have caged the establishments of democracy. Because of this, the sitting CMs were sent to jail. I appreciate the Supreme Court's order of granting (interim) bail to Arvind Kejriwal. This will boost the faith of people in democracy," he said.

The Trinamool Congress on Friday said it would file a formal complaint to the Election Commission (EC) against NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma for "misusing her chair" and "being one of the major conspirators of Sandeshkhali matter". 

This comes after multiple women alleged that they were deceived by local BJP leaders into filling sexual assault complaints against TMC leaders.

National Commission for Women (NCW) had recommended to President Droupadi Murmu that President's rule be imposed in West Bengal over alleged atrocities on women and violence in Sandeshkhali. Stating the TMC's intention to move EC against Sharma, West Bengal minister and TMC spokesperson Shashi Panja alleged on Friday that the NCW chairperson acted on "political bias" over the Sandeshkhali allegations and "encouraged women of the area to make false allegations of sexual atrocities."

Multiple purported videos of Sandeshkhali women shared by the TMC on Thursday claimed that a local saffron party leader made those women sign blank papers which were later filled up as complaints of sexual assault.

The contractual female employee who has accused West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose with molestation allegations announced her intention to seek President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention on Friday.

The development comes a day after Bose’s public screening of several CCTV footage from Raj Bhavan, purportedly aimed at addressing the victim’s allegations.

Expressing her objections to the public display of unedited footage, where her identity was allegedly revealed due to the lack of blurring, the employee voiced her concerns. Stating that she could not repose much hope on the Calcutta Police whose hands are tied on account of the constitutional immunity Governor Bose enjoys, the victim said she was going through severe depression and felt that writing to the President was the only recourse to justice.

"I know that because of Constitutional immunity nothing will happen to a sitting Governor. But what about the offence he committed? I have decided to write to the President seeking her intervention in the matter. I am writing to her to get justice and nothing else," the alleged victim told PTI.

The Population Foundation of India (PFI) has said that the media have misrepresented the release of a study by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and claimed thatthe share of Hindus in India’s population has declined sharply by 7.8% between 1950 and 2015.

On the other hand, the study revealed that the share of minorities, including Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Sikhs, went up.

The study noted that this indicates "a conducive environment to foster diversity in the society”. The PFI claimed that the media is selectively portraying the data “to spread alarm about the growth of the Muslim population” which is incorrect.

According to the Census growth rate for Muslims has been declining over the past three decades. Going down from 32.9% in 1981-1991 to 24.6% in 2001-2011, claimed the PFI.

This is a more pronounced decline than that of Hindus, whose growth rate fell from 22.7% to 16.8% over the same period, it said. Moreover the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of all religious groups is declining with the highest decline among Muslims in India, falling by 1% from 2005-06 to 2019-21 and followed by Hindus at 0.7%. 

Fertility rates are linked to factors like education, income and not religion. Thus States with better access to education and healthcare show lower TFRs.

For example: The TFR among Muslim women in Kerala (2.25) is lower than the TFR among Hindu women in Bihar (2.88), claimed the PFI.

The Chardham Yatra began on Friday as the doors of Kedarnath and Yamunotri temples in the Garhwal Himalayas were opened for devotees on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya after remaining closed during the winter season.

The doors of the revered Himalayan temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and goddess Yamunotri respectively were opened at 7 am in the presence of a large number of devotees amid chanting of hymns. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami along with his wife Geeta were also present as the portals of Kedartnath opened for devotees.

"It is an auspicious day for which we wait throughout the year. I welcome you all on the occasion. May you all be showered with the blessings of Baba Kedar," Dhami said addressing a gathering outside the temple after offering prayers. About 10,000 devotees witnessed the opening of the portals of Kedarnath. In accordance with tradition, devotional tunes were also played by a band of the Army's Grenadier Regiment.

The temple was decorated with more than 20 quintals of assorted flowers. At the time of opening of the doors of the shrine, flowers were also showered on pilgrims by a helicopter. The doors of Yamunotri dham located in Uttarkashi district were also opened for the devotees at 7 am. Thousands of devotees were present in the temple premises chanting 'Jai Maa Yamuna' as its doors opened.

The doors of Gangotri shrine will open in the afternoon and those of Badrinath on Sunday.

The operations of Air India Express slowly started improving on Friday as more cabin crew members are joining back for duty, after significant flight disruptions caused by cabin crew strike that has been called off.

