Allahabad HC stays arrest of alleged Pakistani citizen teaching in school in UP's Bareilly
Prayagraj (PTI): The Allahabad High Court has stayed the arrest of an alleged Pakistani citizen, who is teaching in a primary school in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly since 2015.
The order was passed on Wednesday by a bench comprising justices Siddhartha Varma and Abdul Shahid on a writ petition filed by Shumaila Khan.
Khan sought quashing of an impugned FIR dated January 14 lodged against her. It was alleged that Khan is illegally residing in India and is employed as assistant teacher in Madhopur primary school in Bareilly's Fatehganj block on the basis of forged domicile certificate.
Appearing on behalf of Khan, it was submitted that against the cancellation of her domicile certificate, she has already preferred a writ petition wherein substantial hearing has already been taken place.
The court then observed, "We fix this case along with connected case being writ - C No. 5658 of 2025 (Ms. Shumaila Khan Alias Furqana vs. State of U.P. And 3 Others) and since the issue before the court would be with regard to the citizenship of the petitioner, we provide that till the next date of listing the petitioner shall not be arrested."
The court fixed October 7 as the next date of hearing.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
