A look at the top headlines of the day:

  1. Issue of judicial vacancies will persist until procedure to appoint judges is changed, says law minister: The government has limited powers over appointments of judges, Kiren Rijiju told the Rajya Sabha.
  2. Nirav Modi’s plea to appeal against extradition in UK Supreme Court rejected: The fugitive businessman was arrested in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2019, and has been lodged in London’s Wandsworth jail ever since.
  3. ‘China gained a lot over time,’ says former Army chief on LAC status quo: In an interview to ANI, General Manoj Mukund Naravane said the Chinese army has taken ‘small incremental steps’ along the Line of Actual Control over decades.
  4. WHO drew premature link between deaths of children in Gambia and India-made cough syrups, says DCGI: Test reports have shown that the syrups were not contaminated with diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol, the drug regulator said.
  5. Supreme Court grants bail to convict in 2002 Godhra train burning case: The judges noted that Faruk has been in prison for 17 years.
  6. Direct evidence not necessary to convict public servants in corruption case, says Supreme Court: The court held that circumstantial evidence is sufficient.
  7. As seven journalists remain jailed, India continues to draw criticism over treatment of media, says Committee to Protect Journalists: In its annual report, the Committee to Protect Journalists said that across the world, a record number of 363 journalists were behind bars as of December 1.
  8. ‘If you consume spurious liquor, you’ll die,’ says CM as toll rises to 26 in Bihar hooch tragedy: The sale and consumption of alcohol has been banned in Bihar since April 2016.
  9. Social media often driven by ‘narrowness of view’, says Shah Rukh Khan: Meanwhile, addressing a film festival, actor Amitabh Bachchan said that even now, questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression.
  10. Acid used to attack teenager in Delhi was bought on Flipkart, say police: In 2013, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre and states to regulate the sale of acid to stop such attacks, especially against women.