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said since the issue of fair trial for accused required a comprehensive approach, it would be better if the petition is withdrawn and refiled with an enlarged scope after April when the SOP for police would have been implemented.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 crescent moon was sighted on the evening of March 19 over Mecca, and by midnight the messages had already begun moving. From palace communications offices and city hall press rooms, from foreign ministries and mosque podiums, the words went out in Arabic and English and Turkish and Urdu: Eid Mubarak. Blessed festival. The month is over.Ramadan began on February 19 this year. Nine days later, on February 28, US and Israeli forces launched strikes on Iranian territory that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and set off a significant military escalation across the Middle East. For the remaining three weeks of the holy month, more than a billion Muslims around the world fasted through the day and followed the news through the night. The war and the fast ran together, in parallel, neither pausing for the other.Now, on the morning of Eid al-Fitr, the fast is over. The prayers are being said. And from New York to London to Riyadh to Tehran, the people who lead nations and cities are finding their own ways to mark a day that arrives, this year, in circumstances unlike any recent Eid.

Washington: A greeting from the White House

The statement came a day or two before the holiday, as has been the practice in prior American administrations. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump extended wishes to all Americans celebrating Eid al-Fitr, describing the occasion as a reflection of the country’s founding commitment to religious liberty.The message followed the general shape of prior White House Eid greetings, brief, warm in register, focused on domestic values. It did not address the ongoing conflict with Iran.Across the United States, in mosques from Dearborn to Houston to the outer boroughs of New York, communities gathered for Eid prayer in the early morning. Many had spent Ramadan following developments in the region with particular closeness. The White House message reached them through news alerts and social media feeds, read on the same phones that had been carrying images from the conflict throughout the month.

New York: Thirty-four iftars and one mayor

Zohran Mamdani became New York City’s first Muslim mayor on January 1 this year. By the final days of Ramadan, he had attended 17 iftars across the five boroughs, among his most frequent public engagements during the month.The settings ranged widely. He broke fast with men held at Rikers Island. He sat with taxi drivers at the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, an organisation where, in an earlier part of his career, he had fasted for fifteen days in solidarity with cab drivers fighting a medallion debt crisis. He hosted hospital workers. He attended community iftars in neighbourhoods where the evening meal drew together families from many different countries, all observing the same fast.“For nearly as long as there has been a New York City, there have been Muslim New Yorkers,” he told one gathering in March.His public visibility during Ramadan generated both support and criticism. An Alabama senator posted a comment on social media drawing a connection to the September 11 attacks. A radio commentator made remarks that drew their own public response. Demonstrators gathered outside his home on at least one occasion. Mamdani continued his schedule throughout, signed executive orders and attended the remaining iftars on his calendar.On Eid morning, he joined the prayer at a mosque in the city. Elsewhere in New York, the day proceeded as Eids in the city do, families in new clothes moving toward mosques in Jackson Heights and Bay Ridge and Hollis, the smell of cooking already moving through apartment buildings before the sun was fully up.

London: Prayers in the square

In London, the morning broke over Trafalgar Square, where the open-air Eid prayer drew thousands of worshippers. Families arrived in shalwar kameez and abayas, in suits and headscarves, spreading across the stone plaza in rows that stretched back toward the National Gallery.London Mayor Sadiq Khan attended, as he has in previous years.In the days before the gathering, the prayers had become the subject of public debate. A Conservative MP had made comments describing mass outdoor Muslim prayer as unwelcome in public spaces. Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded at Prime Minister’s Questions, listing religious gatherings that take place in Trafalgar Square across different faiths and describing them as part of the country’s social fabric.By Friday morning the square was full. The rows of worshippers extended across the plaza. The sound of the prayer carried across the fountain water. Visitors who had not known the prayer was taking place stood at the edges and watched.Starmer had also, in the days before Eid, reiterated Britain’s position of not participating in military action against Iran. At a press conference on March 16 he said: “I have been attacked by some for my decision not to join the offensive against Iran. But at every stage, I have stood by my principles, principles I held just as strongly when it came to the debate on the Iraq war in 2003.”

Riyadh and the Gulf: Inside the mosques

In Mecca, the Eid prayer at Masjid al-Haram drew the congregation it draws every year, large, orderly, moving through the architecture of the mosque in the early morning light. King Salman bin Abdulaziz marked the occasion with a message to Muslims around the world, calling for peace and security and asking God to protect “our brave heroes and soldiers stationed on our borders.”In the United Arab Emirates, the Eid prayer was confined entirely to mosques this year. Outdoor congregational prayers were restricted on security grounds, a departure from the usual practice of families gathering in parks and open spaces in the cool of the morning. The decision was announced in advance and the prayers proceeded indoors without incident.In Dubai, the malls had been decorated for weeks with crescent moons and Eid greetings on digital displays. On the morning of the holiday, the streets were quieter than a normal Friday. Families moved between mosque and home in the early hours and the day settled into the usual pattern of visits and meals.

