'Things may get much worse before they get better,' predicts Ajay Chhibber.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has been taken into 18-day custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India. Rana was extradited from the United States after years of legal battles and will be questioned to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the attacks.
A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, claiming it was a "blatant intrusion" into the rights of a religious denomination to manage its own affairs in the matter of religion. The plea, filed by Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, argues that the amendments would distort the religious character of Waqfs and irreversibly damage the democratic process in their administration. Several other petitions have been filed in the apex court challenging the validity of the bill, including those by Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, and AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan.
The move comes as the Trump administration is taking measures to probe prosecutors who oversaw the criminal cases against January 6 defendants after Trump announced that he would seek retribution as a key pledge of his campaign.
Mumbai 'Chai Wala' known as 'Chhotu' aka Mohammed Taufiq, whose alertness saved lives during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks stated that there is no need for India to provide Tahawwur Rana with cell and Biryani and facilities which were provided to Ajmal Kasab, one of the terrorists involved in Mumbai attacks.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider listing for urgent hearing the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
United States President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his January 20 inauguration, CBS News reported citing sources.
'Talking about boycotting polls is simply a move to galvanise party leaders, workers, and supporters for the big political fight.'
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sent a judicial request to the United States seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who has claimed to possess crucial details about the Rs 64-crore Bofors bribery scandal of the 1980s. Hershman, the head of the Fairfax Group, had previously expressed his willingness to share information with Indian agencies, alleging that the investigation into the scam was derailed by the then Congress government. The CBI's request comes after previous attempts to obtain information from US authorities yielded no results. This move highlights the continued efforts to uncover the truth behind the decades-old scandal, which has had a significant impact on Indian politics.
The following are five contenders for the men's title at Wimbledon, which begins on Monday.
A seven-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, by a majority of 6:1, set aside the apex court's five-judge bench verdict of 2014 in the EV Chinnaiah vs State of Andhra Pradesh case which had held that no sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs) can be allowed as they are a homogeneous class in themselves.
In a little-known episode from the Emergency era, former prime minister Indira Gandhi quietly donated a significant sum of Rs 90,000 for treatment of her fiercest critic, Jayaprakash Narayan, the leader of the nationwide anti-Emergency movement.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) asserts that major political parties participated in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, deploying booth level agents despite opposing the exercise in the Supreme Court. The ECI defends its authority to conduct the revision to maintain the integrity of elections.
Kuwait has executed 25 Indian nationals in the past five years.
The Congress party has claimed credit for the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, from the US, saying the Modi government did not initiate the process and merely benefited from the "mature, consistent and strategic diplomacy" begun under the UPA. Former Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government did not secure any breakthrough to make the extradition possible, nor is it the result of any grandstanding. He added that it was a testament to what the Indian state can achieve when diplomacy, law enforcement and international cooperation are pursued sincerely and without any kind of chest-thumping. Chidambaram detailed the UPA government's efforts in securing Rana's extradition, citing the registration of a case against him in 2009, diplomatic pressure on Canada and the US, and continued efforts despite legal setbacks. He highlighted the role of the UPA in securing Rana's conviction for other terrorism-related offences and the cooperation between the US and Indian agencies in gathering evidence and securing his extradition. The Congress leader further stated that it was the UPA's groundwork that paved the way for Rana's extradition, even after the change in government in 2014.
A first-year student of a law college in south Kolkata was allegedly "gang-raped" inside the institution by an alumnus and two senior students of the institution, a police officer said on Friday.
Gandhi alleged that assembly and Lok Sabha polls were being "stolen" across the country and there was a "conspiracy" in Bihar to do the same through the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The extension aims to facilitate negotiations for a solution that safeguards national security and allows the app to continue operating in the United States. Trump proposed a joint venture granting the US a 50 per cent ownership stake in TikTok.
'Digital courts will alleviate congestion in traditional courts.'
The Supreme Court on Friday deferred the hearing for January 4 2024, of the habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Nikhil Gupta, accused by the United States of conspiring to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a India designated terrorist, against his arrest and ongoing extradition proceedings in the Czech Republic.
Several leaders of the BJP and its allies are of the view that the NDA this time is unlikely to follow the instincts that made it pick Dhankhar and will be more conventional in its search for his successor.
