Richa, Meghana, Asha shine bright as RCB score narrow two-run win over UPW in WPL
Bengaluru, Feb 24: Authoritative fifties by Richa Ghosh and S Meghana were well-supported by crafty leg-spinner Asha Sobhana as Royal Challengers Bangalore celebrated their first home WPL match with a fighting two-run win over UP Warriorz here on Saturday.
Richa (62, 37b, 12x4) and Meghana (53, 44b, 7x4, 1x6) pushed Royal Challengers to a par 157 for six on a slightly tacky pitch as they added 71 runs for the fourth wicket in 50 balls.
Grace Harris (38, 23b, 4x4, 2x6) and Shewta Sehrawat (31, 25b, 2x4, 1x6) milked 77 runs in 44 balls for the fourth wicket but UP could not survive a five-wicket haul by leg-spinner Asha Shobhana (5/22), ending up at 155 for seven.
The Warriorz were well on course for a win at 116 for three in the 15th over, but Shobhana's three-wicket burst in the 17th over changed the complexion of the game.
She jettisoned Harris, Sehrawat and Kiran Navgire in that over to break UP's hopes by a thin margin.
The Warriorz chase got off to a rather sedate start after losing skipper Alyssa Healy in the second over itself.
Left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux produced a ripper to get rid of Healy. The ball pitched around middle and off line, before straightening to clip the bails off past the tentative prod of the UP opener.
Vrinda Dinesh and Tahlia McGrath added 38 runs for the second wicket but they also consumed 7.4 overs for it, struggling to pull out big shots on a slow deck.
But Shobhana struck heavy blows in the 9th over, dismissing both Vrinda and McGrath.
Vrinda, who laboured to a 28-ball 18, tried to step down and hoick Shobhana but missed the ball as stumper Richa did the rest.
Shobhana ousted McGrath two balls later when the Aussie batter's attempt to slog sweep saw the ball rearranging her stumps.
Earlier, RCB batters hobbled to a total that proved just enough on the night.
The RCB were tottering at 54 for three in 7.5 overs after being asked to bat first.
Sensing the situation, Meghana and Richa took their time to settle into their partnership, but once they got their eyes in, the RCB pair did not look back.
Meghana, who was dropped on 20 and 22, made full use of those let-offs to play some stunning shots around the ground.
Her thumping loft over extra cover for a six off left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad was good enough to watch in loop.
She reached her fifty in 40 balls, and Richa, who hammered pacer Saima Thakor for 16 runs in the 14th over, reached her own mark soon off 31 balls with a four off Tahlia McGrath.
The partnership was broken when Gayakwad had Meghana stumped by Alyssa Healy.
But before that steady stand, RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine and Ellyse Perry struggled to come to terms with the sluggishness of the track, perishing in their attempt to force the pace.
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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.
