The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre after a plea was filed against its decision to introduce 10% reservation for the economically weak among upper castes.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday began searching the Rohtak home of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in connection with alleged irregularities in land allocation.
Late on Thursday, the Indian Space Research Organisation undertook its first mission of 2019, successfully launching military imaging satellite Microsat-R and Kalamsat, a satellite built by students.
INX Media case: Custodial interrogation of P Chidambaram is needed, CBI and ED tell Delhi High Court
The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate on Friday told the Delhi High Court that custodial interrogation of former Union minister P Chidambaram was required in the INX media case.
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Venezuela political crisis: India calls for resolution through constructive dialogue
India on Friday said it favoured the resolution of the political crisis in Venezuela through constructive dialogue. Venezuela is in the midst of a crisis after Opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself the new president of the country on Wednesday after leading protests against President Nicolás Maduro.
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Andhra Pradesh: Teacher arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting 8-year-old student in Krishna
The Andhra Pradesh Police on Friday said they have arrested a government school teacher for allegedly sexually assaulting an eight-year-old student in Krishna district’s Agiripalli on January 22.
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After CBI case against Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress claims Centre is misusing central agencies
Congress leader Anand Sharma on Friday warned central agencies against “acting at the behest” of political parties leading the government. His statement follows the Central Bureau of Investigation’s decision to register a new case against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of 1,417 acres of land in Gurugram in 2009.
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Sabarimala: Women who first entered shrine were escorted by police in civilian clothes, court told
A senior police officer on Thursday told the Kerala High Court that four policemen in civilian clothing had provided protection to the two women of menstruating age who entered the Sabarimala temple on January 2.
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Maharashtra: Leopard enters residential locality in Nashik, injures three people
A leopard on Friday entered a residential locality in Maharashtra’s Nashik district and injured three people before it was captured by officials.
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Gurugram building collapse: Rescuers retrieve seven bodies, call off search operation
Rescuers retrieved seven bodies from the site where a building collapsed in Gurugram on Thursday. Officials said the search operation has been called off.
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Gender counselling classes for BCCI CEO Johri expected to be done in 10 days, says Vinod Rai
The Supreme Court-mandated Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai on Friday said an agency will be hired within the next 10 days to deal with recommended gender sensitisation classes for Board of Control for Cricket in India Chief Executive Officer Rahul Johri, two months after he was exonerated by a panel for alleged sexual harassment.
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Bihar: Priyanka Gandhi has a beautiful face but no political achievement, says BJP leader
A Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Bihar on Friday dismissed Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s influence in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and claimed that her beauty will not win votes.
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MM Kalburgi murder: Supreme Court agrees to hear plea for SIT inquiry on February 26
The Supreme Court on Friday noted that the murder of Kannada writer MM Kalburgi and the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh and activists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare were part of a “very serious case” and refused to give the Maharashtra and Karnataka governments any room for adjournment.
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Citizenship Bill: Mizo National Front will pull out from NDA alliance if situation arises, says CM
Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Thursday said that the ruling Mizo National Front would not hesitate to cut ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led North East Democratic Alliance if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is not revoked.
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Jammu and Kashmir: Governor approves amendment to allot government job quota to Pahari community
Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday approved the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2014, that grants a quota in government jobs to the Pahari community.
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Odisha: RSS wants to control all institutions in the country, claims Congress chief Rahul Gandhi
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh wanted to control all the institutions in India and accused it of stamping its mark on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government.
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Jayalalithaa estate theft: Journalist moves Madras HC, seeks to quash FIR against him and six others
Narada News Chief Executive Officer Mathew Samuel moved the Madras High Court on Thursday, asking it to direct the Tamil Nadu police to quash an FIR filed against him and six others over a video clip related to the Kodanadu estate break-in case.
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Full text: Activist Stan Swamy, a suspect in Bhima Koregaon case, ‘appeals to nation’s conscience’
Jharkhand-based human rights activist and Catholic priest Stan Swamy, whose home was raided by the Pune police on August 28 in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case, on Friday released a statement criticising the government for targeting intellectuals working for the fundamental rights of the poor, and labelling them “urban naxals”.
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Tamil Nadu: DMK gives former Dhinakaran loyalist V Senthil Balaji charge of Karur district
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Thursday appointed V Senthil Balaji as the party’s in-charge for western Karur district in Tamil Nadu. Balaji had joined the opposition party on December 14.
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Karnataka: Suspended Congress MLA claims legislator he assaulted had attacked him first
Congress MLA JN Ganesh, who was suspended from the party on Monday for allegedly assaulting fellow legislator Anand Singh at a resort, claimed on Thursday that it was Singh who attacked him first.
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Motorbike import duty: Donald Trump says he struck ‘very fair deal’ with India in ‘just two minutes’
United States President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had struck a “very fair deal” on imported motorcycles with India last year, by getting it to slash import duty to 50% in “just two minutes”. However, he complained about India’s “high tariffs” on the import of American whisky.
