The Evening Wrap: SC says negligence in conduct of NEET should be ‘thoroughly dealt with’

The Supreme Court on June 18 made it clear to the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) that it did not want “even.001% negligence” on the part of anyone in the conduct of the undergraduate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024 to be spared. “Even if there is.001% negligence on the part of anyone, it should be thoroughly dealt with,” Justice S.V. Bhatti, part of a Vacation Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath, addressed the lawyers appearing for the Centre and NTA. The court said the NTA, which holds the exam for medical admissions in the country, should be able to take a firm stand and, if necessary, own up to having made mistakes if there were any made while holding the NEET-UG 2024. The NEET (UG) examination was conducted by the NTA on May 5 at 4750 centres in 571 cities (including 14 cities abroad) for more than 24 lakh candidates. “You (NTA) must stand firm. If there is a mistake, say ‘yes, there is a mistake. This is the action we are going to take’. At least that will inspire confidence in your performance,” Justice Bhatti addressed advocate Kanu Agrawal, appearing for the NTA and the Union government. Justice Nath agreed with his companion judge, remarking orally that the allegations on NEET were “very serious”. Justice Bhatti told the Centre and NTA that they should not treat the petitions filed by NEET aspirants and academicians as adversarial. “Imagine a person who has played fraud on the system becoming a doctor. That would be deleterious to society,” Justice Bhatti pointed out to the government and the NEET agency. Justice Bhatti highlighted the honest effort put in by lakhs of children to prepare for NEET exam. Cheating thwarted honest effort and ambition. “We all know the labour children put in, especially for this exam,” Justice Bhatti emphasised. Agrawal beseeched the judges to not come to an adverse conclusion against the NTA and the government before they had filed their responses to myriad petitions filed in the apex court. The counsel said there was no doubt about the preparations children put in for NEET. “We were discussing [outside the courtroom] the difficulties that children undergo,” Agrawal said. “Your stand outside ought not change the moment you enter the court,” Justice Bhatti reacted. With the exam coming under Supreme Court scanner, the NTA had on June 13 agreed to withdraw and cancel the score cards of 1563 candidates who were given grace marks. The agency would be conducting a re-test for them on June 23. The judge said all that was required was an honest examination of what may have gone “wrong”. “If someone sits down at a table and goes through the performance of most candidates, one can find out what has gone wrong… how many cell phones were used and what were the places to which papers had come… We want timely action,” Justice Bhatti spoke for the Bench. The hearing was based on two petitions filed by a total of over 30 candidates urging the apex court to take cognisance of the NEET controversy. The court has seen several petitions filed with similar prayers since the NEET results were declared early in June. Petitioners urged the court to ask for an investigation report on the controversy ahead of the counselling date of July 6. Justice Nath issued notice and directed the Union and NTA to submit their responses in two weeks. The Vacation Bench listed the case for hearing along with the other petitions challenging various aspects of the conduct of NEET-UG 2024 on July 8. NEET-UG 2024 paper leak row: Rahul Gandhi questions PM Modi ‘silence’ Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on June 18 hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for maintaining “silence” on the NEET exam issue and asserted that his party is committed to strongly raising the voice of the youth from the streets to the Parliament for ensuring strong policies against paper leaks. The former Congress president said the arrests made in Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana clearly show that there has been organised corruption in the examination in a planned manner and added these BJP-ruled States have become the “epicentre” of paper leaks. “Narendra Modi, as usual, is maintaining silence on the tampering with the future of more than 24 lakh students in the NEET examination,” Gandhi said in a post on X in Hindi. “The arrests made in Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana clearly show that there has been organised corruption in the examination in a planned manner and these BJP-ruled States have become the epicentre of paper leak,” he claimed. In the manifesto, the Congress had guaranteed to secure the future of the youth by making strict laws against paper leaks. “While fulfilling the responsibility of the Opposition, we are committed to formulate such tough policies by strongly raising the voice of the youth from the streets to the Parliament and putting pressure on the government,” he said. Gandhi’s remarks came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that even if there was “0.001% negligence” on the part of anyone in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with. Justice Chandru Committee recommends prohibition of wristbands, forehead markings in students; removal of caste appellations in school names The one-man committee headed by retired Madras High Court judge Justice K. Chandru, has recommended that the Tamil Nadu government prohibit students in schools from wearing coloured wristbands, rings, or forehead marks that may indicate their caste. It also recommended the removal of caste appellations in the names of schools. Chandru submitted his report