The notification came days after the Bombay high court declined to restrain the Centre from notifying the unit. The petition was filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and the Editors Guild of India.
The United States has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, to India. The decision was announced by President Donald Trump during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House. India is currently working on the logistics of Rana's surrender and extradition, with several final steps to be completed before he is sent back to India. The joint statement issued by India and the US during Prime Minister Modi's visit reaffirmed their commitment to fighting terrorism and eliminating terrorist safe havens. The leaders also called on Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention center in Los Angeles. He is associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
India's National Investigation Agency is probing into his role in the 26/11 attacks carried out by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in 2008.
'Militants are taking over the administration. Fundamentalists have been released from jail.'
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The protest continued even as the Supreme Court intervened in the matter and constituted a 10-member National Task Force to formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other healthcare professionals.
Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray has vowed to oppose the Maharashtra government's decision to make Hindi a mandatory third language for students of Classes 1 to 5, stating that his party will not allow it. Thackeray, addressing an event of the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, the workers' wing of the Shiv Sena (UBT), said his party has no aversion to the Hindi language but questioned the need to force it upon students. He also criticized the ruling BJP's approach, alleging their aim is to keep people under pressure and prevent unity. He accused the current government of working against the interests of Marathi and Maharashtra, and slammed Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for his alleged subservience to those he believes are harming the state's interests. Thackeray further criticized the Waqf Amendment Act 2025, arguing against the appointment of non-Muslims on the Waqf Board and questioning the government's intentions in appointing non-Hindus to Hindu religious organizations. He also claimed that his government was overthrown because he had stalled the implementation of labor codes in the state. Thackeray concluded his speech by urging party members to prioritize the hiring of Bharatiya Kamgar Sena union members in workplaces where the union has a presence.
The Supreme Court referred to a larger bench the legal issues stemming from a plea of BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, including the question whether a prior sanction to prosecute is needed under the Prevention of Corruption Act after a magisterial court order of inquiry. The questions revolve around the interplay between the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure on the issue of prior sanction to prosecute a public servant.
Gupta, arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30 last year, is currently held in Prague's Pankrak prison.
The Karnataka high court on Monday did not grant interim relief to Nikhil Sosale, head of marketing, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who was arrested on June 6 in connection with the fatal stampede near M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and adjourned the matter for hearing on Tuesday.
Rajasthan Cricket Association official Jaideep Bihani has accused the Rajasthan Royals of match-fixing after they failed to chase down nine runs in the final over in their last two matches.
There is a sudden realisation in party circles that prolonged court cases could damage its standing, both among the cadres and voters, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
US prosecutors' case against Gautam Adani and others may stumble on the extraterritorial application of American law.
Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of newly sworn-in Vice President JD Vance, has made history as the first Indian-American and Hindu Second Lady of the United States. Usha, a lawyer and daughter of Indian immigrants, held the Bible during Vance's oath of office, signifying her role in supporting her husband's political journey. Her background and her husband's rise to the Vice Presidency highlight the growing political influence of Indian Americans and their increasing representation in national politics.
The Bombay high court on Friday quashed the amended Information Technology rules aimed at identifying through a fact checking unit "fake and false" content against the government on social media platforms, holding it as unconstitutional.
Lee Jae-myung's decisive victory in South Korea's snap presidential election marks a major political shift driven by public backlash against authoritarian, with significant implications for domestic reform and the future of the US-South Korea alliance, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Eminent economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Monday described the electoral bonds scheme as a scandal and welcomed the Supreme Court's recent judgment annulling it.
Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) make public its findings from the "box of evidence" received from Switzerland regarding the Bofors payoffs. Subramaniam, author of 'Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth', expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the evidence, questioning who opened the box, when it was opened, and what it contained. She also raised doubts about the official narrative regarding the alleged bribe in the Bofors case, suggesting the sum of Rs 64 crore may not reflect the full extent of the corruption. Subramaniam also alleged that the CBI planted stories about Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan to derail the investigation and launched a political vendetta against the Bachchans. She recalled that Bachchan had come to her home and asked if she had seen his name. The CBI has recently requested assistance from the United States in the case, seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who claims to have crucial details about the scandal. The Bofors scandal, a major bribery case involving the Indian government and the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 1980s, pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances