Rigged rankings, fake assessments – is your degree at risk? Fund our special project: India’s Great Education Betrayal

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday vowed a “loud and clear response” to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 persons and left 17 others injured on Tuesday. Singh chaired a high-level security review involving the Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, and the chiefs of the three defence chiefs.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the site of the attack in Pahalgam and met survivors.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khwaja Asif claimed that his country was not involved in the incident. Islamabad said that it was “concerned at the loss of tourists’ lives” in the attack.

Also on Wednesday, the Indian Army killed two militants who tried to infiltrate into India from across the Line of Control in Baramulla. Read on.

A Lucknow court dismissed a defamation complaint filed against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath for using an allegedly abusive term against Muslims during a speech in the Legislative Council in February.

The bench said that the comment made by Adityanath in the Upper House of the state Legislature cannot be challenged in a court because it was protected under Article 194 of the Constitution. The provision guarantees freedom of speech to legislators within the House.

The court said that as the complainant was not an aggrieved person in this matter, he could not maintain the case. It added that defamation complaints against high-ranking officials can only be filed following government sanction through a public prosecutor, which had not been complied with. Read on.

The Supreme Court has warned Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji that his bail in a money-laundering case could be cancelled if he does not resign from his post. A bench led by Justices Abhay S Oka and AG Masih gave Balaji until Monday to choose “between his minister post and liberty”.

The case stems from a cash-for-jobs scam during Balaji’s tenure as transport minister. The court noted that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader’s bail was granted due to delays in the trial, but his reappointment as minister raised concerns about potential witness intimidation. Balaji was reinstated as a minister in the state Cabinet on September 29, three days after he was granted bail.

The Enforcement Directorate argued that Balaji had stepped down earlier to obtain bail. The court questioned the message being sent by allowing a minister accused in a predicate offence to continue in office. Read on.

The Delhi High Court refused to expunge remarks by a single-judge bench about social media posts by Sweden-based professor of Indian origin Ashok Swain that it deemed to be objectionable. Justice Sachin Dutta had in March set aside an order by the Union government cancelling Swain’s Overseas Citizen of India status.

The judge had stated that even though Swain’s posts “undermine the constitutional apparatus and legitimacy of the Indian state”, he should be granted an opportunity to submit an explanation or take remedial steps.

Swain moved the High Court seeking to expunge Dutta’s remarks, arguing that the comments may be “used as a handle by the authorities” while reviewing his OCI card cancellation issue afresh.

The court said that Dutta had clarified that the remarks were not part of the findings of the case. “It is not even a tentative opinion,” the court said. Read on.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our Daily Brief newsletter.