23 including women killed in rain, lightening-related incidents in Bihar

New Delhi, May 29: At least 23 people were killed in separate incidents of lightning strike and wall collapse triggered by squall in Bihar on Sunday, although hot weather conditions continued in many parts of the country.

However, the onset of the southwest monsoon is likely to advance due to a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal. The MeT department said that rains were likely to begin in Kerala by May 30-31, marking the onset of monsoon in the country.

In parts of New Delhi, the mercury was below the 40-degree mark with some areas in the city witnessing rainfall.

The Safdarjung observatory registered a high of 36.3 degrees Celsius while areas under Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge and Ayanagar observatories recorded maximum temperatures of 39.7 degrees Celsius, 35 degrees Celsius, 35.8 degrees Celsius and 37.9 degrees Celsius..

Rainfall recorded in the city during the last 24 hours till 8:30am was 11.9mm.

In Bihar, at least 23 people, including eight women, were killed in separate lightning and rain-related incidents.

Eighteen people were killed across eight districts in a lightening strike, while five were killed in separate incidents of wall collapse during a storm that blew at a speed of 50-70km per hour in different panchayat areas of the West Champaran district of the state.

Of the 18 people killed in incidents of lightning strike in eight districts, five persons were killed in East Champaran, four in Jamui, one in West Champaran, two each in Munger, Bhagalpur and Madhepura and one each in Vaishali and Samastipur districts, the state's Disaster Management Department Additional Secretary Anirudh Kumar said.

Meanwhile, the deathtoll due to sunstroke climbed to 12 in Odisha even as rains triggered by the depression over the Bay of Bengal and a nor'wester in some areas brought respite from scorching heat.

Two more deaths were reported in Sambalpur and Bargarh district since Sunday.

With this, four heat-related deaths have been reported from Sambalpur, while three deaths each took place in Angul and Bargarh districts and one each in Balangir and Bhadrak, the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said.

The mercury breached the 40-degree mark in only four places in the state. Angul was the hottest place, recording a maximum of 42.1 degrees Celsius while Hirakud registered a high of 40.8 degrees Celsius.

Heatwave continued unbated in Haryana and Punjab with Hisar being the hottest place in the two states, recording a maximum of 43.2 degrees Celsius.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a high of 39.3 degrees Celsius, while in Ludhiana and Patiala the maximum temperatures were 38.5 degrees Celsius and 37.6 degrees Celsius respectively.

Rajasthan too reeled under hot weather conditions with the mercury settling above the 43-degree mark in most parts of the state. However, maximum temperatures saw a dip by one to two degrees in comparison to yesterday.

Churu was the hottest place in the state, with a maximum of 47 degrees Celsius, followed by 45.6 degrees Celsius in Pilani and 44.6 degrees Celsius in Sriganganagar.

The mercury in Bikaner and Kota settled at 44.5 degrees Celsius and 44.4 degrees Celsius respectively.

Heatwave conditions also prevailed at a few places in Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha region.

In Himachal Pradesh, hailstorm and rain lashed Shimla and its surrounding areas affecting normal life.

Una was hottest place in the state with a maximum temperature of 39.2 degrees Celsius, followed by Nahan at 35.5 degrees Celsius, Sundernagar at 33.7 degrees Celsius, Bhuntar 33.6 degrees Celsius and Dharamsala 32.4 degrees Celsius.

Rainfall also occurred in parts of Kerala, Lakshadweep, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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