Top news: Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi says he will speak about Rajya Sabha nomination after taking oath

Coronavirus: Tsunami of economic devastation will hit India, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday warned that economic devastation will hit India like a tsunami in the next six months and that people will go through “unimaginable pain” if the government does not step up its efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic, ANI reported. “The Indian economy is going to be devastated,” Gandhi told reporters in Delhi. Alluding to the destruction caused by the tsunami in Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2004, he said, “You have no idea of the painful thing the country has suffered and it is coming. It is like a tsunami is coming.”

Rajya Sabha nomination an ‘opportunity to present views of judiciary’, says former CJI Ranjan Gogoi

Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, whose nomination to the Rajya Sabha has triggered criticism of the government, said on Tuesday that his presence in Parliament will “be an opportunity to project the views of the judiciary before the legislative and vice versa”, NDTV reported. President Ram Nath Kovind had nominated him to the Upper House on Monday, just four months after he retired as chief justice on November 17, 2019.

Coronavirus: Doctor of first Indian patient who died tests positive in Karnataka

A doctor in Karnataka, who treated the first patient to die from the novel coronavirus in India, has tested positive for the virus, ANI reported on Tuesday. He had treated the 76-year-old man who died in Kalaburagi district on March 12 following his return from Saudi Arabia. The patient’s samples were tested positive last week after his death.

Citizenship Act protests: Assam activist Akhil Gogoi granted bail by NIA court

A special National Investigation Agency court on Tuesday granted bail to Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Akhil Gogoi, Pratidin Time reported. He was arrested by the agency in December for his alleged role in the protests in Assam against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Coronavirus: Union minister V Muraleedharan goes on self-quarantine, but tests negative

Union minister V Muraleedharan has gone into self-quarantine in Delhi after he allegedly came in contact with a doctor who has since tested positive for the novel coronavirus, ANI reported. The minister of state for external affairs, however, tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday.

Uttar Pradesh: Kanpur lawyer charged with sedition for calling CM Adityanath a terrorist

A district court lawyer in Kanpur was arrested on Sunday and charged with sedition for allegedly calling Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath a terrorist in a tweet, The Indian Express reported. The lawyer, identified as Abdul Hannan, was sent to jail after being produced before a court, Kalyanpur police station house officer Ajay Seth told the newspaper.

Coronavirus: Ernakulam collector orders private health workers to be involved in containing spread

The Ernakulam district administration in Kerala has ordered the private health sector and non-governmental agencies to be roped in to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak in the state. Kerala has the second-most COVID-19 cases in India after Maharashtra.

‘Sad day for justice system’: Politicians, ex-SC judge condemn Ranjan Gogoi’s Rajya Sabha nomination

Retired Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur has criticised the nomination of his former colleague and ex-Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha, saying that the decision redefines the “independence, impartiality and integrity” of the judiciary, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.

Coronavirus: UP to hold Ram Navami mela in Ayodhya despite advisories against large gatherings

The Uttar Pradesh government has said the centuries-old Ram Navami Mela in Ayodhya will be held despite the state’s own advisories along with those by the Centre against large gatherings in an effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic, ThePrint reported on Tuesday. The fair will be held from March 25 to April 2 and is the first such gathering since the Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling in November, said the disputed land in Ayodhya would be assigned to a trust that will oversee the construction of a Ram temple there.

2012 gangrape convict files another petition, claims he wasn’t in Delhi when crime took place

Mukesh Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the 2012 gangrape case, filed another petition before a court in Delhi, claiming that he was not in Delhi when the crime took place, PTI reported. The petition was filed by Singh’s lawyer ML Sharma before Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana on Tuesday.

After Kerala, Rajasthan challenges validity of Citizenship Amendment Act in Supreme Court

The Rajasthan government on Monday challenged the validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act in the Supreme Court saying that it violated the “principle of secularism” and fundamental rights to equality and life, Live Law reported. Rajasthan became the second state after Kerala to challenge the new citizenship law that sparked massive protests across the nation.

MP crisis: SC issues notice to Kamal Nath over BJP’s petition seeking trust vote, hearing tomorrow

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and his government over a petition filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party seeking an immediate floor test in the Assembly, PTI reported. The court will hear the matter on Wednesday at 10.30 am.

SC grants women naval officers permanent commission, says there cannot be gender discrimination

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that serving Short Service Commission women officers in the Indian Navy are entitled to permanent commission, reported Bar and Bench. Maintaining that men and women officers should be treated equally, the bench said, “They can sail with same efficiency as male officers.”

Jamia violence: Forced to enter university to rescue innocent students, say Delhi Police

The Delhi Police told a court that it was forced to enter Jamia Millia Islamia University in December after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act erupted. Submitting the action taken report on Monday, the police said that local leaders and politicians had provoked the protestors, after which some students and others assembled at the campus and raised instigating slogans.

Coronavirus: India reports third death as 64-year-old dies in Mumbai

India reported its third death from coronavirus on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. The patient was a 64-year-old who died in
Mumbai’s Kasturba hospital, ANI reported

Coronavirus: ‘Test, test, test every suspected case,’ says WHO; India maintains it is not rational

The World Health Organisation on Monday urged all countries to ramp up their coronavirus testing to try to reduce the severity of the pandemic. However, Indian authorities continue to defend the country’s restrictive testing policy, which has resulted in among the lowest testing rates in the world.Until March 13, fewer than 6,000 people had been tested in India.

COVID-19: India now bans passengers from Afghanistan, Philippines, Malaysia

India on Tuesday banned the entry of passengers from Afghanistan, Philippines, Malaysia with immediate effect to fight the coronavirus outbreak. The health ministry in a statement said no flights shall take off from these countries to India after 3 pm on Tuesday.

Coronavirus: Maharashtra government begins stamping people in home quarantine

The Maharashtra government on Monday started marking all those who have been asked to self-isolate themselves for 14 days over COVID-19 with a stamp in indelible ink, which says “home quarantined”. The state health ministry has so far confirmed 32 coronavirus cases – highest in India.

Coronavirus: Cases in India rise to 125; Philippines shuts financial markets

The Centre on Tuesday said the number of coronavirus cases has risen to 125. India has declared a countrywide lockdown of schools, colleges, gyms and swimming pools. After a meeting of a Group of Ministers, the government advised that people avoid non-essential travel and employees of private companies work from home.

MP crisis: Kamal Nath says he is ready for no-trust vote as governor orders floor test by Tuesday

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said he had the numbers to prove the majority of the Congress government hours after the governor ordered a floor test by Tuesday. “Those who claim that we don’t have a majority should move a no-confidence motion against my government to get the floor test done,” Nath told reporters outside Raj Bhavan after meeting the governor on Monday. “I told the governor that we are ready for everything as per constitutional provisions, rules and procedures.”

Coronavirus: Sikkim, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh ban entry of domestic tourists

At least three states in the North East – Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim – prohibited entry to domestic tourists on Monday in an attempt to contain the outbreak of coronavirus in the region. Earlier this month, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Sikkim had barred the entry to foreign visitors as a preventive step. India has confirmed that 114 people have been infected with the virus in the country so far.

COVID-19: India to stop entry of everyone coming from EU, Turkey and UK from March 18

India on Monday announced that passengers from all 27 European Union countries, all four European Free Trade Association member nations, Turkey and the United Kingdom cannot enter India between March 18 and March 31. This was part of the Indian government’s latest travel advisory issued on Monday amid the growing coronavirus pandemic.