Morning Digest: Stay on bail should only be granted in rare cases: Supreme Court; Oli set to return to power in Nepal, and more

The Hindu’s Morning Digest on July 13, 2024, gives a select list of stories to start the day

The Supreme Court on July 12 said an inclination seen among higher courts to stall bail creates a real and present danger to the rights of personal liberty and due process. A Bench of Justices A.S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said the propensity to stay reasoned bail orders passed by trial courts was “shocking”.

A political drama triggered 10 days ago by the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) capped off with the ouster of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Friday. Prachanda, the chairman of the CPN (Maoist Centre), failed his vote of confidence, fifth in one and a half years since he was elected Prime Minister in December 2022, leading to the fall of his government. Of the 258 parliamentarians present in the 275-member Parliament, 63 voted in favour of Prachanda, while 194 voted against. One lawmaker abstained.

The recent centralisation of recruitment for tribal residential schools across the country, which introduced Hindi competency as a mandatory requirement, has resulted in a flood of requests for transfers. The large numbers of staff recruited from Hindi-speaking States are protesting postings to the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) located in southern States, where the language, food and culture is unfamiliar to them.

Amidst a strain over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow this week, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval spoke to U.S. NSA Jake Sullivan on Friday evening, where they agreed to “work closely” to further advance bilateral ties. They also discussed the upcoming Quad Foreign Ministers meeting to be held later this month, and a leaders’ summit that may possibly be held later this year.

The State of West Bengal has moved the Supreme Court against the Governor for sitting on eight crucial Bills without giving any reasons for the delay. The petition was mentioned before Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud by State counsel Astha Sharma for an early hearing.

The Supreme Court on July 12 held that the power to arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cannot be exercised on the “whims and fancies” of Directorate of Enforcement (ED) officers. The court wondered if the ED even had a consistent, uniform and ”one-rule-for-all” policy on when they should arrest people. It said the ED’s power to arrest must be based on objective and fair consideration of material against a person.

A delegation of bishops, representing the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Friday and urged him to ensure peace in Manipur. The bishops conveyed their apprehensions on the “rumours” that the reservation for Dalit tribals will be stopped and expressed concerns about the “increasing attacks” against Christians for alleged forced conversions. They also asked Mr. Modi to expedite the process for bringing Pope Francis to India and appreciated Mr. Modi’s continued efforts to invite the Pope to India.