to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at the Secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in the presence of School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena and others. The Hindu accessed the copy of the report. Justice Chandru’s committee was constituted in the wake of an incident at Nanguneri in Tirunelveli district in August 2023, in which two school children belonging to the Scheduled Castes were brutally assaulted by a group of students from an intermediate caste. The report said, “They [students] must also refrain from coming to school on bicycles painted with reference to their caste or exhibiting any caste-related sentiments. Failure to comply with these rules must result in appropriate action being taken, in addition to advising their parents or guardians.” While the words ‘Kallar Reclamation’ and ‘Adi Dravidar Welfare’ should be removed from State-run schools, in the case of existing private schools, the School Education Department should request these schools to give up caste appellations, the report recommended. “If they fail to comply, appropriate legal steps should be considered, including legislative changes to serve the larger public interest,” the report said. The students’ attendance register should not contain any column or details relating to their caste. “At no point can the class teacher call out students by either directly or indirectly referring to their caste, nor make any derogatory remarks about the student’s caste or the so-called character attributed to the caste”. The State government must take steps to amend the existing Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, and insert a provision that a society intending to start an educational institution shall not include any caste appellations in their institution’s name, it said. The seating arrangements of students in every classroom in all schools and colleges should be strictly based on alphabetical order (of their names), the panel recommended. While the report said the State government and the School Education Department were “justified” in prohibiting the use of mobile phones by school students, the panel said it was crucial to strictly enforce banning the use of mobile phones by students on school campuses. “This order [prohibition of mobile phones] should be applied not only to students of schools under the State Board but also to those in schools affiliated with the CBSE and other boards, such as ICSE, ensuring a consistent approach across all educational institutions,” the report said. The committee also recommended that the Tamil Nadu government enact a separate legislation governing all students from schools to higher educational institutions, to enforce a policy of social inclusion and eradicate caste discrimination. “This legislation should impose duties and responsibilities on students, teaching and non teaching staff, as well as the management of such institutions and prescribe mechanisms for supervision, control, and sanctions for non compliance with these directives”, it said. The panel also recommended enhancing local bodies’ control over primary education. Recommending that the current limited role granted to local bodies in the school education system be expanded to full control over primary education, it said that block-level administrations (panchayat unions) must have full control over schools, including appointing, posting, and removing staff. “The laying down of guidelines relating to curriculum and standards and conducting board exams shall be managed by the Directorate of School Education and the State government. The government should formulate new legislation to grant true autonomous powers to local bodies, making education more people oriented by amending the existing Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act of 1994,” it said. Supreme Court to organise special Lok Adalat The Supreme Court will organise a special Lok Adalat from July 29 to August 3 to facilitate amicable settlement of suitable pending cases. The special Lok Adalat will be organised in the 75th year of the establishment of the apex court, which came into existence on January 26, 1950, with the coming into force of the Constitution. In a statement, the apex court said Lok Adalats are an integral component of judicial system in the country, enhancing alternative dispute resolution as a means of expediting and fostering amicable settlements. “In the 75th year of its establishment, the Supreme Court of India is organising a Special Lok Adalat from July 29, 2024 to August 3, 2024 to facilitate amicable settlements of suitable pending cases,” it said. The statement said organising of the Lok Adalat was pursuant to the commitment to accessible and efficient justice delivery for all sections of the society. It said cases having elements of settlement, including those relating to matrimonial disputes, property disputes, motor accident claims, land acquisition, compensation, service and labour which are pending before the apex court, would be taken up to facilitate speedy disposal. Delhi HC dismisses plea to direct BCCI to pay fees to Delhi Police for security during IPL matches The Delhi High Court has dismissed a PIL seeking directions to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pay a substantial amount to the police here for the security provided for matches held in the national capital during the IPL seasons. The High Court noted that the Union of India and Delhi Police chose not to charge any fee from BCCI and IPL team Delhi Capitals for the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches held in the city and it was a policy decision that does not require any court interference. “The decision of the Union of India or