Congress forces adjournment of Rajya Sabha
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Congress of misusing Parliament and slowing the country's the economic growth. At a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Parliamentary panel, Modi said that the opposition party was working to “damage the country’s resources and hurt its dreams”. He also praised Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav forcalling for an end to the ongoing logjam in Parliament. The Prime Minister’s remarks were later echoed by Union Ministers Arun Jaitley and Rajiv Pratap Rudy after the Congress forced the adjournment of the Rajya Sabha following the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax Bill there.
NIA will not challenge Aseemanand’s bail
The National Investigation Agency will not challenge the conditional bail granted to 2007 Samjhauta blast case accused Swami Aseemanand, Union Minister of State for Home HP Chaudhary said on Tuesday. He said that the NIA had found “no grounds to challenge” the Supreme Court order granting bail to Aseemanand. Sixty eight people were killed when bombs exploded on the Samjhauta Express, the only railway link between India and Pakistan. However, Chaudhary added that Swami Aseemanand, a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, would remain in jail as he was unable to comply with the country's conditions while granting him bail. Chaudhary added that the NIA would not challenge the bail order granted to two of the accused in the Mecca Masjid blasts case.
ED seeks Interpol notice against Lalit Modi
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday moved Interpol, seeking a red-corner notice against former Indian Premier League Chairperson Lalit Modi. The Directorate sought the notice as it had exhausted all the domestic legal options available to it in its investigation into the money-laundering against the former IPL chief, officials said. The agency has alleged that Modi received a kickback of over Rs 125 crore for manipulating the process of assigning broadcast rights for the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. The notice will allow the Directorate to begin extradition processes against Modi, if necessary.
Italy distorting reality, India tells tribunal
India on Tuesday accused the Italian government of distorting reality over the case involving two of the country's Marines, who stand accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012. Italy was omitting “several crucial aspects” of the case, which was preventing a complete understanding of the dispute between the two countries, India told the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The tribunal is currently hearing India’s plea challenging Italy’s decision to move the case for international arbitration. The Indian government has maintained that the case needs to be tried by the country’s courts as the incident took place in its territorial waters.
Aadhaar not mandatory to obtain benefits: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that it was not mandatory for a citizen to possess an Aadhaar card to access government benefits and asked the Central government to publicise this fact. A bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar also ordered the government to not share the personal biometric details of cardholders under any circumstances except in the case of a court-monitored criminal investigation. The bench said that it would decide the validity of the Aadhaar scheme once a Constitutional bench of the court made a ruling on whether the right to privacy was a fundamental right. However, the court said that it would not stop the ongoing enrolment process for the scheme.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Congress of misusing Parliament and slowing the country's the economic growth. At a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Parliamentary panel, Modi said that the opposition party was working to “damage the country’s resources and hurt its dreams”. He also praised Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav forcalling for an end to the ongoing logjam in Parliament. The Prime Minister’s remarks were later echoed by Union Ministers Arun Jaitley and Rajiv Pratap Rudy after the Congress forced the adjournment of the Rajya Sabha following the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax Bill there.
NIA will not challenge Aseemanand’s bail
The National Investigation Agency will not challenge the conditional bail granted to 2007 Samjhauta blast case accused Swami Aseemanand, Union Minister of State for Home HP Chaudhary said on Tuesday. He said that the NIA had found “no grounds to challenge” the Supreme Court order granting bail to Aseemanand. Sixty eight people were killed when bombs exploded on the Samjhauta Express, the only railway link between India and Pakistan. However, Chaudhary added that Swami Aseemanand, a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, would remain in jail as he was unable to comply with the country's conditions while granting him bail. Chaudhary added that the NIA would not challenge the bail order granted to two of the accused in the Mecca Masjid blasts case.
ED seeks Interpol notice against Lalit Modi
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday moved Interpol, seeking a red-corner notice against former Indian Premier League Chairperson Lalit Modi. The Directorate sought the notice as it had exhausted all the domestic legal options available to it in its investigation into the money-laundering against the former IPL chief, officials said. The agency has alleged that Modi received a kickback of over Rs 125 crore for manipulating the process of assigning broadcast rights for the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. The notice will allow the Directorate to begin extradition processes against Modi, if necessary.
Italy distorting reality, India tells tribunal
India on Tuesday accused the Italian government of distorting reality over the case involving two of the country's Marines, who stand accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012. Italy was omitting “several crucial aspects” of the case, which was preventing a complete understanding of the dispute between the two countries, India told the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The tribunal is currently hearing India’s plea challenging Italy’s decision to move the case for international arbitration. The Indian government has maintained that the case needs to be tried by the country’s courts as the incident took place in its territorial waters.
Aadhaar not mandatory to obtain benefits: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that it was not mandatory for a citizen to possess an Aadhaar card to access government benefits and asked the Central government to publicise this fact. A bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar also ordered the government to not share the personal biometric details of cardholders under any circumstances except in the case of a court-monitored criminal investigation. The bench said that it would decide the validity of the Aadhaar scheme once a Constitutional bench of the court made a ruling on whether the right to privacy was a fundamental right. However, the court said that it would not stop the ongoing enrolment process for the scheme.