A Delhi court discharged Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, and 21 others accused by the Central Investigation Bureau in the liquor policy case. There was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the policy, the court held.
It criticised the CBI for implicating Kejriwal and Sisodia without any cogent material, and said that the chargesheet had several gaps not supported by witnesses or statements. The bench said that it will recommend a departmental inquiry against the agency officials who made a public servant the accused number one in the case.
Reacting to this, the Congress said that the proceedings against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “convenient allies” will “quietly fizzle out” ahead of the elections in Gujarat and Punjab expected to take place next year. On the other hand, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav described the ruling as a “moral death sentence” for the BJP. Read on.
Lapses in probe, no proof: What court said while acquitting Kejriwal, Sisodia in excise policy case
Staying an order by a single-judge bench, the Kerala High Court allowed the release of the film The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas had stayed the release of the film on Thursday, observing that it could disturb communal harmony.
On Friday, the court asked how the judge had drawn such serious conclusions about the film’s effect without watching it. The makers of the film had contended that halting the release of a movie already cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification was an extreme step that should not have been taken. Read on.
A Delhi court granted bail to 14 students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University who were arrested on Thursday after they tried to march to the Union education ministry. The students had planned the march to demand that Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit resign for her allegedly casteist remarks.
The students are seeking Pandit’s resignation for saying in an interview to The Sunday Guardian that progress for Dalits was not possible “by being permanently a victim of playing the victim card”.
More than 50 students had been detained during the march. Read on.
Tamil Nadu’s former chief minister and expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader O Panneerselvam joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Assembly elections in the state are expected to be held in April or May.
DMK chief and Chief Minister MK Stalin said that he welcomes Panneerselvam “with open arms”. The former chief minister was expelled from the AIADMK in 2022 after a leadership tussle with Edappadi K Palaniswami, who is the state’s Opposition leader. Read on.
The Supreme Court declined to entertain the West Bengal government’s objections to the Election Commission training judges who have been deployed to decide on claims and objections during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state. A bench said that the commission’s training module cannot override the court’s order and that the judicial officers must be trusted.
The court added that it was not out of place for the poll panel to coordinate with the judges, since they had been given tasks that were different from their usual work. Read on.
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