Dr Nusrat Parveen, who shot into the limelight following a viral video from an appointment ceremony earlier this month in which Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is seen tugging at her hijab, is set to join her position at Patna’s Govt Tibbi College at 10am on Saturday, reports Ismat Ara. “Yes, she will join work,” college principal Mahfooz Ur Rehman told TOI on Friday, dismissing “unfounded reports” that she has refused to take up the position. Principal: Doctor wants to move on Parveen will officially report to the department of medicine, which functions under the AYUSH and health department.“From what I understand, she wants to move on, and there is no controversy or complaints from her side,” Rehman said.Everything is on track for Nusrat Parveen,the doctor at the centre of the hijab row swirling around Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, to join her position at Patna’s Govt Tibbi College today, according to principal. Mahfooz Ur Rehman.Rehman has remained in touch with Parveen’s family during the period of heightened public attention. “I have spoken with her husband and her brother-in-law. I have also spoken to her classmates and other students”,” he said.Rehman added that the college administration has taken steps to ensure a smooth joining process. “Our objective is to support her and ensure a seamless transition into the college,” he said.The video that sparked widespread debate showed CM Nitish Kumar adjusting Parveen’s hijab during the distribution of appointment letters on Dec 15. The incident triggered political reactions and criticism from opposition parties, including the RJD and Congress.Parveen’s friend and former batchmate Bilkis also confirmed that the former will pursue her career in earnest. “She used to always stay in purdah like seen in that video,” Bilkis added.Referring to the episode, Rehman said the focus should now shift back to Parveen’s professional role. “She wants to concentrate on her work. The incident should not overshadow her career or her responsibilities at the college,” he said. With her reporting scheduled for tomorrow, the principal said the administration has ensured a supportive environment.

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court said on Friday that the right to free speech is not unfettered and denied anticipatory bail to a Bengaluru-based 24-year-old chartered accountancy student, who, on his parody account ‘Jawaharlal Nehru Satire’ on X, had posted about the PM and his mother. The court said the student can approach Gujarat HC for relief.“People who abuse free speech cannot be extended discretionary relief by the courts,” said SC.

SC: Right to free speech not absolute, denies pre-arrest bail

Supreme Court said on Friday that the right to free speech is not unfettered and denied anticipatory bail to a Bengaluru-based 24-year-old chartered accountancy student, who, on his parody account ‘Jawaharlal Nehru Satire’ on X, had posted about the PM and his mother. The court said the student can approach Gujarat HC for relief. “People who abuse free speech cannot be extended discretionary relief by the courts,” said SC. It dismissed the petition which had sought quashing of the FIR registered by Ahmedabad police and refused to accede to his request for grant of anticipatory bail or protection from arrest to enable him to join investigation. Counsel for the accused said the man only put a question to a post which he had not generated. “For this he is being accused of outraging the woman’s modesty. Police from Gujarat visited his house and he was detained at a Bengaluru police station without following the procedure of law,” he said. “Police are threatening that they will arrest him. He is ready to cooperate with the investigation but requires protection from arrest,” the counsel said.The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholisaid, “You do not have any sense of remorse or repentance for the abusive words you used against her.” The counsel said he is just a student and is repentant about his post and requested the court to at least protect him from arrest.The bench said, “Petitioner who has abused his free speech right cannot be extended discretionary relief by the court.”An Ahmedabad resident on Nov 7 filed a police complaint that the accused had posted defamatory content against the PM and his mother to “harm their dignity, reputation and tarnish India’s standing in the international community”. Police registered an FIR and went to Bengaluru to question the accused. X has withheld the account after registration of the FIR.The petitioner alleged that in violation of his fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21, of the Constitution, Ahmedabad police, in league with Bengaluru cops, illegally took him to cyber crime police station and threatened him with arrest.

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi Friday put traditional medicine at the centre of global health conversation, flagging launch of Traditional Medicine Global Library (TMGL) as a shared international platform to anchor ayurveda, yoga & other ancient systems in research, policy and evidence-based care.Addressing the closing ceremony of the Second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine at Bharat Mandapam, Modi said the digital library fulfils a commitment made during India’s G20 presidency and will bring together scientific data, research and policy documents related to traditional medicine on a single global platform. “This will ensure equal access to authentic information for every country,” he said.The TMGL hosts content from 194 countries and marks a shift from fragmented, region-specific knowledge to a shared global repository, enabling evidence-based research, regulation and safer integration of traditional medicine into national health systems.The PM said the three-day summit reflected a new convergence of tradition and technology, with deliberations on research, digital tools, AI, global standards and investment. He said these discussions have culminated in the Delhi Declaration, which will serve as a common roadmap for cooperation on safety, standards and training.Highlighting India’s leadership, he said it was a matter of pride that WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine is based in Jamnagar. He also inaugurated the new WHO South-East Asia Regional Office Complex in Delhi, describing it as a global hub for research, regulation and capacity building.Linking traditional medicine to modern health challenges, he said lifestyle imbalances are driving diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, depression and cancer. “Restoring balance is not just a global cause but a global urgency,” he said. The PM announced steps to strengthen integrative cancer care, combining traditional systems with modern treatment, and highlighted ongoing clinical studies on anaemia, arthritis and diabetes, alongside growing innovation by Indian start-ups.During the event, Modi launched key Ayush initiatives, including the My Ayush Integrated Services Portal and the Ayush Mark as a global quality benchmark, and released a WHO technical report on yoga training. He also felicitated the recipients of Prime Minister’s Awards for Outstanding Contribution to the Promotion and Development of Yoga, recognising their sustained efforts in taking yoga to a global audience.

