The question we must ask is how do politicians get that wealth disclosed in the affidavits, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Justice Subramonium Prasad said though police have filed a status report listing the standard operating procedure for bomb detection and disposal squads and the guidelines to deal with bomb threats in schools, they have not submitted data on several key aspects.
Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he said.
Among the major parties, out of the 25 BJP candidates, four, or 15 percent, have criminal cases against them, with two facing serious charges, as per the data of ADR.
Shortly after a Delhi Court directed the CBI to re-investigate a 1984 anti-Sikh riot case involving him, former union minister and Congress leader Jagdish Tytler on Tuesday expressed doubts over the veracity of the affidavit of a witness, who has expressed his desire to assist the investigating agency.
The Centre on Wednesday filed a fresh affidavit in the Gujarat High Court in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, saying it had never justified the action of the Gujarat police and had no objection to an independent inquiry in the case. "The central government was not concerned with the merits of the action taken by the Gujarat police and anything stated in the (earlier) affidavit was not intended to support or justify the action of the state police," the affidavit stated.
Observing that working conditions have made doctors and health professionals susceptible to violence, the Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a 10-member task force to formulate a national protocol for ensuring safety and facilities for them in the wake of the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu charged that the Central Bureau of Investigation was misused by the then United Progressive Alliance government to harass its political opponent and 'defame' the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.
29 per cent candidates have declared assets worth Rs 10 million or more in the third phase.
'When honest, wealthy people come forward to serve India, people should feel proud and welcome them.'
In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the chief secretary of Manipur said it was unfortunate that the platform of the top court was being "misutilised", apparently referring to the lawyer's claim.
Singh, now a Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament from Bihar, said what was the reason for the change of the affidavit when the Intelligence Bureau had said that Ishrat had links with Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.
The former Union minister alleged that the government is "intolerant to the slightest criticism".
In two separate affidavits filed in the apex court, Ramdev and Balkrishna tendered unqualified apology for the 'breach of the statement' recorded in the November 21 last year order of the apex court.
The Indian Coast Guard has filed an affidavit in response to a plea moved by a woman officer seeking permanent commission.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Haryana government to clear the barricading at the Shambhu border near Ambala, where farmers have been camping since February 13, and questioned its authority to block the highway.
In a fresh affidavit filed in the top court, the ED said no political leader has ever been granted interim bail for campaigning even if he is not contesting polls.
In an article in the Congress Sandesh, senior party leader Karan Singh said that the ASI shocked the nation by making certain sweeping statements that questioned the very existence of Lord Ram as a historical figure.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday demanded an unconditional apology from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for the controversial affidavit on Ram Sethu, "which hurt the sentiments of crores of people."
Board of Control for Cricket in India president Anurag Thakur's affidavit, to be submitted in the Supreme Court, will be the focal point of discussions when the BCCI's affiliated units meet for a Special General Meeting (SGM) in New Delhi on Saturday to deliberate upon implementation of the Lodha Committee reforms.
The BJP leads with 23 percent of its 90 Rajya Sabha members having declared criminal cases against themselves.
The government told the HC that 'Maratha community comprises people belonging to various castes and since the country doesn't conduct caste-based census anymore,' it was proving rather 'difficult' to get hold of the requisite data.
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the trial court judge was in a "hurry" and did not afford a reasonable opportunity to the prosecutor to oppose Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's bail in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam.
Mallya showed his net worth at Rs 615 crore, mainly in shares and bonds.
'The present case is a classic case of how the ruling party led central government has misused the central agency- Enforcement Directorate and its wide powers under PMLA to crush its biggest political opponent -Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders'
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked various state governments to apprise it in six weeks on the action taken in incidents of mob lynching and cow vigilantism.
A division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Firdosh Pooniwalla said it was "not happy " and "surprised" with the government's stand despite orders passed by the court asking the chief minister to consider the matter as a "special case".
The Calcutta high court on Tuesday restrained West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and three others from making any defamatory or incorrect statement against Governor C V Ananda Bose.
Modifying the single bench order, the division bench presided by Justice I P Mukerji directed that Banerjee and Ghosh will be free to make any statement concerning the Governor, not crossing the contours of freedom of speech and expression and public duty.
With declared assets worth over Rs 600 crore, Chennur Congress candidate G Vivekananda is the richest politician contesting in the November 30 assembly polls, followed by P Srinivas Reddy from the same party with over Rs 460 crore.
Malik allegedly built an "illegal" madrasa in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani. Its demolition led to the violence in Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani on February 8.
About the 34-year-old officer's alleged misuse of power, including the use of a private luxury car with a VIP number plate and red-blue beacon, during her tenure at the Pune collector's office, Dilip said she had taken permission for everything.
There were certainly qualities adhering to the Tata Group, which emanated from the persona of Ratan Tata. Most notable of these would be the low profile he maintained, which sharply contrasted the in-your-face celebrity status, celebration of wealth and pursuit of importance many of liberalised India's rich, love, notes Shyam G Menon.
The Bharartiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi has for the first time declared himself as a married man by revealing his wife's name as Jashodaben in an affidavit filed before the Election Commission.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has denied in the Supreme Court allegations that he had kept a girl and her parents in illegal confinement in Madhya Pradesh. In a counter-affidavit filed in the apex court, Rahul submitted that the allegations made against him were "totally false, frivolous, vexatious and are calculated to harm my image."
'The larger story of systematic destruction, which can and has been quantified, goes mysteriously missing from any political and/or public discourse about the ongoing devastation in the Ghats,' notes Prem Panicker.
'Can you imagine that Surat's voters won't have any say now in exercising their fundamental right to choose a candidate of their own choice? This is what the BJP has reduced India's democracy to.' 'With this ugly act, in one stroke, the BJP has disenfranchised the voters of Surat.'
Apart from the central ministries, other respondents include oil marketing companies, Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