Delhi Police to not charge respondent nos. 1 and 2 (BCCI and Delhi Capitals) for the security provided during IPL matches is a policy decision which does not require any interference from this court in the present PIL,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P.S. Arora said. It held that the directions prayed for in the plea are not maintainable. The High Court said there was no merit in the petitioner’s submission that there was a notional amount due and payable by BCCI and the IPL team to the Union of India and Delhi Police for the past matches held here until 2022. The bench, which dismissed the petition, said this order should not be construed as restricting or prohibiting the Delhi Police from raising any fees for past or future dues if it so decides. The High Court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by Haider Ali, who claims to be a social activist, seeking a direction to the BCCI and Delhi Capitals to pay a substantial amount to Delhi Police towards the security provided for the matches during the IPL seasons. The petitioner’s counsel said he has learnt that for IPL matches held in Mumbai, the franchisee pays for the police deployment charges and added that a plea has been filed in the Rajasthan High Court on the issue of non-payment of arrears of dues by the sponsors and organisers of IPL matches payable to the Rajasthan Police for the matches held there. The Centre’s counsel submitted that Delhi Police has not negotiated any fee with BCCI and the IPL team for the security deployed during IPL matches and, therefore, there is no amount due and payable by BCCI to the police. The High Court perused the documents on record which showed that the Maharashtra Police had negotiated a fee for the security deployed during the IPL matches held in Mumbai and the non-payment of the fee was the issue under consideration before the Bombay High Court. Similarly, in the PIL registered before the Rajasthan High Court, the issue noted by the court was with respect to the default in payment of the dues by the sponsors and organisers of IPL matches for the services rendered by the Rajasthan Police Force, it said. Israeli intel warned of Hamas plans before October 7 attack: Report An Israeli intelligence brief prepared weeks before Hamas’s October 7 attack had warned military officials of the Palestinian group’s preparations for an assault, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan. The Israeli military’s signals intelligence unit drafted the brief in September, less than a month before the Hamas attack that sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, Kan reported on Monday. It said the Unit 8200 intelligence document included details of elite Hamas fighters training for hostage-taking and plans for raids on military positions and Israeli communities in southern Israel. The brief said the Palestinian militants were aiming to take hundreds of hostages, Kan reported. “The expected number of hostages: 200-250 people”, the brief said according to Kan. The unprecedented Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Militants also took 251 people hostage, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive since October 7 has killed at least 37,347 people in the Gaza Strip, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. According to Kan, citing unnamed security officials, the brief was known to intelligence officials in the military’s Gaza Division and Southern Command. Israeli politicians have rebuffed calls for a thorough investigation into intelligence failures surrounding the Hamas attack, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted any official probe should wait until after the war, now in its ninth month. The Israeli military however told AFP it was “investigating the events” of October 7, with a probe being “actively carried out” and would later be made public. In briefJaishankar to visit Colombo on June 20 External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will arrive in Colombo on June 20, in his first official visit to a neighbouring country since the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s coalition government assumed charge in India earlier this month. Confirming his Indian counterpart’s visit, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told The Hindu on Tuesday that projects that India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly implement will be reviewed. “We will review progress in projects in various sectors such as renewable energy and connectivity, and look at ways to expedite them,” Sabry said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s possible visit to Sri Lanka this year will also be discussed, he said. In addition to holding talks with the Sri Lankan leadership, EAM Jaishankar will meet politicians across Sri Lankan political parties that are preparing for national elections scheduled this year. Thailand passes marriage equality bill, a first in Southeast Asia Thailand’s Senate passed the final reading of a marriage equality law on June 18, paving the way for it to become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise same-sex couples. The bill comes after more than two decades of effort from activists and politicians, after previous drafts did not reach parliament. With the support of nearly all lawmakers in the Upper House, the law next needs royal approval. It will come into force 120 days after it is published in the royal gazette. LGBT advocates called the move a “monumental step forward”, as Thailand would be the first nation in Southeast Asia to enact marriage equality legislation and the third territory in Asia, after Nepal and Taiwan. