Four more witnesses turned hostile on Thursady during their examination in a Puducherry court in the trial of Sankararaman murder case in which Kanchi Sankaracharyas Jayendra Saraswathi and his deputy Vijayendra Saraswathi are the prime accused.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Mohammed Salim were among the prominent politicians who tested positive for COVID-19 as a rapid spike in cases took the tally in the country to over 18 lakh on Monday.
Meet Mahadev, the director who made his directorial debut with the Telugu film starring Balakrishna and Priya Mani.
There seems to be no "closure" for B S Yediyurappa, the Bharatiya Janata Party's "comeback man" in Karnataka, as he could never complete a full term in office, despite becoming the chief minister four times, surmounting odds. It's also too early to write a political obituary of the 78-year old Lingayat strongman and the 24X7 politician, the face of the party in the state for decades.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday expanded his 17-month old cabinet, inducting seven ministers, and indicated that excise minister H Nagesh would be dropped. Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers at a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.
'We shall not see the like of Kalaignar again, and our nation is poorer without his wise statesmanship, and his dedication to our country and our people,' she said.
'Basuda hardly spoke, but he had a sense of humour and that showed in his films.'
Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi is one long action scene, notes A Ganesh Nadar.
Mahadev's in his debut film Mitrudu tries to combine the element of astrology with marriage. The film has the usual elements of a Telugu film. Mahadev gives Balakrishna a slight character makeover but one wonders whether it will work.
After doing the rounds of international film festivals and winning a bunch of awards, Karma releases in India today. Watch it if you enjoy short films and don't mind a slightly predictable storyline.
India has been elected to the newly established Independent Audit Advisory Committee, a five-member body which is expected to contribute to improving the accountability of the UN Secretariat to the member states.
Radhika Ramaseshan reports on why the Karnataka chief minister risked crossing swords with his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and its ideological wellspring, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Yeddyurappa, however, will miss his wife Maithra Devi, who was a pillar of strength during his early days when he had to struggle a lot.
Raj Barathur -- Indian American entrepreneur, geneticist, professor and biopharmaceutical industry leader -- stayed the course even when diagnosed with lung cancer
After hearing arguments of both the defence and prosecution, the magistrate at the Sessions Court, Chengalpattu, Akbar Ali, reserved the orders for January 27.
The NHRC noted that media reports had pointed that Vijayendra Saraswati was arrested within hours of the Supreme Court directing the release of the senior Shankaracharya on bail.
'We have created fear in the minds of villagers so that they don't indulge in wrongdoing. We have already seized Rs 1 crore of bribe money,' Madurai Superintendent of Police Vijayendra Bidari tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar.
Mutt manager Sundaresa Iyer and Kaladi Vishwanatha Iyer had sought and been granted anticipatory bail in this case.
Jayendra Saraswati returned to the Kacnhi Mutt for the first time this year.
With opinion polls predicting a hung assembly in Karnataka and the possibility that the JD-S could be the 'king maker' after the polls, H D Deve Gowda stays mum about his party's post-election strategy.
Key accused Appu alias Krishnasamy and Kathiravan were brought from Cuddalore and Tiruchirapalli prisons respectively and produced before the court.
After completing the pre-charge formalities, Judicial First Class Magistrate G Uthamraj sent the case file to principal district judge, Chengalpattu, who will assign the case to a sessions judge.
The detention comes a day after the charge sheet was filed against Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati and the junior seer in the case.
Raghu has been charged with murder and conspiracy.
The junior seer has now be questioned twice in three days.
An application in this regard will be moved before Kanchipuram First Class Judicial Magistrate G Uttamarjan when the senior pontiff is produced before the court, mutt officials said.
. Jayendra also offered 'arthi' to the idol of Adi Sankara, Mutt sources said.
Earlier in the day, the magistrate had extended the judicial remand of Ravi Subramaniam, who had turned approver in the case, till February 3.
The police on Friday filed a charge sheet in the sensational murder case that led to the arrest of both the pontiff and his deputy.
The BJP won 12 of 15 seats on which bypolls were held. Congress could win only two.
They have been booked under Section 20(1) of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for "contravention in relation to canabis plant and canabis."
This was stated in the chargesheet, running to 1,873 pages, filed by superintendent of police K Premkumar on January 21.
The SC verdict granting bail to the seer due to 'lack of evidence is beyond the tolerance of the prosecution and its sole aim is to tarnish the reputation of the mutt', Murli Manohar Joshi said.
'The second installment will be more dramatic,' says Baahubali writer.
rediff.com spoke to Vijayendra Ghatge, whose sister Sangeeta, was killed in the Kanishka bombing.
There is evidence that Sankararaman had more resentment towards the junior seer, his brother Raghu and Sundaresa Iyer than the senior seer, the judge said.
