A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Justice AK Sikri, who voted to sack CBI chief, turns down Commonwealth tribunal nomination, say reports: The decision to nominate the Supreme Court judge was taken ‘at the highest levels’ of government, said a news report.
  2. Gujarat to implement upper-caste quota from Monday, says CM Vijay Rupani: The state government said Gujarat was the first to implement the legislation, while the Congress called the decision hurried.  
  3. Congress demands removal of Chief Vigilance Commissioner, says he is acting ‘like a puppet’: Congress spokesperson alleged that the vigilance chief was acting as an agent for the government to do their ‘hatchet jobs’.
  4. Director Rajkumar Hirani accused of sexually assaulting employee, reports Huffington Post: The director has denied the allegations, which were detailed in an email to the film’s co-producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
  5. Arvind Kejriwal will not contest Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi, says AAP leader Sanjay Singh: The party will contest all the seats in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Goa, the parliamentarian added.
  6. Indian soldier honey-trapped by ISI agent arrested, 50 Army men questioned: Military intelligence allegedly traced phone calls received from the spy to Jammu, and her Facebook account to Karachi.  
  7. Madhya Pradesh BJP leader and his three sons arrested in connection with ‘Drishyam’-inspired murder: Twinkle Dagre, a 22-year-old Congress leader, went missing in 2016. She was allegedly in a relationship with BJP’s Jagdish Karotiya, who is among the five held.  
  8. Bengali poet faces the ire of suspected Hindutva activists in Silchar, event venue vandalised: They were protesting against a controversial line in Srijato Bandopadhyay’s poem ‘Abhishap’ that contains an alleged derogatory reference to the trishul.  
  9. Saudi teen who fled family welcomed in Canada, diplomatic row between the nations likely to escalate: The UN declared Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun’s case genuine last week after a friend vouched for her, saying she had been mistreated for denouncing Islam.
  10. BJP’s Ram temple promise is a ‘jumla’, says Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray: He asked the saffron party how it would build the temple on a disputed land in Ayodhya when its allies JD(U) and Lok Janshakti Party are opposed to such a move.