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 18 June 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Even .001% negligence by anyone in conduct of NEET should be ‘thoroughly dealt with’: Supreme Court tells NTA, government The Supreme Court on June 18 [made it clear to the Centre and the National Testing Agency]( (NTA) that it did not want “even .001% negligence” on the part of anyone in the conduct of the undergraduate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024 to be spared. “Even if there is .001% negligence on the part of anyone, it should be thoroughly dealt with,” Justice S.V. Bhatti, part of a Vacation Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath, addressed the lawyers appearing for the Centre and NTA. The court said the NTA, which holds the exam for medical admissions in the country, should be able to take a firm stand and, if necessary, own up to having made mistakes if there were any made while holding the NEET-UG 2024. The NEET (UG) examination was conducted by the NTA on May 5 at 4750 centres in 571 cities (including 14 cities abroad) for more than 24 lakh candidates. “You (NTA) must stand firm. If there is a mistake, say ‘yes, there is a mistake. This is the action we are going to take’. At least that will inspire confidence in your performance,” Justice Bhatti addressed advocate Kanu Agrawal, appearing for the NTA and the Union government. Justice Nath agreed with his companion judge, remarking orally that the allegations on NEET were “very serious”. Justice Bhatti told the Centre and NTA that they should not treat the petitions filed by NEET aspirants and academicians as adversarial. “Imagine a person who has played fraud on the system becoming a doctor. That would be deleterious to society,” Justice Bhatti pointed out to the government and the NEET agency. Justice Bhatti highlighted the honest effort put in by lakhs of children to prepare for NEET exam. Cheating thwarted honest effort and ambition. “We all know the labour children put in, especially for this exam,” Justice Bhatti emphasised. Agrawal beseeched the judges to not come to an adverse conclusion against the NTA and the government before they had filed their responses to myriad petitions filed in the apex court. The counsel said there was no doubt about the preparations children put in for NEET. “We were discussing [outside the courtroom] the difficulties that children undergo,” Agrawal said. “Your stand outside ought not change the moment you enter the court,” Justice Bhatti reacted. With the exam coming under Supreme Court scanner, the NTA had on June 13 agreed to withdraw and cancel the score cards of 1563 candidates who were given grace marks. The agency would be conducting a re-test for them on June 23. The judge said all that was required was an honest examination of what may have gone “wrong”. “If someone sits down at a table and goes through the performance of most candidates, one can find out what has gone wrong… how many cell phones were used and what were the places to which papers had come… We want timely action,” Justice Bhatti spoke for the Bench. The hearing was based on two petitions filed by a total of over 30 candidates urging the apex court to take cognisance of the NEET controversy. The court has seen several petitions filed with similar prayers since the NEET results were declared early in June. Petitioners urged the court to ask for an investigation report on the controversy ahead of the counselling date of July 6. Justice Nath issued notice and directed the Union and NTA to submit their responses in two weeks. The Vacation Bench listed the case for hearing along with the other petitions challenging various aspects of the conduct of NEET-UG 2024 on July 8. NEET-UG 2024 paper leak row: Rahul Gandhi questions PM Modi ‘silence’ Congress leader [Rahul Gandhi on June 18 hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi]( for maintaining “silence” on the NEET exam issue and asserted that his party is committed to strongly raising the voice of the youth from the streets to the Parliament for ensuring strong policies against paper leaks. The former Congress president said the arrests made in Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana clearly show that there has been organised corruption in the examination in a planned manner and added these BJP-ruled States have become the “epicentre” of paper leaks. “Narendra Modi, as usual, is maintaining silence on the tampering with the future of more than 24 lakh students in the NEET examination,” Gandhi said in a post on X in Hindi. “The arrests made in Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana clearly show that there has been organised corruption in the examination in a planned manner and these BJP-ruled States have become the epicentre of paper leak,” he claimed. In the manifesto, the Congress had guaranteed to secure the future of the youth by making strict laws against paper leaks. “While fulfilling the responsibility of the Opposition, we are committed to formulate such tough policies by strongly raising the voice of the youth from the streets to the Parliament and putting pressure on the government,” he said. Gandhi’s remarks came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that even if there was “0.001% negligence” on the part of anyone in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with. Justice Chandru Committee recommends prohibition of wristbands, forehead markings in students; removal of caste appellations in school names The one-man committee headed by retired Madras High Court judge Justice K. Chandru, has [recommended that the Tamil Nadu government prohibit students in schools from wearing coloured wristbands, rings, or forehead marks that may indicate their caste](. It also recommended the removal of caste appellations in the names