MUMBAI: With victims and eyewitnesses deposing in sign language, a special Pocso court recently convicted and sentenced to two years’ rigorous imprisonment the former headmaster and a retired teacher of a school for the deaf and aphasic for the sexual assault of three students between 2013 and 2014. The judge noted school is a “pious institute” and children trust their teachers and consider them as guiding light for life. “If this trust is betrayed and when (a) Godlike figure himself sexually tortures, no doubt the victims would carry a trauma for life,” special judge Satyanarayan R Navander said.Finding the accused, both in their 60s, guilty of aggravated sexual assault, the court said “the accused were teachers of the school for the deaf and dumb students i.e. the victims. That way, the victims were in their custody and care. Misusing their position of trust and taking undue advantage of their physical disability, the accused had committed sexual assault.”The court summoned experts in sign language to act as official interpreters. One expert, Sanyogita Devale, assisted during police investigation, while another, Bharati Lele, assisted during trial to translate the victims’ gestures into spoken word for the record. The initial statements of victims were video-recorded by police to ensure their gestures and signs were captured accurately before the trial began. The conviction came despite the primary informant and her mother turning hostile. The judge relied on “clinching evidence” provided by another victim and an eyewitness student, both of whom remained consistent in their deposition despite being subjected to lengthy cross-examination.The judge said no extraordinary leniency can be shown to the accused while awarding the sentence despite their advanced age. The judge noted that for the “physically challenged students”, with bare support, it was not easy to approach the police and file a complaint. “Only because of the status the teachers enjoy, the parents did not believe the victims. However, when the illicit acts persisted, when the victims multiplied and assault was made repeatedly... they raised the voice and ultimately approached the law-implementing machinery… The steps taken by them itself (sic) connotes the gravity of the torture they suffered,” the judge said.On her first day of deposition, the child who had first complained to police affirmed the allegations against the headmaster. After a delay in the trial, she returned to court and completely changed her story. She began claiming the headmaster treated everyone “like his child” and any touching was merely a “pat on the back” for good grades. The judge observed that the victims appeared to have been “won over” by the accused during the decade-long wait for trial.The judge also said that the later retractions by witnesses seemed to be the “outcome of undue influence and pressure of accused.”The defence claimed all the victims were “tutored” by a social activist because she wanted to force the school to adopt a sign-language curriculum. However, the victims deposed that while the activists “guided them on how to approach the police,” the decision to seek justice came from the students and their families. “From the assessment of the evidence of the victims and the witnesses… it is found that Sangita Gala (activist) certainly helped the victims and their parents to approach police and lodge complaint… No malice can be attributed to her for the efforts made… to secure justice for the specially abled victims,” the judge said. The duo were also fined Rs 25,000 each. Out of this amount, Rs 15,000 is to be given to each of the victims as compensation. “The amount of… Rs 15,000 per victim is inadequate and an additional compensation may be awarded by the state. For that purpose, the copy of judgment and order be forwarded to the District Legal Services Authority, Mumbai, to consider the case under the victim compensation scheme,” the judge said. The case dates back to July 2014, when a 13-year-old student, assisted by social activist Gala, filed a complaint at Dadar police station. The investigation revealed a pattern of systemic abuse occurring between June 2013 and June 2014. According to the victim, the headmaster frequently summoned young female students to his office under the guise of academic appreciation, where he would sexually assault them. Meanwhile, the teacher was found to have sexually harassed students during typing classes.

Artem Oganov, Chairman of the VYZOV Prize Scientific Committee

The VYZOV Prize has expanded its international footprint in 2025, drawing applications from researchers across 40 countries and reinforcing its evolution from a national award into a global scientific honour.The prize, which recognises high-technology research with potential for practical application within the next decade, received 632 applications this year. The international “Discovery” category recorded the highest number of submissions, reflecting growing participation from outside Russia. Applications came from countries including the United States, China, India, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey and Iran, as well as Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Venezuela.“The VYZOV Prize is an important step towards international scientific unity. I would like to note the increase not only in the quantity but also in the quality of applications this year, particularly in the international category. Indian science and technology have a great history and a great future – we got quite a few applications from Mumbai and Delhi this year, and I’m looking forward to receiving many strong submissions from India next year,” said Artem Oganov, Chairman of the VYZOV Prize Scientific Committee.The VYZOV Prize features five categories covering a wide range of scientific fields. In the Engineering Solution category, Mikhail Skupov was recognised for developing industrial production of nitride nuclear fuel. The Breakthrough award went to Ilya Yampolsky for research into the molecular mechanics of bioluminescence, leading to the development of glowing plants with biomedical applications.The Scientist of the Year award was given to Stepan Kalmykov for advances in radiochemistry aimed at safer radioactive waste management. Vera Vil received the Future Prize for developing environmentally friendly chemical synthesis methods, while the International Discovery award went to Valery Fokin of the United States for pioneering click chemistry, a technique used in diagnostics and cancer research.Each laureate will receive a prize of $150,000.Organisers said the growing international participation highlights the role of cross-border cooperation in advancing scientific research. Applications for the next edition of the VYZOV Prize are scheduled to open in February 2026.