Karim Lala was one of the three top underworld dons of Mumbai for over two decades, from the sixties to the early eighties, the other two being Mastan Mirza alias Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar.
Both the Barack Obama administration and United States lawmakers on Capitol Hill have expressed concern over the Indian Supreme Court's decision to uphold a law that criminalises consensual homosexual conduct.
The National Alliance of Women's Organisations released the 'Womanifesto' for consideration of all political parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
"Let the matter be listed for the Chief Justice for appropriate orders," the bench said.
Why should an elected government, any party's government, need a law to protect itself from its people? asks Shekhar Gupta.
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday banned Umar Akmal from all forms of the game for three years, two months after initiating an anti-corruption investigation against the batsman. The PCB had not revealed the specific reasons for initiating the probe against the batsman but had charged him for two breaches of Article 2.4.4 of the Board's Anti-Corruption Code in two unrelated incidents in February this year.
There will no be Russian athletes at the 2016 IAAF world indoor championships in Portland, Oregon next March, a source with knowledge of the decision said on Thursday.
Does Uddhav (and indeed the Sena) have the pizzazz and staying power to continue to be an actor in Maharashtra politics as a paler version of the NCP and an orange rather than saffron version of the BJP, asks Aditi Phadnis.
BJP now governs 35% of country's landmass as against 71% in 2017. 43% of country's population is now governed by the BJP or allies in the states as against over 69 per cent two years ago. In all 3 state polls since its Lok Sabha win, BJP's vote share has fallen by big margins.
Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari announced the formation of a election reforms committee of the party which will focus on issues like EVMs, criminalisation of politics and other concerns. Members of the committee include party general secretary Thawar Chand Gehlot, secretary Kirit Somaiya, former BJP Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ramapati Ram Tripathi, Satyapal Jain, Bhanwari Lal Purohit, G V L Narasimha Rao and Ramakrishna.
The gay rights activists had said thousands from the LGBT community became open about their sexual identity during the past four years after the Delhi high court decriminalised gay sex and they were now facing the threat of being prosecuted.
As and when the pandemic recedes from these shores, rebuilding the economy will be the biggest challenge for Modi in the remaining three years of his term, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Our pledge on this Republic Day must be to use those parts of the Constitution that are still on our side and take back our rights and liberties lawfully from the State, which has usurped them, asserts Aakar Patel.
India's news broadcasters are a national shame that have polarised Indians, observes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
In spite of the Election Commission's repeated pleas against the criminalisation of politics, few political parties have paid any heed to it and have continued to field candidates with a dubious record in the forthcoming Bihar assembly polls.
'Somewhere in the midst of the three milestones of 1881, 1984 and 1999 are the clues that provide the answer to the troubling corrosion of Karnataka politics: The disappearance of values, the criminalisation of politics, and the complete collapse of ideology,' says Krishna Prasad, former editor-in-chief, Outlook.
The US State Department, in its Congressional mandated annual Country Reports on Terrorism for the year 2018, on Friday said even though the Pakistani government voiced support for political reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban, it did not restrict the terror group and the Haqqani Network from operating in Pakistan-based safe havens and threatening the US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.
Alleging that there had been politicisation and criminalisation of government officers in the state, the BJP leader, who was on a two-day visit, said the TMC government had stopped sending crime statistics to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) after 2018.
For this dispensation, ideas are dangerous. Those who propagate liberalism and democratic traditions are even more dangerous, observes Rashme Sehgal.
Bharadwaj claimed a number of human rights lawyers, activists and organisations were deliberately named to cast a stigma over them, obstruct their work and incite hatred against them.
The UPA has 112 members in the Upper House and the NDA 93. One seat is vacant.
In his letter to the Chief Justice, the filmmaker urged the Supreme Court to consider the LGBT community while reviewing the earlier ruling.
The decision was immediately welcomed by gay rights activists across the country as it reopens the legal debate on homosexuality.
It is under the blessings of politicians that builders and the criminal-builder nexus is thriving.
The Election Commission has called an all-party meeting on October 4 to discuss issues related to the use of money and muscle power in elections and the criminalisation of politics. Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi said the commission has invited leaders from all political parties for the meeting on October 4. The meeting will be held in two parts. In the morning, discussions will be done with leaders of national parties.
Trust Vikram Seth to do what he does best!
Noting that communalisation and criminalisation have "greatly vitiated" the political system of the country, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee warned on Sunday that the future of democracy can face serious problems if urgent corrective steps are not taken.
Thai Crown Prince's wife has relinquished her royal position after several of her relatives were arrested in a corruption scandal, the palace has announced.
The 500 Euro note is no longer available in the UK, after officials stopped its circulation on the basis of evidence that over 90 per cent of demand in the country came from criminals.
Certain religious leaders on Thursday strongly disapproved of the Delhi High Court judgment which legalised gay sex among consenting adults."It is absolutely wrong to legalise homosexuality. We will not accept any such law," said Jama Masjid Imam Ahmed Bukhari. He also critcised the government for trying to amend the Indian Penal Code to scrap Section 377 that criminalises homosexuality.
Amid government moves for a re-look at criminalising homosexuality, several Muslim leaders have said any attempt to legally permit unnatural sex is an attack on religious and moral values.
The Centre is considering repealing a controversial section of the penal law which criminalises homosexuality. A meeting will be convened soon for evolving a consensus on repealing Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, official sources said on Saturday.
Regardless of how the stalemate ends, the government needs to learn that regardless of its parliamentary strength it cannot take people for granted. A little bit of humility would do it a lot of good, recommends Virendra Kapoor.
The stiff 30-year prison sentence for an Indian-American woman for foeticide and child maltreatment has sparked a debate in the US on how prosecutors are using laws designed to protect expecting mothers to criminalise women for terminating a pregnancy.
Rediff.com gives you a lowdown on the controversial section:
Home Secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai argued that the issue is sensitive, therefore the government will take a decision after taking into account the sensitivities of various sections of the national community.
The complete verdict passed by the high court
Liberal Muslim leader Kamal Farooqui is dead against legalising gay sex.
Instead of repealing Section 295A of the IPC, which criminalises speech that offends the religious, India intends to further criminalise offence against religion, says Mihir S Sharma
Terming the current rule which disqualifies candidates upon conviction 'incapable' of keeping criminals away from electoral politics, the law commission has recommended that disqualification should happen upon framing of charges in cases punishable by five years in jail or more.
