Here are the top 5 news updates of June 18, 2021:
1. Delhi riots: Supreme Court says HC's judgement granting bail to 3 activists not be treated as precedent
Reading down of anti-terror law is an important issue and may have pan-India ramifications, the Supreme Court said today and sought responses from three student activists granted bail by the Delhi High Court in north-east Delhi riots case. The high court judgements will "not to be treated as precedent by any Court" to give similar reliefs, the apex court said while hearing Delhi Police appeal against the bail. A vacation bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian made it clear however that the bails granted to these student activists will not be affected for the time being.
2. Owner of Delhi's 'Baba ka Dhaba' attempts suicide, hospitalised
The owner of south Delhi's 'Baba ka Dhaba', Kanta Prasad, allegedly attempted suicide and has been admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital, police said today. Prasad, 81, attempted suicide on Thursday. The reason behind his extreme step is not yet known, they said. "On Thursday at 11.15 pm, information was received from the Safdarjung Hospital that Prasad was admitted there. Police reached the hospital and collected MLC (medico-legal case) which mentions the intake of alcohol and sleeping pills as the cause of unconsciousness," Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur said.
3. Supreme Court refuses to cancel or postpone PG final year medical exams
The Supreme Court today refused to direct the medical universities to cancel or postpone the final year Post Graduate exams on the ground that the examinee-doctors have been engaged in COVID-19 duty. A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and M R Shah said it cannot pass any general order to all the universities to not conduct or postpone the final year postgraduate medical examination. The top court noted that the National Medical Council (NMC) has already issued an advisory in April asking the universities in the country to take the COVID situation into consideration while announcing the dates for the final year examination.
4. IMA holds nationwide protest seeking central law to protect doctors against violence
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) today observed 'National Protest Day' demanding a central law to protect doctors against violence. The slogan of the protest is - 'Save the Saviour' and doctors and healthcare workers could be seen across the country with placards stating 'Stop violence against profession and professionals'. At the IMA office in Hyderabad, the staff and doctors protested wearing black badges. The doctors at All India Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi also took part in the protest. There have been incidents of violence in which doctors serving in COVID wards were beaten and brutally assaulted in Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
5. Sensex, Nifty end flat after choppy trade
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended on a flat note after a volatile session today amid a largely negative trend in global equities. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 21.12 points or 0.04 per cent higher at 52,344.45, while the broader NSE Nifty inched 8.05 points or 0.05 per cent lower to 15,683.35. ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 4 per cent, followed by NTPC, PowerGrid, M&M, Nestle India, SBI and HCL Tech. On the other hand, HUL, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers.