Shimla: Himachal Pradesh election date announced. Voting will be held on the 12th of next month and the counting of votes will be held on December 8. The Election Commission will announce the date of the Gujarat election later. Widespread criticism is also being raised against the Election Commission’s action of not announcing the Gujarat elections along with Himachal.

The Election Commission has given an explanation that the elections in both states should be declared together, but keeping in mind the weather problems, the elections in Himachal were announced earlier. According to the announcement of the commission, polling will be held in one phase for all 68 seats in Himachal. The election notification will come out on the 17th of this month. Nomination papers can be submitted from the 25th. Scrutiny on 27th. Polling for all 68 seats will be held on the 12th of next month. The counting of votes is on December 8.

Voting will be conducted following the election code of conduct. Central Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar informed that there will be steps to increase the polling percentage. It has been amended so that names can be entered into the voter list only once a year. Henceforth, the name can be added to the electoral roll 4 times a year. The Election Commissioner also stated that the measures to make the election transparent will be tightened.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Central Meteorological Department has predicted widespread heavy rains in the state for the next five days. A yellow alert has been announced in six districts today because of heavy rains. Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Palakkad, and Malappuram districts are on yellow alert. 64.5 mm to 115.5 mm of rainfall is expected in 24 hours.

A yellow alert was also declared in Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts on Saturday. Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, and Palakkad districts are also warned of heavy rain on Sunday.

On Monday and Tuesday, a yellow alert is in place in all districts except Kannur and Kasaragod. The central meteorological department has issued a yellow alert in some districts, but due to the possibility of isolated heavy thundershowers in the hilly areas, caution similar to the orange alert should be observed in the hilly areas which have received heavy rains in the past few days.
The warning states that people in low-lying areas, riverbanks, and hilly areas prone to landslides should be extremely cautious as the rains continue in the areas that have received heavy rains in the past few days.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has acquitted Delhi University professor GN Saibaba, who was arrested for alleged Maoist links and sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court. A division bench comprising Justices Rohit Dev and Anil Pansare ordered Saibaba’s immediate release.

The High Court verdict allowed Prof. Saibaba’s appeal challenged the 2017 trial court order in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Saibaba, who is physically challenged, is currently in Nagpur Central Jail. The High Court allowed the appeals of the five accused along with Saibaba. One of them died during the appeal hearing.

New Delhi: Split verdict in the case of banning the hijab in educational institutions in Karnataka. The Supreme Court left the case to a larger bench. A petition challenging the High Court verdict upholding the ban was left to a wide bench.

This is in a situation where the bench that heard the case gave a different verdict both against and in favor. While Justice Hemant Gupta upheld the Karnataka High Court verdict, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia overruled the verdict. The two-judge bench delivered a split verdict in the case and sent it to a larger bench.

A bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhamshu Dhulia heard the case for ten days. Justice Hemant Gupta said in the judgment that the appeal was rejected. Justice Dhulia, in a specially prepared order, announced that the government order is canceled.

The High Court upheld the government order, judging that hijab is not an essential religious ritual in Islam. The High Court pointed out that the government has the authority to impose uniforms in educational institutions and it cannot be seen as a violation of the fundamental rights of students.

The petitioners argued that the government order violated Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution. The government has the power to intervene only when religious practices become a law and order problem. The petitioners argued that it is the government’s responsibility to create conditions for the exercise of fundamental rights. The petitioners said that the government’s answer is discrimination based on religion and gender.

The Karnataka government argued that the order did not target any religion and was secular. Girls did not wear hijab to college until 2021. During the argument, the government also informed that children started wearing hijab en masse due to the campaign conducted by Popular Front on social media.