Top news of the day: Supreme Court refuses to postpone medical admissions counselling; India criticises Canadian parliament observing silence in memory of Nijjar

Top news updates from The Hindu on June 21, 2024

The Supreme Court on June 21 asked the National Testing Agency (NTA) to respond to pleas for conducting a fresh National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2024 after allegations of question paper leaks and other irregularities have dented the sanctity of the national-level exams for undergraduate medical admissions which saw 24 lakh aspirants appear across the country. A Vacation Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and S.V. Bhatti, however, refused to postpone or stay the counselling process scheduled to begin from July 6.

India on June 21 was critical of the Canadian parliament observing “one minute silence” in the memory of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. “We naturally oppose any moves giving political space to extremism and advocacy of violence,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

The Delhi High Court on June 21 paused the trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as it reserved its judgement on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea challenging the bail order. “Till pronouncement, the operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed,” the High Court said. A Vacation Bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain said it will pronounce order on ED’s plea for stay on Mr. Kejriwal’s bail within two or three days.

The Supreme Court on June 21 granted interim bail for two weeks to activist Mahesh Raut, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, for attending the rituals following the death of his grandmother.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, on June 21 said the State government would meet the educational expenses and hostel fees of all children, who have lost either one or both of their parents to the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, until they graduated. Responding to a calling attention motion in the Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister said besides the ₹10 lakh solatium that has already been announced, the government would offer ₹5,000 per month to children who have been orphaned.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 21 said the world sees yoga as a powerful agent for global good as it helps people live in the present without carrying the baggage of the past. Addressing a gathering at the 10th International Yoga Day event at the SKICC in Srinagar, the Prime Minister said yoga has helped people realise that their welfare is linked to the welfare of the world around them.

As many as 98 Indians have died during the annual Muslim pilgrimage of haj to Mecca, the Ministry of External Affairs said on June 21. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the total number of deaths of Indians in the entire haj period in 2023 was 187.