Indian envoy to Pak: Trial in Samjhauta Express case carried out in 'transparent' manner
New Delhi, Mar 20: The Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad on Thursday clearly conveyed to Pakistan that the trial into the 2007 Samjhauta Express terror case was carried out in a "transparent" manner, official sources said here.
The Indian High Commissioner was summoned by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry to lodge a strong protest against the acquittal of all four accused, including Swami Aseemanand, in the case.
Sixty-eight people, mostly Pakistanis, were killed in the attack.
The sources said the Indian envoy highlighted that the due process of law was followed by the Indian courts and judicial system in a transparent manner.
He also called out the lack of cooperation from Pakistan, including in serving court summons to Pakistani witnesses in the case, the sources said, adding the summons were returned by Pakistan foreign office.
A special court in Panchkula in Haryana acquitted Aseemanand and three others in the Samjhauta Express case.
The verdict came after NIA special judge Jagdeep Singh dismissed the plea filed by a Pakistani woman for examining eyewitnesses from her country, saying it was "devoid of any merit".
The Indian envoy also asked for expeditious trial in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case in which detailed evidence has been given to Pakistan, they said.
He expressed disappointment that progress in these trials is held up and the perpetrators and prime accused continue to roam freely in Pakistan, the sources said.
The envoy shared India's concerns at the lack of progress in investigations in the Pathankot terror attack even when a visit by a Pakistani team to India was arranged and detailed evidence in the case were shared, the sources said.
They said it was also pointed out that Pakistan is yet to take credible and irreversible steps against JeM and other terror entities as well as individuals, despite a detailed dossier being shared with Islamabad after the Pulwama attack.
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Madras HC strikes down TN order limiting maternity leave for third child
Chennai: The Madras High Court has set aside a Tamil Nadu government order restricting maternity leave for a third pregnancy to 12 weeks, holding the move to be contrary to established legal principles.
A division bench comprising Justices R Suresh Kumar and N Senthil Kumar ruled that there was no justification to treat third pregnancies differently from the first two, observing that the physical and medical requirements of childbirth remain the same irrespective of the number of pregnancies, as reported by The News Minute.
According to a report published by Live Law, the court was hearing a petition filed by Shayee Nisha, a staff member of the district judiciary in Villupuram, whose request for maternity leave from February 2026 to February 2027 had been curtailed to three months by authorities citing the March 13, 2026 government order.
Quashing the decision of the Principal District Judge and related directions asking her to resume duty, the bench directed that she be granted maternity leave on par with that provided for earlier pregnancies, allowing up to 365 days.
The court noted that both the Supreme Court of India and earlier rulings of the High Court had consistently held that maternity benefits cannot be denied for a third child. Holding the restriction to be unsustainable, the court directed authorities to process maternity leave applications without discrimination based on the number of pregnancies.
It also pointed out that a similar issue had been addressed by a division bench earlier this year, which had disapproved denial of maternity leave in such cases and directed that its ruling be circulated among judicial officers. Despite this, the state issued the impugned order, the bench observed.
