The counsels for both the petitioners and the state government submitted their closing remarks before the single-judge Bench of Justice Amrita Sinha, who then reserved the judgment.
A vacation bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Manmohan granted the journalists two weeks to approach the Madhya Pradesh High Court for appropriate relief, while restraining the authorities from taking any coercive action during this period.
The Supreme Court on Friday declined an urgent hearing on a plea challenging the Bombay High Court’s June 3 order that permitted the slaughter of animals and birds for Eid-ul-Azha (June 7) and the Urs festival (June 8–12) at the Hazrat Peer Malik Rehan Dargah, located within the Vishalgad Fort in Kolhapur, Maharashtra—a protected monument.
“We are satisfied that the prayer for an extension of time to reschedule the exam on August 3, 2025, is bona fide… No further extension shall be granted,” the bench said in its order.
A vacation bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma said it could not pass protection orders without knowing the nature of the offence/charges against the petitioner journalists.
CJI Chandrachud said the issue, whether the powers under Article 239AA (7)(a) of the constitution could be invoked to make the law of the present nature, was not considered by the earlier two constitution benches in 2018 and 2023.
The top court directed Abdul Nazir Maudany to report to the nearest police station in Kollam once every 15 days.
The apex court said both the lieutenant governor and the chief minister are constitutional functionaries and have to rise above political bickering.
The letter levelling allegations against the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that there was an attempt to turn Kerala into a state where Hindus cannot live.
In March, the Magisterial Court had convicted Gandhi for his remarks on ‘Modi’ surname that he had made during a public gathering before the 2019 general election to the Lok Sabha.
