Mumbai: As much as the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, is a bolt out of the blue for self-identified transgender, gender-fluid and non-binary individuals, in many cases the hit is also being felt by the parents, who have held the hands of their children as they transitioned. It’s a community of mostly senior citizens who have rallied opinion and mobilised resources through a support group to create a more inclusive environment.“At first, a lot of unlearning had to be done,” said Shilpi Rastogi, a mother who has been supporting her transgender kid’s journey for the past 12 years. Then, during Covid lockdown, Rastogi came across the parent support group called “Sweekar: The Rainbow Parent”, where, according to Rastogi, “We are connected with parents of queer children of all age groups.” The group’s oldest member is Vidya, 80, who is also one of its founders. She says her sensitisation began in the 90’s, when she got to know that her son was queer.Sridhar Rangayan, filmmaker and co-founder of “Sweekar”, said the idea of a support group stemmed from a screening of his film “Evening Shadows” at the KASHISH Pride Film Festival in 2017. “As part of the outreach campaign, we wanted to reach out to parents of LGBTQ+ children to ensure that they are aware of how to accept their child, and we gave away 10% of the crowdfunded money for the film to start this support group,” said Rangayan. According to Sweekar’s human resource manager, Aruna Desai, the group now has around 600 members. “At the start, we had parents of kids over 25 years, but now, there has been a shift. Parents of children who are as young as eight have joined.”Among the earliest members was transgender rights activist Harish Iyer’s mother, Padma. Since 2010, she has been actively engaging in queer sensitisation dialogues. According to Padma, “Sweekar is a group by the parents, for the parents… There are some things you’d want to discuss with other parents and not your kid.” But now with a bill that makes scrutiny and certification for gender mandatory and takes away the person’s right to self-identification, parents are worried for their children’s safety and future. Vibha Krishnamurthy, 59, says her daughter came out as a transwoman when she was 20 and in college. “She had been experiencing gender dysphoria, and she came out seven years ago. But now, just by virtue of her identity, she is vulnerable. That is scary and regressive.” Krishnamurthy came across “Sweekar” around three years ago through a social media platform and has depended on it for support. “It has been a time of great uncertainty and turmoil. For parents whose kids are still transitioning, it is terrifying to think of what the future holds. The big question is, will they get gender-affirming treatment? What if the endocrinologist stops hormone medication? There is so much ambiguity in how the amendment is worded,” says Krishnamurthy. As the parents seek answers to such questions, Dr Sanjay Sharma, CEO and managing director of the Association for Transgender Health in India (ATHI), seeks to provide a legal basis to their fight. He said, “The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems-11 (ICD-11) has put out a definition for gender that includes new changes that reflect the ‘modern understanding of sexual health and gender identity’. Dr Sharma says, “Anybody who has gender incongruence and has a desire to transition can, as the WHO states that gender-affirming care is the human right of a person.” Dr Sharma questions the justification of the medical board mentioned in the amendment. Dr Sharma urges the govt to implement a “National Programme for Transgender Healthcare” to set a uniform system in place for both carers as well as queer individuals to ensure that care won’t stop for self-identified transgender individuals.

NEW DELHI: In a big boost to India’s maritime strength amid the increasing presence of China in the Indian Ocean Region, the Indian Navy on Monday received deliveries of two warships, including a stealth frigate, and one large survey ship from Garden Reach Shipbuilding and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) in Kolkata in just one day.While Dunagiri is the fifth warship of Nilgiri class made under the Project 17A and delivered to the Navy in the last 16 months, Agray is the fourth of eight Arnala class anti-submarine warfare shallow water warships that will augment the Navy’s anti-submarine and mine-warfare and coastal surveillance capabilities (ASW-SWCs). Sanshodhak, on the other hand, is a large survey vessel that is capable of full-scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic survey of port and harbour approaches and determination of navigational channels and routes.Defence minister Rajnath Singh had launched the Dunagiri project at GRSE in Kolkata on July 15, 2022. It is a 149-metre-long, 6,670-tonne guided-missile frigate that is equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, enabling multi-dimensional operations across air, surface and sub-surface domains, an official said. “Equipped with BrahMos anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles, along with advanced defence systems, Dunagiri represents a significant leap in naval strike and defensive capabilities,” an official said.Designed by Warship Design Bureau and overseen by the warship overseeing team (Kolkata), P17A frigates reflect a generational leap in indigenous ship design, stealth, survivability, and combat capability. The experiences gained from the construction of the first four P17A ships have enabled compressing the build period of Dunagiri to 80 months, in comparison to 93 months taken for the first of class (Nilgiri). With an indigenisation content of 75%, the project has involved over 200 MSMEs.Agray is one of the largest naval warships (77 m in length) propelled by waterjets and is equipped with state-of-the-art lightweight torpedoes, indigenous rocket launchers and shallow water SONAR, enabling effective detection and engagement of underwater threats. Agray, built in line with the govt’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, has over 80% indigenous content.With a displacement of about 3400 tonnes and overall length 110 m, Sanshodhak is fitted with state-of-the-art hydrographic equipment such as data acquisition and processing system, autonomous underwater vehicle, remotely operated vehicle, differential GPS long-range positioning systems and digital side scan sonar.Sanshodhak is part of a contract for four survey vessel (large) that was signed on Oct 30, 2018. The previous ships of the same class, INS Sandhayak, INS Nirdeshak and INS Ikshak were commissioned in Feb 2024, Dec 2024 and Nov 2025, respectively. Besides coastal and deep-water hydrographic survey, the ship’s role also includes collecting oceanographic and geophysical data for defence and civil applications. Sanshodhak has an indigenous content in excess of 80% by cost.GRSE is currently constructing multiple warships, including one project 17A advanced stealth frigate, four ASW-SWCs, and four next-generation offshore patrol vessels. In addition, the shipyard is building 30 other vessels, of which 13 are export platforms. GRSE is also in the advanced stages of concluding a prestigious contract for the construction of five next-generation corvettes.