The strike by a section of the cabin crew since Tuesday night that resulted in the cancellation of more than 170 flights was called off on Thursday evening and the airline also withdrew termination letters issued to 25 striking cabin crew. The Tata Group airline, which operates around 380 flights daily, has curtailed operations in the wake of the strike and the official on Friday said, normalcy is expected in the next two days. Cabin crew who were on strike are joining back and the airline is extending support to them in getting the fitness certificate, which is required to resume duty, the official added.

The official also said that most international flights are in the evening time and the operations on that front are expected to be better from Friday onwards with the availability of more cabin crew. On average, the airline operates 120 international flights and 260 domestic services daily while there are fewer flights on some days.

Faced with cabin crew shortage, Air India Express on Thursday cancelled 85 flights or around 23% of its total daily capacity. After the strike was called off on Thursday, the airline had said it will help to swiftly restore flight schedules and also apologised to passengers who were impacted by the flight disruptions.

Many cabin crew members had reported sick to protest against alleged mismanagement at the airline and lack of equality in treatment of staff.

Air India Express — which is in the process of completing the merger of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself — has around 6,000 employees, including over 2,000 cabin crew.

Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar courted controversy after in an interview clip, doing rounds on social media, he claimed that Pakistan is a respected nation with an atomic bomb and that India must enter into dialogue with them.

Aiyar also claimed that there have been no efforts from India to reach out to Pakistan in the last ten years.

He said, "They are also a sovereign country (Pakistan). They are a respected nation. You can talk tough with them (Pakistan). But start the dialogue. You are walking with a gun which yielded you nothing. Tensions are escalating." “They have an atom bomb. We also possess the atomic bomb. But if a mad person detonates our bomb at Lahore station, so within eight seconds, eight moments, its radioactivity will reach Amritsar,” he added.

"So you should prevent the use of atomic bombs. But, if you start a dialogue with them (Pakistan) and encourage them, then they should start thinking about their atomic bomb. But if you snub them, then a mad person will come and detonate the bomb. Then what will happen?" he asked. Aiyar also took a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that there has been no effort to reach out to Pakistan in the last ten years. He emphasised the importance of showing rapid progress in solving bilateral issues with Pakistan and that there has been no effort made by the government to do so.

Yesteryear actor Vyjayanthimala Bali, Telugu star Konidela Chiranjeevi, the first woman judge of the Supreme Court late M Fathima Beevi and ‘Bombay Samachar’ owner Hormusji N Cama were among the eminent persons conferred Padma awards by President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday.

BJP leader O Rajagopal, Ladakh’s spiritual leader Togdan Rinpochey, Tamil actor late ‘Captain’ Vijayakant (both posthumous), group editor and CEO of Gujarati newspaper ‘Janmabhoomi’ Kundan Vyas were also conferred Padma awards at a civil investiture ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. While 90-year-old Bali and Chiranjeevi were given Padma Vibhushan, Beevi, Cama, Rajagopal, Vijayakant, Rinpochey and Vyas were conferred Padma Bhushan.

Family members of Beevi, Vijayakant and Rinpochey received the awards.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.

The share of the Hindu population decreased by 7.82% between 1950 and 2015 in India, while that of Muslims increased by 43.15%, suggesting that there is a conducive environment in the country to foster diversity, said a recent working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

The paper titled 'Share of Religious Minorities: A Cross-Country Analysis (1950-2015)' further said the share of Jains in the population of India decreased from 0.45% in 1950 to 0.36% in 2015. "... The share of the majority Hindu population decreased by 7.82% between 1950 and 2015 (from 84.68% to 78.06%). The share of Muslim population in 1950 was 9.84 % and increased to 14.09% in 2015 — a 43.15% increase in their share," said the paper prepared by a team led by Shamika Ravi, member, EAC-PM.

According to the paper, the share of Christian population rose from 2.24% to 2.36% — an increase of 5.38% between 1950 and 2015.

While the share of Sikh population increased from 1.24% in 1950 to 1.85% in 2015 — a 6.58% rise in their share, the share of the Parsi population in India witnessed a stark 85% decline, reducing from 0.03% share in 1950 to 0.004% in 2015. The data indicates that "there is a conducive environment to foster diversity in the society," the paper said, adding that it is not possible to promote better life outcomes for the disadvantaged sections of society without providing a nurturing environment and societal support through a bottom-up approach.

