Rain slows down Amarnath Yatra
Jammu, June 29 : Heavy rains slowed down the progress of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims as authorities allowed only a small batch of 856 yatris from here to move towards the valley on Friday to avoid overcrowding at the base camps.
Reports from the two base camps in Baltal and Pahalgam indicate that it has been raining all along the two treks leading to the Cave Shrine since early on Friday.
"No pilgrim was allowed to move towards the Cave Shrine because of rain and slippery conditions along the two treks," an official said.
"A third batch of 856 yatris left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas at 6.25 a.m. in an escorted convoy of 29 vehicles," police said.
The Jammu-Srinagar highway in the Ramban district that pilgrim convoys use to reach the valley was blocked on Thursday for several hours. Heavy rains on Friday again slowed down the traffic.
This year's Amarnath Yatra started on Thursday as 1,007 pilgrims prayed inside the cave shrine. Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N.Vohra also joined the 'Pratham Puja' at the holy cave.
The 60-day long Yatra will end on August 26 coinciding with Shravan Purnima festival.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
