The big news: Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi’s Rajya Sabha nomination triggers row, and nine other top stories
Other headlines: ICMR has asked private labs to offer free coronavirus testing, and the Centre told the SC that CAA was not within the scope of judicial review.
A look at the headlines right now:
- Ranjan Gogoi says will reveal why he accepted Rajya Sabha nomination after taking oath: The former chief justice of India said his presence in Parliament will be ‘an opportunity to project the views of the judiciary before the legislative’. Former SC judges and Opposition parties condemned the nomination, and called it a ‘sad day for judiciary’.
- ICMR appeals to all private labs to offer COVID-19 testing free of cost: At least 254 Indian pilgrims stranded in Iran have tested positive for COVID-19, and the number of cases in India rose to 137, while the third virus-related death in India was reported on Tuesday in Mumbai. The Centre has asked government offices to set up thermal scanners and suspend visitor passes, the doctor of the first Indian patient who died tested positive in Karnataka, Union minister V Muraleedharan went on self-quarantine, but tested negative, Rahul Gandhi again criticised the government, and stock markets continued to spiral downhill amid the continuing panic.
- Centre files response in SC, says CAA passed by Parliament not within scope of judicial review: The government was responding to petitions challenging the validity of the controversial law. After Kerala, Rajasthan challenged the validity of Citizenship Amendment Act in Supreme Court on Monday.
- SC grants women naval officers permanent commission, says there cannot be gender discrimination: The Supreme Court also granted pension benefits to women officers in the Navy who have retired and not been granted permanent commission.
- 2012 gangrape convict files another petition, claims he wasn’t in Delhi when crime took place: Mukesh Singh’s petition was rejected by the court.
- Kanpur lawyer charged with sedition for calling Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath a terrorist: The lawyer, identified as Abdul Hannan, was sent to jail after being produced before a court.
- Assam activist Akhil Gogoi granted bail by NIA court: Gogoi was arrested by the agency in December for his alleged role in the protests in Assam against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
- Madhya Pradesh Congress moves Supreme Court to seek access to its MLAs holed up in Bengaluru: As many as 19 Madhya Pradesh Congress MLAs are staying in a hotel in Bengaluru, even as the state government teeters on the brink of collapse. The SC issued a notice to Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath and his government over the BJP’s petition seeking an immediate floor test in the Assembly.
- Forced to enter Jamia Millia Islamia University to rescue innocent students, say Delhi Police: In an action taken report, the police claimed a mob strategically went inside the campus and used the university premises as a cover.
- Delhi Police requests protestors at Shaheen Bagh to call off sit-in against CAA: Despite this, hundreds of demonstrators reportedly showed up at the protest site on Tuesday evening.