of schools. Chandru submitted his report to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at the Secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in the presence of School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena and others. The Hindu accessed the copy of the report. Justice Chandru’s committee was constituted in the wake of an incident at Nanguneri in Tirunelveli district in August 2023, in which two school children belonging to the Scheduled Castes were brutally assaulted by a group of students from an intermediate caste. The report said, “They [students] must also refrain from coming to school on bicycles painted with reference to their caste or exhibiting any caste-related sentiments. Failure to comply with these rules must result in appropriate action being taken, in addition to advising their parents or guardians.” While the words ‘Kallar Reclamation’ and ‘Adi Dravidar Welfare’ should be removed from State-run schools, in the case of existing private schools, the School Education Department should request these schools to give up caste appellations, the report recommended. “If they fail to comply, appropriate legal steps should be considered, including legislative changes to serve the larger public interest,” the report said. The students’ attendance register should not contain any column or details relating to their caste. “At no point can the class teacher call out students by either directly or indirectly referring to their caste, nor make any derogatory remarks about the student’s caste or the so-called character attributed to the caste”. The State government must take steps to amend the existing Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, and insert a provision that a society intending to start an educational institution shall not include any caste appellations in their institution’s name, it said. The seating arrangements of students in every classroom in all schools and colleges should be strictly based on alphabetical order (of their names), the panel recommended. While the report said the State government and the School Education Department were “justified” in prohibiting the use of mobile phones by school students, the panel said it was crucial to strictly enforce banning the use of mobile phones by students on school campuses. “This order [prohibition of mobile phones] should be applied not only to students of schools under the State Board but also to those in schools affiliated with the CBSE and other boards, such as ICSE, ensuring a consistent approach across all educational institutions,” the report said. The committee also recommended that the Tamil Nadu government enact a separate legislation governing all students from schools to higher educational institutions, to enforce a policy of social inclusion and eradicate caste discrimination. “This legislation should impose duties and responsibilities on students, teaching and non teaching staff, as well as the management of such institutions and prescribe mechanisms for supervision, control, and sanctions for non compliance with these directives”, it said. The panel also recommended enhancing local bodies’ control over primary education. Recommending that the current limited role granted to local bodies in the school education system be expanded to full control over primary education, it said that block-level administrations (panchayat unions) must have full control over schools, including appointing, posting, and removing staff. “The laying down of guidelines relating to curriculum and standards and conducting board exams shall be managed by the Directorate of School Education and the State government. The government should formulate new legislation to grant true autonomous powers to local bodies, making education more people oriented by amending the existing Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act of 1994,” it said. Supreme Court to organise special Lok Adalat The [Supreme Court will organise a special Lok Adalat]( from July 29 to August 3 to facilitate amicable settlement of suitable pending cases. The special Lok Adalat will be organised in the 75th year of the establishment of the apex court, which came into existence on January 26, 1950, with the coming into force of the Constitution. In a statement, the apex court said Lok Adalats are an integral component of judicial system in the country, enhancing alternative dispute resolution as a means of expediting and fostering amicable settlements. “In the 75th year of its establishment, the Supreme Court of India is organising a Special Lok Adalat from July 29, 2024 to August 3, 2024 to facilitate amicable settlements of suitable pending cases,” it said. The statement said organising of the Lok Adalat was pursuant to the commitment to accessible and efficient justice delivery for all sections of the society. It said cases having elements of settlement, including those relating to matrimonial disputes, property disputes, motor accident claims, land acquisition, compensation, service and labour which are pending before the apex court, would be taken up to facilitate speedy disposal. Delhi HC dismisses plea to direct BCCI to pay fees to Delhi Police for security during IPL matches The Delhi High Court has dismissed a PIL seeking directions to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to [pay a substantial amount to the police]( here for the security provided for matches held in the national capital during the IPL seasons. The High Court noted that the Union of India and Delhi Police chose not to charge any fee from BCCI and IPL team Delhi Capitals for the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches held in the city and it was a policy decision that does not require any court