PM to visit Karnataka on March 25, to address mega rally at Davangere
Bengaluru, Mar 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a visit to poll-bound Karnataka on Saturday his seventh this year during which he will take part in various official events and address a mega public meet organised by the BJP.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule for Assembly elections, due by May, in the next few days.
Modi will inaugurate 'Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research' at Chikkaballapur, and later he will inaugurate Whitefield (Kadugodi) to Krishnarajapura Metro Line of Bangalore Metro and also undertake a ride in the train.
He will then proceed to the district headquarters town of Davangere and address a public meeting, to mark the culmination of BJP's 'Vijay Sankapla Yatre'.
According to BJP sources, this is said to be the first party meeting which the PM will be attending, since the poll preparations began in Karnataka.
A total of 10 lakh people are expected to participate in the rally, Davangere BJP MP G M Siddeshwar said and added that about three lakh people will participate from Davangere district alone.
Davangere is already dotted with saffron hues and the pandal has been erected in 400 acres of land next to GMIT College.
BJP State General Secretary Mahesh Tenginakai claimed that the four 'Vijaya Sankalpa Yatres', which began from four different directions across the state, in specially designed vehicles or "Rathas", have been successful.
He said, a total of 5,600 kms were covered by the Yatre, in which millions of people attended. "We have reached 224 constituencies."
According to a party release, for the rally, a large-scale catering arrangement has been made and 400 counters will be opened. He said a thousand cooks have been assigned, and 44 places have been identified for parking.
Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah's 75th birthday bash was also held at Davangere, which is in the central part of the state, in August last year, which was attended by a large crowd.
Following that large scale event, pressure has been mounting on the BJP by its local leaders to organise an even bigger public meet in the region, ahead of Assembly polls, according to sources.
The Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SMSIMSR), which will be inaugurated by the PM on Saturday, has been established by Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence at Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli, Chikkaballapur.
Situated in a rural area and established with a vision of de-commercialising medical education and healthcare, SMSIMSR will provide medical education and quality medical care - completely free of cost - to all. The institute will start functioning from the academic year 2023, an official release said.
The 13.71 km stretch from Whitefield (Kadugodi) Metro to Krishnarajapura Metro Line of Reach-1 extension project under Bangalore Metro Phase 2, will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister at Whitefield (Kadugodi) Metro Station.
Built at a cost of around Rs 4250 crores is expected to enhance ease of mobility and reduce traffic congestion in the city, the release said.
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SC dismisses pleas seeking review of 2023 verdict declining legal sanction to same-sex marriage
New Delhi, Jan 9: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a batch of pleas seeking to review its October 2023 verdict declining legal sanction to same-sex marriage.
A five-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, B V Nagarathna, P S Narasimha and Dipankar Datta took up about 13 petitions related to the matter in chambers and dismissed them.
"We do not find any error apparent on the face of the record. We further find that the view expressed in both the judgements is in accordance with law and as such, no interference is warranted. Accordingly, the review petitions are dismissed," the bench said.
It said the judges have carefully gone through the judgements delivered by Justice (since retired) S Ravindra Bhat speaking for himself and for Justice (since retired) Hima Kohli as well as the concurring opinion expressed by Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, constituting the majority view.
The bench also rejected a prayer made in the review petitions for hearing in an open court.
According to practice, the review pleas are considered in chambers by the judges.
The new bench was constituted after Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the present CJI, recused from hearing the review petitions on July 10, 2024.
Notably, Justice P S Narasimha is the only member of the original Constitution bench comprising five judges which delivered the verdict, as former CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices S K Kaul, Ravindra Bhat and Hima Kohli have retired.
A five-judge Constitution bench led by then CJI Chandrachud on October 17, 2024, refused to accord legal backing to same-sex marriages and held there was "no unqualified right" to marriage with the exception of those recognised by law.
The apex court, however, made a strong pitch for the rights of LGBTQIA++ persons so that they didn't face discrimination in accessing goods and services available to others, safe houses known as "garima greh" in all districts for shelter to members of the community facing harassment and violence, and dedicated hotlines in case of trouble.
In its judgement, the bench held transpersons in heterosexual relationships had the freedom and entitlement to marry under the existing statutory provisions.
It said an entitlement to legal recognition of the right to union, akin to marriage or civil union, or conferring legal status to the relationship could be only done through an "enacted law".
The five-judge Constitution bench delivered four separate verdicts on a batch of 21 petitions seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriages.
All five judges were unanimous in refusing the legal recognition to same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act and observed it was within Parliament's ambit to change the law for validating such a union.
While former CJI Chandrachud wrote a separate 247-page verdict, Justice Kaul penned a 17-page judgement where he broadly agreed with the former's views.
Justice Bhat, who authored an 89-page judgement for himself and Justice Kohli, disagreed with certain conclusions arrived at by the former CJI, including on applicability of adoption rules for such couples.
Justice Narasimha in his 13-page verdict was in complete agreement with the reasoning and conclusion of Justice Bhat.
The judges were unanimous in holding that queerness was a natural phenomenon and not an "urban or elite" notion.
In his judgement, the former CJI recorded Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's assurance of forming a committee chaired by the cabinet secretary to define and elucidate the scope of entitlements of such couples in a union.
The LGBTQIA++ rights activists, who won a major legal battle in 2018 in the Supreme Court, which decriminalised consensual gay sex, moved the apex court seeking validation of same-sex marriages and consequential reliefs such as rights to adoption, enrolment as parents in schools, opening of bank accounts and availing succession and insurance benefits.
Some of the petitioners sought the apex court to use its plenary power besides the "prestige and moral authority" to push the society to acknowledge such a union and ensure LGBTQIA++ persons led a "dignified" life like heterosexuals.
