The Gujarat High Court denied providing interim protection to the disqualified MP from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday in connection with the Modi surname defamation case.

The High Court reserved its verdict on the plea seeking a stay on Gandhi’s conviction in the 2019 case and the final verdict will be announced after the summer vacation. The plea was heard by Justice Hemant Prachchhak of the High Court.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer argued that a maximum punishment of two years for a bailable, non-cognisable offence meant he could lose his Lok Sabha seat permanently and irreversibly.

His lawyer also argued that the alleged offence was non-serious in nature and did not involve moral turpitude.

On March 23, a Surat Court sentenced two years in jail to Rahul Gandhi and convicted him under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal defamation in the case filed by the BJP MLA, Purnesh Modi.

Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer moved to the sessions court with two applications on April 3— bail and a stay on conviction.

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Helicopter carrying Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar makes emergency landing after eagle hit, one injured

Karnataka’s Congress chief DK Shivakumar had a narrow escape on Tuesday after his helicopter made an emergency landing at the HAL airport. Reports said the helicopter suffered an eagle hit and the glass of the cockpit broke.

A few reports said Shivakumar’s cameraperson sustained minor injuries. The Congress leader was boarded with the pilot and a journalist from a Kannada news channel who was interviewing him inside the helicopter.

The Congress leader, DK Shivakumar was on his way to Mulbagal in Kolar district to be a part of a public meeting when the incident took place. The helicopter took off from Jakkur Airport in Bengaluru.

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On Tuesday, DK Shivakumar allegedly threatened police officers of the Yelahanka region. The Congress leader alleged that police officials in Yelanhanka are working on the orders of the BJP. He also said the Congress will punish them once they come to power.

Meanwhile, the Congress released its manifesto for the upcoming Karnataka Elections slated for May 10. In the manifesto, Sarva Janangada Shanthiya Thota, the party promised to pull down all anti-people laws passed by the BJP government in the state within a year of coming to power.

The Congress also guaranteed five schemes in its manifesto—Shakti Scheme, Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya, Yuva Nidhi, and Gruha Lakshmi.

Ahead of the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023, prominent leaders are campaigning around the state.

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The Indian Astronomical Observatory above Mount Saraswati was able to capture a very rare phenomenon that dazzled the skies in Ladakh, on the night of April 23, 2023.

As a powerful geomagnetic storm hit the Earth’s magnetic field, it created distinct auroras that were spotted and captured on camera by the observatory. Such auroras are generally seen at higher altitudes in the Arctic region, parts of Alaska, Norway, and other countries.

The storm was caused by a coronal mass ejection (CME). A CME is defined as a massive burst of plasma, hurling from the Sun, that hits Earth at a speed of several million kilometres per hour, therefore causing disturbances to its magnetic field. This event made the spotting of such cosmic fireworks possible in a region at such a low altitude.

The spectacle, that looked like the northern lights, was a sight to behold. A 360-degree camera set up at the IAO in Hanle, Ladakh captured this unprecedented phenomenon. The Indian Institute of Astrophysics, which handles the operations of the IAO telescope at 4,500 metres, released a time-lapse video of the cosmic fireworks observed over Changthang, Ladakh. 

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Watch the video of the aurora here:

Professor Wageesh Mishra, Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, stated that the aurora came to lower-than-usual latitudes overnight leading to rare sightings from Europe, China & Ladakh in India. He added that such a severe geomagnetic storm last occurred in 2015.

Astronomy enthusiasts and sky-gazers around the world were ecstatic to witness this explosion of beautiful colours over the course of the CME. A few aurora borealis sightings were also reported from as far south as France and Germany in Europe, due to this event. In North America, the northern lights were seen in latitudes as low as the US states of Colorado and New Mexico.

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