The paper noted that a decrease in the share of the majority population and a consequent increase in the share of minorities suggests that the net result of all policy actions, political decisions and societal processes is to provide a conducive environment for increasing diversity in society. The report pointed out that in keeping with the global trends of declining majority, India too has witnessed a reduction in the share of the majority religious denomination by 7.82%.

"This is particularly remarkable given the wider context within the South Asian neighborhood where the share of the majority religious denomination has increased and minority populations have shrunk alarmingly across countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Afghanistan," the paper said. The paper said it is not surprising, therefore, minority populations from across the neighbourhood come to India during times of duress.

It pointed out that all the Muslim majority countries witnessed an increase in the share of the majority religious denomination except Maldives, where the share of the majority group (Shafi’i Sunnis) declined by 1.47 %.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday opposed in the Supreme Court the grant of interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.

In a fresh affidavit filed in the top court, the ED said no political leader has ever been granted interim bail for campaigning even if he is not contesting polls. “It is relevant to note that the right to campaign for an election is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right and not even a legal right,” the agency said. 

It added that to its knowledge, “no political leader has been granted interim bail for campaigning even though he is not the contesting candidate. Even a contesting candidate is not granted interim bail if he is in custody for his own campaigning”. On Wednesday, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who headed the Bench that heard Kejriwal's petition against his arrest in the case, said, “We will pronounce the interim order (on bail) on Friday. The main matter related to the challenge to arrest will also be taken up on the same day.”

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was arrested on March 21 and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody.

Trigger warning: Sexual abuse
One of the three Sandeshkhali women who filed rape complaints against Trinamool Congress members has now alleged a BJP member made her sign a blank paper and then wrote a false rape complaint in her name.

The woman has now alleged that the day a team of National Commission for Women visited, a woman who they later found was affiliated with the BJP called them to share their complaints.  "I told them that we had not received money as part of the 100 days' job scheme. I only wanted that money and had no other complaint. No rape happened. She made us sign on a blank sheet," the woman told NDTV, adding that she later came to know that she is on the list of women who alleged rape by local Trinamool leaders.

Now the woman had lodged a fresh complaint at Sandeshkhali police station and has cited threats and social ostracism because of her decision to withdraw the purportedly false charge of rape. 

“We are feeling unsafe, and I have sought police help,” she told Times of India.  The Mahila Morcha member in question denies the allegations. 

“Nobody forced her to file a complaint. She and other women themselves narrated their plight to National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma. The truth will come out if CCTV footage from inside the police station is released.”

Lt Col Prasad Purohit, an accused in the September 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, in his final statement submitted to the trial court in Mumbai has alleged that he was tortured by senior officials of the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) including its then chief Hemant Karkare during the investigation.

Purohit in a 23-page statement claimed that Karkare, then ATS joint commissioner Param Bir Singh and others tortured him and insisted that he also name senior right-wing leaders in the crime besides confessing to his own involvement. The trial is in its last stages, and the special court has been recording final statements of the accused under section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

On Tuesday, Purohit submitted his statement through his lawyer. The ATS concocted a false case to suit the political narrative of the then government, he alleged.

Notably, the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre then while in Maharashtra, there was a Congress-NCP government. He was detained by the ATS in October 2008 and taken to Khandala where he was questioned by Karkare, Param Bir Singh and other ATS officials, Purohit's statement claimed.

Six people were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

Trigger warning: Sexual abuse
Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Wednesday ruled out a CBI probe into the sexual abuse case against the Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna.

“The SIT is competent. I have said that we will get a proper investigation done,” the Home Minister said.

Parameshwara said that three people including JD(S) MLA H D Revanna and his aide Satish Babanna have been arrested in the case of abduction of a woman. However, the minister declined to reveal the name of the third accused, stating that it would affect the investigation. This comes even as JD(S) second-in-command HD Kumaraswamy mounted an attack on the government expressing doubts over the manner in which the investigation was carried out.

Alliance partners JD(S) and BJP demanded that the case, which is being investigated by the state government-constituted SIT, be handed over to the CBI. A magistrate court in Bengaluru remanded HD Revanna, in seven days of judicial custody on Wednesday until May 14.

Revanna was arrested in the alleged case of kidnapping a woman, based on a complaint by her son, who alleged that the MLA's son and MP Prajwal Revanna had sexually assaulted her. The woman was subsequently rescued, according to police.

Revanna’s bail petition before a sessions court has been posted for today.