India’s gross domestic product grew at 6.2% in the October-December quarter, down from the 9.5% growth rate in the year-ago period, according to the second advance estimates released by the National Statistics Office on Friday. In the July-September period, the Indian economy had slumped to a seven-quarter low of 5.4%.

Overall, the economy is pegged to grow at a four-year low of 6.5% in the financial year 2024-’25. The first advance estimates released in January had projected the GDP growth to fall to 6.4%.

The projections are lower than those by the Reserve Bank of India, which had pegged the country’s GDP to grow at 6.6% in the current fiscal year, stating that the economy was demonstrating “resilience and stability”. More on Scroll.

Why is India’s middle class so silent about the slowing economy?

The Supreme Court has refused to interfere with a 2022 Madras High Court order quashing a showcause notice issued to preacher Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation. The notice was issued in November 2021 for construction work carried out at the foundation’s Coimbatore campus without obtaining environmental clearance.

The bench directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board that no coercive steps be taken in regards to the construction of the Isha Yoga and Meditation Centre. However, it clarified that the order should not be considered a precedent for regularising illegal constructions.

In December 2022, the High Court stated that the foundation was exempted from seeking environmental clearance for construction activities because it came within the definition of an educational institution. Read on.

With Modi set to unveil 112-foot Shiva statue in Coimbatore, protests against Isha gather steam

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla extended the deadline till 4 pm on March 6 for the surrender of weapons looted from the state’s armouries during the ethnic conflict. Bhalla said that this was following demands by groups for more time. On February 20, he warned of strict action for possessing such arms after the deadline.

This came a day after armed Meitei group Arambai Tenggol surrendered 246 weapons before security forces in Imphal. Another 61 weapons were handed over to security forces at several locations across the state, taking the tally of such weapons to 307.

This was the largest set of illegally-held weapons surrendered in Manipur since the conflict began.
Since the conflict in Manipur began, about 6,000 weapons were looted from state armouries. More on Scroll.

The Supreme Court criticised the Chhattisgarh Police for invoking the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against a person accused in a murder case, days after he was granted interim protection from arrest. The bench granted the petitioner bail.

“The officer is aware that this court has protected him from arrest and then hurriedly the sections of UAPA are applied,” said a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan. “We see the game in this. This is the grossest impropriety committed by him. We would not hesitate to initiate criminal contempt against him.”

The police told the Supreme Court that there was evidence indicating Rathore’s involvement in Maoist activities. However, the bench pointed out that the state government was required to seek the court’s permission before taking action. Read on.

How the Supreme Court speaks in contradictory voices on bail

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