CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana high court has ruled that the authority vested in a criminal court to impose the condition of ‘deposit of passport’ ought not to be exercised in a “rote or automatic manner”, and such bail conditions must not unduly curtail personal liberty.HC was of the view that the condition for depositing one’s passport must be supported by specific material that points to a genuine flight risk. “It must be acknowledged that passport is not merely a travel document, but is often used as proof of nationality and identity. An order of deposit of passport as a pre-condition for bail is justifiable only on the basis of objective factors indicating a clear and imminent threat to the administration of justice, and must not be employed as a punitive measure against an undertrial accused, who is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” the bench of Justice Sumeet Goel held while deciding a criminal revision petition filed by Ram Lubhaya and others, who challenged a Nov 22, 2019, order of the additional sessions judge, Jalandhar.. HC was also of the view that it is not desirable to lay down any “straitjacket formulation” in this regard. To do so would be to crystallise into a rigid definition a judicial discretion, which even the legitimate has, for the best of all reasons, left undetermined. “Any attempt in this regard would be, to say the least, a quixotic endeavour. Circumstantial flexibility, one additional or different fact, may make a sea of difference between conclusions in two cases. Such exercise would thus, indubitably, be dependent upon the factual matrix of the particular case which the court is seisin of, since every case has its own peculiar factual conspectus. Such judicial discretion, but of course, ought to be exercised in accordance with the principles of justice, equity, and good conscience,” the court held.While the Jalandhar sessions court had granted anticipatory bail to the petitioners in a criminal case, involving charges of causing hurt and wrongful confinement, it directed them to deposit their passports before the trial magistrate. In their plea before HC, the petitioners argued that they were summoned only for comparatively less severe offences and there was no material on record to show they were a flight risk. “The condition was arbitrary, excessive, and imposed without justification. Passports are essential identity and travel documents, and their seizure caused undue hardship,” the petitioners argued.After hearing the matter, HC set aside the condition requiring the petitioners to deposit their passports, holding it to be unsupported by facts.

GUWAHATI/JAMSHEDPUR: Elephant deaths from a Rajdhani Express collision in central Assam rose to eight Sunday as a calf died during treatment, while rail authorities in Jharkhand cancelled eight trains from Dec 22 to 24 amid heightened movement of wild herds near tracks.A male calf — less than 15 days old — died at Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation in Kaziranga, said Kampur range forest officer Shamim Aktar. “It suffered a leg fracture, spinal injury and internal injuries,” he said.

Seven elephants, including four calves, were killed on the spot when New Delhibound Rajdhani from Sairang in Mizoram hit a herd around 2am Saturday at Sangjurai village in Assam’s Hojai district. No intrusion detection system was installed at the site and villagers said dense night fog may have contributed.Northeast Frontier Railway imposed a 30kmph speed cap for trains in a 1km radius of the crash zone and posted a watchman round-the-clock over 500m on either side. Measures will stay for a week, with further directions expected.Close on the heels of the disaster in Assam, the Chakradharpur (CKP) railway division under the South Eastern Railway (SER) on Sunday announced to cancel as many as eight trains from Dec 22 to 24 in the wake of increased movement of jumbos in the area. Notably, this is the third time that the CKP division has announced the cancellation of trains in quick succession.The CKP division attributed the cancellation to the frequent movement of elephants on three different sections under its limits.Seven MEMU & 1 passenger train cancelled: RlysCurrently, the Rourkela-Chakradharpur, Rourkela-Jharsuguda, and Rourkela-Nuagaon sections are affected by the frequent movement of elephants, prompting officials to announce the cancellation of seven MEMU and one passenger train on the up and down routes.The railway informed that Tata-Barbil-Tata MEMU (68125/68126), Tata-GuaTata MEMU (68019/68020), Chakradharpur-Rourkela Chakradharpur MEMU (68025/68026), Tata-Rourkela-Tata MEMU (68043/ 68044), Hatia-Jharsuguda Hatia MEMU (18175/18176), Rourkela-Jharsuguda Rourkela MEMU (68029/ 68030), Chakradharpur-Tata-Kharagpur-Chakradhar pur MEMU (68010/68009/ 68066), besides Birmitrapur-Barsuan-Birmitrapur passenger (58151/58152), have been cancelled.Earlier, the divisional railway cancelled five passenger trains on December 18 and 19, and then on December 20-21, four trains were cancelled on the same route. Now, the cancellation has been extended for the third consecutive time. Notably, the movement of elephants has not only increased on the tracks in the Chakradharpur division but also in villages near the tracks.Earlier on Friday, a villager was trampled to death in the Manoharpur block of the West Singhbhum district.Railway officials have stated that the back-to-back cancellation of trains is driven by their decision not to take any chances regarding the safety of the elephants. The senior divisional commercial manager of Chakradharpur, Aditya Choudhary, said that the long-distance trains moving on the Howrah-Mumbai route are taking necessary precautions on the identified route.“Along with the trackclearance teams doing their job, the pilots of the longdistance trains have been categorically asked to follow the standard operating procedures while moving through the identified sections,” Choudhary said.

Adelaide Strikers will take on the Melbourne Stars in the tenth match of the Big Bash League. This article provides details about the Adelaide Strikers’ Playing 11 vs Melbourne Stars for the tenth match of the tournament.

Adelaide Strikers Playing XI vs Melbourne Stars- BBL 2025-26, Match 10

Openers: Matthew Short (c), Chris Lynn

Adelaide Strikers, the home team for the upcoming contest against the Melbourne Stars, would look to make the most of their home condition and put on a strong performance with bat, ball, and in the field.

The former BBL champions are coming into the match with a hard-fought win against the Sydney Sixers, which saw them winning the game by three wickets courtesy of some ood hitting by the lower-order batters.

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The Matthew Short-led side would hope to deliver a performance on similar lines against the Stars, who also won their first game of the competition this year against the Hurricanes.

The responsibility will be on two experienced batters, including captain Matthr Short and Chris Lynn, to get the team off to a good start and lay a platform fr the middle order to capitalize on.

In addition to that, both batters would hop to get runs under their belt as well while playing in their natural manner so as to create pressure on the opposition bowlers early in the innings.

Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Alex Ross, Jamie Overton, Harry Nielsen (wk)

If we talk about the middle order that the Adelaide Strikers possess, it comprises young batters like Jason Sangha and Liam Scott, both of whom have the ability to take the game away from the opposition.

Evidence of which was on show during the Strikers’ first game against the Sydney Sixers, with Scott scoring a vital half-century to get the team close to the target.

The presence of experienced batter Alex Ross provides much-needed stability to the middle order of the Adelaide Strikers.

Along with that, another factor that makes the Strikers a force to reckon with is the depth that it has with the likes of Jamie Overton and Luke Wood, more than capable with the bat.

The duo would look to keep up the good work that they did with their timely knocks against the Sixers, which got the team over the line.

Bowlers: Luke Wood, Hasan Ali, Henry Thornton, Lloyd Pope

When it comes to the bowling attack that the Stikers have at their disposal, it gives a lot of options to the captain by having five specialist bowlers and the spin bowling of the skipper himself.

The fast bowling department of the team will be handled by Luke Wood, Hasan Ali, Henry Thornton, and Jamie Overton.

As far as the spin bowling department of the home team for this particular match is concerned, it will be taken care of by Lloyd Pope, with assistance from Matthew Short.

All things said, it will have to be a collective effort from all the bowlers to restrict the in-form batting lineup of the Melbourne Stars.