interference. “The decision of the Union of India or Delhi Police to not charge respondent nos. 1 and 2 (BCCI and Delhi Capitals) for the security provided during IPL matches is a policy decision which does not require any interference from this court in the present PIL,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P.S. Arora said. It held that the directions prayed for in the plea are not maintainable. The High Court said there was no merit in the petitioner’s submission that there was a notional amount due and payable by BCCI and the IPL team to the Union of India and Delhi Police for the past matches held here until 2022. The bench, which dismissed the petition, said this order should not be construed as restricting or prohibiting the Delhi Police from raising any fees for past or future dues if it so decides. The High Court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by Haider Ali, who claims to be a social activist, seeking a direction to the BCCI and Delhi Capitals to pay a substantial amount to Delhi Police towards the security provided for the matches during the IPL seasons. The petitioner’s counsel said he has learnt that for IPL matches held in Mumbai, the franchisee pays for the police deployment charges and added that a plea has been filed in the Rajasthan High Court on the issue of non-payment of arrears of dues by the sponsors and organisers of IPL matches payable to the Rajasthan Police for the matches held there. The Centre’s counsel submitted that Delhi Police has not negotiated any fee with BCCI and the IPL team for the security deployed during IPL matches and, therefore, there is no amount due and payable by BCCI to the police. The High Court perused the documents on record which showed that the Maharashtra Police had negotiated a fee for the security deployed during the IPL matches held in Mumbai and the non-payment of the fee was the issue under consideration before the Bombay High Court. Similarly, in the PIL registered before the Rajasthan High Court, the issue noted by the court was with respect to the default in payment of the dues by the sponsors and organisers of IPL matches for the services rendered by the Rajasthan Police Force, it said. Israeli intel warned of Hamas plans before October 7 attack: Report An [Israeli intelligence brief prepared weeks before Hamas’s October 7 attack]( had warned military officials of the Palestinian group’s preparations for an assault, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan. The Israeli military’s signals intelligence unit drafted the brief in September, less than a month before the Hamas attack that sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, Kan reported on Monday. It said the Unit 8200 intelligence document included details of elite Hamas fighters training for hostage-taking and plans for raids on military positions and Israeli communities in southern Israel. The brief said the Palestinian militants were aiming to take hundreds of hostages, Kan reported. “The expected number of hostages: 200-250 people”, the brief said according to Kan. The unprecedented Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Militants also took 251 people hostage, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive since October 7 has killed at least 37,347 people in the Gaza Strip, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. According to Kan, citing unnamed security officials, the brief was known to intelligence officials in the military’s Gaza Division and Southern Command. Israeli politicians have rebuffed calls for a thorough investigation into intelligence failures surrounding the Hamas attack, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted any official probe should wait until after the war, now in its ninth month. The Israeli military however told AFP it was “investigating the events” of October 7, with a probe being “actively carried out” and would later be made public. In brief Jaishankar to visit Colombo on June 20 External Affairs Minister S. [Jaishankar will arrive in Colombo on June 20]( in his first official visit to a neighbouring country since the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s coalition government assumed charge in India earlier this month. Confirming his Indian counterpart’s visit, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told The Hindu on Tuesday that projects that India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly implement will be reviewed. “We will review progress in projects in various sectors such as renewable energy and connectivity, and look at ways to expedite them,” Sabry said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s possible visit to Sri Lanka this year will also be discussed, he said. In addition to holding talks with the Sri Lankan leadership, EAM Jaishankar will meet politicians across Sri Lankan political parties that are preparing for national elections scheduled this year. Thailand passes marriage equality bill, a first in Southeast Asia Thailand’s Senate [passed the final reading of a marriage equality law]( on June 18 , paving the way for it to become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise same-sex couples. The bill comes after more than two decades of effort from activists and politicians, after previous drafts did not reach parliament. With the support of nearly all lawmakers in the Upper House, the law next needs royal approval. It will come into force 120 days after it is published in the royal gazette. LGBT advocates called the move a “monumental step forward”, as Thailand would be the first nation in Southeast Asia to enact marriage equality legislation and the third territory in Asia, after Nepal and Taiwan. 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