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PM Modi in Bangladesh to attend National Day celebrations; Bharat Bandh call by farmers’ unions against farm laws; SC to hear Gautam Navlakha’s bail plea in Bhima Koregaon case; South Korea-India defence ministers meet; India vs England, 2nd ODI, Pune

The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed an FIR registered against journalist Patricia Mukhim, the editor of Shillong Times, over a Facebook post calling out inaction in a case of mob violence last year, saying disapproval of the government cannot be branded as an attempt to promote hatred between different communities.

• “The fervent plea made by the appellant for protection of non-tribals living in the State of Meghalaya and for their equality cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be categorised as hate speech. It was a call for justice ... for action, according to law, which every citizen has a right to expect and articulate," the court said.

Background: Last year, Mukhim in a Facebook post had demanded legal action against a mob who allegedly assaulted six non-tribal youths in Lawsohtun, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. Soon after the police registered a case against her for allegedly promoting enmity and inciting violence (Sections 153A and 505(1)(c) of the IPC). The Meghalaya High Court last year rejected Mukhim's plea to quash the FIR.

• Mukhim had resigned from the Editor's Guild over its "complete silence" on the case. In her resignation letter, she said the Guild only defended "celebrity anchors". The Guild had issued a statement in support of Arnab Goswami after Maharashtra Police registered a case against him for abetment to suicide.

The Supreme Court of India on Thursday said it is examining a never-used constitutional provision to recall retired High Court judges to preside over long-pending cases, and questioned the central government why it hasn't yet decided on the judicial appointments recommended by the collegium for over a year.

• Against a total sanctioned strength of 1,080 judges in 25 High Courts, there were only 661 judges as of March 1.
• The centre has not acted on the 10 names recommended by the Supreme Court collegium for appointment as HC judges for periods ranging from 7-19 months. The centre has also not forwarded to the SC collegium the 45 names recommended by High Court for a period ranging from 6-14 months.

Solution? The SC bench comprising CJI SA Bobde and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Surya Kant Thursday sought responses from High Courts on framing standard operating procedures to recall retired HC judges under Article 224A of the Constitution. It said the exercise would be completed by April 8, the next date of hearing.

• Article 224A states: "The chief justice of an HC for any state may at any time, with the previous consent of the President, request any person who has held the office of judge of that court or of any other high court to sit and act as a judge of the high court for that state."
• The bench said the retired judges would be given a specific tenure to adjudicate old cases. This would not upset the hierarchy in courts as they would be regarded as the junior-most.
• India has previously recalled retired Supreme Court judges under Article 128 of the Constitution, but none after 1975. No retired HC judge has ever been recalled.

North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles into the East Sea, outside Japanese waters, on Thursday, Tokyo said, an escalation that observers say is directed at the United States. North Korea is barred from developing nuclear and ballistic missiles by the United Nations Security Council Resolutions

• South Korea said the two projectiles were short-range ballistic missiles, and expressed “deep concern”.
• Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the missiles threaten “the peace and security of Japan and the region and is a violation of UN resolutions".
• The US Indo-Pacific Command said it is continuing to "monitor the situation".

Context: It comes a day after US President Joe Biden downplayed the threat of a short-range cruise missile system that North Korea tested last week; it was "business as usual", he had said.

• Observers say North Korea may be projecting a position of power before the Biden administration crystallises its North Korean strategy.
• North Korea's last long-range missile test was in 2017. It triggered hectic diplomatic activities that led to the historic meeting between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump in 2018. Those talks — they met twice — achieved less than they promised.

Deepak Kochhar. The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to the businessman in the alleged ICICI Bank-Videocon money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate.