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A court in Haryana’s Sonepat sent Ashoka University Associate Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad to judicial custody for his remarks about the press briefings on Operation Sindoor. The police had sought seven more days of Mahmudabad’s custody, which the court rejected and set May 27 as the next date of hearing.

Mahmudabad was arrested on Sunday after two cases were filed against him for his social media posts highlighting the apparent irony of Hindutva commentators praising Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who had represented the Army during the media briefings about the Indian military operation. He suggested that they should also call for justice for victims of mob lynching and “others who are victims of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s hate mongering”.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear his petition against the arrest urgently. The plea will likely be heard on Wednesday. Read on.

Why Ashoka University professor’s arrest has no legal basis

Hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf Amendment Act, the Supreme Court said that a strong case must be made out to stay a law. There is a presumption that laws passed by a legislature are valid and constitutional until proven otherwise, said the bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih.

The Waqf Amendment Bill was cleared by Parliament on April 4, received presidential assent on April 5 and took effect on April 8. Among those who have challenged the constitutionality of the law are the Congress and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.

The Union government has opposed the petitions, arguing that the law does not violate the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution. The Supreme Court will continue hearing the petitions on Wednesday. Read on.

Fifty-seven percent of districts in India, housing 76% of the country’s population, are facing extreme heat risks, according to a new study published by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water. The states and Union Territories most prone to heat risk were Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, said the study.

It found that of the 734 districts it studied, about 70% had faced more than five additional “very warm nights” each summer between 2012 and 2022. “Very warm nights” refer to nights where the temperature stays unusually high, or warmer than what used to be normal 95% of the time in the past. Read on.

The southwest monsoon is likely to arrive in Kerala in the next four to five days, the India Meteorological Department said. If the monsoon arrives in Kerala as forecast, it would be the earliest onset since 2009.

The southwest monsoon season generally begins in June and starts to retreat by September. The India Meteorological Department declares the onset of the season when it hits Kerala. Read on.

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