K’taka Jain monk murder case: Details of brutality emerge

zeroed in on the accused persons and grilled them.

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the hearing for a group of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which removed the special status of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, will commence on August 2.

The hearing in the case began in December 2019 within four months of the Centre's notification regarding the repeal of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Although the judgment held that the issues raised in the pleas could be decided by a five-judge combination, the matter was not listed until now.

A five-judge bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, and Surya Kant stated that the matters would be heard consecutively starting from August 2, except for Mondays and Fridays.

The court was to issue directions on Tuesday to complete the necessary pre-hearing formalities.

Notably, the Centre had submitted an affidavit on Monday regarding

To which, Justice Kaul said that now the other side will file a rejoinder affidavit and the process will go on.

The Central government's fresh affidavit states that its decision to dilute Article 370 in 2019, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, has brought unprecedented development, progress, security, and stability to the region.

The Centre defended its action by highlighting that in the past three years, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, and other public institutions have been functioning without strikes or disturbances.

Meanwhile, Justice Kaul asked about the need for additional affidavits in the case, as the issue primarily revolves around the constitutionality of the decisions.

Solicitor General (SG) of India Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, stated that the latest affidavit merely reflects the current situation of the region and may not require a rejoinder.

CJI Chandrachud clarified that the Union's recent affidavit would not impact the merits of the constitutional matter at hand, stating that it does not pertain to the constitutional question.

Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for some of the petitioners, suggested disregarding the Union's affidavit.

The SG stated that the latest affidavit would not be relied upon to argue the constitutional issues, and the bench recorded this statement in the order.

The bench directed that all written submissions and compilations be filed by July 27.

On the other hand, Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran informed the bench that Shah Faesel and Shehla Rashid no longer wished to continue as petitioners and requested their names to be removed from the parties involved.

The bench then granted the request, amending the cause title.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan suggested changing the cause title to "In Re: Article 370 petitions," which the bench agreed to and issued an order accordingly.

However, Advocate M.L. Sharma objected to this change, claiming that he filed the first petition and was issued the initial notice. Nonetheless, the bench rejected his objection.

The petitions also contest theJ&K Reorganisation Act 2019, which divided J&K into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh. These petitions were scheduled for the first time since March 2, 2020, when another constitution bench ruled against the necessity of referring the matter to a sevenjudge bench.

Belagavi (Karnataka), July 11 (IANS) Horrific details are emerging from the investigation of Jain monk Acharya Shree 108th Kamakumara Nandi Maharaja murder case.

Police sources have said that the accused persons unleashed horror on the monk who ate food only once on that fateful day in the morning. Both the accused had first attempted to electrocute the monk and later, they strangulated him to death with a towel. His body was cut into pieces for disposal, police sources stated.

The FIR said that Kusuma, the devotee, who cooked food for the monk, observed that he was not there in his room on July 6. The suspicion grew more when they found divine tools called pinchi, kamandala, which the monk carried with him all the time, were in the room.

The trustees later found the monk's mobiles and the door of the treasury open. The missing complaint was lodged on July 8 at noon, when they could not find him. Within four hours of starting the probe, the Chikodi police

The accused, Narayan Maali and Hassan a.k.a Hassan Dalayat, confessed to the murder of the Jain monk. The accused, who gained entry into the monk's room, had first tried to electrocute him. After finding the monk still alive, the accused strangulated him to death with a towel. Both the accused had put all their effort in this horrific act. After killing him, the accused packed the body in a gunny bag and took it away on a bike. They travelled for about 35 kms on the bike with the body.

After reaching Khatakabhavi, the killers cut the body into pieces and disposed of it into an open borewell. They burnt their blood soaked clothes as well. The accused had also burnt a diary that belonged to the pontiff. Maali from Khatakabhavi village had a good rapport with the monk. After winning his confidence he took lakhs of rupees from the monk as loan. When he was asked to repay the loan by the pontiff, Maali hatched a plan with the help of his friend, Hassan Dalayat, a lorry driver, to finish off the monk.

The issue has taken a political turn with the BJP and Hindu activists alleging that the ruling Congress government is protecting the accused and hushing up the case. Hindu activists have suspected it to be an act of terrorism and demanded a CBI probe. However, the ruling Congress has so far refused to hand over the case to the CBI.

World’s biggest International Temples Convention and Expo to be held in Varanasi from July 22-24

ITCX aims to birth and nurture an ecosystem for networking, knowledge sharing, and peer learning that will pan out through expert seminars, workshops and master classes on various topics.

Kshetra Managements, Purohit Mahasangha of various pilgrim locations, and Pilgrimage Promotion Boards will participate in this meet.

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) The International Temples Convention and Expo (ITCX) will be held at the Rudraksha Convention Centre in Varanasi from July 22 to 24.

Developed by Temple Connect (India), it is the world's first event solely dedicated to the management of temples across the globe and will focus on nurturing and empowering the administration, management and operations of temple ecosystems.

Conceptualised by Giresh Kulkarni, Founder of Temple Connect (platform dedicated to the documentation, digitalisation and distribution of information related to temples of Indian origin), along with Prasad Lad (Chairman, International Temples Convention & Expo 2023 and Member Of Maharashtra Legislative Council), and Show Director & Co-Curator Meghaa

Ghosh -- this three-day event carves a space for free-flowing exchange of ideas, learning and invaluable insight among likeminded dignitaries who are at the helm of temple management, in order to establish, enable and promote best practices for temple management teams worldwide.

It is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, under the “Incredible India” initiative.

These include temple safety, security and surveillance, fund management, disaster management, sanitisation, and hygiene as well as optimal use of new-age technology like artificial intelligence (AI) for protection against cyberattacks and social media management to foster a strong and connected temple community.

The event will also touch upon subjects like crowd and queue management, solid waste management, and infrastructure enhancement under the umbrella of pilgrim experience.

The event is by invitation only and designed for temples and temple trusts of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism in its first season.

Representatives from Jain Dharamshalas, leading devotional charities, Associations in the Hindu Temples of the UK, ISKCON temples, Anna

Additionally, the convention serves as a platform to learn about diverse cultures, traditions, and arts and crafts of temples from around the world while also celebrating India's rich temple heritage.

Mohan Bhagwat (Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) will inaugurate the convention. Prominent attendees at the event will include temple trustees, members of temple boards and trusts, along with visionaries such as the Prince of Travancore (Padmanabhaswamy Temple), Rohan A. Khaunte (Minister for Tourism, Information Technology, Electronics and Communication, and Printing & Stationery, Goa), Dharma Reddy (Executive Officer -- Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams), among many others.

Key conversations around green energy, archaeological architecture, langar (community kitchen) management, illumination of lights for temples, etc., will also be addressed. The line-up includes Tirupathi Balaji Temple experts who will share knowledge on their flawless queue management system and charity/social organisations that clean and maintain ghats in Varanasi. Giresh Kulkarni will lead a session on temple economics and its expanded role in tourism that can boost the local economy and promote a destination.

Other talks and sessions on relevant topics will be held by delegates of Kashi Vishwanath Mandir, Mahakaal Jyotirling, Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Patna Saheb Gurudwara, Chidambaram Temple, and Virupaksha Temple, Hampi.

The event is also supported by the Antodaya Pratishthan that largely works in the space of CSR in the space of sustainability, hygiene, health and community service in a large way in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra.