NEW DELHI: A Vancouver-bound Air India aircraft going via the east — and not even taking the Gulf war zone route — had to return to Delhi after nearly nine hours of flying on Thursday. The reason: AI has clearance to operate its Boeing 777-300 extended range (ER) fleet to Canada and not the B777-200 long range (LR) version. But on Thursday (March 19), it sent one of its B777 LR to Vancouver from Delhi as AI 185 with a full planeload of passengers which did not have the clearance to enter Canada.Only when the aircraft had flown for over four hours and was in Chinese airspace near Kunming did the airline realise its very costly mistake. It then called the aircraft back to Delhi where according to flights tracking sites, it landed at 7.19 pm Thursday after taking off from here earlier in the day at 11.34 am.

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Different countries have different protocols for the foreign airlines allowed to fly to their shores. Some allow airline-wise, some fleet-wise and some can give specific approvals for individual aircraft tail number. In AI’s case for Canada, the approval is for B777 ER version and not the LR one.The airline is learnt to have taken a very serious note of this expense mistake and action is being contemplated for those responsible for this lapse. “We learn from our mistakes and the same shall never be repeated. The moment this lapse was realised, the aircraft was called back to Delhi,” said sources.A B777 burns about 8-9 tonnes of fuel every hour, depending on wind flows and other factors. At this time when oil prices are on fire and rupees touches new life-lows on a daily basis, this was one mistake the loss-making airline could have done without.An AI spokesperson said: “Air India flight AI185, operating from Delhi to Vancouver on March 19, returned to Delhi due to an operational issue and in line with established standard operating procedures. The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew had disembarked.”“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our guests by this unforeseen situation. Our ground teams in Delhi had provided all necessary assistance, including offering hotel accommodation, while every effort was made to fly the passengers to their destination at the earliest. The flight departed this morning for Vancouver with the passengers. At Air India, the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority,” the spokesperson added.

Pilots and passengers flying to the west from over the Arabian Sea since Feb 28 are mentally prepared that their plane may have to return to India. But for a plane to do so while flying west via the east in these days due to a ” human error” has surprised even the most seasoned aviation professionals.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed serious concerns over the infectious trend of each person with a mobile phone becoming media and instantaneously uploading videos on social media platforms and said such activities posed a grave threat to fair trial of accused.A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said this while hearing a PIL which alleged that police upload videos and photographs of arrested accused on their social media handles, creating a bias in people’s mind, who later blame the judiciary if they get acquitted for lack of evidence.The bench agreed with senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan that “every person with a mobile phone has become media” and observed that whenever there is an accident, people take out their mobile phones to create content even when a person is bleeding on the road.Justice Bagchi told the petitioner that instead of talking of social media handles of police, which in all states have been given three months by the SC to formulate and comply with a standard operating procedure (SOP) regarding police-media briefings to balance transparency in investigation, right to information and right to fair trial of accused, it should seek a comprehensive mechanism for police, conventional and social media. He said, “On a larger canvas, we believe police should not create a bias against the accused through its briefings. Police can be restrained through the SOP. But what about the media, especially social media, and the public? Can they be restrained? Comparatively, TV channels are much more restrained, even though one might disagree with their views.”Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said there are tabloids on social media which in an understatement could be characterised as “blackmailers”. Justice Bagchi said, “The problem is the atomised social media.”CJI Kant said, “It is akin to or a different facet of digital arrest. There is a tendency in towns and cities away from the national capital where people flaunt their credentials as media persons and boldly display it on their vehicles for ulterior designs.”Sankaranarayanan said, “I know a few advocates who sport ‘Supreme Court Advocate’ stickers on their cars to evade paying tolls on highways.” The bench said since the issue of fair trial for accused required a comprehensive approach, it would be better if the petition is withdrawn and refiled with an enlarged scope after April when the SOP for police would have been implemented.

The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) is almost around the corner, as the tournament is set to begin from March 28. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on the opening day of the competition. Ahead of the first match, there are headaches for the Orange Army, as their regular captain, Pat Cummins, is set to miss some matches.

SRH have named Ishan Kishan as their captain for the games that Pat Cummins will be missing. Abhishek Sharma has been named as the vice-captain for the side. They have the firepower in their batting with the likes of Ishan, Abhishek, Travis Head, Heinrich Klassen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Liam Livingstone. However, their bowling has been weak.

Ishan Kishan to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad

Ishan Kishan has been awarded the captaincy role for his brilliant T20 World Cup form, where he scored 317 runs for India. Last season, he scored 354 runs in 14 matches last season at an average of 35.40 and an impressive strike-rate of 152.58. He has captaincy experience with Jharkhand and led the side to the championship of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

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Talking about the same former India batter, Abhinav Mukund, discussed SRH’s batting and critically analysed the bowling alongside the overall team’s strengths and weaknesses of the Orange Army.