Ankara: At the crossroads

In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered his Eid message in the morning. It referenced the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran and called for compassion and dialogue among nations. His foreign minister has been present at meetings in Riyadh and Doha in recent weeks, where regional governments have been in discussion about the broader situation.Turkey holds membership in NATO while maintaining longstanding relationships across the Muslim world and with parties on multiple sides of the current conflict. Erdogan marked the day, extended his greetings and continued the schedule of calls with regional leaders that has occupied much of his recent calendar.

Tehran: A quiet Eid

In Iran, the Eid prayer was held in mosques across the country. State television broadcast the morning prayer from Tehran. The hall was full.Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed after his father was killed in the February 28 strikes, did not appear in public. His Eid message was delivered through state media, read by an anchor and accompanied by a photograph. No public appearance has been confirmed since his appointment.In displacement camps established in the west and north of the country following the strikes, families who had left their homes during the conflict observed Eid with the resources available to them. Aid organisations reported that in several locations, volunteers had arranged small celebrations for children, sweets and donated clothes, the gestures that mark the holiday for younger observers. The fast had been kept throughout Ramadan in those camps. The prayer was said on Eid morning.

The day itself

By midmorning on March 20, the prayers had been said on every continent. The tables were being set. In New York, families were gathered in apartments in Jackson Heights and Bay Ridge and Hollis. In London, people were making their way between homes in Whitechapel and Wembley and Croydon. In Istanbul, the ferries crossing the Bosphorus were full of people travelling to visit relatives on the other shore.

IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet have opposed the government’s directive barring airlines from charging for the selection of at least 60 per cent of seats, cautioning that the move may push up airfares.The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), representing the carriers, has called on the civil aviation ministry to reconsider the decision. In a letter to civil aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha on Thursday, the body said the directive could have unintended and adverse implications for the aviation sector.“The financial impact of the directive on airlines will be significant, compelling airlines to recover the lost revenues through increases in fares. As a result, all passengers, including those who may not wish to preselect seats, will end up paying higher fares,” the letter said. The FIA said seat selection charges are a legitimate source of revenue for airlines, especially in a high-cost operating environment.It noted that costs continue to rise annually under the regulator Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) framework, which allows airports full cost recovery along with an assured margin.“Airlines operate on thin margins and rely on ancillary revenues to offset rising operational costs, including fuel, maintenance, airport charges, etc. Imposing a uniform restriction on ancillary revenue undermines commercial flexibility and interferes with market-driven pricing mechanisms,” FIA said, as cited by PTI.FIA also said that although free seat selection may seem advantageous to passengers, the broader impact could be adverse, with higher fares likely to limit affordability and reduce consumer choice.It said the decision could run counter to the goal of passenger welfare by converting optional, user-paid charges into a uniform fare increase for all travellers, disproportionately affecting price-sensitive passengers.The industry body also flagged the absence of stakeholder consultations, stating that the decision was introduced without prior engagement with the sector.“If applied, this measure will set a precedent for excessive intervention in ancillary pricing with heavy loss of revenues for the airlines, apart from creating uncertainty for airlines regarding future regulatory constraints,” FIA said, urging that the mandate issued to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) be withdrawn.On Wednesday, the ministry said it had directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ensure that airlines offer at least 60 per cent of seats on every flight free of charge for selection, with the aim of providing fair access to passengers.The move comes amid growing concerns over airlines levying high fees for add-on services, including seat selection. Typically, carriers charge between Rs 200 and Rs 2,100 for selecting seats, depending on factors such as row position and additional legroom.Meanwhile, PTI sources said airlines have highlighted multiple operational pressures to the ministry, including a surge in jet fuel prices linked to the West Asia conflict.The situation has had a significant impact on flight operations to and from the region.

Rakesh Bedi, who has been a part of the film industry since the late 1970s and known for iconic shows like ‘Srimaan Srimati’ and movies like ‘Chashme Buddoor’ among many others, has found a fresh wave of appreciation for his role as Jameel Jamali in Aditya Dhar’s ‘Dhurandhar’ and now the sequel, ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’. The veteran actor is delighted as his performance continues to win praise from audiences. While the Ranveer Singh led film is largely getting praise, it has also got it share of criticism and many have alleged it to be a propaganda film. In a recent interview, Bedi addressed the ongoing debate around the film being labelled as “propaganda,” making it clear that he does not subscribe to such classifications. “I don’t believe in politics. I think it’s the cinema… Everybody has the right to like or dislike a film. But I don’t think it’s right to put a film into some kind of a category… That it’s pro-establishment or anti-establishment. The verdict is that people are loving it,” he said.