Amid allegations by opposition parties that the government was misusing probe agencies to target its leaders, the Election Commission on Tuesday asserted that while it remains committed to protecting level playing field and campaign entitlement of parties and candidates, it has not found it correct to take any step that could overlap or overrun the legal judicial process.
The unrest in the Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal ballooned into a major political row on Thursday as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the saffron camp of fomenting trouble in the area, while the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Commission for Women (NCW) accused her party Trinamool Congress and the state government of being complicit in crimes against women in the area.
"Last time I stood, I was not allowed to speak. The ruling party paid a very heavy price for throttling the voice of one MP," she said, referring to her suspension in the last session.
According to the Federation of Resident Doctors Association, during the indefinite strike, all outpatient departments, operation theatres, and ward duties will be shut, but emergency services will continue to operate as usual, ensuring that urgent patient care remains unaffected.
Under the exception given in Section 375 of the IPC, sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his wife, the wife not being minor, is not rape.
According to the officials, the three-storey coaching institute, surrounded by residential and commercial establishments, had permission to use the basement as a store room, but it was being used as library in violation of the rules.
A team of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday held on-spot inquiries in Sandeshkhali to ascertain facts about alleged sexual abuse by some Trinamool Congress leaders even as fresh agitation rocked the trouble-torn village, where locals torched the property of accused Trinamool leaders and held demonstrations against the delay in arresting the main accused, Shahjahan Sheikh.
A fight broke out in the MCD House as Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party members kicked, punched and pushed one another amid shouting after mayor Shelly Oberoi declared one vote invalid in the election to a key six-member municipal committee on Friday.
Police has has also sought information from GitHub platform about the 'Bulli Bai' app developer.
Ashok Kumar Tomar, who was posted in the central district, was suspended for allegedly threatening the family of the victim.
TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose submitted a letter to the Election Commission on Thursday.
"Take it (medals) all away. We have been humiliated so much. We are fighting for our respect but we are being crushing under their feet. Do all men have the right to abuse women?"
Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said he still stands by his statement that he will hang himself if even one of the allegation against him is proven to be true.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday asked the Centre to explain why married men and women cannot be considered for the judge advocate general (JAG) department, the legal arm of the Army, and remarked the policy barring married individuals from applying "does not make any sense".
According to data shared by the NCW, 123 cases of domestic violence were received between February 27 and March 22. In the last 25 days, the commission received 239 more such complaints.
The Delhi woman had claimed that she was kidnapped and raped by five men for two days.
According to police officials, 28-year-old Aftab Poonawala of Mumbai has been arrested in the case, and some severed body parts of the woman, Shraddha Walkar, have been recovered.
The share of such voters has shrunk to 1.9 per cent of registered voters in 2024 from 2.7 per cent in 2014.
Kejriwal said the girl has suffered serious internal injuries.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused NIA officials of attacking villagers in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP hit back at her saying that the attack on the NIA officials is Sandeshkhalli 2.0 orchestrated by the state.
UWW boss Nenad Lalovic also said the world body will require a "robust plan" from the stake-holders guaranteeing a "safe environment" where grapplers can report abuse and harassment, and a clear hearing process is in place.
Sources said the Law Commission held a meeting with the government and sought some information on the matter of age of consent.
A voter turnout of 10.82 per cent was recorded till 9 am on Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union territories where polling is underway in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
The Hathras SP said the investigation also revealed that some political parties had contacted him some time back.
Sanjeev Kumar alias Sanjeev 'Mukhiya', an alleged kingpin behind the NEET paper leak, was not only minting money but wanted to become an MP or MLA.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said the State Election Commission has already issued a notification and it will remain unchanged.
Congress leader and former diplomat Mani Shankar Aiyar called the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) of yore an "upper caste" service, which he claimed is becoming more democratic now with the flavour of the country getting into it.
"Not a single woman (from Sandeshkhali) has lodged any FIR. It was me who directed the police to lodge a suo motu case. Our block president has been arrested," she said.
The minor girl was allegedly raped by one Ranjeet, who works as a guard and resides in the ground floor of the same building as the victim.
The rape and murder of a young veterinary doctor in Hyderabad has sparked anger, spotlighting women's safety in yet another Indian city.
'I'm talking about that predator in your house, and how one should protect one's children from him.'
Former India captain Diana Edulji, part of the two-member Committee of Administrators (CoA), wants Board of Control for Cricket in India's CEO Rahul Johri sacked over allegations of sexual harassment.
If 74.9 per cent of NRI voters are from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh at 6.4 per cent, Maharashtra at 4.7 per cent, Tamil Nadu and Telangana at 2.9 per cent each follow way behind.
'...We should first look at and acknowledge what we have done to ourselves.' 'To not do so opens us to the accusation of rank hypocrisy and also reduces the stature of our globetrotting peaceniks,' asserts Aakar Patel.
He urged the force to "ensure proactive pre-emptive measures to ensure safety and security at all levels" in view of the forthcoming G-20 Summit.
Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti must be sacked, Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said as pressure mounted on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for action against his controversial ministerial colleague.
Supreme Court judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul on Monday recommended setting up of an 'impartial truth and reconciliation commission' to probe and report on human rights violations by both state and non-state actors in Jammu and Kashmir since the 1980s, saying the 'wounds need healing'.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Datta granted four weeks to the Delhi government counsel to file a further status report in the matter and listed it for hearing on May 4.
Indian Army has taken the initiative to induct women in rank and file, and the first batch of 100 women soldiers is undergoing training at Corps of Military Police Centre and School, he said.
Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress were stopped by police on Friday from visiting the trouble-torn Sandeshkhali, escalating the political tensions in the state as the leaders accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of fostering a 'lawless situation' and attempting to 'communalise' the issue.
