Elevation of Justices Khanna and Maheshwari to top court a ‘historical blunder’, says former judge

Khanna is at present a judge in the Delhi High Court while Maheshwari is the chief justice of the Karnataka High Court. The collegium – comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices AK Sikri, SA Bobde, NV Ramana and Arun Mishra – decided to elevate the two at a meeting on January 10.

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Qatar Airways will not invest in Jet Airways as an enemy’s airline holds a stake in it, says CEO

UAE had in 2017 cut ties with Qatar, alleging that the kingdom supports terrorist activities. UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain banned Qatar Airways since June of that year.

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Rafale deal: CAG refuses to share audit details, cites parliamentary privilege rule

“The audit is under progress and the report is yet to be finalised,” said the auditor. “The information cannot be given under Section 8(1)(C) of the Right To Information Act as the disclosure would cause breach of Parliament.”

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Chennai court refuses to remand men who linked Palaniswami to 2017 theft at Jayalalithaa’s estate

KV Sayan and Valayar Manoj are suspects in the case involving the murder of a security guard and the theft of cash and documents from the summer home of Jayalalithaa in April 2017, four months after her death in December 2016. Palaniswami was the chief minister at the time. Two months later, an accountant working at the estate was found dead at his house in Kotagiri.

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Meghalaya: Supreme Court rebukes state government for not curbing illegal coal mining

“The present incident [15 miners trapped in rat hole mines] shows illegal mining continues despite the ban and the state may not be supporting it but has failed to contain illegal mining,” the court said.

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Kolkata: Jadavpur University students demand expulsion of professor who made misogynistic remarks

“We want his [Sarkar’s] expulsion as he is influencing young minds [and] we don’t want misogynistic environment here,” ANI quoted the protestors as saying. The students alleged that he was a “repeat offender”.

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Volkswagen fined Rs 171.34 crore by green tribunal panel for causing air pollution in Delhi

A four-member committee set up by the National Green Tribunal has penalised German car manufacturer Volkswagen Rs 171.34 crore for contributing to air pollution in Delhi through excess nitrogen oxide emissions.

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Jammu and Kashmir: BSF officer killed by suspected Pakistani sniper in Kathua

An officer of the Border Security Force was killed in cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir’s Hiranagar-Samba sector in Kathua on Tuesday.

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India condemns Kabul attack, says one citizen among four killed in Monday’s explosion

The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday condemned an attack in Afghanistan’s Capital Kabul the previous day in which four people were killed and 90 were wounded. The ministry said an Indian citizen was among those killed in the attack.

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In photos: President, prime minister greet forces and veterans on 71st Army Day

The 71st Army Day was celebrated in New Delhi on Tuesday with a parade at the Cariappa Parade Ground. It is celebrated to mark the occasion when Lieutenant General KM Cariappa took over from General Francis Butcher as Commander-in-Chief of India on January 1949.

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#MeToo allegation: Boney Kapoor and Sharman Joshi extend support to director Rajkumar Hirani

Several Bollywood personalities have defended filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a former employee of his production company.

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Karnataka: Two independent MLAs withdraw support to Congress-JD(S) government

Independent Karnataka legislators H Nagesh and R Shankar on Tuesday withdrew support to the state government run by the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance.

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No BJP rath yatra in West Bengal for now, rules Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to permit the Bharatiya Janata Party from holding a rath yatra in West Bengal.

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Rahul Gandhi mocks Narendra Modi for winning ‘world famous’ Philip Kotler Presidential Award

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for winning the first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential award – a “world famous” award that, he said, has no jury and has never been given out before.

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Kerala Lokayukta issues notice to CM and ministers on accusation of disaster relief fund misuse

The Kerala Lokayukta has issued a notice to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and a few state ministers after a complaint was filed alleging misuse of the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.

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NCW demands action against Jadavpur University professor who made misogynistic comments

The National Commission for Women on Monday took suo motu cognisance of a statement made by a Jadavpur University professor comparing a woman’s virginity to a “sealed bottle”.

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Army won’t hesitate deal with terror activities along ‘western border’, says General Bipin Rawat

The Indian Army will not hesitate to take action to deal with terror activities along the western border, Army chief General Bipin Rawat said on Tuesday, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

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CBI row: Make public the CVC report that led to Alok Verma’s sacking, Mallikarjun Kharge tells Modi

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make public the documents related to the decision to sack Alok Verma as director of the Central Bureau of Investigation “so that the public can draw its own conclusions”.

