Daily bulletin: Supreme Court to decide on transfer of Ayodhya case to larger bench, give verdict on adultery law; day's top stories

SC verdict likely on plea seeking transfer of Ayodhya case to larger bench

The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce on Thursday its verdict on a batch of pleas by Muslim groups on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute seeking reconsideration by a larger bench, the observations made by it in a 1994 verdict that a mosque was not integral to namaaz. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer will pronounce the verdict, which had reserved it on 20 July. It was argued by the Muslim groups before a special bench of Chief Justice Misra and Justices Bhushan and Nazeer that the “sweeping” observation of the apex court in the verdict needed to be reconsidered by a five-judge bench as “it had and will have a bearing” on the Babri Masjid-Ram Temple land dispute case. [caption id=“attachment_5262741” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Supreme Court. AP[/caption] SC verdict on plea challenging adultery law today The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce its judgment on pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the penal law on adultery on Thursday. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Misra had earlier reserved its verdict after Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, appearing for the Centre, concluded her arguments. The hearing in the case by the bench, which also comprised Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, went on for six days and had commenced on 1 August. The Centre had favoured retention of penal law on adultery, saying that it is a public wrong which causes mental and physical injury to the spouse, children and the family. Rahul on two-day visit to Madhya Pradesh from Thursday Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will kick off his two-day visit to poll-bound Madhya Pradesh from Thursday after offering prayers at the famous Kamta Nath temple in Chitrakoot, a religious town closely associated with Lord Ram. This will be Gandhi’s second visit within a span of 10 days to the BJP-ruled state, where Assembly elections are due this year-end. The Congress president would address a meeting at Chitrakoot before leaving for Satna, where he is scheduled to address a public gathering. Later in the evening, the Congress chief will leave for Rewa, where he will hold a roadshow. SAARC foreign ministers meeting today The SAARC meeting, which will most likely include a lunch attended by the Foreign Ministers of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, is scheduled for 27 September. However, there are no plans so far for the possibility of a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in New York. Saina Nehwal in Korea Open pre-quarter finals  Saina Nehwal will play South Korea’s Kim Ga-eun in the pre-quarter-finals of the $600,000 Korea Open on Thursday. The former World No.1 Indian, who won a Commonwealth Games gold and a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2018, beat Korea’s Kim Hyo-min 21-12, 21-11 in a lop-sided opening round contest on Wednesday to enter the Round-of-16. Michael Kors to buy Versace for $2.1 billion Fashion designer Michael Kors is set to buy Italian fashion house Versace for $2.1 billion in a bid to challenge Europe’s conglomerates at a time of rapid consolidation in the global luxury market. Last year, Kors bought shoe designer Jimmy Choo for $1.2 billion. Kors, in a statement, said it was committed to investing in Versace’s growth, with a goal to increase its annual revenue from $850 million currently to over $2 billion over the next few years. Xiaomi Smart Home Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi will hold a big launch event in the city of Bengaluru today. Steering clear of its usual smartphone launches, Xiaomi is expected to announce new smart home devices that are part of its ‘Smart Living’ lineup. The devices are expected to go on sale ahead of the festival season. Going by the hints given out by the teasers, Xiaomi is expected to launch a new Mi Band 3 fitness band, a new air purifier called the Mi Air Purifier 2S, a home security camera and even a brand new Mi TV model. Also at the launch event, is a Mi 90 smart suitcase.