THE WEEK Morning Brief: SC to begin Sabarimala case hearings

SC to begin Sabarimala case hearings

A nine-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is expected to commence on Monday hearings on a batch of pleas on the issue of allowing women of all ages to enter Kerala's Sabarimala temple. The bench will also hear other contentious issues of alleged discrimination against Muslim and Parsi women.

The nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde will hear a batch of 60 petitions. The other judges on the bench are Justices R. Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan, L. Nageswara Rao, M.M. Shantanagoudar, S.A. Nazeer, R. Subhash Reddy, B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant.

The nine-judge bench had been set up after a five-judge bench headed by then chief justice Ranjan Gogoi, by a 3:2 majority verdict, in November last year referred the matter to a larger bench while examining the review petition filed against the historic September 28, 2018, judgment, which had allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple.

Uddhav to hold meeting on Monday on Boisar factory blast

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has called a meeting on Monday to discuss the blast at a chemical factory in Palghar, which killed eight people, and whether such hazardous units should be allowed to run. The blast happened in the Boisar area of Palghar district on Saturday.

The blast at the Ank Pharma plant occurred during the testing of some chemicals. Seven people were also injured in the accident.

Sonia to lead meeting of opposition leaders

A host of opposition parties are expected to participate in a meeting convened by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to discuss a joint strategy on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NRC. The meeting is expected to be attended by leaders of the Left parties, DMK and NCP.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had declared last week she would not attend the meeting as he was upset at the Left and Congress for enforcing the Bharat bandh on January 8. Delhi Chief Minister, and AAP supremo, Arvind Kejriwal and BSP chief Mayawati could also give the meeting a miss.

Aligarh Muslim University to reopen

Aligarh Muslim University is scheduled to reopen on Monday, almost a month after it closed following an outbreak of protests against the Citizenship Act. The institution was originally scheduled to reopen on January 6, but this was postponed by a week as tension persisted on the campus.

AMU Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor has sought from the state authorities extra security for himself and his family before the university reopens on January 13, citing threats from "lumpen elements and outsiders".

Classes to restart at JNU

Regular classes are set to restart at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Monday, nearly two months after the academic schedule was disrupted as students protested against a planned hike in hostel fees.

The JNU administration has also extended to January 15 the deadline for registration for the winter semester. Initially, the last date of registration for the winter semester was January 5.

Protests continue in Iran

Media reports indicate that the Iranian government is cracking down on protests led by university students across the country against the accidental shooting down on a Ukrainian airliner last week in Tehran, that left 180 people dead. Protests were reported in Tehran, Shiraz, Esfahan, Hamedan and Orumiyeh, with people calling on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to resign.

Iran-US tension after rocket attack

The Iranian government indicated on Sunday it favoured de-escalation of tension with the US that spiked after US forces assassinated Iranian General Qassem Solemaini earlier this month.

Meanwhile, four Iraqi military officers were injured when rockets were fired at the Balad base on Sunday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the US had previously blamed Iranian-backed groups for such attacks.