The Supreme Court dismissed a petition by Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan challenging the rejection of her candidature for the Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh. Stating that it was not commenting on the merits of the case, the bench allowed her to file an election petition, which must be moved in the High Court.

Natarajan was the Congress’ sole candidate for the June 18 Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh. Her nomination was rejected after the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that she had withheld information in her affidavit about a criminal case against her in Telangana.

Her lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the court that she had only received a notice from a magistrate and the court in Telangana had not yet taken cognisance of the matter. This means that she was not required to disclose the matter in her nomination papers, he added. Read on.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that it had summoned the United States’ chargé d’affaires Jason Meeks for the second consecutive day to register its protest against the continued US strikes on ships with Indian crew members in West Asia. New Delhi said that it had “once again conveyed its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping”.

Meeks had also been summoned on Thursday by the ministry to register a protest against Wednesday’s strike on a commercial tanker off the coast of Oman in which three Indians were killed. Read on.

A first information report was registered against West Bengal’s former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with remarks that she made during a speech ahead of the Assembly elections. The complaint, filed on May 20, alleged that the Trinamool Congress had said in March that if “a particular community united, it could have dire consequences for others”.

She has been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections pertaining to acts that promote enmity, hatred or disharmony between groups on the basis of religion, race, language or caste, as well as provisions dealing with criminal intimidation and intentional insults. Read on.

The Bombay High Court sought the National Investigation Agency’s response to a petition by activist-poet Varavara Rao seeking permission to permanently relocate from Mumbai to Hyderabad. Rao is out on bail in the Bhima Koregaon case.

In his petition, he said that living in Mumbai had become difficult because of his age, health complications and increasing living expenses. The 85-year-old told the court that he and his 76-year-old wife require the support of family members in Hyderabad, where he owns a house and has relatives. Read on.

Bail for Bhima Koregaon accused highlights extraordinary delay in trial, writes Vineet Bhalla

Jaspal Rana, one of India’s most accomplished pistol shooters and a coach, died on Friday. He was 49.

Rana was India’s most successful Commonwealth Games athlete, having won 15 medals in four editions of the event. This includes nine gold medals, four silver and two bronze.

Rana passed away after suffering complications related to a heart condition. He had fallen ill during the Indian contingent’s return flight from the shooting World Cup in Munich, Germany, which took place at the end of May. Read on.

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