Mumbai: In a lapse that has left students both bemused and concerned, the reputed Government Law College (GLC) in Churchgate has issued third-year, second-semester certificates carrying an incorrect expansion of the LLB degree as “Bachelor of Legislative Law,” a nomenclature not recognised by the Bar Council of India or Mumbai University, under which the 170-year-old institution operates. ‘LLB’ stands for the Latin term, ‘Legum Baacalaureus’. In English, it is referred to as ‘Bachelor of Laws’.The certificates were issued just as students were preparing for their fourth-year, second-semester examinations. “We were shocked to receive marksheets that read we had cleared the sixth semester of bachelor of Legislative Law,” said a student. “As fourth-year students, we start reaching out to law firms and foreign universities around this time. Legal firms and universities would have felt we are submitting fake certificates.“When contacted, principal Asmita Vaidya initially asked this reporter to check the “full form of LLB on the internet and on the MU website.” When informed that it stands for Bachelor of Laws, she said the marksheet format was from the University of Mumbai. Later she said her college could not have issued a certificate with an erroneous expansion. On Friday, Vaidya told TOI that an office clerk had made the mistake after referring to an online source. “Fresh corrected certificates are being printed and distributed,” she said.By evening, the college issued a notice asking second, third and fourth year students to collect their marksheet “with the title as per university norms”.Students who had collected their marksheet on Wednesday were asked to return the erroneous certificates. Retired Supreme Court judge justice Abhay Oka said, “It is very unfortunate…We have to be very cautious as GLC has a name and it has immense fame associated with it. Such mistakes should be avoided.” A senior Bar Council official also said such certificates would not be accepted.Students also pointed to delays in issuance of certificates by GLC, an institution widely recognised as the oldest law school in Asia. Those from the 2027 graduating batch said until about 15 days ago, even first-semester exam certificates were not issued. “It is only today that I have received marksheets of semester 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6,” said an eighth-semester student.Vaidya said the delay was due to an external agency handling result preparation that “could not manage” timelines, following which the college undertook printing the results. Corrected marksheets began being issued from Friday.

Bob Blackman (File photo)

LONDON: British MP Bob Blackman has described research by an independent non-profit research organisation in the US, which found that anti-Indian rhetoric surged online last year, as “deeply concerning”.Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), which specialises in tracking extremism and misinformation on social media, found that anti-Indian rhetoric on X tripled in 2025, with over 24,000 tweets viewed more than 300 million times. It found that every major H-1B policy announcement in the US triggered a spike in slurs and scapegoating of Indian immigrants.Debate over visas frequently shifted into conspiracy theories suggesting that Indians are acting as a coordinated group seeking to displace Americans in the workforce. Indians make up the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries.Abusive posts described Indians as “cow piss”, “curry”, “economic replacers”, and “invaders”, or resorted to scam call centre stereotypical tropes.Usha Vance also faced racist abuse.Blackman, who represents Harrow East, where Hindus were recently attacked celebrating Holi, said of the report: “This is a coordinated campaign driven by a small number of accounts deliberately targeting the Indian community, its culture, and its contribution to public life. It is racism, plain and simple. The Indian diaspora here in Harrow, across the UK, and the world, makes an extraordinary contribution to our societies. That contribution deserves celebration. I will always stand against any form of discrimination targeting our Indian community.”The report, titled ‘From Policy Drift to Purity Grift: How A Small Network Hijacked the Immigration Debate”, said the announcement in Sept 2025 of a temporary $100,000 application fee for employers hiring H-1B workers, and visa restrictions being imposed on owners of travel agencies in India accused of facilitating illegal immigration to the US, acted as triggers for anti-Indian hostility online.These announcements “corresponded with measurable surges in ethnic generalisation, slurs and deportation rhetoric directed at Indians as a group”.The abuse also moved offline with harassment at Hindu temples.The report warned that “large surges in ethnic antagonism online often presage violence against the targeted groups” and called on platforms to take more action and for awareness to be raised within law enforcement.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) on Friday issued a fresh multi-year tariff order for MSEDCL that promises lower power bills for residential users over the next five years. The new order, passed by the commission headed by chairperson Valsa Nair Singh, replaces the earlier June 25, 2025, order that came under legal challenge from stakeholders.Following the challenge, the Supreme Court directed MSEDCL to conduct a fresh hearing and asked the commission to reconsider the review petition after hearing all parties. Under the revised tariff framework, residential consumers will see tariff reductions ranging from 4% to 26% by 2029-30. For the current financial year itself, the reduction is up to 10%, offering immediate relief to households.The order also strengthens the Time-of-Day (TOD) tariff structure aimed at encouraging consumers to shift electricity use to non-peak and solar-rich hours. The rebate for consumption during solar hours has been increased from 80 paise per unit to 85 paise per unit. Another consumer-friendly feature of the order is a sharp reduction in electricity charges for EV charging at residential premises and housing societies. The tariff has been cut from Rs 10.22 per unit to Rs 9.25 per unit with immediate effect.In a media statement, MSEDCL spokesperson said, “The TOD concession for electricity usage during the 9am to 5pm period will continue for industrial and commercial electricity consumers.”He further said as the second year of the order commences from April 1, there will be further reduction in electricity tariffs. “The average tariff for consumers using up to 100 units per month will decrease from Rs 7.31 to Rs 7.10. The electricity tariff for these consumers will decrease by 26% over five years. Before the new multi-year electricity tariff order, this rate was Rs 8.14 until 2025.”In this order, MERC has fixed a tariff of Rs 9.50 per unit for high-tension and low-tension electric vehicle charging stations for the year 2026-27. This tariff will remain stable until 2028-29. This will encourage the use of electric vehicles. Housing societies can set up low-tension charging centres for electric vehicle charging within their premises, the spokesperson added.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (ANI/ file photo)

SRINAGAR: Kashmir’s chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Friday met Iran’s ambassador to India, Dr Mohammad Fathali, and expressed condolences over the death of its top leaders in Israel-US attacks.According to a statement issued by Mirwaiz, he led delegation of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema, an amalgam of religious organisations of Kashmir, and conveyed his condolences over the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his family members and other leaders, and expressed “deep solidarity with the people of Iran in their hour of hardship”.The delegation condemned the war, which it said was “imposed” on Iran, and expressed hope that diplomatic efforts would prevail and peace and stability would be restored. Others who were part of the delegation included Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam, Aga Syed Hassan Al-Mosvi, and Aga Syed Hadi AlMosvi, Aga Syed Mujtaba.During the meeting, Mirwaiz also highlighted the “deep-rooted cultural, historical and religious ties between Kashmir and Iran”. Kashmir has long been referred to as “Iran-e-Sagheer” (little Iran), he stated, stressing that it reflected the enduring bond between Kashmiris and the people of Iran.Thousands of people in Kashmir had gathered at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk and later in Budgam to condemn the killing of Khamenei earlier this month. The Valley also witnessed a large-scale donation drive following an appeal by the Iranian embassy, with people contributing cash, gold, traditional copperware, household items, vehicles and even livestock.Former CM and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti was the first political figure from J&K to visit the embassy to express solidarity with Iran, followed by National Conference MPs. On March 10, NC president Farooq Abdullah visited the Iranian diplomatic mission and signed the condolence book on Khamenei’s death.