Top news: Seven Congress MPs suspended from Lok Sabha on charges of gross misconduct

Coronavirus: Delhi orders primary schools to be shut till March 31 to prevent spread of infection

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday announced that all primary schools in the national Capital will be shut till March 31 as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus. Thirty cases of the infection have been confirmed in India so far.All government, aided, private and municipal primary schools in Delhi will be closed for this month, Sisodia said.

Coronavirus: PM Modi postpones trip to Belgium for EU-India summit

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Brussels for the India-European Union Summit later this month in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, ANI reported. Thirty cases of the infection have been confirmed in India so far.

Justice S Muralidhar receives grand farewell before transfer, called ‘Kohinoor’ of Delhi High Court

Justice S Muralidhar, whose transfer to the Punjab and Haryana High Court triggered criticism of the government last month, was on Thursday given a grand farewell by the Delhi High Court Bar Association. The judge was described as the “Kohinoor” of the Delhi High Court, reported Bar and Bench. He had been at the Delhi High Court since 2006.

Bombay HC dismisses Chanda Kochhar’s petition against her termination

The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed former ICICI Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Chanda Kochhar’s plea challenging her termination last year, PTI reported. Kochhar was sacked in January 2019, about six months after she had resigned following allegations of money laundering involving the bank and the Videocon Group. ICICI Bank had told the Bombay High Court that Kochhar’s petition should be dismissed as it is a private bank and is administered under the Companies Act, not the state or its agency. A division bench of Justices NM Jamdar and MS Karnik accepted the bank’s argument.

Lok Sabha: Seven Congress MPs suspended for rest of the Budget Session for disrupting proceedings

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday suspended seven Congress MPs from attending the House on the remaining days of the Budget Session for disrupting proceedings, ANI reported. Ruckus in the Lower House continued for the fourth day as Opposition leaders protested against the violence in North East Delhi. The leaders who were suspended on charges of gross misconduct were Gaurav Gogoi, TN Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, R Unnithan, Manickam Tagore, Benny Behnan and Gurjeet Singh Aujla.

Coronavirus: Passengers from Italy, South Korea need to submit ‘negative’ certificate to enter India

The Union Health Ministry on Thursday said passengers who want to enter India from Italy or South Korea will need a certificate of having tested negative for the novel coronavirus from designated laboratories authorised by those countries. The ministry said this is a temporary measure and will be enforced from March 10 till cases of COVID-19 subside.

Delhi: Suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain arrested for alleged role in IB staffer’s murder

The Delhi Police on Thursday arrested suspended Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain in connection with the violence in North East district that claimed 47 lives last week, PTI reported. He was arrested after a court rejected his plea to surrender, saying it was not within the purview of its jurisdiction.

Delhi violence: SC refuses to hear victim’s intervention plea in case against activist Harsh Mander

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to hear an intervening plea in allegations against activist Harsh Mander that he instigated a crowd against the top court during an anti-Citizenship Act protest. The plea was filed by a victim of the communal violence in North East Delhi, which has claimed 47 lives. On Wednesday, the Delhi Police had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against Mander for insulting the court. However, the counsel for Mander, Karuna Nundy, denied he had made any such comments.

2012 Delhi gangrape: Four convicts to hang on March 20 at 5.30 am, says court

A court in Delhi on Thursday ruled that the four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case would be executed at 5.30 am on March 20. The court said Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh and Pawan Gupta have exhausted all their legal options.

Provident fund interest rates lowered from 8.65% to 8.50% for 2019-’20, says Centre

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation lowered the interest rate from 8.65% to 8.50% per annum on its deposits for the year 2019-’20, Minister of State for Labour Santosh Gangwar said on Thursday.

Narendra Modi’s foreign visits cost Rs 446.52 crore since 2015-’16, says Centre

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign visits in the last five years cost the exchequer Rs 446.52 crore, the Ministry of External Affairs told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, responding to a question, said the figure included expenditure incurred on chartered flights.

