Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde resigned as Maharashtra’s agriculture minister on Tuesday after his aide Walmik Karad was named as an accused person in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.

Munde cited health reasons but said he was pained by photos that were circulated widely online on Monday showing Deshmukh being assaulted. The photos were part of the chargesheet in the murder case. “It has been my firm demand since day one that the accused… should be given the strictest punishment,” he said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accepted Munde’s resignation, while Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said Munde stepped down on moral grounds. The Opposition had been demanding his removal. Deshmukh was abducted and killed in Beed district in December. Karad, a former Nationalist Congress Party Corporator, surrendered last year, claiming he was framed. Read on.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has criticised remarks about the Maha Kumbh Mela made in a programme aired by Asianet News, a Malayalam TV channel in which he holds a stake.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Chandrasekhar claimed that several Malayalees had told him they were hurt by the programme. “They felt the programme was ridiculing the Kumbh Mela,” he wrote, directing the channel’s leadership to avoid “careless, sarcastic remarks” about the religious pilgrimage.

The controversy stems from an episode of the weekly news show Cover Story, which aired on March 1, which commented on the increasing number of Kerala residents attending the Kumbh Mela. State BJP president K Surendran also criticised the show, describing the Malayalam press as “first class urban naxals, for whose support there is jihadi money”. Read on.

Mumbai Police have registered a first information report against Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi for allegedly praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Azmi had said on Monday that he did not consider Aurangzeb a cruel ruler, claiming, “Wrong history is being shown.”

Following criticism, he retracted his remarks, saying they had been distorted and not meant to offend. Shiv Sena MP Naresh Ganpat filed a complaint alleging Azmi’s comments hurt Hindu sentiments. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde sought that a sedition case be brought against Azmi.

The FIR was registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to outraging religious feelings, insulting religious beliefs and defamation. Mahayuti alliance leaders protested against Azmi outside the Assembly on Tuesday. Read on.

The Delhi High Court has stayed the suspension of several Jamia Millia Islamia students who were penalised for allegedly protesting on campus without permission. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma directed the formation of a committee, under the university vice chancellor, to “calm down” the situation.

Seventeen students were suspended in February for protesting disciplinary action against two PhD scholars who had marked the fifth anniversary of violence on campus during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act movement.

The court on Tuesday observed that the students’ protest was peaceful and that participation in peaceful protests inculcates the “basic principles and norms of civil society”.

More students are expected to challenge their suspension. Protesters have demanded the repeal of campus restrictions, including fines for graffiti, and assurances against disciplinary action for demonstrations. Read on.

The Bombay High Court has stayed a Mumbai court’s order directing the registration of a first information report against former Securities and Exchange Board of India chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five others over alleged stock market fraud.

Justice Shivkumar Dige said the order by a special Anti-Corruption Bureau court was passed “mechanically” without examining details or giving the officials a chance to respond. The special court had directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau to register an FIR on a complaint by Dombivli resident Sapan Shrivastava, who alleged regulatory lapses in the listing of a company named Cals Refineries Limited on the BSE.

Shrivastava said he had purchased shares of the company and suffered huge losses, adding that SEBI and BSE failed to protect the interests of investors by neglecting the firm’s crimes and listing it against the law. His complaint named SEBI officials and BSE executives, claiming they facilitated corporate fraud. Read on.

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