Supreme Court (Photo: Wikipedia)

A five-judge Constitution bench comprising chief justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and justices SK Kaul, Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha is hearing the pleas

Gay, LGBTQ

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and Attorney General R Venkataramani on two pleas by gay couples seeking a direction that their marriage be recognised under the special marriage law.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli heard the brief submissions of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi before issuing the notices on the pleas.
Issue notice returnable in four weeks. Liberty to serve the central agency. Notice be also issued to the Attorney General for India, the bench said.
The pleas sought direction seeking recognition of the marriage of two gay couples under the the Special Marriage Act.
One plea was filed by gay couple Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dang who live in Hyderabad.
The second plea was filed by gay couple Parth Phiroze Mehrotra and Uday Raj.
They seek a direction that the right to marry a person of one's choice be extended to persons belonging to LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and Queer).
The plea sa

Singapore's decision to decriminalise sex between men is being hailed as a step in the right direction for LGBTQ rights in the Asia-Pacific region, a vast area of nearly 5 billion people with different laws and attitudes.
Although many places have decriminalised sexual acts between people of the same sex, only a few allow same-sex marriage, partnerships or unions.
Singapore tempered its decision by saying it will amend its constitution to prevent such unions from ever taking place.
Many of the region's bans on sex between men were instituted under British colonial rule in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the laws describe such acts as violations against the order of nature.
Here are some details on the situation in the Asia-Pacific region:
AUSTRALIA
All states and territories repealed gay sex bans between 1975 and 1997, while Parliament legalised same-sex marriage throughout the country in 2017. The age of consent became equal for all sexual acts as of 2016.
People convicted for

The Singaporean government is set to repeal a colonial-era law that criminalises consensual sex between men, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said

tim cook

Walt Disney Co's Bob Chapek is another chief executive to voice his disappointment about the gender identity discussion legislation.

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui

A new subgenre has emerged in Hindi cinema and has received flowers and brickbats

LGBTQ

A plea came up before the Delhi High Court on Friday seeking that same sex marriage not be permitted under the Hindu Marriage Act

Saurabh Kirpal

The senior advocate moved a significant step towards becoming a Delhi High Court judge with the collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, recommending his name

N V Ramana, Chief Justice of India-designate, CJI

Ramana is a first-generation lawyer in his family. He became a lawyer in 1983 and a judge in the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2000

Parmesh Shahani

Shahani dreams of an India where being queer is a non-issue, says Chintan Girish Modi

LGBT, gay rights, same sex marriage

The Centre on Monday told the Delhi High Court that marriage between same sex couples was "not permissible" as it is not recognised by "our laws, legal system, society and our values"

chart

Three Indian mental health associations issued separate statements last month pointing to the dangers of 
'conversion therapy' for LGBTQIA+ people, two years after same-sex relations were decriminalis

Wendell Rodricks,

A Padma Shri awardee, Rodricks was also an author, environmentalist and gay rights activist

SC to decide Centre's stand on Section 377: Sadananda Gowda

On Feb 3, apex court had referred petitions against the Section to a Constitution Bench for a possible back-to-roots, in-depth hearing

India is very different from the US but gay rights and the trajectory of gay lives are known to follow similar arcs in different countries

Air India on Friday said it has completed the acquisition of its first A350-900 aircraft by way of a finance lease transaction with HSBC through the GIFT City.
This is also the first wide body aircraft to be leased through the GIFT City, the country's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
In a release, the airline said the transaction was facilitated by its wholly-owned subsidiary AI Fleet Services Ltd (AIFS) and is also the first financing transaction from the orders for 470 aircraft that were made earlier this year.
Tata Group-owned Air India, which has embarked on an ambitious transformation plan, expects the first A350-900 aircraft to arrive in India by the end of this year.
According to the release, the airline has successfully acquired India's first Airbus A350-900 aircraft through a finance lease transaction with HSBC.
"This landmark transaction marks the beginning of our aircraft leasing business from GIFT IFSC, as AIFS will be the primary Air India Group .

Air India

The six units being planned to be listed are Vedanta Aluminium, Vedanta Oil & Gas, Vedanta Power, Vedanta Steel and Ferrous Materials, Vedanta Base Metals and Vedanta Limited

Vedanta

The counter that hit a 52-week low of Rs 42.39 on August 29, 2023, traded at a record low of Rs 37.96 in March 2009. It had hit a record high of Rs 581.24 in December 2007

Real estate

Shares of GMDC hit a record high of Rs 323.70 as they rallied 14%, surpassing its previous high of Rs 316.18 touched on November 12, 2007

Lignite

1 out of every 25 shares from the Nifty 500 index has more-than-doubled investors wealth in 2023 so  far, with Apar Industries, Mazagon Dock and JBM Auto as the top movers.