CAA: Supreme Court asks for pleas challenging law to be mentioned after Holi break

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would hear petitions challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act only after the Holi vacation. The top court will be closed for Holi from March 9 to March 15. Senior counsel Kapil Sibal had mentioned the petitions before a bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, and sought an early hearing. Attorney General KK Venugopal told the court that the Centre would file its reply in the matter in two days.

Parliament: Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day after ruckus over Delhi violence

Both Houses of Parliament were disrupted for the third day as Opposition MPs continued their unrelenting protest against the violence in North East Delhi, which has claimed 47 lives so far. On Thursday, as the Opposition created a ruckus over the denial of an immediate debate on the Delhi riots – and broke into chants of “we want justice” – Lok Sabha was adjourned for an hour soon after it met at 11 am.

Congress accuses BJP of abducting 14 Madhya Pradesh MLAs, says will raise matter in Parliament

The Congress on Thursday said it would raise in Parliament the matter of the Bharatiya Janata Party allegedly trying to destabilise its government in Madhya Pradesh. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged that the BJP had “abducted” 14 of the Congress MLAs in the state, PTI reported.

EC issues voter ID with dog’s photo to West Bengal man, corrects it later

The Election Commission on Wednesday corrected a photograph in the voter identity card issued to a man from Ramnagar village in Murshidabad district in West Bengal, the Hindustan Times reported on Thursday. The poll panel had earlier issued Sunil Karmakar a voter ID with a dog’s photo on it.

ED files money laundering case against Jet Airways, its founder Naresh Goyal: Reports

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday filed a fresh money laundering case against Naresh Goyal, former chairperson of the grounded Jet Airways, and against the airline, IANS reported. Last year, the agency had registered a case of Foreign Exchange Management Act violations against Goyal and Jet Airways.

The Enforcement Directorate questioned Goyal at its office in Mumbai and then took him to his residence to carry out searches, the news agency said quoting unidentified officials.

Coronavirus: 29 infected in India, US toll rises to 11 as California reports first death

The toll in the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States reached 11 on Wednesday, with California reporting its first death and Washington state its 10th.

India reported 23 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases to 29. One of them is the wife of an Italian tourist who has already tested positive in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Six family members of a Delhi coronavirus patient have been infected. Fifteen persons – 14 Italians and one Indian – have tested positive at an Indo-Tibetan Border Police quarantine facility. One person is a Paytm employee.

Polish student whose visa was cancelled for participating in CAA protest moves Calcutta HC

The Polish student whose visa was cancelled for participating in a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act moved the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday, seeking a restraining order against the Centre and a recall of its order, PTI reported.

In his petition before the High Court, Kamil Siedczynski asked to restrain the authorities from giving effect to the notice. The notice, issued last week by the Foreign Regional Registration Office, asks Siedczynski to leave India within 14 days, for participating in “anti-government activities” contravening visa rules.

J&K: Police officer, civilian killed in suspected militant attack in Sopore, say officials

An officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and a civilian were killed on Wednesday in a suspected militant attack in Sopore town of Baramulla district, PTI reported, citing officials.

The incident occurred after militants allegedly opened fire at a police party in Warpora area in the evening. The special police officer who died was identified as Wajahat Ahmad and the civilian as Omar Subhan, unidentified officials said.

Delhi violence: Congress team makes first visit, Rahul Gandhi says hate won’t benefit anyone

A Congress delegation led by former party chief Rahul Gandhi visited North East Delhi on Wednesday to assess the damage caused by last week’s communal violence, PTI reported. The delegation, whose first visit came six days after the violence died down, went to a school that was burnt and a nearby mosque in Brijpuri locality.

Air India sale: NRIs now allowed to buy entire stake, says Centre

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to allow non-resident Indians to control up to 100% stake in national carrier Air India. Earlier, NRIs were allowed to own up to 49% stake.

The government first announced its intention to divest its entire stake in Air India in January – a major shift from its stance in 2018 when it wanted to divest only 76% stake. The proposed stake sale, however, failed to take off on both occasions.