Mukund said, on SRH, “If their batting is a 10, their bowling is a 1, with a very big drop off. Their batting will hurt teams, and it’s the strongest in the competition. Just that makes them dangerous on a flat Hyderabad track.”

They have so many who’ve not even played- Abhinav Mukund

“But the drop-off is too much in the bowling. They have so many who’ve not even played in the IPL. You came with a lot of money to the auction, and you ended up spending it on Liam Livingstone when you already have Klaasen, Head, and Abhishek Sharma.”

Mukund further added, “They have a very inexperienced bowling lineup with guys who aren’t making their own first-class sides. Many are picked based on just scouting from the trials. I am surprised at how they have constructed their team.”

“In the years they’ve done well, they’ve had Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Natarajan doing really well for them. But now it looks like Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat have to front-load this attack.”

SRH has been a batting-heavy side

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Faf du Plessis also questioned SRH’s planning of making a side that is batting-heavy and not a more balanced one.

“It’s happened only one season where they shot the lights out with the bat. Last year wasn’t exactly the same in terms of batting returns. They tried the same template of outbatting opponents, but the wickets weren’t as flat, and they didn’t do well as a batting department. I would say that’s a lot of eggs in one basket,” said Faf du Plessis.

“In that, Abhishek is not in great form. Heinrich Klaasen has had a quiet year, and Travis Head has had a quiet World Cup. Liam Livingstone hasn’t done well in the IPL and isn’t even part of the England side. There is a chance this’ll come right, but you are asking a lot.”

Also Read: KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar reveals Harshit Rana’s replacement ahead of IPL 2026

Mumbai: Maharashtra this week became the 13th state to pass a bill to prohibit unlawful conversions. Like Odisha, which brought in such a legislation first in 1968 and was followed by Madhya Pradesh and other states, criminalising religious conversions based on coercion, fraud or marriage based on allurement or deceit, the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026, too mandates a 60-day notice to a district magistrate before a person can convert to another religion.While the bill was passed by both houses of the State legislature on March 17 and 18 respectively, it now awaits the Governor’s assent and a notification in the gazette before it comes into force.Senior counsel and former additional solicitor general Indira Jaisingh said since a challenge to anti-conversion laws of several states is pending before the SC and has been on the daily board for days now, “Political good sense requires that Maharashtra govt awaits the judgement before notifying the law. Going ahead would convey great disrespect to the court while awaiting its opinion on a serious violation of the fundamental right to marry a person of your choice.“On Feb 2, the Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi, in fact, issued notice to the Centre and 12 states on a petition filed by National Council of Churches in India, which claims the laws “incentivise” vigilante groups to take action.The petition filed against the State of Rajasthan and others raised concerns over such laws and questioned their validity. The matter is pending before a three-judge SC bench. Leading civil and constitutional rights lawyers say the law’s provisions could be tested if the basis for action under it is found to be vague. Senior counsel Mihir Desai in Mumbai on Friday said the Maharashtra Act too could be challenged before the SC.While ministers in Maharashtra justify the need to ensure religious conversions are voluntary and transparent and not forced or fraudulent, legal experts point to the Constitutional mandate under Article 25, which protects an individual’s right to practise, profess and propagate faith. Mihir Desai, a prominent civil rights defender, said the law is “to my mind incorrectly worded as ‘freedom of religion’ since it mandates prior notice and nod from authorities for any conversion in future even if it’s for pure freedom of conscience.“Terms such as ‘allurement’ and ‘undue influence’, while defined, leave the meaning and interpretation “broad-based”, said Desai and other lawyers, and “possibly susceptible to misuse”. Former Bombay HC judge Justice (retired) B H Marlapalle said for any criminal action to be attracted, the allegations would need to be specific, unlike what broad terms used to frame the legislation – allurement, ‘divine healing’, ‘brainwashing’, and ‘undue influence’ – would suggest.Lawyers and activists are divided in their reaction to the provision where a child born out of a marriage solely meant for an “unlawful conversion” would be deemed to belong to the pre-marriage religion of the mother, who would also have custody of the child unless court decides otherwise. Some call it progressive, others ‘divisive’ and impinging on the child’s rights.The Maharashtra Bill, naming no religions, referred to “increasing” instances of forceful conversions that affect “social harmony” and SC orders to say it’s subject to reasonable restrictions and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate a religion under Article 25 “doesn’t include right to forcibly convert”.