SC Says All Regulations Complied With in Anant Ambani’s ‘Animal Shelter’ Vantara; SC Puts Parts of Waqf Act on Hold; Modi Says ‘Conspiracy’ in Border States to Shelter ‘Infiltrators’ from Bangladesh

Anti-Immigration Rally in London Turns Violent, India Votes in Favour of UN Resolution on Peaceful Settlement of Palestine Issue, Amit Shah Asks For Probe of Funding of Public Protests Since 1974

A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by Tanweer Alam, Sidharth Bhatia, Pratik Kanjilal, Seema Chishti, Sushant Singh, MK Venu, and Siddharth Varadarajan | Contributing writer: Kalrav Joshi, with additional inputs by Anirudh SK

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Snapshot of the day

September 15, 2025

Sidharth Bhatia

Reliance scion Anant Ambani's Vantara has, according to the report of a special investigation team it formed last month, acquired its vast range of animals – many of them exotic – “in regulatory compliance”, the Supreme Court said today while accepting the Special Investigations Team’s (SIT) findings and thus closing the matter. The court had directed the formation of the SIT in connection with petitions seeking a probe into the rescue and rehabilitation centre-and-private zoo's functioning, including the validity of its animal acquisitions in line with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora aka CITES. Justice Pankaj Mithal, when informed that an interlocutory application has been filed in connection with elephants allegedly being forcibly taken to Vantara away from temples, said:

“See, there are certain things we probably feel are the pride of this country. We should not unnecessarily rake up all these matters and raise hue and cry for the sake of that. Allow certain good things to happen to the country. We should be happy about all these good things … If the acquisition of an elephant is in accordance with the law, what is the difficulty?”

The apex court's order also contains the curious observation that articles in the media “citing incredulity expressed purportedly by some … directors of foreign zoos are unfounded” and that “capacity is assessed and sanctioned by the Central Zoo Authority”.

Another bench of the court ruled today that the provision in the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Act, saying that a person will need to have been a practicing Muslim for five years before donating waqf, shall be stayed until the time that rules are framed detailing how this criterion will be determined. In the absence of such rules the provision “can lead to [the] arbitrary exercise of power”, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih said in its interim order. The court also stayed the Act's clauses allowing collectors to determine whether a waqf property encroaches upon government land on the grounds that it violates the separation of powers. The court however said a full stay on the Act is unwarranted and also declined to stay its provision requiring registration for ‘waqf by user’ properties.

The opposition has come out in support of the interim order – pointing out also that the government had passed the Act after the joint parliamentary panel that examined it rejected all amendments suggested by opposition leaders – but AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi has cautioned that the judgment is but an interim order and that the stay especially on the five-year-Muslim provision lasts only until relevant rules are formed.

London witnessed one of the largest right-wing demonstrations in recent years on Sunday, as more than 110,000 people took to the streets in protest against immigration. The “Unite the Kingdom” march, which saw violent clashes with police, left at least 26 officers injured. Amidst growing tensions, West Midlands Police in United Kingdom has arrested a man in his 30s on charges of raping and assaulting a British-born Sikh woman in her 20s which it termed “a racially motivated hate crime”. Last week, the attack on this British-born Sikh woman took place near Tame Road in Oldbury as per the West Midlands Police she was approached around 8.30 am by two white men while walking through a park. They said the assailants raped the woman and beat her up while hurling racist abuse, including telling her “You don’t belong in this country” and “Go back to your country.” This incident had sent shockwaves through the Indian community and drawn condemnation from Sikh organisations, highlighting fears of rising racial tensions in the region.

At a public meeting in Assam's Darrang district yesterday