Pakistan high court upholds ban on wedding food News
Pakistan high court upholds ban on wedding food

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled Friday against a recent government decision to allow newlyweds in the province of Punjab to serve food to wedding guests. The court held that the original ban against food service, imposed by the provincial government in 1997, should remain in force to discourage public displays of wealth. The three-judge bench, heading by Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, stated that the ban reinforces the Islamic emphasis on living a simple life and takes pressure off lower income groups. The court also deplored the practice of dowry and the lively customs of South Asian weddings as "social evils." BBC News has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.