It was an utterly disappointing night for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The batting unit simply did not work on the tricky surface of the Barsapara Stadium. The toss could be a factor, but the team, with so many talents inside the line-up, could have done a lot better. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad knows it very well. He did not blame anyone for the disappointing result; he just wanted to move on from that moment.

Like the winning team captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad also mentioned that the toss played a huge role in the result of the match. As there was moisture on the wicket, the pacers of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) got to move the ball with bounce as well. Later, as the match progressed, the turf went in favor of the batter.

CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad mentioned the condition of the pitch

CSK skipper mentioned that he was not frustrated, as it was very hard to bat with and maintain the T20 standards on the pitch. But acknowledged that they could have taken the innings deeper to get at least 150 runs on the board.

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“I felt the conditions at the start were really tough, especially when facing Jofra and Burger. They bowled brilliant lengths, and even after that, to a medium-pacer, it was slightly tough. You could see even the spinners were getting some assistance as well,” Ruturaj Gaikwad said.

“Yes, we would have been better in batting, we would have taken the game deep, showed some batsmanship, maybe take the game till 150-160. But nowadays, you never know what’s a good score, so you just have to keep going. So I think it was just one of those days where the wicket was slightly on the tougher side. So not frustrated at all”, he added further.

Gaikwad finds some positivity in the result

In between a lot of setbacks in one single match, the experienced batter pointed out a positive sign- the team is filled with multiple young players. As they get more experience, the result will come their way, Gaikwad believes.

“One good thing is, a lot of youngsters in the group. So, probably a nervy start for everyone, but good to get a game behind and good to start with a lot of mistakes. Hopefully, it will be just an improvement after here,” Ruturaj Gaikwad asserted.

The captain is hopeful to see progress in the near future

“I’m someone who’s not a firm believer in going all the way. But with the impact player, you never really know what the good score is or what the par score is. So you don’t really often see games going down the line till the 20th over when you’re defending 150, 160, or 170. So I think it’s just about backing yourself, backing your game for the batsmen.”

“If you have it in your area, just make sure you go for it. Today it didn’t work, but we can be better at batsmanship. You just have to be positive, especially when you’re batting first. If conditions are good, you never know, the same batting line-up can put a good score,” Ruturaj Gaikwad concluded.

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The bench said that the omission on part of the trial judge was not such a ‘fatal’ defect as to vitiate the entire trial

NEW DELHI: It was a minor lapse by a trial judge of not affixing his signature to the order framing the charges, but it led to a washout of 17 years of trial proceedings, with the Allahabad HC ordering retrial despite the case having reached a conclusive state. Disagreeing with the high court, the Supreme Court has said criminal procedure is intended to advance the ends of justice and not thwart them over technicalities.A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan said that the omission on the part of the trial judge was not such a “fatal” defect as to vitiate the entire trial and that the procedural irregularity is curable.In the 2007 murder case, which had nine accused, the trial court framed charges in 2009, but the order for the same remained unsigned owing to the absence of one of the accused. The trial in the case, however, went on smoothly for 15 years, and this issue was raised only at the fag end of proceedings in 2024, making the HC order a retrial.Referring to a constitution bench verdict, the bench said, “This court distinguished fundamental illegality and curable procedural irregularity. It was held that only those defects which go to the root of jurisdiction or occasion real prejudice can vitiate the proceedings, whereas defects of a lesser degree constitute irregularities requiring proof of failure of justice. The distinction between an illegality and an irregularity is thus well established...”Quashing the HC’s order, the court said, “Acceptance of such belated challenges founded on procedural irregularities would defeat the object of criminal procedure, which is to advance the cause of justice and not to frustrate it on technical grounds”. It also questioned the conduct of the accused in raising the issue at the fag end of the trial, that too after the demise of key eyewitnesses.It said the omission of a signature on the order did not render the proceedings invalid when the framing of charges was done, recorded, read over, and acted upon by the court and the parties. “The record affirmatively demonstrates that the accused had full knowledge of the accusations and effectively contested the prosecution’s case. The nature of cross-examination and the defence adopted leaves no manner of doubt that the accused were neither misled nor prejudiced,” the bench said.