New Delhi, Sep 18: Gold prices declined Rs 600 to Rs 1,13,200 per 10 grams in the national capital on Thursday weighed down by muted local demand, according to the All India Sarafa Association.

In the previous trade, the yellow metal of 99.9 per cent purity had closed at Rs 1,13,800 per 10 grams.

Similarly, gold of 99.5 per cent purity also slipped by Rs 500 to Rs 1,12,800 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes) from Rs 1,13,300 per 10 grams in the previous session.

On the other hand, silver prices rebounded after Wednesday’s decline, by rising Rs 300 to Rs 1,31,500 per kilogram (inclusive of all taxes). The white metal had dropped Rs 1,670 to Rs 1,31,200 per kg in the previous session.

In the overseas market, spot gold was trading 0.23 per cent higher at USD 3,668.33 per ounce after scaling an all-time high of USD 3,707.70 per ounce on Wednesday.

Spot silver advanced 0.55 per cent to USD 41.90 per ounce.

Jammu, Sep 18: The verification of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the Chenani assembly constituency in Jammu and Kashmir commenced on Thursday under tight security, officials said.

This initiative follows a request from Harsh Dev Singh, the state president of the National Panthers Party, who unsuccessfully contested last year’s polls from this seat in Udhampur, they said.

This is possibly the second such exercise of checking and verification of EVMs in the country this year. Ten candidates who unsuccessfully contested last year’s Maharashtra assembly polls had applied for the checking and verification of EVMs, and the machines were found to be flawless on July 31, 2025, officials noted.

On September 10, Udhampur District Election Officer (DEO) Saloni Rai set September 18 and subsequent days for the scheduled verification of EVMs in the Chenani assembly segment.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the verification, Harsh Dev Singh remarked, “Today, we have set a precedent by allowing EVMs to be opened for verification. This exercise will unfold here, and if any electoral malpractice has occurred, those responsible will face consequences.”

He stated that this is the first time such a process is taking place in this area, suggesting that “this is the opening of doors for transparency. Those who have stolen votes will need to resign from their positions.”

Singh also alleged that the Election Commission is collaborating with the BJP to commit these irregularities.

BJP MLA Balwant Singh Mankotia, against whose election Harsh Dev Singh filed a review petition in the High Court last year, said, “In a democracy, every candidate who has contested elections and lost has the right to request verification of EVMs if they have any doubts.”

“Following this democratic process, our opposition party member has requested checking and recounting of votes at three polling stations, and that is currently taking place,” he added.

The verification exercise is being conducted under tight security at the Government Degree College for Boys in Udhampur, from 10 am to 7 pm daily.

The DEO has invited all eligible candidates of political parties of the Chenani constituency to participate in this exercise.

“You are also requested to provide an acknowledgement of this intimation letter to this office for the record,” the DEO said.

Singh has requested that the results of the Chenani assembly election in 2024 be declared null and void, accusing at least 19 respondents — including the Chief Election Commissioner of India — of widespread electoral law violations and misconduct during the election process.

New Delhi, Sep 18: The Supreme Court has directed several states and union territories to notify within four months the rules for registering “Anand Karaj” or the Sikh wedding ceremony.

The apex court said in a secular framework, which respects religious identity and ensures civic equality, the law must provide a neutral and workable route by which marriages through “Anand Karaj” are recorded and certified on the same footing as other marriages.

“The fidelity of a constitutional promise is measured not only by the rights it proclaims, but by the institutions that make those rights usable. In a secular republic, the state must not turn a citizen’s faith into either a privilege or a handicap,” a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said.

In its September 4 order, the bench said when the law recognises “Anand Karaj” as a valid form of marriage yet leaves no machinery to register it, the “promise was only half kept”.

“What remains is to ensure that the route from rites to record is open, uniform and fair,” it said.

The top court passed the order on a plea seeking directions to various states and UTs to frame and notify rules under Section 6 of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 (as amended in 2012) to facilitate registration of marriages solemnised by the Sikh rite commonly known as “Anand Karaj”.

The bench noted the 1909 Act was enacted to recognise the validity of marriages performed by the Sikh ceremony of “Anand Karaj”.

It said by the 2012 amendment, Parliament inserted Section 6 casting a duty upon the states to make rules to facilitate registration of such marriages, to maintain a marriage register and to provide certified extracts, while clarifying that omission to register would not affect the validity of the marriage.

The bench said according to the petitioner, while a number of states and UTs had notified rules pursuant to Section 6, which deals with registration of marriages, several others had not yet done so.

Referring to Section 6, the bench said it imposed a positive duty on every state to create a workable registration machinery for “Anand Karaj” marriages.

“That duty is not contingent on the size of the beneficiary group in any jurisdiction, nor can it be deferred on the footing that other marriage laws exist in parallel,” it said.

The bench said availability of registration bears directly on equal treatment and on orderly civil administration.

Uneven access to a statutory facility across states and UTs, the bench said, produced unequal outcomes for similarly situated citizens while underlining the harmonisation with the existing registration regimes as “practicable and necessary”.

“Where a general civil marriage registration framework is in place, it must receive applications for registration of marriages solemnised by Anand Karaj on the same footing as other marriages and, if the parties so request, it should record that the ceremony was by the Anand rite,” the bench said.

Every respondent state and UT which hadn’t yet notified rules under Section 6, was therefore directed to do so within four months.

“With immediate effect and until such rules are notified, each respondent shall ensure that marriages solemnised by Anand Karaj are received for registration under the prevailing marriage-registration framework without discrimination,” it said.

The bench said states and UTs, which have already notified the rules under Section 6, should continue to operate them.

The bench directed the Centre to act as the coordinating authority and asked it to circulate within two months, the model rules compiled from jurisdictions that had already notified Section 6 rules to any state or UT that seeks guidance.

It directed the Centre to compile and present a consolidated status report before it within six months indicating compliance by the states and UTs.

“Moreover, we make it clear that no application for registration of an Anand Karaj marriage or for a certified extract shall be refused on the sole ground that rules under Section 6 of the Act have not yet been notified,” it said.

In specific directions to Goa, the bench, as an interim measure, asked the state to ensure all civil registration offices receive and process, without discrimination, applications for registration of marriages solemnised by ‘Anand Karaj’ under the existing framework.

The Centre was further directed to issue within four months an appropriate notification under Section 6 of the Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Act, 1962, extending the 1909 Act to Goa.

Upon such extension, Goa was ordered to notify rules under Section 6 within four months.

“As an interim measure, the state (Sikkim) shall ensure that all registering authorities receive and process, without discrimination, applications for registration of marriages solemnised by Anand Karaj under the existing Rules to provide for registration and solemnization of a Form of Marriage in Sikkim (1963),” it said.

While disposing of the plea, the bench directed the Centre to consider and place within four months before the competent authority a proposal for extension of the 1909 Act to Sikkim under Article 371F(n) of the Constitution, with such restrictions or modifications as may be warranted.