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[ad_1] CHENNAI: Madras high court has directed the Tamil Nadu police to register an FIR against state minister K Ponmudy for his recent derogatory remarks against Saivism, Vaishnavism, and women. "If you (police) don’t register an FIR, the court will initiate suo motu contempt against the authorities," Justice N Anand Venkatesh said.The minister himself admitted to making the statement and apologised and the video is still in the public domain. "Do not register multiple FIRs. Just register one FIR and proceed with it," the judge said. The court then directed advocate-general P S Raman to get instructions from the police by April 23.The observations were made while hearing the suo motu revision initiated by the court against the acquittal of the minister from a disproportionate assets case. On Thursday, when the suo motu revision came up for hearing, the judge […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Calling the new waqf law BJP's message that "institutions of minorities are fair game", Congress on Thursday said that the legal challenge was not about Muslims but about a constitutional principle like Article 26, whose absence can threaten other communities as well.Senior lawyer and AICC spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told a press conference that waqf law was a retaliation in the guise of reform that hurts religious freedom of the minority community by redrawing its rights with a bureaucratic pen. He singled out Clauses 9 and 14 of the said law as particularly offensive and legally unsustainable. "The law is about infiltrating institutions and closing them. You can't amputate Article 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs) and call it administrative efficiency. It is an assault on their identity and autonomy, and on constitutional values," he added.Singhvi likened the […]

[ad_1] <p>File Photo: US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping<br></p> US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States and China were in talks on tariffs. He expressed confidence that the countries, the world's two largest economies, would reach a deal to end what has been a bitter trade war.Click here for live updates on Donald Trump's tariffs"Yeah, we're talking to China. I would say they have reached out a number of times," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, news agency AFP reported. The US leader also revealed the two sides had been in talks since he upped tariffs on China to a whopping 145 per cent, after Beijing retaliated to his sweeping "Liberation Day" worldwide levies, which he announced on April 2.Also Read | Explainer: Why Donald Trump has slapped up to 245% tariff on ChinaHowever, […]

[ad_1] AGRA: A 21-year-old man from Haryana's Mewat district has been arrested on charges of sexually harassing a 23-year-old Lithuanian tourist at Agra Fort, police said on Thursday. Investigating officers said the incident took place when the woman and her male friend were waiting in the security queue around 3pm on Wednesday. SHO Ruby Singh of the tourist police said Mizan allegedly touched the woman inappropriately. When he repeated the act, she caught him and alerted nearby tourist police. Based on a complaint filed by her companion, a case was registered under BNS Section 75(2) (sexual harassment). Mizan was arrested on the spot, produced in court, and sent to judicial custody. The woman was taken to Agra district hospital for medical examination, and her statement was recorded. Police said the couple had been in Agra for six days and left […]

[ad_1] Shivamogga: An isolated incident of college authorities asking a candidate to remove holy thread before appearing for CET on Wednesday set off protests from Brahmin community, which has sought action against the exam centre for hurting religious sentiments.From this year, Karnataka Examinations Authority, which conducts CET for admissions to professional courses, has introduced dress code and banned a few accessories for candidates. The list of banned accessories includes metal jewellery except mangalasutra and toe ring, but is silent on holy beads and threads. Also banned are multi-pocket trousers and shoes.The alleged controversy erupted when a home guard roped in for security duty at a private PU college in Shivamogga started overzealously implementing the dress code, asking students to remove janivara, Kashidaara and Rudraksha. While a few students took off the threads without protest and reclaimed them after the test, […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Class 12 pass-outs from arts and commerce streams may soon be allowed to become commercial pilots in India. In a major reform, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is considering removing the current eligibility requirement of a student having physics and maths in class 12 for commercial pilot licence (CPL) training.Of course, medical fitness criteria will remain for all.In India, this field has been open only for science and maths students since mid-1990s. Before that, class 10th pass was the only educational requirement for doing CPL."Once finalised, this recommendation will be sent to the Union aviation ministry. When they approve it, CPL training will be open for eligible students across streams," said people in the know.Veteran pilot Captain Shakti Lumba, who retired as IndiGo VP-flight operations and headed Alliance Air before that, says no country other […]

[ad_1] KOLKATA: Calcutta HC has reversed the dismissal of an RPF constable whose comments on Facebook allegedly eulogised a colleague for gunning down a senior during the 2018 Meghalaya elections and warned of a "mutiny". HC held in its order on Wednesday that the accused did not receive a fair hearing, reports Srishti Lakhotia.HC asked RPF to conduct proper disciplinary hearings within eight weeks given the fact that the constable had denied making the comments. The constable, deployed at Purulia under South Eastern Railway before his dismissal, had moved the HC bench of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury against his sacking of May 2, 2018, and an appellate authority order upholding the same later. RPF had alleged his comments led to the spread of hatred among ranks.Souvik Nandi, senior advocate representing Centre, had contended that the disciplinary authority was of the […]

[ad_1] New Delhi: Businessman Robert Vadra arrives at the Enforcement Directorate's office (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate is likely to soon file prosecution complaints (chargesheets) against Robert Vadra in at least three money laundering cases, including in the Gurgaon land deal case in which was questioned on Thursday for the third day running, officials aware of the probe said.Sources indicated that the filing of prosecution complaints will ensure charges are framed against Vadra in all three cases simultaneously. The other two pertain to his alleged links with fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, who had acquired properties in London from alleged proceeds of crime from defence deals, and the laundering charges in a Bikaner land deal case.Vadra's questioning by ED, which extended to 16 hours till Thursday, came within days of the agency filing a chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and […]

[ad_1] Representative Image generated by Danny KOTA: A 60-year-old partially paralysed man was mistakenly operated on at New Medical College Hospital in Kota after he responded to a call for another patient who shared his name, officials said Thursday.Jagdish Panchal was waiting outside the operation theatre while his son Manish was undergoing surgery last Saturday. When staff called out "Jagdish" for the next patient, Panchal entered and the medical team - unaware of the mix-up - administered anaesthesia and began a procedure meant for another patient. The error was discovered only after a surgical incision was made on his arm.The confusion came to light when AAP's Kota district president Kunjbihari Singhal met the family and filed a formal complaint Wednesday. Medical college principal Dr Sangeeta Saxena ordered an inquiry and directed the hospital superintendent to form a three-member committee to […]

[ad_1] Hyderabad: The Hyderabad unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached shares worth 27.5 crore belonging to Andhra Pradesh former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, and land worth 377.2 crore owned by Dalmia Cements (Bharat) Limited (DCBL) in connection with a money laundering case related to quid pro quo investments. However, DCBL stated that the attached property is worth 793.3 crore. The attachment comes 14 years after the case was booked.The provisional attachment by the ED stems from an earlier case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2011, wherein DCBL invested in Bharathi Cement Corporation Private Limited. Shares of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in Carmel Asia Holdings Limited, Saraswati Power and Industries Private Limited, and Harsha Firm were attached. The provisional attachment order issued on March 31 was received by DCBL on April 15, […]