Senior Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Haribhau Bagade was on Wednesday unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra assembly.
Members of the inquiry committee set up by the Press Council to examine the dangerous trend of 'paid news' met Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who has received a notice from the Election Commission, after complaints that he allegedly paid newspapers to publish stories in his favour before the state assembly polls. The panel met the chief minister at his official residence 'Varsha' on Thursday and recorded his statement on the issue.
Following is the schedule of Indian contingent on the fifth day of the Asian Games.
The higher the tax bracket, better the yields for these instruments
With this allocation of portfolios, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has got most of the 'plum' ministries.
A 48-year-old Indian-origin man has been sentenced to 18 years of jail by a UK court for stabbing his wife to death at her workplace here when she chose to start a new life after 20 years of domestic abuse.
However, the Sena's demand for elevation of the existing ministers of state to the Cabinet rank was turned down by the chief minister.
Rediff.com readers tell us how they are celebrating the festival.
Thackeray said not a single tree leaf will be cut till further developments.
Know these parameters to make an informed choice.
Vikram Bhatnagar gave a dazzling display of marksmanship to emerge winner in the Double Trap event in the National Shooting championship, at the Jagatpura range, in Jaipur on Thursday. The day also belonged to young Ajay Mittal, who won the junior event with a new national record of 138, while Army girl Varsha Tomar pocketed the women's title.
A multi-millionaire Indian-American couple, found guilty of virtually enslaving two Indonesian maids, has been ordered to pay nearly $1 million in back wages to their former housekeepers by a US court. The court declared on Friday that the workers are entitled to double the amount of unpaid wages they were owed by their employees, Mahender and Varsha Sabhnani.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Indian-born Mahender Murlidhar Sabhani, 51, and his wife, Indonesian-born Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 45, were each convicted of all charges in a 12-count federal indictment that included forced labour, conspiracy, involuntary servitude and harbouring aliens.
The Right to Information Act has virtually proved the transparency it promised after a reserved category candidate in Chhattisgarh extensively used it to expose chinks in state Public Service Commission examinations.
Bollywood congratulates the Ahujas!
'Mohan Bhagwat's reaffirmation of the RSS's Hindu rashtra ideal has shown that nothing has changed, that it remains firmly rooted in its fundamental beliefs, that the willingness to listen to voices from outside its fold was a pretence about being openminded,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
The two women had no legal status and were given visa for one year so that they can testify. That would expire in May after which they are likely to get special visa which lets victims of such abuse stay in the country for four years at the end of which they get Green Card and then go on to become citizens if they so choose.
Varsha and Mahender Sabhnani fired their attorneys and hired new ones but prosecution said new defence lawyers had conflict of interest.
The bail amount includes $2.5 million for Versha who was accused of actually torturing the Indonesian women and $1 million for Mahender who was accused of allowing the torture to take place.
While the Delhi government announced that schools will not be allowed to hike fees during the lockdown period and only tuition fee will have to be paid, Maharashtra has said parents can lodge complaints with district education officers if schools demanded fees. The Gujarat government had on Monday announced that private schools will not hike fees for an year. The West Bengal government has appealed to schools to refrain from hiking fees.
Image Alert: These models will make your screen MELT.
Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and her husband Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, walked out of the prison without handcuffs for the first time since they were arrested three months ago after they posted a bail for $4.5 million.
Mahender Sabhnani, 51, was sentenced by a federal court on Friday, a day after his wife, Varsha, 46, was jailed for 11 years and fined USD 25,000 for torturing the housemaids in a well-reported case, which brought out the hidden danger that aliens not conversant with English face.
After a three-week trial, a jury had convicted the multi-millionaire couple, which has a world-wide perfume business, on all 12 charges brought against them by the prosecutors which included forced labour, involuntary servitude and harbouring illegal aliens.
If convicted, the couple could get up to 30 years in prison.
US District court judge Thomas Platt told the prosecution and defence lawyers on Monday that he was not satisfied with the bail agreement and fixed the next hearing for Wednesday.
The bail for Varsha Mahender Sabhanani was set at $2.5 million and for her husband, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhanani, at $1 million.
A federal court jury that found Varsha Sabhnani and her husband Mahendar guilty of slavery charges voted to take away their upscale home in Muttontown, Long Island, New York.
An Indian-American multimillionaire couple, charged with enslaving and torturing two Indonesian women, faced for the first time in the court one of the alleged victims who escaped from their mansion.
'Banning conversion would harm Hinduism by taking away the need for reform.'
Mahender Sabhani and his wife Varsha, who are in the perfume business, were booked in a federal court on the charges of using threats of physical harm to obtain services.
Once fierce rivals, Thakkar and Ganapthy, on Friday, joined forces to clinch a bronze medal in 49er event after finishing third with 43 net points.
Sulking Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane, who was pitching for a leadership change ahead of the state assembly elections, on Monday resigned from the government.
"We met Gandhi and sought her intervention on the Maharashtra government's decision to ban dance bars," Bharatiya Bar Girls Union chief Varsha Kale said.
