India: Gandhi auction record, Supreme Court ruling, and DMK reforms

In India, several significant developments have occurred across legal, political, and cultural sectors. A collection of Mahatma Gandhi’s personal letters and belongings, including 688 handwritten notes to Anand D. Hingorani, sold at auction for approximately ₹16.20 crore through Saffron Art. This collection represents a record amount for historical documents in such an auction.

In legal news, the Supreme Court of India has prohibited the police from conducting direct investigations into fetal sex determination cases. The court ruled that under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, only statutory authorities have the power to investigate or conduct inquiries, with the police acting only in a supporting capacity.

The DMK party has announced a major structural reorganization following recent election results. Changes include increasing the number of district secretaries to 110 and implementing age limits for various party positions, such as a maximum age of 70 for district secretaries and 45 for branch secretaries.

In Tamil Nadu, reports indicate potential corruption within the Tamil Nadu Mahila Samakhya scheme, with an estimated ₹108 crore in irregularities discovered over three years. Audits have only been completed in 186 out of 388 blocks.

In sports, Indian badminton players faced mixed results at the World Badminton Championships. P.V. Sindhu lost to China’s Wang Zhiyi, while Ayush Shetty was defeated by Alvi फर्हाहन. However, the doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the quarterfinals.