A trial court on Saturday framed charges against suspended Indian diplomat Madhuri Gupta on offences carrying a lighter punishment of three years as the Delhi police was unable to establish a case that could get her the maximum punishment of 14 years. Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Kumar Jain charged Gupta under Section 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act for alleged spying and supplying information to an Inter Services Intelligence agent when she was posted in Islamabad.
Gupta, 53, posted as Second Secretary (Press and Information) at Indian High Commission in Islamabad, was arrested on April 22, 2010 by the Special Cell of Delhi Police for passing on sensitive information pertaining to defence to Pakistan's ISI.
Uncertainty prevails over the much-talked about Lokpal Bill being brought up for consideration in the monsoon session of the Parliament beginning on August 8.
Pressing for tabling of the Lokpal Bill on Wednesday itself in the Rajya Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left sought to corner the government which was not ready for immediate discussion on it.
Bansal said: "Till now death toll has reached 36. There has been no collapse of foot-over-bridge or any railing on the station. I want to clear that stampede occurred due to people reaching in large numbers. We had made arrangements before start of the Kumbh. We have come to know that people turned in large numbers resulting in stampede."
Acknowledging that consensus eluded the all-party meeting on Lokpal issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Thursday said the government was confident that it would be able to table the proposed bill in the winter session itself.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad route selected for pilot project.
A Delhi court on Monday charged alleged top naxal leader Kobad Ghandy with being a member of a banned terror outfit and furthering its activities in violation of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
A 26-year-old Indian employee at an IT firm, who was accused of murdering an American woman, was found dead after he allegedly committed suicide due to suspected drug overdose at a New Jersey hotel.
Poet, artist and award-winning diplomat Abhay K will release his second book of poems Remains Thursday, June 28.
Effective from midnight of January 21, the hike will help railways earn an additional Rs 6,600 crore a year. Railway Minister P K Bansal said it was imperative.
A Delhi court on Monday deferred till further order the hanging of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.
Past recipients of the award include Mother Teresa, cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, actors Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna, among others.
The bio-toilets, which have been indigenously developed by Indian Railways and DRDO, have been installed for in-service trials in nine trains, he said during Question Hour.
In a written reply to the House, Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the recommendations are presently under examination by the ministry.
The duo has been arrested on charges of abducting and killing Pawan Kumar, more than three weeks after the 14-year-old went missing from his house in Old Kondli locality, triggering a major search.
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Thursday hinted at a hike in passenger fare as he asked Parliamentarians to be "realistic" if they want the railways to move forward.
While the party announced 144 party candidates for Madhya Pradesh elections, it announced 30 candidates for the Chhattisgarh polls and another 55 for Telangana assembly polls slated next month.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has issued a letter inviting all Members of Parliament to attend United States President Barack Obama's address at the central hall on November 8.In a circular letter, Bansal also sought the cooperation of all the MPs to ensure the smooth functioning of both Houses of Parliament.The routine circular assumes significance as it specifically urges the Parliamentarians to attend Obama's address.
"We are here to welcome Modi ji for giving us new employment under pakoda yojana. We want to sell pakodas at Modi's rally, so that he knows how great it is to sell pakodas for the educated youth," a woman protester said.
Worried over Baba Ramdev's indefinite fast from Saturday, the government on Wednesday took an extraordinary step to woo him by deputing Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and three other senior ministers to the airport for talks but he appeared not to relent on his plans.
The much-hyped Lokpal Bill could be tabled in Rajya Sabha in the ongoing monsoon session if a parliamentary panel looking into the legislation gives its report before the end of the session, the government said on Thursday.
Hero MotoCorp's promoter Pawan Munjal emerged as the highest paid director.
Manjunath (27), a sales officer with Indian Oil Corporation and a graduate from Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, paid with his life for exposing an alleged petrol adulteration racket.
Ahead of Anna Hazare's dharna in New Delhi on Sunday, government on Friday said Team Anna should await the passage of the Lokpal Bill before going ahead with any agitation on the issue.
"Eleven people have been sent to jail. In three cases the girls were not minor, they said that they are in a relationship with boys of other religions of their own free will," Mohit Agarwal, Inspector General, Kanpur Range told reporters.
The Centre on Wednesday appealed to Tamil Nadu and Kerala to amicably settle the issue of Mullaperiyar Dam between them and expressed its willingness to play a role of "facilitator".
The Parliament was rocked on Monday with the Bharatiya Janata Party creating an uproar. They were lleging involvement of parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal in a shop allotment scam in Chandigarh, prompting him to dare the opposition to hold any kind of inquiry, including the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The United Progressive Alliance is seriously considering increasing the strength of the proposed Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G scam from 21 to 30 members to accommodate more parties, but it is in no mood to expand its scope of the JPC to cover Commonwealth Games (CWG) fiasco, the Adarsh Society scam and the cancelled ISRO S-band spectrum sale.
After introducing the controversial nuclear liability bill in the Lok Sabha amid opposition protests, the government on Friday said it hopes to bring it for consideration in the Monsoon session of Parliament.
With the washout of winter session of Parliament weighing heavily on its mind, the government on Sunday appealed to the opposition to ensure a smooth budget session beginning next month expressing readiness to discuss all issues, including 2G spectrum, "on priority".
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday went around some quake-hit areas in Sikkim where the toll has climbed to 50 and promised all help to the state to tide over its major crisis.
The Supreme Court has set conditions on the fund raising, however, and on Friday asked Sahara to obtain necessary approvals from the Indian central bank and other authorities to comply with foreign exchange rules.
A humourous take of a man who tends to fall in love with every girl he meets.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Kumar Bansal on Monday asserted that terrorism issue had not taken a backseat in the talks with Pakistan President Asif Zardari and India had made this clear to him during his visit to the capital.
Hectic political activity is on in New Delhi with the government upset with what it terms as Team Anna's attempts to seek political consensus on its Jan Lokpal Bill. There is also uncertainity surrounding the scheduled debate in Parliament over the draft bill.
Pandher and Koli were held guilty of kidnapping, rape and murder in the case
These ministers are meeting select group of editors and senior reporters every week to put forward their viewpoints. The wooing of journalists at the ministerial level is unprecedented and shows the defensive mood prevailing within the government.
Setting aside ideological differences, the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India Marxist have joined hands in Sikkim to unitedly fight Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling's Sikkim Democratic Front in the assembly polls scheduled to be held later this year.The decision to form the UDF was taken in a meeting of Opposition leaders. The alliance is between the three national level parties and two other regional parties.
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