Rush Hour: HC stays remarks about CBI in liquor policy case, rupee sinks amid Iran conflict and more

The Delhi High Court stayed the adverse observations made by a trial court about the Central Bureau of Investigation in the liquor policy case while discharging all 23 accused, including Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia. The bench directed the trial court to postpone hearings in the connected money-laundering case until the High Court decides the CBI’s revision petition challenging the discharge order.

On February 27, a special court had discharged all the persons accused in the corruption case related to the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy. The court had criticised the CBI for implicating Kejriwal and Sisodia without any cogent material and said the chargesheet had several gaps not supported by witnesses or statements.

The court had also said that it would recommend a departmental inquiry against CBI officials who made a public servant the accused number one in the case. Read on.

The Indian stock market continued its slide amid concerns related to the West Asia conflict. The Sensex crashed 1.8% and the Nifty 1.7%.

The rupee sank to 92.3 against the US dollar from 91.7 on Friday, driven by rising global oil prices that crossed the $100 per barrel-mark.

The price of benchmark Brent crude jumped to $116 per barrel during the day, before ending at $104. The price was about $72.8 per barrel on February 27, the day before the conflict started.

The India VIX index, which measures volatility in the market, spiked more than 17.5%. Read on.

Over 1,250 people have been killed in Iran and 12,000 injured since the conflict in West Asia started, Iranian Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian told Al Jazeera. The conflict began on February 28 after Israel and the United States launched a joint operation to “degrade the capabilities” of the Iranian government.

Tehran has been retaliating by striking Israel and US military bases in the region, and targeting major cities in other Gulf countries and oil tankers.

In Bahrain, an Iranian drone attack, which targeted the Gulf nation’s Sitra island, wounded 32 civilians, the country’s health ministry said. The kingdom’s state-owned energy company Bapco served a force majeure notice, saying that its operations had been hampered by an attack on its refinery complex. Force majeure is a contractual provision that exempts companies from fulfilling their obligations because of unforeseen and uncontrollable events. Read on.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told Parliament on Monday that Iran had asked India to allow three of its ships to dock at Indian ports and New Delhi had granted permission for it on March 1. The IRIS Lavan docked at Kochi on March 4 and remains there, he said.

Jaishankar said that “this was the right thing to do” and that the Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had thanked India for the gesture.

He did not say whether the Iranian warship IRIS Dena, which was sunk by the United States Navy on March 4 off the Sri Lankan coast, was one among the ships that had been permitted to dock in India. Jaishankar made the comments while briefing Parliament about the situation in West Asia.

The Opposition staged a walkout, saying that the government had not allowed MPs to ask questions. The Congress demanded a discussion on the conflict in West Asia. Read on.

Activist Sharjeel Imam has been granted a 10-day interim bail in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case. A Delhi court granted him bail from March 20 to March 30 to attend his brother’s wedding.

The court directed that during the bail period, Imam cannot contact witnesses or persons related to the case. He will only be allowed to meet his family and remain at his home or at the places where the marriage ceremonies will take place, the court said.

Imam was also directed not to speak with the media or use social media. Read on.

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