Wealth-Manager

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said efforts are on in Manipur by the state and the central governments to find a way by which a sense of normalcy returns and there is adequate law-and-order enforcement.
"...I think one part of the problem in Manipur has been the destabilising impact of migrants who have come," he said Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations in response to a question on the situation in the northeastern state in India.
"But there are also tensions which obviously have a long history which precede that. And today, I think the effort is on the part of the state government and the Union government to find a way by which a sense of normalcy returns, that arms which were seized during that period are recovered, that there is an adequate law-and-order enforcement out there so that incidents of violence don't happen," the minister said.
Earlier this month, a group of United Nations experts said they are "appalled" by reports and images of violence in Manipur

S Jaishankar, EAM S Jaishankar

Relations between India and China have been in an "abnormal state" since the 2020 Galwan clash and it is a "possibly longer than medium-term issue", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said here.
If the two biggest countries of the world have that degree of tension between them, "it has consequences for everybody else", he asserted during a conversation at the Council on Foreign Relations to a question about India-China relations.
"You know, one of the pleasures of dealing with China is that they never quite tell you why they do things. So you often end up trying to figure it out. And it's always, there's certain ambiguity out there," Jaishankar said.
"It is very hard to try to be normal with a country which has broken agreements and which has done what it has done. So if you look at the last three years, it's a very abnormal state," the minister added.
"Contacts have been disrupted, visits are not taking place. We have of course this high level of military tension. It has also 

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar

The company's revenue from operations in FY23, Agarwal added, stood at approximately Rs 5,463 crore in FY23 up from Rs 4,781 crore in FY22, marking a 14 per cent increase

"The real estate sector will continue to be under mounting pressure" despite recent government efforts to support property, said analysts at Poseidon Partner

China, China economy, Economy

The company, part of the conglomerate backed by billionaire Gautam Adani, said it would fund the purchase from its cash reserves, according to a statement on Wednesday

Adani Ports

The century-old Roshanara Club in Delhi - the cradle of Indian cricket - was on Friday sealed by the Delhi Development Authority, which also took possession of the historic club, officials said.
The action was taken in the early hours and comes nearly six months after an "eviction notice" was served on the club by the DDA as its lease had expired earlier, a senior official said.
The historic club was established on August 15, 1922 and had turned 100 last year.
Endowed with natural beauty, green pastures and colonial-era charm, Roshanara Club, located in north Delhi, has emerged as one of the most prestigious clubs in the country.
"Following court orders, that inter alia upheld its eviction order dated, 12.04.2023, the Delhi Development Authority today evicted and took possession of the premises of Roshanara Club Ltd, the leases for which had expired 11 years back in 2012 and six years back in 2017," the DDA said in a statement.
This action was taken under provisions of section 5 (

Roshanara Club

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Big Tech

Tata Steel on Friday commissioned a 10.8-MW capacity floating solar power project on the upper cooling pond of its Jamshedpur plant in Jharkhand.
A total of 20.34 MW of solar projects have been commissioned in various facilities at Tata Steel in Jamshedpur, the company said in a statement.
The floating solar project was commissioned by Tata Power under an agreement with the steel major for the installation of a total of 41MW with a combination of rooftop, floating and ground-mounted solar panels across its locations.
Earlier, rooftop solar projects at the central warehouse, cold rolling mill, wire rod and hot strip mills, totalling 7.65 MW and a 2 MW ground-mounted solar project at Sonari Airport have already been commissioned.

Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Green Energy

He said that the way the Indian Diaspora welcomed him with Uttarakhandi customs and musical instruments at Heathrow Airport, was in itself a special experience

Pushkar Singh Dhami

Global private equity firm Advent International on Friday announced a new board and management of Suven Pharmaceuticals after completing the acquisition of a majority stake in the domestic drug maker.
Suven Pharma will be led by a management team comprising Annaswamy Vaidheesh (Executive Chairman), Dr V Prasada Raju (Managing Director) and Dr Sudhir Kumar Singh (Chief Executive Office), Advent International said in a statement filed on BSE by Suven Pharma.
In terms of the Board of Directors, along with Vaidheesh and Raju, Pankaj Patwari, Managing Director at Advent, will also join the team, it added.
Suven will also have three independent directors - - K.G Ananthakrishnan, Ex-MD MSD India and Ex-Director General of OPPI, and Chairman of PNB; Matangi Gowrishankar, Ex-BP Global Head of Capability Development, and Ex-Director of Human resources, Castrol India, Strategic Advisor and Certified coach; Vinod Rao, former head of investor relations at Diageo and ex-CFO PepsiCo Asia ...

gay rights

SC begins hearing of pleas to recognise same-sex marriages; details here

SC issues notice to Centre on pleas seeking recognition of gay marriage

Singapore decriminalises gay sex, a small step for LGBTQ in Asia-Pacific

Singapore government to repeal colonial-era law criminalising gay sex

Apple CEO Tim Cook says 'deeply concerned' over LGBTQ laws in US

Frames per Second: Can queer romantic comedies boost India's gay culture?

Don't allow same sex marriages under Hindu Marriage Act, plea in Delhi HC

SC picking Kirpal as Delhi HC judge historic, huge: Gay rights activists

Establishment man: Meet N V Ramana, Chief Justice of India-designate

Queer at the workplace: Parmesh Shahani nudges companies to be inclusive

Same sex marriages not recognised by our laws, society, values: Govt to HC

Health associations warn against dangers of LGBT 'conversion therapy'

Renowned fashion designer, activist Wendell Rodricks dies at Goa home

SC to decide Centre's stand on Section 377: Sadananda Gowda

Vikram Johri: Penalising difference