The delay in deciding the disqualification petitions against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena MLAs loyal to him Friday came under strict scrutiny by the Supreme Court which came down hard on the Maharashtra assembly speaker, saying the proceedings cannot be a 'charade' and he cannot defeat its orders.
With the election campaign in Karnataka witnessing a bitter war of words between the BJP and the Congress, both the parties rushed to the Election Commission, seeking ban on electioneering by top leaders of the other side.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Thackeray faction, told the bench there is no constitutional protection for disqualification under the 10th schedule.
Congress leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Randeep Surjewala said party president Sonia Gandhi has been summoned by the ED for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper on June 8, and she was determined to appear before the agency as she has nothing to hide.
The verdict will be delivered by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees.
The Supreme Court Monday rued the 'general practice' of speakers delaying decisions on pleas seeking disqualification of lawmakers and the subsequent arguments that courts should 'stay away,' while hoping that the West Bengal assembly speaker would decide on such a plea against Mukul Roy who defected to the Trinamool Congress from the Bharatiya Janata Party after the state polls.
With regulatory uncertainties clouding the future of online pharmacies, deals in the space are showing signs of slowdown, as also fresh investment from private-equity (PE) firms and venture capitalists (VCs). The data from Venture Intelligence shows so far in 2023 (as of June 13) there has been one deal with PE-VC funding. In 2022 there were four, a sharp fall from the 12, totalling $1,520 million, the sector had attracted in 2021.
The Indian startup ecosystem has lauded the inclusion of startups in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration for the first time ever in the history of G20. Industry stakeholders say that the move will lead to easier access to capital, reduce regulatory hurdles, and may revive funding activity. The Declaration, through the Startup20 initiative, recognised startups as "natural engines of growth" and key to socio-economic transformation by driving innovation and creating employment.
'The Bharat Jodo Yatra successfully resurrected the Rahul Gandhi brand.' 'There's a critical mass that has built up for the Congress and Mr Modi is feeling the heat on the Adani issue, the raids on the BBC offices, the Opposition getting together.'
The Supreme Court kept in abeyance the disqualification proceedings before the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly till July 11 and sought responses to pleas by rebel MLAs questioning the legality of notices seeking their disqualification.
The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail till July 11 to former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain on medical grounds in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
The Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has issued a whip to "all" its legislators to remain present full-time during the budget session of the Maharashtra legislature which began on Monday, in an apparent move to corner the faction headed by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction on Monday approached the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Election Commission recognising the Eknath Shinde-led bloc as the real Shiv Sena and allotting the 'bow and arrow' poll symbol to it.
Opposition parties have not been given the chairmanship of any of the four key parliamentary panels including the committee on home affairs and information technology, which were with the Congress, in the latest rejig announced on Tuesday.
The case was registered recently to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper.
Sonia Gandhi had tested positive for COVID-19 in early June as well.
Congress leader Pawan Khera was on Thursday arrested by Assam Police in connection with a first information report (FIR) over alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the action coming soon after he was deplaned from a flight to Raipur where he was going to attend the party's plenary session.
Kharge said the BJP made all efforts to get him disqualified as he was speaking the truth.
Kapoor has told the Enforcement Directorate that he was 'forced' to buy the M F Husain painting from Priyanka Gandhi and the sale proceeds were utilised by the Gandhi family for the medical treatment of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New York, according to the charge sheet filed by the federal anti-money laundering agency in a special court in Mumbai.
Singhvi said Fadnavis and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari should answer as to why Ssingh made these many calls to the Maharashtra BJP office and who was his boss.
The office of Neelam Gorhe, deputy chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, has sought more details with regard to a letter by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde seeking the appointment of Viplove Bajoria as Shiv Sena whip in the Upper House, effectively giving a temporary breather to the Thackeray camp.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Mishra agreed to hear the plea after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, sought listing of the appeal on July 21 or July 24.
The EC had on Saturday issued a notice to the Karnataka Congress over its "corruption rate card" advertisements published in newspapers in the run-up to the May 10 state polls and sought "empirical evidence" to prove its allegations by Sunday evening.
The apex court observed though there is no flexible guideline or a straightjacket formula laid down, the power to transfer the investigation is an "extraordinary power".
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has written a letter to the state legislative council's deputy chairperson seeking that Viplove Bajoria be made the Shiv Sena's chief whip in the Upper House, a move apparently aimed at further cornering the faction led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear at 5 pm the plea of Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu challenging the Maharashtra governor's direction to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government to take floor test in the assembly on Thursday.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to refer pleas related to the June 2022 Maharashtra political crisis triggered by the Shiv Sena's division to a seven-judge bench for reconsideration of the 2016 Nabam Rebia judgment.
The plea filed by advocate Ashok Pandey asked whether the conviction of an accused can be stayed by the court of appeal and if, based on it, a Lok Sabha member's disqualification can be revoked.
On May 6, the top court had referred to a five-judge Constitution bench the issue of control of services in Delhi.
The 71-year-old Congress leader shared the information on Twitter and asked those who came in contact with him in the recent past to follow protocols on self-quarantine and testing.
Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury while making these points however, spoke out against any need for change in the top leadership of the party, stating that both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi have been 'trying wholeheartedly'.
The top court, which on Thursday referred to a constitution bench the Delhi government's plea challenging the ordinance, framed two legal questions in its 10-page order to be dealt by a larger bench on the ordinance which set off a fresh tussle between the two power centres.
The bench, which refused to stay the high court verdict, imposed certain conditions and directed that the four people, who were acquitted, be released unless wanted in any other case.
A vacation bench headed by Justice Indira Banerjee said the fresh plea would be heard by the same bench after the summer break on July 11 along with other pending pleas.
Singhvi said for this government it seems national security is not important.
'I think my first obsessive, possessive and only half-requited -- as we would joke -- 'love' was Ivan. I saw him first slouching down the corridor of St Stephen's College nearly 50 years ago and was instantly smitten (as was everyone else around him).'
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked about the "source of power" of the lieutenant governor under the Constitution and the law to nominate 10 aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without the aid and advice of the elected government.
The appeal against the high court order came up for hearing before a bench of justices A S Bopanna and P S Narasimha, which stayed it.
Manish Tewari, Prithviraj Chavan, Anand Sharma and Bhupinder Hooda are the members of the pro-reform G23 group who wrote a letter to party's interim president Sonia Gandhi.
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