New Delhi: Supreme Court Justice Ujjwal Bhuyan on Sunday said the political executive’s goal of a developed India by 2047 needs more space for debate and dissent without criminalizing it, and erasing “deep social fault lines” reflected in caste-based discrimination and atrocities on Dalits. Addressing the first national conference of the SC Bar Association in Bengaluru, Justice Bhuyan said indiscriminate arrests with nominal punishment under the anti-terrorism law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act cannot be a model of developed India. He said, “My model of developed India is equitable distribution of wealth and elimination of extreme inequality… which is also the goal set out in the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution.” He said in developed India, “the judiciary must remain the judiciary…it cannot be an eternal critic or cheerleader.”‘Low sentences under UAPA reflect overuse, if not misuse, of the law’Presenting the data of people arrested under UAPA from 2019 to 2023, he said that thousands of people have been arrested, but the average conviction rate remained around 5%. He said, “This reflects persistent under-convictions. What does this indicate – (overuse if not misuse of the law) and its impact on the criminal justice system. How much burden does it put on the courts? This shows that the vast majority were arrested but could not be convicted. This indicates that many arrests were made prematurely and in the absence of sufficient evidence.”“With a general conviction rate of 5% or less and acquittal in over 95% of UAPA cases, why should an accused be kept in jail without a charge sheet being filed against him? This cannot be the model of developed India,” Justice Bhuyan said, adding that the plethora of such cases leads to backlog, pendency and delay in justice delivery, along with impacting the general principle of ‘bail is the norm and jail is the exception’.He said that in developed India there should be more space for debate and disagreement. He said, “Debate should not be criminalized. There should be more tolerance towards diverse views. Different views should be respected. There should be more tolerance towards diverse views and criticism.”Justice Bhuyan said that the political executive has set a goal for a developed India. “With the good performance of all key players in the economic and social sector, this is certainly an achievable goal. After all, why will India not remain a developed country for so long? But, he said it is ultimately a political statement, reminding that the political executive had coined catchy slogans like ‘Garibi Hatao’ in the 1970s.“I doubt whether the judiciary, though an organ of the state, but separate and distinct from other organs, should join this bandwagon. Without any disrespect, the appropriate target year for the judiciary should be 2050.”“By then, both our Constitution and the SC will have completed 100 years, which is an important milestone to look back and take stock of how we have traveled here and what is the roadmap ahead,” he said.Referring to the August 1986 SC judgment in the Bijo Emmanuel case, in which the court had ruled in favor of children of the Jehovah’s Witness sect who refused to sing the national anthem in school, Justice Bhuyan said only a courageous judge like O Chinnappa Reddy could have given such a judgment. He said tolerance, which is taught by our tradition and Constitution, should be practiced.On the social imbalance caused by caste-based discrimination as well as atrocities on Dalits, Justice Bhuyan said, “There are deep social fault lines. Developed India cannot tolerate such fault lines.”“Parents cannot insist that their children will not eat food prepared by a Dalit woman. This cannot be a developed India model. We cannot have a developed India when Dalit people are made to stand in corridors and people urinate on them. This cannot be a model of development. The dignity of the individual must be protected.”

Said in a very provocative statement, Abdul BasitPakistan’s former High Commissioner to India has said that attacking Indian cities like New Delhi and Mumbai should be Islamabad’s “default move” if the country is attacked by the US.Basit said in an interview to a local Pakistani channel, “The US will not attack Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. Even if we assume that in a hypothetical situation the US attacks Pakistan, we will not be able to retaliate because the US does not come within our nuclear range. (Asking a TV anchor) What do you think will be our option then? India.” He told ABN News, “If anyone casts an evil eye on us, we will attack Mumbai and New Delhi in India without thinking. We will see whatever happens later.”The former envoy turned defense strategist further said, “At the moment, neither the US nor Israel is under our nuclear range. But the world should know that if we come under attack, we will in turn attack India wherever we wish.” Basit made this controversial comment while reacting to US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s recent statement before the Senate Intelligence Committee, in which she had said that Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program could pose a threat to the US homeland.Some media reports also quoted Basit as saying that Gabbard’s “anti-Pakistan” worldview was a known fact. He reportedly said, “Pakistan’s deterrence capability is India-specific. Tulsi Gabbard saw our missiles, but not India’s Agni-5 and Agni-6. They are intercontinental missiles.”Presenting the Annual Threat Assessment to 2026 before the House Intelligence Committee, Gabbard had said that Pakistan is among the countries that are “researching and developing a range of new advanced or conventional missile delivery systems with nuclear and conventional payloads that keep our homeland within range”.According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Pakistan has six types of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. Its overall arsenal consists primarily of short- to medium-range ballistic missiles, but it is making significant progress in strengthening its cruise missile capabilities. Its ground arsenal consists of 106 land-based missiles with a capacity of 5-40 kt. Pakistan’s roadmobile ballistic missiles include the short-range Abdali, Ghaznavi, Shaheen-1 and NASR as well as the medium-range Shaheen-2 and Ghauri. The Shaheen-3 and Ababil medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) are currently under development.The longest range Shaheen-3 can hit targets up to 2,750 km. But Shaheen-3 is not an ICBM. For a ballistic missile to be called an ICBM, it must have a minimum range of more than 5,500 km. The distance between America and Pakistan is more than 11,200 km.Reacting sharply to Basit’s statement, BJP national spokesperson Tuhin Sinha said on Sunday, “Abdul Basit’s threat that Delhi and Mumbai will be bombed by Pakistan shows that Pakistan is still shaken by the attacks during Operation Sindoor.” He has lost his mental balance.”Shortly after Gabbard’s statement, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said, “Pakistan categorically rejects the recent claim by a US official alleging a potential threat from Pakistan’s missile capabilities.” Pakistan’s strategic capabilities are “exclusively defensive” in nature, he said, and are aimed at “protecting national sovereignty and maintaining peace and stability in South Asia”.

Kolkata: The battle lines for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections continue to sharpen. Trinamool Congress An animated teaser titled ‘Fighter Didi’ was released on Sunday, featuring the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee As the last line of defense of Bengali identity against what the party calls “external forces”.The 16-minute video, divided into episodes, released on the party’s social media platforms, blends political messaging with cinematic symbolism – dark clouds loom over Bengal, anxious citizens look towards the sky, and a looming silhouette holding a saffron flag, an unmistakeable dig at the BJP.