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Forget differences and ensure victory of SP-BSP tie-up, Mayawati tells party workers on her birthday

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday appealed to workers of her party and the Samajwadi Party to forget their past differences.

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2002 Gujarat riots: SC lists hearing of plea against acquittal given to PM Modi for February

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear a petition challenging the acquittal given by a Special Investigation Team to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the 2002 Godhra riots in February, PTI reported. Modi was then the chief minister of Gujarat.

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Delhi: One detained over anonymous email threat to Arvind Kejriwal’s daughter, say reports

The Delhi Police on Tuesday detained one person for questioning in connection with an anonymous email sent last week threatening to kidnap Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s daughter.

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Sabarimala row: Kanakadurga, one of the two women to enter the shrine, allegedly assaulted

Kanakadurga, one of the two women of menstruating age who entered the Sabarimala temple in Kerala on January 2, was allegedly assaulted on Tuesday when she returned home.

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Kumbh mela starts, lakhs of devotees gather to take a holy dip at the Sangam

The Kumbh mela commenced in Prayagraj on Tuesday with the shahi snan or the holy dip undertaken by religious leaders, disciples and members of the 13 akharas (religious orders).

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Odisha: Modi inaugurates Balangir-Bichhupali railway line, lays foundation stone for other projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday flagged off a new train on the Balangir-Bicchupalli railway line and inaugurated a Multi Modal Logistics park in Odisha’s Jharsuguda.

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Sabarimala: SC says pleas challenging the September verdict may not be heard on January 22

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Tuesday said that the Supreme Court may not hear the pleas seeking review of the Sabarimala verdict on January 22 as Justice Indu Malhotra is on medical leave. On November 13, the court had agreed to hear in open court a batch of 49 review petitions asking to revisit the judgement allowing the entry of women of all ages into the Kerala temple.

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BJP MP suggests keeping identity of sexual harassment accused anonymous until probe ends

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Udit Raj on Monday said that the identity of those accused of sexual harassment be kept anonymous until the investigation into the allegations is completed. He cited the alleged suicide of a Noida executive who was accused of sexual harassment.

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Bombay High Court questions ED’s request to stay demolition of Nirav Modi’s bungalow in Alibaug

The Bombay High Court on Monday questioned the Enforcement Directorate’s request to stay an order to demolish fugitive diamond jeweller Nirav Modi’s unauthorised bungalow in Alibaug in Raigad district. The court said that structures built by Modi should be demolished if they are illegal.

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Gauri Lankesh case: Bombay HC asks for accused to be moved to Mumbai for arms haul case hearing

The Bombay High Court on Monday ordered that three persons in jail in connection with the Gauri Lankesh murder case be moved from Bengaluru to Mumbai, where they are accused in an arms haul case.

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Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal invests Rs 150 crore in Ola, say reports

Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal has invested Rs 150 crore in cab-hailing company Ola. The development – which has not been confirmed by Bansal or Ola – comes after his departure from Flipkart in August after United States multinational retailer Walmart acquired 77% stake in the e-commerce platform for nearly $16 billion (Rs 1.07 lakh crore) in August 2018.

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Jammu & Kashmir: Former senior police officer and singer join National Conference

Former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Inspector General Mushtaq Sadiq and singer and activist Waheed Jeelani were among the several people who joined the National Conference party on Monday.

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CBI row: Justice AK Sikri says he wants the controversy about post-retirement assignment to die

Supreme Court judge AK Sikri on Monday said he wants the controversy related to his decision to vote for the ousting of Central Bureau of Investigation Director Alok Verma to die.

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Karnataka: Amid allegations of horse-trading, BJP flies 104 MLAs to Gurugram

The Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka has flown 101 of its 104 MLAs to a hotel in Gurugram amid allegations of horse-trading being made by both the saffron party and the ruling Congress-Janata Dal (Secular).

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Kerala: Bureaucrat becomes first woman to attempt trek to Agasthyakoodam peak after court order

Only one woman was among the 100 trekkers who set out to scale Kerala’s second highest peak on Monday when it opened for the first time since the state’s High Court removed traditional restrictions on women from doing so.

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India protests against alleged harassment of its diplomats in Pakistan: Reports

New Delhi has alleged that Pakistani security officials kept the Indian High Commissioner and his deputy under “aggressive watch” during a wedding reception on December 4 in Islamabad.

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