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Sabarimala row: Director Priyanandan attacked in Thrissur by suspected BJP workers for Facebook post
Malayalam film director Priyanandan, who recently courted controversy for a Facebook post on the entry of women into Sabariama, was attacked by unidentified men at a shop near his home in Vallachira in Kerala’s Thrissur district on Friday.
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SC/ST Act: Supreme Court to look into setting up a bench to hear petitions together
The Supreme Court on Friday said it is considering setting up a bench to hear together the Centre’s review petition and other pleas challenging the amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
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Uttar Pradesh: 78 ‘criminals’ killed in 3,026 encounters in first 16 months of BJP rule, says report
The Uttar Pradesh Police conducted over 3,000 encounters between March 2017 and July 2018, in which 78 alleged criminals were killed, The Indian Express reported on Friday.
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2019 General Elections: BJP-led NDA will fall short of majority mark, say two opinion polls
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance will fall short of the majority mark of 272 seats in the Lok Sabha, two opinion polls said on Thursday. However, the alliance will emerge as the largest coalition group in Parliament, the polls added.
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Upper-caste quota: Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, says it will examine validity of law
The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre after a plea was filed against its decision to introduce 10% reservation for the economically weak among upper castes. The court said it would examine the matter. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna heard a slew of petitions challenging the Constitutional amendments, which came into force on January 14.
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Iconic Hindi writer Krishna Sobti dies at 93
Renowned Hindi writer Krishna Sobti died in New Delhi on Friday. She was 93. Sobti, best known for her 1966 novel Mitro Marjani, won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980 for her novel Zindaginama. Some of her other novels are Daar Se Bichhuri, Surajmukhi Andhere Ke and Yaaron Ke Yaar.
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Supreme Court upholds constitutional validity of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the constitutional validity of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in its entirety. The code provides for a legal framework to resolve insolvency cases and release non-performing assets quickly.
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‘Tainted life partner’: Sushil Modi cites Robert Vadra’s land deals in criticism of Priyanka Gandhi
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Thursday criticised the Congress’ induction of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into active politics by launching an attack on her husband Robert Vadra. Modi described Robert Vadra, who is being investigated by several government agencies for allegedly dubious land deals, as a “tainted life partner”.
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Gujarat: Crocodiles being relocated to make way for seaplane service to Statue of Unity, says report
The Gujarat forest department has started relocating crocodiles from two ponds on the Sardar Sarovar Dam premises on the Narmada river to enable authorities to start a seaplane service at the Statue of Unity, reports said on Friday. There are close to 500 mugger, or marsh, crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris) in the ponds. These animals are among the most endangered species and fall under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act. Fifteen reptiles have been removed so far.
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Manesar land scam: CBI searches Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s home in Rohtak
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday began searching the Rohtak home of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in connection with alleged irregularities in land allocation, ANI reported. The agency is also conducting searches at over 30 places in Delhi and the National Capital Region in connection with the scam.
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Congress warns Centre of protests inside Parliament if it presents a full budget on February 1
The Congress on Thursday warned the Bharatiya Janata Party of protests inside and outside Parliament if the Centre presents a full budget on February 1, instead of a vote on account. Congress leader Manish Tewari, addressing a press conference, said such a step would be a “blatant violation of Constitutional propriety”, as the government’s term will end just 56 days into the 2019-’20 financial year, The Hindu reported.
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Goa: Drinking and cooking on beaches to attract fines up to Rs 10,000, imprisonment
The Goa government on Thursday approved amendments to the Tourist Trade Act that will allow authorities to impose a fine of Rs 2,000 or jail tourists who cause “public nuisance”. Tourists defying the law in large groups face a fine of Rs 10,000.
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Jayanti Bhanushali murder: Gujarat Police arrest two aides of former BJP MLA Chhabil Patel
The Gujarat Police on Thursday arrested two aides of former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Chhabil Patel in connection with the murder of ex-BJP legislator Jayanti Bhanushali. Bhanushali was killed on a moving train on January 8. Patel left the country hours after the murder.
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Uttar Pradesh: BSP leader booked for offering prize for BJP MLA’s head after Mayawati insult
The police on Thursday filed a criminal case against Bahujan Samaj Party leader Vijay Yadav at the Civil Lines police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad for allegedly offering a prize of Rs 50 lakh for the head of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Sadhana Singh. Yadav, a former MLA, had made the remark on Monday after Singh said BSP chief Mayawati was “worse than a eunuch”.
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ISRO launches military satellite Microsat-R, student-built Kalamsat
The Indian Space Research Organisation on Thursday night undertook its first mission of 2019, successfully launching military imaging satellite Microsat-R and Kalamsat, a satellite built by students. The satellites were launched at 11.37 pm on Thursday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
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