Allahabad HC stays coercive action against over 2 dozen madrasas in Shravasti district
Lucknow (PTI): The Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a stay on any coercive action, including demolition, against more than two dozen madrasas in Shravasti district of Uttar Pradesh.
The Lucknow bench passed the interim order on petitions filed by Madrasa Moinul Islam Qasmiya Samiti and 26 other individual madrasas, all in Shravasti district.
Justice Jaspreet Singh also directed the state government to file its reply by July 3.
Last month, an "illegal" madrasa built on government land in Bhagwanpur Bhaisahi village of Shravasti was demolished and two more were sealed as part of an Uttar Pradesh government drive against illegal encroachments and unrecognised religious institutions in districts bordering Nepal.
Besides Shravasti, a special campaign was launched by the local administrations and police in Balrampur, Bahraich, Maharajganj and Lakhimpur Kheri.
The petitioner madrasas have challenged notices issued by the state, which allegedly sought to restrain them from imparting religious education.
Madrasa lawyers Nipendra Singh, Aviral Raj Singh, Ali Moid and Mohd Yasir argued that the impugned notices were never properly served on them and were issued without proper application of mind.
Opposing the plea, Standing Counsel Upendra Singh requested two weeks to obtain instructions in the matter. However, despite the court's previous order, he was unable to produce the relevant records.
"It is now equally well settled that where any notice in the nature of a show cause is issued, it must be issued with sufficient particularity so that the noticee can respond specifically and can know what charge is to be replied," the court said.
On May 14, the HC had issued a similar order on a petition related to another Shravasti madrasa Maktab Anwarul Uloom.
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Indian startup's 'Drishti' satellite launched aboard SpaceX rocket
New Delhi (PTI): Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.
In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, "GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence."
What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical," he added.
ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India's space journey.
In a post on X, the minister said, "The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building."
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
