The government's decision to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault has become a controversial political issue, with the main opposition party Congress levelling allegations of corruption and impropriety, and the ruling dispensation defending the move.
The Supreme Court-appointed panels probing the unauthorised use of Pegasus found some kind of malware in five mobile phones out of the 29 examined but it could not be concluded that it was due to the Israeli spyware.
The court also directed police to submit for its perusal investigation papers pertaining to the case in a sealed cover by November 5 when it would hear the matter. The court was hearing a petition filed by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd, which owns Republic TV, and Goswami seeking to quash the first information report lodged on October 6.
If Kerala wants to sustain its room for independent thinking and talk back to Delhi when needed, it should put its finances in order. Or - if one takes the North East example - Kerala's political posturing may end up commensurate with its financial dependence on others, suggests Shyam G Menon.
The observation assumes significance as the Centre had earlier offered to set up an expert panel on its own to look into the grievances of alleged snooping on phones.
Kappan was arrested on October 5, 2020 while he was on his way to Hathras, home to the 19-year-old Dalit woman who died after being allegedly gang-raped by four upper-caste men on September 14.
He attacked the dispensation over issues such as the state of the economy, the situation in Kashmir, the National Register of Citizens in Assam and action by probe agencies against opposition leaders.
Accompanied by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Chaudhary reached Uttar Pradesh assembly premises in the morning to file his nomination.
Banerjee, nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the national general secretary of the TMC, and his wife Rujira Banerjee have been asked to depose before the investigation officer here next week, they said.
Sibal threw the ball in Kejriwal's court saying, "He knows better".
The SC, in October last year, had ordered a probe into the alleged use of the spyware.
The event witnessed the who's who of Maharashtra politics -- including three former chief ministers of Maharashtra.
According to information received from sources, there will be a meeting at 5 pm through video conferencing but its agenda is not clear.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file a reply on the plea filed by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan over the delay in hearing of his bail application in a land grabbing case.
'It cannot go unpunished,' he said on Twitter.
'Because if a Dalit is made the chief minister, they ask who is taking the decisions in the Congress?'
The issue cropped up as Justice Mishra, who is heading a five-judge Constitution bench hearing land acquisition matters, had warned senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan on Tuesday of contempt while he was advancing his arguments in the matter.
Political parties and individuals cannot be prevented from making poll promises aimed at fulfilling the constitutional mandate and the term 'freebie' should not be confused with genuine welfare measures, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.
However, the bench said Chidambaram is at a liberty to seek remedy in accordance with the law.
Some residents of village Nizampur claimed that the man disrespected the Nishan Sahib and tried to run away but was caught after a chase.
The G-23 group seems to have expanded with several senior Congressmen attending Wednesday's meeting.
A fresh plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday on the 'hijab' row in Karnataka, raising the issue of the right to practise religion as enshrined as a fundamental right in the Constitution.
Justice Sanjeev Narula said it would be in the interest of both -- the two Shiv Sena factions and the general public -- that the Election Commission's proceedings on the use of Shiv Sena's bow and arrow election symbol and name are concluded soon. It asked the poll panel to decide the issue as expeditiously as possible.
A bench of Justices R Banumathi and A S Bopanna said it would hear the arguments of the Enforcement Directorate on Chidambaram's two petitions, including the challenge to remand orders, on Wednesday.
"Several (Congress) meetings happened, but not even a single suggestion was taken," Azad said.
Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government had told the bench that "shocking findings" have emerged in the investigation so far in the case in which Kappan was arrested on his way to Hathras.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu had on April 23 rejected the impeachment notice against the CJI given by seven opposition parties led by the Congress on five grounds of "misbehaviour".
Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar said the CBI demand was "justified" that Chidambaram has to be further interrogated in its custody.
The apex court issued notice to the Centre on the plea seeking re-examination of its verdict which upheld the ED's powers relating to arrest, attachment of property involved in money laundering, search, and seizure under the PMLA.
The Centre had earlier filed a short affidavit on the matter.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said there must be a "debate" on the "serious" issue relating to the practice of political parties promising freebies and asked why cannot the Centre call for an all-party meeting on it.
The Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that "shocking findings" have emerged in the investigation so far in the case in which Kerala-based scribe Sidhique Kappan was arrested on his way to Hathras, where a young Dalit woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped, in October.
Congress leaders in the upper house called CAB unconstitutional, 'arbitrary executive fiat' to push Hindutva agenda.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday remarked the Gujarat government's reply to pleas challenging the remission granted to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case is very bulky wherein a series of judgments have been quoted but factual statements are missing.
For the Congress to be taken seriously, it has to convince those around it that it could actually double its Lok Sabha seat share from the existing 52, and vote-share by a third more from the stagnating 20 per cent in 2014 and 2019, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal are the two people who have been marked and punished'
"Unfortunately, the seniors were being completely sidelined," he said in a statement.
It was after a gap of two decades that saw such an occasion where MPs of the upper house enthralled their fellow colleagues at a dinner hosted by Chairman and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu for 72 retiring members.
A bench headed by the CJI said the apex court is not against debates but when the matter in pending in court, it should be deliberated upon here.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas moved by Future Group companies seeking a direction to the arbitration tribunal, which is adjudicating on Amazon's objections against their deal with Reliance, to take a decision on their application for the termination of the arbitration proceedings before moving any further. "Both the petitions are dismissed," said Justice Amit Bansal, who had reserved the order on the petitions filed by Future Coupons Private Limited (FCPL) and Future Retail Limited (FRL) on January 3. The judge said the orders would be uploaded on the website of the high court shortly.
