Mangaluru: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) marked Constitution Day on 26 November 2025 with a day-long programme organised by its Legal Department at the company’s Training Centre.

Hon’ble Justice N. K. Sudhindra Rao, retired Judge of the Karnataka High Court and Chairman of the Karnataka State Police Complaints Authority, Bengaluru, attended as Chief Guest. The event was presided over by Nandakumar V. Pillai, Director (Refinery). Senior officials, including Ganesh S. Bhat, IFS, CVO; several GGMs; officers; and employees, were present.

Welcoming the gathering, Krishna Hegde Miyar, GGM (HR), spoke about the core principles of the Constitution. The Preamble was read in Kannada, Hindi and English by Sathyanarayana H. C., GGM (TS); Deepak Prabhakar P., ED (Marketing & BD); and N. Anandha Kumar, ED (Refinery).

Al Rafeeq Moideen, CGM – Legal, traced the evolution of Constitution Day from its earlier observance as National Law Day in 1979 to its formal designation in 2015. In his remarks, Nandakumar V. Pillai described the Constitution as a living document shaped by global democratic practices and reiterated MRPL’s adherence to integrity, ethical conduct and public responsibility under its CSR framework.

Justice Sudhindra Rao, addressing the gathering, spoke on the Supreme Court’s role in safeguarding Fundamental Rights and noted that these rights gain relevance when citizens also uphold their Fundamental Duties. He said the social, secular and democratic character of the Constitution forms its basic structure, which cannot be amended. He discussed Articles 14, 19 and 21—often termed the Golden Triangle—and outlined the scope of constitutional writs, referring to landmark cases including A.K. Gopalan, Maneka Gandhi and ADM Jabalpur.

Two books compiled by the MRPL Legal team—An Overview of Arbitration Cases: Learnings from Past Experiences and Strategies for the Future and Gist of the Factories Act & Rules Regarding Safety Aspects and the Punishments Provided Thereunder—were released by Justice Rao.

Prizes were distributed to winners of quiz competitions held as part of the programme. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Praful Mohan, GM – Legal. The proceedings were compered by Ms. Kavitha.

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Prayagraj (UP) (PTI): A special POCSO court here on Saturday ordered the Jhunsi Police Station SHO to register an FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati to investigate allegations of sexual abuse of boys.

Last week, the court of Special Judge (POCSO Act) Vinod Kumar Chaurasia reserved its decision on an application filed by Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj and others under Section 173(4) of the BNS after examining the evidence and recording the statements of the victimised 'batooks', the boys, as they are called at the ashram, Vidya Math.

The petitioner had filed the application seeking direction for an FIR against Avimukteshwaranand under sections 69, 74, 75, 76, 79, and 109 (all related to sexual assault) of the BNS, as well as sections 3/5/9 and 17 of the POCSO Act.

The court accepted the petition and ordered the police to conduct an investigation.

"Now we will get justice," Ashutosh Brahmachari said.

"Starting today, we are organising a Sanatan Yatra from here to Vidya Math (Varanasi). We will demonstrate how children are sexually abused on the fifth floor of Vidya Math. There is ample evidence of child abuse there. We have presented all the evidence to the court and will also provide it to the police," he said.

Avimukteshwarananda has been in the headlines for his confrontation with the organisers of the Magh Mela in Prayagraj. He accused the administration he was prevented from bathing on Mauni Amavasya.