The Judge are Gonna Get a Bashing
☕ India’s Morning Briefing: Thu, November 13
Hello, and welcome to the brief.
Good morning, friends.
While the capital wakes up to a security fortress, the regulator has decided it’s time to regulate itself, and the Supreme Court wants to know if farmers are now officially smarter than satellites.
Welcome to the 154th edition of The India Brief
Do not miss the deep dive in the end.
1. The Lead: Terror, Diplomacy & Trade
🏥 PM Modi Visits Blast Victims at LNJP Hospital
PM Modi; visited LNJP Hospital
Met survivors; of Red Fort blast
Arrived directly; after two-day Bhutan visit
Vowed; perpetrators will be brought to justice
Straight from the plane to the hospital. A classic, and effective, page from the “Statesman in a Crisis” playbook.
Find the Pattern: This is the “leader in a crisis” script. By visiting victims before even going home, the PM demonstrates domestic security is his top priority, projecting empathy and resolve; all after a great trip to Bhutam. It’s a powerful, time-tested performance, at least has been. 🔗
🚨 Nationwide Security Heightened After Delhi Blast
Security beefed up; Delhi, Gurugram
Hoax bomb threats; target multiple airports including Delhi, Chennai
Kerala Police; step up inspections
High alert; across major hubs
And... cue the nationwide panic. The hoax bomb threats are as predictable as the sunrise, a classic case of security jitters going viral. 🔗
India Deepens Bhutan Ties with 1,020 MW Hydro Project
PM Modi; concludes two-day Bhutan visit
Jointly inaugurates; 1,020 MW Punatsangchhu-II project
Project funded by India; will provide revenue to Bhutan, power to India 🔗
2. The Balance Sheet: Economy & The Bench
📉 Retail Inflation Plummets to Record-Low 0.25%
October retail inflation (CPI); hits 0.25%
Lowest since; current CPI series began
Food inflation; fell to -5.02%
Rural inflation; negative at -0.25%
0.25% inflation! Everyone cheer! Or... wait. Negative rural inflation? That might sound less healthy, but can’t conclude anything yet. Gotta wait and see.🔗
🏛️ SEBI Panel Demands Its Own Chiefs Disclose Assets
High-level SEBI panel; proposes ethics overhaul
Recommends; legally enforceable framework
Chairman & members; to publicly disclose assets
Aims; to boost transparency🔗
🛰️ SC to Probe Claims Farmers Are Dodging Satellites
Supreme Court; to examine stubble burning data
Amicus curiae claims; farmers wait for satellites to pass
Alleges; state admins shared satellite timings
Doubts cast; on official burning counts
This is my favourite story. Farmers are now allegedly timing their crop burning to dodge satellite surveillance, Mission: Pokhran-style. Apparently, they’re being tipped off by the state itself. You can’t make this up.🔗
⏳ SC Wants Public Dashboard of Judicial Delays
SC directs High Courts; to publish verdict timelines
Public dashboard; to show time taken to pronounce judgments
Follows plea; from convicts waiting 2-3 years for a verdict
Tired of judges reserving judgments for years? The Supreme Court is too. It’s just ordered High Courts to create a public “dashboard of shame” (our words, not theirs) showing exactly how long they take.🔗
🏹 Govt Pledges Global E-Commerce for Tribal Products
Tribal Business Conclave; held in Delhi
Minister Goyal; pledges export support
Aims to transform; “Van Dhan” (forest wealth) to “Vyapar Dhan” (trade wealth)
Includes; international warehouses🔗
3. The Uplift
🚀 ISRO Aces Critical Parachute Test for Gaganyaan
ISRO; successfully tests main parachutes
Part of; Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT)
Validated; a “delay” in deployment scenario
Proves; system redundancy works🔗
🔬 IIT Bombay Unveils India’s First Quantum Microscope
India; develops first indigenous Quantum Diamond Microscope (QDM)
Developed by; IIT Bombay
Part of; National Quantum Mission
Enables; advanced magnetic imaging
This isn’t just a lab toy. This is a building block for national sovereignty in a high-stakes future technology. Indigenous quantum sensing has massive implications for everything from defence to medicine. 🔗
4. The World Stage
🌎 COP30 Declares War on Climate Disinformation
10 nations; launch “Declaration on Information Integrity” at COP30
Aims; to combat climate disinformation
Brazil, Germany; to co-chair CHAMP coalition
“Beat the Heat” initiative; launched with 185 cities
At the big climate bash in Brazil, they’ve finally admitted the problem isn’t just carbon; it’s disinformation. They’ve signed a “declaration” to fight it, which is the political equivalent of “thoughts and prayers.”🔗
☢️ US Stands Alone in UN Vote Against Nuke Test Ban
US; votes against UN nuclear test ban treaty
Stood alone; in the General Assembly’s First Committee
Follows; signals of potentially resuming nuclear testing
Reverses; decades of US policy
Find the Pattern: This is the post-Cold War arms control framework unravelling in real-time. By optimising for “deterrence,” the US has now given Russia and China the perfect excuse to resume their own testing. Welcome to Arms Race 2.0. 🔗
5. THE DEEP DIVE
A DASHBOARD OF SHAME, OR JUST ANOTHER DATA GRAVEYARD?
The Supreme Court’s new directive is a beautiful piece of judicial theatre: a public dashboard to name and shame High Court judges who take months, or even years, to issue judgments. The impulse is correct. “Justice delayed is justice denied” is our national motto, and this is a real attempt to hold the delayers accountable. But let’s be honest, India is the world’s foremost producer of well-intentioned, utterly useless public dashboards. For this to be more than a press release, it needs to be a weapon.
A simple data dump is noise. To be useful, this dashboard needs three things. First, it needs intelligent context. It can’t just be a “days pending” number. It needs AI, like the systems used in Brazil’s top court, to classify the type and complexity of a case. A constitutional bench review isn’t the same as a bail hearing. Second, it must be litigant-focused. A citizen should be able to track their case and see a real-time comparison: “Your judgment is 180 days overdue compared to your judge’s average.” Third, it needs consequences. The data must feed an internal alert system for Chief Justices, automatically flagging outliers.
This isn’t a new idea. France and various EU bodies are deep into judicial data transparency. But the Indian experiment could be the most potent, if it’s designed for attack. If it’s just another portal, it’s a waste of code and of my deep dive, I apologise.
The Supreme Court believes public data is the answer to judicial delays. But for this to be a real tool for accountability, what single feature do you think is non-negotiable?
Reply with your thoughts.
Stay sharp,
Aditya S.
Editor, The India Brief